Once I had a break, we all went into the lab. Friday gave us earpieces, helping me put mine in my ear because I had no clue how to, and stood in front of his computer, typing away. Reboot was by his side, observing everything he was doing. Ben sat on Friday's other side, curious.

As for us, we stood in single file. Razz tapped her foot against the ground slowly, tapping her fingers to some unknown beat. Evelyn and Madeline were actually being serious for once. Charitie was scratching her arm. Connor shifted his weight, coughing a bit. The watches remained silent.

"Okay," Friday looked at all of us. "The plan's simple, but it'll work unless something goes wrong. There is a vent on the west side of the building," he pointed to the blueprint on his computer, "which leads directly to the generator if you make a few turns. Once you guys are there, you need to be careful, because there will obviously be guards. I'll take out the cameras. There's going to be about two guards stationed near the door. You guys choose who will get them. After they're knocked out or whatever you do with them, one of you use this hard drive to suck up all the information from the main computers. Those computers are thankfully where the generator is.

"As one of you are doing that, someone else sets up this," he picked up a... a bomb?! "onto the generator and set it to ten minutes. You shouldn't have any trouble leaving. Although be careful, because you'll be crawling right above the main laboratory. People may hear you if you're too loud."

"We're going to blow the place up?!" I asked in surprise.

"Yep." He nodded, turning around in his swivel chair and facing me. "You want to hold onto it for now?"

"WHAT?!"

"You can just say 'no'." He smiled apologetically.

"What's gonna happen to the people in the lab?"

"I designed the bomb to set off the fire alarm five minutes before it blows. That way, people can get out before the place goes boom."

I was still skeptical. "Aren't they in the middle of the ocean?"

"They have boats and submarines they can get out with." He stood up.

"How are we getting there?"

He smiled again and held up a small device. "Teleporting."

"And if something goes wrong?"

"Then I'll come." He hesitantly put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm always going to be there for you kids. I won't let anything happen to you."

I slowly nodded, and he pulled his hand away. Friday took a minute to get the bomb, handing it to Razz, who held it delicately. He handed the hard drive to Charitie. Then he handed Madie the teleporter.

"Alright," he said as he stepped away from us, "stay safe, and if anything goes wrong, I'll come. You kids ready?"

Everyone agreed, serious.

"Okay, then let's go." He sat in his chair, and the Time Watchers held hands, Connor holding mine. Madie fiddled around with the teleporter before looking at each of us to make sure we were ready. Once she had, she pressed a button, and we disappeared in  a blue flash. Unlike our watches, the teleporter transported us through a grey wormhole-tunnel thing. When I felt ground underneath my feet again, I looked around at our new surroundings. I heard waves crashing against the black rocks we stood on, the smell of salt thick in the air. A large, white building sat behind us.

"Okay, there's a vent in the building right behind you. Connor, use Samantha to get the screws out of place and move the vent." Friday said through the earpieces.

Connor nodded and went to the rusty vent, Sam making quick work of the screws. When there were no more screws sticking in the vent, Connor moved the vent aside quietly. One by one, we crawled through the rusty tunnel, Connor being the last inside. I was behind Charitie, Razz crawling behind me and having a bit of trouble because she was so tall. The metal underneath us creaked, and I felt a weak spot in the middle of our path. Ignoring it, we continued, Friday telling us where to turn in our earpieces. Then, Madie--who was leading us--stopped, and Becky quickly and silently unscrewed an entrance to one of the vents. We all stealthily landed next to a bunch of large computers, hiding in their shadows.

"I've disabled the cameras. Go ahead and take care of the guards."

Madie and Ev looked at each other, before quietly rushing a certain way. A yelp soon followed, along with two thuds. Evelyn signalled us to come out, and we all came out of hiding. A large generator sat in the middle of the room, humming with electricity. Razz walked over to it as Charitie went to a computer and put the hard drive in, Alex helping her decipher the code. I went over to Razz, curious. Razz quickly strapped the bomb on, glancing up at me for a second.

"Here, Amelia," she said, "you should learn hands on. I'll show you how to set the timer."

Swallowing, I walked over to Razz's side, looking the bomb over.

"Okay, press this button until it says fifteen minutes." Razz pointed to a button. Nodding, I began to tap it, watching the screen all the while. Evelyn came over, the sleeves of her favorite Spiderman hoodie covering her hands. I finished and looked at Razz for further instruction.

"Alright, cool. Now flip this switch, and it will start counting down. Charitie," she turned to look at Charitie, "you almost ready?"

"And..... Yep, let's go." Charitie took the hard drive out and put it in her pocket.

Razz nodded, then looked at me. "Flip the switch."

I cautiously did, and the timer began to count down.

"Okay, go!" Razz urged, and we all ran to the vent. Connor boosted us up one by one, and was pulled up last by Razz. We began to crawl through the vent quickly but quietly, and when we reached the weak spot, I felt it give way underneath me. Yelping, I reached out for something as I fell, but grabbed nothing. I tumbled down and nearly crashed into a table, but Lorita saved me. She had used her extensions, making them like spider legs, and stopped me from falling on my back. My body jerked from the force, but I was okay. The piece of vent crashed, breaking a few flasks and beakers, and sending glass flying everywhere. Lorita gently set me on the table once the glass stopped flying, putting her extensions away.

I looked around, seeing all eyes on me. Everyone stopped what they were doing. A pen fell out of someone's hand, making a loud clattering sound against the silence. A machine or two made beeping noises. Oh, boy... I looked around, unsure of what to do. Someone began to walk up to me, pulling out something from in their pocket, but Evelyn jumped out of the vent and tackled them like an animal. She even roared. What a weirdo. Pretty convincing dragon noise, though. After her, all the Time Watchers jumped down, attacking swiftly.

I stood and joined the fight, my movements sluggish because I was still relatively new at this. As you'd expect from a noob, I didn't last very long. I was the first one caught, I'm not gonna lie... Anyway, a man held me tightly, making sure I didn't escape. I bit him, hearing a crunch from his finger, but he didn't move. Didn't even flinch. These guys are weird... I looked up at him, then kept struggling. Lorita zapped him, and this time, he jumped a bit, but didn't do anything else. My watch made the volts stronger and shocked him again. He yelped and slapped my head hard, making me bark with pain.

Razz came from behind my captor and got him in a headlock. He began to gasp, and Razz said, "Just give in," over and over until he let go and fell to the floor. I looked back at Razz, who was already in the action yet again.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" Shouted a familiar voice.

Everyone turned to see the door, watching as Eric scowled and tapped his foot against the floor. When he saw us, he puckered his lips, as if he were perplexed about something. Then he shook his head and scratched the back of his neck casually.

"Well, welcome back, kids." He said with a pleased voice, before he snapped his fingers, and I felt arms around me again.

Madeline shouted, "No!" with anger, baring her teeth and snarling as she struggled in her captor's arms. Charitie squeaked and squirmed, but didn't escape. It took three people to get Razz, and about seven people to get Evelyn. As I watched Evelyn, my eyes widened. She was going insane! Jumping, kicking, flailing, bitting, hissing, you name it! Blood was on her mouth, and Jericho continuously shocked people, extensions going everywhere in less than a second. She roared at everyone who tried to touch her, and they dropped her several times because she was so crazy.

At last, someone had enough, and shot her with a strange serum from off a table. In a few seconds, Evelyn was limp, seeming calm. Jericho, however, wouldn't let anyone touch her or him, and continued to zap whoever was at least in a five feet radius.

"You have a kick to ya, girly." Someone said to Evelyn, standing close enough to make sure she didn't do anything.

Evelyn's eyelids drooped. She seemed like she wanted to keep fighting, but knew she would only screw up if she did. Instead, she stood close to the person who held Madie and Charitie. The last one caught was Connor, who had run around the lab twice in a simple chase.

Everyone struggled, Evelyn glaring and teetering helplessly, and Eric smiled. Beamed, in fact.

"We caught them, everybody!" Announced Eric. "We caught the Time Watchers!"

People cheered, and then Eric scanned us.

"Now..." He said. "Who's watch should I take first?"

The Time Watchers swallowed nervously, and to my horror, Eric looked at me. He observed me, then grinned and began to walk to me. He signalled for my captor to drop me, and he did, making me stumble a bit.

"Amelia," he smiled genuinely, "you know it's over for you kids. Just give me your watch, and nothing bad will happen."

I held Lorita close to my heart. He held out a hand, looking me in the eyes. I spat in his eye, making him flinch and wipe his smile off his face. Slowly, he raised a hand and wiped my saliva away, then looked down at his hand and let out a short chuckle.

"You're a lot like Friday, aren't you?" He asked, looking at me.

"Nope!" I growled.

He ignored my comment. "Let's try this again: hand me your damn watch." He thrusted a hand in my direction, holding it out impatiently.

"Never." I said defiantly.

He sighed, seeming tired. Then his expression changed to anger so fast, I couldn't even blink. "AGH! I'm sick of this disrespect!" He grabbed my arm tightly and went to a table. "I'm getting that watch one way or another, you flipping brat!"

Slamming my hand on the table, he grabbed a knife and held it up in the air, aiming for my wrist. My heart beat quickly, and I began to freak out.

"No! Don't! STOP!" I cried, but he threw the knife down, and I heard beeping, static noise, and other robotic malfunction noises. I looked down, seeing Lorita had redirected one of her extensions to land...

On herself.

"Lorita, no!" I exclaimed.

Eric threw the knife down again, and Lorita did the same thing, making it fall on herself. The Time Watchers were screaming in the background, but I couldn't hear them. Or anyone. Only Lorita's noises as she continuously took blows. Soon, her face began to crack, but that didn't stop Eric, or her. Her face kept cracking with every blow, and then a chip of her face flew off as the knife went back up. I began to cry as Lorita continued to shatter and break, electricity bouncing out from her gears and wires.

At last, Eric stopped, seeming to finally notice that my hand wasn't cut off. He saw Lorita, then hissed and glared. Looking at me, he dropped the knife and punched me in the face, making me fall to the ground. Eric lifted a foot to stomp on me, but stopped as he heard a strange noise that I knew well. I looked over to see a pink and purple portal in the room. Not an elephant, just a portal. And out from that portal came a three legged dog, along with a lab coat wearing professor holding his beloved portal gun.

Friday looked around, then glared. Ben stopped jumping around like normal and looked at him, then began to bark and snarl, teeth bared and spit frothing. Friday ran at someone at the speed of sound--not literally--and shoved his portal gun in the man's mouth, before firing. The man screamed and became pale, a sickening noise coming from inside him, as if a vacuum were sucking out all his organs. Friday yelled in rage at the man, and then rushed to the Time Watchers' captor's. Everyone ran at him, and Ben followed the Professor into battle. The two moved in synchronization, Ben ripping people apart with his sharp teeth. Friday did some pretty impressive moves that flowed so well, it was almost like it was from a movie.

The Professor threw a swift punch in someone's face, and Ben jumped off his back to attack someone else. He grabbed someone's arm and twisted it while he punched someone behind him, throwing the person at a part of the group. A snap came from the person's arm, indicating that their arm was now broken. The fire alarm began to ring, and panic attacked me in waves. People began to run away, one of those people I recognized as Iris. Ben lunged at someone's arm and actually bit it so hard that a chunk of it flew off. Friday flipped backwards and kicked someone in between the legs, then flipped again and got behind someone, putting them in a headlock. He used that person as a weapon, throwing them to the rest of the group.

The Time Watchers joined the fight, but I was too focused on Lorita. She was sputtering, sparking a bit, too. I swallowed, looking at her destroyed face. I heard a few people scream in agony, and I heard the sound of a vacuum sucking away organs again. I turned my head, seeing Friday, his dog, and the Time Watchers jumping around skillfully. The Time Watchers threw punches and kicks, while Friday threw people, and Ben continued to jump off of Friday's back to attack people. I had never seen the Professor so... so angry before. It was actually terrifying. Blood began to stain the white tiles, and red lights began to flash.

Now, everyone ran away, going to an escape route. Eric looked around, seeing no one staying, and disappeared with the crowed. Friday was about to run after them all, holding his portal gun up to shoot, but stopped as he saw me on the ground. I stood up, holding what was left of Lorita.

"You okay, Amelia?" Friday asked, jogging over to me.

I nodded.

He observed my face. "... Something's wrong, isn't it?"

"I'll explain when we get back, okay?" I replied, using my anger to hide my concern and worry.

"Well speaking of getting back, we better do that soon. This place is gonna blow in--" he quickly checked his watch, "two minutes." He gently took my hand and ran at the portal, the Time Watchers and Benjamin following close behind.

One by one, we jumped through the portal, leaving the lab once and for all. Once everyone was back in our own lab, Friday shut the portal, sighing. His hands were covered in red, and his lab coat and face were splashed with the same scarlet. Benjamin was worse, almost covered head-to-toe in blood. The kids were covered in a bit of blood, but that didn't seem to bother any of them.

Bothered me, though. A lot. "You guys should get cleaned." I scolded. "Just look at yourselves!"

They did, and Friday frowned. "Dang it, I'm out of bleach."

My jaw dropped. "That's all you have to say after you murdered, like, twenty people?!"

"Not twenty, Amelia." He corrected. "Only two."

I rolled my eyes. "You're so gross!"

The Time Watchers seemed a bit uneasy, even around Friday. It was almost like they were scared of him. I knew that wasn't the case, though. They still clearly loved Friday. The Professor looked down at his dog, then frowned.

"Awe, Ben. Here, let's get you cleaned up." He ushered his dog to the downstairs bathroom, where the tub was. He came back and grabbed a pair of clothes from inside a drawer, then went back to the bathroom.

I scowled. "Is he seriously gonna take a bath with his dog? That's so weird!"

Connor shrugged. "Eh. I don't really care."

"Of course you don't." I grumbled.

"Oh, hey, Amelia!" The Professor called, poking his head out of the bathroom door. "What did you want to tell me?"

I swallowed, then walked over to him, slowly revealing Lorita. He looked down in shock, eyes wide and jaw slack.

"C-Can you fix her?" I asked, worried.

He stared down at Lorita for a long while, then slowly took her off of my wrist to get a better look. After another moment, he went to his lab and set her gently on the table, then went back to the bathroom and looked me dead in the eyes.

"I'll do what I can." He said to me, before closing and locking the door.

* * *

I paced in front of the lab door. Two days had gone by, and Friday had worked on fixing Lorita non-stop. I was beginning to lose hope, thinking that I'd never see her again. As he worked on her, I thought of all the times I've gotten mad at her. All the times I yelled at her. All the times she tried to be there for me. I felt horrible, and guilty, and I knew that if I ever got her back, I'd never treat her that way ever again. Or, I'll try not to, if I can't fully do that.

"Amelia?" Friday asked, poking his head out of the door.

I looked up at him. "Yeah?"

"I think someone wants to see you." He smile, and I automatically rushed into the lab.

"Lorita? Lorita, where are you?" I looked around frantically.

"Over here," Friday led me to the table and picked up a time watch. "I'm not sure if she's all there..." He said slowly. "But let's hope for the best, okay?"

I nodded, and he put the watch on me. We both looked down, waiting for her screen to lighten up. Anticipation clung to the air. I held my breath, not sure if she would wake up. After a full minute, Friday sighed and reached for Lorita.

"I'm afraid--" he started, but was cut off by Lorita humming to life and glowing her gorgeous blue.

"Amelia?" She asked. "Amelia, are you okay?"

I actually squealed with excitement and held Lorita close. "You're alive!"

"Yes, yes I am." She said happily. "And so are you! Eric didn't chop off your hand!"

Friday smiled, seeming pleased. "Good. Lorita's okay."

"Yes." She said again. "I'm fine. What happened, exactly? After I broke?"

I sumarized, and she hung on to every word. As I sumarized, Friday went off and exited the lab, his dog close behind him. Reboot tagged along, too, talking about something that I didn't really care about. Once I finished, I said slowly, "I'm so sorry, Lorita."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"I've never been very good to you. I've always gotten mad at you, and I ignored you, and disrespected you a lot. And it took you breaking for me to realize this. From now on, I'm going to be better. I'll listen to you, and I'll always trust in you."

"Well... thank you, Amelia. That... That means a lot." She sounded truly touched.

I hugged her again, feeling her warmth, and she hugged me by stretching her extensions and holding me like that. It felt good to see her again, and I won't ever lose her. Never again.