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Something was wrong. As Grace looked at her, expression pained, alarm bells clanged in Patricia’s head. Had something happened? Had someone... no, she didn’t want to think about it. One of their friends couldn’t be... She drew herself up, stopping the puppy eyes to look Grace in the face, wide-eyed and confused. [color=DarkOrchid]"This isn't a mission, Patricia, [i]agi,[/i]"[/color] Grace said, being uncharacteristically gentle. Patricia’s heart jumped at her soft tone, and she backed up a step. [color=MediumOrchid]“I-if it’s not a mission, then… everything’s fine, right? Right?”[/color] she pressed Grace, but Grace just stood there, looking deep in thought. Patricia braced herself for bad news as soon as Grace took a breath, determined to take it like a champ. 

But the news was worse than she could imagine. For a moment, all Patricia could do was stare, barely comprehending. Shock reverberated through her bones, eyes and mouth open wide. The Wings of Law… a coup? And they had framed her. But the Wings were gone, and she hadn’t done anything. [color=MediumOrchid] “You’re… you’re kidding me. Right? You’re- you’re kidding. It isn’t funny, Grace, please, I-”[/color] Patricia cut herself off with a nervous laugh, desperate for it all to be an elaborate lie. In her mind, she tried to convince herself that it wasn’t true, that Grace was some horrible prankster. Maybe… maybe it was Korean April Fool’s Day? She accepted Grace’s hug numbly, and shuffled after Grace into the living room. She stared at the television, willing it all not to be true when Grace turned it on, and…

[color=MediumOrchid] “No. Nononononono… this isn’t happening, I-I [i]didn’t[/i]-”[/color] Patricia choked out, staring at her own face plastered across CCN. It was real. This was happening- her worst nightmare came to life. Panic swirled, her throat tightening and body shuddering. Tears welled in her eyes, but she didn’t want Grace or Eliza to see her sob like a baby, terrified. So she ran to her room, slamming the door shut.

Patricia sagged against the door, gasping for air. She didn’t have time to panic, didn’t have time before they got here to take her away, didn’t have time before she was carted off to prison for something she hadn’t done. But her body shuddered with terror, and she dug her fingers in her hair, unable to stop the tears from flowing. Why were they treating her like this? Why did Seraph have it out for her? He had worked on her father’s case, but that was no reason for this. Patricia sobbed into the collar of her dress, terrified. She didn’t want to go to prison, to be treated like her father. She had spent most of her life trying to build her own legacy, and, thanks to the Wings, all that had come crashing down on her in one fell swoop. 

Patricia spent a horrible minute curled up like that. She was swathed in terror, overwhelming her mind and cowing her. But she knew she had to pull herself together, and, after that minute, stood up shakily and tried desperately to cast her attention somewhere else. [color=MediumOrchid][i]Packing. Right. I need to pack.[/i][/color] Patricia stumbled around her room, pulling out an old, tattered backpack. It was the one she usually used for sleepovers. [color=MediumOrchid][i]This is just like a sleepover,[/i][/color] she thought to herself. Tears still dripped down, and a horrible nausea was rising in her stomach, but Patricia dashed around her room in a panic, snatching clothes out of her drawers and shoving them into her backpack. She grabbed her laptop and its charger and shoved it into the bag. Luckily, she had saved a few burner phones from the mafia mission, so she dropped a couple of those into it too. Grabbing socks from her drawer, she wiggled them on and yanked her feet into a pair of tennis shoes by her door. Most importantly, she grabbed her stuffed unicorn, Veronica, and shoved her into the bag. It was a struggle to zip it, but she managed to after a bit of effort. Once done, she gasped for air and slung it across her shoulders. Seeing them in the corner, she also grabbed Eliza’s sleepover bag and her violin. 

Patricia left her room, furiously trying to wipe her tears from her eyes. Before heading back into the living room, she popped into the bathroom to grab her toothbrush and some toothpaste. She didn’t stop to stare at herself in the mirror, instead charging straight back into the living room. Sniffling, she gave Eliza’s bag and violin to her and turned her gaze to the TV.

What she saw hit like a dull punch to the gut. [color=MediumOrchid]“Tom?”[/color] she whispered, confused, as the newscaster… he couldn’t have. He wouldn’t have betrayed them. Patricia shook her head, in disbelief. But if all this could happen, then that could happen as well, couldn’t it? He was her friend. More than that, even, like something she imagined a brother would be. She was too upset to be angry, at this point- just numbly sad. In moments, her life had fallen apart. 

She simply nodded at Grace’s little speech, just staring ahead. Tears trailed across her face. She stared at the portal for a moment and then glanced around her house. Would this be the last time she saw this place? If she was arrested… well, she couldn’t imagine being exonerated if Powers and Christina were dead and gone. Her eyes snagged on the cake she had finished mere minutes earlier and, for a reason unknown to her, walked into the kitchen. She grabbed it, balancing it in her hands, and walked back to the room. Why let all that effort go to waste?

Grace’s hand waved through the portal, and Patricia looked to Eliza. [color=MediumOrchid] “It’ll…”[/color] she choked on her own words, unable to reassure her. [color=MediumOrchid] “Come on. Let’s… let’s go.”[/color] Not waiting for Eliza, Patricia stepped through the portal, cake in hand.

She emerged in a florist’s shop, resplendent with summer flowers. Patricia took a breath, both trying to calm herself and smelling the flowers. It smelled nice. She glanced at Pandora and Chad, and then examined the room with her eyes. She vaguely recognized the two of them- especially Chad, who she had yelled at about a week ago. She cringed at the memory- hopefully it hadn’t left a sour taste in his mouth. She listened to Grace speak, and then took a breath in to say something herself. 

[color=MediumOrchid] “I’m- I’m Patricia. Aria. Whatever.”[/color] She stared Pandora in the eyes, trying her hardest not to cry even more. Against her will, another tear slipped out, but she couldn’t let go of the cake to wipe it from her eye. [color=MediumOrchid]“I know what you probably saw on the news, and I-I [i]promise[/i], that wasn’t me.”[/color] Patricia sniffled. [color=MediumOrchid]“I’m innocent. I didn’t kill all those people, Seraph made it up. I’m a good person, I swear. I don’t know why this is happening.”[/color] Patricia’s voice cracked on ‘I swear’, her mouth quivering. She moved past it quickly, though, and she awkwardly extended the cake, at a loss for what else to do. They were screwed if Pandora wouldn’t let them stay. She might even call the cops. [color=MediumOrchid]“H-here. If you’re going to let us stay here, you might as well get something out of harboring fugitives. It’s homemade, and I don’t know how good it is, but…”[/color] Patricia smiled, hopeful, although weak.

[color=6ecff6]"...Miss Pandora...this is Alpha aka K Nine...member of Hero One now officially with CPD SWAT...please let me in...we need to talk…”[/color] A voice sounded at the door, making Patricia jump into the air. The cops?! Fuck fuck fuck fuck… How had they found them already!

[color=MediumOrchid]“Oh, shit! The cops! M-ma’am, do you have someplace I could hide? Like a closet or something… I really don’t want to go to prison,”[/color] Patricia whispered, glancing at the door. Her heart beat in her chest frantically, expression terrified. 

[center][@Hitman][@Amethyst][@Zoey Boey][@Duoya][/center]