A/N: Hey again! Sorry I took so long to update but I had to retype this four times before I was satisfied with it. In any event, I want to thank all the readers again because you guys keep me motivated. Rock on, ya'll! Now I realize that SPOILER ALERT Dai died in the season finale yesterday but I don't want to write him out of this so I'll leave him alive. AU ain't too bad and this is as AU as possible so…yeah. Thoughts on the finale? I'd love to chat with you guys about it, there's so much that they can do with season 3 now! As for Anne and Tom's baby…well that'll come up later in this story too (not this chapter). This chapter is considerably longer than the rest (hopefully you don't mind) because of the amount of action I really need to set up this chapter. There's three point-of-view changes and we get some MORE insight on the harness-mythology. And one or two new characters. I'd dearly love the reviews :)

Chapter 6: Gabe Mason

"Gabriel Mason," Mom's voice was cold, a little angry sounding as she stepped into the kitchen and sat down across from me. "Would you like to tell me what you and your sister were thinking?" I winced at her tone and envied Rebecca for having escaped to help Grandma and the other doctor.

This was a rare occurrence for me—getting into trouble. Usually it's Rebecca who gets the scolding from my parents for sneaking out or lying or forgoing chores but I could tell that Mom was very, very disappointed. And who could blame her, really? We weren't thinking and she was probably worried sick. I had never seen her this frantic looking before, even though I was right in front of her now and no longer missing.

"W-we…we were trying to help."

"By giving me a heart attack? By making your dad and uncle go out there to get you?"

"We would have made it," I defended, lying outright. We most certainly would not have made it, I was fairly sure of that.

"Really?" Mom's eyes were scrutinizing me closely now. She's way too good at that—even when we were little she could always tell when we were lying. "Because I'm hearing an entirely different story from your father and from Ben…"

"It was Rebecca's idea," I finally blurted, shutting my eyes quickly and wishing I could take it all back.

Mom shook her head. "Gabe, I'm talking to you right now." The anger had drained from her voice, replaced with this tired sort of sadness. "I don't care if it was your sister's idea, you had a hand in it and you're just as responsible. I could have lost you today!"

"But you didn't," I pointed out, feeling really guilty. I had never seen my mother like this before, frazzled and close to tears.

"That doesn't matter, Gabe! I could have! I could have lost you both! Not to mention your father…I could have lost my whole family today." Those were definitely tears in her eyes and I was all the more surprised because my mother is not a crier.

"I'm sorry, Mom," I finally said softly. She looked at me again, a different, motherly look on her face now and I understood how scared she really was. "But," I added tentatively, "what's going to happen once they come?"

"We don't know when that will be," Mom answered tightly.

"Jimmy said he could hear their communications, that they're coming soon. Maybe even tonight. What then?"

Mom shook her head, a frown creasing her face. "We fight."

"And I'll fight too—"

"No!" I jumped with how sharp she said it. Her eyes were wide, almost panicked. "Absolutely not!"

No? So many feelings washed over me. I felt angry, disappointed. All this time I had been scared but now I really felt like I could do something. I wanted to do something. And my mother was telling me no? "Why not?" I challenged.

"Because I am not putting you or your sister at risk out there."

"And yet you'll gladly do it yourself?"

"Yes," Mom looked at me closely, her face completely serious. "I will gladly do it if it means you two don't."

"But Mom!"

"There's no room for negotiation here, Gabe. There's no way your dad and I are letting you two fight these things."

"But why not?" I slammed my hand against the table, feeling like a child, wincing at how immature my tone was.

"Because you're my kids," Mom snapped.

"I'm not a kid anymore!"

"You will always be my kids," she replied sharply.

"And that's exactly why we want to fight! That's exactly why we can!"

"No," she reiterated, her voice dropping to almost a whisper. "And that's final. I will not lose another child." And with that she got up and left the room, probably going to find my dad. I released a shaky breath. What did she mean by another child?

It was around two in the afternoon and I was sitting in my room, on the chair across the bed from my sister. I didn't meet her eyes, just watched as the kid lying in the bed breathed in and out slowly. It was so weird, seeing him asleep like a regular teenager. He looked around Rebecca's age but we couldn't be sure. He hadn't woken up yet.

"Did Mom talk to you yet?" I asked her.

"Nope," she shook her head. "I have a feeling she's gonna read me the riot act and then some once we're alone." Rebecca chewed her lip nervously. "Did she talk to you?"

"Yeah," I nodded. The words she spoke were still bouncing about in my head. Downstairs, I could hear our parents talking to Uncle Ben and some of the others.

"What did she say?"

"Usual," I shrugged. "Got on me for being irresponsible and putting people at risk…" My sister nodded. "So…uh…how was it, you know, taking his harness off?" I gestured to the kid presently unconscious on my bed.

"Not the best experience," she confessed.

"I thought you wanted to be a doctor?"

"I meant like a pediatrician, not…that." She proceeded to tell me how they had snuck into the hospital to avoid causing a panic. Dr. Delgado's coworker arranged for the equipment to be available. Rebecca described in graphic detail how she lifted the harness of the boy's back so that the doctor could burn away the harness. Now there were only spikes in his back, less than an inch in height. I could see on his neck the dry patches of skin, just like Uncle Ben had.

"He must be freshly harnessed," I murmured. "Otherwise he would've turned into something…freaky."

"I thought about that," my sister answered, resting her chin on her hand. "I wonder how long ago they got him? If his parents are waiting for him somewhere…"

Parents. "Hey, uh, Rebecca?" She looked at me. "Uh…earlier, when I was talking to Mom…" How does one put this? "She…she said she didn't want to lose another child. W-what did she mean by that?"

My sister perked up, looking seriously at me. "She never told you?"

Told me what? I shook my head.

"Gabe—" she was cut off when the boy started gasping for air. "Go and get Dr. Delgado or Grandma or someone! Hurry!"

I took off running, no longer thinking about what my mother's words to me were.

Chapter 6: Rebecca Mason

The kid was twitching and convulsing on the bed, gurgling almost, when Gabe returned with Dr. Delgado. I had been trying to keep the poor boy calm but I wasn't even sure if he was awake.

"Hold him down," Dr. Delgado commanded, just like she had in the back room of the hospital. We had him doped up on morphine to replace whatever the harness was pumping into him and Dr. Delgado said we would slowly start scaling back on the drug. See, whatever the harness puts into these kids has fatal withdrawal symptoms but not morphine. Morphine won't kill you in withdrawal unless you've got additional problems so we substitute harness-drugs with the morphine and wean them off of it that way. At least that's how Dr. Delgado explained it and it made sense if I thought back to bio and chemistry. I did my best but it was hard to keep him still and Gabe had to help.

"We can start scaling back on the drugs now," Dr. Delgado explained as she inserted a new drip full of the stuff. "But we can't take him off of it fully for a while yet. I don't have enough anesthesia to keep him under, though." She was looking around for a solution.

"Don't bother," I said. "I'll watch him." I wasn't exactly sure why I volunteered to keep an eye on this kid. For all I knew he was dangerous. But there was something fascinating about him, about his whole predicament. And besides, if anyone was going to have a shot of making meaningful contact with him, it was someone his own age.

"Are you sure?" the doctor asked me.

"Yeah," I nodded. Gabe turned to me, wide-eyed. "I'll be fine."

She sighed. "If you're sure…just be careful, okay? I'll keep him tied down to the bed but shout if you need someone."

"I will."

"I'll stay too," my brother piped.

"No," I cut in sharply. "I'll do it myself."

"Rebecca, you stand a better chance if you have someone else with you!" Gabe reasoned. But I didn't want him to bother this kid with constant questions and prying like he tended to do. He would probably be scared, disoriented, and Gabe getting in his face and grilling him probably wouldn't help matters.

"I'll be fine," I gritted out. "And they may need you elsewhere." He paused and I realized I'd hooked him. He hadn't considered it before but if there was promise of him being useful elsewhere, he wouldn't think twice about leaving me to guard some boy strapped down to a bed. Never mind the fact that they'd probably only allow him to observe. If that.

"I'm not sure," Dr. Delgado was saying.

"No, she's right," Gabe admitted. "I'd be more useful doing something else." I felt bad for the medic as she sighed and shrugged helplessly, warned me again to use caution, and then reluctantly departed.

"If you're all set here, I'm going to head back downstairs," the doctor told me. I nodded and returned to sitting by the door, watching the boy stir from time-to-time. He was kind of handsome—in a dangerous, former alien-agent way. His dark hair was matted down and caked with dirt and his skin was almost grey with the amount of grime. The bed sheets were definitely write-offs.

I could hear the conversation going on downstairs through the air vent in Gabe's room. My dad was talking at the moment.

"…we put this kid on the news they'll have to believe us. There's a real invasion coming and he'll probably know something about it."

"Don't forget," Uncle Ben's voice joined in. "Previously-harnessed people can feel it, too but not one of them has spoken up. They're afraid to. What makes you think this kid will be any different?"

"We have a shot here," Granddad spoke. "How would he know that he should be afraid to speak up?"

"I don't think it's a good idea," Dr. Delgado said. "He's only just recovering from the operation, if you stick a camera and a microphone in his face he'll only be confused."

"We don't have a lot of options," a deep, booming male voice said. I placed it as Anthony's. "Your son's saying the invasion is happening tonight?"

"That's what he said," Uncle Ben replied.

"And you agree?"

"I-I…don't really know. I know they're coming and they're close, but I couldn't tap into their thoughts—he didn't fully invade my mind."

"What makes you think the media will even be interested in this boy?" I heard Aunt Alex ask.

"It's the media," Dad answered flatly. "Freshly de-harnessed kid? That's pretty big news, they'll be interested."

"What makes you so sure this information Jimmy has is reliable?" A new voice was speaking now, likely Dai.

"I trust him," my uncle replied simply.

"It's not a question of if we trust him but if we trust them. What if they're misleading us? "

I frowned as the thought occurred to me. What if they were misleading us? What if they wanted Jimmy to think the invasion was happening tonight to cause a panic? If we were panicking it would certainly make their job a bit easier. No. No they're coming. They're coming tonight.

There were steps on the stairs approaching the room and I jumped up from the air vent, returning to my seat and trying to act like I'd just been sitting there the whole time.

"No!" Dr. Delgado's voice. "He's not recovered yet, I don't want you in there bothering him! He may not even be awake! Hal! Are you even listening to me?" I'd never heard her sound so…angry. Maybe annoyed.

Dad entered the room grinning from ear-to-ear, the considerably-smaller doctor following him in, an outraged expression on her face.

"See?" she gestured forcefully to the bed. "He hasn't woken up yet, just leave him alone! And I swear if you called those reporters…"

"Rebecca?" Dad pointedly ignored the poor doctor. "Mind stepping out for a minute?"

I swallowed. "Um…I'd rather stay." I didn't expect him to just shrug and let me hang around but that's exactly what he did.

"He should be awake soon, right?"

"I don't know!" Dr. Delgado snapped.

My father furrowed his brow. "Well he better be. We're going to have reporters swarming this place in less than an hour, I want to know everything we can about him before that." The boy stirred again and the doctor moved to his bedside to check him out.

"He's coming to," she said after a moment. "Let me talk, please?"

Dad shrugged and held up his hands in surrender. "Be my guest." We waited for a few tense minutes before the boy's eyes finally snapped open, a clear shade of bluish-green. He let out a short, panicked breath and then tried to sit up, looking panicked when he realized he was tied down to the bed.

"W-what's happening?" he asked, fear obviously having overtaken him.

"Easy," Dr. Delgado soothed, putting a hand on his forehead and brushing away some of his hair. "Calm down, you're fine. I'm Dr. Delgado. You're safe."

"Where am I?"

"You're safe," she repeated. "We took the harness off your back."

"Why am I strapped down?" he asked, lying flat on his back.

"Just a precaution, I'll undo the belts if you just stay put, okay. I don't want you to hurt yourself, got it?"

He nodded and she carefully undid the assortment of belts that we'd used to secure him. "This is Hal Mason," she indicated my father. "And that's his daughter Rebecca," she indicated me and I nodded dumbly. "We just have a few questions to ask you and we need you to answer them as best as you can, alright?" The boy nodded again.

"Can you start by telling me your name?"

He paused, let out a breath as if deep in thought. "Jesse," he finally said. "Jesse Norcutt."

"Good, Jesse," Dr. Delgado encouraged. "How old are you?"

He stopped to think again. "S-seventeen," he answered.

"That's great, you're doing great. Jesse, what's the last thing you remember before being harnessed?"

"Running," he answered simply. "T-they were chasing me."

"And your family?"

"They were all killed." His words were flowing more, now, like he was suddenly remembering everything.

"Where are you from, Jesse?"

"South End. Dartmouth Place."

"Good, good," Dr. Delgado smiled. I noticed Dad frowning curiously.

"Tell me, Jesse," she asked quietly. "Do you know how long ago you were harnessed?"

He shook his head no.

"Okay…um, why don't you tell me what the last date you can remember is?"

"I don't know!"

"How about just a year?" she pressed.

He paused, screwed his eyes shut and then opened them again, looking about helplessly. "Twenty-thirteen," he finally answered. Everything froze in the room. Everything.

Dr. Delgado looked to my dad, the shock registering on their faces. "Twenty-thirteen, are you sure about that?" she asked him. Jesse nodded.

"W-what's today's date?" he asked hesitantly.

"July fourteenth…twenty-thirty."

I don't think I've ever seen a kid look so distressed before. "W-what happened to me?" he asked fearfully.

"I wish I could tell you, Jesse, I really do. But don't worry about that right now," Dr. Delgado told him. "What I need you to tell me next is what you know about the skitters. It's very important."

"Skitters?"

"Y-you're…guardians," she finally corrected.

"They're mostly dead," Jesse answered.

"Why?"

"Our…masters said they could not be trusted and executed most of them. There's only a handful remaining."

"Do you know what they're planning now? A re-invasion, perhaps?" Dad spoke up, clearly perplexed.

"Yes," Jesse said quietly. "They need new soldiers…they want all the kids. And then they're going to kill everyone else."

Dad nodded. "We think they might come tonight, is that true?"

The boy shrugged. "I suppose…our sense of time is different but…it makes sense, I guess. Our master was communicating with his fleet before you killed him." I was surprised there was no hostility in his tone, just fear. Uncle Ben told us most kids who get de-harnessed are angry with the people who freed them.

"That's all I need for now," my dad said. "Thanks for cooperating. Um…my daughter Rebecca will keep you company if you'd like," he nodded to me. Jesse looked at me mutely and slowly nodded his assent. "Lourdes…can I talk to you?" The doctor started after my dad.

"Get some rest if you can, Jesse," she advised. "I'll check on you in a bit."

The door shut behind them and the boy stared at me for a long minute. I could hear the voices just beyond the door.

"Can you tell me how it's possible?" my Dad was asking.

"I-I'm just as confused as you are," Dr. Delgado replied. "Prolonged exposure to the harness mutates the kids, sometimes beyond recognition. They lose all free thought…The only thing I can think of is that maybe they have more control over what these things do to them? Maybe they can…I don't know stop it from fully taking over them or something."

"But why would they do that?"

"I honestly have no clue…maybe Alex can offer more advice—she's a specialist. All I know is, he needs to rest. Especially if you're going to be sticking flashing lights and cameras in his face." The fading sound of footsteps on the stairs told me they left.

I stared at Jesse as he looked aimlessly out the window. I'd never seen a freshly de-harnessed kid before. Most of the once-harnessed people try to walk around living normal lives and they act no different from us.

"How old are you?" Jesse asked, not even looking at me as he said it.

"S-sixteen…"

"I guess I'm seventeen going on thirty-four," he let out a self-conscious laugh. "I-I don't understand though…how or why it happened." He was rambling now.

"Are they really coming back?" I asked him. I had to know. He turned to face me and there was a hint of worry or…something in his greenish-blue eyes.

"Yes…Rebecca, right?" I nodded. "They are coming back," he said.

"D-do you…want to go back to them?"

"No," he said after a pause. "T-the guardians were kind to us. They took care of us but…our Overlords were much crueler. They didn't care about us. I don't want to go back."

I let out a breath of relief. If the harnessed kids were displeased with their rulers then there was less chance of betrayal. "They want you to talk to the reporters when they get here," I told him. "We have to make sure the world is ready for a re-invasion."

"I'll do it," he set his jaw. A sly sort of grin overtook his features. "I want to stick it to those Overlords."

I nodded slowly. "Y-you should…probably rest. I'll be right outside if you need me."

Chapter 6: Hal Mason

I could tell Lourdes was annoyed with me for allowing the press to talk to the kid—Jesse—but we didn't have many alternatives. As I predicted, the media was all over the story, seeing the fresh holes in his spine and the newly liberated harness got them hooked and there was no faster way to spread the word that another invasion was going to happen. We had to be ready.

I have to hand it to the kid, he was very composed despite being half doped on morphine and having all the lights flashing in his eyes. He gave the best responses he could and by the time the reporters left we had guarantees that this would make the news ASAP. Resistance movements were going to start up, people would be ready, and even if they panicked there would be no surprise attacks like the first time. If these bastards wanted to take our planet, they weren't going to catch us unprepared.

We left the television on in the background as the word spread, plastered over every screen on every channel. There were people out in the streets, some of them panicking, others talking urgently to one another.

"I hope the panic we started pays off," Dai shook his head as he looked out the window.

"You don't think they're coming?" I challenged. They were coming. Tonight.

"I still think it's a bit odd," Dai replied. "Why would they just let him find out? The advantage of surprise is a lot more valuable…"

"Karen said they don't care anymore," I replied. "They're going to destroy everything and everyone once they get the kids…." I looked at Lourdes' baby, sleeping in his car seat. There was no way in hell I was going to allow anything to happen to kid. Not mine, not anybody's. " Where's Anthony?"

"He got called in to control the rioting downtown…"

I sighed. "It's coming. You'll see." I don't know…maybe I was more afraid that it wasn't coming tonight. How would that look? They'd call us crazy, probably try to kill us.

Alex entered quietly, looking nervous. "Anything I can do?" she asked.

"Yeah, actually I've been meaning to ask you something. In private," I pulled her aside. "Um…that boy Jesse?"

"Yeah?"

"When Lourdes and I were questioning him…well he basically said he's been harnessed for seventeen years. How is that possible, shouldn't the harness have mutated him?"

Alex frowned. "Yes…it should have. His appearance should have been altered after more than eight or nine months of wearing it…"

"Has this ever happened before?"

"Never," she answered. "But it's very interesting. You said he's been harnessed since the end-phase of the invasion?"

"That's right."

"I wonder…if maybe there was a kill-switch for the mutation."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well…when we were studying the harnesses, we noticed that one of our live examples also responded to frequencies similar to those used by the aliens for communicating. Sort of like…a remote control. I'm wondering if maybe there's a command that shuts down certain abilities of the harness. I just…can't figure out why they would need something like that built in."

I thought about it a moment and the advantages were innumerable, I decided. "Well if you look at it from a strategist stand-point, it makes sense. If the kids were mutated it would be obvious but if they could continue to do work without standing out, it would allow the Overlords to go undetected with their mission…"

"Like a disguise?" she asked. "Maybe…I would need time to study it, though. And a live specimen."

I shook my head helplessly. "I can't help you there. But thanks." Alex nodded and I went off to find Ben.

He was outside, talking to a group of riled-up neighbors who were panicking and clamoring for answers.

"We have strong reason to believe they're coming tonight," he was telling the crowd that had gathered.

"Can't you feel them? You said in your book that you can still feel them sometimes!" a voice shouted from the back.

"They're close," he answered. "But they aren't actively trying to communicate with me so it makes it difficult…The information we received is from someone whose mind was actively invaded by these aliens. He could access some of their thoughts."

"What are we supposed to do?" A man in the front row stepped up and started jostling him.

"Back it up," I shoved him off. Ben looked to me with a hint of annoyance. "We're gonna kick their asses," I answered his question. "But it's important to keep our heads once they get here. Groups like the 2nd Mass are going to be necessary so just stick close, bring as many supplies as you can and get ready. If you have guns or other weapons at home, now's the time to get 'em ready." The group slowly began to disperse.

"It's mayhem," Ben grumbled.

"We had no other choice," I reminded him. "Even if they're panicked, they're somewhat prepared and that's better than going in blind."

"I guess…"

"Did you talk to the harnessed kid yet?"

"No," Ben answered. "Been a bit busy."

"We're going to need a leader," I said, deciding to get to the point.

"I already asked Dad. He said he's too old for this stuff but he'll gladly give advice…"

"I didn't think he would go for it," I shook my head.

"What are you thinking?"

"I think," I finally stopped and turned to him. "That you and I should do it."

Ben floundered. "What? L-like…co-leaders or something? Hal, I can't do that! I don't know enough about—"

"You know more about these aliens than anyone. And between you and me we have enough experience to help them through just about anything," I interrupted. "I can't lead them alone and you can't either but…together we stand a chance."

"Hal, I don't know…"

"You have to, Ben," I urged.

"Fine," he finally agreed as we walked up the porch.

"Excuse me," a voice called and we both wheeled around. The woman standing before us was fairly young-looking, kind of tall, slim. She ran a hand through her blonde hair. "I'm looking for Ben Mason?" The accent was foreign…British? Or maybe Australian?

"T-that's me," Ben cleared his throat.

"Of course!" Recognition flashed in the woman's bluish-grey eyes. "I should've recognized you from the book jackets. I've read all of your books—I'm a big fan! So good to meet you," she shook my brother's hand and he gave me a questioning glance. I shrugged.

"So, uh, who exactly are you?" he questioned.

"Oh, right! Sorry. I'm Dr. Julia Peters. I saw your face on the evening news and thought I'd offer my assistance in this…alien matter."

"We already have a doctor, thank you," Ben cut her off.

"No, no," she laughed. "I'm not a medical doctor. I'm an alien bio-specialist, one of the leading in my field…"

"We have one of those, too," Ben replied curtly. "My wife is an alien biologist."

The woman's face fell momentarily. "I'm sure she's quite capable, Ben—can I call you Ben?—but I doubt she has the level of experience I do. You see, when the aliens invaded Brisbane my dad and I escaped. He shot a skitter and we took it with us and we studied it. Haven't stopped since. I've almost twenty years of experience, I can really be of use!"

Now I was starting to get annoyed. "Look, Dr. Peters, we appreciate the offer but Alexandra is perfectly capable. Thank you."

"Right," she said quietly. "Well…I'd be happy to work in tandem with your wife, Ben. I'm sure as a scientist she can appreciate a second opinion. I know I do. We'd be stronger as a team! Between the two of us, I'm fairly certain there isn't a single weakness on any of these species that we couldn't exploit. I don't even eat that much, I'd hardly be a strain on your group."

Ben looked peeved. "Look," I told her. "We appreciate the offer and we'll consider it. Right now, we still need to prepare for the invasion before we can even discuss fighting back."

"Er…alright, I guess. Thanks for your time Ben and…"

"Hal Mason," I finished for her.

"Yes, of course! I'm staying at the Four Seasons in Back Bay if you change your mind. I'd advise you hurry though—you said they'll be making their return tonight, after all."

"Thanks," Ben said shortly, effectively ending the conversation. We turned and walked into the house. "You aren't seriously considering her offer, are you?"

"I dunno," I answered. "What do you think? Maybe Alex could use some of the help…"

"I think she'll be fine on her own," Ben returned. "Besides, I don't like this Dr. Peters woman."

I shot him a grin. "She's very…forward. But she's also a big fan!" He snorted. "Let's see how it plays out," I finally said. "I'm not discounting her just yet."

"So now what," my brother turned to me, then looked at the others still in the house. Dai was still staring out the window, Alex and Maggie were talking quietly near the kitchen. Gabe and Jimmy sat nervously in armchairs and Lourdes was arranging and re-arranging a first aid kit, Anne assisting her. Dad and Matt had gone in search of a few others and thus everyone was accounted for in some way.

"Now," I sighed. "We finish prepping. And then we wait…"

A/N: Wow! My longest chapter for any story, ever! Again, so sorry that I was gone for so long. I've left a lot of 'revelations' from the season 2 finale out but they'll come into play, too, never you fear. Now that I've really set up the action the next chapters should be up fairly quick. I hope you enjoyed this and that you'll review! Again, I apologize for the long-windedness!