Hello wonderful readers! I do apologize for the delay. The end of summer was crazy for me and I didn't get a lot of time to write. But you know what will motivate me to write more? Reviews! I'm just saying there is a correlation and maybe even causation between reviews and new chapters. But that's mostly because I want to know where you guys think the story should go and if the switching of time lives even makes sense. Anyways, also note that I do not own Nine Lives of Chloe King or the characters, I just love the story and I hope you like my version!

Present Day: The Apartment

Chloe gave me a look of understanding, heritages and past blood lines were a struggle for most Mai since many had been orphaned by works of the Order and being scattered over the continents. Family had been ripped apart and parents left unknown, but it seemed that fate had dealt both me and Chloe a particularly shitty hand of cards.

She met my eyes for a moment longer and then pulled her hand out from under mine while she continued. "So, ummm, yeah. Ukraine was a bust so I thought the next best place to go would be the homeland of our people- Egypt."

Her eyes glowed with deeply mixed emotions as she spoke of her adventures of Egypt. There are excitement and contentment, but also an unexplainable fear Chloe was withholding from the conversation. I could see it in the ways her neck was slightly tensed and how her ears kept perking up to the slightest noises in the room.

"After much wandering, I found the temple of the high priestesses of Basset outside of Cario. I know, it was crazy!" Chloe recapped, "like something out of Paul's comic books. It was a total master and the student moment. The high priestesses of Basset are highly trained in all our ancient customs and traditions. I learned so much about our past as a race and the other races, which is helpful if I'm supposed to unite them all. They really helped enlighten me to what the Uniter is and where to go."

"Where to go?" Jasmin echoed.

"It is one of those things that is hard to explain again, just like why I had to leave," Chloe clarified, "but the priestesses explained how the dreams that I've had ever since the warehouse were actually visions bestowed upon me to guide. I mean, all of wandering around Ukraine and going to Egypt felt like déjà vu to me, like I had done it all already and I was finally able to figure out why. I had dreamed it all before."

I could not believe what I was hearing. Fragmented memories started to click into place; especially that one night on the balcony. Her words still echoed in my mind, "I think I'm dreaming the future," but now we knew for sure. All those nights of tossing and turning were a result of visions swimming in her head. And if her future was in her dreams, then it must not have been a very pretty ones. On some of the worse nights she had always woken up screaming and thrashing about.

"The hardest part was accessing the information." Chloe continued.

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"Well, the priestesses explained it like a map; Basset 'gave' me one as the Uniter to follow and fulfill my duties. But think of it as the ink being really faded so I could only get fragments through the dreams. I had to take more steps to see the direct path I was going to take, and the priestesses helped me do that," explained Chloe.

I could see the Jasmin had the same confused look on her face as I had on mine. "How?" was all she could muster to ask so that Chloe could continue.

Chloe's fingers crept up to wind their way through the white band of hair hidden behind her ear that I had first noticed when we had gotten back to the apartment. It was one of the distinct features that separated the "past" Chloe from the "present" one. While the rest of her hair was warm honey blonde color, there was the one strip was pure as freshly fallen snow.

"You guys might not like to hear this, but it's the truth. I had to undergo rituals and long periods of meditation to magnify the energy and messages of the visions. The high priestesses would watch over me when I was in these…" she hesitated to find the right words, "…unresponsive states, to help me achieve a purer connection with Basset. I know it sounds kinda crazy, but they worked."

I was in an awed silence, still watching her twirl the white stripe of hair. Jasmin was fortunately able to ask some semblance of questions. "Meditation? Rituals? How long were you in these unresponsive states Chloe? How dangerous were they?"

"I was usually under for only a couple of hours," answered Chloe quietly, "but sometimes up to a week or two. They never did any permanent damage"

"Two weeks in a trance?" Jasmin exclaimed.

Chloe grimaced slightly. She knew what she was saying sounded weird with a capital W, even by Mai standards. "Yeah, but that was only once and the priestesses took really good care of me, all I got was this stripe." She indicated to the white band between her fingers.

I finally found my voice. "You mean to tell us you were 'safe' for two weeks in a coma where so much energy of visions and stuff was coursing through you it made your hair turn white?" I didn't mean to sound as condescending as the words came out, it was more of a cover up for the fear I was hiding. It is extremely nerve wracking to hear that the girl you loved was in and out of death-defying trances for weeks at a time.

The nervous look on Chloe's face suddenly vanished, her eyes darkened with an inner power. She planted both hands on the table and rose out of her seat a little. The next words she spoke were said with great power but little volume.

"Yes Alek, I was safe. And it didn't matter how dangerous the rituals were, I had to do them. It was my duty as the Uniter. The people in this pride should understand that better than anyone. It was always you guys that had pounded it into my head from day one that I am the Uniter, my life is not my own. So, despite the danger, I had to do the meditation. It took months, but I finally knew what my next move was. After the high priestesses could help me no further, the next place I needed to go was India. And I all think we know what happened there."

We most certainly did. One of the Indian prides was the one that sent us news that Chloe had lost a life there. But before we had the chance to comment or ask questions, Chloe stood all the way up from the table, saying she needed air and rushed from the room through the front door.

A blanket of panic started to settle over my body as her exit registered as a sense of déjà vu. Chloe and I had fought quite a bit over our five years together, but only a couple of times did she storm away with few words like she just did. And each time resulted in separation for weeks, over even years, and my heart could not take that right now.

I stood up to follow her, to wrap my arms around her and promise that I would do everything in my power to make it okay. I did not care if she was the Uniter or not, I wanted to keep her safe. But Jasmin grabbed my arm, stopping me short, "Alek, let her go for now. We have to give her some space. Despite what we want to think, she's changed since five years ago and we have to adjust. Let her think, I bet she'll come around."

I shook my head in disbelief, "but what if she doesn't, what if we already lost her again?" I stressed, ripping my arm from her grasp and running out to the terrace to see if I could spot which way she went, but there was no sign of her blonde curls racing away.