"It?" I find myself asking before Fitz can. "What's going to happen?"

Jacob groans. "This is going to take a while," he mutters before looking up again. "But do you two know what submersion means?"

Fitz and I both shake our heads. "What is that?" Fitz asks, raising an eyebrow. We both exchange glances before staring at Jacob.

"Submersion is a technique that people with mental abilities like us," he pauses, gesturing to himself and the two of us, "can use by locking a memory away deep within the darkness that is our consciousness-" My breathing hitches at this. "-or by using nebmentia."

I raise an eyebrow, trying conceal my panic in front of the male Percipient and Jacob. "What happens when you use nebmentia?"

"I don't have much time to answer this," he says hastily. "But in short, whatever happens to someone while they're suffering through the aftermath of nebmentia, since it affects them for a while, those memories are immediately submerged-"

"-because people can't remember anything or create new memories after they've been hit, right?" Fitz finishes. He then groans. "Then that means that practically all of my encounters with Fitton are submerged," he says, facepalming.

"What?" Jacob asks. "Why?"

"Fitton hit me with nebmentia," Fitz explains vaguely. I can tell that he doesn't want to tell the older Grahams brother about his allergy to it.

Jacob's expression shows his shock before he bursts out laughing. When Fitz and I share a concerned and confused glance with each other, the prisoner's laughter dies down. "Oh man!" he exclaims. "This is great for you two!"

"Why?" I inquire, tilting my head in confusion.

"Fitton's known to be super arrogant," Jacob explains. "After you with nebmentia," he begins, turning to Fitz. "Who knows what secrets he let out because of him trusting the fact that you won't know how to revive them!"

Is he telling the truth? I can't help but transmit to the male Percipient.

I can't tell, Fitz replies, frowning. Should we believe him?

I frown as well. I can't tell... Turning to Jacob again, I open my mouth to say something, but loud pounding on the door distracts me. The three of us then turn to see Mr. Wallace, looking a bit frazzled, slamming his fists against the metal door protecting us from him. My eyes widen, and I can tell that I'm not the only one who has paled considerably upon seeing the middle aged man's face.

Fitz sighs, groaning simultaneously. "I'll deal with him," he whispers in my ear. "You talk to Jacob." Narrowing his eyes, he storms over to the door. Mentally slamming the door open, Fitz levitates the grey-haired man and, surprisingly, throws him down the hallway yet again. "Stay in here!" he yells at me before forcefully closing the metal door behind him.

I yelp when Jacob stands up, grabbing my wrist. Quickly letting go as if I were hot lava, Jacob says quickly, "I need to talk to you specifically, Sophie."

My eyes widen at this. "W- why?" I ask, mentally cursing for my sudden stammer.

"You suddenly forgetting memories," he breathes huskily, "is no coincidence or accident. That's how you developed your new ability."

"New?" I ask, stumbling back. "Ability?"

"You can bring memories back," he says, stepping forward. "You can submerge memories too. Don't you ever wonder why you were able to submerge a memory of Fitz's?"

I pale considerably. "How do you know about that?!" I ask, my voice becoming louder at the end. "I-"

"The same way I knew about Fitton letting his guard down," Jacob interjects. "We planned this."

My eyes widen. "When did you..?" I begin to ask, my voice failing me midway through my question. Should I believe him..? My mind tells me no, yet my instincts... say otherwise. Frowning, I ponder to myself. When has Jacob ever joked around? I ask myself. Why would he? Especially when Mr. Wallace was borderline murderous? A sickening feeling resides within me.

Jacob's eyes widen, and I manage to turn around in time to see Mr. Wallace flying down the hallway, Fitz soon sprinting after him. Looking at me again, Jacob continues, "I can't tell you that now..." He drifts off into silence, so I assume that it's my time to leave the older Grahams brother again.

I can't tell whether it's the worry from seeing Fitz endangering himself or the sickening feeling that Jacob knows something about my ability... but I find myself fighting the urge to break out of this prison and not look back. I want to... hide.

Instead, I don't glance back at Jacob and rush out of the door, prepared to fight Mr. Wallace if I need to, which I most likely will have to. And what I see... is shocking, to say the least.

Loose and powderized debris is falling down slowly from the ceiling and walls, covering the middle aged man and the male Percipient in the faded powder. A wave of nausea then washes over me when I see that both Fitz and Mr. Wallace are bleeding from minor scrapes along their bodies. I meet Fitz's eyes, and shock mixed in with a bit of fear washes over him. I look at Mr. Wallace... and I can see that he wants to murder something- anything.

And I don't like it.

Before I can process it, Mr. Wallace sprints over to me, slowly falling towards insanity. Fitz steps forward, his eyes holding a deep hatred against the man in front of us. Even with his indescribable anger, it seems like Fitz is still managing to think logically, since he stays where he is.

I, on the other hand, must've not been thinking at all since I don't realise that I've rushed over until my fingers are already touching his temples. I shut out all other outside noises and plunge myself deep within Mr. Wallace's mind.

Did I know that it was going to be dark? Yes.

Did I know that it was going to hurt excruciatingly? No. And that's exactly what hit me once all my surroundings turned from colour to black.

Invisible thorns jab at my sides and at my head as I plunge head first. I can feel them cutting my arms and face, yet I cannot see them. Even though it's pitch black, I close my eyes and focus on my mission- to infiltrate Mr. Wallace's consciousness.

Stop it! I transmit, my voice echoing loudly throughout Mr. Wallace's head. You're becoming insane! Stop hurting everyone!

I open my eyes again, and I find myself falling down the thorny vines still. Yet the thing is, I see a small glimpse of light. And suddenly, the vines wrap my arms and legs, stopping my fall. I scream, helplessly watching as the light that I'm seeing dimming ever so slightly. Let go! I shout. Let go, let go, let go! I yelp when the vines tighten in response.

Let- I pause, closing my eyes and ceasing my struggling.

...Go! My eyes open instantaneously, and I scream. I feel the mental energy coursing through my veins

and begin to struggle again. This time, whatever that's holding me hisses in the background, and I feel my bounds loosing up. Although my arms sting from the thorns, I disregard the pain and let myself free fall once again. The vines now fail to grab hold of me, and I manage to escape them all.

The light nears me, and I hold out a hand to touch it. My eyes widen as my surroundings go from black to white. I'm forced to close my eyes because everything is so blinding.

But when I hear Mr. Wallace's voice screaming for me to get out, I know that I've finally entered his consciousness.