"There you go," Corbin said to me.

I adjusted my hat with one hand. "Thanks."

"Don't get comfortable, you two," Kell's voice rang from the changing room. He quickly walked out of it and to us. "I'm ready." When we started walking, the Wocky asked me, "Janet, why don't you try pinching your nose? It'll clot the blood."

"My nose hurts enough without me applying pressure," I informed. "It'll take a bit longer to clot even if I pinch it. I've been taking painkillers and it thins my blood."

"Oh, you're not overworking yourself to migraines again, are you?" Corbin whined. "Remember last time?"

"No, I'm not working myself to migraines." I was prone to migraines when I was stressed, which I was not. "My stomach still hurts quite a bit when it's hit there, even though I'm much better than I was. Me getting hit in the stomach is actually a bit common, though."

"How come?" Kell asked.

"Because I'm after others who do stuff like this" I pointed at my nose. "on a regular basis. They don't like being caught, you know."

The walk through the lobby and the ride in the elevator was silent. Corbin went in my bag and got the room key. I went to grab it, but he pulled it away from me.

"I got it," the blue Ogrin said. He unlocked the door. "Janet, you don't have to do everything. Let others do things for you for once."

"But I like doing things on my own," I argued.

"At least let others help you."

"I don't need any help."

"You do sometimes," Kell chimed in. He elbowed me. "Even heroes like you need help sometimes."

"I'm no hero."

"That's open to discussion." Kell wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

Corbin unlocked the door. He let me in first. I walked in, then Kell, then Corbin. The first thing I heard was Jane talking.

"...I recognize some, but most symbols are just nonsense," she said. The Korbat finally noticed me. "Janet, why do you have a towel to your nose?"

"Yea, why's that?" Natia repeated. She hopped up from the couch. "You don't need it."

"Oh yes I do," I argued.

"No you don't." Natia grabbed my towel and yanked it away. I fell to the floor as the towel was ripped from me. I still held my nose. "Janet, you have a bloody nose?"

"She what?" James asked. He got off the couch and looked at me. "Janet, you have a bloody nose!"

"I know."

"How'd you get it?" Felix asked.

"Mystery Island's favorite new hero." I took my towel back and held it to my nose.

"Blue did this?" Jane questioned.

"We were there. He punched her in the nose," Corbin answered.

"Blue punched you?" James asked.

Ugh, everyone with the questions. "Yes," I said in a bitter tone. "My nosebleed's going down, it'll over soon, but it's just taking a while."

"Painkillers?"

"Hey, I can't help it if others keep hitting me in the gut!"

Corbin shifted uneasily. "Since we're all here," He walked to Jane. "Jane? Can we?"

Her eyes grew nervous. "With everybody? I don't know," my best friend answered.

"Jane," I whined. "They'll find out eventually."

"But..." The Korbat looked at James, Natia, and Felix, then back at me. "But..." She sighed. "Fine. You can know who Reena is. But Janet, can you tell them? I can never talk about her without breaking down."

I nodded. I sat down on the couch. Kell sat next to me. I took in a breath. "Reena was a friend of ours."

"Ooh, she is?" Natia asked. "Can we meet her?"

Those words hurt me a little. "No. You can't."

"Why not?" James asked.

"She's..." How should I say the next part? "Dead."

It was dead quiet after I said that. The air was still. Nobody even dared to move. A pin could drop and all of us would hear it.

"Before we met Natia, before our business went private, Reena often helped us out with our cases," I continued. "One time, we were after a murderer, the press wouldn't keep her name and face secret, and..." I sighed shakily. "Reena was dead when we went to see her the next day."

The entire room was silent. I expected that. It wasn't surprising, but it was unnerving. I got up and stretched. It felt nice to finally say that to everybody.

"That really happened?" Corbin asked.

"I wish it didn't," I informed, not even making eye contact with anyone. "In a way, and I don't mean this in a spiteful or rude way, but maybe it was for the best. Our business went private then and a lot fewer Neopets went after us."

"Is that it?" James asked.

"No," Kell answered. "That was all Janet told me in Neovia a year ago and I heard her say, 'I told him some of the story.' Unless I'm wrong, that means she has more to tell."

"She told you her connection to us," Jane said suddenly. She leaned on Corbin. "She never told you her connection to Riley."

"Hold on, Reena-"

"-was a friend of Riley's as well, yes." The Korbat adjusted herself. "Remember, Riley used to be a friend of ours. When Reena died, Riley blamed us for not protecting her, which we tried. After that, he turned on us. While still having feelings for Janet, apparently."

"Yeah, he loves me but wants to kill me. How does that make sense?" I mut