"Probably tried to justify it with how you'd be fed and have a bed to sleep in." Denum said. "You couldn't even speak English...but you were right there with us."

Denum smiled, but it was a bit sad.

"You were right beside me and Red and Aireio." Denum told him. "You saw me with Kayen and my parents...I guess I was fortunate to have my parents right there with me...we were all kind of a family."

"It was nice... and I had Ai with me, too, at least," LiSen commented. "Something from home, even if I didn't remember her too well. Her parents didn't come over often... Denum?"

He looked up at the other.

"I'm scared," the older boy admitted, weakly.

"Thank God." Denum laughed. "I thought it was just me."

The dark-haired teen smiled weakly.

--

Quarrel and Red flew through the doors seconds before the creature crashed through after them, swinging wildly at their backs.

They stumbled and stopped, looking in surprise at the wall of children that had lined up.

"What are you doing!?" Quarrel cried. "Run away!"

"We're not cowards anymore!" Aireio cried from the front lines. "We're going to fight!"

"You're doing what it wants!" Red said- slipping out of Q's arms. "It's calling or something! It's making you stay!"

"If we all ban together, we can beat it!" A little girl cried as a group of children in the front grabbed sharpened sticks and stood at the ready.

"Please make them move, it's right behind us." Red breathed to Quarrel.

"I think they can see that," Quarrel whispered, nodding to the creature - which looked all around, seeming alarmed for some reason.

He realized, then - he could feel all of the children pressing against it... creating a wall. It had the creature uneasy, swatting at nothing and looking all around.

"...What's it doing?" Red whispered- as if trying not to let the creature hear.

"Fighting against the children," Quarrel explained. "Can't you hear it? The hum... they're all humming. Invading its mind..."

The creature swatted away, slicing its own arm open.

"How can they?" Red frowned. "It's mindless, isn't it?"

"No creatures are mindless," Quarrel whispered, frowning. "Its defenses are just too high for one person to take down."

"That thing is too tough for any of us to hurt." Red replied. "But it can hurt itself."

Quarrel watched as the children drove the creature insane - the ones on the front line tossing sharpened sticks at it, making it jerk around and swing, slicing at itself once more.

He watched in awe... for the children of The Facility wre handling the battle just as a group of Silvers would do in the same situation - driving the creature to insanity.

"Q, look!" Red pointed into the brush and Quarrel saw something or rather a bunch of somethings moving in it.

Slowly, Quarrel moved forward - his shoulders tense and his tail at the ready.

Slowly, a group- a large group actually- of Silvers began coming into view.

Quarrel relaxed, bowing his head respectfully. The children continued to take down the creature, not noticing the Silvers.

"What are you guys doing here?" Red asked- not bothering with formalities.

"We came to retrieve you and the rest of our brothers," Quarrel's mother explained. "But it appears that you have already done just that."

She barked an order and the silvers flew forward, landing on the creature and brutally attacking with their tails. The children began to scream in alarm and back away.

"No, its okay!" Aireio cried, desperately. "They're protecting us!"

Red felt sudden wave of soothing wash over him as the Silver's emitted their calm. It was amazing that they could divide their minds to attack the creature and reach out to him and the children like that.

Soon enough, the creature was falling to the ground in a heap, unmoving.

The children calmed, though they backed away as the Silvers approached - towering over them.

"Your teachers have lied to you," Quarrel's mother addressed in her heavy accent. "We wish you no harm... you are our little brothers and sisters."

The children all looked at each other in worried confusion. They couldn't run away because the Silvers had encircled them. Red and Aireio moved to stand beside Q's mother.

"Go slow, they're all just fresh out." Red told her. "Q! Come help!"

Quarrel came over, seeming to hang back a little bit.

"Listen to her," Aireio addressed the kids. "Who was the one poking and prodding us... who was the one zapping us when we questioned them? The doctors! The Silvers protected us from the creature... those doctors are the ones that let it loose on us!"

The children began to murmur amongst themselves in agreement.

"Hey!" Red said in alarm. "Remember Kayen! Oh shit! Kayen!"

He looked at Quarrel.

"And the other one," Quarrel whispered. "The one still in the lab..."

"Yeah, we need to get to it before they power back up!" Red said quickly.

Quarrel reached out his hand for the redhead's - almost like he was beckoning him into what they both knew could be a suicide mission.

Asking him to trust him.

Red didn't hesitate to take the boy's hand and move back towards the building.

"Outta the way!" He said to the Silvers.

"Quarrel?" Q's mom called out.

"It'll be alright," Quarrel assured as he and Red slipped back inside.

He reached out, before pointing down a hallway. "That way!"

"How do you know?" Red asked.

"Can't you feel that?" Quarrel asked, frowning. "Take down your walls... you'll know it when you feel it."

"I don't have any walls." Red blinked.

"Then start listening," Quarrel chuckled. "Tune out everyone out and reach out to me... do you feel that?"

He held out his hand, touching Red's gently.

"Not just physically," He informed. "But you can 'feel' me beside you, right? Like I'm a part of you."

Red was quiet a moment before he shook his head.

"I can't quiet anything down, I'm still all pumped up from outrunning that thing and the drugs are still in my system and..." Red sighed.

"Its okay," Quarrel whispered. "Let me see if I can."

He reached out and hesitated for a moment until Red nodded, before he placed his fingertips on the other's temple.

Closing his eyes, Quarrel focused on the link between them and pushed himself away from his body. He could hear all of the noise in Red's and realized that the boy had never been taught how to ignore them... he hadn't been taught any defenses.

If they made it out of here, he'd have to teach him.

He took down his own strong walls and used them to build up some in Red's mind, effectively muting most of the noise in his mind. It was still there, but dully.

"Better?" Quarrel asked, releasing Red.

"It's never been so...quiet." Red said- seeming in awe.

"Come on," Quarrel said, taking his hand and heading down the hall - his tail up defensively.

He didn't want to tell Red that with all the noise in his head gone, Quarrel's own head was filled with it.

"...I can feel something." Red frowned. "Feels like...you."

"I told you that we're connected," Quarrel informed, looking back at him. "That's what I'm always feeling when I'm around you. I guess it was being drowned out by all the noise you were hearing..."