By the time Josh made it up the wall of Tyler's house and pushed open the tape covered window, he knew something was terribly wrong. The sirens had gone off before they arrived, which already put the Banditos on edge. It didn't help that Jenna couldn't see or hear Tyler anywhere, much less in his own room.

Then he got into Tyler's room and found a girl on the floor, unconscious yet shaking. She was obviously the one who'd taken the pills because random items floated around her- an effect of the pills on her underlying powers.

Josh scooped her up with ease and set her on her feet. She slowly blinked back to life, the items around dropping to the carpet. When she made eye contact with Josh, her face broke out into a smile.

"You must be Josh," she said.

"Who the hell are you?" He snapped, shoving her towards Jenna, who climbed in after him. "Where's Tyler?"

Jenna caught the girl before she hit the ground. "Jesus, Josh, be more careful with our new members." She tugged her jacket off and put it over the girl's shoulders. "I'm Jenna. We're here to get you out."

A dark blush spread across Debby's face. "H-hi."

"Where is Tyler?" Josh repeated.

"He's at the Eastern Tower." Debby looked up. "He's breaking Clancy out."

He looked around, noticing the roll of yellow tape on the ground. "Get her back to the tunnels. I'll be right behind you."

"Oh my god, don't you dare-"

But Josh was gone before Jenna could move to stop him. He jumped out the window, sprinting down the connected yards just as his feet hit the ground. Every shutter was closed, the lights inside the houses out. Only the soft lights of the lampposts passing between the houses led Josh to the tower. They must've past each other just barely; their paths were always so close to crossing yet too far for them to cross.

There were two men guarding the door the tower, with one man lying against the wall beside them. He was able to use his powers, Josh thought with a rush of pride. He broke out of the darkness, tackling one man and freezing the other's shoes in place. A burst of fire ignited itself in front of Josh as retaliation, and he ducked, singing the tips of his hair.

Once he knocked the two guards out with the unlit torch he held, Josh froze the lock on the door and shouldered it once, the door slamming open. He could see all the way up the stairs, vaguely seeing where the stairs ended.

Five people stood on the steps, all of them turning to look at Josh.

"What's up, fuckers?"

He thrust his hand up, sending a wave of fire towards the men. They were clearly not used to fire-breathers because they didn't even duck, the flames knocking them aside.

Josh took two steps at a time, making it to the sixth floor before one of the men grabbed his ankle. He fell forward, catching himself with his hands. The torch fell from his hand, getting stuck a few steps above him.

As he tried to reach for the torch, the man who grabbed him pulled out a knife, catching the flesh of his exposed calf. Josh kicked him in the face, knocking him out cold, and pushed himself to his feet. None of the other men moved, so he kept making his way up the stairs.

The door leading to the seventh floor was locked from the other side. His first thought was why did they design these towers to have doors leading to each floor, but he was thankful because it gave Tyler and Clancy a chance to hide.

Josh pressed his ear against the door, knocking rhythmically. He could hear grunted and hushed whispers. "Tyler? Clancy?"

There was a yelp, then a thud and groan a couple seconds later. Josh stepped back when he heard the bolt and lock being removed.

He was there. He was real. And by god, he was kissing Josh like it was the end of the world.

Tyler jerked the door open and yanked Josh inside, immediately crashing their lips together. It took Josh by surprise, but he relaxed into it and let Tyler push him against the wall.

When they separated, Tyler's hands were tracing Josh's face, his neck, his shoulders and chest. He looked mesmerized, like he was just trying to analyze each features of Josh's face. That's what he thought, because that was exactly what he was doing with Tyler's.

"You're real," Tyler whispered, tears welling up in his eyes. "My god, you're here. I never thought-"

"I'm here," Josh cupped Tyler's face in his hands and rested their foreheads together, savoring this moment. "Don't you ever, ever do something stupid without me ever again."

He laughed softly in return. "Now we can do stupid things together."

"That's the plan."

Tyler was so much more beautiful in real life than in his dreams. His fingertips running along Josh's collarbones felt so real, warmth and happiness radiating from him despite their situations. That was when Josh noticed the blood on his hands.

"Are you okay?" He asked, grabbing his hands.

Tyler looked down and his face flushed red with embarrassment. "Oh. We were just escaping."

"We?"

He led Josh to the window, where blood trailed from the bushes down the path and to the hidden tunnels in the brush near the wall. "I found Clancy and a girl in here. I helped them escape, but Hayley wasn't strong enough to cushion my fall, so I thought I'd stay behind as a distraction."

"Hayley? Kiyoko? A little girl, yay high? Silver hair, absolutely adorable?"

She'd gone missing the week before. Everyone thought the worst, especially with the increasing on their camps.

Tyler nodded. "Yeah, Kiyoko. She's a Neon. I had her help Clancy out the window, and then helped her get down, but then the guard showed up and I told them to leave, that I'd distract them."

"You really have a death wish, don't you," Josh said, that same pride as before swelling up in his chest.

"Or maybe I just wanted to see you so badly," Tyler quipped. "Though I don't know where they could've gone. This place is crawling with guards and Bishops."

"Bishops?"

Suddenly, the whole tower shook, sending dust falling from cracks in the ceiling. Tyler rushed over to the only entrance to the seventh floor and kicked the door closed, locking and bolting it. He looked over at Josh in a panic.

"We're cornered," he said. "There's no way for us to get out."

Josh pushed Tyler behind him, holding his hands out to his sides. "Let them come. I'll burn them alive if they even think of hurting you."

Famous last words perhaps, but Josh was determined to never let go of Tyler for as long as he could. Tyler gripped the back of his jacket, peering over his shoulder.

The door lurched forward with a slam, flying off the hinges, lock and bolt stick intact. Josh raised his hands, forcing the air around them to grow hotter as spikes of ice formed around the entrance.

Two bishops stood behind the doorway, Sacarver and a man he didn't recognize. Josh assumed it was the Bishop that came into power after he escaped, but his patch looked so familiar. It almost looked like the same patch Clancy wore- the one he wore to honor Nico. The patch was bright red rectangle with jagged black lines mimicking mountains.

"Let us go," Josh warned, using the heat in the air to form a ball of fire in his hand.

Sacarver laughed, stepping forward but stopping when the other Bishop raised his hand. "I can deal with this ant, Sacarver." His voice sounded familiar, like he knew who this was.

It was easy to piss Josh off, if that wasn't already obvious. He cocked his arm back and launched the fire ball forward. The Bishop calmly raised his hand and the back dissolved before it even reached the ice spikes in front of them.

"What the-"

"You're not the only fire-breather Sleeper, you know. Don't you recognize me?"

Josh realized who it was, but it was too late because the Bishop thrust his hand forward, the ice spikes cracking and shooting at them like daggers. He raised his arm, melting most of the daggers before they hit them, but one rogue spike shard escaped and scratched his thigh, ripping through his pants and barely cutting his skin.

Nobody knew what happened to Nico after the night Josh and Jenna escaped. Clancy and Rose refused to believe he was dead, but the rest of the Banditos assumed the worst. After a hand with the same tattoo as this new Bishop's symbol showed up on the other side of the wall, it became common knowledge that Nico was the only Bandito to lose his life trying to help others escape.

Rose mourned him the most- they escaped together on her third capture. Clancy created a new rule after his death- nobody gets left behind, no matter what happens during a prison break.

Josh saw him as a hero, a martyr. He looked up to him and his ability to control their ability. When they heard the news of a new Bishop, they didn't think much of it. New Bishops came and went, so it wasn't that disconcerting. Who would've thought that their dead friend would become one of them?