I got an anonymous reply on the last chapter from A New Fan. First of all, thank you for the review! It means a lot to me. And I'm also happy you enjoyed the plot. I will say, getting all the storyline to intertwine has been my favorite part, besides writing the songs I mean. I hope this chapter and the next satisfy you.

Remember to leave a review and tell me what you think!

–In the 21st Century, with Mr. Block–

The first thought Mr. Block had upon waking up was: Ow.

His second thought was: Why am I on the floor?

His third thought was: Why is my left ear wet?

And as Mr. Block laid on the floor, pondering how he got on said floor and the sudden wetness of his left ear, it all came back to him.

Lotte, her evil plan, the group splitting up, Lotte going after Brick and Savannah, and then Lotte shocking him and knocking him out. "Oh no! How long have I been out?" Then Mr. Block realized something. "Wait, why is my left ear wet?"

He turned his head and was greeted by a loud, panicked bark in the face. Slowly pushing himself onto his elbows, Mr. Block raised a brow. "Weren't you the jinxed-kid's dog?"

The dog barked frantically and then grabbed ahold of Mr. Block's sleeve with its jaw, trying to pull him out the door. Block huffed and rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, Lassie. Little Timmy is stuck down a well somewhere?" That's when Block got a good look at the room.

The little bench/bed/rest-thing that Savannah was sitting on when he was knocked out was disheveled slightly. A small struggle had taken place. Savannah was nowhere in sight. Lotte must have gotten to her. But what about Brick? Block couldn't remember if Lotte had taken him or not… Come to think of it, he vaguely remembered Savannah telling Brick to do something, but he couldn't remember what.

And what about those three kids? And Cooperdink and Hampshire? Are they safe, or did Lotte get to them? Block shuddered. He didn't want to think about what Lotte would do if she captured anyone, the kids in particular.

The dog beside him whined and tugged at his sleeve again. Mr. Block frowned at the dog. "Is there… Are we all that's left?"

The dog growled and then barked. Mr. Block shook his head. "What's the point of going out there? Lotte's got the higher ground!" The dog barked enthusiastically and then pointed towards the principal's office adjacent to the nurse's. The head of B.O.T.T. blinked before slowly walking towards the door. He nudged it open and found a bit of a mess. A small mug from the desk, a chair, and a few miscellaneous office supplies had been knocked onto the shag carpeting. Block was about to assume the worst when he noticed a different pattern in the carpet.

Something large, and human-sized, and dragged itself up from the ground to the wall, and then walked (or, judging by the patterns in the carpet, staggered) out the principal's office. Mr. Block stared at the pattern in the carpet and then back to the nurse's office. The realization was elating.

"Brick escaped, didn't he?" The dog barked affirmatively. "You don't think he went to go face Lotte alone, did he?... And I am talking to a dog." Said dog seemed to take offense to that statement and barked harshly. "Sorry, sorry! You are a very smart dog." The dog then ran over, grabbed ahold of Mr. Block's pant leg and started pulling towards the door. "Wait, you want us to go out there and help him! But the plan was to run… the plan was too…" The dog gave Mr. Block a look of doubt as if to say, 'Are you a man or are you a mouse'.

Mr. Block shrugged. "Hey, it's the end of the world. Why not go out fighting?" The dog barked and wagged its tail happily, pleased with Mr. Block's answer. "Lead the way, dog."

–Meanwhile, with Brick–

It had taken Brick all of his strength to escape the nurse's office. He had listened for Lotte to leave (there were two sets of foot-steps when Lotte left the nurse's office, which Brick found odd as he didn't remember anyone accompanying Lotte at the time) and when he was sure the coast was clear, Brick staggered out the Principal's office… and in the opposite direction, Lotte had gone.

What? Block had said to run in the worst-case scenario. And Brick couldn't think of a scenario worse than this.

Call him a coward if you must, but Brick was determined to live to see another day, even if that meant turning tail and running right now. I'll get out of the school and go get help, Brick thought to himself, trying to ease the pains of guilt settling in his stomach. Everyone will be fine while I go and get help. It's not like Lotte had TICC-ed the entire town, right?

Brick shook his head, leaning heavily against the wall. He knew he was just saying all this stuff to make himself feel better, but how could he help save the world? Hell, the only reason he and everyone else was in this situation was because of him… Maybe everyone would be better off if he just disappeared.

"Brick… Brick… I know you're here somewhere~"

And then there was this bitch.

Brick considered it dumb luck that Lotte hadn't noticed him going into the Principal's office before. However, since they were in the same century—and the same building—she used her proximity to exert greater control onto him. What little strength Brick had from trying to move was being used to fight off Lotte's control.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!~"

And she was not making it easy.

"Get. Out… of my head…" Brick panted.

"Oh come on, Brick, you're acting like I'm the bad guy here."

"You are the bad guy here! You're literally trying to take over the world."

"Like I'm the first person to try and do that. What about Genghis Khan or Mussolini or the Walt Disney Corporation?"

"That's no excuse."

"Neither is you running away like the scared little bitch you are."

"Stop it!" Brick sneered. "You can't manipulate me anymore! I won't let you…"

"Oh, please, like I'm the only one to blame here."

Brick knew Lotte was baiting him, but he couldn't help it. "What do you mean?"

"You're right to be mad at me. I am the mastermind behind this entire operation. But Brick, you simple fool, you're forgetting one crucial detail."

"What?"

"I'm in your head because you wanted me to be." Brick froze. Glancing up at the nearby window, he saw a light flurry of snowflakes. He was so close to escaping; he could reach out and open the door right now. But he was frozen.

"No… no, you're wrong!"

"Think about it." Brick felt Lotte smirking at him through their mental link. "You were stuck on one of the most pathetic missions in the entire Bureau. You and your partner were at each other's throats. You were the laughingstock of the Bureau. You couldn't even talk to the man you were pining after. Then you got me. I got you a respectable assignment in the Bureau,"

"I came to you in a moment of weakness."

"I got you a new partner, one who better suited your personality,"

"Because you were controlling him, too."

"I helped you bounce back, and now you're one of the most well-liked agents again,"

"I could have done that without your help!"

"And now I'm this much closer to getting you the man of your dreams." Brick was silent. Lotte laughed. "Oh-ho-ho, why so quiet now? You were so vocal earlier. Is it because you know I'm right?"

Brick sneered at his reflection in the window. "Shut up!"

"Everyone who ever had a TICC put in there head put it in there for a reason, Brick. You included. I might be the one dealing out the cards, but what's a card game without players? And what's a game without winners… and losers?"

Brick slide to the ground. Lotte was right. He got a TICC in the first place because he needed help. How was he supposed to get back on top without Lotte's help in the first place? Brick glanced at his hands and noticed a faint neon green line stretching across the back of his hand. Upon further inspection, he noticed it fainted somewhere along his wrist. The process of final assimilation was starting.

"I admit, I calculated for errors, Brick. But human errors are so hard to predict. Especially when resistance is in play." Brick hugged his knees to his chest. It was over, wasn't it? Lotte won. "Resistance makes everything so much harder than it has to be, even if it's calculated. I calculated for your resistance, Brick. But it is still the most frustrating thing I have ever encountered.

"But I am so close, Brick. So close to achieving what you wanted in the first place. There's just one final step to take. You couldn't take that step without me, remember? Once this is over, you'll have everything you've ever wanted. I promise! Now, come meet me in the auditorium. Let's finish what you started…"

Brick glanced up at his reflection once more. What was that final step, again? He couldn't remember. And why couldn't he take it without Lotte? He glanced down at his hands, tracing the faint neon lines on his skin. Lotte had a point. All the stuff that he was able to do was because of Lotte and her TICC's helping him.

…But it didn't really help, was it?

No, it wasn't…

It was control. Brick rarely had an input in any of the decisions he has made in the past couple of months. It was horrible! And then there was the fact that Lotte and her TICC's messed up. Brick trusted the TICC's and it chased Vinnie Dakota away from him. So why did Brick need a TICC when all it's ever done for him was make him lie, abandon his friends, and chase away the man Brick cared deeply about?

I never needed a TICC. Brick realized. I had the power within me to change myself for the better. I just took the TICC because I thought it would get me results faster. Brick huffed out an elated laugh. "This whole TICC thing is bullshit." He laughed again. "I can do better, I have the capability to change, I have the power within me to change for the better!"

And all it took to realize this was almost destroying human civilization as Brick knew it. He spotted the neon green line on his hands. This wasn't over yet. Lotte was right, "It's time to finish what I started."

–A bit later–

It had taken Brick a couple of minutes to find the auditorium. Mainly, because he was sneaking around so much. Oddly enough, though, the place was practically deserted. There was no sign of teachers, students, parents, or anyone else. Brick knew it wasn't because Lotte didn't have them all controlled.

Oh no, she had most (if not all) the entire population of the building under her thumb.

It was unnerving for Brick as he made his way to the side entrance of the auditorium. If Lotte wasn't sending out anyone to stall him or hinder him in any way, Brick figured it was for one of two reasons.

1): Lotte assumed Brick was going to surrender control over to her. Whether it be willingly at first or not. It was plausible, but Lotte said she calculated for resistance before. His resistance being one factor that frustrated her. So Brick figured this scenario was unlikely.

2): Lotte had something far worse in mind. Why send out an army to fight a man who has the odds stacked against him already? Whatever trick Lotte currently has shoved up her sleeve, it must be a good one for her to lower her guard as much as she has. And then what about the others?

Savannah was nowhere in sight when Brick last checked the nurse's office, and neither was Mr. Block for that matter. Lotte would want Savannah under her control but what about Mr. Block? Brick had a feeling Lotte wouldn't be so keen to have her foe in her happy little hive mind. And what about Cavendish and Dakota? Oh God, Dakota! Lotte knew how Brick felt about the man, what if she was planning on using him against Brick? And the kids, oh the kids! Brick felt sick to his stomach when thinking about what Lotte planned on doing to the kids once her plan was complete, who's to say she hasn't skipped a couple of steps just to mess with him?

As Brick slide through the side entrance door, he noticed how dark the auditorium was. Granted, a play was technically supposed to be happening right now, but Brick had a feeling that it was currently on hold given certain circumstances. Where are you, Lotte?

"Brick, how nice of you to join us!" Lotte called out in the dark auditorium.

"Lotte, we need to talk." Brick cautiously walked forward. "I have some notes on your world domination plan I think you need to hear."

"Of course you do," Brick could hear Lotte rolling her eyes at the statement, "And I have a couple of people here who would like to run some notes by you. Why don't you come join us?" A loud hum and quite clanking later, lights in front of a catwalk illuminated Lotte's neon green hair. High above the stage on the catwalk, she stood looking down at him with a smug grin on her face. Two small, struggling bodies were held in her grasp with an iron grip.

Shit. Brick figured he was walking into a trap, he knew he was walking into a trap, but what else could he do? After locating the ladder/stairs it took to get up to the catwalk, the time travel agent hoisted himself onto the catwalk, which groaned and creaked. Protesting the amount of people using it at the time.

After ensuring that the catwalk wouldn't collapse underneath him, Brick glared at Lotte, only to stop short upon noticing her unwilling companions. "Melissa! Zack!"

The two kids struggled to loosen Lotte's grip on their arms, but to no avail. Melissa frowned. "Have you seen Milo? Or anyone else?"

For a moment, Brick panicked. What if Lotte TICC-ed them too? But no, their eyes were the same color since when he last saw them. Not a trace of neon green on them. "No, I haven't." He turned to Lotte. "Why hold them hostage?"

"I have something special planned for these two, Milo, and Blockhead once everything is finished." Lotte smiled.

"Why not just TICC them? You were never against it before."

"Are you still on that? Brick, the only way to achieve what you want is for me to perform at my optimum capacity. The only way to do that is to sync up everyone's mind to my own; to create an operating system to eliminate all possibility of error."

"What makes you think this is what I wanted?" Brick gestured widely with his arms. "You're TICC-ed everyone in the Bureau and now you're doing it in the past!"

"Oh, I'm just getting warmed up," Lotte assured Brick. She shook her head. "I anticipated your resistance, Brick. But I didn't anticipate you being so Goddamn stubborn!"

"For all your talk of being the smartest being in existence, you're still a computer. And every single computer has a shut-off switch."

"Oh, and what might that be?"

"Alcohol messes you up, right? I'll get drunk and—"

"And I'll be back once you sober up." Lotte pointed out. "Unless you planned on staying waisted for the rest of your life?"

"What about water, eh? You handle water worse than the Wicked Witch of the West!"

"Oh, oh no! Don't splash any of the water you're so obviously carrying with you onto me!" Lotte laughed, then turned to Melissa. "You got water on you, Red? What about you, Boyband?"

"Just because we don't know where your off switch is, doesn't mean we won't find it!" Zack protested.

"I don't get it, there has to be a way to shut you off—"

"Ah-ah-ah Agent Dalton, that's a dangerous thought train you're on right now. I wouldn't want you or anyone else to fall off…" Lotte glared at Brick as she slowly raised Melissa and Zack over the edge of the catwalk's railing.

"No, don't!" Brick rushed forward; Lotte took a step back, just out of Brick's reach. She laughed cruelly in Brick's face and set Melissa and Zack down beside her on the catwalk.

"That's what I thought. You're making the right choice, Brick. You don't want to end up like poor, poor Chip, now do you?"

"Chip? What does he… wait." Brick's eyes widen in realization. Chip had been the first one to crack under the pressure, the first one to truly resist Lotte. His final words to Brick echoed in his head. 'I need Red Gush!'

"That's it!" Brick took a step back, staring at Lotte. "Green Gush activates you; Red Gush must shut you off."

"Does this sound familiar to you?" Zack asked Melissa.

"I am getting a sense of déjà vu, yes."

Unperturbed by Brick's new discovery, Lotte flashed the time travel agent and predatory smile. "And why do you think I had it discontinued?"

"You had it discontinued?" Melissa questioned.

"It was Valentine Verliezer who discontinued it," Zack added.

"And why do you think that is?" Lotte said. "Victor Verliezer had the technology, his brother had the tool I needed. By putting both brothers under my control, I had guaranteed access to the tools I needed and a way to get rid of the only thing that could stop me."

"You monster! You absolute monster!" Zack cried out.

"To get rid of me now, you'd need a time machine to go back to last year. And last I checked, all the time machine's in this current time period are out of commission."

"Just because you canceled production, doesn't mean there isn't at least one bottle of Red Gush left out there." Brick pointed out.

"And how are you going to find it? You have to have access to a literal MacGuffin machine or—"

"Or a boy who carries literally anything he or his friends might need to survive a chaotic day." Melissa's eyes widened in realization.

"A—hang on, what?"

"Milo! Milo might have some Red Gush in his backpack." Zack exclaimed.

"Brick go find Milo! Go find Milo!" Melissa shouted.

Brick turned to run down the catwalk and search for Milo Murphy. Unluckily for Brick, of course, Lotte was quick to react. Tucking Melissa under her arm, she reached out a hand towards Brick. "Oh no, you don't!" Brick cried out in pain, crumbling to his knees and gripping his head.

"Brick!" Melissa and Zack shouted.

"I'm going to improve your life, Brick. If I have to enslave humanity to do it, then so be it!" Brick whimpered and shook. Lotte smirked darkly. Making sure to keep the two kids locked in her grip, Lotte approached the time travel agent. "Now, let's finish this. Once and for all—Oof!" Lotte cried out in surprise as the air duct above her clattered to the catwalk behind her. A body dropped down from the air vents and landed on top of the woman. In surprise, she dropped Melissa and Zack, who quickly grabbed onto the rails of the catwalk.

"~Milo makes an entrance!~" Milo proclaimed joyfully, from atop Lotte.

Brick glanced up; the pain Lotte's control was causing him subsiding just a bit as Melissa and Zack pulled themselves back onto the catwalk. The three smiled in surprise and relief. "Milo!"

"Where have you been?" Zack asked.

"Lotte got control of Joni and sent her after me, so I had to escape through the school's ventilation system." Milo smiled. "Did you guys know that these are the same vents my dad hid in when he was in high school and—"

"We don't have time for that!" Melissa interrupted. "Now I know this is probably a long-shot, but Milo, is there any chance that you have some Red Gush in your backpack?"

"Red Gush? Oh yeah! I almost forget. When Cavendish and I were destroying the bottles of Green Gush, we found this." Milo reached into his backpack and pulled out one bottle of Red Gush. The few stage lights that were on hit the bottle in just a way that it looked as if Milo was holding a holy relic, a sacred key to humanity's salvation in his hands.

Given the circumstances, he probably was.

"Is that…?" Brick questioned.

"The last bottle of Red Gush in existence," Milo smirked. "I try to be prepared for every eventuality."

"Quick, give it to me!" Brick reached out towards Milo. "I can end all of this right now."

With a snarl, Lotte wriggled her arm out from where Milo had it (incidentally) pinned. She reached out towards Brick. "Initiate Self-Defense Protocol!"

"What? Whoa!" Brick suddenly lunged forward, swiping at Milo aggressively. The boy took a step back to avoid the hit. Lotte cackled, free from Milo's (accidental) trap, one arm still extended towards Brick.

"Left hand!" Brick threw a left hook at Milo. "Right hand!" Brick threw a right hook at Milo. "Ha-ha! Dance my monkeys, dance!"

"Brick, what're you doing?"

"I'm not trying to do anything!"

"Well, not try harder, than!" Milo let out a cry of surprise as Brick's fist barely missed his faces.

Melissa glanced back towards the green-haired woman. "It's Lotte! She's controlling Brick."

Zack glanced over at Brick, who was already winding up to throw another punch at Milo, then glanced back at Lotte. He narrowed his eyes at her, "Oh no you don't!" The boy lunched at Lotte, knocking her to the ground. Thinking quickly, Zack reached up and pinned Lotte's arms above her head, sitting on her chest to prevent her from getting up.

"You think you're strong enough to hold me down, boy?"

"Not alone he isn't!" Melissa dove towards Lotte, wrapping her legs up and sitting on her hips. With Lotte effectively pinned down, Melissa watched as Brick sagged to his knees, Lotte's control over him temporarily cut off.

"Sorry about trying to punch you, kid."

"Hey, you're fine. I know it wasn't you throwing those punches."

"Stop having a heart to heart and drink the Red Gush already!" Melissa shouted.

"Right," he held a hand out to Milo, "give it to me." The youth handed over the bottle. As Brick unscrewed the cap, Lotte let out a frustrated scream.

"Up, up, down, down, left, right, A!" The four allies let out a nervous cry, Milo raising his arms in an attempt to block one of Brick's upcoming attacks… but it never came.

Brick glanced down at his hands. "Huh, guess her control over me is waning."

"Oh, well, that's a nice turn of—Melissa, Zack, watch out behind you!" The two kids in question let out a shriek as they were roughly yanked off Lotte. The green-haired woman grinned wickedly before lunging at Brick and Milo, knocking the two to the ground.

Brick groaned in pain and glanced up. He narrowed his eyes at Lotte who smiled darkly down at him and Milo. Behind her, Brick saw Savannah—her eyes a disturbing neon green color—holding Melissa and Zack by the collars of their shirts. To their credit, the kids were struggling to break free.

"~I was already pretty boss before, but now I'm totally boss and then some more!~" Lotte and Savannah harmonized as Lotte yanked the cap off the Red Gush bottle before chucking the bottle off the side of the catwalk. "~I'm living the upgrade!~"

"No!"

"The Red Gush!"

The four allies watched helplessly as their one key to stopping Lotte dropped down to the ground and out of sight.

"Aw, what's the matter?" Lotte taunted Brick and Milo. "Did I drop baby's bottle?"

"Look, I get you're the bad guy and all, but that condescending tone is really unnecessary." Milo pointed out.

"Um, more to the point," Zack called out, "how is Savannah walking right now?!"

"Yeah, weren't your legs broken?" Melissa asked the TICC-controlled agent.

"What can I say? Lotte's upgrade really helped me out." Savannah shrugged.

"Wait," Brick raised a brow at Lotte, "you fixed her legs?"

"You can heal people?"

"What? No. I'm a sociopathic, mind-controlling, evil cyborg bent on world domination. Not a doctor!"

"Oh. So, wait, how is Savannah walking then?"

"I numbed all sensations from the waist down," Lotte smirked over at Savannah. "Her legs might be horribly broken, but she can't feel any pain."

To prove Lotte's point, Savannah stomped her legs on the catwalk as hard as she could, never once dropping the wicked grin she wore on her face. Melissa winced.

"Oh, that's gonna cause some damage in the long run."

"Eh, when she's outlived her usefulness I'll just get rid of her, like that book where the kid shoots his dog when it has rabies and stuff."

"As if we needed more reason to hate you, you bring up that!" Zack grimaced.

"Oh, don't worry," Lotte turned to face Melissa and Zack, "her pain will look minor compared to what's gonna happen to you two." With a gesture of Lotte's head, Savannah tossed Melissa and Zack over the edge of the catwalk.

"NO!" Milo and Brick cried. Milo rushed over to try and stop Lotte, but it was too late, his friends were sent hurtling down to the stage. Lotte simply backhanded the boy before yanking him up by his backpack. Brick lunged towards Lotte, only for her to duck out of the way. The time traveler landed on the catwalk, with Lotte placing her foot on his back to hold him down.

"And just to make sure you don't pull out any more surprises…" Lotte shook Milo violently until he fell loose from his backpack.

The boy gasped. "My backpack!"

"Whoopsies!" Lotte laughed, flinging it off the side.

Milo reached out futilely to grab his backpack and Brick laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Lotte, I don't care what it takes, we will stop you."

Lotte groaned. "When are you going to get it through your head, Brick?" The green-haired woman yanked Milo and Brick up by the collar of their shirts, dangling them over the edge of the catwalk. "You can't beat me. I have all the knowledge, all the power, I know every trick you're going to try before you even do it!"

"You used to be our friend, Lotte," Milo said. "What happened to you? What changed you into this horrible person?"

"Eh, what can I say? ~I'm living the upgrade! Upgrade~ God, I love me!" Lotte cackled as she let Milo and Brick drop. The two screamed in terror as the descended to the stage below. In one last act of valor, Brick grabbed Milo and positioned himself to take the brunt of the fall, hoping to spare Milo as much pain as possible…

… Instead, the two landed with a heavy Plop! onto an air mattress. Brick and Milo blinked in surprise before it finally registered to Milo. "Holy Harmonicas, we're alive!"

"Milo!" Melissa and Zack rushed forward to hug their friend, followed by Diogee who happily started licking his young master's face.

"But, how did…?" Brick glanced over his shoulder and saw Mr. Block smiling at him, holding Milo's backpack in his hands.

"What? We couldn't let any of you fall and get hurt."

"Mr. Block! You have no idea how happy I am to see you!" Brick exclaimed happily. "How did you do all this, though?"

"Well, I caught those two when Lotte pushed threw them off the catwalk," Mr. Block nodded towards Melissa and Zack, "and when this backpack dropped, the dog rushed over and pulled out the air mattress. Good thing it was a self-inflating one, too! Although I am curious on how you were able to fit an anchor into this thing, kid."

Milo, who had been listening to the conversation, smiled down at his dog and scratched his chin. "Good boy, Diogee."

"Well, well, well," Lotte called from high above, sounding frustrated, "look who's still alive and making things more difficult then they have to be!" Lotte snapped her fingers and Brick instantly doubled over in pain. It was like a fire traveling through his nervous system.

"Brick, what's going on?" Zack asked as he and the others rushed over to help Brick. The time-traveler groaned in pain.

"Lotte… still has… control…" The kids and Mr. Block looked at each other.

"Can't you do something?" Melissa asked Mr. Block

"No! Do you have anything in your backpack to help him?" He asked Milo.

"I used to but then Lotte—"

"There you are, Brick." Two male voices called out in a sickeningly sweet tone. The group turned there heads to find Jonah and Aiden slowly advancing on them, broad grins on their faces. "~La-la-la-la-la! La-la-la-la-la! La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!~"

"I just wanted you to know that I'm not mad that you broke my heart and kissed my best friend," Aiden told Brick sweetly.

"And I'm not mad that you stole the love of my life and then kissed me in front of him," Jonah added on with a saccharine tone.

Milo, Melissa, Zack, Mr. Block, and Diogee all turned to look at Brick with unimpressed looks on their faces. Brick felt his face warm up a little at their stares. "Stop looking at me like that! My TICC made me do it!"

"Typical, blame the machine." Melissa rolled her eyes.

"It is literally the machine's fault!"

"Wait," Aiden turned to look at Jonah, "I'm the love of your life? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you were dating Brick. I might be a jealous loser but I'm no homewrecker."

"I was only dating Brick because I thought you weren't interested!"

The two men gasped in shock before shouting joyfully in unison. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe it! Of course, I was interested in you, I have been for so long."

"Huh, this is the most oddly heartwarming thing I've ever watched." Zack hummed thoughtfully. "And I've watched that video where a Bengal tiger adopts a Yorkie Puppy at least fifteen times this month."

"Aw, that is such a good video!"

Lotte decided to dramatically jump down from the catwalk at that moment, creating a small crater around her as she did so. "See, I'm not all bad. I'm helping people find true love."

"Congratulations, you've gone from evil cyborg trying to take over the world to evil cyborg and part-time dating app!" Mr. Block said sarcastically.

"We all need a hobby, Blockhead," Lotte smirked and raised her hand towards Brick, who clutched his head in pain.

"Hurts… Ugh, head hurts…"

"We need to get Lotte out of his head!" Zack exclaimed.

"How?!" Mr. Block asked, crouching down to comfort Brick. Milo glanced behind him to see Jonah and Aiden slowly approaching the group. Behind them, Milo spotted the bottle of Red Gush Lotte had tossed moments ago. The young boy narrowed his eyes and gasped in surprise.

The bottle of Red Gush had just about a swallow's worth left of contents!

"Guys, look, the bottle! There's still some left." Milo pointed out.

"And how are we supposed to get past the Digital Duet over there?" Mr. Block asked.

"Ok, seriously, I'm getting a strong sense of déjà vu here," Melissa stated glancing around.

"I know! It's kind of like… the climax of our musical!" Zack's eyes widened in realization, one quick glance at his friends and he saw the pieces finally clicked to them as well. "You guys thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Oh yeah," Milo smirked and grabbed his backpack from Mr. Block. He pulled out a pinata stick for Melissa, a foam bat for Zack, and a bright yellow poodle noodle for himself before slinging his backpack back on.

"Follow our lead," Melissa told Mr. Block. Not seeing any other option, the head of B.O.T.T. slung one of Brick's arms over his shoulder and hoisted himself up. Brick, to his credit, managed to walk a little bit with Mr. Block's help, but it was clearly a difficult task.

"~Find the bad guy, push 'em aside!~" The kids sang as they used their foam weapons to shove Jonah and Aiden out of the way. "~Then move on forward with your friend at your side~" Jonah and Aiden recovered quickly and charged back towards the group. "~It's a two-player game so when they make an attack~" Milo and Zack were quick to block their charges while Melissa led Mr. Block and Brick closer to the bottle of gush, with Diogee taking up the rear as extra protection. "~You know you have a brother gonna have your back! Then you stay on track and~"

Mr. Block and Brick noticed something out of the corner of their eyes and saw a man who looked like a vampire charging towards Melissa from the shadows of the stage. "Gah!" the screamed.

"~Remain on course!~" Melissa whipped around and smacked the man on the side of the pace with her pinata stick. "~And if they give you a smack you~"

From behind Melissa, Mr. Block and Brick noticed a woman with a pointed nose looming at the edge of the stage looking ready to pounce at Melissa. "Look out!" both men screamed at Melissa.

"~You use your force!~" Melissa turned and swung her pinata stick into the woman's gut, knocking her over. Milo and Zack pushed back Jonah and Aiden and delivered quick blows to the head before turning back towards the group. "~And if you leave a brother behind that's lame! Because it's a messed up world, and it's a two-player game! Hey!~"

Milo reached over and handed the bottle to Brick. "Here's the bottle. Drink it, quick!"

From behind them, Lotte's eyes widened in fear. If Brick drank that Red Gush, she was done for! Schooling her features, Lotte stretched her arms upwards. "Initiate Self-Defense Protocol Alpha!"

Before the kids could react, hands reached out and grabbed them from the dark. The screamed in fear as they were (literally) manhandled. Diogee growled and leaped out to defend them, but was grabbed mid-air by another pair of hands.

"Kids!" Brick reached out with a free hand to try and save them, only to stumble to the ground. Mr. Block attempted to reach over and help Brick, but he was soon tackled to the ground by another person. "Mr. Block!"

"Let go of us!" Milo shouted. He glanced up and saw it was his own family holding him captive. "Mom? Dad?" One quick glance over at Diogee found that Sara was holding him tightly against her, leaving very little room to struggle.

"No! Lotte got to you guys too?" Zack asked fearfully. He was being held in place by Coach Mitchell, Elliot, and Amanda. Meanwhile, Melissa was currently trapped by Cavendish, Bradley, and Mort.

"She got to all of them!" Mr. Block bemoaned as his face was roughly shoved to the stage floor by Savannah while Principal Milder stepped on his back.

"Brick, quick! Drink the Gush! Drink it!" Milo called out frantically. Brick proceeded to do just that but was soon stopped by Lotte grabbing the back of his collar.

"No!"

Brick jerked the Red Gush away and then tried to do the same for Lotte. The TICC Mastermind tried to reach out and grab the Red Gush out of Brick's grip but was just a bit too short to reach it. "I'm not letting you control me or anyone else anymore! You were a horrible friend and mentor; all your advice was just self-serving and barely even helped! You hurt me and a lot of other people!"

Sensing she was running out of options, Lotte started to panic. "You don't want to do this Brick—"

"Why not?!"

"You'll be stuck on pistachio duty for the rest of your life without my help!"

"Don't care!"

"You'll be the laughingstock of the Bureau—"

"What Bureau? The one you destroyed?" The two continued to wrestle for the bottle; by some miracle, none of the Red Gush seemed to spill out. "Give me one reason I should trust you!"

Crying out in panic, Lotte slammed Brick onto the ground, facing away from Milo and the others before grabbing ahold of Brick's face. "Because if you get rid of me, then you'll never be with him!" She turned Brick's head to the back corner of the stage. From the dark corner emerged one Vinnie Dakota, his once sunglass covered eyes glowing a disturbing neon green.

"~You are the person I want to be with everyday~" Dakota sang.

"NO!" Brick cried out, tears springing to his eyes.

"Dakota!" Milo and his friends cried out. "Not you too!"

Brick tried to turn away, but Lotte forced the man to his feet, making the poor man watch as the man of his dreams slowly approached him. "~And this is something that I've been afraid to say~"

Melissa turned frantically to Cavendish. "Cavendish, doesn't this upset you? Cavendish, c'mon, do something! Cavendish!" But the mustached man didn't react in the slightest. He was apart of the Hive Mind now.

Dakota was standing right in front of Brick now, smiling lovingly up at the top-agent. "~You're the guy that I'm so kinda into!~"

"~Into~" The Other TICC-ed people chorused.

"No, no this isn't Dakota. This is not the Dakota I'm in love with!"

"In love with?" Milo questioned.

"Really? Hampshire?" Mr. Block raised a brow.

"Y'know, looking back, that makes sense," Melissa admitted.

"I hate everything about this situation…" Zack grimaced.

"~The guy that I'm totally into~"

"~Into~"

"I assure you Brick; this is still Vinnie Dakota!" Lotte told him. "But all his insecurities, his flaws, his imperfections, they've been removed. I removed them! Now he's perfect, just for you…"

Brick watched in mixed horror and happiness as Dakota reached out and grabbed his free hand with both of his. "~This feeling is new, but Brick, I love you!~"

Brick felt his heart drop into his stomach and simultaneously beat a mile a minute, his grip on the Red Gush bottle loosening due to how sweaty his palms were. Lotte leaned her head against his shoulder. "You've waited for so long to hear him say that… Are you really going to say no?"

"No, Brick! Don't listen to her!" Milo shouted.

"It's not real!" Mr. Block added. Lotte glared at the group over her shoulder. Those holding the group in place reached over and clamped a hand over their mouths, preventing Brick from hearing anything. But they tried, even poor Diogee let out a muffled howl but to no avail.

Brick glanced down at Dakota, not really sure of how to react. "He'll… He'll do whatever I want."

"That's what I promised, remember?" Lotte smiled back up at him. Brick glanced over at Lotte, then to Dakota, then to the bottle of Red Gush in his hand, then back to Dakota.

"Great!" Brick smiled, stepping closer to Dakota, removing one of his hands from Dakota's to cradle the side of the curly-haired man's face.

Milo, Melissa, Zack, and Mr. Block let out a muffled chorus of astonished reactions, looking on in wide-eyed horror as Diogee whined pitifully. Lotte had done it. She had won. The kids glanced to the ground sadly. They couldn't believe it. All their friends and family, gone. They had lost.

Lotte removed herself from Brick and turned to the four with a positively evil grin on her face. The four jerked back in fear as Lotte slowly walked towards them. "Now, now. Don't be sad. As soon as I'm done with you," Lotte reached over and grabbed Milo's forehead. "None of you will feel anything ever again…"

But, before Lotte could enact her final plans of vengeance, Brick pressed the bottle of Red Gush into Dakota's hand. "Drink this." He told his love.

Lotte let go of Milo. "Wait, what?" Her neon green eyes widening in fear as she whipped around just in time to see Dakota tip the last bit of Red Gush into his mouth. To the surprise of everyone who wasn't TICC-ed, her voice came out surprisingly human as she screamed: "Dakota, no!"

But it was too late.

Dakota's face contorted into one of extreme pain as he dropped the Red Gush, clutching his head in pain as he screamed horrible agony. But it wasn't just him who started to scream. Other people hidden in the shadows of the auditorium started to scream and writhe in horrible pain. Soon followed by Brick himself. The four who remained with free will (and Diogee) were unceremoniously dropped as their captors started to shout in horrible pain, as well as Lotte who started to scream as well.

Milo, Melissa, Zack, and Mr. Block all started screaming as well, just more out of confusion and fear than pain (even Diogee was fearfully whimpering by Milo's side).

Like marionettes being cut from their strings, everyone but Lotte and the surviving group dropped to the ground with a heavy thud, completely out cold. Mr. Block glanced over to see Lotte contorting violently, little sparks of green electricity shooting out of her every so often.

"Brick! B-Br-Brick?!—Operating System Failure—No! No, I can't—System V.28X Shutting Down—lose! I thought of everything!—Connection Lost—I aM tHe UlTiMaTe—Please Reestablish Your Connection—Power Down Power Down Power—NO!"

"Children, get behind me!" Mr. Block stepped in front of the kids, holding his arms out shield them just in case Lotte did something else. From behind the man, the kids watched in horror as their former friend writhed in agony. Like a real-life computer, she was glitching and falling apart.

"Whoa! This hurts! This hurts it hurts it hurts it—Would you like to update your system?—hurts it hurts! Brick? Savannah? Cavendish? Anyone! Please help—Virus detected! Virus Detected!—Someone pLeAsE hElP mEeEeEEeeee—Please Connect to Wi-Fi to continue updates!"

Mr. Block slowly started backing away, the children following his lead. However, as Diogee was backing up to follow them, he bumped into Elliot's arm and let out a yelp in surprise. This caught Lotte's attention. Her neon green eyes, once alight with fear, now contorted into an unspeakable rage.

"YoU!" Lotte pointed an accusing finger at them, accidentally shooting a little bit of green electricity their way. Milo quickly ducked to avoid the blast. "I don't care HOW LONG it takes me—Please Connect To Another Power Source—but I'll go back again and again and aGAIN—Thank You For Contacting Customer Service—AND AGAIN AND AGAIN until all of you are erased FROM EXISTENCE!"

Frozen in fear, the four survivors stood there unsure of what to do, they had dropped their weapons when they had been captured. And despite her unstable state, Lotte was still clearly very dangerous.

"Because I am the ultimate weapon! I am the most intelligent—Please Clear Cookies And Cache To Speed Up Internet Processor—being to ever live! I am nOoOoOTTttt going to be outsm-sm-sm-smarted by a bunch of toddlers and an old man and their stupid dog!"

Milo was glancing around trying to find something he could use when he felt it, a drop of water hit his head. He glanced up and noticed a broken sprinkler above them. Milo figured a screw was probably coming lose. Then it hit him. When he was in the vents, he heard Brick mention something about water being one of Lotte's weaknesses. Milo reached into his backpack and pulled out a slingshot and a rubber bouncy ball as ammo. It was the only ammo he had, so this shot had to count.

"And I think-ink-ink that I'll sTaAaAaRrRt—Installing Update 1 of 4,835,122—with YOU MiLoOoOoooo!"

As Lotte began to reach for him, Milo placed the bouncy ball in and pulled back on his slingshot. Once he lined up the shot, he exhaled and fired. The ball sailed up, up, and up until it smacked into a broken sprinkler, knocking it loose, and dousing the four survivors and Lotte in water.

Of course, what can go wrong around Milo, usually does. And him setting off that one broken sprinkler set off a chain reaction. The other sprinklers coming to light, drenching the entire auditorium in water.

Lotte let out an inhuman screech as the water touched her. The woman tried to back out of the stream of water but soon found that she was trapped. Stumbling to try and escape, blinded and confused by the sparks of green energy that shot out from her body, she tripped over the unconscious body of Brick. "No! Please, help! Some Help! It hurts! IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS SO Muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch…." With one last jolt of energy shooting out (and knocking a stage light down just a few feet from Lotte's head), Lotte was down. Her body lay still.

Soaking wet, exhausted, frightened, and confused, the four survivors and Diogee stared at the woman who had caused them so much pain in the past couple of months. However, none of them knew what to say.

Glancing up into the stream of water, and now faintly realizing Milo's stunt triggered the fire alarm, Mr. Block gathered the children and the dog close to him before wordlessly ushering them out of the auditorium. The children and Diogee were silent the entire time they were lead out, not entirely sure how to process what had just happened, and not knowing what would happen next.

In the far distance, away from the school, the sirens of first responders rushed to investigate what tripped the alarm.