Hello! It is I, back in the U.S. from my two-month-plus stay in Taiwan! This time, I am presenting you with the (possibly) penultimate chapter of this particular story. I must warn you that this chapter will not be as light-hearted as the others. It'll be interesting to see what all of your reactions are.

Trigger/content warnings: Descriptions of death, brutality, violence, vivisection, trauma/PTSD, mental instability, capital punishment, grieving, possible mention of drug use, &tc.

Happy reading! :D

"I can't believe Evil Janson is making us trek across the North all the way to his outpost just across the border in Siberia!" Alby said to Newt. "As my second-in-command, I command you to command that evil fluffinmuffin to give us an explanation!"

"I think it's more of the 'Trials' rubbish," Newt replied. "Now, please be quiet. You're giving me a headache."

"How on earth am I giving you a headache?! How?!"

"You'd think the empress would somehow have let us stay at the abbey longer… But no! Simply because Dr. Janson used to work with Dr. Schliwinsky-Kang, she thinks we have to do everything Janson wants us to! Even when Dr. Schliwinsky-Kang spoke out against the trek! It's almost like…"

"Stop your whining, Newt. You're giving me a headache."

"Now look who's talking! You're such a hypocrite, Alby! It's almost like… What on earth?! Is that Geum Jan Di over there?!"

Sure enough, standing in front of the Gladers, who'd been trekking for five days straight through the North Korean wilderness with no food and water but tons of lemon juice, was the illustrious and now-rich Geum Jan Di! And she was surrounded by tubs of ice cream!

"Hiya, guys!" she said, eating from a tub of mango-and-apple ice cream with a spoon so shiny everyone within one mile was blinded for a brief second. "Are any of you hungry?"

Gladers rushed over and picked up the tubs of ice cream. Using their hands, they scooped out ice cream and gobbled it at speeds only a starving person could be capable of. Thomas quickly downed a tub of chocolate ice cream, which no one seemed to notice, while Teresa ate some lychee-flavored ice cream. Ben grabbed the tub out of her hand, mumbling something unintelligibly, so Teresa simply shared with Minho and Jusun.

Brenda was tempted, but knew that eating the ice cream would not only support oppressive organizations and companies, but would also give her not-used-to-dairy stomach an impulse to commence vomitous indigestion.

"I found this 'chocolate nirvana' soy ice cream at the store the other day…" Jan Di said, holding up a small tub to gaze at it in the sunlight.

Brenda instantly reached for it, grabbed it, and started eating.

"You all must be really hungry," Jan Di said. "Why don't you all come over to my husband's secret mansion in this fine wilderness countryside?"

"Why would South Koreans like you and Jun Pyo have a mansion in North Korea?" Brenda asked in between bites.

"I said it was a secret mansion," Jan Di explained. "His rich mother likes setting up houses illegally in weird countries, like Genovia. Anyways, you all should come. Jun Pyo will order the overworked maids to make us all a delicious feast!"

"We should go!" Jusun said. "We're all hungry, anyways."

"Yeah!" Minho added. "It sounds like fun!"

"It's a total miracle we bumped into Jan Di," Frypan said. "Though I'm first gonna have to look at the condition of their kitchen!"

"Wait a second, guys!" Teresa said. "Doesn't this seem a bit suspicious to you? Why would the wife of a multi-trillionaire…"

"A multi-bazillionaire," Jan Di corrected.

"...A multi-'bazillionaire'," Teresa continued, "be out in the wilderness with a bunch of frozen treats? Also, why would she invite us all to her house? I'll give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she's doing this as a favor for Dr. Kang and Mother Paige…"

"Who are those two people you're talking about?" Jan Di inquired.

"Teresa has a point," Lennon said. "Everything Teresa said about Jan Di's behavior is suspicious. Also, this whole scenario is slightly reminiscent of that one part in Watership Down…"

"You mean the part where blood comes out of Bigwig's neck?!" Thomas started to cry. "That means Jan Di is luring us to a rabbit trap! We're gonna die!"

"Added to that," Brenda said, scooping up the last bit of ice cream with her finger, "why would we feel safe going to a house where the cold, heartless Gu Jun Pyo lives? It'd be like paying a visit to Walt Disney."

"Walt Disney was a wonderful man who made children's dreams come true," Alby said, "despite being racist, misogynist, and a bunch of other things. Gu Jun Pyo is a nice, handsome man who made Jan Di's dreams come true, despite being an abusive control-freak who was easily swayed into a greedy, corporation-driven world of money lust."

"Okay, then," Brenda replied. "It'd be like paying a visit to Donald Tr…"

"Donald Duck?!" Thomas finished the sentence, incorrectly, of course.

"I just realized," Olivia commented, "that this situation is also like the Hansel and Gretel story."

"That's the one about the boy who turns into a puppet, isn't it?" Newt asked. "Sorry, but honestly, an open declaration to anyone who objects to Jan Di's hospitality: We were all starving just a few minutes ago. We don't know when we'll have another chance to eat food. We should just go, since there's probably nothing to lose."

The stupid decisions of a large group of desperate people is pitiful. I wish the Gladers hadn't gone to the secret Gu-Geum estate, but, as the author of this story, I need to tell the truth about the lives of these characters… unlike James Dashner, who made up some wild story, with Thomas being the main character for some reason, and everyone getting as little quality scene-time/screen-time as possible. Jack fired Mr. Dashner from the biography-writing department after his trilogy started to be made into movies, only further spreading lies and rubbish.

Anyways, needless to say, the secret Gu-Geum estate was basically a giant house in the middle of the wilderness countryside, which, for some unknown reason, had not yet been detected by the former North Korean government. It had tons of stairs with banisters to slide down, as well as shiny marble floors, shiny cedar floors, shiny steel floors, and dull linoleum floors. It also had a giant dining room with a giant table already full of tons of food by the time the Gladers arrived there.

"Eat all you want!" Jan Di said. "And don't worry about my husband arriving any time soon, you worry-warts! He's off in Macau, again, doing business, again, wearing nothing but suits, again."

As everyone started eating, into the dining room walked none other than Ji Hoo himself. He gazed at everyone in the room, then walked over to Jan Di, whispering something in her ear.

"I know," she told him. "I was thinking the same thing." She cleared her throat, and pointed at Lennon. "You there. Could we have a brief friendly word with you?"

"I'd rather not," Lennon replied.

"Why not?" Jan Di appeared to be trying to look emotionally hurt, but it wasn't working.

"Do I have to explain why not?" Lennon tried to sound as gentle as possible.

Geb whispered into Lennon's ear, "They won't harm you. They'll harm anyone else here, but not you."

Lennon tried to see if Geb was serious. He noticed a certain light in the strange male's eyes, a rather otherworldly light. It gave Lennon a feel of security.

"Fine," he said, "I'll speak with you two."

Lennon followed Jan Di and Ji Hoo out of the dining room.

Once in the hallway, Lennon asked them, "So, what is it you were wanting to say?"

"You're exactly who we were looking for," Ji Hoo said, giving Lennon eery smile. Or, was it eery? It was almost like the smile could be viewed as kind and caring if the hall had been well lit instead of full of just candles.

"I'm glad you've been looking for me," Lennon said, "though that doesn't really answer my question."

"I can understand that you don't understand," Ji Hoo said. "Jan Di, could you please give us a moment?"

"Oh, good," Jan Di said. "I was wondering when I could finally get a chance to participate in eating the feast…"

She walked into the dining room, leaving Ji Hoo alone in the hallway with Lennon.

"You may not like this news, considering it may not have been told to you ever," Ji Hoo said. "But I know one of my kind when I see one, and it's good to finally see one. Are you full-blooded, or only part-blooded? I'm half-blooded, from my mother's side. Wait, I forget. Do you know what you are?"

"Um… A person?" Lennon was confused. "A human person?" He was hoping his host's soulmate wasn't going to try and discuss race and ethnicity. Lennon had no time to deal with that sort of discussion.

"A human person, partly," Ji Hoo replied. "But that's not the face of a common human, or even an actual human. What I mean to say, is, you're obviously at least part Kro'apleiatkan." The word was strangely pronounced, and had a strong glottal stop between the O and the first A.

"Well, it wouldn't surprise me," Lennon coolly replied. "My halmeoni had lots of affairs, and none of her children look a thing like my grandfather, so if I'm part-whatever, I couldn't be too bothered."

"I recognize you from the official website of that one pop star," Ji Hoo said. "He has pictures of his family on there, though, to protect privacy, there are no names. That is your grandfather, correct?"

"Yes, he's the one who left my halmeoni," Lennon said.

"Then, judging by the family history I was able to look up," Ji Hoo continued, "you must be one-fourth Kro'apleiatkan. According to accounts which I've been able to dig up, due to the power of giving people money, about forty-six years ago the halmeonim had a lover who immigrated to Earth from Kro'apleiatk…"

"That lover might explain my father and Uncle Harry, who are identical twins," Lennon interrupted, "but are you implying that I'm… part…"

"Yeah, you're basically descended on certain family lines from aliens. Isn't that fascinating? My mother was the daughter of two immigrants. You'd be surprised at how easy it is to assimilate into the many primitive societies and cultures here on Earth. Humans are easier to get along with than many other types of primates, though certain canine species won't care if you're a hairless biped."

This totally sort of rocked Lennon's world. Still, that would explain why Harry was so bitter against weirdos- he was trying hard to seem normal, despite what he knew about himself- and why Jack was so friendly to everyone- he didn't want anyone to feel like they had to be normal.

That would mean Whippoorwill was also one-fourth non-human. Was she even aware of this? Was this even true?

"How do I find out this isn't just you trying to trick me?" Lennon asked.

"You know it's true," Ji Hoo replied. "You've always known there's something different about you."

"That's because I'm an actual individual. What about you? Your makeup is done perfectly like any old fake face, which makes me certain you've found yourself trapped in society's mold of depressing averageness."

"You do realize I'm a music composer, don't you?"

"And a doctor. As my mother has said before, modern medicine is like a jail cell full of candy and dollar bills."

Ji Hoo laughed.

"You know," he said, "it's a shame that…"

"Are you two done talking yet?!" Minho barged into the hallway. "What in the blazes is he saying to you, Lennon? Wait. You look like you're enjoying yourself."

"Our host and her soulmate sure are creeps," Lennon said, "though I can safely say they tell me good news that is both earth-shaking… or, rather Kro'apleiatk-shaking… yet calming."

"I'm getting a little concerned, Lennon." Minho cleared his throat, nervously. "Actually, I'm a little scared. What exactly has this weirdo told you?"

"That, as long as I'm on Earth, I'll be a bit of a weirdo, also."

Brenda just then walked into the hallway.

"Minho," she said, "you were supposed to bring Lennon back into the dining room. You're bad at your job, aren't you? Nah, just kidding. I love you, Minho. Now, Lennon, what did Geum and Whatever-His-Surname-Is have to tell you?"

"Another thing about me that you might not accept," Lennon replied. "I'll have to learn to accept it, also."

Ji Hoo then gently placed his hands on Lennon's shoulders, and kissed him on the head.

"Now," he said, "while I'm in a good mood, please take your companions away from this place. Please. Before Jan Di and I start our nightly ritual."

Lennon opened the door to the dining room. Looking in, he saw no one at the table.

"They're all gone," he said.

"Well, I tried to be nice for once," Ji Hoo said. "Still, if you want a chance at saving all those humans, they'll be in the basement."

Figuring out the way to the basement was complicated. There seemed to be an endless number of trapdoors and hidden staircases. Lennon, Brenda, and Minho finally reached the basement though, only to find tons of cages packed with humans on one side of the giant room, all of whom were talking, crying, screaming, and arguing loudly, and, on the other side, and odd assembly line with which people were hanging from their feet. A giant, round saw was set up near one end of the assembly line, and the assembly line itself lead to a door with the word "butchery" written above it.

"Oh, my word!" Brenda exclaimed. "This is a slaughterhouse!"

"Which cage are the other Gladers in?" Minho asked.

"I think I hear their voices coming from that direction." Lennon pointed at one corner of the room. "Minho, do you still remember how to pick just about any type of lock?"

"I guess," Minho replied. "Does either of you have a bobby pin or pocket knife or thumbtack, or something?"

"I have a pen," Brenda said.

"That'll work," Minho said. "I hope our host doesn't arrive until after I'd had a chance to take care all of these cages."

"Lennon," Brenda said, "I know how to unlock the foot bondages over those people hanging from the assembly line, if they're anything like those in regular slaughterhouses."

The three companions quickly got working to set all the humans free.

After all the Gladers had assembled at the basement-slaughterhouse door to leave, Minho noticed something.

"Where's Newt?" he asked.

"He got taken away, and no one's been able to exactly give me directions besides, 'It's on the fourth floor'," Amir Jafar replied. "Geum Jan Di said she was taking him to her personal vivisection lab." He closed his eyes, and tears started to slip out. "If it only didn't come to this…"

"What's a vivisection lab?" Minho asked.

"It's where they do surgery or dissection on a living creature while it's awake for experimental purposes," Brenda replied. "The one performing the vivisection will probably perform some sort of test on the one being vivisected."

Minho's eyes and mouth opened way wide, and a weird, strained sound came out.

"What's wrong with Minho?" Alby asked. "He looks like he just saw La Llorona go through a drive-through."

"I think Minho might need to go to the bathroom, again," Thomas said. "There's a perfect spot in that cage for defecating, Min."

"Does anyone know where the vivisection lab is?" Brenda tried to shout above the noise of all the people running about the slaughterhouse like headless chickens. "Excuse me? Excuse me!"

Teresa then shouted, "EVERYBODY SHUT UP!"

The room went completely still and silent.

"Thank you," Brenda said. "Does anyone know where exactly on the fourth floor the vivisection lab is?"

"Just take the elevator," someone said. "It's in the butchery. There's a special yellow brick button that will lead you to the green lab. It's mint green, so you'll know you're there."

Brenda and Teresa headed in the direction of the butchery.

"I'm going with you!" Winston said.

"No, you won't," Teresa replied. "This will be a fight between women. I can't have you accidentally seriously injuring Geum Jan Di."

"I'll go with you, then," Olivia said. "I may not look like much, but you can't go without help."

The three young women headed into the butchery. Once they got the elevator to actually work, they pressed the yellow brick button. Before one can say Jack Robinson Crusoe, they were in the mint green vivisection lab. Humans were lain over what appeared to be several well spaced-out tables, most of whom were already opened up, as if Jan Di was in the middle of tampering with their organs. Their groanings were horrible to listen to.

"Where is Newt?" Teresa said. "Hopefully he's alright…"

"He's right there." Brenda quickly rushed over to one of the tables near the back of the lab. "Oh, thank goodness! He hasn't been tampered with, yet!"

Newt stared up at Brenda. He was wearing nothing but what appeared to be grey pajama pants, and he was fastened to the table with what appeared to be straps made of mammoth leather. Right next to him on the table was a tray, with a pair of scissors, tongs, a bottle of who-knows-what, and a series of small knives. Right next to the table was a bucket and mop, presumably to clean up any messes from his potential writhing.

"He has been tampered with!" Olivia shrieked. "Look! He has no body hair anymore!"

"That's how I naturally am," Newt replied. "Now, will someone untie me? I'm really dreading what will happen when Jan Di comes back."

"Too late for that!" Geum Jan Di entered the laboratory. "Now, I shall experiment on his heart and kidneys, because I can't think of anything truly creative today!" She was wielding, not a knife, but an actual sword. A scimitar, to be exact.

She started rushing over, and was about to drive a cut into Newt, when Olivia quickly reached out, grabbed the mop, and used it to quickly whack the sword out of the hand of a surprised Jan Di. Olivia grabbed the sword as it fell. Jan Di, though, kicked it out of Olivia's hand, and would have kicked the mop out of her opponent's hand as well, if Olivia didn't swing it out of the way, causing Jan Di to fall onto the floor.

Brenda and Teresa rushed over to Jan Di and, grabbing her by the arms and shoulders, kept her pushed to the ground. Jan Di kicked her legs up until they caught onto the girls' necks, bonking their heads together, making them let go of her. She then quickly got up from the ground, but not until Olivia had already started using the sword to hack at one of Newt's hand restraints.

Jan Di kicked Olivia in the side. The stout girl wasn't phased at all, and started cutting the other hand restraint. So, Jan Di decided to jump up and kick Olivia in the head. Teresa quickly grabbed Jan Di, holding her still by wrapping arms around her arms. Brenda quickly grabbed Jan Di's kicking feet, holding them still.

Newt, who by now wasn't restrained by his arms, used his now free hands to undo his leg restraints, which he used the incredibly strong scissors on the table to cut from the tables. He and Olivia, who seemed a bit dizzy, used those to bind the still-somewhat-kicking Jan Di's legs and arms.

"Well, while she's still restrained," Teresa said, "we might as well see who else hasn't been harmed yet. We can also call over some emergency doctors to tend to the injured."

"I might have a concussion..." Olivia muttered.

"You'll never get away with this!" Jan Di screamed. "My husband will pay the police to get you all imprisoned! You'll curse the day you dared to go up against me!"

"Oh, and by the way," Brenda said, "you know all those people in your slaughterhouse?"

"You didn't!" Jan Di looked furious.

"It really is none of your business," Brenda replied.

About five people were still on the tables without incision wounds or any of the like. They were thankful to the three young women who, in the process of saving Newt, had also saved them. They'd been taken out of a nightmare few humans can speak of.

Later, at the beheading arena.

"Geum Jan Di," the headsman said, "do you confess responsibility to the murder and torture of countless innocent people, as well as tax evasion and bringing exotic fruits into the country?"

"I do confess," Jan Di said.

"And do you, Yoon Ji Hoo," the headsman continued, "confess to being an accomplice in all of Geum Jan Di's crimes."

"I do confess," Ji Hoo replied.

The headman said to Jan Di, "Put your head on the block."

The axe was dull. It would take several hard whacks until the villain died.

"Stop one moment!" A young man rushed out of the stands and into the arena. "Doesn't the law of the land prohibit the execution of the mentally unstable?"

"Yes, it does," the headsman replied.

"Has anyone checked the medical records of these two guilty individuals?" the young man asked.

"The records have been checked." The headsman sighed. "You must realize, stranger, that these two have been evaluated, and there appears to be nothing wrong with them besides their own evil."

"Then why aren't they first sent down South? The law of the land also prohibits executions outside one's area of legal residence."

"The South is no place to send someone. Their prisons are overfilled, and they would either set these two criminals free, or order them to slowly starve in the back of some cramped jail cell. What is about to happen to these two individuals will be a mercy."

"Are there no prisons here?"

"This place used to be nothing but a prison. If you wish for these two criminals not to die, even after attempting to harm you and your companions, realize that this is merely the law of the land, which you seem to know so well. There's no way you could help them without turning yourself into a criminal, or, rather, siding with your abusers. It's evident that, if you're not simply more saintly than the rest of us, you already have developed Stockholm syndrome."

Without so much as another word, the young man was grabbed by two security officers. The headsman, shaking his head, commenced to chop off Jan Di's head.

After the head had been severed, and the crowd had hushed down, Ji Hoo gleefully shouted out to the young man, "Lennon, when you've had enough of this world, remember that you can always go to your home in the stars. Try it. What's the worst that could ever possibly happen? It's not like there's a fault in them."

Nine hard whacks later, Ji Hoo was in the same condition as Jan Di.

Dead.

A few days later, in Annyeong.

"What happened to this place?" Brenda asked. "I thought this city used to be an important political hub."

"Yeah, but it's fallen into disrepair," Jusun replied. "While my grandmother generally doesn't allow those infected with the Flare into her country, those who ran the place before her had different ideas. Thankfully, Annyeong is the last city in Korea where one can find all those cranky Flare-ridden sickies."

"Well, while we're here," Alby said, "I suggest everyone go into as many creepy, abandoned buildings as possible! We need to find food, and, despite what Brenda says, I don't really believe the mushrooms in that giant field are edible!"

Amir Jafar said, "I thought they were good-tasting. They also made me feel a little happier, to be honest. I even started to see color more vividly."

"It's better than starving…" Brenda muttered.

Everyone split up, agreeing to meet again in the town square in four hours. Brenda, Lennon, Minho, Benyamin, and Thomas were all in the group that was going to search through the subway system.

They tunnels themselves looked as if they hadn't been used since five years before they were constructed, and moss and mold was growing all along the walls. Thomas commented how the plants growing on and around a windowless train made the machine look like some sort of monster.

"I'm beginning to wonder why infected people wouldn't be allowed into the country," Lennon said at one point, poking at a pile of unidentifiable garbage. "I thought infected folks just died."

"But I think Mother Paige said that the Flare is getting more advanced, causing people to go insane before dying," Benyamin said, scratching the side of his face rapidly. "After getting infected, they try to fulfill all their perverse and carnal desires, like biting off people's heads and lighting city buses on fire."

"It's a good thing we're in a subway station, then," Thomas said.

"Listen," Brenda said, putting a finger to her lips. "Does anyone else here that sound?"

There seemed to be the soft sound of lumbering and scuffling footsteps. The sound got closer and closer.

"Let me guess," Minho said. "A creepy figure is going to jump out of the dark right in front of us?"

"Guess again," a voice said right behind his ear.

Minho jumped. Turning around, he saw a group of about thirty ragged, scruffy, and noseless people simply standing and staring at him and his companions.

The one who'd spoken into his ear spoke again.

"So, could you tell me…" he gazed at Minho's face intently, then stuck his finger up the terrified boy's nose, "... why is your face still intact? Tell me, when did you get sent here?"

"I'm just passing through," Minho replied, disturbed that such a large group of people could walk together so quietly. "We are all just passing through! We'll be leaving soon. No worries."

The noseless spokesman for the noseless subway posse dug his finger deeper up Minho's nose.

"Then you mean to tell me you've been untouched by the grace of the Flare?" He chuckled phlegmily, took his finger out of Minho's nose, then spit right into Minho's eye. "See if that doesn't infect you. You'll be deported for sure. Unless, of course, you're headed into Siberia. Then you'll just get really cold."

"When are we gonna attack?" a woman standing right behind the spokesman asked. "Are you just gonna try making them uncomfortable?"

"We'll first have to decide what to take from them, Rose," the spokesman replied. "Still, it should be obvious."

He jumped onto Minho, pushing him into the ground. The spokesman then proceeded to bite furiously at the boy's nose. The raggedy members of the noseless posse all commenced chasing the rest of Minho's companions, who could only start running away.

Thomas found himself running with Brenda down a tunnel that seemed to want to trip him. There were no lights whatsoever, and the broken train tracks were sticking out everywhere.

"Keep running," Brenda told him. "Don't look back."

"There's nothing to look back to!" Thomas replied, furious that Brenda would try telling him what to do at a time like this.

"Don't think about how we should have helped Minho," Brenda also said. "Just think about yourself for now." She knew how devoted Thomas could be to his friends.

There was the sound of loud cackling, as several of the cranky noseless gangbangers chased the two siblings for what felt like hours. Everything was pitch black, and Thomas bumped into a couple walls several times. At one point, he wasn't quite sure whether or not Brenda was still nearby.

Suddenly, he felt something grab at his arm.

"Into here," Brenda's voice said.

They must have gone into some sort of cupboard or closet, probably a storage room. How Brenda knew about it in this pitch black was beyond Thomas's understanding.

"Keep perfectly still," she whispered.

There was the sound of the noseless crankbags running past wherever they were.

"We'll wait here for a while more," Brenda said quietly. "Don't be afraid, Thomas. We'll leave Annyeong as soon as possible."

"But then where will we go?" Thomas replied. "We'll just return to Dr. Janson. Is there any hope in that?"

"Hope is a virtue. It has nothing to do with how you feel, or what you foresee. Now, try to be quiet."

It must have been over half an hour before Thomas heard the sound of someone fumbling at the wall.

"Are you searching for a lightswitch, Brenda?"

"No. I thought you were the one messing with the wall."

There was the sound of the door opening, which made them realize that the sound was coming from the outside all along. The bright light of a flashlight was shining in Brenda and Thomas's eyes.

"Who's there?" Brenda asked.

"It's me," a familiar voice said.

"Ben!" Brenda sounded relieved. "Goodness, Benyamin! You almost gave us both heart attacks! Where'd you find the flashlight?"

"None of your business," Benyamin replied. He was quiet for a moment, then pointed the flashlight at Thomas. "You. This is all your fault."

"What do you mean?" Thomas asked, nervous at the tone change in the light-bearer's voice.

"If you and other people weren't allergic to chocolate, Dr. Janson and Imam al Jinnah wouldn't have infected the world, and we wouldn't be chased in the dark like this," Benyamin grumbled. "They would have gone on some completely different exploit, and we would all probably be safe and warm in bed or our houses. You fiend."

"Benyamin," Brenda said, "I don't think you're thinking quite clearly. We've been through a lot. Let's just focus on getting out of here."

"There is no out of here," Benyamin argued. "I feel like I'm in a straightjacket. I must be free."

He lifted the flashlight a little, slightly illuminating his face.

"For a second, it almost looks like you don't have a nose," Brenda said, trying to laugh.

Ben lifted the flashlight completely. It was true. He had no nose anymore.

"Oh, mine!" Thomas exclaimed. "He's now one of those crank folk! That Flare virus must really be airborne like Dr. Kang said!"

"Ben," Brenda said, "please just leave with us. You couldn't possibly be bloodthirsty or anything. They just hurt your nose, that's all…"

"I did it myself," Benyamin replied. "Now, shut up, woman. I've got something I've been planning on doing for months."

He shoved Brenda out of the way, then jumped on top of Thomas. He had a chokehold on the toffee-haired boy, and pushed his knees against the boy's stomach.

Brenda stood up and tried to kick Ben in the neck, but found herself greatly disabled due to the battery light fading. She quickly moved the light so that it was shining at her brother getting killed, then quickly squeezed her arm between the boys to punch Ben in the diaphragm. Ben simply used one of his hands to punch her in the face, causing her to see stars for a second. By then, Thomas had passed out.

She then felt a surge of pain and let out a scream. In her brief daze, Benyamin had dislocated her arm. She was in too much pain to notice him beating Thomas's chest, breaking his ribs.

With what strength she could muster up last second, she dove at Ben and found herself tumbling out of the cupboard, clinging onto him with her good arm. She found herself on top of her opponent, only to hear a loud, cracking noise. Her opponent's body was perfectly still.

Brenda rushed back into the cupboard, and pointed the flashlight outside. Ben was lying on the ground, a spike from the broken train track stuck into the back of his head. She then pointed the light at Thomas, who was perfectly still.

She checked for breathing and a heartbeat. There was neither.

Later.

Back in the town square, Alby was counting all of the Gladers.

"There are three missing," he said. "Did anyone head into any trouble?"

"There were some crazy people chasing us around the subway station," Minho said. "We got split up. Brenda and Thomas went missing first, then Benyamin seemed to leave all on his own."

Brenda's definitely all right, Lennon thought to himself. She's strong, capable, and can survive what we all just went through. Right?

Just as he thought that, he noticed Brenda slowly walking towards the group.

"Brenda!" Lennon exclaimed, rushing towards her. "Why is your arm hanging limp like that? Is everything okay?"

With her good arm, she gently pushed Lennon away from her.

"Alby," she said, "from now on, take two people out of the number of Gladers."

"What happened?" Newt asked.

Brenda gazed at him, a sad look in her brown eyes.

She then bent over and let out a strange wail, which progressed into a high-pitched scream. Sobs followed, which then turned into sobbing mutterings. She simply stood there, feeling the trauma, helplessness, and guilt attack her.

It would be a long while before she would smile ever again.

A couple days later.

"Welcome to my super-duper secret research center!" the evil Dr. Janson said cacklingly as the Gladers all walked into the welcoming hall of his research center. "I've been expecting all of you."

"Shut up, Dad!" Brenda said. "We're all exhausted, and I doubt you'll be providing us with food and cots."

"What disrespect!" Janson glared at her with shock and anger. "And to think that I'd raised you better than this! I was hoping you'd always be by my side, supporting my scientific exploits in every way possible, becoming a symbol of submissiveness and parent-worshiping. One day, though, you will realize that-"

"Did you call us over to the research institute just to monologue?" Alby asked. "Because it's really boring to listen to."

Janson looked offended, appalled, shocked, embarrassed, hungry, ashamed, insulted, and argumentative. He'd never before met a group of such impudent children!

Just then, into the welcome hall rushed Dr. Schliwinsky-Kang.

"Archibald! You have to see this!" she said, holding up a folder full of papers. "This research shows that the chocolate vaccine isn't working to cure most Canadian victims of the so-called chocolate allergies. It's working on people outside of Canada, though."

"So?" Janson looked unimpressed.

"So the reason people in Canada are allergic to chocolate might have to do with what's in Canadian chocolate. It might not be the chocolate at all that's causing it."

"It could just be the type of sugar put in it," Geb suggested, picking at his teeth. "Or the fact that Canadian chocolate companies still put milk in their chocolate. Or the fact that all chocolate imported into Canada gets laced with a preservative that contains shrimp and other shellfish, which there has been an increase in allergies within the past decades related to eating such creatures." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "That would explain why Thomas didn't die when I accidentally gave him twenty-three chocolate chip cookies, as well as a Trader Joe's eighty percent dark chocolate bar."

"Wait, so Thomas didn't have chocolate allergies?" Teresa asked. "He just had a shellfish allergy? So, in other words, the Trials weren't going to help him at all, and neither was Dr. Schliwinsky-Kang's research."

"Well," Janson said, "I guess we now have to come out with a shrimp allergy vaccine, then create a shrimp version of the Flare, then genetically mutate shrimp to run around on land chasing people. By the way, where is Thomas?"

"He's dead!" Ella said. "So go gouge out both of your eyes and eat them raw!"

"What a shame," Janson said. "I was planning on selling his organs on the black market, considering his genetic type is so rare. He gets it from me- I'm that awesome."

"Dr. Janson!" Olivia said. "How can you be so heartless?"

Dr. Janson laughed.

"It's because I'm a villain!" he said. He did his best villain laugh, which was more comical-sounding than actually frightening.

He put the Gladers all in a back room full of cages. Unsurprisingly, the whole situation reminded them of being in the basement slaughterhouse.

About half an hour after being locked into the cages, the Gladers heard the sound of someone entering the back room. A dark figure entered, and started unlocking the cage doors with a bobby pin.

"Mom!" Lennon said. "You know a bobby pin won't work! Use a ballpoint pen."

"I don't have one with me at the moment," Dr. Schliwinsky-Kang replied. "Also, I had to sneak away from Janson. He's monologuing again."

Once the Gladers were set free, she led them down a passageway to get out the backdoor.

Out the backdoor, though, everyone saw that Janson was already out there, preparing a bonfire. He hadn't lit it, yet. He was still in the setting up planks of wood stage of the bonfire development.

"Good day to you all," he said. "I was wondering if anyone wanted to popcorn the old-fashioned way with me. It's something I've always wanted to do, but never found the time to till now."

Just as he lit the match, and was about to set all the wood on fire, there was a screech in the distance. Running towards the two doctors and the Gladers was a chocolate monster.

"It can't be," Janson said. "I thought Ali Daoud programmed them to stay out of Siberia, due to lack of population density making it unprofitable."

"Seriously, Ali Daoud was a horrible man," Dr. Schliwinsky-Kang said. "He would never have worked hard enough to give the monsters geographic programming."

The monster reached where the humans were, then stopped running. It stared at everyone.

It then rushed towards Janson, tackling him, causing him to fall onto the sloppily-prepared woodpile. It then proceeded to try eating Janson, who was screaming in pain and fright.

Before anyone could make sense out of the situation, they noticed that more chocolate monsters were rushing in their direction. For some reason, though, they all rushed and attacked Janson.

It would have been impossible to save him, but, when the monsters all lost interest in him, or realized they couldn't get what they wanted, they left, and rushed back out into the distance. What was left of Janson was some torn pieces of cloth and a few bones, including part of his skull. There was also a half-eaten cell phone lying in the mess.

"It looks like the battery is gone," Ella said, grimacing. "I guess they sensed electricity coming from that far away, since those modern phones use up so many resources. It's not easy being a robotic chocolate monster this far in the wilderness. Good thing they aren't interested in human meat."

All the Gladers were horrified. Dr. Schliwinsky-Kang kept her composure, though.

"I guess that means," she said, "that Mother Paige and I can stop trying to find ways to get you children out of Janson's clutches. Now that he's gone, the Empress will listen to what we want, and I can shut down all the Grievers and chocolate monsters without him suing."

"What about those cranks with the Flare?" Minho asked, still greatly shaken from viewing the monsters attack Janson, and from the cranks attacking his still-scarred face. "What about all those people made violent by the virus?"

"They aren't much different than some of the folks involved in your country's civil war," Dr. Schliwinsky-Kang replied. "I would be more concerned about the innocent people caught in the middle of all those pointless conflicts. After helping them out of their problems, we must find solutions to deal with the crazies and the corrupt."

Brenda kept staring at what was left of her father's body. She couldn't imagine how awful it must be for him now, his soul burning in Hell for the rest of eternity. She dreaded becoming like him.

Back in Quebec, a few months later.

"Do you feel like talking today?" the doctor said.

"Maybe," Minho replied.

"If there's some stuff you aren't ready to talk about yet, don't worry. Rushing the healing process will only leave you even more damaged than before."

"But I've already been in this headshrinking prison for a month by now!"

"First off, this isn't a prison, it's a mental hospital. You're only forced to stay here because your PTSD makes you do violent things."

"So, it's like a prison. I do illegal things, like beat someone up, and have to stay here for a certain amount of time."

"Remember who you beat up, Minho. Most of them were friends. Anyways, secondly, we have people who've been in here more than a year. Staying here for over a month, even two months, is a short amount of time. Count your blessings. You're already good at talking things through."

Minho scowled.

"It's not fair," he said. "Not about me being here. I mean about the whole situation. Why did any of this have to happen? I can't blame Lennon. He did this to keep me from participating in a war. His intentions were altruistic. Sometimes at night, though, I lie awake cursing him, and I still think he's despicable. Filthy, murderous pacifist."

"Lennon came again today, wanting to speak with you."

"Why hasn't he been admitted to this prison? He's probably just as mentally insane as I am!"

"Minho, remember that Lennon is going to counseling, and, so far, he hasn't tried to harm anyone. He's just fortunate in how his trauma is being handled, that's all."

"It's not like he has anything to say to me. I've told him to not speak to me ever again. I was angry that time, though. I kind of regret it, but… Oh, well."

"He told me to hand this to you."

The doctor gave Minho a letter. The angry boy read it carefully.

It said:

Minho,

Sorry I had to put this all in letter form, and couldn't speak to you in person. The person at the front desk said you weren't wanting to speak with visitors. If you'd only get better and permitted to leave, that'd add to how much wonderful stuff has been happening lately! My mother has distributed the vaccines to places in need, so the Flare is now becoming an obsolete rumor of the past, and, on a more personal note, her divorce papers have finally been signed and submitted. Brenda finally moved back to Illinois, and she's now working in her family's business, which is creating a lot of revenue for their tribe. Matthew, Newt, and I will be attending the same college this upcoming term, and Teresa has officially started her catechumenate. We must remember Jusun, though, whose ashes are being spread tomorrow. If only she hadn't had that car crash, she'd be visiting you everyday, beckoning you to leave the hospital.

Please come back. We all miss you.

With love,

Lennon

Minho mumbled something that was completely unintelligible. Then, the tears started flowing.

"I don't think I can talk anymore today," he finally told the doctor.

Page break.

"It's such a shame you're leaving for Rhode Island so soon," Amir Jafar said in Grenouille's small, cozy cafe. "Still, I'm glad you're alright with having a long distance relationship."

"Of course I'm alright with it," Matthew said. "And of course we'll visit each other in person."

Amir Jafar smiled, then leaned his face in closer and closer to Matthew's…

"Amir Jafar!" Newt walked into the cafe right then. "Mum is wondering where you are!"

"Ugh…" Matthew groaned. "There's not a moment of peace with Newt around, that old third wheel." He couldn't help but smile, though.

"Tell Mom that I'm busy," Amir Jafar said.

"But you're not busy," Newt replied.

"I am, Newt."

"But it's not like it's an important sort of busy."

Matthew then laughed.

"Wow, Amir!" he said. "Your brother certainly doesn't side one hundred percent with you!"

Amir Jafar also laughed.

Suddenly, into the cafe walked Dr. Schliwinsky-Kang with a tall man dressed in black-and-white. They ordered their coffee, then commenced to talk.

"I think Lennon would like it," Dr. Schliwinsky-Kang said.

"Of course," the man said. "He seems shy, but it's obvious he still likes meeting people, under the right circumstances."

"And he finally gets to meet the rest of his family," the doctor said. "I shouldn't be saying this in public, but he'll be meeting his family among the stars. It… sounds so interesting."

"Family among the stars?" Newt sounded surprised.

"I guess he didn't tell you," Matthew replied, nonchalantly, sipping what was left of his tea.

"Didn't tell us what?" Amir Jafar asked.

"Don't say it!" Newt replied. "I've figured it out!"

He rushed over to where Dr. Schliwinsky-Kang and the man were sitting.

"Oh, hello, Newt," the doctor said. "I didn't notice either of you here. Let me introduce you to my ex-brother-in-law…"

"Is it true?" Newt asked, his eyes wide open. "Lennon is… an alien?!"

He gasped.

Then fainted.

It's hard to imagine Jan Di and Ji Hoo being evil, though it's easy to imagine Janson being eaten alive by monsters of his own creation. Sorry for the slight crossover, though that's definitely not something this story is unaccustomed to. ^_^ Please be sure to review, and even write suggestions on how you want this story to end! :D