When you opened your eyes, Klaus was scooting his chair over to the table in front of the door, tape over his mouth once again.

"Klaus?" you mumbled weakly. "What are you..." you trailed off when he shook his head vehemently at you, breathing heavily, and promptly began banging his head on the table when he saw a shadow pass the window. "Stop!" you whispered when he began grunting in pain. "Stop, it Klaus. You're going to hurt yourself!"

He whimpered and finally stopped, leaning his head against the table as you breathed a sigh of relief. You sucked in a shocked breath when the door opened, revealing a pretty young woman... with a gun.

"Are you Diego's brother?" she asked, and you jerked in your chair.

"Yes, yes, he is... oh, thank God. We're his siblings, please... please let us out of these chairs," you pleaded. "But... be quiet. There's two people in the bathroom. They'll kill you if they find you."

She nodded, slicing through Klaus' bonds and then yours with a knife.

"I'm Detective Patch. I... didn't know he had a younger sister." Her brows drew together in pity when she noticed your bloodied face, but you quickly stood up. 

"You'd better run," you whispered. "They're smart. They're seriously going to kill you."

The bathroom door creaked open, and she pushed you behind her.

"Run. Now," she hissed, before speaking up when Hazel poked his head out the door. She shot the gun twice, missing both times. "Police! Drop the gun or you're going down!"

"I'm coming out. Don't shoot."

"Hands behind your head, asshole," she said.

"Ok, just don't shoot," Hazel responded, surprisingly calm as he got down on his knees. Too calm.

You hesitated, caught between following Klaus through the vent he had crawled through and helping the woman.

Suddenly, you spotted a flash of movement from outside, shoving Patch out of the way before the bullet shot by Cha-Cha could hit her.

"Run!" she shouted at you, scrambling to her feet, and you complied, following Klaus.

You crawled through the tiny metal compartment, wincing every time your head hit the top. Your breath came in shallow bursts, the walls feeling like they were closing in on you slowly. After a few gunshots, there was silence, and you knew who had won.

All you could do was hope they didn't find you before you were far away from the hotel, with Klaus.

When you emerged from the vent, it was outside in the parking lot. You collapsed to the ground in a pathetic heap, and Klaus pulled you to your feet.

"Come on, we have to go," he said urgently, pulling you towards a bus.

"What about the detective?" you asked, glancing behind you.

"Doesn't matter. We have to get out of here!"

"So, what? You don't even care?" you asked as you boarded. "She just saved our asses, Klaus." He sat down, breathing a sigh of relief and leaning into the seat.

"Of course I care. I'm indebted to her forever. But there's nothing we can do for her now, except avenge her, because let's face it, she probably dead." He pulled you down beside him as the bus started. "And I stole their handy-dandy briefcase."

You sighed, biting your lip and trying to ignore the sick feeling in your stomach.

"Okay, good job, I guess. What's in it?" you finally asked.

"We," he grunted, unlatching it, "are about to find out. Please be money."

One moment, he was there, and the next he disappeared, along with the briefcase.

"Klaus?" you asked, shocked. "Shit. Klaus!"

*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

"Some lady called for you," Al, the owner of a boxing building (and also Diego's home) told Diego. "Said she needs your help."

"What lady?" Diego asked impatiently, walking back over to where Luther stood next to a sleeping Five.

"I dunno, some, uh, detective. I think she said her name was, uh, Blotch or something."

"Patch?" Diego asked, and Al nodded. "She needs my help," he said with a triumphant smile.

"She needs you to meet her at that motel, a dump on Calhoun." He handed Diego a slip of paper with the address.

"When?"

"About half an hour ago. She said she found your brother, and, uh, sister."

Luther and Diego looked at each other, eyes widening.

"Klaus," Luther said, at the same time Diego breathed "Eight."

"You go!" Luther called as Diego raced out the door. "I'll stay here with..." he sighed, glancing down at Five's sleeping form. "Him."

*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

"Piece of shit," Diego spat, bursting through the door. "Do you have any idea what you just did?!" He grunted as Luther picked him up in the air, keeping him away from Five.

"Nope, let me... Get your ape hands off of me!"

"I can do this as long as it takes you to calm down," Luther said.

"Fine," Diego said after a moment of silence, panting.

"Now, wanna tell us what you're talkin' about?" Luther asked, dropping him.

"Our brother's been pretty busy since he got back," Diego growled, turning to glare at Five. "He was in the middle of that shootout at Griddy's, and then at Gimble Brothers, after the guys in masks attacked the Academy, looking for him."

"None of which is any of your concern," Five said forcefully.

"It is now," Diego said in a low voice, breathing hard. "They just killed my friend."

Five sighed, resting his arms on his knees and looking up at him.

"Care to share why?" he asked, unable to keep the curiosity from his tone.

Diego snorted, turning away so he didn't have to face him.

"She died to save our siblings. Who, by the way, were tied to chairs. There was blood everywhere, Five. And I don't even know if they're safe, or if those two masked fuckers got away with them!" Diego exploded, tearing his hands through his cropped hair.

"Which siblings?" Five asked, eyes narrowing. When neither brother responded, he stood up, grabbing Luther's shirt and pulling him closer. "Let's try that again. I said, 'which siblings?'"

Luther sighed, glancing at Diego, who didn't return his gaze.

"Klaus, and... and Eight." 

Five shoved away from him, eyes widening.

"What did you just say? Are you positive?"

Luther nodded nervously.

"Allison said she just talked to Vanya this morning."

"How long have they been gone?" Five asked, pacing. "I said how long?!"

"Since the attack on the house, we think," Luther said quickly. "But if your friend Patch was there, I'm sure she helped them. They're probably home already."

Five took a steadying breath, his eyes wild as he stalked into the hall.

"Whoa, where are you going?" Luther called, racing after him.

"To the Academy. I'll tell you everything on the way, but you'd better hurry or I'm leaving your ass behind."

*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

You forced yourself to take a deep breath, struggling not to panic.

He'll come back. Klaus will come back. He's ok.

Sure enough, he reappeared a few hours later, when you were on the verge of a mental breakdown, but... he was different.

He was wearing strange green clothes, his hands were bloody, and he had a chain with dog tags hanging from his neck. The bruises and blood on his face from earlier were gone as well, but the thing that stood out most was the look in his eyes. Only seconds ago he had been eagerly opening the briefcase, hoping for treasure or diamonds. Now, his eyes stared somewhere past you, ironically like he had seen a ghost.

"Klaus," you breathed, sighing in relief and reaching out to take one of his bloody hands. "What happened to y-" 

The bus jerked to a stop and Klaus stumbled to his feet, staggering down the steps and standing outside silently. You followed him onto the sidewalk, your brow furrowing in concern.

"Klaus, are you ok? What happened? Do you need help? I-I can - shit!" you shouted, backing away quickly when he started slamming the briefcase against the bench and ground. It sparked, surprising you even more, and you tried to jump out of the way when he spun in a circle, throwing the briefcase as far away from him as he could get it. It landed a few feet away from you, and you started to walk over to him as he shouted in anguish, but then you heard a loud noise and felt tongues of fire licking your back.

"Concentrate, Number Eight. Use your power to defend yourself, or you will burn."

"Dad, it hurts!"

You gasped, ducking to the ground and rolling to put the fire out before crawling away, the back of your shirt smoldering. Still, you continued toward Klaus, who was pawing at the blocks in the sidewalk like they could heal his pain. He curled up on his side, silently sobbing, and you gently tugged him into a sitting position, wrapping your arms around his back.

"It's okay," you whispered, flinching when you felt his hands touch your stinging back and his head brushed against your bruised cheek.

These past few days have gone to shit.

He buried his head in the crook of your neck, sobbing and shaking uncontrollably.

"Shh, I promise you'll be fine," you soothed, running your fingers down his back lightly. "I'm here, Klaus."

When all of his tears had dried, you helped him to his feet and walked back to the academy in silence, his arm draped around your shoulders for support. Once you arrived, he headed for the bathroom without saying a word, and you went straight to your room to look in the full-body mirror.

"Holy crap," you breathed when you saw yourself, tracing your hand over your face.

One of your cheeks was badly bruised, and your eye was black and slightly swollen. Your hair was a mess, tangled and crusted with blood, and your lips were chapped and scabbed. You sucked in a deep breath that rattled your lungs, and you swore you could still feel the water in them.

Be strong, (Y/N), you told yourself firmly, combing through your hair with a brush.

Only a moment later, you fell in a crumpled heap to the floor, your hands clutched around your stomach as you sobbed, no tears coming out. You hadn't drank water since before the kidnapping, unless being water-boarded counted.

"Eight, holy shit-" You looked up to see Five dropping to the floor beside you, one knee on the floor and the other supporting his hand. You sucked in a few short breaths, shaking your head quickly.

"I'm ok, I'm fine, it's Klaus - " you hiccuped. "Klaus needs help. He's..." You trailed off, finally meeting Five's eyes, revealing concern. "Five, I... me and Klaus told them, Cha-Cha and Hazel, we told them about the eye. I'm so sorry!"

Five's eyebrows drew together in anger, and you prepared yourself for the worst, but then he pulled you into a hug right there on the floor, and you dug your fingers into his back and pressed your forehead against his chest.

"They did this to you." It wasn't a question, so you didn't respond, letting him hold you. You took a deep breath, calming down as his fingers bunched the fabric on the back of your shirt up, holding it tightly. "I'm sorry, (Y/N). I didn't know you were gone until this morning. I thought that what I was doing was important, but..." You felt his jaw tighten from where it rested on top of your head. "I should have been there. They're looking for me, not you."

"I know," you whispered, your mouth dry. You suddenly felt sick again. "I'm really sorry we told them about the eye, Five... I almost told them when they waterlogged me and Klaus, but he only told them after they took his drugs away and he was in withdrawal and-"

Five pulled away, bringing his hands to your face as he searched your eyes, his brow furrowed.

"They waterlogged you?"

You opened your mouth before quickly closing it again.

"It isn't as bad as it sounds, we were-"

"What else did they do?" he asked, his voice cold.

"It doesn't matter," you said, looking at him with pleading eyes. "It really doesn't."

"Tell me, (Y/N). Or I'll ask Klaus."

You looked at the ground, sighing. You couldn't put Klaus through that - not after whatever had happened with the briefcase. So, tracing a design in the dust on the floor, you began to speak.

"They started with Klaus. They choked him with a weird cord thing, but he seemed to enjoy that, they they moved on to water logging him, which he also seemed to enjoy. They hit and punched him a lot, too." You winced at the memory, shuddering.

"What about you? Why are your clothes burnt?" he asked, and you hesitated. He tilted your chin up with his finger so you met his eyes again. "You can tell me. I want to help."

You sighed.

"They didn't do as much to me as they did to Klaus. They waterlogged me, hit me a few times, punched me maybe once," you fibbed.

"That's a lie," Five said, brushing his finger against the bruise on your cheek, making your stomach flutter. "You have multiple bruises, (Y/N)."

"Ok, maybe two times," you hedged. "But they didn't burn me. Klaus stole this weird briefcase from them, and when he opened it, it took him away. When he came back, he was, like, traumatized. He hit it against things, and when he threw it, it burst into flames. I was just a little bit too close."

Five's eyes narrowed, and he stood, pulling you to your feet in front of him.

"A... briefcase?" You nodded, and he clenched his teeth. "It was broken?" When you nodded again, he cursed under his breath.

"What's wrong?" you asked, worried, but he shook his head.

"Doesn't matter. Right now, we need to get you to Grace." His eyes fell to your lips, and your heart skipped a beat, but then you realized it was probably because of how dry and bloody they looked, and you cringed. "I'm done pushing you away, (Y/N)," he promised, taking your hand and leading you down the stairs. "I want us to help each other - stay by each other's sides." He flushed, turning to face you when you reached the ground floor. "Only if you want to, though."

You nodded immediately, smiling faintly at him.

"Yes. That way I can make fun of you all day."

And there it was - his smile. You could have fainted - and then you swayed on your feet, realizing you were probably about to.

"When's the last time you ate or drank?" Five asked, leading you to the couch.

"It's been a while," you admitted while he called for Grace. "But please, Five, go talk to Klaus. I really don't want him to be alone right now. And... try to be nice."

He nodded solemnly, slowly backing away.

"This won't happen again. I promise."