Song of the Chapter: Home - Nitro Fun (Electronic) for the first part
Aether and Light - Varien (Glitch Hop) for the second part

After the fun drawings I posted yesterday, you get this ... *cries a little*

Away from home, is this where I'm meant to be? I feel the emotion in this song and it makes me happy sad, you know? I read something about this song that the actual real live Nitro Fun wrote to everyone, talking about hard times and being away from home and it gives more emotion to the song ... if I find the thing again I'll clarify and elaborate, but the song is beautiful.

And then there's Varien ...

(Rogue's POV)

Sunlight plays across my closed eyes, waking me up pleasantly. I yawn and almost roll over, but then remember Nitro Fun in the sleeping bag next to me. I open my eyes and check on him to make sure he's okay. His cheeks are red and streaked with tears, and a little cut on his chin looks like it started bleeding again last night. His expression looks peaceful, though, finally relaxed. I don't want to wake him up, so I stay where I am and simply wait, thinking about things.

Stephen Walking unzips the tent and pokes his head in. He's about to say something, but he pauses when he sees Nitro and I. "What in the world are you two doing?"

"He's asleep," I whisper. "He had a bad night - don't wake him up."

Stephen's expression softens. "Alright. Make sure he's okay and then join us out here."

"Will do." I smile at him and he leaves quietly.

A few minutes later, Nitro's breath catches in his throat for a second and he wakes up, blinking in the bright sunlight. "Rogue ... " he mumbles. "Sorry ... "

"It's okay. You don't need to be sorry." I climb out of my sleeping bag and sit up.

He tries to sit up, too, but catches his breath in pain and swears quietly. I help him upright and let him lean against me for support. "Thanks," he says softly. "You know ... for helping me last night."

"Of course. That's what friends are for." I pause and watch him as he carefully brushes through his hair with his hand. He winces every time he lifts his left arm higher than his shoulder, probably because of the bruises and his broken ribs. "You're going to have to tell them, you know," I say.

He sighs and cringes. "I know. I'm just ... worried. What if they don't take it as well as you did? What if they hate me and kick me out? I don't want to be alone. I hate being alone. When I'm alone, I start thinking and worrying and wondering if you all really care and I just ... "

"If they kick you out, I'll come with you," I say firmly. "But they won't kick you out. I promise." I stand up and help pull him to his feet. "How are you feeling?"

"Mnugh," he groans.

Together, we stumble out of the tent and into the morning light.

"There he is," someone from Tasty growls. "The little traitor."

Nitro instinctively flinches backward and his eyes immediately fill up with terror. I step forward a little, trying to protect him. "Come on, Nitro," I say softly. "Let's go find Danyka and Fij and get you checked up." I gently wrap my hand under his arms to help him walk and lead him away.

"Why are you helping him?" the guy demands as we walk away. "He's killed us all!"

"Just ignore it," I murmur as Nitro tenses up. "You're fine."

We find Danyka first, and she gives him a look full of disappointment. "I'm sorry, Nitro," she says.

"What are you talking about?" he asks softly.

"We all heard what happened. We know what you told him." She sighs. "We also know that the box thing - the one we couldn't get off - it's a tracking device, too. He knows where we are. You have to leave and lead him away."

Nitro's face pales and he subconsciously touches the wire box around his neck. "No ... no ... but I didn't do anything! It's not my fault!" He turns to me, his voice angry and hurting. "You said they wouldn't kick me out! You promised they'd let me stay!"

"You can't do this," I protest, begging Danyka to let him stay with us. "He's just a kid. He's one of us. He's going to be killed out there!"

She sighs sadly and hands him his red shirt back - the one they were supposed to wash. It's still covered in blood. "I'm sorry," she says. "It wasn't my decision to make. It was Stephen Walking and Mike's."

"Mike? But he's like the nicest guy here!"

"He's only doing what he feels is best for everyone else," Danyka says, her voice faltering. She doesn't want to send Nitro away any more than we do. She doesn't have a choice.

"I'm not leaving!" Nitro yells. "You can't make me!"

"Wanna bet on that?" Two guys from other labels seem to appear out of nowhere behind him. They grab Nitro's arms and drag him backwards, ignoring his loud cry of pain.

"Gently," Danyka whispers, but they don't listen.

"Hey!" I shout, running after them. Stephen Walking grabs my wrist to keep me from getting too far. I pull out of his grasp and take off again.

"Rogue!" Nitro screams in terror.

"I'm coming!"

Two more artists hold me back, and it takes longer to pull free. When I do, I run to the tent and grab my helmet and sword. I'm not going out there without protection.

"Joel? What's going on?" Evee asks as I run past her.

"They're going to hurt him!" I charge toward them, sword in hand, but they're already to the edge of the camp.

They shove Nitro out into the trees and stop him from coming back in. He tries to fight back, but he can't move that fast without getting hurt. "Don't kick me out! It's not my fault!" he begs.

"Get out of here," someone growls, "or we'll shoot you."

"That was not part of the deal!" Stephen shouts, but they can't hear him.

At first, I think they're bluffing, but they pull out a gun and Nitro's face goes white. He spins around and starts to run, stumbling into a tree.

"Stop it!" I scream, plowing through them. I know I catch a few people with my sword, and I know I draw blood, but I don't care. I swing at the one with the gun and cut him across the arm. He yells and drops his weapon as Nitro scrambles away, out of sight. I keep going, keep fighting, my vision and human instinct blurred and warped by boiling, white hot rage.

"Joel!"

Only one voice brings me out of it.

"Joel!"

I spin around, swinging my sword at the speaker.

"Joel, stop!"

Through the red, I see Evee standing there, holding her hands up and almost touching me. I drop my sword arm to my side and pause, breathing hard. I meet her eyes and see terror reflected in them. I scared her. The rage inside my chest drains away, replaced by guilt and fear. I look around me at the producers and see a dozen of them wounded, red washing down their skin and into the ground. They flinch away from me as I look at them, gripping bleeding arms or blood-soaked pants and I'm afraid. I'm afraid of myself. I could have killed them.

"Joel ... " Evee whispers.

"What have I done?" I breathe, almost losing my grip on my sword. "I can't stay here. I'm too dangerous, and - "

"Joel, you ... you scared me. Whatever that was - that's not you." She gently touches my arm and I flinch.

"I'm leaving," I say.

"We don't want you anyway, you monster," someone hisses.

"I'm coming with you." Evee takes my hand and I smile a little. I don't want to be alone.

"Come on. We have to find Nitro." I pull her into a run as the other label artists rush toward us again, hot with fury.

We run as fast as we can until I hear something - the sound of someone trying to yell through gasping breaths. I slow down and lead Evee toward the sound, and we come up on Nitro Fun.

Evee makes a quiet noise of distress when she sees him. His face is cut up and bleeding where he ran carelessly through the trees, and he's curled up on the ground, squeezing his side where he was grazed by Jensen's bullet. His breathing is scratchy and he coughs every so often. He looks up at us with a terrified expression that melts into relief.

"Are they gone?" he whispers.

"They're gone," I say, kneeling next to him.

"I hate them!" he suddenly screams, his voice cracking. His loud and frightening tone scares me. "I HATE YOU, MONSTERCAT!"

"Calm down," I say softly. He's breathing hard, filled with rage and hurt. Eventually, he starts to relax. He sits up with difficulty and grabs me in a tight hug, shaking with pain. I hold him back, rubbing his back gently. Evee comes on the other side and joins us in a three-person embrace, and I remember my thoughts from the night before. These young artists - we have to protect them. "I'll never let anyone hurt you again," I whisper.

●•●•●•●

(Aero Chord's POV)

I sprint down the hall as fast as I can, ignoring the shouts behind me. This is probably the fifth time I've gotten away from them since we were dragged here. I know that I could escape if I was by myself, but I can't leave Braken here alone. That's the only reason they keep catching me. I keep stopping to try and rescue him.

Down this hall, to the right, there's a dark room. They keep Braken in there because Jensen knows that Braken is petrified of being trapped and alone in the dark. Nitro Fun told Jensen all about us. I don't know how to feel about that.

I throw open the door after unlocking it with the key card I stole. There he is, cowering on the floor with wild, trapped eyes.

I drop down next to him and pull him to his feet, noticing that they've taken his green scarf away. I try not to stare at the enormous scar, but it's hard. "Come on, Braken. I'm getting you out of here."

He stumbles as he stands. "Just like last time? And the time before that?" His voice is shaking, close to tears.

"No, for real this time. Come on." I pull on him, but he yanks his arm away.

"No! Stop it, Aero!" He resists me again and I hear a chain rattle. The light from the hallway is enough to see the length of chain snapped around his arm, just above his elbow, that's keeping him trapped in place. He only has about a foot of movement from the wall. "Face it," he says, starting to cry. "We're never getting out of here."

"Of course we are." I reach for the chain, but he slaps my hand away.

"I don't think you understand." His voice is hard, even though I can see the tears slipping down his face. "You don't know what it feels like to be trapped for your entire life - living in a cage you try to call a home, beaten by people you try to call family. You try to fight back, try to prove yourself, and they just crush you back down without a second thought. You get the feeling of hopelessness - pure hopelessness that even death can't take away, and you know you'll always feel it. I'll never forget it. You'll never know that feeling, and I thought for a moment when we got to the campsite that I'd be free and never have to feel that again ... I feel that here, Aero. Escape is impossible. We are never getting out of here."

I know he's right, and it hurts me inside. "We have to try."

"There. Is. No. More. Trying," he snaps, emphasizing every word. "We're done, Alex. It's over."

"I refuse to believe that, Braken." My voice comes out colder than I intended, but he doesn't back down. If anything, he stands up straighter. "I will never stop fighting, no matter what. No matter if you're right."

"Then I pity you - you live in a world of fantasies."

I almost recoil in surprise, but stop myself just in time. Braken said that? I thought he himself lived in a fantasy-based world. I guess he's more in the real world than the rest of us.

"What is going on in here?" Jensen demands, and I jump in fear, spinning around to face him. I spread my wings to protect myself, but Jensen taps the button and I drop to the floor with a screech. I hate being vulnerable like this. I hate that he has this advantage over me. "Oh, Aero Chord," he says regretfully, tapping a fancy cane stick on the floor. "You're worse than Leo is. At least he knew how to obey his master and keep his friends from getting hurt."

"What are you talking about?" I hiss, pulling myself up, back on my feet.

"Braken?" Jensen urges, smiling.

"He hurts me," Braken whispers. "Every time you try to escape - he hurts me."

"Louder."

"He beats me!" Braken screams suddenly, and I jump away from him again. His voice is furious, not at Jensen, but at me. Sure enough, I can see bruises and cuts all over his face. "He promised he wouldn't hurt me if you stayed where you were but you had to fight back! You had to be so caught up in escape from a place that you'll NEVER ESCAPE FROM. You don't understand! You never have and you never will! You don't know how beatings feel, Alex. You don't know how it feels to wonder first hand how people could do something like that. There is so much you don't know and your ignorance and stupidity is going to kill me and YOU DON'T EVEN CARE."

I don't even get a chance to answer. Two soldiers pull me toward them, snapping a band around my chest, trapping my wings against my back. I try to apologize, to try and somehow make it up to him, but Jensen shoves a thick gag in my mouth to keep me from speaking. The soldiers yank my arms to the side and hold them firmly so I can't move. Even at half my strength, I probably could have broken away, but one thing stops me: Braken. Braken is my weakness.

"Take him to the lab to finish the experiment," Jensen orders, and then turns to Braken. "I'll deal with you in a moment, little boy. You're a disgrace to the mother that left you."

"My mother didn't leave me!" Braken screams, his voice cracking. I've never heard him this furious before. I never even thought he could have this much fury in him. "It was an accident!"

"Really?" Jensen chuckles. "Then why was she running away?"

"She wasn't running - "

The man cuts him off with a slap to the face. Braken jerks to the side, his eyes wide in fear, and gently touches the side of his face where he was hit. His expression isn't just terrified - He knows something. He knows what's coming.

"That's enough," Jensen says harshly. "No more speaking. Stay silent."

Braken takes a breath, a quiet, timid breath, and says, "But I - "

And the cane hits him hard over the head.

I try to scream at him, but the sound is muffled by the gag. I pull at the guards' grip, but they're not going to let go.

Jensen hits him again, across his back, and Braken folds over with a cry of pain. Then the cane comes from below, across his chest, bringing him up again. I can see tears running down his face. "Please, sir, I'll - "

"I said, stay silent!" Jensen shouts. The cane slams into his gut and he doubles over, coughing. The chain on the wall tugs at his arm, restricting his movement. He can't even protect himself. He tries to say something again, Jensen grabs a fist full of his long hair and yanks his head up. "What did I just say?" he demands.

Braken winces, blood dripping from a cut on his forehead down into his eye. "Please, stop hurting - "

Jensen hits him across the face with his cane. "One for screaming at me earlier," he growls, and then cracks it against his head again. Braken lurches with a choking cry, as Jensen pulls him back upright. He's swaying on his feet, blood running down his face, barely able to stay conscious. "Two for Aero Chord's attempted escape."

I tug against my captors again, but I'm shaking too bad, furious, terrified. Everything I say is muffled. They can't do this to him. They can't punish him for my actions.

"And three - " Jensen whispers. "Three for being the son of a bastard."

I don't think I've ever heard something whoosh that fast. The cane cracks against his face full on and Braken crumples against the wall, slumping down into the floor. His left arm is awkwardly dangling in the air, held by that chain. His eyes are closed and his nose is bleeding. He's barely breathing. He's barely alive.

"You've killed him!" I scream into the gag. Finally, I'm able to yank myself free and run to him, pulling the cloth out of my mouth. I drop down onto my knees next to him and wrap him up in my arms, his limp body so much lighter than it should be. "Braken, I'm so sorry," I whisper, even though he's unconscious and can't hear me. "I wish I knew. I could have helped you." Instead, I killed him.

"Come on," a soldier says, seizing my arm again.

"Please let me stay with him," I beg, yanking my arm back. Jensen's got me begging. It's all because of Braken. He's not as strong as I am. I'm not as strong as I thought. "Let me stay until he wakes up." If he wakes up.

Jensen laughs. "Alright then, Aero Chord. I'll let you stay until he wakes up." He comes over and unlocks the chain around Braken's arm, then struggles to snap it over mine, since my arm is bigger than his. He curses softly, and then I repeat him when it pinches my skin, snapping and trapping me in place. Now it's my arm that's dangling painfully in the air.

"Thank you, sir," I mutter, hoping that being polite with help me in the long run.

"Don't waste your manners on me." Jensen turns and stalks away, the two soldiers following close behind.

The door closes, but I can see light in between the cracks of the door. Usually, they're covered to make the room pitch black. Now, at least I can see a little.

I pick Braken up again, resting his head on my hanging arm. In the dim light, I can see the blood smeared across his face, from his nose and the gash above his eye. I brush his hair away from his forehead to check the cut, and sigh softly. It's really deep, it looks like. I struggle and finally rip a strip of my shirt long enough to fit around his head. I wrap him up the best I can and then use the gag to wipe the blood and tears off of his face. I don't know what else to do. He's so pale and thin and practically weightless. I lost track of how long we've been here, but it's only been a couple days, and the dark is already turning him into this weak, cowering boy. He was small before, but now ...

Braken has become a little brother to me. I don't care that he's nineteen with an eleven year old frame of mind. He's close to me like my own brother, and I wish I could protect him more, like an older brother should. I gather him up in my arms and hold him close to me, gently stoking his hair and whispering to him. I know he can't feel or hear me, but if anything, it makes me feel better.

I sit there for hours, holding Braken as he lays limp in my arms, and try to think of a new plan. All I can think about is the state he's in, his bruised and bleeding body, how Jensen beat him to unconsciousness. His breathing was quick and uneven, but now it's growing more steady and soft. My eyes are drawn to his neck, his massive burn scar. Where did that come from? I know that he had a terrible childhood, based off of what I've heard. Did someone do this to him? And the jagged white scar on his face - did someone do that, too? What happened to him in his past that made him the way he is?

I think I start to doze off, lulled to sleep by Braken's steady, quiet breathing, comforted as I feel his chest rise and fall and his heart beat against mine. He's still alive. He's still alive. He suddenly shifts, and I snap up, fully alert.

"Braken?" I whisper. "Braken, are you awake?"

"Alex?" he mumbles. "Alex ... where am I? I can't see ... it's dark ... I hurt so bad ... "

"Shh, it's going to be okay. I'm here. I've got you."

He curls up against my chest, crying softly, crying for Leo and that he hurts so bad. I don't know what to do for him except hold him and never let go. I tell him that I won't leave him alone again and that I'll find a way to get us out of here, somehow.

The moment between us is cut short as the door is flung open. The light blinds us both and I squeeze my eyes shut as Braken whimpers softly.

"How cute," Jensen taunts. "You're like brothers."

"Leave him alone," I growl.

The man starts to laugh again, coming in with four soldiers. "Someone is here to see you, Braken, and Aero Chord ... I think it's time we finished the experiment, hmm?"

The soldiers come closer and Braken grabs me around my waist, squeezing me tightly. "Don't let me go," he whispers. I hold him back, but the soldiers grab him and rip him away as he starts screaming, screaming for me. I cry after him, but they practically carry him out of the room and vanish down the hall.

The other two release the chain, cuff my hands behind my back, and drag me down the hall, toward the lab. I fight back, but I can't break away. I'm helpless.

They lead me into the prison area and I see people I know - my friends. They're all here. I finally manage to elbow my way out of their grips and run to the first cell.

"Ephixa!" I shout.

He looks up, and it's him alright, but he's ... different.

"Aero Chord!" he yells. "It's really you? You have wings?!"

"And you're ... " I pause. I don't know how to explain it. He's almost a human again - though he's really short, only halfway up my torso, to the bottom of my chest. His hair is jet black and looks like feathers. The feathers cover his entire back and even travel down his arms. His skin is pale, almost white - really, colorless white. He has a pair of wings on his back, too. They're white, like mine. He's just ... different. That's it. He's a human/penguin/angel. Almost ... a monster.

"Different." He sighs loudly. "I know."

"If you're another Flight subject ... what's your experiment number?"

"F2-05. You?"

"F2-01. The first. What happened to the others?"

Ephixa's face falls. "02 and 03 didn't survive. 04 ... He went crazy. Savage, they called it. They took him away. I'm pretty sure they killed him."

My heart skips a beat. "Do you think that's going to happen to us?"

"I don't know," he whispers. "I don't know."

I look around and see through the bars of the cells near me. There they are. Everyone who's been captured. They're all here. Varien, Rezonate, Muzzy, the others from the other labels. The only one missing is Karma Fields. I don't have time to ask Ephixa if he's seen her, because the soldiers grab me again and drag me away. I fight back, kick and elbow and scream curses, but I'm helpless against them with my wings and hands trapped. They're going to finish the experiment. I'm completely Jensen's now.

"Do you think that's going to happen to us?"

"I don't know. I don't know."