Marie blinks a few times, her gaze blurry. She slowly sits up and stretches. What a weird dream.

She feels around for her blanket, not yet ready to give up the warmth of it. But as she feels around for it she doesn't find it. Or her bed.

Her eyes snap open.

Now wide awake she doesn't find herself in her room. Instead she's in her practice room at work. Did she fall asleep here?

She looks around. It looks normal enough. But she doesn't remember falling asleep here. She remembers a scream and then orange and red and... Finn!

She jumps off the couch and zooms for the door. How did she fall asleep? How did she get back into this room? She bursts out into the common space, expecting to find Finn on fire or sitting on the couch with his burns. But when she gets out there she finds Mike and Roan.

She can't help but remember their strange looks that they shared before everything went black.

"Where's Finn?" she asks, looking around for him like he'll appear out of thin air. Which wouldn't be all that strange at this point.

The two men both look up at the sound of her voice. Both of them seem surprised to see her.

"You're awake," Roan says.

"He's at the hospital," Mike answers, recovering the fastest.

Marie ignores her partner's surprise. Why wouldn't she be awake? "Will he be okay?" She takes a seat on one of the blocks. The one farthest from both of these men.

Mike nods. "Just some minor burns."

Marie sighs in relief. She was sure he would have severe burns from how that fire was climbing all over him. She takes a deep breath. Now that she's asked and shown concern for her co-worker it's time to ask the real questions. "So what's going on here?"

They share a look.

"Nothing?" Roan says it like a question. "We're just waiting for some more news about him and Nayoko."

She waves a hand at him, almost like wagging a finger at him. "That's not what I meant." And I think you know that.

They share another look. This one longer.

"Stop that!" Marie exclaims.

They turn and look at her.

"Stop doing that weird look between each other like there's some big secret!" Then it dawns on her. She leans closer to them and lowers her voice. "Is there some big secret?"

Roan sighs. "She deserves to know."

She nods. Finally agreeing with her partner on something.

Mike sighs and shakes his head. "It's too soon."

Roan scoffs. "Too soon? Nayoko has a broken leg! Finn has severe burns! What's next? Amy gets put into a coma? Something happens to me?"

At that Mike glares at him. "You know he would never hurt you."

"Who?" Marie chimes in. Her gaze jumping between the two of them.

Roan shakes his head. "My brother."

Maries brows furrow. "Your brother is doing all of this?"

Mike sighs and leans back on the couch. "Now we have to tell her," he grits out.

Roan side-eyes him but ignores him. "He doesn't mean to. It's the part of him that wants revenge for all those years ago. It's the part of him that enjoys doing it."

"Revenge? For what?"

Roan just stares at her like he's waiting for her to figure it out.

Revenge... all those years ago... the kid with the similar last name as Mike... all those articles that kept finding her. It dawns on her like a bucket of ice has been dumped on her.

"Your brother is Kal Ann-Glosca?"

Roan nods.

"The one who was kidnapped all those years ago?"

Again, he nods. "But- so he really did die?" None of the articles had outright said it. A sort of dread and sadness floats into her. She had had hope that the kid had made it out.

Roan nods. "He died right before the police could get here." He looks down at his hands as he speaks. "The attacks from his abusers were too much for him and... and he couldn't..." He starts to break down into sobs.

Marie freezes. She didn't mean to make him cry or tell the story of his brother. She reaches out and rubs his knee, unsure of how else to comfort him.

Mike places a hand on Roan's back. "We searched for weeks. If only we'd gotten here sooner." His gaze is sad, and gloomy.

"So I was right?" she asks a little too excitedly.

Mike nods. "The kid who was kidnapped was mine."

A thrill goes through her at hearing her theory be confirmed. But then she realizes her theory is correct. "Oh my god..." she whispers. "I'm so sorry that- I had no idea. I was just-"

Mike places a hand on her knee. His gaze soft as he looks at her. "It's okay. I know that everything about this place is a little weird. I don't blame you for wanting to know more."

Marie furrows her brows. "But half of the articles came to me. I only found two of them."

Roan, who has now calmed himself down enough to speak, looks at her with a confused expression. "You mean you didn't look into the case?"

Marie shakes her head. "No. They just kept showing up on my dash."

Mike and Roan share yet another look.

"You don't think?"

Mike nods. "He did."

Marie blinks. "Think what?"

They both turn to look at her.

"So here's the thing," Roan says. "Kal is trapped here. Has been for the past twenty years. All the strange things that have been happening here are because of him."

"Like Nayoko's broken leg and Finn being on fire?"

He nods.

"Notice how they all are single acts," Mike says. "While Roan here always has a partner who changes too many times to keep track of."

"I don't think I understand," Marie says. She sits back and tries to understand the picture they're painting. But it's too big and vague for her to get. Would a song make it easier to understand?

Mike pinches his nose. "All our single acts are just to keep the money flowing in and to keep Kal settled."

"Me on the other hand," Roan jumps in. "Kal and I used to always sing together. Or he'd watch me. So, we figured the best way to try and put him at rest would be to have me sing with someone."

"But that didn't work out?" Marie asks, slowly starting to see the picture.

Roan nods. "It just made him angrier" He rubs his wrists. "So we thought that if we tried different people that something would eventually work."

"But he stuck around."

"Until you." Roan glances up at her. Almost like a sly kit or a scared kitten. Marie can't quite tell.

"What do you mean?"

Mike chuckles. "Believe it or not, what's happening to Nayoko and Finn is the littlest that has ever happened."

"There's been worse?" Marie blanches. What could even possibly be worse?

They both nod.

"So, we think that you're the key." Roan ducks his head.

"Me?"

Mike nods. "It makes sense. Kal seems to like you?"

"How can you tell?" she exclaims. "He's still been hurting people since I've gotten here!"

Roan rubs the back of his neck. "It's not the best evidence. Just that he's hurting them less and causing less chaos."

"Friday was the first time customers haven't had anything happen to them," Mike chimes in.

Marie wonders for the hundredth time how she got herself into all of this. And how this place is still running. Actually, there's about a billion thoughts running through her head, and most of them have to do with this place.

"I know it's a lot," Roan continues. "But will you help us?" He looks desperate, tired.

How long has Kal been doing this? How much longer could he go on for? Roan? Mike? They both seem so exhausted and tired. Marie looks between the two of them and finally notices the similarities between them. The brown hair, the slightly bent nose. How did she not see it before?

Marie sighs. "It's a lot to take in." She runs a hand through her hair. When she came here she didn't expect to find a friendly - well, mostly friendly - crew, or a ghost, or a partner. She came here hoping for another chance at fame. And maybe, just maybe, that's still possible. But right now, she's being asked to help the ghost of a kid who's been dead for twenty years.

It would almost sound harder than working towards fame. If fame hadn't kept slipping out of her grasp for the past seven years. If a ghost hadn't been appearing for less than a week. It's sad that she's closer to reaching a ghost than fame itself.

Marie sighs. "I don't think I have much choice."

Roan sits up straighter. He tries to hold back a grin, but struggles to.

"I'll help."

Chapter WC: 1,462

Total WC: 10,967