Neither of us slept that night. What a surprise.

I couldn't tell what time of day it was. All I knew was that we had been down here for hours. We hadn't talked since Fwhip's announcement and Erin had zoned out staring at the floor. I, on the other hand, had been taking mental notes of everything in the prison cell, trying to find a quick way out, one that would preferably be too quick for Fwhip to set his alarm on us. There wasn't one.

I'd guess it was during the early hours of the morning when I heard a pressurized sound like when the metal doors shut over the bars. But my attention was drawn to the ceiling. A blue gas was being issued from the center of the room. I immediately panicked and shoved myself against the wall to get away from the gas.

Erin did the same and she was looking frantically for a way to escape it.

I tried holding my breath but soon enough I inhaled some. Immediately I felt drowsy, and my head started to spin. Then I heard the doors opening. Fwhip, Gem, Katherine and Shrub were all standing outside.

"Sorry guys, we need a safe transfer." Katherine said.

"You..." Erin said furiously, but it sounded like she was struggling to get words out.

I blinked rapidly, trying to keep myself awake, but it did nothing to help. My eyelids kept getting heavier and soon my vision blurred. I saw Erin hit the floor before I fell into a deep sleep...

My eyes shot open, and I looked around in panic.

The room was extremely bright, and the walls were painted white. I was strapped to a tilted table with leather bounds, but I was fully aware that my blackstone cuffs were still on. My cuts didn't sting anymore though, and I saw stitches in my arms, and I felt a bandage around my head.

"WHERE THE HELL AM I?" I shouted, trying to twist out of the leather binding on my wrists and ankles. I heard footsteps and Katherine burst into the room. She was wearing sanitary gloves that were splattered with blood. She took them off carefully at the trashcan by the door.

"Scott...calm down." She said. "We were just fixing you two up."

"Where's Erin?" I growled.

"In the room I just came out of."

"What did you do to her?"

"I was just putting a cast on the wing she broke and dressing the bites Zodiac gave her."

"Let me out."

"I can't."

I shouted in frustration and began straining against the straps again, but Katherine rushed over.

"Stop! You're going to hurt yourself!" she said.

"Like you care!" I snapped.

"I do, Scott. Please." She said quietly.

My mind, which was racing at a million miles per second came to a screeching halt. Yeah right. I rolled my eyes and stared down at the ground.

Katherine came closer and peeked underneath the bandages wrapped around my head, pressing her fingers lightly to the burn on the side of my head. I tried to twist out of the way from her hand, but she pressed a hand against my upper chest. "Stop it Scott, you're just going to make this take longer." She said through gritted teeth.

I reluctantly stopped moving and she began to change the bandages on my forehead. When she took it off, I saw it was stained a pinkish red from blood.

She was wrapping my head in fresh ones when Fwhip, Shrub and Gem entered the room. I saw a glimpse of the other room Erin was in for just a second, there was a body strapped to a table, completely motionless.

She's not dead. She's just asleep.

I told myself. But panic still settled in my chest, pulling me down like a weight in the ocean.

"Ah, the prince is finally getting used to his new life." Fwhip said with a superior grin.

Immediately I felt an explosion of anger and I strained against the straps again. Katherine groaned. "Come one Fwhip! I just calmed him down." She said. Gem elbowed him and Fwhip rubbed the spot.

"Ow. Sorry, jeez..." he mumbled.

I glared at Fwhip with as much hatred as I could muster, which is a lot I might add. I didn't feel it, but Shrub seemed to shudder.

"Is it me or did he just make it colder?" She said quietly.

"I thought he was on blackstone!" Fwhip snapped at Gemini.

"He is!" she insisted.

I smirked and Fwhip stepped up right in front of me. "Listen here, brat." He said with his finger in my face. I looked down at it.

"Get your disgusting hands out of my face, human." I snapped.

Fwhip looked shocked, and when he didn't move his finger, I bit it, hard.

"AH!" Fwhip screamed and pulled his hand back so fast he almost fell over.

I snorted and was surprised to see Gem covering her mouth, trying not to show the smile on her face.

"YOU ANIMAL!" Fwhip shouted. His finger was bleeding now, and he had wrapped his fist around it.

I gave him a toothy grin and he slapped me across the face. I stared down at the ground for a second, and I heard Katherine take a step back.

"Uh oh." She peeped.

I pulled my legs up with so much force that the straps ripped, and I kicked Fwhip right in his already damaged nose.

Fwhip staggered backwards and his nose began to bleed again. I smiled. "That felt good."

"Scott!" Shrub cried. "Why did you do that!?"

"Really?" I asked her and she gulped as I turned my glare to her. "Want me to break your little body too?"

"Don't you dare threaten her!" Katherine shrieked.

Suddenly, I felt a pinching in the side of my neck and saw Fwhip stabbing a needle into it. I saw the blue liquid drain into my veins and my head started to spin before I passed out.

I woke up bound to a chair, almost identical to the one we had held Erin in for questioning...except instead of makeshift bounds made from rope holding my wrists and ankles to the arms and legs there were built in metal clasps.

An excessively bright light was being shined in my face and I blinked a few times to let my eyes adjust. In front of me was a table, and behind that table was Fwhip, Gem, Shrub and Katherine. On the table was a notepad and a steaming cup, almost like a shot glass, filled with a steaming grey liquid.

I immediately knew what it was, and I gulped.

"Welcome back, Scott." Fwhip said. I felt a strong feeling of satisfaction when I saw the huge bruise on his nose and his right cheek. "You know how this works, we give you the serum, ask you a few basic questions, then move on to questioning."

"There is no way I'm drinking that." I said.

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Do I really have to do this?" she groaned and stood up, grabbing the glass. I pressed myself against the chair, trying to get away from her. "Do you want the easy way, or the hard way?" She asked with an exasperated tone.

I clenched my jaw. "Hard way it is." She said with a sigh. She grabbed right underneath my jaw with surprising strength and squeezed a muscle underneath my jaw and ear. My mouth opened a fraction, and she tipped my head back, pouring the liquid in.

It seared the back of my throat and I spat it out, but not before most of his slid down my throat. I started to cough on it, it really was disgusting.

I shuddered as my body tensed. My senses seemed to become more alert, and my heart rate sped up, giving me the simulation of an anxiety attack. I breathed slowly through my mouth and closed my eyes tightly, trying to calm myself down, but nothing happened. That usually worked.

I opened my eyes a sliver to Katherine sitting back down in her seat with a frown.

"Now," Fwhip said. "What is your name?"

"Scott." I answered, there was no point in even trying to lie.

"Where were you born?"

"Rivendale."

"How many siblings do you have?"

"Two."

"Seems to be working." Gem said.

"Alrighty. Let's get into some of the more, intense questions." Fwhip said happily. "Were you planning anything before your abandonment of the elven empire?"

I frowned. "What do you mean by that?" I asked genuinely.

"He means were you planning to attack the other empires before you and Phoenix left." Shrub offered.

"Of course not." I answered. "And she doesn't like being called Phoenix."

"Whatever." Fwhip said, clearly disappointed with my answer. "How about this, did you freeze Gem on purpose?"

I was appalled. "No! Why would I ever do something like that on purpose!?" I cried, straining against the metal clasps. I wanted to slap Fwhip again.

"Well..." Katherine said cautiously, and I glared at her.

"Fwhip, we already know that was an accident." Gem said with an annoyed tone, before turning back to me. "Why did you take back the Xornoth crystal?"

I blurted the answer out before I could think about it. "Because I didn't trust my brother with you and the stupid gnome!" I snapped. Shrub looked a little hurt by my remark, but it felt strangely good, and I hated it.

Fwhip looked mildly surprised. "So, you still refer to him as your brother?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Yes...? What else would I refer to him as...?"

"Were you planning to release him?" Katherine said quickly.

I froze. "I- I don't know. No, I think?"

"Why can we never get a straight answer out of you Majors?" Gem sighed.

"Because I'm not." I said before I could stop myself.

Shrub snorted and I saw Katherine suppressing a smile.

"Really?" Fwhip asked.

"Really, really." I answered. I had hardly noticed before, but I did now, I was drenched in sweat. My shirt was sticking to the front of my chest. I also realized, this was not the shirt I was wearing when me and Erin were captured. I was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and a pair of white sweatpants. I frowned. "Who changed me?"

"Next." Fwhip said, skipping over my question and looking down at his notepad. "Are you, or were you being controlled by Phoenix or Xornoth?"

My jaw dropped. "What the hell? No." I said, not even trying to resist. "I am and have been perfectly in my own mind the entire time, thank you very much."

"That's unfortunate." Gem said.

I glared at her. "And what do you mean by that?" I snapped.

She ignored me. "Let me see that." Gem said and ripped the note pad from Fwhip's hands.

"Excuse me!? I was using that-" Fwhip started, but Gem gave him a dirty look and he shut up. She scanned down, probably a list of questions before her eyes landed on one.

"What was your plan if we had surrendered?" She asked.

"We would have stayed in the elven empire and minded our own business!" I snapped. "But clearly you guys can't keep your noses out of other people's personal spaces!"

"Scott! You would have frozen everything if we hadn't taken you in! Did you realize how fast your power was spreading!?"

"How do you know that?" I said angrily. "I could have figured out how to stop it!"

"Figured out how...?" Katherine said slowly. "You mean..."

I gave her a look filled with hurt. "You thought I was trying to...?"

"You weren't trying to!?" Fwhip said with a look of shock.

"No! Who on earth would want the world frozen over!?"

All four of them glanced at each other uneasily and fell silent. Gem began to scan the notepad again. Then Fwhip snatched it back. "Thank you very much." He said haughtily. "Now... Were the late king and queen of the elven empire really killed in a freak accident or did you kill them?"

I stared at him. I didn't even feel the urge to answer. All the feeling drained from my limbs and it felt like time had frozen still. "Why would you even..." I started in barely a whisper.

"Why isn't it working!?" Fwhip snapped angrily. But even Katherine, Gem and Shrub looked shocked.

"I wouldn't- No-" I gasped, but it was becoming harder to breathe. I hadn't thought about mom and dad for months. They wouldn't have wanted this, would they? I began to shake my head, back in forth, trying to get the images of them out of my head.

"Scott- Scott, calm down." Gem said, and I heard fear in her voice.

I could feel my eyes watering, and I suddenly felt Gem's hand on my arm. I looked up a little and saw the look of concern on her face. I felt my tears frosting over, even with the blackstone on.

"Hey, its ok." She said and tried to wipe the slowly crystalizing water off my face, but I jerked away. She was still keeping me a prisoner here.

"Well?" Fwhip finally said impatiently. "Did you?"

"No- No none- none of this would have happened if they were-" I managed to choke out.

"I think that's enough Fwhip." Katherine said quietly.

"Fine." Fwhip growled softly. "Take him out." I heard footsteps behind me, and I twisted around to see two prison guards behind me. They had been silent the entire time. They both came up on either side of me, and Gem stepped back as they unclipped the metal clasps. Then they dragged me to the wall and slammed me up against it.

I screamed into my teeth as a sharp pain shot up one of my wings from getting pressed into the wall.

"Careful!" Katherine said.

"I don't need your help!" I snapped at her, trying to pull from the guards. They didn't budge.

"Bring the girl in!" Fwhip called.

A door opened in the back, near where the prison guards had been standing. Someone came in, dragging Erin in from under her arms.

"LET ME GO!" She shrieked, twisting in every direction to get out of their arms. But they didn't let go. Erin managed to plant her feet on the ground, then she pushed off, throwing her legs and body into the air, flipping upside down, and kicking the person dragging her in the face.

They we shot backwards, and they slammed into the chair Erin was supposed to be in with a bloody face.

Erin scrambled to her feet with an insane look on her face, before screaming in rage and throwing herself over the table the four were sitting behind and colliding with Shrub.

They rolled across the ground, and I saw Erin tearing at the gnome wherever she could. Shrub screamed and one of the guards let go of me to try and pull Erin off her, but I was too stunned to move.

The guard that Erin had kicked in the face had gotten up and the two were wrestling with Erin to get her off of Shrub. Blood was flying through the air like water, but finally, the guards managed to pry Erin off of the gnome and they slammed her down into the seat, clamping the metal around her wrists and ankles. Erin screamed again in frustration and began writhing in her bounds.

Shrub on the other hand, was trembling on the ground. She had long scratches down her arms dripping blood and it looked like Erin had raked her nails across her face. Katherine kneeled down next to her and pulled her up. Then I realized Shrub was sobbing.

Katherine pulled her into her arms. "It's ok." She whispered. Shrub buried her face into Katherine's chest and her shoulders shook with sobs.

"You monster..." Fwhip growled.

"Why thank you." Erin said, out of breath and breathing heavily. The grin on her face was unsettling, especially after what she had just done.

"I need a med kit!" Katherine called, and the guard that Erin hadn't kicked in the face bowed and jogged out of the room to grab it.

"Now." Fwhip said aggressively. "Katherine."

Katherine stood up, picking Shrub up, and putting her down on the chair. Then, she pulled a bottle, almost like a hip flask, off her waist and refilled the shot glass with potion, before sitting back down on her seat and pulling Shrub onto her lap. Shrub curled up in a ball and pressed the side of her head against her.

"Ah, so that's what we're doing." Erin said in a psychotic whisper.

The guard then entered the room again, carrying a small med kit. They placed it on the table, before walking over to me and helping press me against the wall.

Erin turned and seemed to just notice me. Her eyebrows raised. "Oh," she said in surprise. "So, he's already done it? How much did he give away?"

"Not-" Katherine began.

Fwhip suddenly hissed violently. "Shut up Katherine!"

Katherine pressed her lips together, then opened the med kit and began cleaning Shrub's scratches.

Erin grinned. "Alright then. By the way, if Scott drank from that thing already, there is no way in hell I'm drinking anything from it."

"Oh yes there is." Fwhip said and grabbed it aggressively off the table. He strutted around the table, next to Erin and went to grab Erin's jaw, but she darted away from his hand.

"Ew, I'd rather drink a gallon of that stuff than be touched by you." She spat.

"Then drink it yourself." Gem said with a matter-of-fact tone.

"Fine." Erin counteracted. "Except for the fact that I can't use my hands. Slight oversight on your part amethyst freak."

Fwhip unclipped the clasp on Erin's right wrist and forced the glass into her hand. Erin looked surprised for just a moment, then she shrugged and downed it in one gulp.

"Refreshing as always." She said sarcastically as Fwhip reclipped her wrist "Now let's get started."

Katherine glanced from her to Fwhip and Gem as Fwhip sat back down. "Aren't we the ones questioning her...?"

"Let's see about that." Erin grinned.

"Alright, let's start with a few basic questions. What is your name?" Gem asked, and I thought I heard a bit of nervousness in her voice.

"You already know my name you moron. At this point you use it as an insult." Erin answered, rolling her eyes.

"You sure you doubled it, Katherine?" Fwhip asked.

"Yes, I'm sure." Katherine said. "How about this, why would you do this to Shrub?"

I glanced down at Shrub and saw her eyes were red and there were tear streaks down her face. Under the blood was five long scratches cut diagonally down her face.

Erin smirked. "To get back at her for what she did in the temple."

"What did she..." Fwhip started, but I saw Shrub's eyes widen, and she sat up.

"I thought..." she said slowly.

"What did I hurt didn't it?" Erin said with a smile. "How do you think it felt, when you smashed the back of my head AND TOOK EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME!?"

"You're not just talking about the temple anymore." I said suddenly.

Her head snapped towards me. "OF COURSE, I'M NOT!"

"STOP!" Fwhip roared. "HOW ABOUT THIS, INSTEAD OF TRUTH SERUM, WE TORTURE YOUR BROTHER UNTIL YOU ANSWER."

"What-" Gem started.

"Whatever he does, don't tell them." I blurted out, before one of the guards grabbed one of my antlers and slammed my head against the wall. Fwhip then got up and strode over to me, pulling a small knife from one of the many pockets inside his leather jacket.

He pressed it against my neck. "What were you planning to do if you won the war?" Fwhip asked.

"Wow, so original." Erin said, rolling her eyes. "I suppose I would have killed you all first. One by one. So, you could watch each other die extremely painful deaths. Then, I would take over the kingdoms and me and Scott would reign over the world. Happily, ever after. Although I guess it wouldn't be very happily. I would be quite the dictator. Don't you think?"

Fwhip turned to me, eyebrows raised. My jaw dropped.

"Excuse me!?" I said. "We never talked about this."

"I know. Because I know your little goodie two shoes would never agree with it." She snapped.

"Next," Fwhip said, pressing the knife a little harder against my skin, but not hard enough to draw blood. "Were you the one who killed King Rohan and Queen Pandora?"

She rolled her eyes again. "Ugh, I wish. But unfortunately, they were dead before I even knew I was related to them."

"Seems genuine." Gem said.

"How do you know that princess?" Erin grinned.

"My turn." Gem said, giving Erin a dirty glare. "Where did you and Scott disappear to during the months you were missing."

Erin made a sound like an inaudible, 'I don't know' and shrugged her shoulders. Fwhip pressed the knife deeper into my skin and it began to sting.

"Answer her." He growled lowly.

"How about, no." she said.

I felt blood dripping down my neck now, and Katherine looked from the knife in Fwhip's hand up to me. "Maybe-" she started, but Fwhip cut her off.

"ANSWER OR I'LL CUT OPEN HIS THROAT!" Fwhip shouted.

"Fine. Cut open his throat." Erin answered calmly, with a look that clearly said, 'I dare you.'

Fwhip looked stunned, but then he cut even farther into my neck. I sucked air in through my teeth to stop from shouting out.

"I'LL DO IT!"

"I'm waiting."

Fwhip's grip loosened a little on the blades handle and he pulled the knife from my throat. "I thought you cared about him." He said angrily.

"And I knew you didn't have enough nerve to go through with it." Erin said with a triumphant grin.

"AGH!" Fwhip shouted in rage, before launching the knife at Erin's head. Erin ducked down, just in time before it would have pierced her forehead.

"ENOUGH!" Gem shouted, her eyes glowing white in anger and frustration. "ANSWER ME THIS, WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE, HIM, OR XORNOTH?"

Erin stopped. A look of contemplation came to her face, but then it turned into a malicious one. "Why, I would kill them both and be done with it."

Everyone in the room froze, including me. Everyone behind the table was speechless. That's when Erin threw her head back and laughed, a cold, high, wicked laugh. A laugh that suited her perfectly.

"You sociopath." Fwhip spat.

"I'm aware." Erin snickered.

"This obviously isn't working." Katherine pointed out.

"Nope." Erin agreed.

"Alright then." Fwhip said through gritted teeth. He let go of my arm and started walking towards Erin, pulling a syringe from his pocket. How many of these did this man have on him? Before Erin could react, he stabbed it into her arm.

Her eyelids began to get heavy, and she collapsed backwards into her seat.

"Let him go." Gem said, and the guards released me.

I massaged my wrists and glared at all of them. "What are you going to do now?" I asked with what I hope was a threatening tone.

Katherine and Gem glanced at each other, but they didn't say anything. I saw Fwhip pulling the handle of another syringe from his jacket slowly. I sighed.

"Just do it." I said.

"Wha- you're not gonna fight back?" Fwhip asked.

"What's the point?" I answered, keeping my face expressionless.

"Ok..." Fwhip said slowly. He stepped up to me and held up wrist up, searching for a vein before injecting the serum.

My head started to spin, but before I collapsed, Fwhip caught me and lowered me to the ground before I closed my eyes.