"I'm just saying that 2T Fru-T sounds like something that a candy might be called. You know, like a fruit-flavoured candy. Like, yo, pass the Too-tee Fruities!" Angie continued, walking down the stairs with Ember close behind her.

"Hahahaha! Please, please stop! I have a stitch! It hurts so much!" Ember chortled, clutching at her sides. Taking a deep breath, she said,

"They once told me that A-Luna, 2T Fru-T and Do-Wah Diddy aren't their real names."

"What?! You mean to tell me that I've known them for all these years and yet I don't even know their real names?!" The short-haired girl gasped in surprise.

"I know! said the other day! They said that their real names were far too complicated for anyone on Earth to be able to pronounce so they changed them before they arrived here! You know, it does kinda explain a few things. Like how 2T's first name rhymes with his surname." She continued.

"Or how Do-Wah's last name is Diddy, just like P. Diddy!" Angie giggled.

"Exactly! So are you coming up later?" Ember said to her best friend and she swung her bag onto her shoulder.

"You bet! But before you go, I wrote a poem about something that happened this morning. I feel it even rivals 2T's poem!" Angie said excitedly, pulling a sheet of paper from her pocket.

"Go on then" the long-haired girl said, grinning. Angie looked down at the sheet of paper and narrowed her eyes dramatically.

"It's always a heart-breaking moment when you make a cup of coffee, forget about it and then discover it twenty minutes later. Cold, alone and desperate, sat on your kitchen counter just waiting, begging you to notice it before it's too late and it is no longer socially acceptable to drink it at its current temperature. Alas, by the time you see it, it is too late. As you pour the cold remains of that sweet, innocent cup of coffee down the drain, a single tear travels down your cheek. Nothing you experience in life will ever be as sad as that moment" Angie finished, pretending to get emotional.

"Angie, Angie, stop! I'm gonna pee! I'm gonna pee!" Ember gasped, trying to control her laughter. Doubled-over, she stumbled over into the coffee table next to her, knocking the stack of placemats off in the process.

"Oh gricks! I'm sorry Angie" Ember uttered between gasps as she bent down to pick them up.

"Ember, did you just say gricks?" Angie asked, bursting into manic laughter.

"Hahahahahahahaha! I constantly hear the guys say it so it's a bit of a habit now!" Ember replied, tears streaming down her face due to laughing so much.

"Isn't it a cuss word?" The short-haired female asked, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Kinda. Only a mild one though, like the word crap. You ought to see their faces when I say grickies! They look at me as if to say don't you say that! That's a very naughty word! And then I look at them as if to say I know exactly what it means" She giggled, massaging her sides in an attempt to get rid of the painful stitch she was experiencing.

"Well I'm glad you had fun sweetie. It's so nice to see that beautiful smile of yours again!" Angie said, pulling her best friend into a hug.

"Thank you Angie. I needed this and I definitely needed that talk we had last night" Ember smiled, hugging her back, "I love how hilariously crazy you get when we have a girly slumber party. When we're with the guys, you're always so mature."

"Well someone has to look after them. They're all crazy! But when it's just you and me, I feel as if I can really kick back and relax" She replied, beaming at the long-haired girl.

"Yeah. Well, I better set off home then. I told the guys that I'd be back by midday. Adios bitchacho!" Ember winked as she walked to the front door.

"Right back at ya!" Angie yelled after her, sticking her tongue out.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Ember always enjoyed her walks back to ZAPZ. As much as she loved the company of her six favourite friends, she also liked to spend a little time alone now and again to be with her thoughts. Journeys back from Angie's house tended to take Ember quite a while because she hadn't mastered riding a hoverboard just yet, meaning that the only mode of transportation when she was on her own was to walk. Her thoughts travelled to the last time she had slept at Angie's.

"Angie, I'm frightened… oh I don't like this!" Ember had said timidly, staring at the television screen. They had decided to watch The Fourth Kind, a horror film based on gruesome alien abductions. Angie's parents weren't home and all the lights were off, something that the girls had later regretted.

"M-me neither. It's much scarier than I thought it would be!" Angie had stuttered in agreement, "But at least it's just pretend. Not real at all." Just then, the screen had split in two. On the left side of the screen, some footage of a particularly horrifying hypnotherapy session had appeared.

"But then again… that looks quite real!" The short-haired girl had gasped, trying to tear her eyes away from the screen.

"W-wait a minute…" Ember had said, picking up the DVD case.

"OH MY GOD! ANGIE! IT SAYS SOME OF THE FOOTAGE USED IS REAL! IT'S BASED ON TRUE EVENTS!" She had screeched, dropping the DVD case and screaming.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Angie shrieked, diving towards Ember. They both had locked themselves into a tight embrace, still staring at the screen, unable to divert their eyes. The footage got even scarier, showing the man under hypnotism snapping his eyes open and starting to speak in a strange and terrifying voice.

"Most aliens are nice! Most aliens are nice! Most aliens are nice!" Angie and Ember had chanted in unison, shaking in horror. The movie showed the man beginning to levitate, then his back snapping in two all by itself.

"AHHHHHHHH! ANGIE, I WANT ! I WANT ! HE'LL MAKE SURE THIS WON'T HAPPEN TO US!" Ember had cried in a shrill voice.

"ME TOO! LET'S GO!" She had shrieked back, shooting up and switching the television's power off roughly. They then made a beeline to the front door, locking it firmly behind them. After, they had ran all the way back to ZAPZ despite it being the early hours of the morning. Ember snatched her key-card from her bag and unlocked the front door like never before, then they had shrieked their way into 's bedroom.

" ! WAKE UP!" The long-haired girl had cried, shaking the sleeping Martian awake.

"W-what? What are you guys doing?" He had asked groggily, sitting up.

"We're scared. We don't wanna go back to Angie's tonight. We watched a scary film about aliens and we want you to protect us!" She explained, still shaking.

"Can't you go annoy Do-Wah?" had grumbled grumpily, rubbing his eyes.

" , you know I go to you when I'm scared, I go to Do-Wah when I'm upset and I go to 2T for everything in between. It's always been like that!" She had reasoned, still panicked.

"Ah, of course. You two can sleep here, I'll take the floor." He muttered, still half-asleep.

"Thank you" They sniffled, Ember giving him a kiss on the cheek as she crawled past him.

"Y'welcome" had grumbled, grabbing a blanket and curling up on the floor. And that's how that night had ended. Angie and Ember had scared themselves silly and had retreated to the safe confines of ZAPZ, kicking the commander out of his bed in the process.

Ember smiled at the memory.

"Say what you want about A-Luna but he can be very generous and caring when he wants to be" She thought to herself. This train of thought got her thinking about another memory she had shared with a friend.

"Right, I'm ready to learn how to hoverboard!" Ember had said valiantly.

"I'm sure you'll do fine. If , 2T and I can learn how to ride a hoverboard, I'm sure you can too" Do-Wah had said reassuringly, leading her over to a pink hoverboard that Angie had let him borrow. She had announced earlier that day to her three Martian friends that she thought it was time that she learnt another mode of transportation other than walking as she was worried that she had become a nuisance to her human friends. When all seven of them were together and they were going somewhere, Ember would just hop on the back of an OMAB so her inability to hoverboard wasn't much to worry about. However, when it was just her, Cedric, Mike and Angela, her friends had to walk rather than ride their hoverboards so as to not leave her behind. Ember had begun to worry that this was beginning to annoy her friends which had led her to the decision that she would learn how to use a hoverboard. Do-Wah had kindly offered to teach her.

"Right, put this helmet on and then just stand on the hoverboard with your feet around a shoulder-width apart and your back straight" The Martian in red had instructed.

"Like this?" Ember had asked, standing on the board as she was told to.

"That's perfect!" Do-Wah had praised. "Now, gently nudge the button at the end of the board with your right foot. This will turn the power on. Don't move any other part of your body just yet though."

"Okay" She said, starting to get nervous. Nudging the dark pink button, the hoverboard hummed to life.

"Now, gently put pressure on the front of your feet as if you're about to stand on your tip-toes. Put your feet flat again when you're a couple of feet off the ground" He continued. As she did this, the board slowly began to hover off the ground. Ember put her feet flat shortly after as instructed.

"Awesome! Now, just lean forward slightly" Do-Wah said. Ember did as she was told.

"AHHHHHHH! Do-Wah! I feel like I'm going to fall!" She had screamed at her friend.

"It's normal to feel like that on a hoverboard! Don't worry!" He had soothed. Although she was moving forwards at a snail-pace, she had continued to shriek and wobble.

"It's okay! It's okay!" He had said over her yells, "I'm right here! I'll catch you if you fall!"

"Do-Wah! Help meeeeeeeeee!" She had shouted, throwing her arms around his shoulders, having to bend down in the process.

"It's alright. See? You're steady now" Do-Wah had said in a soothing manner. For a long time proceeding this, Ember had held onto Do-Wah as he gently pushed the hoverboard around the hoverpark in a circle. He continued to do this at a slow pace until Ember had gained the courage to try to move on her own again.

"Look Do-Wah! I'm doing it! I'm riding a hoverboard!" She had yelled in triumph, moving in a straight line very slowly.

"Way to go Ember! You'll be a pro in no time!" He had shouted supportively.

This memory had Ember laughing out loud. She could be such a drama queen at times! There she was, kicking up a fuss and acting like she was in danger when the whole time she had only been three feet off the ground.

"Do-Wah has to have the patience of a saint for staying with me for that long! He never gave up on me! He's such a sweetheart" She smiled to herself, "I miss him! I miss them all! Mike and Cedric are coming to ZAPZ later too. I hope Mike's not still upset with me!" The memory of what happened the last time she had seen Mike and Cedric played in her mind.

"Mike? Why do you always wear those goggles?" Ember had asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"Because I might need them" He had replied.

"When will you need them? We don't have that many sandstorms here. And when we do have a sandstorm you don't even wear them! They just stay there on your forehead like some sort of headband!" Angie had giggled. Mike had given Angela a stern look for this comment.

"Can I start calling you Goggles?" Ember had asked excitedly, "Oh what a cute nickname that would be!"

"No" Mike had said abruptly.

"Why not?" She had replied, pouting.

"Because" He had retorted.

"Mike, because is not a valid reason" Angie had said maturely.

"Is your full name Mike or Michael?" Ember had asked him.

"It's Mike" He had replied.

"That means you don't have a nickname!" She had gasped in horror, "Oh you poor thing! You must be feeling so left out!"

"No Mike suits me fine. And besides, you don't have a nickname" He had reasoned.

"My name's exotic so I don't need a nickname. Seriously, how many Embers have you met before me? Everyone else has nicknames Mike! We have Ced and Angie, the natural nicknames then we have the cutesy nicknames which are Doggy, Baby Chips-And-Gravy, 2T Cutie and (influenced by the legend himself). You need a nickname too! Can't I call you Mikey?" She had said cutely.

"No! I don't like Mikey" He snapped.

"But why?" She whined in protest, "Mikey's really cute! Okay, I'm gonna give you a choice. I will refer to you as either Mikey or Magic Mike from now on. Which would you prefer?"

"Hahahahaha! Please choose Magic Mike! It would make my life!" Angie had chortled.

"Isn't Magic Mike that movie about the strippers?" Cedric had laughed.

"Yeah! Magic Mike is also a character in the movie! He's the main stripper!" Angie had managed to gasp, clutching at her sides.

"Okay. I choose Mikey" Mike had pouted, "But only if you are the only one who says it. I don't want everyone referring to me as Mikey after all of those years of correcting them."

"Aww. Does that mean no stripping?" Angie had pretended to sulk, "And hey! I'm one of your closest friends! Why can't I call you Mikey too?"

"Because" Mike replied, still pouting.

"Don't be sad Mike. I love you!" Ember had yelled, jumping on him and giving a big hug.

And that was why Ember could call Mike Mikey and get away with it. She felt so triumphant because of this honour that she felt that she would be telling her children this story one day. Ember grinned, letting her thoughts wander as she continued to walk. As always, her thoughts led to 2T. His socially-awkward grin, his oh-so-confident posture… just thinking about him made Ember's tummy feel all fluttery. A memory of him flashed before her eyes.

"Wow! How are you guys so good at this game?" Ember had asked.

"Well it's really easy once you get used to it" Do-Wah had replied modestly. Her six friends were playing a game of basketball, a sport that Ember had always been useless at. Because of this, she had decided to sit out and keep score with Dog instead. The scores had showed that both Mike's and 's teams were currently drawing with only one shot left for the Martians to make.

"Prepare to lose babe" 2T had smirked at the humans. And sure enough, he scored.

"Yeah! The Martians win again!" had yelled triumphantly, high-fiving his teammates.

"I told you you should have let me take your last shot" Cedric had said to Mike, "We can't keep losing to them! It's an Earth sport and yet they keep winning! They're not even from this planet! It's making us look bad."

"Okay! I'll listen to you next time" Mike had replied, slightly annoyed at being told "I told you so" by somebody younger than him.

"2T! That was amazing!" Ember had gushed, running over to the Martian in blue, "I wish I could play basketball like you!"

"Thanks babe. Did you see Ced?" He had replied, smiling at her.

"Yeah! He didn't miss a single shot! He was awesome!" The long-haired girl had said excitedly, "I'm the complete opposite to him. I don't think I could ever make even a single shot!"

"Sure you could! Would you like me to teach you?" 2T had asked kindly.

"Really? Nobody's ever offered to teach me how to play basketball before!" She had gushed, blushing from happiness.

"Like Do-Wah said before, it's easy once you get used to it" He had replied, picking up the basketball and leading her in front of the hoop, "All you do is aim and throw. Simple. You hold the ball like this"

As he said this, he had given her the basketball and had positioned both of her hands correctly.

"Aim" He had instructed. She did as she was told, holding the basketball so that it was lined-up with the hoop.

"And throw!" He had said. Ember threw the ball. She face-palmed and groaned when the ball landed just five feet in front of her.

"Haha. You're so cute!" 2T had chuckled, "You're aim is perfect but you're not exerting enough pressure when throwing the ball. Do it like this, see?" As he said this, he placed her hands on the basketball again and positioned his hands over hers.

"Aim" He had instructed again, "And shoot!" He then pushed the ball out of her hands and sure enough, it landed through the hoop.

"Yay! I did it! I scored a point!" She had yelled, dancing around in a circle, "Thank you so much 2T! I feel awesome!"

"That shot was awesome!" He had grinned in response, giving her a hug.

Ember smiled at her feet.

"I think that was the moment when I first started developing feelings for 2T" She thought to herself, "That's when I first realised how sweet and caring he could be." Her thoughts began to wander once again.

"Should I tell him how I feel? Would it be selfish of me to admit my feelings? After all, he doesn't know… none of them know. I know I should tell them the truth but I just don't know how!" She thought, getting anxious.

"My secret… it's vile… it's disgusting… it's repugnant." She thought, her tummy beginning to churn, "…And more importantly, it's downright dangerous." Ember's current line of thought had her suddenly feeling very sick.

"What… what if something happens and they see? How the hell would I explain that? They wouldn't know what to do… how to stop it. It could… it could kill someone! I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hurt one of my friends. If 2T saw… it would repulse him. If they saw, would they run away? Would they never speak to me again? What if it happens… and they see… and they all hate me forever? 2T… he'd never want to see me again!" Ember's tummy churned violently and she felt bile begin to rise in her throat. She couldn't live without them… she couldn't live without him. She began to gip at the thought of being abandoned by her best friends. Ember managed to stumble over to a dumpster in a deserted alleyway. She held her long hair back as she vomited into it. After her stomach had settled down, she began to whimper, wiping tears from her eyes. The taste of the acidic, vile liquid burnt the back of her throat.

"Come on Ember, pull yourself together. It's almost midday. I need to get back to ZAPZ or the guys will start to worry…" Her thoughts were interrupted by an intimidating, booming laugh which made the blood freeze in her veins.

"Hey Taylor, long time no see. I hope you didn't forget about me," The voice from behind her chuckled, "Cause I sure didn't forget about you. I've been watchin' you playin' happy families with those friends of yours. Tell me, Taylor, do they know yet? Or are you lying to them?" Her heart began to pound against her ribcage so hard that she could hear her rapid pulse in her ears. She turned around slowly, eyes wide and legs shaking.

"H-Hack! I-I thought you… I thought I…" She stuttered, feeling ill again.

"What? You thought I'd given up on finding and eliminating you? You thought you were safe? Don't make me laugh you stupid little girl!" Hack boomed, moving closer towards her, "Say, Taylor, you look sick… let's look on the bright side. When I'm through with you, you won't have a stomach left to vomit from. Problem solved." With surprising speed for a man as huge as him, he grabbed Ember's wrist and span around on the spot, disappearing into thin air and taking the frightened girl with him.