Chapter Nine

Tom Mason slammed his fist down on the dash as the truck he was seated in turned on to the highway. Karen had been true to her word. The 2nd Mass had been allowed to leave the hospital with absolutely no problems whatsoever. There had been mechs; oh yes there had been mechs that were online and functional but none of them had opened fire.

Now an hours ride away from the hospital all Tom had to keep his mind occupied was what he had said to Karen; to his son. Never in a million years did he ever think he would have to say something like that about one of his children to one of his children. He loved them all dearly; they were a part of him, but to say that he didn't care and then nearly shoot one of them?

"You did what you had to do, dad."

Tom looked over at his son Ben who was behind the steering wheel, driving the truck they were in along the highway, following close behind the Med Bus.

"Did I?" Tom asked, not believing that he had.

"If you hadn't said what you had or done what you did we would have never gotten out of there. I love Matt, we all love Matt but sometimes we have to leave the thing we love behind for the greater good. Your decision saved the 2nd Mass, it got us out of there and it's giving us time to regroup and come up with a plan to get Matt back without having to make more bargains with Karen."

Ben looked over at his father, seeing the look on the man's face. He was still grieving but he needed to suck it up. The game wasn't over. There was still a chance for them to rescue Matt they just needed time.

"Matt still loves you, deep down I know he does. He's just being manipulated and used. If we can break their hold on him I know he can be saved..." Ben was trying to provide his father with at least some hope. Whether or not the man would believe it was entirely up to him.

"Do you think your skitter friends can help?" Tom asked.

"They can help find him and keep track of him but we are on our own in terms of trying to win him over," Ben replied. "They can't just go up to him and tell him they are part of the rebellion. Right now he is just another one of them. He would turn anyone in who said that. We need somewhere, a safe environment where we could get him and help him rehabilitate. The rebels can keep watch, even help plan and execute a rescue mission but everything else is up to the 2nd Mass."

Ben fell silent for a little bit, allowing his father to contemplate. His dad was an excellent strategist at times, then again sometimes his mission plans sucked. He was willing time and again to put himself in danger just so his own children wouldn't be put in it; Hal had told him how reluctant his dad had been when his own rescue mission had been planned out, but in the end Tom had agreed. That was the most important thing; he had agreed. It meant that even though he was uncomfortable with something he was willing to give it a chance to succeed or fail.

"The Overlord's really are worried."

Hearing Ben speak up again pulled Tom Mason out of his self absorbed musings to focus once more on his boy.

"In the field. He was trying to get inside my head. He got nothing from me but I was able to see and hear what he was thinking. The thought of this skitter rebellion is what he's scared of most. The thought that his plan could entirely fall apart; it's what's driving him to act."

"And Matt?" Tom asked, "where does he fit in to all this?"

"I don't know but there was one thing I could sense quite clearly. The Overlord that we captured; the one that we shot? He's the one that took Matt out of that harnessing facility. He...he has a plan in mind for Matt. What it is I couldn't see but...dad, he loves Matt. I could feel that connection clearly. He loves Matt the same way you do and I think Matt feels the same way about him that he did for you," Ben replied.

"When you think about it Matt hasn't been with them that long. All of that can't be from the harness can it? I mean he isn't acting like all of the other harnessed kids we've seen," Tom mused.

"He isn't acting like the others because he's different. Something to do with the harness' reaction. I don't think it's the defect that the rebel skitters have, I think it's deliberate tampering. Someone wants him this way; self aware yet easy to sway."

What Ben said made sense in a way. Someone; perhaps the Overlord had to be messing with Matt's harness. It didn't make him a seemingly mindless zombie with that slow gate, dazed expression and all. He seemed somewhat like his normal self only it seemed to both Tom and Ben that he had done a complete 180 and switched sides; throwing his love for his family and the 2nd Mass out the door and replacing it with love for the skitters and their masters.

What worried Tom the most was the possibility of not being able to reach Matt at all. What if in the end Matt wanted nothing to do with them like Rick had? Tom remembered only too well how Rick had disabled their jamming device and then had run off to the skitters. He had chased after him and had found him but by then it had been too late. Rick had told the skitters everything about the 2nd Mass including their location at that school and then from what Rick had said the harnessed girl had just left him. That had been the turning point for Rick, when he realized that the skitters didn't really care for him at all. From what Ben said about the Overlord that wasn't the case with Matt. There were actual feelings in there somewhere; feelings for his youngest. If in the end Matt wanted to return to the Overlord and the Skitters would he actually allow it?

...

They were gone. The second the sound of that last engine faded away the mechs and skitters swarmed over that hospital in earnest.

Matt and Karen and another skitter carefully lifted the Overlord and just as gently carried him on board the ship that had landed in the hospital parking lot.

"I should have killed him! Why didn't you let me kill him?" Matt demanded to know of Karen. His master was hurt; dying in his arms, and Karen hadn't even allowed him the honor of attacking if not killing the person that had injured him in the first place.

"It wasn't the time or place for that Matt," Karen replied, her voice once again soft and even, as if she were speaking to a lover or close friend. "Tom and the others had the upper hand. If you had reached out and hurt your father, your brothers could have easily killed our master."

What Karen said was true enough but Matt didn't believe it. He didn't believe his brothers would be that stupid as to finish off his master just because he would have killed Tom Mason, their father.

"Besides, you would have regretted it if you had ended your father's life..." Karen continued.

"No I wouldn't. He raised his gun to me, besides he doesn't support what we are trying to do here. He's not my father! I don't call anyone friend or family that doesn't condone or support our master's control. Our guardian gave us a gift, he's helping us to see the truth." Matt said.

"And what is the truth, Matt?" Karen asked.

Before Matt could answer they reached the medical area of the ship. As one Matt, Karen and the Skitter carried the Overlord over to a pure white yet clear slab with four handles cut in to the sides; two on each side. The slab looked large enough to handle a full size human yet as they neared it seemed to lengthen. By the time they were right next to it, it had stretched so that it could accommodate the Overlord's long size.

Gently they lifted the Overlord on to it. Instantly a large white screen came from the top of the slab; a greenish light washing over the Overlord. Moments later that greenish light turned to one of pure white light, bathing the Overlord's injuries which slowly started to heal.

"What is the truth Matt?" Karen asked, looking away from their master and towards the boy that continued to stare down at the Espheni.

"The truth?" Matt asked, "The truth is that there are no absolutes in this world. You can plan all you want; plan against every possibility and yet something can go wrong, it always does. The truth is the weak never win; they die and the strong survive. We can't be the weak ones Karen...the humans are weak. We can't be like them..."

"And we won't be Matt, we won't be. We may have been human once but not anymore. We have grown beyond that. Today we are human but tomorrow we are Espheni..."

Softly smiling Matt nodded and placed his smaller hand on top of Karen's hand. "We are Espheni," he repeated, meaning it whole heartedly.

Hearing and feeling how much Matt meant what he said Karen realized that the time was now. Her master had spoken to her about the Change. He had wanted them both to take it. Now, with Matt's co operation they both could undergo it. The one thing that they needed to completely make it work was a willing host. Ones that were under the harness' complete control weren't the best candidates but neither Matt nor Karen were under their harness' complete control and yet they both were loyal to the Espheni.

"Come with me Matt, there is much to do before we face the 2nd Mass again..." Karen said, heading towards the door that led out of the medical bay. With one look at his master, Matt turned and followed Karen from the room.

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