"Tyler, run," Josh said in a low voice.

"In case you haven't noticed, there's nowhere to run but out the window," Tyler hissed. "I'm not leaving you behind to get captured. You're coming whether you want to or not. I won't lose you."

If Josh was stubborn, Tyler was worse. He gave in, letting Tyler hold his hand as they backed up to the window. Nico already knew what they were trying to do and flicked his wrist, and a thick layer of ice covered the entirety of the window.

"You recognize me, don't you?" He tilted his head to the side. "Interesting."

Josh pressed his hand against the ice, trying to melt it, but Nico was always so much stronger than him and forced him back. His fingertips turned black, frost threatening to make its way up his arm.

"What happened to you?" He asked, feeling Tyler's hand slip out of his.

Nico grinned. "I was turned into a monster."

He threw his hand forward, and Josh pulled Tyler to the ground just as a curl of fire hit him square in the chest, flinging him into the wall. A blistering pain spread across his torso, the smell of burning flesh and smoke filling his lungs.

Tyler let out a small squeak and grabbed the hood of Josh's jacket, pulling him towards the window. Josh wanted to move but the burns were so engulfing that he felt frozen in pain.

Sacarver stepped over what remained of the ice and gabbed Tyler's shoulder. He struggled to get away, but Sacarver was stronger than she looked and pulled him to his feet.

"Stop! Let me go!" Tyler fumed, squirming around with only the balls of his feet on the ground.

For some reason, Sacarver complied, letting him fall beside Josh. She blinked, her eyes unfocused. Her mouth formed a small o when she realized what happened, and she started to back up towards Nico.

Tyler glared back at them, his creating picking up in speed. "Turn around, and walk until your feet bleed. You never saw anyone here. You don't remember what happened in the Eastern Tower."

Nico didn't move, seemingly unaffected by Tyler's power, but Sacarver did. She slowly turned around, a glazed look in her eyes, and walked down the stairs in a zombie-like motion.

Nobody moved until Josh heard the bottom door slam closed. Tyler sighed, falling to his hands and knees. Josh tried to sit up, but the flaming pain kept him face up on the ground. Nico chuckled.

"You're strong. It takes a copious amount of control over you powers to control Sacarver. But not enough to control me."

He took a step forward, reaching for Josh, but Tyler grabbed his hand before he could grab him.

"Please," he whispered, holding his wrists, blocking him from touching Josh. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes, get he kept his voice calm. "Let him go. I don't care if I have to stay, just let him go."

Nico pulled his hand back and opted for grabbing Tyler's wrist. "Gladly."

Josh reached an arm out, his fingers brushing the hem of Tyler's shirt.  Nico pulled him out of the room, sending a large grin his way before leaving, Tyler screaming and fighting the whole way down.

He couldn't keep his eyes open any longer, the pain consuming him as he fell into darkness. He must've completely slipped in and out of consciousness, because when he forced his eyes open, the sun was already coming up.

The guards on the stairs were gone, the door replaced and locked. Whoever fixed it left Josh in there for a reason. He didn't want to stay long enough to find out why.

Somehow, Josh managed to sit up without passing out from the growing agony short- circuiting his brain and keeping him from thinking properly.

Something happened, something important, but he couldn't quite remember. There was Tyler and Sacarver, and someone else. Who else was there?

"Nico," Josh wheezed, reaching up so his fingers gripped the edge of the window.

Pulling himself to his feet, he pressed his elbow to the window and swung, the replaced glass on the window shattering. Josh hiked himself up, sitting on the sill. He closed his eyes and leaned back, hoping for the fall to not be as bad as the burns.

When he didn't hit the ground immediately, Josh opened his eyes. He was floating a few feet above the bushes, and from the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar head of silver hair.

"You've got a death wish," Hayley said as she gently released him on the ground. "Where's the other guy, Tyler?"

Josh gasped when he hit the soft mud, the pain making it almost impossible for him to respond. He managed to lift a hand and point down to the city square. After the attack on the Eastern tower, they would've moved Tyler somewhere else.

Hayley waddled up to him and lifted his still-smoking jacket, making him bite back a scream of pain. The burnt skin stuck to the fabric of his shirt, pulling and making the numbness subside and be replaced with a hot, blistering ache.

"Ow," he breathed, and Hayley dropped the corner of his jacket she was holding up.

"Sorry. Jenna and Spooks will be here soon to get you out. You're lucky Spooks saw you in his head, or else we would've left before we could find you."

Josh grinned and held his hand up, wanting to stand. Hayley grabbed it and helped him sit with his back against the tower wall, which was all he could do with the injuries he had.

The parts of his shirt that caught fire exposed the raised, dark pink skin of his chest. Some of the blisters that had formed on every inch of his burnt skin had ruptured from his movement, leaving a trial of blood and clear liquid running down the front of what remained of his shirt and jacket.

"Why are you crying?" Hayley asked.

"Huh? I'm not-"

He touched his face. "Oh. It's- it just hurts."

Hayley grabbed the sides of his face. "I don't need to read your mind like Clancy does to know you're lying. What's wrong?"

Josh pinned his lips together, breathing sharply from his noise and exhaling from his mouth. Truth was, he was worried more about Tyler that his own state. It wasn't the first time he received second degree burns, and with his track record, it wouldn't be the last time either.

But Tyler had never defied the Bishops before, and the first punishments for going against them were always the worst.

"I'm just worried about Tyler," Josh confessed. "I miss so much him already."