"This is crazy," Max said.

"I'm sorry," Ernie said. "I didn't mean to get you guys involved."

"You didn't do anything," Natalia said. Her eyes were frantic, but she was standing her ground.

"Yeah, right," Yi said. "He's working with Von Strife, just like Smoke was."

"Have you lost your mind?" Natalia asked.

"Then how do you explain what happened in Bludgeon Town? He led us into a trap."

"Ross and Todd found those slavers, not Ernie," Natalia said. "So are they working for Von Strife, too?"

"Probably."

"I think you've fried your brain," Natalia said.

Fire ignited in Yi's hands.

"Knock it off, both of you!" Max said.

"Tell us where they are," Tejan said through clenched jaws.

"Yeah, where're Hale and Strange?" Laini, a changeling with bright pink hair and what looked like butterfly wings, cried out.

"We have to do something before this gets out of hand," Max said.

"I think it's too late for that," Harley said.

Sprig threw her head back and roared.

"It's going to take more than a tiger to beat us," Yi said as he stood in the morning haze like a human torch.

"We don't want to fight you," Max said, "but we're not going to let you hurt Ernie. Besides, why would we help Von Strife? Ernie's a changeling, and he's our friend. I'd like to think that we're your friends, too."

"How am I your friend?" Yi asked.

Max rubbed his forehead. "You've never given us a chance."

"That's because we don't trust you," Yi said. "You're not one of us."

"Ernie is, and he's our friend," Max said. "And you didn't second-guess him when he helped you capture the other slavers, so why are you doing it now?"

"We didn't know he was working for Von Strife," Yi said. The comment was met with a murmur of agreement from the other changelings.

"Do you have any proof?"

Yi glared at Max, but he didn't say anything. Max looked at the other changelings, waiting for them to give an account, but no one could.

"This is just what Von Strife would want us to do," Max said. "We're not going to bring him down if we're fighting one another."

"You don't know what we've been through," Nadya said. "I can't go anywhere without wondering if someone is going to try to kidnap me.... None of us can. And how do the Templar decide to protect us? With these," she said, pulling her hair back to show Max the inhibitor just above her ear. "They try to snuff out our powers so we can't even protect ourselves."

"That's not Ernie's fault," Max said. "Neither are the kidnappings."

"He's right," Raven said as she walked down the front steps of Sendak Hall to stand next to Max.

"What, you're on their side?" Yi asked as the flames grew in his hands.

"Don't be such a hothead," Raven said, earning a smattering of laughter from the changelings.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Yi asked.

"You're doing a good enough job making a fool of yourself without me," Raven said.

There was more laughter.

"Standing around here and arguing isn't going to get Hale or Strange back," Max said.

"He's right," Denton said, earning a reluctant murmur of agreement from a few of the others.

"Then if it wasn't Ernie, who set us up?" Yi asked. He had supporters as well.

"We're not sure, but we know where Von Strife is," Harley said. "That's why the ships are here. We're going to war."

Yi looked up to the sky. "Then they're not here for us?"

"What? For the changelings?" Max asked.

"Yeah," Yi said.

Max put one arm around Ernie's shoulder and stroked Sprig's neck. "They'd have to go through us first."

EAVESDROPPING.

"I don't get it," Ernie said as he walked with the other Grey Griffins to their homeroom. "Why did you do that for me?"

"What do you mean?" Max asked.

"It's just that I've been kind of a jerk lately, but... I don't know. You stood up for me anyway."

"Why wouldn't we?" Max asked as Sprig padded behind them as a white tiger. "Isn't that what Grey Griffins are supposed to do?"

Ernie smiled, though not for long. "So does that mean we're friends again?"

"We never stopped being your friend," Natalia said as she linked arms with Ernie. "We still love you, even when you act like a jerk."

"Thanks," Ernie said. "For everything."

The second bell had already rung. Dr. Thistlebrow and a few other teachers were on the front lawn wrangling curious students who couldn't stop watching the airships hovering in the sky.

"Hey, is that Logan?" Harley asked, pointing to a man in a black duster jacket.

"I can't tell," Max said.

"It is," Ernie said, confirming Harley's suspicion.

"What's he doing here?" Harley asked.

Max shrugged. "Beats me," he said, "but I bet it has something to do with those warships."

"Let's go find out," Harley said. He headed toward the door Logan disappeared through.

"What about class?" Natalia asked.

"It's just homeroom," Harley said. "All we do is sit there and listen to announcements."

"I don't know."

"You can do what you want, but I'm going," Harley said.

"Me too," Ernie said.

"Sorry," Max said, before following the other two.

"Fine," Natalia said. "Wait for me."

They followed Logan into the building until they came to a set of double doors that led to an off-limits area controlled by the Sciences Council. Even though most of it was still under construction, some of the teachers had offices there. It was also home to a research facility, a small publishing house for academic books, and, from what Max had heard, a library that rivaled the Templar Library off the coast of Iceland.

"They're not going to let us in there," Max said when he saw armed guards stationed at the doors.

"Can't you call Logan?" Harley asked.

"If he wanted us in there, he would have told us about it."

"I might be able to help," Ernie said. He reached into his pocket to pull out a small brass mechanism with dials and a lever.

"What is it?" Harley asked.

"It's called an Interdimensional Phase Adjuster," Ernie said.

"Wait, that's an IPA?" Harley said, a smile creeping across his face. "How did you get one?"

"Are you two going to let us in on your little secret, or are we just going to stand here?" Natalia asked.

"Those things make you invisible," Harley said.

"Actually," Ernie said, "it vibrates your molecules so you can be in two dimensions at the same time. It's kind of like being invisible, but you can walk through walls and stuff like that. You can even scream and nobody will hear you."

"That's what you did to escape the slavers' net, isn't it?" Harley asked.

"Yep."

"Why didn't you tell us about it before?" Natalia said.

"I couldn't," Ernie said.

"Where'd you get it?" Max asked.

Ernie hesitated. His eyes went from Max to the floor, but eventually they landed back on Max. "Look, I shouldn't say anything, but... well, Obadiah gave it to me."

"He just gave it to you?"

"I guess," Ernie said. "He told me it was a late Christmas present."

"That's some present," Harley said. "I'm pretty sure they don't sell them to civilians."

"Anyway," Ernie said as he fumbled with the IPA in his hands, "I was thinking that we could use it to sneak in there and find Logan."

Max smiled. "Will it work on four people?"

"As long as we stay close," Ernie said.

"Is it safe?" Natalia asked.

"I guess," Ernie said. "I mean, it feels kind of weird at first, but you get used to it."

"What do you think?" Max asked, looking at Harley.

"I'm in."

"Me too," Ernie said.

"We all go or none of us do," Max said, turning to Natalia.

"No pressure or anything," she said.

Max smiled.

"Fine."

Ernie twisted a few of the dials before pulling the lever. The scene around them dissolved until the Grey Griffins were all that remained in focus. Everything around them went pale. It looked like an X-ray-once-solid objects were now vague outlines.

"This is awesome," Harley said.

"We can actually walk through walls?" Natalia asked as she studied her translucent hand.

Ernie nodded.