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~ In the glass building
Wachstyen Forest, Germany ~

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It wasn't until Velo got out of the swimming pool that Tori and the others finally noticed Cole was gone. All of them were so engrossed in seeing "a real live merman" as Camdren put it, that they had forgotten about literally everything else.

Tori instantly knew Cole had escaped. There was no way he would be hiding in the building. Right when I finally decide to give them the freedom to fly, under restriction of course, one of them escapes. Well, I guess it was bound to happen eventually.

She turned to Justin, as if trying to assess his reaction. He nodded to himself, as if saying silently, Well done, Cole. I'm proud of you. He turned to Tori, a meaningful look in his eyes as he faced her directly, crossing his arms.

"He escaped," Tori said simply, unnecessarily stating the very obvious fact.

Justin scoffed and said to her sternly, "No freakin' duh. We don't like being locked up in here like caged animals. Just what exactly do you plan to accomplish by keeping us here? You created us into these winged aliens. It's in our nature to fly now. It would be like keeping a bird locked in a cage when it needs to fly."

Tori opened her mouth to speak, then closed it, seeing no point. She glanced at the others, who were looking at her expectantly. "Well, I was gonna let you fly," she said lamely, stopping herself as she pulled out her phone and pressed several buttons on the holo screen. They released a force-field like netting around the forest ceiling, covering a certain section of the forest from high above the sky. It was invisible, a few shimmery sparks dazzling around.

She turned to them and said in a firmer voice, "You may fly now, but only within the distance indicated."

"That's restricted flying," Justin said in disappointment. "It's like giving us only a certain part of the forest to roam in. We need to be wild and free, not – "

"I don't want the world to know about us yet!" said Tori, her voice rising. "Besides, I have no one in the world except you guys."

She turned away, feeling a small pang of loneliness hit her out of nowhere. Once again, the image of Nate flashed in her mind. It took a lot of willpower just to ignore it, to fight her destroyed dreams and focus on the here and now. Her eyes began to sting as she remembered the day he left her.

Justin saw her about to cry and did the most unexpected thing: he hugged Tori. Tori's eyes widened in surprise when she felt Justin's arms around her. At first she tried to move, thinking he was intending to harm or choke her, when she realized it was just a hug and a surprisingly affectionate one at that. She stared at him, astonished.

The others stared as well. Eamon said to Justin, "What the....? Are you, uh?" He shook his head in confusion and said, "Well, I'm going to bed. You better let us fly tomorrow and every day from now on," he called out to Tori as he left the room.

Camdren and Elisa stared for a moment longer, then shrugged and headed out. They weren't going to miss a chance to fly, even if it was under restriction. Velo, Keith, and Millian, however, followed Eamon, also intending to go to bed. It was, after all, very late at night.

Justin moved from Tori, still hugging her as he gazed into her still surprised eyes. "You have me," he told her quietly, almost in a whisper. "I know what kind of future you want and how dismayed you are that it never came to be. Now that we are part of your life, you need to treat us with care, the same kind of care you would give to someone you do care about."

He completely pulled away from her, his manner cold and aloof now as he began to turn around and head back to the room. He was starting to get tired. The delicious wine and food he had earlier had long since been digested, and he felt the need to sleep now.

He felt Tori's hand on his shoulder and heard her say in a small voice, "Justin....I do care about you guys. I guess I'm just going through a lot of pain right now and have difficulty showing that I care."

Justin turned to face her, his face sober as all previous affection faded from his face and manner. "Then act like you care," he told her, his voice stern and firm. He turned again, but Tori held onto his arm like a little girl. He felt her start to cry, her shoulders shaking as she began mumbling, "I don't know what to do, Justin. I'm so lost. I need...."

"I told you what you need to do," Justin told her firmly, his heart softening, but at the same time, he had to be hard with her.

Tori buried her head in his arm, her tears soaking his arm. Justin sighed and hugged her again. "I'm going to bed," he said, pulling away and moving her from his arm. "You should get some sleep."

Tori stepped back, wiping tears from her puffy face, having stopped crying now. She looked so vulnerable at that moment. Can't believe there was a time I thought to kill her, Justin thought, gazing intently at her. He reached down and kissed her on the forehead, surprising Tori.

"I don't want to go to bed alone," said Tori, feeling the need to have someone with her that night. She wanted Justin to guard her from her own thoughts, to distract her from what she felt deep inside.

Here she is, one of the richest and possibly the most powerful woman on the planet, has everything she could possibly want at her fingertips, and yet, her own dreams and aspirations betrayed her, leaving her feeling very vulnerable and alone. And she seeks help from me, a criminal from prison. Justin glanced down at Tori, his heart beating faster as he realized the full extent of her words and knowing exactly what she implied. This was something he had wanted for so long, not particularly with her, but as a general primal male need that was unfulfilled.

The fact that she felt some sort of attraction to him caused Justin to feel all sorts of emotions he hadn't experienced in a long time. Appreciation for him, looking up to him as though she requested advice or input from him, as if some kind of invisible partnership existed between them, and now desire for him....nobody had felt that way towards him in years. It had been way too long since he had been with a woman, a woman who actually liked his company or even wanted it for that matter.

He studied Tori, suspicious as he searched for any ulterior motive besides the basic need for sex. He saw none, seeing only a sad, lonely woman whose dashed dreams had really shattered her. He realized with some surprise that she sort of respected and looked up to him, despite her being the abductor.

"Are you sure you're not trying to seduce me so you can experiment or study me in some sick way?" Justin asked her. "I'm not a lab experiment; I'm a living, breathing person. I would like for you to treat me like so. Because if you're going to use me to make babies or whatever – "

"Heavens, no," said Tori, looking horrified at the thought. "I don't plan on mating irangels or doing anything involving kids. No way." She stood for a moment, shocked, then became serious, saying, "There are things that you should know, however. Basic things about Iredescents that are very important.

"Pregnancy is the same with Iredescents as with humans. Instead of contraceptives, Iredescent women drink a certain kind of tea to prevent pregnancy. The tea is made from the taupe-gold tova fruit that grows on Iredescent. It tastes like acai berry. I cloned an entire abundance of it and labeled it in the kitchen as acai berry tea packets. If a woman does want to get pregnant, having sex underneath moonlight or in view of moonlight will certainly guarantee pregnancy.

"The origin of Iredescents may have something to do with moonlight, though it isn't very clear. There is barely much we know about them, but I've been able to gather all this information using the Iredescent Meh device I found on the ship." Tori paused for a moment, then said in a quieter voice, "The Iredescent man's name is Adrezo Voni and the Iredescent woman's name is Evana Pershiy."

Justin listened in silence. He did not know what to say.

"I have a small piece of the tova fruit that was on the ship, though I cloned it to produce more of it," Tori continued, lowering her eyes. "I've been saving it for when I wanted to....to be with Nate, but – "

"I suggest you continue to save it," Justin interrupted, his voice abrupt. "I don't feel comfortable doing this sort of thing with you. I'm not so sure if I should even feel the way I feel about you."

"I feel something for you too," said Tori, her voice resilient and unwavering. "It's not the same way I feel about Nate, but it's something similar. Nate will always be the one I love. I don't love you like I love Nate, but I do feel something for you, Justin. Calling you a friend would be a lie because that's not what you are to me."

"What am I to you, then?" Justin asked her, his eyes piercing right into hers. Tori looked back at him, holding her gaze as Justin held his.

"Someone I trust," Tori said, making Justin feel esteemed and appreciated. He saw the honesty in her eyes and was pleased to see Tori with raw emotions like this, no deceit or ill intent, just how she was. The Tori stripped underneath all the power and riches, just a girl with dreams gone astray.

As Justin felt that warmth surround him, feeling good that someone felt she could trust him, he stepped closer to Tori and made the first move by kissing her. Tori responded in kind, closing her eyes as she welcomed the kiss. They kissed slowly, neither feeling the need to be rushed nor hurried in any way, taking the time to simply enjoy each other. It's been so long, too long, since I last kissed a woman, Justin thought, feeling free to take as much time in the world as they needed. They kissed for a while longer before Tori allowed Justin to lead her to her bedroom and shut the door.

Unbeknownst to them, Eamon had been quietly standing by the door, hidden from view as he watched and listened to their entire conversation. He had long suspected that Justin felt something for Tori, and his suspicions proved to be correct.

His big arms crossed over his muscular chest, his dark hair and eyes looking sexy in the dark, Eamon watched the door shut. A smirk crept over his lips, knowing what they were up to. He didn't feel anything but a flirty attitude towards Tori, but that came from him being a womanizer. He was arrogant and full of himself. He absolutely loved to be admired. He thought of himself as someone who was good with the ladies, someone who always got laid whenever he wanted.

What I want now, though, is food and then sleep, he thought, smiling to himself as he turned and left. It was nice to be able to roam around the building, even if it is certain parts of the building, Eamon thought, heading for the kitchen to grab something to eat.

Millian was sitting at the kitchen table, holding a glass cup of water. He looked up as Eamon came in and opened the fridge. "Can't sleep?" Eamon asked as he began looking through the fridge, deciding on leftover pizza and a beer. He was pleased to see that it was good German draft beer, not the cheap beer he had noticed earlier in the trash can. Justin must've talked her into getting some good beer, he thought, satisfied.

As Eamon heated up the pizza in the microwave, Millian replied, "Yeah, I have insomnia." He glanced at Eamon as he came to sit at the table beside him, the pizza steaming hot from the plate. A few quiet minutes passed before Millian said, "Are we going to stay trapped in this building for the rest of our lives? What does Tori plan to do with us? I mean, are we gonna be able to go out and live like normal people, or are we just prisoners here forever?"

Eamon froze, thinking hard for a moment. "That is a very good question," he said, his voice very serious and thoughtful as it began to hit him. "I hope we'll be able to live normal lives again. Let's hope Justin could talk some sense into Tori if she does intend to keep us here forever." The thought of being unable to see the outside world disturbed Eamon. The pizza suddenly felt cold, and he abruptly got up and tossed the remnants of it in the trash can. He finished the rest of his beer and put the empty plate in the sink, deep in his thoughts as he started heading for the room.

Millian's worries worried him too, and as Eamon turned the lights off and lay in bed, they gnawed at his mind, making him feel concerned and afraid. He hoped that whatever Justin was doing would help the irangels out in their best interests.

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Deep into the night, right before the breaking dawn, the entrance slid open to allow a hooded figure to fly inside the glass building. The hooded figure landed in a crouch on the ground, his powerful shimmery wings behind him as he glanced up, his face covered in shadow. He slowly rose, standing in the storage room with burlap sacks of apples behind him. The entrance stayed open, bringing in the moonlight. Cole shut it by pushing the small square on the wall near the door. The shaft of silver moonlight slanting into the room was cut off by the sliding entrance as it shut, closing the ceiling.

Cole quietly walked out of the storage room, taking care to shut the door behind him, making sure to keep everything the way it was before he came. He stayed close to the wall as he walked, the outline of a small handgun tucked into the waistband of his jeans. He had broken into a gun store earlier and stole a black handgun as well as plenty of ammunition. He only needed one bullet for what he intended to do, but he wanted to have more than enough bullets in case of retaliation.

Like who would be sick enough to side with Tori? he thought, glowering at the thought of anyone actually in league with the woman who changed his life forever.

He heard voices down the hall and quickly hid behind the door of Tori's office. Camdren and Elisa were already back from their late night flight and were talking amongst each other, Elisa giggling at something Camdren was saying. Eamon, Millian, Velo, and Keith were already in bed, but Justin and Tori were nowhere to be found.

That's weird, Cole thought, waiting until Camdren and Elisa passed by him before venturing back out, brandishing his gun so he would be ready for when he saw Tori again. Where could they be? More importantly, what could they be doing?

Each other, he realized with a start, freezing in the hallway as he heard muffled moans coming from Tori's personal bedroom. He stood there for several moments, just utterly shocked and confused. He was not sure what to do now. This was completely unexpected.

After a moment of sorting out his confusion, Cole awkwardly stepped back, putting his gun away and going back towards the storage room. He didn't want to kill Justin, having no beef with the guy and viewing him as someone who was a neutral party to him.

Well, Cole thought as he headed back out, the entrance sliding behind him as he rose into the dawn-streaked sky. This certainly changes things, I think. Maybe he's trying to work some things out with her? Or maybe they have just fallen for each other?

He didn't know what to think or do, so he decided he needed sleep even though he wasn't feeling tired. He spent the night in Tori's comfortable lavish mansion, knowing it would be the last place she would expect him to be in. He lay on Tori's feathery bed, her plush pillows and satin sheets, silky soft comforters, glancing at the dazzling room décor. Enjoying 'owning' a rich person's home and having it all to himself, Cole smiled and closed his eyes, sighing contently as he drifted off to sleep, having the most peaceful sleep he had had in a long time.

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Music:

"Tanzen den Schmerz weg"
by Glasperlenspiel

(means "Dance away the pain" in German)

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