I'm back! And better than ever, I must say. I'm pumped up to be back, and I've got to say, I'm really pumped up to finish. I know I may have been rushing the story a bit fast, but I'm slowing it down. There's a lot to fit in…

Anyways, I wanted to thank all you guys for the support! You're all so amazing, and I'm glad you like the story! I just wanted to say a few shout outs to those who supported me…..

ForsakenProdigy: Thank you! I'm glad you like it, and thank you for the positive review! I really enjoy your story also, and thank you for the compliment.

Someone (p.s they call themselves someone): Oh, trust me, you'll know. ;-) I know there are a lot of questions, but that's what keeps the story interesting! Thank you for the good review, and I hope I can appeal when I get more into the story. But don't worry! The questions you seek will be answered very soon…..

FadingDreams101: Thank you! Really pumped to write more, and can't wait to hear more from you!

Amy: Telling me the mistakes I was making really helped. Now, I know much more about what to do and what not to. Thank you for putting it kindly, and it really helped.

And to everyone! Thank you so much for all the tips and pointers! You all fueled my inspiration and empowered me to write. I was on hiatus, but now I'm back, so get ready! This is chapter nine, brought to you from ShopTopGamerGirl!

Sync awoke to the feel of flaming drops of fire raining down onto his face. He flinched a bit, and gritted his teeth until he realized he wasn't dreaming.

The fire from Mount Zaleho in his eyes faded away until a flickering form of a face came into his peripheral vision. Iris hovered over him, and he felt cool drops of water his under his mask.

"Sync? Sync, wake up! Wake up Bird Boy!" She called. He groaned, and shoved her face away with his hand.

"Shut up. Your voice is even more damn annoying this morning." He snapped coldly. The drops of water ended, and all memory of Mount Zaleho faded away with them. Iris fell back onto her bed, arms crossed in annoyance.

"Jerk." She growled, eyes narrowing. Sync pushed himself up, extending his arms so the bits of skin above his gloves showed.

No burn marks.

He cursed for letting a nightmare get to him so much, but altogether rubbed the spots on his wrists where there once used to be remnants from a traumatic experience. He scowled to himself, and pushed away all thoughts of the volcano.

When he looked up, Iris was watching him, with a mixture combined of tenseness and confusion.

"What's up with you?" She asked.

"Nothing." He growled.

"Nothing wouldn't have slapped that look on your face."

"I said nothing." He sibilated. She was really getting on his nerves… more than usual.

"You're gonna' be like this the rest of your life, you know that? A stubborn, cold, emotionless jerk who doesn't bother to ever so much as let himself be human."

"Like you're any better." He snapped. Iris winced, but threw a calm façade over her face.

Sync stood up and grabbed the satchels they had packed from last night. Images of the struggle just to cram all the good flooded into his mind, and he snickered at the memory of Iris trying to shove gald inside it.

"Sadist." She growled, stalking over to her satchel and promptly throwing it over her shoulders.

Iris POV:

Sync's a total jerk brain.

Of course, I already knew that, but even more so then usual. Right when I woke up this morning, he's just, "Oh, my night sucked. Let's back it on Iris!"

Damn Sync.

I just wish he could get another little captive to mouth off to.

He coldly pushed into the hallway, and didn't say so much as "Get out of my way," to me. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously, and he must have caught me looking. Before I could so much as talk, he snapped the cuffs back into place.

"Sync!" I whined. "What are these for?!"

"Measures." He spat, than began to stride down the hallway without another word.

If I had fur, I swear it would have bristled.

"Yeah, smart move! Walk the teen girl out in handcuffs! Sure, it won't attract any attention!" I called to his back. OOOOhhhhh… I would have kicked him in the back if I were close enough.

Grumbling, Iris thought of the dream she had last night.

"Dammit, you stupid memory!" She cursed under her breath. The struggle had been going on for months now, as long as Iris could remember. All she knew was the organization.

You killed them….. you….. echoed in her mind. All she'd ever known was fight or flight. Orders pouring in. Money. Death. So many victims… and she hadn't even stopped. Hadn't wondered who these people where, why she had to do it. All she knew was her voice, echoing in her mind…

"You must. It's your duty, Iris. You were born to kill."

"Move."

Sync's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she realize she had slowed into a turtles pace.

"Alright. Jeez….." She muttered.

I miss Jalek… She thought. Images of their first mission together flooded into her mind. He was the spitting image of an older brother….

Suddenly, a flash of fire invaded her thoughts.

"Guh!" She bumbled, and heard Sync take a sharp intake of breath.

"Okay. That's it." He hissed. Suddenly, she was off the ground. Something hard landed on her abdomen, and she slumped over it like a doll. She was moving faster….

"Syyyyynnnccc!" She screeched. "Put me down!"

"Quit your damn whining!" He spat harshly. His ears rang from her shriek, and he winced as she kneed his chest. Without a thought, he slapped some gald on the counter of the inn, carelessly brushing off the disturbed looks the customers gave him, and began heading to the door.

A few coupled and people at the desk seemed shocked, and were picking up their gald as they hurried to leave the building.

Outside, the heat hit them like a wave. Largo and Asch stood out front, faces blank. Largo's expression twisted into what one would consider a smirk, as he took in the sight.

"Dammit, stop struggling!" Sync yelled. He finally threw Iris off his shoulder and onto the ground, a scowl on his face.

"Owww!" Iris whined, rubbing her bottom. "Great, now my clothes are all dirty!"

"I don't care." Sync snapped, and stalked off. Without hesitation, Asch gave her a glare before walking off at a brisk pace also. Largo picked her up once more in a iron grip, but holding her in a more comfortable position.

Up ahead, Asch looked back and scowled at the small girl slung over the big man's shoulder.

"I see no reason why Van needs to keep her alive." He stated emotionlessly. His crimson waves fell over his shoulders as he twisted back around to look at a scowling Sync.

"Neither do I." He growled.

"You seem even worse than usual." Asch pointed out stoically, earning a sharp glare.

"Arietta's at Kaitzur now. Van sent her ahead when we left." Asch stated. Iris glanced wistfully at them.

Kaitzur? Oh, great. More ships. Just makes my day, doesn't it? She thought grudgingly. Now I get to meet bubblegum girl one on one. Joy.

Largo's big hand re-adjusted the menacing Scythe held in his other hand, the blade passing inches from Iris' face. The crowded streets quickly moved aside when they noticed the God-Generals approach, rough whispers and harsh stares from Vendors flooded their ears and eyes.

"You sure are popular, aren't you?" Iris voiced sarcastically. Largo's mouth twitched, and he seemed to be frowning and chuckling at the same time.

What kind of freaking sadistic physcopath's am I with?

Despite the stares from on-goers and bustled streets, the foursome made it to the port; A direct sail to Kaitzur. As the ship began to set sail, Iris' thoughts wandered to that of her home.

Jalek's POV:

The cold floor was relaxing on Jalek's aching palms.

Saber tooth and Gem had been hammering with questions about Iris for hours now, and he just didn't know what to say.

She'd been gone for days now.

It seems like months since she'd been around. Every day is torture, what with one of their best only to be assumed as caught or dead, though he'd prefer to steer to the first option. Every time someone mentions her name, Jalek gets a sick twisting feeling in my gut. Each question thrown at him brings him closer and closer to abandoning the organization completely.

Gem fixes me with her cold-hearted gaze, and he only partially hears her words.

"…gone. Do you know what might have caused this? Do you?"

"No. I have no idea where she is, or what might have happened."

The words taste dry in his mouth.

The shining metallic floors show him his reflection. His brown hair is mussed, and sea-blue eyes stare back at him quizzically. "Who are you?" He murmurs in a low voice.

Jalek lifts his head to gaze at Saber Tooth. His scar stares back at him, and Jalek swallows under the intensity of his gaze.

"You are done here. There is no more use to talk of this matter with you anymore. Iris is gone, and that is all we know." Saber Tooth states in a hoarse voice. The dark room lights up as he shifts his arm into the light, exposing his metal and clawed hand.

A brick hits Jalek.

She's gone? She's truly gone?

Gem's eyes lock onto him, and he does everything he can to tear himself away from her hypnotic bronze gaze. With a sigh, she waves a hand at Jalek, and he stands up. The room is closing in on him, and Iris' last words before vanishing ring true in his ears.

"I have every confidence I will not fail…."

Her piercing yellow eyes still fixed his gaze on him. They were just as sharp as the first time he had met her. Then she was so innocent. So new to the world. Impersonating an Oracle Knight had not been an easy task. When he saw her… those three girls…. They were lost. Dirty. Forgotten.

How he had helped them was a mystery.

A flurry of memories.

She was different the first time. Jade eyes, jade hair, ragged clothes. But still, apart from the other two, there was sharp to her eyes. A bite.

Now he might never see them again.

Immediately after Gem and Saber Tooth led him to his quarters, he sat down on the edge of the bed. Outside the sunny window, a hugs oak tree stood, leaves bent as if to hug the earth itself.

So many memories were under that tree with her.

"Damn….." he mumbled.

For months he'd been trying to help her gain her memory. When he saw her in the streets a month later, she didn't even know him. Blood stained her clothes, and she held the look of a terrified animal that was hunted. She had no memory of her name, so he gave her the one the two girls he had seen called her.

As months passed, they grew closer. A bond formed, and soon the Elders began putting them on more and more missions together. Her then yellow eyes still held that bite.

And it was time.

He was ready.

"She's not dead." Jalek said. "And I have to find her."

Quickly, he grabbed up a giant satchel of items, one for emergencies. One last glance cast over his shoulder to their oak tree gave him all the boost he needed.

The hallway was empty, surprisingly. Many other assassin's walked around. The newest recruits, however, were off in training. Iris was so good, she had skipped training altogether and had gone straight to missions.

The organization had been finding orphans every month, luring them into the society with promises of money and family. They weren't wrong. But living a life of killing was not one he wished to live. Not without Iris.

Casually, he tucked the satchel behind his cloak, and began at a brisk walk down the hall. The door came closer and closer.

His pace quickened.

When he threw the doors open, he melted into the crowd. The theifs court was filled with hood and cloaks, so he blended in immediately. The wrought iron gate on the large field of grass loomed closer.

The mansion, from far distance, was even more grand than the inside.

He placed a hand on the gate, peering into the streets of the bustling town. An undisclosed location, as the elders called it. With one last look to the mansion, he pushed the gate open.

He loved her, and he sure as heck was not going to sit around and wait.

Now Jalek's thrown in the mix?! How much crazier can it get? And wait….. he knew her before her memories were gone? Can he be the one to bring her memories back? Can-

Sync: Stop with the narrator voice.

Me:…..

Me: You just crushed my dreams.

Sync: (snorts)

Me: Bad days. They have that way of devastating everything.

Anyways, (Shoves sync in closet before he can say anything else) Ill update soon! See what happens next!