As they drove, Rachel and Conner gave Diana and Bryce an explanation about Angelina, and Pretty And Pink Foster Care, and their history with the "foster care" organization. Diana and Bryce turned out to be a pretty good audience-they listened intently, and they gasped in all the right places. When Rachel and Conner had finished their story, both Diana and Bryce were speechless.

"I don't believe it," Diana said, looking Rachel up and down. After hearing the truth about her, she was starting to see her friend in a different light. "I can't believe you and Lanie were boys."

"I know," said Rachel. "I've been female for so long, I can barely remember what it was like being male."

"But why's Angelina so fixated on Lanie?" Bryce asked. "It sounds like she was after Lanie even before you guys found out what was really going on."

"I don't know," said Rachel. "That's what we're trying to figure out."

"What I'm really wondering is why she didn't come after you," said Conner. "She wanted all three of you, didn't she? You, and Lanie, and Jenny."

"Maybe she didn't want to risk attacking the orphanage and having the police come after her," said Rachel. "So she sent me that text from Lanie's phone so I'd know where to go to find Lanie."

"But what if she's not really in Washington D. C?" Diana asked. "What if this is all just a trap?"

"Trap or not, it's the only thing we've got," Rachel replied. "We know that the main headquarters of Pretty And Pink is in Washington D. C, and Angelina sent me that message she was taking Lanie to Washington D. C. So even if Lanie isn't there, we'll probably at least find another lead."

"I hope you're right about this," said Bryce.

A couple hours later, the sun started to go down. "So where are we gonna stop for the night?" Bryce asked.

Neither Rachel nor Conner had thought of that. "I don't know," said Rachel.

"I don't think we should stop," said Conner. "If we do, then we might end up arriving too late to save Lanie."

"But we can't go driving all night, can we?" Rachel asked.

"Maybe we can," said Bryce. "That's why you brought Diana, right?"

"Right." Rachel turned to Diana and asked "Do you think you can take over driving for a while?"

"Maybe," Diana answered, "But I don't know if I can make it the whole night."

"Why don't you sleep in shifts?" Conner suggested. "Diana, you can drive for an hour or two, then wake up Bryce to drive while you take a rest."

"That sounds like a good idea," said Bryce.

"But I'm probably gonna need some snacks to keep myself awake," said Diana. "We should stop at a gas station."

"Not just for snacks," said Bryce. "I've gotta top off my gas, too."

"Alright," said Rachel. "I'm getting kind of hungry anyway."

So when they came across the next gas station, Bryce pulled over to pump gas while Rachel, Conner, and Diana went inside the convenience store. They bought light dinners for themselves and a bunch of snacks for Bryce and Diana to keep themselves energized throughout the night. When they were done, they went back out to the car where Bryce was waiting. This time, Diana got in the driver's seat with Bryce in shotgun, while Rachel and Conner got in the back. Rachel ate her hot dog while the car started moving.

"Diana," Rachel asked, "Are you scared?"

"Yes," Diana admitted. "I don't think I want to know what's waiting for us in Washington D. C."

"Well, I appreciate you coming with us," said Rachel. "I really do."

Diana smiled, but she said "Don't thank me yet. Save it for when we've survived."

***

When Rachel woke up the next morning, it was already 8:00. Bryce was in the driver's seat, munching on Doritos as he drove. Diana was fast asleep, as was Conner.

"Are we there yet?" Rachel asked.

"See for yourself," said Bryce. He indicated to the right, where they were passing right by the Washington Monument.

Rachel's heart leapt. "We're here!" she said. "We made it to Washington D. C!"

"Yep," said Bryce. "I don't know where Pretty And Pink is, but..."

"How about you pull over?" Rachel suggested. "Enter it into Google Maps."

It turned out pulling over was easier said than done. Washington D. C. was such a big, bustling city with so many cars and people clogging up the parking areas, it took Bryce half an hour to find a spot to park his car. When he did, Conner and Diana both woke up.

"What...are we there?" Conner asked groggily. "Are we stopping for gas again?"

"The first option," Bryce replied. "We're in Washington D. C."

Conner looked around. "Uh...where's the Pretty And Pink foster home?"

"We're not there yet," said Bryce. "I'm putting it into Google Maps." A minute later, Google Maps had mapped out a route to Pretty And Pink. "Okay, here we go," said Bryce. "Let's get going."

After twenty minutes of weaving through traffic, they came to the Washington D. C. establishment of Pretty And Pink Foster Care. This one was even larger than the building in Nashville had been, standing at five stories high. It had the Pretty And Pink logo plastered real big on the side of the building-and, of course, the walls were painted pink.

"Wow," Conner said when he saw Pretty And Pink for the first time. "That place really is pink."

"It's not pink, it's salmon," Bryce said in a mock defensive voice.

Rachel got out of the car and took a deep breath. This was it. This was where she'd be able to rescue her friend and "sister." And she'd probably figure out what Angelina's obsession with Lanie was, too. "Well, we're here, guys," she said.

"That's it?" Diana asked. "That's...actually a pretty nice foster home."

"I thought the same thing, when I saw the Nashville location," said Rachel.

"So now what do we do?" Bryce asked.

"That's not your problem," Conner replied. "You drove us here, just like we wanted. It's up to us now."

"But you're not gonna just run in by yourselves and get killed by those witches, are you?" Bryce asked.

Rachel and Conner looked at each other awkwardly. "Wow," said Rachel. "We didn't plan this out very well, did we?"

Conner stroked his chin. "I've got an idea," he said.

***

Okay, Diana said to herself as she walked up to the foster home's front doors. Just act natural. Your parents just died in a car accident, and you've been living on the streets for days. Just act like you're desperate for a new home.

Diana entered the front doors and came to the front desk. There, she found two thirty-something-year-old women sitting at the front desk. "Well hello, young lady," said one of the women. Her name tag identified her as Anna. "What brings you here?"

"I...well...I need somewhere to live," said Diana.

"Really?" the other woman, whose name was Elena, said. "What happened with you?"

"My parents died in a car accident," Diana answered. "And I heard this place takes in homeless girls and gives them a place to live, so..."

"Well, isn't that ironic!" said Elena. "Usually it's us who finds girls to bring in. It's not very often that girls show up on our doorstep asking us to take them in."

"Well?" Diana asked. "Can I stay here?"

Anna looked at her computer before saying "I suppose we can."

All right! The witches (?) fell for it! But there was still one more thing Diana had to find out. "Where's the manager?" she asked.

"What?"

"The manager. The person who runs the place. Is he here?"

"It's a she," Elena corrected. "And yes, she is here. She just arrived a couple hours ago."

"Why do you want to know?" Anna asked.

"Well..." Diana knew she couldn't say Angelina's name, or else she might blow the whole operation. "Does she have to be here, to authorize you guys letting me register with this foster home?"

"Our manager is unavailable at the moment," said Elena, "But we can register you ourselves."

"Good," said Diana. She sat and patiently waited while Anna and Elena went through some paperwork. It took quicker than Diana expected. All she had to do was give her name, age, reason for supposedly being an orphan, and that was it.

"Well, now you're registered," Anna said when the process was done. "Come on, I'll take you to your new room."

Diana went with Anna upstairs to a large dorm room. Inside, there were five more girls folding laundry, playing on their phones, and doing other stuff. "Hey girls," said Anna. "Here's your new roommate Diana."

Diana forced a smile. "Hey guys," she said. "I'm...Diana."

"My name's Taylor," said one of the girls. "And this is Alexis. And Sharon, and Heather, and Ella."

"Is there anything else you need?" Anna asked.

"No," Diana answered.

"Very well," said Anna. "Have fun with your new roommates."

Once Anna left, Diana approached the girl named Taylor who had spoken. "Listen, this is serious," she said. "Is Angelina here?"

"What-who?"

"Angelina Aguilar," said Diana. "The founder of this company."

All the rest of the girls exchanged glances. "How do you know about her?" the one named Heather asked.

"Answer the question!" Diana demanded. "Is she here or not?"

"Yes," said Alexis. "I saw her downstairs half an hour ago. She was talking to Anna and Elena."

"So she is here," said Diana. She sat down on a bed and got out her phone.

"Hey, that's my bed!" Alexis protested.

Diana ignored her and opened her Messager app. She started typing a text to Rachel, but she was interrupted when Taylor came up behind her. "Diana, that's Alexis' bed," said Taylor. "And you..." She trailed off when she saw Rachel Miller's name at the top of Diana's phone's screen. "Wait a minute," she said. "Is that...Rachel Miller?"

"Yes," Diana said as she furiously kept typing her text message.

"The Rachel Miller?" Taylor asked. "Long black hair, brown eyes, pale skin?"

For the first time, Diana turned to fully regard Taylor. "You know her?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Taylor. "Me and Alexis shared a room with her and Lanie Evans back at the Nashville location."

"Wow," said Diana.

"How do you know Rachel?" Alexis asked.

"It's a long story," Diana replied. "Listen, we're here to stop Angelina."

"Stop Angelina?"

"Stop her from turning boys and men into women."

Every girl in the room gasped. "What the-how did you-"

Diana looked between the other five girls. "So it's true," she said. "You really weren't supposed to tell each other you were boys."

"I don't...I thought I was the only one..." Taylor stammered.

"It's not important," said Diana. "What is important is that Angelina's here. And she's doing something with Lanie."

"What-you know Lanie, too?" Taylor asked.

"Yes. Angelina brought her back here, and we came to rescue her."

"A minute ago you said you were here to stop Angelina," said Alexis.

"That too," said Diana. She pressed the Send button, and her text went right to Rachel's phone.

***

"Yes!" Rachel exclaimed when she saw Diana's text. "Angelina is here!"

"Great," said Conner. "Let's get the weapons out."

Conner and Bryce both got shotguns out while Rachel got a hunting knife. She knew it wouldn't be as effective as a gun, but she didn't feel comfortable holding a gun. She wasn't sure if she trusted herself not to literally shoot herself in the foot. Plus, a knife had already proven effective against killing Ruth.

Rachel, Conner, and Bryce busted through the foster home's front doors and saw Anna and Elena sitting at the front desk. "What the-" Anna asked.

"Where's Lanie?" Rachel asked. "Tell us now!"

Elena squinted at Rachel and recognized her face. "You're her," she said. "You're Rachel. Angelina was right. You did find a way to come here."

"Yeah, I did," said Rachel. "What did you do with Lanie?"

"Angelina's taking care of her personal business with Lanie," said Anna. "But you, on the other hand..."

"What's Angelina doing with Lanie?" Conner asked. "What does she even want with her? She's just another boy she turned into a girl!"

"Oh no," said Anna. "Lanie is much more than that."

"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked.

"Girl, you are so ignorant," said Anna. "You have no idea who Lanie really is." And she told Rachel, Conner, and Bryce the truth about Lanie.

When Rachel heard what Anna said, she nearly dropped her knife. "But-but that's impossible!" she stuttered. "How could Lanie be-"

"Don't question what is and isn't possible, girl," said Elena. She stood up and floated a few feet off the ground. "Soon, Angelina and Lanie will achieve Angelina's lifelong goal of ruling an all-female world."

Elena conjured a fireball and threw it at Rachel. Conner grabbed Rachel and pulled her aside to prevent her from being hit. Bryce tried to shoot at Elena, but his aim was off by at least three feet. Elena rounded on Bryce, but Conner was ready. He took careful aim and shot her in the chest. Elena barely had time to gasp before her circulatory system collapsed, and she fell onto the floor dead.

"No!" Anna hissed. She climbed up onto the desk and snapped her fingers. In the blink of an eye, Conner's and Bryce's guns turned into thick black balloons.

"What the-hey!" said Conner. "These were my dad's shotguns!"

"Oh, come on now," said Anna. "You can still have some fun with those balloons." She floated down to Conner and grabbed him by the collar. "At least, you can if you live to see the day." She pinned him against the wall and placed her hand against his forehead. Conner screamed in pain, as if Anna was using her hand to burn his skin.

Rachel gritted her teeth. This was it. It was all on her now, just like when Ruth was threatening Lanie. She knew what it would mean to kill Anna, but the rational part of her knew there was no other choice. She came up behind Anna and stabbed her in the back. Like Ruth before her, Anna gasped and collapsed.

Conner let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Rachel," he said.

"You're welcome," said Rachel. She turned to see Diana running up to them, followed by...was that Taylor and Alexis?

"Whoa," Diana said when she saw the chaos in the foyer. "Did you just-"

"Yes, we took them out," said Conner.

"Rachel? What are you doing here?" Taylor asked.

"What are you doing here?" Rachel asked.

"Me and Alexis got transferred here after the Nashville location got shut down," Taylor answered. "Angelina said you, Lanie, and Jenny broke into an employees-only area and then escaped, so-"

"It's a long story," said Rachel. "Do you know if there's another underground bunker here?"

"As a matter of fact, there is," said Alexis. "I saw the entrance to it just a few days ago."

"Show us the way," said Rachel.

***

Of all the disturbing things Lanie had experienced lately, waking up naked was one of the weirder ones.

She woke on a cold metal bed in a dark underground room. She felt a breeze on her boobs and her vagina, and she realized she wasn't wearing any clothes. "What...what the..."

"Good, good," said the voice of Angelina Aguilar. "The Awakening was a success."

"What-Angelina!"

"Don't worry, you can put your clothes back on now," said Angelina. She indicated a pile of clothes that were Lanie's, lying on the floor beside her bed.

Angelina had undressed Angelina while she was asleep? That thought was sickening. Nonetheless, Lanie wasted no time in grabbing her panties and sliding them back on. "What's going on?" Lanie asked as she was wriggling her way into her bra. "What did you do to me?"

"I performed the Awakening on you," said Angelina. "The Awakening where I activated the magic inside of you."

"What...magic?"

"Lanie, I've been looking for you for years," said Angelina. "For a long time, I've wanted to remold the world in my image-a world where everyone is a woman, and there are no disgusting men to tarnish our image. But I knew I couldn't do it alone. I needed someone else to help me in my endeavors. And that someone was you."

"I don't understand," said Lanie. She had now put on her skirt and shirt again. "Why do you need me?"

"You're a witch, Lanie," Angelina answered.

Lanie's jaw dropped. "I'm a witch?"

"Yes, you are. Your magic has been dormant inside of you since you were born, but with the Awakening ritual, you are now able to use your magical abilities."

"What do you mean? I don't have magic powers!"

"Yes you do. Try doing something. Anything."

Lanie looked around and saw a chair on the other end of the room. She imagined the chair levitating off the ground, and to her shock, the chair rose. No hidden strings, no magnets-it just floated on its own, at Lanie's will.

"Yes," said Angelina, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice. "You're a witch, Lanie. Just like me. Together, you and I can do amazing things."

"But how? How am I a witch?"

"Because of your parentage. You had a magical parent, and you inherited that parent's magical DNA."

"Oh, please," said Lanie. "My dad was no magician."

"No, he wasn't," Angelina said with distaste. "He was an abusive asshole. You were right to murder him. Your mother, on the other hand..."

"My mother is gone!" said Lanie. "She left us when I was little, and she never came back!"

"Little do you know, your mother has been looking for you for a long time," said Angelina.

"What are you talking about?" Lanie asked. "How do you know..." She trailed off when she looked at Angelina again. Suddenly, she realized why Angelina had looked so familiar to her. Her facial features, her eyes, her hair, even her voice...it reminded Lanie of herself. A lot of herself. That could only mean...

"No," Lanie said, shaking her head. "No, it can't be!"

"Yes, Lanie," Angelina said wickedly. "I am your mother."

To be concluded...