Marie was a trembling mess by the time they reached the S.E.A. skyscraper. She didn’t try to stop it, as she felt like it helped with her state as a lost hobo. Tears of fear now mingled with her tears of anger, and she was more grateful than ever that she did not have a chip that forced her to sing her emotions. Mr. Germain was waiting for her outside, and luckily Marie had prepared herself well enough that she felt like her eyes glazed over him without the recognition she was sure would give her away.

“Follow me,” Mr. Germain said. It sounded like he was trying to be friendly, but it didn’t work for him. Marie knew too well that Mr. Germain knew exactly who Marie was.

Marie nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes as she followed behind Mr. Germain. He led her to a small building on the other side of the skyscraper. She never noticed it before, maybe because the skyscraper was so impressive and tall she never thought to look at the bottom. Mr. Germain opened a door and stepped aside so Marie could enter first. Everything inside Marie told her to run the other way, that this certainly was a trap. It took everything inside her to calm down enough to enter the building. Marie waited for Mr. Germain and continued to follow him through a narrow hallway lined with doors. Marie was struck with how this layout looked a lot like the basement of the S.E.A. skyscraper. Mr. Germain got to the last one on the left. Again, he opened it for her and Marie stepped inside a darkened room.

Mr. Germain turned on the light. There was a table with two chairs across from each other.

“I don’t understand,” Marie stuttered. “Am I in trouble? I’m sorry I forgot…” Marie’s mind demanded her to stop from mentioning the watch. No one else mentioned it, and Hobo Marie doesn’t know it was dangerous. “Forgot my way,” she said instead. “This city is so much bigger than I anticipated. I’m really, really sorry. I just want to go back and get some sleep.”

Mr. Germain motioned to the chairs. “Sit down, I’ll bring you something to eat. We can talk while you eat.”

Marie pushed down the panic inside her. Mr. Germain didn’t tell her she was in trouble, but he didn’t say she wasn’t, either.

“Oh yes. I’m starving,” Marie said, thinking that she should have mentioned that too. After all, poor lost hobo Marie went all day without eating. She needed to step up her acting.

Marie sat down in a chair and Mr. Germain sat across from her right as the door opened. Marie turned to see someone bring in some food and a glass of water. As soon as the agent set it down, Marie attacked it like she had the container of food Billy had given her. At least she was still a little hungry.

“Tell me where you were,” Mr. Germain said.

Marie didn’t slow down her food intake until she guessed she ate about half of it. “I don’t know. I don’t know where I was. I was lost.”

“My agents reported picking you up on Rhapsody Street. Mind telling me what you were doing there?” Mr. Germain asked.

Marie knew she should be acting scared and grateful that she had been picked up by the S.E.A., but she felt a familiar anger burn her stomach. She remembered why she hated Mr. Germain so much. He never supported Sophie in her decisions to study math, and he always treated Marie like a lower-class science scum. He didn’t seem to care that his own daughter was now a hobo. But Hobo Marie wasn’t supposed to know him. She wasn’t supposed to feel the resentment toward him. But maybe she could still feel irked he wasn’t listening to her.

“I told you,” Marie said. “I was lost. I don’t know what I was doing there. I was trying to get back.”

She kept downing her food until she started to feel physically sick. She slowed down and took a long drink of water before returning to her food more gently. Marie couldn’t read anything on Mr. Germain’s stony face. She wondered just briefly what it would be like for him to see Marie again after all this time. Was Marie still considered a threat to President Arnold?

“Seems like you didn’t get your father’s sense of direction,” Mr. Germain said.

The impulse to lash out at Mr. Germain came in full force, and she struggled wildly to fight it. Mr. Germain was trying to trip her up, but she didn’t consider he’d go so low as to use her dad against her. Marie’s fingers tightened over the fork she was given, and she knew there was a flash of hurt and anger in her eyes before she forced it back.

“Father? What are you talking about?” Marie asked, trying to save herself.

Mr. Germain said nothing, but Marie almost wished she could wipe the memory of his smile out of her mind. Marie now fought the panic inside her, refusing to show it on her face. Marie ducked her head and busied herself with eating her food, feeling her appetite leave her completely. She knew Mr. Germain was still staring into her skull.

“What were you doing on Rhapsody Street,” Mr. Germain asked, his voice low and dangerous.

The food was starting to have a hard time settling in her stomach. “I was lost. I don’t know,” Marie repeated.

Mr. Germain stared her down, and Marie struggled to think of what hobo Marie would do. Scared, hopeless, terrified hobo Marie. She knew she wouldn’t look at Mr. Germain, but that’s also what guilty Marie would do.

The buzzing of Mr. Germain’s phone made him break contact with her to check it. Marie kept eating the food, glad it gave her some distraction. It would have driven her crazy to face Mr. Germain’s stares instead of looking at a dinner plate.

Even though her appetite was gone, she had to admit the food was much better than what they gave the hobos. Marie wondered if the S.E.A. had its own cafeteria or something.

Mr. Germain didn’t excuse himself as he flipped open his phone and dialed a number. He placed it against his ear. Marie scooped the last of the food in her mouth.

“Bring it. We are to take every precaution. I’m in room seven.” Mr. Germain shut the phone without saying goodbye. She was pretty sure the person on the other side didn’t even get a hello in there.

Marie drained the rest of the water and placed the cup down, terrified of what this all meant. Her distractions were now eaten, and she wasn’t sure she had the courage to face Mr. Germain again. She stared at the table.

“May I go back now?” Marie asked, terrified they were actually going to drag her away to the basement.

Mr. Germain didn’t face her. “Yeah. We just have to do a little something first.”

The door opened and Marie was prepared for almost anyone to walk through that door except for the person who did.

Charles moved into the room holding a plate with a few instruments on it. Marie’s eyes widened and she fought down the desire to gasp out loud. It was instinctual. There was no way he should be here, and yet here he was! Marie realized she hadn’t asked what hospital Charles worked at. She had no idea he worked in the S.E.A. skyscraper.

Marie felt Mr. Germain’s eyes on her and Marie quickly moved her eyes to what she hoped was admiration of his extremely hot features. She was sure that would explain her wide eyes. It was almost the same facial expression she had the first time she saw Charles. Besides, Mr. Germain now knew Marie had her memories. She could not give a hit that she recognized Charles. She just had to be a silly teenage girl with an obvious appreciation for a man with a hot body.

Charles didn’t look at her. He set the instruments on the table and began filling a syringe from a vial of blue liquid she was all too familiar with. She and her team back in the clearing had pumped the lab rats with the same concoction. It was more of the forgetting formula.

“No, she needs a double dose,” Mr. Germain said when Charles was about to set the vial down.

Charles glanced up at Mr. Germain, a questioning look on his face. “Oh. I’m sorry. I thought standard procedure meant regular doses on whatever this stuff is,” Charles said.

Marie knew he was playing some sort of part, pretending he had no idea what the stuff was even though Marie was certain he knew. She couldn’t give anything away. Mr. Germain was on one side of Marie, glaring at Charles.

“This is not a standard procedure case. Give her a double dose,” Mr. Germain said, his voice dripping with authority.

Marie’s heart pounded in her chest. Charles was right there. Right there. And so, unfortunately, was Mr. Germain. She needed so desperately to talk to Charles. She wished she had a paper or pencil with her, something to write him a note. Mr. Germain put some sort of mask over her connected with tubes. Charles shrugged and filled the syringe with even more of the formula before sitting down next to her. He began to swab an area around her veins.

“What… what are you doing?” Marie asked, her voice meek and muffled by the mask. By now the gig was up. Mr. Germain knew she remembered everything, but she needed to stall. Her mind scrambled for an idea to communicate somehow to Charles. Let him know she would still remember.

A terrifying thought struck her. Maybe she’d remember. In all the short experiments they’d done with omnitocsil and syrophil, she’d never tried it with a double dose. In theory it should still work, but there was still a chance it wouldn’t. Marie felt herself start to panic as she began fighting against Mr. Germain who was adjusting the last of the straps against her face.

Charles and Mr. Germain pinned her to the chair as Mr. Germain turned on a switch. Marie heard a soft hissing sound, the same sound as what she heard when she crossed the wall. Instinct won out, and she again fought against the mask.

“A few more seconds, she should be out,” Mr. Germain said.

Marie distinctly remembered seeing Charles. He was still playing his part as a loyal S.E.A. worker as he pinned her shoulder against the chair, but she could see the flash of an apology through his eyes.

Marie felt her limbs grow heavy and her vision blur. She had to keep her mouth shut as she blacked out. She didn’t want to talk and get Charles in trouble. Her last thoughts from her racing mind was figuring out the probability of whether or not the omnitocsil could overcome a double dose of the forgetting formula. She still hadn’t come to a conclusion when complete blackness overtook her.

***

Albert stared at the darkened ceiling, his hands behind his head, thinking. There was no way he could sleep tonight. Too much happened today. He doubted anyone was asleep in this apartment. Though, maybe Billy. He seemed to love how he was caught up in a conspiracy theory and was probably sleeping soundly.

Albert tried to close his eyes, but all he could see when he did was Marie, happy, whole, and here. And hopefully she stayed that way as she returned to the other hobos. Tomorrow night couldn’t come fast enough. He needed to see her again, to make sure she was okay.

He felt something wake back up inside him. The first month of Marie’s disappearance he’d almost driven himself crazy with worry. Because of it, he was singing every single day, and was forced to change the lyrics of almost every song. His grades dipped from the stress. Billy and Abe helped him immensely with his stress and tools to change the lyrics so it wouldn’t be nearly as taxing. He knew they cared about Albert, and he also knew that if Albert got caught, they’d be caught too. They were in it together, or they would get arrested together. In a way, Albert learned to push thoughts of Marie aside. He had to, or else the stress would eat him alive. He knew the stress got to the other two, but they were better at handling it somehow.

The second month was better, and Billy and Abe learned to just never mention Marie. Albert dove into his studies which helped both his grades, and to keep his mind off Marie. Every once in a while, he’d spiral and think of her, terrified that she’d be dead somewhere and he’d have no idea, but it was better than every day.

But now she was back. He couldn’t simply push her from his mind, nor did he want to. The portion of his mind that thought about Marie, the one he had done so well to calm and tame, came back in a fury, and Marie was all he could think about. He remembered talking with her in science class and watch as she opened up and talked to him about concepts. He loved listening to her ideas about chemistry, watching how animated she got as she talked about what she would do to make the world a cleaner, safer place. He loved simply being with her, to feel her quiet strength as she worked her way through things he couldn’t even imagine.

Albert slipped out of bed the second he heard the music playing. He knew from Abe’s constant tossing and turning that he was still awake. He needed complete concentration in order to change the lyrics to this song, because he had an inkling about what they were going to be. If he knew Abe was overhearing, he’d get flustered and have a hard time concentrating.

Albert entered the bathroom and closed the door. He gripped the sink as his chip came alive with possible lyrics, all about Marie and what she was asking them to do. What he willingly agreed to do. He needed to sensor most of this song. He went through the mental exercises Billy put him and Abe through every day. He was so sick of rhymes, but knew he needed this in order to save the lives of him and his friends.

“The mirror and I have had many a chat,

For good, or for ill, or for logical.

So now that the news of finals is back,

I come back with a fear pathological.”

Albert swallowed. Singing about finals shouldn’t spike anyone’s curiosity. It is, after all, a very stressful time for students. He could feel his emotions of excitement at seeing Marie being churned through the chip, but as Billy taught, thinking ahead would make him panic. He just had to think of the now. The chorus came, and his mind worked swiftly.

“They have come back when I was starting to chill,

“Thinking I had everything under control,

“But they’ve come, and I admit I felt a small thrill

“In the darkest, hidden part of my soul.”

Albert knew he was losing focus. He kept seeing Marie’s face in his minds eye, and it was not helping him concentrate. He forced the image away and focused on the next batch of lyrics the chip gave him, rapidly thinking of ways to alternate it. They were talking about how he had joined in her search for the underground, and he could not sing the stanza at all. His mind rapidly went through the list of words he knew he could rhyme in an instant, and formed the sentences that would make the most sense.

“Finals, to me, has never looked better,

“Despite the slim studying I’ve done,

“My heart often feels like it’s stuck in a fetter,

“But there’s still two months before I can see the sun.”

Albert swallowed. It would have to do. Again, he remembered what Billy told him. Sing it, and move on. He couldn’t dwell on how bad the lyrics sounded, he could only move on. He sang the chorus again, while getting ready to sing the final verse.

“They have come back when I was starting to chill,

“Thinking I had everything under control,

“But they’ve come, and I admit I felt a small thrill

“In the darkest, hidden part of my soul.

“This isn’t the end, I certainly know it.

“After all, I have three years left in school.

“And, though I have doubts I will actually blow it,

“I also don’t want to look like a fool.”

Albert let out a slow breath as the last notes drifted off. He rubbed his temples, shaking his head just a bit. It would have to be enough. He said nothing suspicious. For now, that was good enough.

Albert returned to his bedroom and got back under the covers. He closed his eyes, trying to think about sleeping when he heard Abe turn in his bed again.

“Everything all right?” Abe asked.

“It’s fine. I sang nothing condemning,” Albert said.

Abe nodded in the darkness. “I sang mine in the shower tonight.”

“And?”

“Same. Nothing condemning, though I’m no song artist like Billy.”

Albert gave a snort. Billy was definitely in a league of his own with his skills. There was silence again before Abe sat up, resting on his elbows. “Hey, is Marie’s return going to… change anything?”

Albert glanced at him. He wasn‘t quite sure what Abe meant, but had a vague idea. “Hopefully not. I might be singing more often, but I think just knowing she’s alive won’t stress me out nearly as much as the unknown. It will especially help if we know she’ll be safe tomorrow.”

Abe frowned. “Yeah, true. But... that’s not what I meant. Will it change things. Between our friendship.”

Albert blinked a few times. “Meaning?”

Abe rested on his back again, staring at the ceiling. “I’m just going to say it. You were a jerk to me when Marie was around. I know it’s because you liked her and me being there posed as a threat to you. Since she left, you’ve stopped being a jerk. Now that she’s back, are you going to be a jerk again?”

Albert was grateful for the darkness, so he didn’t have to look at Abe. He still stared at the ceiling. “You like her too, don’t you?”

Abe didn’t say anything for some time. Not until Albert looked over and saw Abe looking at him.

“And if I do?” Abe asked.

Albert glared, not entirely sure Abe could see it. “You claim you have no idea why I feel so threatened with you around, but let’s be truly honest with each other. I feel ‘threatened’ as you so put it because you like her too.”

Abe said nothing for a moment. “There has to be some way we can still keep our friendship with each other, no matter what her choice is.”

Albert closed his eyes. “Do you honestly think that?”

“And do you honestly think putting me down will make her want you?” Abe asked.

Albert turned around, his back to Abe, already feeling something shift between them. “Good night, Abe.”

Abe pulled the blankets closer around him and said nothing.