Lance frowned, his eyes moving involuntarily under his eyelids as he was forced to watch a horrible scene play out in the dream his mind had conjured. It wasn't the first one that he'd been subjected to, but it felt like each one was worse than the last. But all of them had the same theme: JC dying in some terrible way.

Currently, Lance was an invisible observer as he watched JC in cat form try to cross a street. There wasn't a lot of traffic, but it was when JC was in the middle of the road that he caught sight of a sedan coming down the road. It wasn't overly speeding, but it was certainly going too fast for JC to get out of the way in time. Lance desperately wished he could sprint forward and push him out of the way, but he was rooted to where he was standing, unable to do anything but watch. JC, for his part, seemed to realize the car was quickly coming up on him, but it came a second too late.

The car's front bumper slammed into JC, despite the driver's attempts to bring it to a stop. Lance's eyes remained on JC, watching as the small animal body was flung backwards from the momentum and crash onto the pavement. Then suddenly, the feline body was replaced by his human one and Lance felt his stomach clench as he immediately spotted blood seeping through the thin t-shirt JC wore.

After the shock of seeing the blood, Lance began to notice the various bruises that were already beginning to form along JC's body. He wasn't sure where exactly JC was bleeding or from what, but the knot in his stomach told him that it was a fatal wound. The entire scene was quiet, the car still idling in front of JC's prone body but the driver missing. It was eerie and it made him feel all the more he was watching his friend die in slow motion.

And then, without any warning, he was ripped out of the dream world. He opened his eyes, blinking as he took a second to recognize his bedroom. His arms had been retied to the bedposts, Vanessa having done it after she'd walked in on him helping JC escape through the window.

When that door had opened, Lance had been so sure he was in deep trouble for what he'd just done. And while she did look angry, it lasted only a few seconds before she put on a mask of indifference. At the time Lance had been worried about physical torture when he should've been worried about a mental one.

As Lance turned towards the now open door, he bit his tongue to squelch the sudden urge he had to apologize. Despite the fact that Vanessa had repeated shown she had control over the situation, he didn't want to come off as completely weak. She'd yet to elaborate on what her other plans were for him, but he had a feeling whatever they were they didn't include making it out of this alive. And now that he didn't have to worry about her taking her anger at him out on JC, he could be a little more resistant. Or at least not so willing to do what she asked.

To his surprise, Vanessa didn't immediately demand to know what he'd done or show any kind of anger really. She briskly crossed the room, passing him to look out the window that he'd just let JC out of. Lance turned slightly, wondering if she could see JC, but he was unable to tell from where he was standing.

She turned away from the window, her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed but otherwise she looked relatively calm. When she met his nervous gaze, her lips relaxed enough for her to smirk at him.

"Don't worry. I'm not mad," she said.

Lance looked at her warily. This wasn't the reaction he'd expected at all. "You're not?"

"Well, okay maybe a little," Vanessa admitted. "But I'm not going to punish you for your little stunt."

"Really?" Lance asked, unable to keep the disbelief out of his voice. She hadn't hesitated to make him regret his previous rebellious actions, but this she was willing to overlook? To him that meant she must need him so much she didn't want to risk him getting severely injured or even dying.

She gave a short nod, that stupid smirk still on her face. "The way I figure it, the worry for your friend should be punishment enough."

Lance frowned. "What do you mean?" JC had escaped from what surely would've been an imminent death and could get help. They had an advantage over her, but that wasn't how she saw it.

Vanessa moved closer so she was about a foot from his face, close enough that he could feel the air leaving her lips ghost across his skin. "He may be free, but he's in a lot more danger now. He's running around the city as a cat, trying to navigate through traffic and avoid getting picked up by someone."

Lance instantly got a flash of panic, realizing just how true her words were. JC would be seen as a stray, which could easily result in him ending up in someone's home or, worse, a shelter. That was if he wasn't run over as he tried to cross the numerous streets between Lance's house and the others'. He hadn't considered either happening before he'd helped JC escape, but now it was all he could think about.

"Your friend could end up as a shelter cat," she said, her eyes dancing with amusement. "Funny considering how this whole thing started, isn't it?"

Lance shook his head. "He won't be. When it's time for him to transform the cage will just break and he'll be able to get away and go for help."

"Actually, he'll die," she corrected. She took a step back and Lance felt a weird mixture of fear and confusion, but she continued. "If he's confined to a cage, he won't have the room to transform leaving him in that in-between state." A twisted smile appeared on her face. "And we already know how he reacted to that."

"So why didn't that happen to you?"

Vanessa looked him in the eye. "Because I could control it. It didn't matter if I was able to return to my human form. I knew I wouldn't be able to do it stuck in a cage without killing myself so I just remained a cat. But JC, pathetic little human he is, will have no control over it."

"That's why you had him in the carrier," Lance said more to himself than her. Yes, she'd said it was so he wouldn't run off, but it seemed likely it'd also been the way she'd planned on letting him die.

"Even if he doesn't get caught or die right away, it'll only be a matter of time. His human body won't be able to handle the stress of it and it'll kill him sooner or later."

The dread and fear he felt for JC doubled at that point, occupying his thoughts so much that he didn't so much as protest when she led him back over to the bed and tie him up once more.

That'd been several hours ago, and Lance hadn't been able to stop worrying about JC, his thoughts torturing him just like Vanessa had said they would. He couldn't help thinking about it and even when he fell asleep, he had nightmares about JC's death. One violent scene after another.

He was actually surprised he was able to sleep given the anxiety of the whole situation, still not knowing what Vanessa had planned for him. After she'd tied him up, she hadn't said anything else to him and had left once more. He could only imagine what she was up to and perhaps that was why he kept falling asleep - the continuous worry exhausted him. That and it wasn't like there was much else he could do to pass the time.

A couple hours ago, he'd thought about trying to get out of his bindings again. The knots weren't angled in the same position though, which made it harder to reach it. Not to mention, he felt a weird pain in his wrists every time he tried to twist them around to reach it - something he wrote off as a result of his last escape attempt. But still, it was enough to deter him from continuously trying to get out of the silk scarves that bound him to the bed.

Lance glanced at the alarm clock on his nightstand. 2:17 p.m. He wondered where JC was, hoping he made it to the guys and could transform back to himself in a few hours. There was no telling how long he was going to be there before Vanessa put whatever plan she had in mind into action, but he had a feeling the agonizingly long wait was going to feel like nothing compared to what she had in store for him.

***********

Joey knocked on Chris's door, and it opened a few seconds later.

"You're so forgetful," Chris said as he let Joey step inside and handed him his wallet.

Joey had left the apartment a few hours ago only to realize that he'd forgotten his wallet in the spare bedroom he'd slept in. He'd called Chris to give him a heads up that he was going to stop by to get it as he'd need it to take Kelly out to dinner later.

"Yeah, yeah. Like I haven't heard that before," Joey replied. "Besides, JC's just as bad as me."

"He's flighty and has too many songs bouncing around in his head. What's your excuse?"

Joey just shook his head with a smile. He was used to Chris ripping on him for his clumsiness and forgetfulness. "Did you hear Justin got out of the hospital earlier?" he asked, changing the subject.

"I think he tried calling here, but I was barely awake," Chris said and Joey laughed. "So he got the all clear from the doctor?"

Joey nodded. "He still has to take medicine for a couple weeks, but the infection hasn't gotten worse."

"That's good to hear. I was beginning to think he was cursed," Chris said with a light laugh.

Joey shared in the laughter. "I'm pretty sure Justin felt the same way. And if I was JC, I'd keep that cat far away from him. He went into great detail about how he was going to kill it."

Chris scoffed. "Please. He talks a good game, but he wouldn't. Not when he knew it would upset JC."

Justin wasn't the only one. Joey knew that while Chris had been the one to have a huge influence on Justin trying to act tough, Chris himself hardly followed through with his threats. Most were said in a joking manner and the ones that were serious they usually had something to do with one of them and their safety or happiness. As the oldest, he often took it upon himself to protect them from anything that might affect those things. Case in point: how long he'd kept Robert and what he'd been going through from them.

"Have you heard anything from Robert?" Joey asked, asking the question that was now on his mind.

"No," Chris said, giving him a look. "But that's to be expected considering what I threatened him with."

"Well, you'd apparently threatened him before and he still came after you. I just wanted to make sure he hasn't tried again."

Chris's eyes narrowed slightly. "Or maybe you really wanted to know if I changed my mind and decided to help him. That what you and JC said yesterday influenced me."

Joey said nothing, unable to deny it. He understood where Chris was coming from with not wanting to interact with his father since he'd caused him so much hell. But at the same time, he'd agreed with JC that Chris seemed to be writing his dad off too soon. Robert might not have the best track record, especially where Chris was concerned, but he was still family. If Joey was in Chris's place, he'd like to think he'd give Robert another chance, but he wasn't about to push Chris to do something he was so against.

"I know you're trying to help, but I just want to forget about the whole thing. And that means putting distance between me and my dad," Chris said.

"Okay. You won't hear anything else about it from me," Joey replied.

Chris nodded his thanks. Silence fell over them but didn't last long as Chris broke it by asking, "You want a beer or something?"

"Thanks, but I should probably be going. Go get ready for dinner with Kel."

So far it'd been a good day for her, not having puked much at all since she woke up and Joey wanted to treat her to a nice meal. He knew he wouldn't be around much for the next few months once the second leg of the tour started and he wanted to do all he could to make it up to her in the meantime.

Chris led Joey over to the front door, opening it and allowing Joey to walk past into the hallway. He hovered in the doorway while Joey paused just at the top of the stairs. "Give me a call later if you want to hang," Chris told him.

"Will do," Joey said, nodding. "I'm sure we're not going to have any choice; Justin's probably so bored he'll be begging us to come over and entertain him."

"If Kim lets us come over."

Joey laughed at that, all of them knowing full well how protective she was of Justin, especially when he was sick. And what'd happened the last couple of days had gone beyond your typical cold or flu. It was likely she wouldn't be letting him do much of anything until she was sure his body had rested enough to really kick the infection for good.

He was about to step down onto the next stair and say goodbye to Chris, only to abruptly pull his leg up when he realized he'd nearly stepped on something. A cat to be more precise, and one that sprinted around him.

"Did one of your neighbors get a cat?" Joey asked, turning back to look at Chris.

Chris shook his head and looked like he was going to say more when the cat suddenly dashed passed him, running right into his apartment. "Hey!" he protested, spinning on his heel and going after the cat.

Joey, wanting to know what was going on, quickly crossed the small hallway to reenter Chris's apartment. As he walked through the door, Chris was nowhere in sight, but Joey could hear him yelling at the cat to "come back here you little shit." Chuckling lightly, he followed Chris's voice and had just come up behind him when there was a loud yowling coming from inside the bathroom.

"What the f..." Chris started to ask, but he abruptly cut himself off. His voice was full of confusion and disbelief as he said hesitantly, "Jace?"

Joey's brow furrowed in confusion and pushed Chris aside so he could stand in the doorway of the bathroom to see for himself. Sure enough, his eyes confirmed what Chris had said. JC was lying across the white tile panting heavily, his face scrunched up in pain and his body littered with purple and blue bruises.

Joey's mind was screaming at him, telling him that JC had just turned back from being a cat. But it wasn't something he was ready to accept. Stuff like that wasn't possible. At least it wasn't supposed to be and yet, what other explanation was there? Neither he or Chris had seen JC had seen their friend since they'd put him to bed the night before as he'd left before either of them had woken up. Still, it was a lot to try to wrap his head around.

Wanting to know what Chris thought of this crazy situation, Joey glanced to his right where his oldest friend had been standing only to find he'd moved into the bathroom. He was kneeling in the small space, his knee inches from JC's chest. JC, for his part, didn't seem to be in nearly as much pain, but he didn't exactly try to move away from Chris's searching hands.

"What the hell just happened?" Chris asked JC, his hands gently moving up and down JC's body obviously trying to find the source of the pain that was still apparent from his facial expression.

"I thought it would've been obvious," JC muttered. Just then Chris's hands ghosted over JC's side and yelped in pain, jerking away from the touch.

Joey instantly frowned while Chris demanded, "What the hell happened, JC? How'd you get hurt?"

JC let out a shaky breath, still recovering from the pain Chris's touch inflicted. "I'll explain everything if you stop touching me and let me get out of the bathroom."

There was no argument as Chris backed off, getting to his feet and offering a hand to JC. After taking another breath like he was preparing himself for the sudden change in altitude, he took Chris's hand and allowed him to pull him to his feet. He still ended up swaying and likely would've crashed to the floor if it hadn't been for Chris's grip on his arm.

Sure that JC seemed okay, at least for the moment anyway, Joey turned and led them back into the living room. He sat at one end of the couch and JC carefully lowered himself onto the other, while Chris disappeared into the kitchen. A couple seconds later, he reappeared and offered an icepack to JC.

"For that goose egg on your head," Chris said.

Joey looked over at JC and immediately noticed the rather large bump on the side of JC's head right near his temple. He wondered how he'd missed it before even in the brighter lights of the bathroom. The only thing he could come up with was that the stark contrast of the dark colored bruises against the pale skin had caught his attention more.

JC mumbled his thanks as he accepted the icepack and held it to his head, wincing as he did so. Joey wasn't sure if it was from touching the sore area or the extreme cold of the ice. Either way, his concern continued to grow as he wondered how exactly JC had gotten so beat up.

"So you want to explain what the hell's going on?" Chris prompted. "Since when can you turn into a freakin' cat?"

"Since last night," JC said, sinking into the cushions looking completely exhausted.

"Funny but you were still human when Joey and I brought you back."

Joey shot him a look. "Chris." He understood Chris was confused and wanted answers, but snapping at JC wasn't the way to get them.

"Yeah, but I went to Lance's. That's where it happened."

Chris frowned at JC. "Lance turned you into a cat?" he asked with a look that told Joey he was seriously debating JC's sanity.

"No," JC said, looking at each of them. "Vanessa did."

Joey blinked. "Vanessa? As in Lance's girlfriend? How the hell could she do that?"

"Because she's not human. She was the cat I adopted just like I said and-"

Chris groaned, interrupting JC. "This again? We already told you we don't believe you. That joke's not going to work with us."

"It's not a joke!" JC all but shouted, sitting up quickly. The anger didn't last long though as he immediately grimaced in pain, taking in a wheezing breath and coughing. When he managed to get his breathing under control he spoke again, forcing himself not to yell. "You saw what happened. She was cursed to be a cat and she transferred the curse to me."

Joey looked at him. He didn't want to believe it, but what choice did he have? JC could be imaginative, but even this was too much of a stretch for him. He wouldn't make something like this up, and there was more to this because none of that explained how he'd come to look like he'd gone a couple rounds with a heavyweight boxer.

"So how are you...you know, you right now?" Joey asked JC.

JC sighed, falling back into the cushions again and tilting his head back so he was looking up at the ceiling. "Apparently she'd transferred half of the curse to some other woman, so I'm stuck being a cat for twelve hours instead of the whole day."

Chris shook his head, pacing the short length of the couch. He was usually always in motion but it was especially true when he was upset or stressed. "This is nuts. Stuff like this isn't possible."

JC snorted. "Right. I'm walking proof it is."

"And why is that? How the hell did you let yourself be cursed?"

JC lifted his head just enough to glare at Chris. "Let myself?" he repeated. "I had no say in it. She'd apparently been transferring it to me while I slept. Bit my neck or something."

Chris suddenly stopped pacing like he'd just realized something. "The hickey on your neck? That's from her?"

JC nodded. "She went right to that spot when she transferred the rest of it."

Joey frowned. "This happened at Lance's?" he asked, wondering where Lance was when his girlfriend did this to JC. He couldn't picture Lance just sitting back and letting it happen.

JC seemed to realize what he was thinking and said, "He asked her to. Because the curse hadn't completely transferred, my body was trying to transform but couldn't. I would've died if he hadn't convinced her to finish it."

Joey and Chris glanced at each other before looking back at JC, both wondering what the hell he was talking about. "I think you better explain from the beginning," Joey said.

JC sighed again, but sat up slightly as he launched into what'd happened when he'd woken up in the middle of the night. He told them about the nightmare he'd had about Lance and the indescribable need he had to get to Lance, to tell him about how he'd seen his cat turn into Vanessa. Then he told them what Vanessa had really wanted Lance for, how she'd used him as a conduit to kill her ex-lover's soul.

The whole thing left Joey reeling, unable to believe that Vanessa had done those things and that she wasn't human. Yes, she'd seemed a little cold, but there'd been nothing about her that'd suggested to Joey she was anything other than the person she'd portrayed herself to be. It all seemed so surreal, but they had no choice but to believe JC.

When JC had finished talking, he seemed a bit winded and was wincing in pain again as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Joey was reminded once again that while JC had explained a great deal about what'd happened at Lance's, he'd yet to tell them how he'd gotten so injured - or even how he'd gotten out of the house.

"What happened to you?" Joey asked.

JC tried to act nonchalant and shrug only to make a face as the movement pulled on sore or injured muscles. "She used me to punish Lance for trying to help me escape."

"What'd she do?" Chris's eyes were narrowed, but Joey knew the anger wasn't directed at JC. It never sat well with Chris when one of them was hurt and this situation was more extreme than normal.

"She kicked the carrier I was in down the stairs."

JC had already explained to them how Vanessa had thrown him into Dirk's old pet carrier once he was in cat form so he couldn't run off, and Joey could picture the scene in his mind as if he'd actually been there. He could just imagine how painful that must've been for JC, confined to a small cage, slamming into the sides of it as the entire thing tumbled down the stairs. It certainly explained a lot of the bruising, but it also made him even more concerned there was a much more serious problem in an area they couldn't see.

Chris seemed to be on the same wavelength as Joey because he said, "Maybe we should get you checked out."

"I'm fine," JC replied automatically but the lack of conviction he said it with did little to convince them. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked so tired.

Because of how exhausted JC was, he didn't seem to realize Chris had gotten closer until he was reaching out and by then it was too late for JC to move out of Chris's reach. As soon as Chris's hand connected with JC's side, he hissed in pain and did his best to lean away from him.

"You don't seem fine to me," Chris said. He fixed JC with a hard look. "You could have a broken rib or something even more serious."

"I doubt it."

Joey sighed, tired of JC's stubbornness to get checked out. "JC, you really need to get looked at by a doctor. You could be bleeding internally or something."

"And Lance could be dying," JC retorted. "He risked himself to help me escape. He's counting on me to get help and I'm not going to let him down."

"We're going to help him, but he's not the only one that needs help," Joey reasoned, trying to get through to JC.

But JC was as stubborn as ever. "No. I can get checked out after all this over. Once we get Lance back."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Chris asked. "How are we supposed to go up against a demon or whatever the hell she is?"

JC looked like he wanted to shrug, but he remembered in time it wasn't a good idea. So he settled for saying, "We'll figure something out."

"How?" Chris demanded. "This is so out of the realm of normal. None of us know what the hell we're doing."

"We could go to the police."

Joey couldn't blame JC for suggesting that, but he had a feeling this was beyond the call of duty. Even for Orlando P.D. "I'm not sure they'll be much help, Jace. I doubt they'd even believe us."

"You don't think I know that?" JC snapped. He tossed the icepack on the table and sighed. "I figured we'd make up some story. Tell them she's holding Lance against his will and that she's like a crazy Satanist or something."

"I'm pretty sure even that story would land us in the nuthouse before it'd convince them to listen to us," Chris said.

JC glared at him. "Well, do you have any better ideas? We can't just leave Lance with her and let her do God knows what else to him."

Chris, for his part, didn't seem fazed by JC's anger. "I agree, but this isn't exactly something we can punch into the Internet or find a book on at the library. At least we wouldn't find anything I'd be willing to bet Lance's life on."

"Well, we have to start somewhere. Lance is counting on us to figure out something and quick."

"Why don't we start with getting some dinner?" Joey suggested. He glanced at Chris, figuring there'd be some crack about him and food. But Chris seemed to realize he hadn't said it out of his own hunger but knowing that JC needed to eat. Based off what he'd told them, it sounded like he hadn't eaten since at least lunch the day before and if he truly was okay, he wouldn't stay that way if he didn't get something substantial in him.

"Good idea," Chris said. "We can brainstorm while we eat."

JC gingerly crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not hungry."

"Tough. You're eating."

JC looked like he was going to argue, but the no nonsense look on Chris's face made him reconsider. While JC was stubborn, Chris could easily match him and often beat the rest of them when they tried to challenge. It certainly helped their case that JC didn't seem to have enough energy to get up off the couch, let alone fight them on something he wouldn't win anyway.

"Order the food," Joey told Chris, getting up from the couch. "I have a phone call to make real quick."

Chris raised an eyebrow at him before he suddenly nodded in understanding, telling Joey he could use one of the bedrooms for his phone call. Joey shot him a grateful look and stepped into the spare bedroom to call Kelly. He had to let her know they wouldn't be going out to dinner and that he likely wouldn't be home tonight. She wouldn't be too happy with him, but that was the least of Joey's problems at the moment.

Lance was in trouble and they had to do everything they could to save him before something serious happened. Something they couldn't reverse.