"Careful not to hurt yourself, sweetie!" Jane Lauren called out.

"Mom, I'm literally bulletproof. Pretty sure I'll be fine." Hope said flatly.

"Knowing you, you'll somehow find a way to wind up in the hospital." Jane huffed out.

Hope rolled her eyes and brought the farming tool down into the soil. The streets of Oleander were still messy, filled with large walls of rubble and abandoned cars, but that didn't stop them from expanding out. Sky had finally decided that it was time to leave the underground subway. Many of Sky's people walked the streets, doing the smaller jobs that Battery's massive Giants couldn't, like picking up the trash, while Sky herself used her power to separate the stone and raise the ground, creating small patches of farmland. They were able to get actual seeds, and now that they weren't underground and had access to the sun, they were doing their best to grow crops and other such things.

She currently held onto a hoe and brought it down through the soil again and again, doing her best to mimic what her father had shown her.

Sky had created four twenty-by-twenty square feet of soil, and in one of them, Alexander Lauren twirled his farm gear around, burying the seeds beneath the soil and piling it up in an almost perfect way. Compared to him, Hope found hers looking very sloppy and nasty.

She gritted her teeth and tried putting her back into it but was once again stopped by her mom. "Don't do anything that could harm yourself, Hope!"

"Mom, I'm fine!" She did her best to not yell. Jane Lauren rested in a lawn chair, the woman's body still not having fully recovered. The metal pod was in Jane's lap, squirming around as if it were some sort of cat that was trying to get comfortable. Every time she tried to even use an ounce of her strength, her mom was there to stop her.

"Your mom is just worried." Alexander let out a low chuckle and stabbed his hoe into the ground. He seemed to be doing a lot better now that his daughter was back. He was finally starting to get proper muscle on his body once more and even grow back some of his reddish hair. His eyes held a twinkle in them as he glanced at his daughter. "You know, Hope, with everything that has happened recently, I don't think you can blame us for being a bit paranoid about the danger you might put yourself in."

Hope placed her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. "What? You think I'm going to go do something reckless and shatter?"

"That's exactly what would happen to you, thanks to your luck." Jane snorted. "I'm honestly shocked that you actually stayed put for so long."

Hope remained silent and looked away, not meeting her mother's eye. It had been a week since she had returned. She had kept her word and stayed to rest and regain her strength and energy. During that week, Sky had put her to work, helping out when she could. She didn't go out at all, though. Her parents had kept her at the base while Sky and a few other hunters would run off to go get supplies or stop some minor threat that popped up. Her fire powers still hadn't returned, and she didn't get to talk with Myth or the Sub Enforcers at all either.

Red Ape had created dozens of monsters and left them beneath the city all over the place. The Sub Enforcers had been busy cleaning up and finding all the animals. Part of her also thought Myth might have been avoiding her after she rejected his offer to join his team.

Now just wasn't the best time...

Speaking of the best time, she also hadn't told her parents of her plan...

She wasn't going to stay here. It was nearly time for her to set out, like how she discussed with Sky last week. Despite having thought it through for a full week, she hadn't gotten the courage to drop that bombshell to her parents. As far as they knew, she was just content with staying with them and living such a mundane life.

"I'm proud of you, Hope." Hope nearly flinched when her mother spoke up once more.

"Why?" She asked. Her throat suddenly felt dry.

"I really thought this kind of life wouldn't suit you." The raven-haired woman looked up at the sky. Clouds floated across it gently, and it was starting to look bright once more as the Giants cleaned up more and more of the Beast's taint. "You've been trying your best. Doing what you can. You're still being a hero. A hero for us."

"That sounds cheesy," Alexander said flatly. "She's likely to run away if you stay trashy stuff like that."

"It's not cheesey! That came from the heart!" Jane threw something at her husband, but the man casually sidestepped it. "You thought what I said was cool, right? Hope!" Jane turned and found that her daughter was no longer looking at her; instead, she was whistling and had gotten back to work. "Don't pretend to ignore me now!"

A loud ringing bell echoed through the streets, causing everyone to stop what they were doing. Alexander gave a grin as he ran his hand through his beard. "Guess it's that time already."

"It's not even noon yet, though." Hope frowned and glanced up at the sun that hung in the sky.

"Maybe it's a special occasion?" Jane shrugged.

"What would it be for, though?" Alexander asked, frowning.

Hope once again looked away from her parents, not saying a word. She had told Sky a few days ago that today would be the last day she stayed. In other words, it was a special occasion. It was the final day she'd spend time with her family like this. Of course, no one else would know that. Nobody but Sky, that was. Chances were, she was going to be given the stink eye from Sky.

"Shall we?" Her father called out.

"Sure. Let's get this over with." She muttered quietly. She adjusted her clothes as she got out of the field of soil and took her mother's arm, helping the woman stand up. The metal pod flowed over her body and twisted around her, forming a silver-looking jacket. Due to the harsh sun, most of them were dressed lightly; her father looked almost like a farmer, and her mother wore a sundress. She herself was dressed in a simple black tank top and sweatpants.

The three of them, as well as the others who worked on the above ground, headed for the sound of the bell. They had set it up the other day. It was a simple metal cowbell with a rope attached to it that led down to the subway station. They still hadn't fully cleared out that area and were staying down there for the time being, so the bell served as a way to get in contact with the workers up top.

She made sure to keep a supporting arm on her mom's back as they descended down the stairs. It would still take a bit more exercise and moving around before her mother was entirely able to walk again. The price the woman paid for refusing to get out of bed for months straight, as well as not eating. Her mom still wasn't eating properly, the woman's stomach having seemingly grown smaller.

As soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs, Alexander's nose twitched, and the man let out a low whistle. "Now, ain't that just one of the finest smells?"

"Why are you talking like that?" She asked flatly. Though she had to admit, her mouth was watering a bit. There was a heavy, smokey smell that hung in the air and the sound of sizzling meat. A majority of the animals Red Ape got to were able to be given a semi-normal life. Their bodies were forever altered, but they still had their old minds and, as such, were taken by the Sub Enforcers and given the help they needed. Some monsters, however, were simply too far gone. The animal within them was totally absent, leaving only a raging creature that was just as vile and twisted as the things the Emperor would create. Those ones had to be put down, and since they were in need of food... "It looks like Sky caught a big one today."

When they finally entered the part of the station that held the others, they saw what Sky and the other hunters had gathered today. It was a large, boar-looking creature, around the size of a bear. It had been mostly skinned and prepped for cooking, being stuffed through with a large metal rod and placed over a roaring inferno. All the smoke around it traveled up through a hole in the roof, heading to the outside. A carver was cutting into the dead monster and setting the meat on various plates made of wood.

Several tables were scattered around, and people were already sitting and digging in. In the back, a majority of the hunters were already on their second or third plate. All of the hunters were young men or women who followed Sky through the tunnels, taking out what was left of Red Ape's twisted creations. She had to admit she was kind of annoyed that she had never been offered a position. Even without fire-based powers, she was insanely strong and fast. Of course, she doubted her parents would ever truly let her leave their sight. She was even forced to sleep in the same tent as them at night.

The three of them got in line and soon got their plate of meat. It looked like some sort of steak. Eventually they found themselves at a table in the very back where Paragon waited for them. The girl only ate what she needed to, preferring to let the others have the majority of the food as well as drinks. Several bottles of different sodas were brought out, allowing everyone to get a wide variety of drinks. Usually, they just had bottles of water when they ate, but today was a special day, after all, at least for Sky.

"Are you already done eating?" Alexander asked in shock when he saw Sky's empty plate.

The white-haired Lord wiped her mouth clean with a napkin. "I finished just now."

"You sure you don't want more?"

"I'll be fine."

"Really?" Hope let out a giggle as she took a seat. "I still remember when you brought me out to that fast food place. Didn't you eat like eight burgers-" Sky kicked her from underneath the table, the healer's face turning a bit red.

"Now that I think about it, Hope also had a large appetite." Jane hummed and began to calmly cut into her food. "Is it a Super thing?"

"Nah." She forked a piece of meat and plopped it into her mouth. "Mr. Larison would sometimes go days or even weeks without eating. I think Sky and I just like food."

Sky folded her arms and studied Hope. "Speaking of Mr. Larison, what exactly is your plan when you confront him?"

Hope nearly choked on her food, dropping her fork. Alexander frowned. "When you confront him? What does that mean, Hope?"

Sky's eyes widened a bit when the girl realized just how in the dark the Lauren's were. Hope managed to get the food down, but she banged a bit on her chest. "W- Well, what Sky meant was that when Mr. Larison shows up in Oleander, I am going to speak to him."

"You think he's going to return to Oleander?" Jane asked, a little surprised.

She honestly didn't. Even if Battery learned she was still alive, which he definitely knew about thanks to Purrfect, she doubted the man would come to visit her. When he set his mind to something, he would focus on that goal, and right now, it seemed like he was dead set on turning himself into some weapon, the very same one he wanted her to be. Of course, she couldn't just say that to her mom.

"Y- Yeah. Sure. I'm sure he'll drop by."

"Is it wise to talk to someone like him?" Her father frowned and finished cutting up his slab of boar steak. "I've seen him in a few videos. I honestly don't know how I feel about you hanging around someone like him."

"He's not all bad." Jane cut in. "I mean, he saved my life from Polaron once." The woman shrugged.

"You were once attacked by Polaron!" Alexander asked, horrified.

"Twice actually," Jane said sheepishly. "But just like Hope, I always bounce back!"

"How many secrets do you two have?" Alexander studied his wife and daughter and let out a soft chuckle. "Why can't you both be more like Paragon? She doesn't hide anything."

"That's not true." Paragon took a sip of a water bottle she had. "I keep the things your daughter tells me to secret."

"Oh? And what has our daughter asked you to keep hidden from us?" Jane asked, leaning forward.

"Whoa! No! Bad parents!" Hope waved her arms around, blocking her mom's eyes. "You are not allowed to ask that. Besides! Sky would never tell you! The secret two girls share is greater than anything-"

"If you ask me nicely enough, I'll spill everything Hope told me," Sky said casually.

"Sky, why!"

"I'm a free agent, Hope. I play all sides."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Alexander ran his fingers through his beard and gave a sly grin. "As tempting as it is to hear what my daughter talks about when she's behind my back, I think I'll have to pass. However, I am glad that I have you here, Paragon. I've been trying to speak with you all day today, but you were out hunting by the time my wife and I woke up. There was something I wanted to tell you."

"What's that?" Paragon asked, raising an eyebrow.

Alexander and Jane both shared a look. Then, the two parents slowly turned to look at their daughter. Hope suddenly felt her stomach flip-flop, and she began to get nervous about the way they stared at her. "You haven't been having fun, have you, Hope?" Alexander asked softly.

Her throat felt extremely dry once more, but this time, she forced herself to swallow and speak. "I mean, I love the fact that I've gotten to spend this much time with you, Dad. It's been literal years since we got to do stuff like this, and having Mom with us also is even better. We feel like an actual family again, but-"

"The farming life really hasn't sat well with you, has it?" Jane finished for her.

"No." She shook her head sadly. "I don't really like doing stuff like that. I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about." Jane reached out and gripped Alexander's hand, giving it a squeeze. The woman looked back at her husband one last time before continuing. "When you ran off last week, Hope, your father and I were scared. We were terrified that you were going to run off and not come back. I know you like being a superhero, and that's what you want to do, but the stress of that job nearly killed me. That's why, when you and Paragon came back, we had a conversation with Paragon."

"What sort of conversation?" Her head shot up, and she stared at her friend. This time, it was the Lord of Life's turn to look awkwardly away as Paragon didn't meet her gaze.

"It was my idea," Alexander cut in. I told Paragon not to place you on any of the hunting or scouting teams. We wanted you to stay by our side at all times and remain where we could watch you."

"Is that why I was placed on the farming team?" She asked, shocked. She had wondered why Paragon wouldn't let her do anything else. Every time she asked for work or to help, it was always just helping the others set up the first of what would hopefully be many crops.

"That's right." Alexander nodded. "Don't be mad at anyone but me, though. As I said, it was me who made her promise to not let you do any dangerous stuff. Your mother and I just didn't want to lose you again."

Her shoulders slumped a bit, and she sighed. "You don't have to worry about that. I keep telling you, but neither of you will listen."

"Actually, we have listened." Jane reached out and brushed her daughter's short hair back. "I know you like action, Hope. You've always been a hyper girl. You've also been well-behaved and have helped us out a lot. That's why your father and I were talking, and we've finally decided that we're okay with the idea of you using your powers, as long as it's with Sky. We still don't want you to be a hero, and we won't let you get into any battles, but I think it's fine if you help Sky out with some of the superhuman things she does since she's had to do all of this by herself for so long. Only when you're with Sky, though, got that? And no costumes. You're Hope. Not Cinder."

"You're making Sky my babysitter!" She whined, causing Sky to let out a sheepish snort. It was bad enough that she was still unsure what her relationship with Sky indeed was, but throwing this into the mix just made it more complicated. "I don't know how to feel about this." She admitted.

"Well, it's the best you're getting," Jane stated firmly. "I'm done with you being a hero—no more of that. You can still be a good person and help people this way, though. The fact you've stayed here and haven't run off even after fully recovering proves it, Hope. You're still our little girl."

And just like that, that wave of crushing guilt was back.

She was leaving. No matter what they said or thought, as soon as the sun set, she was ready to leave and not look back until her mission was done. They had no right to trust her, no reason to give her this much credit because she was about to do the thing they were fearing. She wasn't their little girl; she was the hero, Cinder.

Cinder lied to her parents once more...

"I need to talk to you in private." Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when Sky grabbed her by the arm and began to drag her toward an empty tunnel at the end of the station.

"Don't go too far, and be back by curfew!" Alexander hollered at them.

"We're just going to talk, Dad; we'll be right back!"

"Sure you are!"

"Dad!"

Sky didn't say anything as she dragged the other girl. They walked down the tunnel and got to the end when Sky finally turned. Sky's eyes roamed over Hope, looking the girl up and down. The silver jacket the Lord of the Sun wore bubbled up as the pod squirmed under Sky's intense gaze. Finally, though, Sky spoke. "You didn't tell them." The girl said in a flat tone.

Hope flinched and found herself staring at the ground. "I mean, I was going to but-"

"Hope. You need to tell them."

"I know!" Hope winced and looked up slowly. "It's just hard, you know. I can't just say what I'm thinking so easily like you can."

"You think I can say what's on my mind so easily?" Sky raised an eyebrow.

"Of course you can!"

Sky let out another snort. "Trust me. I want to say plenty of things, but I'm too scared to. That doesn't change the fact that you should tell your parents, though. You told me not to. Eight days ago was when you let me know you would be leaving, and four days ago was when you said it would be today that you finally truly left to go do your stupid mission. I had assumed you let your parents know."

"I planned to, but I never found the right time." She sighed and shook her head.

Sky frowned and folded her arms. Hope was just like her father. Alexander Lauren was also keeping a secret. The man had forced her to keep quiet about the condition his body was truly in. Neither his daughter nor his wife knew how little his time was. Sometimes, she thought about telling Hope. She had a feeling that if she did, that would be what worked. That would be the cause that would make Hope drop everything she was doing and stay put. It was for that reason, though, that she didn't. Because even if she didn't like the idea of Hope leaving on this foolish quest, she liked the idea of breaking the girl's spirit even less.

Hope deserved to be happy, too.

"Is something wrong? You've been staring at me silently." Hope trailed over awkwardly. "I mean, I guess I don't mind, but... Okay, you can stare as much as you want-"

Finally, Sky nodded and reached out, making up her mind. She gripped Hope's shoulder tightly. "You can do it. You have to. For their sake. Tell them."

Hope nodded. "I will."

Sky smiled and slowly moved past the girl. "Seriously, you better not take long when you do set out. There are a lot of things I'd like to tell you, but I'll wait until I can actually have you all to myself."

"What do you mean by that? Sky? Sky? What does that mean, Sky?" She wasn't given a response as Sky casually walked away, leaving her standing alone in the tunnel. She reached up and slapped her cheeks a bit, getting herself focused and back on track. "Okay, Hope. You can do this. After all, you're the amazing Cinder. You've fought Green Wolf, Polaron, and even the Emperor and the Beast! All you have to do is look your mom and dad in the eye and tell them you're leaving! You can do this!"

She left the tunnel, and as soon as she did, her enhanced hearing allowed her to pick up on the loud laughing sound that came from her mother's direction. Her mom was wrapped fully around her dad's arm, and Jane Lauren was laughing like she hadn't laughed in years as Alexander said some cheesy joke.

How long had it been since she heard her mother let out a laugh at that?"

How long had it been since she saw her mother look that happy?"

How long had it been since she got to see her father walk around and smile?

"This might be harder than I thought."

The boar meat wasn't the end of the celebration. No one knew quite why it was happening besides her and Sky, but the weird party they had going on moved out of the station and up to the streets above. They set up more tables and brought out more food. Sky seemed to be going all out digging into the stash of sweets and bringing out what little candy they had stored up for everyone to enjoy, as well as various board games.

Several of the kids played the different games all running around the street while the adults ate food and talked amongst each other. A few even joined in and played with the kids, like her father.

Thanks to the drones that flew around in the sky, they were able to connect to the internet, so some people set up music that came off of their phones, while others managed to get a TV hooked up to a computer and played some cheesy Full Monarch movie. It just kept going on like this, with everyone doing something, and soon, when the sun was starting to set, they made makeshift campfires and brought out a bag of marshmallows Sky had gotten on one of her supply runs a few days ago.

It was a strangely cozy setup.

She stood next to her father, and her mother was seated once more as a fire roared before them. She held a stick out that had a marshmallow on it, but she wasn't good at cooking it, as the thing turned out blackened.

During all this time, she also, once again, didn't tell her parents she was about to leave.

"Excited for tomorrow?" She jumped a bit when her father spoke up.

"What do you mean?" She asked nervously.

"I mean, you're going to be exploring those tunnels with Sky and the other hunters," Alexander explained. "You'll get to use your powers again and help out. I figured you would be a little happier."

"Oh. That." She burned another marshmallow and stared into the fire silently. "Yeah. It's cool, I guess."

"You guess?"

"There was something else we wanted to tell you, Hope." Her mother stated, giving a soft smile. "Now that we're sure you're going to stay, your father and I are fine with you getting your own tent. I know sleeping in the same area as Alex can be hard due to how loud he snores."

"You're the one who snores." Alexander rolled his eyes. "Sounds like a damn bear sometimes."

"Hey!" Jane's eyes narrowed, and Hope couldn't help but giggle.

"Your mother is right, though, Hope." Alexander gave a large grin. "We can get you your own tent. Or, if you have anyone you might want to share with-"

"She's not old enough yet!" Jane shook her head. "Own tent. She gets her own tent, and that is where she will stay. All. By. Herself."

Alexander shrugged. "Sorry, Hope. I tried."

"It's fine." She stared at her marshmallow as it burned to ash. "There's actually something I've been meaning to tell you myself."

Silence hung in the air around them. The others in the crowd played and ran around or chatted, but for her and her family, it felt like time stopped. She tried to speak, but her throat didn't want to work anymore. She looked at the ground and then back up at her dad, about to speak.

"You're not going to stay."

She felt as if she had just been punched in the gut. Her stick dropped and fell into the fire. Neither her mother nor her father looked at her. Both Alexander and Jane stared into the fire silently. It was her father who had spoken.

"H- How did you know? Did Sky tell you?"

"Figures she'd know." Alexander shook his head and sighed heavily. "Hope... We're not dumb. I think... Well, I think your mother and I already knew. When you ran out, we were shocked you came back. And then we were more shocked when you started working the fields with us. You didn't bring up your powers or your costume or talk about heroes. We knew something was wrong because you just didn't look happy. Then, when we told you we were fine with you doing these low-level missions with Sky, nothing changed. Not to mention, Sky sort of let it slip that you were planning on seeing Battery. It was kind of obvious, huh? You just can't be happy doing these small things. Even if they do help people, and you are still a hero, this stuff doesn't cut it out for you, does it?"

"W- Why aren't you raising your voice?" She asked in a hollow tone. "Shouldn't you be yelling at me or something?" They sounded disappointed. Sad even. It kind of hurt more that they weren't screaming at her.

Jane shook her head. "We don't want you to be a hero, we don't want you to leave, and we sure as hell don't want you getting into fights. But what can we do?" She felt her heart twitch more. "You're going to leave, right? Even if we tell you no. Even if we try to stop you, you'd even fight through Sky if you had to. We're powerless as your parents. We tried begging you not to, but it fell on deaf ears. Because that's just the kind of person Cinder is."

It hurt.

It seriously hurt.

It felt like she had just been attacked.

She turned away. "I'm sorry."

"Are you?"

"Jane?" Alexander grabbed his wife by the shoulder and shook his head. "Don't."

Jane winced. "I'm sorry, Hope-" The woman never got to finish, though, as her daughter took off running. "Hope!"

Hope didn't stop. She ran at her full speed, using her superpowers to escape from the street. She didn't want to look back at her parents. It felt almost like a betrayal, both on her part and on theirs. They had said the right things to really hurt her. At the same time, though, they weren't wrong. She had been feeling so guilty because no matter how many people she was truly helping here, it was just too small for her liking. She wanted to be Cinder. She wanted to be the hero who saved the world. She couldn't settle for just being Hope, the girl who helped a small community.

It didn't take her long to arrive at her destination. She came to a sliding stop in front of the junkyard. She breathed heavily for a moment before letting out a yell.

"Baggy!"

"Don't call me that!" A pile of trash twitched and exploded as Kevin came crawling out in his weird red blob form. He could go back to his normal size, but the Super seemed to prefer staying small and under the radar, especially since it allowed him to hide better from Oxide. "Are you crying?" Kevin asked, coming to a stop when he saw her.

She wiped at her eyes and let out a soft growl. "Hell no! I'm Cinder! I don't cry!" She stomped her foot down and took a calming breath. "We're heading out."

"Already?"

"Yes."

"I thought we were waiting until nightfall?" Kevin asked, confused. The sun was setting but was still up for the most part.

"Change of plans."

"Why?"

"Because I said so!"

"Okay! Geez." Kevin crawled over to her and went to climb up her back, but the silver jacket she wore grew a tendril and swatted at him, smashing him into the ground. "Ow! What the hell!"

Her jacket dripped off of her body as the metal Pod dropped to the floor. It took on the same blobby shape as Kevin and began to slap at the monster with long tendrils. Kevin hissed and started to slap back, and silver and red became a quick blur on the ground. Hope rolled her eyes and reached down, grabbed both of them, and tore them apart from each other.

"That's enough, you two. Play nice."

"Who the hell is she!" Kevin hissed out.

"She?" She looked at the weird metal blob. "It's my Lord Pod. It gave birth to me, so I guess it would be a girl?"

"Why the hell is it attacking me!"

"I dunno?" She frowned, and her fingers dug into the metal. "Don't do that. Baggy is a friend."

"And stop calling me Baggy!"

The Pod let out several beeps, and a strange blue light glowed out of the metal before it twisted itself over her body. Once more, it took on a shape, and this time it became a long silver trenchcoat that covered her up. "Whoa. Stylish."

"Show off..." Kevin hissed and formed into a backpack, which she slipped on. The pure red and the pure silver clashed a bit, but she couldn't really do anything about style at the moment. "Are you seriously fine, Lauren?"

"It's Cinder. Call me Cinder. Got that, Baggy?"

"You really are dead-set on calling me Baggy." Kevin sighed and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and managed to light one up. Her backpack grew, and her mouth and tendril grew as it began to smoke. "Just remember this, 'Cinder', I ain't staying with you forever. I'm just getting out of this shithole and into some city that'll let my kind thrive. Got that? We'll be cutting ways soon."

"Sure, Baggy, whatever you say."

"I hate you."

She made her way out of the junkyard and began to head down the street. Kevin wasn't much of a talker, and her new coat also didn't say anything, though it did glow blue every now and then. She remained silent for most of the trip herself until soon she arrived close to the bridge that connected to Lillian. She was a block away, staying out of sight of the massive crowd that was around the destroyed bridge. Many of Battery's Cleanup Squad Giants were still working on this area, working night and day no matter what. She really didn't know how she planned to get into the city, just that she would use this bridge and wing it.

Maybe she'd jump the distance?

"Hope!"

She stopped suddenly when she heard the yelling. Slowly, she turned around, and once more, her throat went dry. "Yeah? What do you two want? Here to stop me or something?"

Alexander pushed a wheelchair forward, which Jane was seated in. Both no longer wore outdoor clothes; instead, they were dressed in coats and had heavy-looking bags on. "We're not here to stop you," Alexander said, shaking his head.

"You're not?"

"No." Her father smiled softly. "Hope..."

"We're coming with you," Jane said flatly.

"Huh!"

"You heard me," Jane smirked and folded her arms. "If you're really going to go through with this and dress up in some silly costume, and if there truly is nothing we can do to stop you, then at the very least, we're going to be there. Where you go, we go. If you're going to be Cinder, then we're going to be Cinder's parents."