Lara and Madison 2

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

When the prince suddenly appeared to steady her once again, Ellis angrily tried to shove him away, not wanting his help now, even if she needed it more than she realized. She knew that he was right, somehow she had gotten a head injury, and she planned to take care of that, but not before she got Lexi out of here and cleaned her up.

However, before she realized what was going on, Chase was leading her away from Lexi and forcing her on to a bench. As he explained that she needed to see a doctor, Ellis glared back at him. "I will go talk to someone in the infirmary, alright, just leave me alone so that I can...." But he cut her off when he began explaining to her what was going on.

He told her that Lexi had quit the government to become a rouge working against it, and that she had gone after her and captured her. Ellis would have accused him of telling her lies again, because she honestly remembered none of this ever happening, but she could tell by the tone in his voice that he was telling the truth.

Her eyes instantly snapped to Lexi over in the interrogation chair, and the feeling of being betrayed by her only friend began to set in hard. Why would Lexi ever do this? How could she? This was when Ellis began to get scared. If this had happened, she surely would have remembered it. Why didn't she remember? She knew that it must have to do with her head injury, but not being able to remember so many crucial things was terrifying. Just trying to think about the fact that she probably had memory loss was scary.

However, Ellis was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts when Chase placed his hand on her forehead. At first, she made a face and almost moved away from him out of instinct because he had never done anything like this before. However, it didn't take long for her to realize that his touch was....soothing. Although her head hurt to the touch, somehow his touch felt soft and comforting. Ellis simply sighed softly and closed her eyes, only opening them again once he removed his hand. Somehow she had a feeling, like a distant memory that she could not grasp, that this wasn't the first time that he had reached out to her like this.

Before she knew it, he was calling the meds, and Ellis didn't protest. She was thinking about too many things all at once, and the way he was speaking so gently to her in a way that she had never speak to anyone before, made her just sort of forget about everything. So when the meds finally did come, she let them escort her away, unsure of what would happen next.

[Lara]

Chase watched her emotions carefully, glad that she was at least still capable of them. It meant that her consciousness wasn't damaged. Regardless of her memory loss, she was still Ellis. And that meant she could be fixed. So he kept talking to her soothingly, watching as pain and betrayal joined the confusion on her features. He kept soothing her, hoping to keep her calm for he was worried for her, and at this stage in an injury, if she freaked out, it could cause seizures, or aneurisms, or worse.

The meds, men and women in stark white uniforms, finally bustled into the room, moving right to Ellis. Every one of them ignored Lexi, even though she was injured, as they knew this was policy, and they weren't to interfere. They did, however, work together to carefully load Ellis onto an elevated bed that hovered over the floor and had flashing pale blue lights around the metal rim.

One of the meds slid an IV needle into Ellis's vein, and the others were already working on getting her diagnosed, even as they started to push the hovering bed out the door again and back towards the med wing of the hospital. Chase watched the door whoosh shut, and swallowed a hard lump in his throat.

"It would never work out between you two…" came a soft, hoarse voice.

Chase spun, to see Lexi lifting her head to shoot a half lidded gaze at him. She was clearly weak, probably from the blood loss in the wounds in her head. Her neck and collar were already saturated with the dark red colour. "I have more power than you think, Lexi. If I wish it, I could make it happen."

A half smile lifted up Lexi's lips. "Oh you wish it all right."

"That's enough." He walked over to her, picking up the scalpel he had discarded. "I don't have time to finish this now, but do not doubt that I am not done with you." he said, digging the knife into her shoulder for emphases, only lightening up when Lexi emitted a soft gasp. Tossing the knife on the tray of tools, he picked up a bottle and squirted some of the liquid on both his hands, coming over to spread it over Lexi's head. The moment the stuff hit her wounds, Lexi cried out in agony, but Chase just held her head and made sure to rub it into every one of the gashes. "You should thank me." he said, smiling coldly at her, as he unhooked her from the chair, and threw her over his shoulder. "Now you won't bleed out or die of infection."

It wasn't a long walk to the cell, and he typed in the code, tossing Lexi onto the floor with that attempted shooter again. He let the door whoosh shut behind him as he stalked towards the infirmary. He wanted to find Ellis and see how she was doing. For Lexi was right. He was worried for her, worried sick. She must have hit her head incredibly hard, and he wanted to hear what the doctors had to say.

…..
((this part is only shorter because I already described some for Lexi in the previous paragraphs :) ))
Lexi's body was having a rough time of it. Everything was starting to ache. Her wrists, from where the cuffs had been attached, her skin, from the ice water, and her head, from the multiple wounds that still graced it, though no longer bleeding. They still stung. Stung a lot. That murderous stuff the prince and slathered all over the wounds must have been purposely without painkillers.

Not having the energy to push herself up from the crumpled position she had fallen in on the floor, Lexi let out a soft groan and tried to get her elbows beneath her, finding that her trembling from the cold didn't help at all, and she strained upwards for only a second before collapsing again.

Her clothes were soaked. And that was not good. She was lying against a cool metal floor, in a cool metal room, wearing nothing but clothing that had been soaked in freezing water. She didn't even have any hair to protect her head anymore, and her lips and fingers were starting to look purply from the cold. Not to mention the fact that she couldn't stop her whole body from trembling.

And she didn't know what to think about the whole episode with Ellis. It almost seemed as if her friend was trying to help her. Some part of Lexi yearned for that to be true. She missed Ellis, and she missed having friends in the first place.

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

Ellis stayed where she was, not saying anything, and the expression not changing from her face. Emotions continued to flash through her eyes, proving that they were still happening. She knew that she had to be strong now, but that was hard to do when all of this information was being dumped on her all at the same time. The fact that she had memory loss, the fact that her only friend had betrayed her, that there was a rebellion going on, that the prince was suddenly acting so kind to her, as if he cared about her. It was all so much for her to handle.

Chase stayed there with her, and kept talking to her soothingly, but Ellis hardly even looked at him. It was too weird to her that he was making such an effort to keep her calm, as if he truly cared for her well beings or the first time ever. When had that happened anyway? Knowing that something must have happened between them and she couldn't remember it only made her more stressed out.

When the meds finally came and swarmed her, Ellis sighed deeply, not putting up a fight. However, when they loaded her onto the bed with the flashing lights, she couldn't help but sigh. This really was embarrassing. However, as she was lifted up, Ellis caught a glimpse of Lexi again, and knew that there might still be something that she could do for her. She looked up at the medic closest to her, weakly pointing over to Lexi.

"Her. Help her," she said, even though it seemed as though the man was not listening to her, "That's an order," she added, but didn't get any separate response. With that, she was wheeled away to the infirmary. Ellis sighed, vowing to herself that she would get to the bottom of this eventually, but right now, the pain was much too strong, even as the pain meds from the IV began to kick in.

She was taken into surgery and instantly put under so that the doctors could stitch up her head. After that they ran her through several scans and tests before dropping her off in a hospital bed while they decided on the results.

When Ellis finally awoke, she found that someone had changed from her old clothes into a hospital gown, and she now has a row of stitches in her head. When she tried to sit up, her head throbbed and spun, forcing her to lie back down again. She sighed and closed her eyes, wondering how she had ever gotten herself into this situation.

------

As soon as Felix heard the cell door open, h was instantly alert. He knew that this meant that Lexi was back. When she was suddenly thrown in, he sat up, but remembered what she had said. She didn't want pity, just a friend. Felix still wasn't entirely sure if he knew what the difference was, so he decided just to be himself.

Still it was extremely hard to see her like this. She was soaked, shivering, and for some reason, her entire head had been shaved. Felix felt like he wanted to throw up, knowing that there was someone who was so heartless to do this to her, whether it be the Phoenix, or the prince, or whoever.

As Lexi tried to get up, Felix quickly moved closer to her. "No, no, don't get up," he insisted, taking off his jacket and laying it over her to try and keep her as warm as he could. After that, Felix didn't know what to do. He wanted to start by cleaning the blood on her head, but he wondered if that would be going too far. After a moment of silence, he simply said, "Tell...tell me what you need. Just rest and I'll help you."

[Lara]

Chase wasn't permitted into surgery to be with Ellis and make sure she was alright, so he canceled his other appointments for the day and just sat in the stiff waiting room chairs, deep in thought, or working on his tablet, always distracted, always waiting. Part of him wondered why he was so worried about her, and the other part of him already knew.

When the doctors finally permitted him in to see her, he stood and cordially nodded his thanks, every bit the put together prince as he strode into the room, the worry on his features evident as his eyes swept Ellis's pale form, the tubes in her arms, the stitches on her forehead, and then back to her face again. He walked over and pulled up a chair, sitting down next her to so they could talk at the same level. "How are you feeling?" he asked softly, meaning the question every bit in an honest manner. "The doctor said the memory loss might be permanent, but they think it's the only part damaged, which is awesome." he reassured her, the corners of his mouth turning up. "We can probably have you back to your sharpshooting self in no time."

He wasn't quite sure what else to say. He wasn't even sure why he was there, really, as he was still trying to work through everything, and all this new sudden flood of emotions towards Ellis, hate, anger, longing, admiration. It was a confusing jumble, but he knew he wanted her as a friend. He just wanted a friend at all, really. For he had never had one, a real genuine one who liked him for his personality, and not his position. And he saw a friend in this girl, so some part of him had already become attached, and was clinging on to the idea for dear life. He huffed softly. "Sorry for all this melodrama. I was just worried that you were seriously injured or something…" He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, suddenly feeling foolish. "yeah… well…. good to see you awake and doing alright again…."

…..

Lexi felt the warm protection of Felix's coat drape over her, and she was thankful, she truly was. But it wouldn't do much good. Not when she was still lying there on the cold floor, wearing drenched clothes that would just, in turn, soak his coat and make that cold too.

But she was still thankful for the effort he made, and for the fact that he wasn't gasping or wretching at the sight of her or something. For part of Lexi mourned how she must look now, bloody and bald, and probably insane. It pained her more than she cared to admit. And it was Felix's kindhearted offer to help her, that managed to pull Lexi from the sadness she was slipping into. She turned her head a little so she could look at him, and though she couldn't muster a smile, her eyes were still sincere as she whispered. "Thank you."

The door slid open then, and Lexi jerked slightly in fear. Was the prince back to kill her? To take her back for more interrogating? She couldn't move. She couldn't defend herself, or Felix, should they be here to harm him. And then gentle hands were lifting her up from the floor, and she met the face of a kindly old medic who was already tut tutting and going about looking over her injuries. "Such unorthodox methods for interrogation… never approved." he kept muttering, as he turned Lexi's head this way and that, examining her wounds. Lexi didn't have the energy to resist, so she just sat there, putting up with it.

Finally the medic nodded. "I'll be right back." he stated, leaving the cell quickly. He returned moments later with antiseptic, bandages, and a white jumpsuit. The medic placed his pile of instruments on the floor, kneeling by Lexi again before he looked over at Felix. "The girl might want some privacy boy… so look away." He insisted, before he promptly began to peel the soaked clothes off of Lexi's shivering body. Even after everything that had happened just now, and to her in the past, Lexi's cheeks still bloomed at the situation she was in, too weak to even change herself, as a medic took her clothes and put her into a jumpsuit like she was a small child.

Even though she had to suffer such a humiliating moment, she was immediately glad for the change of clothes, as the jumpsuit was thick, and dry, and her shivering slowly abated into just slight trembling here and there. But that was mostly from fear and the memory of what had happened and what was to come. The medic then squeezed her hand gently. "I'm going to put something on your wounds to help them now, it'll sting a bit, but it will numb the pain later." He promised, unscrewing the cap and getting right to smothering the same stuff the prince had, all over her head. Lexi winced, and winced again, but not once did she cry out. She was stronger than that, even if the pain was searing. Then the medic wrapped long white strips of sticky bandage around her head, from behind her ears all the way to the dome of her scull, so she looked like she was wearing a white hat of some sort, or like someone had painted her head white where her hair should have been. Nodding in satisfaction, he stepped away, leaving the bottle of antiseptic and the roll of bandages in the cell by Lexi. "That's all I can do for you." he said, almost regretfully. "Best of luck." he then turned to Felix. "And boy? To keep away infection, you should change the bandages and wash her wounds every few hours. That should keep her alive." He then left quietly, taking away Lexi's old soaked clothes, and shut the door after him. It beeped as it locked.

Only once he was gone, and she was no longer in immense pain, or shivering uncontrollably, did the emotions hit Lexi. She had just been tied up, nearly drowned and frozen at the same time, shaved, mocked, cut, and then watched her injured friend stumble around, looking like she still cared about her. It was all to much, and Lexi, who never cried, felt a wet bead of liquid tumble from her eye to roll down her cheek and splash on the collar of the jumpsuit.

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

Ellis hated having to stay in bed like this, unable to move, or do anything at all, besides stare at the ceiling and think. That was a dangerous activity for her, especially now. She was not the type of person who could stand being tied down for very long, and the tubes in her arm, and the fact that she quite literally didn't know if she could get up, meant that she was stuck.

She heard someone enter the room, but she did not pay them any mind. She figured that it was just another medic here to check something and then leave again. However, when her visitor pulled up a chair and took a seat by her bed, that caught Ellis' attention. She looked over to see that her visitor was the prince, even though he had absolutely no reason to be checking up on her.

As he spoke, she simply stared at him and tried to figure out why he was here. He was her boss, nothing more, right? Unless something has happened that she could no longer remember, and the thought of that scared her. When he asked how she was doing, she didn't respond, and she didn't say anything at all until he began stammering. When did he ever do that?

"What are you doing, really?" she asked him, cutting him off, "Sure, the courtesy call is appreciated, sir, but this seems a bit much." Ellis was always one to be blunt, especially when she didn't understand something, which didn't happen a lot. She had even made a point of calling him sir to remind him of where he stood with her. They weren't friends, as far as she knew anyway.

However, thinking about that made Ellis want to ask another question even more, even though she knew that she shouldn't. Of course, that didn't stop her though. After a long silence, she sighed. "How much of my memory is really gone?" she asked, knowing that she had never been told any of these things, but Chase seemed to somehow know. "Because, I have no memory of...of a rebellion, or Alexis leaving our ranks, and I get a feeling that there is a reason that you are siting here beside me, but I....I just don't remember."

The frustration was clear in her voice, and the emotion clear in her eyes. Ellis was usually much more guarded than this, and she was never afraid of anything, but when the person sitting next to you knows more about you and your own life than you do, or truly is scary. Yes, Ellis was terrified, though even now she wouldn't admit it. She'd tried to play things cool, but she was already starting to loose her grip on the situation despite her best efforts to hang on.

-------

Felix knew that his jacket wasn't helping much, but it was truly the best that he could do. They were sitting in a barren metal box, and he didn't have anything else to offer her, even though he truly wished that he did. He placed a gently hand on her back, just trying to be there for her even though there was nothing more that he could really do.

Just then, the cell door opened, and he was instantly on alert, but he relaxed when he saw that it was only a medic. This confused him, for there was no way that the prince would have sent him here to care for Lexi. This man must be here on someone else's orders, or his own free will. Either way, he was going against the prince, and that could get him into serious trouble.

Felix bit his lip as the man examined Lexi, left, and then came back, truly unsure of what to do or say. He was just sure to stay out of the man's way and let him do his job, and when he told him to turn around, Felix quickly did so.

He stayed that way until he became aware that the medic was speaking to him, so he listened and nodded in understanding. "Yes. And thank you, thank you so much for helping her," he said, wanting the man to know that his good deed did not go unappreciated, not in the slightest. As the man finally began to leave, Felix finally got the courage to ask what he had been wondering the entire time. "Excuse me, but who.... who sent you here?" he asked, but the man was already gone.

Felix sighed, finally looking over at Lexi. He saw that she looked much better now. She looked warmer, and she was no longer wet. She also had bandages around her head to stop the bleeding, which was also obviously good. He didn't know what to say to her now, especially when he saw the year roll down he cheek. Honestly, he couldn't believe how strong she was being given all that had happened. Without speaking, or even looking at her, he simply took her hand and gently rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, trying to comfort her as best as he could without being smothering. It was all that he could really do.

[Lara]

When Ellis suddenly cut him off, Chase really wasn't surprised. With almost no memory from the past couple months, she would remember him only as the distant prince figure-head, the same way everyone else saw him. 'Sir' this, and 'highness' that. He was tired of it, really. No one knew the real Chase. And that was what he was doing here. He was worried about the girl who had actually stopped for a moment to listen to him speak, and actually get to know the man under all the masks.

"I was worried about you, because you rushed in on me, pointed a gun at my head, and nearly fainted all in the span of a few seconds. I think it is natural for one to check on you when in that circumstance. After all, you do work for me, and I have a right to worry about those over whom I am in charge." he said simply, trying to make this look practical. But he also knew that wasn't the entire truth. And she obviously knew it too.

How much of her memory was gone? Well… a whole lot, to begin. He wasn't really sure how she wanted him to answer that question. Did she want a detail fill in on the things she missed? Or just a general comment about how many holes there seemed to be in her memory…? Chase decided to at least try to answer her question. "All of your memory regarding the past, say… three or four months seems to be gone." he said honestly, leaning an elbow on her hospital bed and just looking at her as he spoke, every bit of him just Chase. Not the prince, not the assassin, not the diplomat, or the flirty friendly rich boy. Just Chase.

"We… don't have that much of a history… to be honest." he said, one shoulder lifting briefly. "You listened to me rant over a couple of drinks today, and I guess… since you were the first person to see me for me, and not just as the prince, I became well… hopeful for a friend." he admitted, not averting his eyes or growing awkward. Yes, this was a touchy subject, but when Chase said something, he didn't shy away from it. "I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable. I can go, if you wish. I just thought you might want to know. Because yes, I am worried for you, and it scared me to see you stumbling around in that room back there, and now so pale and fragile." he smiled a little then. "I'm used to the rock hard, serious about her job, girl."

……

Lexi didn't look at Felix for a moment, she just let herself get used to the feeling of his larger hand holding her own. A friend. It was what she had asked for, and it was what he had given her. She couldn't have been more thankful. And… slowly, Lexi let her hand tighten, holding his back as she turned her head to look at him. "Thank you." She whispered, still no smile, just sincerity.

It would take a while to get over this, but she always mended. She always got past hard times. Usually walls and isolation helped, ignoring her pain. But this… this warm knowledge of not being alone was nice too. Completely foreign, but nice some how. She moved then, sliding a little closer to Felix, so that they were side by side, leaning against the metal wall. And slowly, so he could move away if he wanted to, she lowered her head until it was resting on his shoulder. She was weak, and this sort of support and comfort, his hand, and his shoulder, was just what she needed as she let herself feel the emotions from this moment, and then slowly bring herself out of them again. She needed to move on. Her hair was gone. That was done with.

She had survived torture, and now it was time to show Felix what she had promised she would. Lifting her head again, she turned it a little, so that her gaze was fixed on the wall. "Watch carefully…" She whispered. "And please don't freak out…" with that, she set the chips in her eyes spinning, and beams of light shot from her irises, shining onto the wall, where they created a screen, like a holograph, and she tapped the wall in different places to search information, and sift through pictures she and taken by blinking throughout the day. But her eyes weren't the only things that had been enhanced…. and that was how they were going to get out of here. "I've told no one else of this… so you know how crucial it is to keep it quiet." She insisted, turning the screen off again. "But it might solve our cell problem."

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

Ellis listened to his excuses for coming to check on her, and sighed a bit when he brought up how she had charged in on him with a gun. "I don't regret anything," she muttered, knowing that she might have made a bit of a fool of herself, but she believed that her actions were justified. How else was she supposed to react when she walked in to find him scalping and torturing her friend when she had no idea why he was doing it.

Ellis could tell that he knew that that she knew that he wasn't telling the whole truth as Chase made his excuses, therefore, she didn't know why he was bothering with it in the first place. In her opinion, he should tell her the entire truth, or none of it at all. There was no acceptable half way point.

However, as he began to explain the holes in her memory, and about how many there were, he didn't seem as fake as he previously had. He seemed genuine and real, like he wasn't trying to play any more games with her, and Ellis deeply respected that. Normally she liked to mess around with people, and enjoyed being teased in return, but now she was scared, so things became serious, and she would not tolerate anything less.

As Chase began to tell her about the time that they had spent together that she could no longer remember, Ellis honestly wished that she could. He thought that she'd seen him for who he was? He wanted to be her friend? Ellis would give anything to know what had happened between them in that bar, and not knowing was extremely frustrating. He must of said or done something to make her let down her walls a bit, or maybe she had been drunk. She honestly didn't know how to even ask.

Then, he only made things worse as he continued on, finally admitting fully that he was worried about her, and about her well being. She could tell by the way that he described her now as being "fragile", as opposed to "rock hard". Chase was inadvertently admitting that he truly cared about her, and Ellis didn't know how to respond to that, except to ask him why. But she did not do that. She simply looked at him, her head seeming to spin much faster now as she wished even more to know what on earth she had said in that bar to suddenly make him feeling this way.

Finally, after a short silence, she closed her eyes and then reopened them. "I don't like this," she declared bluntly, looking up at him, "It's flattering, really, but I'm just confused is all. This...This is all moving too fast for me, and I think.... I think that you need to stop and reevaluate yourself. Because what you're saying, I don't think that you could possibly mean it, not really. I don't think that you understand what what you're saying actually means. They're just words to you, words that can do serious damage, and I don't want to deal with that now, or ever really..."

She looked him over, analyzing him and wondering what had happened for the millionth time. Why was he suddenly being so open with her, why did he care? If he didn't truly mean what he was saying, then Ellis didn't want to waste her time with him. Apparently Lexi had betrayed her, so when she had claimed to care about Ellis, that had all been a lie, and she didn't want to go through the same thing with Chase. Losing Lexi was an extremely fresh wound, especially since chase had just informed her about it a little over an hour ago. Ellis want ready for another friendship that she knew would only hurt her in the end.

Without warning, she suddenly sat up and yanked the tube out of her arm, sliding out of bed even though it made her head spin madly. "I think I'm done here. Thank you for your concern, sir, but I'll be alright," she said, suddenly feeling the need to hide away and try and figure things out. Ellis was weak now, as she didn't want him to see that. Didn't want him to see her frustrated, trying to remember things that she never could remember.

She wanted to lock herself away, proof that she needed someone now more than ever, though she wasn't aware of this. Ellis thought that the best option was to get away from everyone, even though each step she took was extremely difficult, for it caused pain to surge in her skull.

-----

Felix was quite as he felt her shifting slowly, first moving closer to him, then grasping his hand in return, and then slowly laying her head on his shoulder. He didn't move at all, especially not away as she did these things. He had said that he would do what he could to help her, and if this closeness was what she needed and wanted, then he would give it to her, even though he couldn't remember being this close beside anyone before, not even his own parents who hadn't cared enough about him to ever comfort him like this.

As she suddenly sat up a bit and showed him the modifications that she had in her eyes, Felix's eyes widened, though he still said nothing as he watched her demonstrate how they worked. As she said that she knew how to get them out of the cell, he frowned and shook his head. "But we're being monitored 24/7, remember? We can't verbally plan anything, and now that you've shown your modification, whoever is watching us knows about it," he explained, "They might send the prince or the Phoenix back down here, and who knows what could happen then. It's too dangerous."

However, Felix didn't have a better plan in mind. In his mind, he had already accepted that there was no way out of this. They were subject to whatever the government decided to do to them, even if they were executed. There was nothing that they could do to get past the prince and the Phoenix, who were both far too skilled to be successful fighting against.

[Lara]

Chase realized suddenly through her expression and her words and every bit of her body language that she was reading into what he said way too far, and that it made her nervous. She stated that much when she said she didn’t like this. It made him a little stressed to know that she thought he cared for her in that manner. Sure, his words and actions might hint to that… but he wasn’t even sure what he felt about all this himself, and he certainly wasn’t ready to start thinking about relationships. Not now, not yet, maybe not ever. Just because that nagging connection was there, drawing him to her, didn’t mean he actually wanted to indulge it. It was just a sixth sense, as he saw it.

And yes… sure. He wanted to be friends with her. But apparently she wasn’t ready for that now, or ever. For whatever reason, she was shying away from relationships and connections. And in her line of work, he understood that there might be reasons for that. Lexi being one of them.

He realized just at that moment that that was exactly what it was. They had been friends. They had been friends, and Ellis would have seen Lexi leaving as a betrayal. Just as a young child often will hate the friend that moves away and leaves them alone, even though it was never their fault that circumstances changed. And here he was saying he wanted to be her friend. Right now, friend was probably a painful word to her. So the issue was probably not relationships at all, but friendships.

And he was used to being alone, so he was comfortable giving her space. He was not her nursemaid, so he just watched as she stood and ripped out her tube, wobbling towards the door. “You’re injured, Ellis.” He said softly, his voice all calm reason as he stood and took a step after her. “You do want to get better, do you not? Your best chances for that are in the hospital.” Best to just talk about that for now, and let her heal on her own terms. If she came to him later, he’d be more than happy for a friend. But for right now… she needed time to heal, inside and out. “Be careful. I don’t want you getting hurt again.” He insisted, giving her one last glance as he left the room to give her some time, going to find the doctors. “Make sure she’s well taken care of. She’s trying to leave currently.” He swallowed. “You may need to restrain her.” Part of him felt guilty saying that, and the other part of him knew it was best for her in the end. If she injured herself again by walking around, she could go comatose, and never wake up.

….
Lexi leaned her head back against the wall and let out a soft huff of air. Yes, she was aware that they were being monitored… goodness. She was an assassin, and knew the palace and the cells inside out. Of course they were being monitored. That was the point. The prince already knew of her modifications. He had watched them being inserted. What she wanted… was for Ellis to see. For Ellis to see and start questioning. She wanted her friend back.

She wanted Ellis to see that she had to leave, that it was the right thing to do. That she had her reasons for leaving, and that her one regret was having to leave her best friend behind. She hated the look of betrayal Ellis had given her. That had cut deep, seriously deep.

Closing her eyes, she relaxed. This would be better explained to Felix using the radio waves she could tap into, using the chips at the base of her neck. Reaching over, she took her hand in his and took a deep breath. She could send a message to him, and his brain would receive it, in a serious of electrical pulses, much like a radio will pick up radio waves. The trick was getting the sequence just right so his brain registered the waves as words and sentences. Concentrating, she sent a tentative message: ‘can you hear me alright?’. The words flowed easily from her, translated into waves by the chips, travelling through her and into Felix, where she hoped they would be again translated by his brain and received. If they could make the connection, then they could converse without ever having to say anything outloud. And she needed to tell him more than she was willing to show, or say.

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

Ellis stopped as he started to tell her to stay. Maybe she would listen if he could convince her, but he made no such effort to do so. Instead, he simply left the room, deciding to let her do as she pleaded and have her space, even though it was clear that he was still worried for her.

The doctor nodded as the prince spoke about containing the Phoenix. "Yes, your highness," he said, gesturing to a medic who proceeded to close Ellis' door and lock her in. "But I must remind you, we cannot help her if she won't accept help. She is the most stubborn woman I've ever known," he said, shaking his head a bit as he walked away, off to deal with another patient.

Ellis saw the door closing, but she was too lat to get to it before it as closed and locked. She couldn't believe that they were doing this to her. Ellis hated it here and she needed to get away. She wasn't an idiot, she was going to take it easy, but she preferred to do so where she wasn't stuck in bed, listening to Chase go on about how he wanted to be her friend. She didn't want him to see her weakness now, she wanted to get away.

She could see him through the window in the door, and she proceeded to begin pounding on it. "Chase! Let me out! This is completely undignified!" she yelled so that he would surely hear her through the door. Her own pounding and yelling made her head throb even more, but she simply ignored it, for she would not stand to be locked away in here like a prisoner.

Because as much as she was convinced that she wanted to be by herself now, hidden away, this was a hen she needed someone the most. That was why things were so hard for Ellis. She didn't allow herself to have friends, but she also couldn't stand to live in this constant loneliness anymore. Without even realizing it, part of her reason for insisting that Chase let her out was so that he would stay, just for a while longer. She kept insisting that she couldn't be near him now, and that he should leave her alone, but deep down, too deep for Ellis to even realize, she wanted, needed him to stay.

-----

Felix sighed, feeling like he was missing something. He knew that this entire thing ran much deeper than he understood, and he didn't know how to ask Lexi to explain things more to him. He was beginning to feel stupid for not being able to keep up, but at the same time, he knew that it wasn't fair because he was mostly in the dark.

However, he knew that Lexi wanted Ellis back, for that much was clear. That didn't mean that he understood that though. Why would Lexi want Ellis back after all that she had down? She had hunted her down and kidnapped her, and almost killed her wolf. And if Ellis was a real friend, she would be doing something to help get Lexi out of here, or at least lessen the torture that she was enduring. Instead, she had done absolutely nothing, at least not that Felix knew of.

He didn't know how to tell Lexi to give up on Ellis, so he didn't say anything, just like normal. At least normal as of late. More and more, Felix had been letting Lexi do the talking because he simply didn't know what to say anymore. This was all so much more difficult than anything that he had ever endured, and he knew that the same went for Lexi.

All of a sudden, his thoughts were interrupted by her voice in his head, and his eyes widened in surprise as he looked at her. How could he hear her voice in his head like that? He figured that it must be one of her modifications. Felix didn't like it. It was some kind of telepathy, and it was unnatural. Felix, who didn't have a single modification, found them unsettling.

Not thinking that the telepathy would go both ways, he simply nodded his head subtly in response to her question, knowing better than to speak out loud. If whoever was watching the camera feeds saw him responding when Lexi had never said anything, and if they knew about her modifications, they would instantly know what was going on.

[Lara]

Chase nodded tiredly when the doctor spoke of how he could only help a willing patient. Well. That was why hospitals had those cuffs attached to some beds, was it not? So they could help their patients, even the unwilling or mentally unstable ones. And Ellis fell under both of those categories right now, what with her concussion, apparent brain damage, and clear unwillingness to stay and get healed again.

However, when he heard Ellis shout at him, more of a pleading cry, really, and start pounding on the door, part of him jerked in pity and pain all at once, not liking locking her up against her will at all. But she had to get better. And right now, her getting better was more important to him than keeping her happy. “Undignified or not, I will not let you out just to see you hurt yourself further.” He insisted, the tiredness clear in his voice. He was tired of trying to figure out how to skirt around Ellis, trying to not ever upset her, trying to gain her trust, trying to be honest and open, and still none of it ever working. Her just shunning and ignoring him.

And yet still his stupid heart wouldn’t let him stop caring. She was much too similar to him, and he knew that if he was her, and she him, then he would want her to keep coming back for him, no matter how many times he sent her away.

Huffing out slowly, he unlocked the door and turned the handle, cracking it open a bit, but still standing in the doorway, so that she wouldn’t try to bolt and make a run for it. She wouldn’t get far. There were nurses waiting with sedatives to put her down should she be an issue. But he rathered that they avoided that. “Ellis…” He started gently, his eyes sweeping her battered form. She looked awful, and she obviously needed rest. “Ellis, please lie back down and let the doctors care for you. I know you are capable of being careful by yourself, but I don’t just want careful. I want you better again.” He insisted.

…..

Lexi watched Felix carefully, and when she caught the small almost imperceptible nod, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the cell wall. Good. So they could communicate. However, she didn’t miss that look of fear, and what looked almost like disgust that had crossed his features. She was used to that by now. So many people thought she was scary because she was unnatural. To an extent, that was true, after all, she had been modified, but that had been against her will.

‘Good’, she sent his way, ‘please don’t freak out. And just listen while I finish explaining.’ She asked, deciding to just tell him as much as she could, as she didn’t want him asking questions, and giving them away. ‘I asked too many questions when I worked as an assassin here.’ She started a sigh almost audible even in her electronic voice. ‘Some how they decided that I’d be more useful as a lab rat, than an assassin, and one day, palace guards took me, gassed me, and that was it.’ She opened her eyes, staring at the cold metal wall across from her. She needed to focus on that.

If she kept her eyes closed, she would imagine how the whole modifying had gone. And if she imagined that, she would probably throw up or start sobbing. ‘When I woke up, I was numb and strapped to a table. They had already finished work on my eyes, and were in the middle of modifying my hand’ she said softly, remembering the exact moment that she realized something about her was different… and not natural. She remembered how she had freaked out internally, but had not been able to move, as she was strapped down and still sedated pretty heavily. ‘I now have more modifications than just my eyes, as you might have guessed, and some of them will be very useful in getting us out of here.’

This was the truth, her story, but she had not explained further what the government planned to do with future modifications, nor why she had been modified. Not knowing Felix well enough, she had given him already what she thought was too much information. But hopefully it would help free them.

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

Ellis was slightly surprised when Chase came back to her, even though apart of her had known that he would. Still, that didn't mean that she understood why. As he went on about how she had to stay here and get better because he didn't want to see her hurt, Ellis understood what he meant, but she knew that he didn't understand.

Being here in the hospital might help her body heal, but even after the stitches came out of her head, her mind would still be damaged, and no amount of rest, or medical attention would help that. All of those lost memories were gone forever. She would never know what had really happened between them at the bar, or of anything had happened between her and Lexi before she had left.

Even if Ellis was told all of the details of these events, she would never remember what she had been thinking and feeling, and it just wouldn't be the same. Part of her life was now gone forever, even if it was only a very small portion. It was still seemingly a very important portion. And now the prince just expected her to lie down and... do what exactly? Nothing? How could she possibly do nothing now? Doing nothing would only allow her to dwell on her unfortunate fate even more, which was the exact opposite of helpful.

All of these thought rushing through her mind all at once made Ellis not realize what she was saying when she finally responded to him. "Chase, I'm scared," she half whispered, looking at the floor, as if something inside her was still trying to hold those awful words in, which it was. As Ellis finally became fully aware of what she had said, she couldn't believe herself. Why had she just admitted to being afraid?

The prince was her boss, she was supposed to constantly be strong in front of him, but here she was, looking like a wreck, and feeling like one too. Maybe it was because that he seemed so genuine when he said that he cared about her, and maybe because it suddenly felt so easy for her to trust him, but all that Ellis knew for certain was that she had said those awful words, and now she couldn't take them back.

----

Felix listened to her voice echoing through his mind as she told him her story, or at least part of it. He knew that she knew that he found this whole method of communication disturbing, but as she explained things further, he figured that she probably did as well.

He had a million questions, but he didn't know how to ask them, or if he even should. He didn't know if the telecommunication went both ways. Could he communicate with her mentally, even though he didn't have the modifications for it, or any at all really?

Finally, he decided that if he turned his head to the right angle and kept his voice to a whisper, the cameras wouldn't be able to pick him up if he replied to her verbally, so that's just what he did. "But why experiment on you and give you modifications to make you stronger if they fear you?" he whispered, not understanding that at all. After all, she had said that this had happened to her because she knew too much.

"What about Ellis? Did they do the same thing to her?" he asked, wondering his her skill was enhanced like Lexi's, or if it was natural skill. More importantly, he wanted to know what they were really up against. Could Lexi truly take Ellis in a fight, even though she had already lost once before when she had tried?

He tried not to think about how terrible the process of being modified must be, and he tried to not think about what Lexi must be going through, instead he started thinking about how they could escape using her modifications, even though he wasn't sure yet if it was even possible.

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

Ellis was slightly surprised when Chase came back to her, even though apart of her had known that he would. Still, that didn't mean that she understood why. As he went on about how she had to stay here and get better because he didn't want to see her hurt, Ellis understood what he meant, but she knew that he didn't understand.

Being here in the hospital might help her body heal, but even after the stitches came out of her head, her mind would still be damaged, and no amount of rest, or medical attention would help that. All of those lost memories were gone forever. She would never know what had really happened between them at the bar, or of anything had happened between her and Lexi before she had left.

Even if Ellis was told all of the details of these events, she would never remember what she had been thinking and feeling, and it just wouldn't be the same. Part of her life was now gone forever, even if it was only a very small portion. It was still seemingly a very important portion. And now the prince just expected her to lie down and... do what exactly? Nothing? How could she possibly do nothing now? Doing nothing would only allow her to dwell on her unfortunate fate even more, which was the exact opposite of helpful.

All of these thought rushing through her mind all at once made Ellis not realize what she was saying when she finally responded to him. "Chase, I'm scared," she half whispered, looking at the floor, as if something inside her was still trying to hold those awful words in, which it was. As Ellis finally became fully aware of what she had said, she couldn't believe herself. Why had she just admitted to being afraid?

The prince was her boss, she was supposed to constantly be strong in front of him, but here she was, looking like a wreck, and feeling like one too. Maybe it was because that he seemed so genuine when he said that he cared about her, and maybe because it suddenly felt so easy for her to trust him, but all that Ellis knew for certain was that she had said those awful words, and now she couldn't take them back.

----

Felix listened to her voice echoing through his mind as she told him her story, or at least part of it. He knew that she knew that he found this whole method of communication disturbing, but as she explained things further, he figured that she probably did as well.

He had a million questions, but he didn't know how to ask them, or if he even should. He didn't know if the telecommunication went both ways. Could he communicate with her mentally, even though he didn't have the modifications for it, or any at all really?

Finally, he decided that if he turned his head to the right angle and kept his voice to a whisper, the cameras wouldn't be able to pick him up if he replied to her verbally, so that's just what he did. "But why experiment on you and give you modifications to make you stronger if they fear you?" he whispered, not understanding that at all. After all, she had said that this had happened to her because she knew too much.

"What about Ellis? Did they do the same thing to her?" he asked, wondering his her skill was enhanced like Lexi's, or if it was natural skill. More importantly, he wanted to know what they were really up against. Could Lexi truly take Ellis in a fight, even though she had already lost once before when she had tried?

He tried not to think about how terrible the process of being modified must be, and he tried to not think about what Lexi must be going through, instead he started thinking about how they could escape using her modifications, even though he wasn't sure yet if it was even possible.

[Lara]

Chase could see in Ellis's expressions that she was experience a myriad of emotions, apparently all at once. And he didn't blame her. A lot had happened.

He couldn't even imagine what losing a chunk of your memory would be like. Probably stressful… and hectic, and maybe even a little disconcerting.

After all, she had a huge hole in her memory. If he had forgotten even like a week… he would have probably had a bit of a breakdown (where no one would see it of course) and then get frustrated about not being able to remember what had happened, and then probably go to great lengths to try and get himself fixed again. So in all reality, she was handling this whole situation pretty well, as far as handling brain damage went.

Though he wasn't quite sure what to do now… as she wasn't responding right away, he couldn't let her out until she had healed, and he was just kind of awkwardly standing there in the doorway, unsure of where to go now.

And then she spoke, softly so at first he had to double check to make sure he had heard her right. Once he was certain his ears had not betrayed him, he felt a twanging pain in his gut. A pain that felt like guilt. The poor girl. It must have taken a lot for a bounty hunter/assassin to admit to something like that… he knew himself what that sort of pride was like, and how much it took to hold up a reputation. He also knew how weak one could grow under that sort of stress.

Looking at her a moment, as if to assess the situation, and any possible warning signals, he stepped forwards, moving slowly so as to give her time to back away, should she want to, as he slowly wrapped his arms around her in a gentle hug. Not a smothering one, or a sloppy one, or a needy clingy one. Just the sort of hug that was comforting, a shelter, and a reassurance. "I can't imagine what you must be going through right now… and…." he shook his head. "I can't help but feel a bit responsible… because we were arguing just before your incident, and you stormed off. So I feel like I caused it." He admitted, swallowing. His fingers were playing absentmindedly through her hair. "So I promise I'll do anything I can to make this better again…" He said softly, feeling foolish for sounding so childlike and cliche… but his words had been genuine.

…..

Lexi knew Felix didn't really like her modifications, and didn't really like her talking to him this way either… but there wasn't much she could do about that. It hadn't been her choice to get her body all messed like this. It hadn't been her choice to get strapped down to that table, undergoing a painful procedure, that everyone expected her to die from. None of this was her fault, and yet she somehow was judged or blamed for it, by Ellis, by Felix, by everyone, it seemed.

When Felix asked his first question, Lexi's lips tugged up into a small half smile as she nodded slightly. Her hand was still on his to complete the 'circuit' between them, so she sent him another message. Really, she was proud by how quickly he was catching on. 'They didn't think I'd survive. They thought I'd died from the procedures, and had dumped me in the trash… literally. I lay with the other discarded test subjects until one of the doctors came and pulled me out. A rebel, working for my good friend at the time… the general. She patched me up, helped me escape, and I fled to the only place I could, the rebellion. They welcomed me with open arms, and the rest is history.'

Her golden eyes had taken on a wistful look, and she bit her lip, thinking about Ellis. Oh how she missed her friend, the girl she had gone on outings with. The girl she had told all her secrets, and had shared secret crushes on guards with. They both liked blue icies, they both liked warm snuggle up and read days. They both had liked roof jumping. And now her friend seemed to hate her, and she was estranged from her. 'Ellis was never worked on, not that I know of.' she said softly. 'They like her too much to risk killing her…' she swallowed, closing her eyes. She didn't want to talk about this anymore. The memories were too raw.

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

Ellis was not at all prepared when suddenly he wrapped his arms around her. She squirmed a bit, not liking this at all. This was weird. It wasn't even so much the he was hugging her, it was the fact that she was being hugged at all. That never happened, not even when she had been a child. Not even her own parents had cared enough about her to hug her when she was upset, and as far as she remembered, this was the first time that it had ever happened.

The fact that the prince suddenly seemed to care about her enough to do this only made things worse, because Ellis knew that it had something to do with the recent times between them that she could no longer remember. She stopped trying to get away, but instead just stayed there, frozen, and not returning the embrace.

As he spoke about how he felt responsible for this, and how he'd try to do anything that he could to make thing better again, Ellis shook her head a bit, knowing that he already knew what she was about to say. "Chase, just stop, there's nothing that you can do," she told him, but it was then that he felt his fingers in her hair.

Every instinct she had told her to slap him for daring to do that, but before she could, she realized how soothing it was. Yes, this wasn't bad, or at least not entirely. Before she even realized it, Ellis' eyes were closed and her head was laying on his shoulder. How could she have allowed herself to give in like this? Maybe he care about her, but he was still more or less a stranger to her. But a kind stranger, who for the first time in her life seemed to care for her.

"This isn't me. I just want my life back," she murmured, feeling the need to explain her extreme weakness now. Would her memory loss really drive her into insanity like it seemed to be doing now? It was killing her that she couldn't remember anything about her and Chase, and if that frustration continued, she wouldn't be able to focus on anything else.

-----

Felix listened as she elaborated more on what had happened after the government's experimentation of her, and he frowned, wondering how anyone could ever be so cruel to anyone else. Well, at least he knew how she had gotten mixed up in the rebellion, and honestly, he didn't blame her for wanting to tear down the government after what had happened to her. Still, there was one thing that didn't make any sense to him. "So you just left with the General then? You didn't tell Ellis what had happened to you?" he asked her quietly.

From what she had said, Ellis didn't know anything about this, seeing as the government had never tried experimenting on her. As he thought about it though, other things began to click into place for him. "That's what the prince was so angry about. He doesn't want her to know what they did to you," he whispered, seeing now that Ellis was not the blame for all of this. She was completely in the dark. In reality, Chase was the real enemy here. Felix couldn't help but smirk a bit, remembering how he has shot him in the back.

Maybe Ellis wasn't really a bad guy. Maybe the fact that Lexi clearly missed her was justified after all. Maybe there was a point in trying to change her loyalties. If only they could get a chance to talk to her when she wasn't trying to hurt them. However, she had been strangely absent ever since they had been locked up. Felix had almost expected her to be hanging around, but apparently she wasn't, or she would have burst in here as soon as she saw what Lexi did with her enhanced eye earlier.

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

((Hi.....?))

[Lara]

(( \0.0/ AGH!!!! I thought I replied! Sorry! Super sorry about that! I can't reply tonight, I'd love to, but I've got a lot on my plate right now, and I'm trying to balance out bucket loads of hw and all my eps, so I'll try to get to this as soon as I can. It's unlikely that it will be tomorrow as I work all day, but hopefully the day after that! Sorry again!))

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

((It's okay, I understand!))

[Lara]

Chase felt her tense up when he initially hugged her, and he was worried he had crossed some invisible boundary into the territory of 'not allowed' and 'not welcomed'. He hoped he hadn't crossed that line. For despite the fact that she had squirmed a bit when he first embraced her, she now seemed to be just thinking about this new development and how it felt.

Sure enough, he seemed to be proved right when she relaxed in his embrace and stopped moving. She still wasn't hugging him, but just standing still was an improvement on trying to get away. But Chase didn't want her imprisoned, he wanted to help. He wanted to comfort her. So he was immensely relieved when he saw that his playing with her hair seemed to do something.

Almost immediately she lay her head on his shoulder, relaxing even more visibly. She still wasn't hugging him back, but now she was openly accepting his hug, and that was a step. He had at least gotten her to accept his offers of friendliness, even if she wasn't yet returning them. So he kept playing with her hair gently, finding it natural to do, and to be honest, quite nice too, as she had lovely soft hair, and Chase never got to really play with anyone's hair at all, now that he thought about it. His mother had died when he was three. He didn't even remember what her hair felt like. He nearly laughed at himself, thinking so deeply about hair, but hey. Who could blame him? He was playing with lovely hair right now.

And then Ellis spoke, and his somewhat smiling expression turned into a more sympathetic one. What she must feel, missing part of her memory, he couldn't even guess. But he knew he pitied her, and sympathized with her. "You are still you, Ellis… just a version of yourself from a different time than this one." he said gently. "Even if your memories can't be retrieved, you can make new ones, and treat the gap in your memory like a bit of time that you missed… like one might miss a week of school as they are sick, or on vacation. They come back and keep living afterwards." he said gently, just trying to help and encourage her.

…

Lexi knew Felix was putting together the dots because his expression was changing constantly, from confused, to understanding, to frustration, and then confused again, and it kept going. She just sat there quietly, letting him mull over the facts. And when he asked his first question, she felt the dagger slice through her.

Yes… of course… she regretted every day that she had not been able to bring Ellis with her. And she blamed herself, just like Ellis seemed to hold a grudge against her for her 'betrayal' and now Felix evidently thought she had just left too. "I tried to tell her…" she sent to him again, through the signals, but this time her voice was noticeably softer.

"I did. I tried. She wouldn't listen. Said I was stupid and making up things, wouldn't believe it without proof. And then the government caught wind of me surviving, and I had to flee before I had more of a chance to show her concrete evidence." She explained. "Every day I wish I could have stayed longer and proved it to her. Every day I wonder what would have happened if I had."

She looked back down at her hands, which were clasped, the fingers twined together, and she focused on her breathing. Ellis was not a lost cause… she certainly hated her now, but maybe she would come to forgive her and they could be friends again. Though, knowing Ellis, Lexi knew it was unlikely.

"Yes… that is what the princeling was angry about." she sent him again, still soft. He was right, and he had guessed that bang on. Or at least… that was the conclusion Lexi had come to. She wasn't sure if there were other factors effecting his anger as well… but she didn't have evidence for that. "He knows Ellis will get mad for him not telling her… and really, with the way politics work, I suppose it's not great surprise that the king decided to keep this little secret. I highly doubt all this was Chase's woven plans from the beginning. He's just learning from his father, and Ellis and I have been blackmailed into the line of fire." She heaved a sigh, letting her eyes close. "One of these days, Felix, I promise I'll get us out." she vowed, before moving her hand away from his, severing the connection. That was enough electrical speak for one day, and certainly enough to tire her out.

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

Ellis decided that she didn't like this anymore as soon as he kept insisting that things would get better, and that she could fix this. He was trying much too hard to comfort her, and that bothered her in more ways than one. Ellis moved away from him then, even though she already missed the way that he had been playing with her hair, though she scolded herself for thinking that.

"Don't pretend like you understand," she said, sounding disgusted, because she knew that he didn't. He was just saying whatever he has to say in order to get to her, and while Ellis had accepted that at first, she no longer did. "I don't want your pity," she insisted, but she soon realized that saying this might make him go away, and she didn't want that either, for some reason. Why was this so difficult?!

"Look, I just... I don't know anymore Chase. I don't understand," she said, knowing that that was a very vague statement, but it was true. She didn't know what to do, and she didn't understand all of the thoughts and feelings that were running through her head. Normally, she would have just insisted that he give her a job to take her mind off of things, but she knew that there was no way that he would do that while she was still injured.

Ellis sat down on the bed, looking down at the floor, and not at him. When she looked at him, her thoughts and feelings became even more of a jumbled mess, even though she didn't know why.

----

As she explained more of the story behind why Ellis was not currently on her side, Felix began to believe that there might be an easy solution to this. If Lexi would just tell Ellis the truth, and show her some of the modifications that the government had made to her, then made it might finally convince Ellis to change sides for good.

By Lexi didn't exactly seem up for this idea, especially when she said that they would get out of here "some day". Why couldn't that day be today?! If their whether they were imprisoned or set free basically relied on Ellis, why couldn't they just get her attention and tell her the truth? He was going to voice these ideas to Lexi, but that was when she pulled her hand away from his, showing that she didn't want to talk anymore.

Felix sighed, knowing that he could do something to get the prince and Ellis' attention, but he knew that Lexi would be against it if he tried, so he simply stayed where he was and said nothing.

((So, what should we have happen now?))

[Lara]

((hmmm…. maybe we should stop and discuss for a moment, because I'm trying to figure out what should happen too, and I'm a little at loss for options. Chase still has plans for Lexi (which he will try to carry out soon) But maybe Ellis could also check the surveillance some time soon, see what happened, and then come talk to Lexi? I don't want Ellis and Chase to grow distant, because I would like this relationship to happen, however, Lexi really wants her friend back, and I want to also see a cute friendship between Ellis and Lexi again :P Anyways. Not sure how to go about this, or what really to write for this reply. Thoughts?))

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

((Yeah, I honestly have no idea either..... I feel like things are happening, but at the same time nothing is happening... And I'm in that pit where I'm not connecting with/enjoying either of my characters anymore, so that's never fun :/ I would like to see all of these relationships happen, but I'm running out of motivation even though I don't want to DX ))

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

So are we going to sort this out, or have we passed the point of no return? :/

[Lara]

((Oh man! I didn't get the notif for your last post! Sorry about that. And no problem. It's sad that you're running out of motivation tho, because its no fun to write an rp when you aren't motivated. I'm not sure what to say. bc we already restarted… I mean, we could always restart again, but I'm pretty sure we're going to hit dead points in any rp we do. So the options are trying to work through this one, or start over completely. Do you have any preference? I think if we do start another rp, we need to really squash the characters together in a circumstance so theres less of this dancing around… lol))

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

((We don't have to start another one, because I really hate doing that, but neither of us have any ideas on where to take this... Unless you've thought of something?))

[Lara]

((hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…………………………………………………………………………………………. Yeah…… lol. I'll need to think on that one more. I'm trying to think of ways to make it more exciting/make our characters interact more… but lol. No ideas yet. hm. Lol. I'm not quite sure what to do. I'm just sorry it got to this point again :/))

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

((It's not your fault! Some things just don't always work out the way that they are planned to.... Yeah, I don't have any ideas either so..... :/ ))

[Lara]

((hmmm… well let's take a few days to think on it then, and maybe we'll have a fresh idea then. ))

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

((Yeah that's probably a good idea...))

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

So I'm guessing that neither of us have any ideas then?

[Lara]

Sorry, I came back looking here and realized I hadn't gotten your last post! I don't have any specific ideas, but I'm willing to try another rp with you if you'd like :)

[ϻαđίѕσи ~ I'm gonna be free, and I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not tonight]

Hmm, yes, okay, I suppose that we could try something new.

[Lara]

Lol we don't have to if you don't want to. Only if u want another rp ;)