?'s POV

"You WHAT?!" I demanded to some of my allies.

The three messengers shrunk back in fear at my rising voice, but still looked at me with wide eyes. One of them was trembling while the two others were as stiff as a board. Finally, one guy stepped forward cowardly to face me. He put up one finger to try and make their point justified, but it only made him look more like a wimp. "We are sorry sir," he stammered, "But it's true. We haven't heard from the search team yet."

I scowled under my breath. "Well have you seen any footprints in the forest? Perhaps any blood or bodies?"

The messengers looked at each other, not sure what to tell me. One guy sighed and gulped before answering in a hush voice. "We haven't been able to trace anything. There's nothing in the forest. They seemingly disappeared."

I felt anger flare up in my chest as I clenched my fists. My body started to shake while the color in my eyes became fire. I felt like I was in flames I was so angry. The messengers saw my reaction and took a few steps back, afraid I might as much as grow devil horns out of my head. The only person who didn't seem unfazed from my reaction was her, who leaned up against the white wall with a sleepy look on her face.

"Why are you still here?!" I asked the messengers in a threatening tone, "Search for them, now! Search for the warriors!" I pointed to the outside. "And don't stop until you do! They're still out there, and most importantly, Brandon's still out there and most likely still alive! Go now!" I ordered as I put my finger down and towards the three messengers. "I don't care how long it takes, I want him back here and I want him alive so I can kill him myself!" I leaned forward so I got in their faces. "Go! Now!"

The messengers jumped at my screaming and rushed outside into the cold weather along with a few others. My breath was rigid and my hands started to pulse from clenching my fists so tightly. I finally let them go and closed my eyes, trying to keep myself calm and professional.

She walked up to me with her eyes sleek like a leopard. "You said you only wanted Brandon," she pointed out and waved her dagger at me, but didn't dare threaten me with it, "What about the others? What about Dawn?"

"And Ivy?" the doctor asked as well. He walked up to us, but stood back a little bit because I was still in the agitated mood.

I sighed, a little annoyed, but seeing where they were coming from. My shoulders slouched forward as I took her hands in mine, looking into her brown eyes. "I will get them as well. I'll get every single last one. And when I do, you'll be able to kill Dawn." I then turned to the doctor. "And you can finally kill Ivy."

The doctor gulped and nodded. I turned back to her to find satisfaction in her eyes. She put a small hand on my cheek with a cheeky smile across her lips. "I expect you to mister," she teased, "Or we're going to have a little chat you and I." Her smile then turned to one of lust as she bit her lip seductively while she scanned my features up and down. I grinned back and felt my eyes go dark.

The doctor stood by and shuffled his feet, becoming awkward from our interactions. After he noticed I no longer needed to talk to him, he just turned away and left, not even wanting to be apart of what's happening to her and I. Honestly, I wanted him to leave because he was being a bit of a leech between us, so I wasn't too concerned when he left. Once he was our of the picture, I looked at her and held onto her hands tighter.

"I'll make sure I find all of them," I told her, "And when I do, we'll kill every single last one. I've spent years getting to this point, I can't turn back now. And neither can you." I sighed as I looked at the room we broke into, which was covered in different plants and herbs. "After all this time, I finally have the opportunity to get revenge."

I turned back to her, where she was now pressing herself up against me. "I'll finally be able to kill the man who killed my father," I told her with clear satisfaction in my eyes.

Lion's POV

"Why did you go off the grid?"

"Where have you been?"

"How were you able to find us?"

Questions were being thrown left and right at Ivy. All of us were in the main area with the plush furniture, surrounding Ivy as she sat in a yellow chair. Right next to her was Dove, who was clutching onto her sister for dear life and was crying her eyes out like she'll disappear for another 15 years if she lets go of her. Ivy hugged her sister back, clearly missing her as much as Dove has missed her too.

It was really hard to believe that this was Ivy. I haven't seen her in so long I forgot what she looked like and what she sounded like. Her voice has gotten lower and more gruff and raspy, as if something was permanently stuck in her throat. Meanwhile with her looks, they've changed a lot. She took off her hood and ski mask to reveal that all of her hair has been buzzed off. She was left with what appeared to be only short pieces of fuzz left on her head. But buzzed into her hair were symbols and designs, like lightning bolts on the sides, wavy lines on top, and jagged edges in the back. Out of everything though, what surprised and concerned me the most were her facial features. Her face was no longer the youthful model look she had before, but an older scarred up version of it. There were scars on her cheeks, forehead, and chin as if she's been deeply cut with paper that left a dirty mark afterwards. Her lips were dry and her eyes have turned into an aging blue gray color.

What happened to her?

Where did my friend go?

"Everyone calm down," Bramble ordered everyone while he was clutching onto an old journal, "Let's give her some space to breathe. Now, one at a time, ask a question." He waved his arm at us, waiting for someone to ask something. He treated us like we were a bunch of children, but I honestly couldn't blame him because this was a big deal to all of us. I mean, no one has seen her in 15 years. What did you expect really?

"Where were you?" Cinder asked next to me, "What have you been doing all this time?"

Ivy looked over at her, her eyes looking almost lifeless. "Sinaloa," she answered in her new gruff voice, "I've been in Sinaloa, Mexico. I really had no where else to go, and I wanted to go back to the city I spent most of my childhood at. And as for what I've been doing there, I've been a fighter against the drug cartel there." She paused, looking like a soulless robot with eyes that had no light in them. "Because I wanted to help everyone down there. The missions I went on before were at random, so I never got the opportunity to choose where I wanted to go." She closed her eyes and took some time to breathe before continuing. "It was the first time I really had the freedom to be my own heroine or a rule less delinquent in better words. But I knew I still wanted to do good because I grew up everyday where there was a new shootout by the Sinaloa drug cartel. Even back then, I wanted to do something about that. I wanted to help my father's extended family, because they had no one else, and I finally had the freedom to go back and protect them along with everyone else."

Ivy sighed and ran her hand through her buzzed haircut. Seeing her now, she somehow got more dangerous than before, along with more badass. She looked like someone that came straight out of the movie Mad Max. But even after all of the additions to her look, attitude, and life, she also became sort of lifeless in a way. Like a ghost or robot with no heart or blood running through their veins. It was concerning to see her like that. Despite her always being very minimal when it came to her emotions, even when she and I were students together, she was no where near as unexpressive as she is now.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if she turned out to be some sort of cyborg by the end of this.

Dove still sobbed into Ivy's chest like she's never cried before. Ivy didn't seem to mind this as she ran her fingers through her sisters hair. While that was happening, we all looked at each other, wondering who should ask a question next. Finally, Tiger spoke up, looking to the side in awkwardness but still asked nevertheless.

"How did you know we would be here?" he asked. Behind him, Pounce peeked out from behind her father to see the aunt she's heard about, but has never seen before.

Ivy looked up at everyone, but most importantly at Bramble. "I reprogrammed my caller to still receive urgent messages, but nothing else. So when I got the distress signal along with the information about the new school a few days ago, I knew I had to come here to help." She gulped and turned her head to look at everyone. "Even if I haven't seen any of you in a good 15 years or so."

I nodded, crossing my arms. "Right," I agreed softly, but a question still loomed over my head, "But there's still something you haven't explained yet." Ivy looked at me, raising her eyebrow for me to continue. "Why?" I asked, "Why did you do all of this in the first place? Why did you go off the grid and run away from all of us?" I paused and glanced over at Cinder, a little worried if I should continue. She shifted her gaze over to Ivy, giving me the permission I needed. "What happened for you to do this sort of absurd thing?"

The room was silent as we all looked at Ivy for an explanation. She blinked once before turning her head briefly in the direction Fox was in. He was leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed and a newly lit cigarette in his mouth. He was hidden in the shadows of the wall, but was still visible enough to show that he was glaring straight at Ivy, as if daring her to answer my question truthfully. After a little bit of staring, Ivy turned back to us, no light in her aging blue gray eyes.

"I'm sorry," she answered in almost a whisper, "But I can't answer that."

I felt myself sink emotionally in agitation. After all this time of asking people what happened to her or what happened to her and Fox, I still couldn't get a clear enough answer. It sounds like I'm being nosy now that I think about it, but I'm just concerned for my friends. I need to know what happened to them so that I can help them in a certain way. Even though I still wasn't getting a valid enough response from anyone, I did know one thing.

Whatever happened to my friends fucked them up royally.

"I'm afraid none of you will look at me the same way if I told you the truth," Ivy stated, lowering her gaze away from everyone.

Half Moon's shoulders shrank as she let out a sigh. "Ivy," she comforted, but didn't make any motion to move towards her, "We're your friends. We have been ever since we were students. Whatever you did or whatever happened to you doesn't matter to any of us, because it was in the past. All we want to do is help you. We don't want you to bottle up any this sorrow that has caused all of this. We only want what's best for you and for your own well being."

Ivy nodded slowly, but still avoided everyone's gaze. "I know," she replied in a monotone voice, "And you're all very sweet to offer such a thing, but I still can't tell you. Because what I did was, selfish in better words, and I regret it to this day. And it still matters to me because it has fucked me up in so many ways that I've gotten used to it by now." Finally, she lifted her gaze towards Fox with sorrow in her eyes, but he only returned it with built up anger in his.

I was feeling a bit frustrated with this whole ordeal. Why can't she tell us? Did she make a promise to Fox? If so, why? Whatever caused this whole mess must've been so big that they broke off from each other as well as everyone else. I still have vivid memories of Fox and Ivy being inseparable with each other. I genuinely thought they would stay together for the rest of their lives by how in love they were, but I guess I was wrong.

But I've been wrong about a lot of things, so why am i acting surprised?

"I'm sorry for that," Twig spoke up, "But you're still a really good person Ivy." She put her hands on her chest as her throat began to close. "Do you remember me?" she asked, "Do you remember my sister?" She pointed at Violet, who was standing right next to her. "Do you remember about 18 years ago, you saved us from our brother, along with so many other lives." She took a long pause as she was getting choked up. "Do you remember how you stopped a moving helicopter with your motorcycle? How you protected us on that rooftop when my brother was armed? About how you made sure we were comfortable and safe in the next room when he was questioned? Do you remember any of that?"

Ivy looked up towards Twig and tilted her head, examining her. After a little bit, I saw the pieces in her head connect. "Tia?" she asked and then turned to the next person, "Violet?"

Ivy got to her feet as Dove had to let go of her. Twig nodded and began to silently cry as she ran up to hug Ivy. Violet was close behind and joined in on the group hug. "You saved our lives, Ivy," Violet whispered as her sister cried into Ivy's shoulder, "I don't know where we would be if it wasn't for you."

They hugged for a while as I recalled what ended up happening on that first mission. All of us almost died in that period. Fox was almost carried away by a helicopter and had to jump from building to building on his motorcycle along with Ivy. Cinder set off a fire extinguisher while we were hundreds of feet in the air, was kidnapped and beaten unconscious as well as tased twice, was fighting in a moving helicopter while she was still injuried, and was almost shot. But out of everyone, I was the one who almost died the most. I was fighting an armed hitman while in the High Roller compartment and was almost shot because of it, I hung from a moving helicopter while I was hundreds of feet in the air by only a rope, I then had to climb that rope while the helicopter was still moving to get to safety, I had to fight off Toby while the mobile was being dragged to the nearby building, and had to safely get Cinder, Twig, and Violet off and nearly ended up breaking several bones from that fall.

To sum it all up, that mission was chaotic and it nearly costed all us our lives.

Finally, the group hug separated as Ivy looked around at the old and new faces. "It really has been a while," she commented in a soft voice, "Hasn't it?"

Everyone nodded. "You missed a lot," Squirrel replied in a saddened tone, "A lot of growth and progression I should say. As well as a lot of new arrivals."

Ivy nodded and looked around at the new students. Behind Cinder, I noticed Holly was peeking out curiously, her foot tapping and her fingers twitching in a certain motion. A sign that she was nervous or anxious. She moved over a little so she was now in the middle of my wife and I, looking at Ivy then back up at me. "So that's her?" she asked me, "That's the woman who went on your Las Vegas mission?"

I nodded and put a hand on top of her head. "Yeah, that's her."

Holly then looked back at Ivy as she hugged Squirrel, her large green eyes wide with curiosity. I swear, she had that exact same expression from when she was only a small child. Where her head was tilted and her eyes were wide. The same green eyes my sister and grandfather had.

"Hey Lion, Cinder," someone called from behind. I turned around to see Flame trying to get our attention. "You can come in now. He's stable enough to have visitors."

Cinder and I didn't need to be told twice as we rushed into the medical station with Holly close behind us. When we got there, my eyes went wide as I realized what I was actually seeing and sped my way over to my unconscious son. I felt myself choke up with unshed tears. Cinder began to cry, but Holly stayed far away and avoided her gaze.

"Fred?" I whispered to him.

Fern lied on an examination table with a gas mask covering his nose and mouth. He had been stripped of all his clothes but was still being covered by a blanket. He was hooked up to several machines as they monitored his steady heart rate and low brain waves. Their beeps echoed throughout the room while my son lied there completely motionless. The only thing that the blanket didn't cover were his legs. But the thing was, he only had one leg.

The other one was gone.

All that remained of his right leg was a small portion of his thigh near his crotch, which was almost completely covered in bandages that were coated with a dark red color. The rest of his limbs seemed to be in tact, but his skin has gone super pale and the color in his face had disappeared completely.

"What happened to him?" Cinder asked desperately while she sobbed, "What happened to his leg?"

Flame shrugged his shoulders. "Don't ask me." He then pointed over to the corner of the room, where Alder was sitting on a small stool with wrapped in a warm blanket that was covering most of his shirtless self. He looked up at us with slouched shoulders, his dark curly hair sticking to his forehead.

"We were in the bathroom when the alarm rang out," he recalled in a remorseful voice, "And when we were about to escape to the transport, his leg was sliced off by a moving saw blade from one of JZ's allies." Cinder gasped and covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face. "I didn't know we were near the greenhouse, but I had to lock ourselves in the bathroom so that we could be safe. We were trapped in there until Needle and everyone else that was still in the building came to rescue us."

I looked at my unconscious son one more time before looking at Alder. He saved him. He saved Fern's life.

I felt myself choke as I looked at him. Jay, who was nearby, saw my reaction and put a hand on my shoulder. "Thank you," I said in almost a whisper, "Thank you so much."

Alder gave a half smile as he looked at his old mentor, Jay. "Well, I learned it from the best."

Dove's POV

I quickly wiped my eyes before I rushed over to my sister and grabbed her arm. The smallest touch almost brought me to tears once again. It's been too long since I've been able to see or talk to her formally. And the only time I get to is when we're in a life or death situation. Ivy turned around and looked down at me and my sobbing mess.

"I need to talk to you," I ordered and dragged her away from everyone to a nearby empty room. Ivy seemed a bit concerned by my tone, but didn't argue with my request and walked with me. I squeezed her wrist tighter when we walked into the room. Quickly, I closed the door behind us and turned on the light. The lightbulb shined on the room as I faced her with my arms crossed.

"Ivy," I choked up, "Please, for the love of everything good in the world, tell me why you abandoned everything, including me."

Ivy looked at me with understanding blue gray eyes. It was foreign to see her look so different as well as so aged. It wasn't like she got old, but it was more like she got wise and it showed in her face. Her new scars were covering every part of her, and she hasn't even taken off her camo outfit yet. It made me feel sick to imagine what she might've been through to get those scars in the first place.

"I'm sorry," she said like before, "But I can't tell you."

My eyes watered even more and I clutched onto myself tighter than before. "Ivy, please, tell me. You can't keep it hidden for forever."

Ivy shook her head. "I'm sorry Dove, but you wouldn't understand."

I felt myself let out a throaty cry as my vision started to become blurry. "What do you mean?!" I begged her, "I'm your sister for fucks sake! I'm your best friend and have been for forever! I know you better than anyone, and you wouldn't run off to our childhood home and extended family unless something tremendous happened! You wouldn't abandon everything and everyone you ever cared about unless you went through something devastating! And now you come back years later refusing to answer anything!"

"I did not abandon anyone or anything," Ivy interrupted, changing the topic, "And I'd never do that, whether or not something terrible has happened to me."

I gulped before shoving her backwards onto the floor. All of the sadness I've previously experience has now turned to straight up rage. I was angry. Beyond angry. Tears streamed down my face as I looked at my sister on the floor. "YES YOU DID!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, not even caring if anyone heard us, "YOU ABANDONED EVERYTHING, INCLUDING OUR FAMILY, OUR RELATIONSHIP, AND OUR TRUST!" I took a gasp of breath before continuing. "All the years you hid away in Sinaloa, you missed out on my entire adult life! You missed out on your friends' lives! You missed out on our mother's last years! But most of all, you missed out on your nieces' and nephew's lives!" I yanked out a family picture from not that long ago in my pocket and chucked it at her. "You weren't there when I got married! You weren't there when I gave birth to my kids! And you weren't there when our own mother passed away!" My heart was now beating rapidly and my breath hitched. "You missed out on so much of my life I can't even tell if you're really my sister anymore."

My heart shattered into a million pieces at that last statement, but I knew deep down that it was true. I fell to my knees, defeated. Ivy took the picture I threw at her off the ground and looked at it carefully.

The picture was from about six months ago, when we went on a vacation to Turks and Caicos. The five of us were standing on the beach in white clothes while smiling at the camera. Tiger gave his signature boxy smile with one arm was wrapped around my waist while the other was on Pounce's back. Pounce wore a fancy white shirt and white shorts with a white headband holding back her poofy dark blonde hair. She had one hand in her pocket while the other was on my son's shoulder. Shawn wore a cute button down shirt with white shorts and had his hands by his side while his eyes squinted at the camera as he smiled. His chocolate brown hair was let loose in his signature afro style. He was only seven when that picture was taken, but he still hasn't changed. My other daughter Libby was wearing a short white dress with her light brown hair put into braids. She gave the same smile she got from her father and wore it like she was the star of the show. Behind her was me, who was wearing a long flowy white dress and had my hands on my husbands back and on Libby's shoulder.

I waited for my sister to speak as she examined the picture. While I waited, I cried and flashbacked to all the things she missed. All the things I've cherished and all the memories I've loved to look back on. But of all the happy memories I've had ever since I became a warrior, Ivy was in none of them. As if she never existed in my memories at all. As if she was a ghost, a person I couldn't see or interact with.

Finally, Ivy looked up at me with guilt clearly visible in her frown. "Dove," she started, "I'm so unbelievably sorry for all of this. I did abandon everything because I thought it would solve all of my problems, but it just caused more instead." While she was talking, she showed no emotion. She didn't even let out a little cry. "I couldn't face my own guilt or mistakes, so I left all of you. I left all of you because I didn't want to bring anyone down with me. I already sank low enough that you seemed completely out of my reach, so I didn't even bother making any interaction for fear you might sink with me. But," she continued, "I still think I made the right decision."

I looked up to see her getting up on her feet. She walked over and dropped the picture of my family into my lap. "Ivy?" I asked in a barely audible whisper as more tears were forming in my eyes. She avoided my eye contact and walked right past me, as if I wasn't even there. I choked on my sobs as she opened the door, not even caring that I was on the floor crying my eyes out.

But there was someone already at the door.

Fox stood at the entrance with his arms crossed, looking menacingly at his former partner. His hood was up so you could barely see his face, but you could still feel the hatred radiating off of him. Ivy looked back and made no expression of surprise or anger. She just stood there, like she expected this to happen.

"I need to talk to you," he growled, "In private."

Ivy nodded silently and closed the door to the room I was still in, most likely following him into another room. She didn't even bother to ask if I was leaving or not, she just left me in the empty room like I was her pet. She didn't even bother to hold open the door for me.

She didn't even bother with anything at all.

I hugged myself tighter and cried and cried until my eyes were straining and my throat was closing. I leaned forward to try and be as small as possible while still on my knees, which just ended with me being in a position that made me look like I was going to puke. But it really felt like I should. I did want to throw up because at least it would relieve some of the pain I felt inside. My hand clutched onto the picture for dear life while my other hand squeezed my opposite arm for comfort. It wasn't until someone came into the room that I realized what had actually happened. Everything that had just happened suddenly hit me into reality like a brick to the side of the head.

The sister I loved is gone.

"Dove?" the person asked at the door. I recognized that voice immediately as Tiger's. He closed the door behind him quickly when he realized I was crying to give me some privacy. He then went up to me and hugged my torso from behind, bringing me on his lap. I was still crying all the tears I still had in my body while he squeezed me from behind.

"Dove," Tiger whispered softly in my ear, "Hunny, tell me what's wrong."

I tried to make a distinguishable response, but couldn't. My body wouldn't let me make a clear answer as I still continued to cry. I've been crying for so long my limbs began to shake uncontrollably. I just couldn't take it anymore. I've waited over 15 years to see my sister again, and this is what has happened. I've dreamed and fantasized about this moment for years and years. About how we would run up and hug each other like one of those cheesy romantic comedies. But surprise surprise, this isn't like the movies.

But I wished it was.

I was only left with the hard reality along with disappointment and sorrow. I finally got to meet Ivy again and was only left with a sharp pain of disappointment in my lungs. I wished over and over again in my head that this wasn't real. That this was just some horrible dream and I'd wake up at home with Tiger beside me, but it never came.

I'll never be able to wake up from this terrible nightmare.

"Baby," Tiger cooed in my ear as he tried to control my shaking. He started to move our bodies back and forth in a constant rhythm to calm me down. "It's okay, it's okay. I'm right here, don't worry."

But everything wasn't okay. Everything just wasn't. All of us are in danger from this psycho killer and their band of murderers, we all barely managed to escape and are now trapped in this bunker, we're outnumbered by a lot even though we have all of the warriors already here, and everything seems to be falling apart. And I mean everything. But most of all, even if people will say this isn't a big deal, I found out my sister has changed for the worst. She seems so far away from me, so far away from anyone for that matter. She's long gone, I realized to myself.

I officially lost her. I lost Ivy and I don't think the old her is going to come back anytime soon.

Dew' POV

"Ouch," I groaned as I woke up with a jolt.

I blinked several time to adjust to the light of the new place. I tilted my head to the side as I tried to sit up, but felt my arms give out instantly. My bones felt like jello and my head felt like it was split in half. My vision wasn't doing me any favors either. Everything looked like a blurry blob and every noise felt like I was far away. Finally, a blob approached me, calling my name over and over again.

"Dew," they called, "Are you alright?"

I blinked a few more times and made an attempt to sit up again, but my limbs failed me like before. The blob started to come into focus, but I could only make out a few features from the person. They had big blazing green eyes with jet black hair that was held back in a ponytail minus a few strands that escaped. They had sharp cheek bones, but had a wide face and a soft jawline with a natural blush across their cheeks. Finally after trying to figure out their voice and those features, I figured out who it was.

"Holly?" I asked the blob that was going in and out of focus.

"Yeah it's me," she responded in a slightly annoyed tone, "But that doesn't matter. Are you alright? You took quite a blow to the head."

I groaned a second time and reached for the left side of my head where I was hit to find bandages. "My head hurts," I complained, "And my legs and arms feel numb. What happened?"

Holly sighed and leaned against the little table I was lying on. "We were escaping to the bunker when a guy hit you in the side of the head. But the good news is that the doctors said you only suffered a concussion and nothing else." She snorted and gave a smirk. "Your lucky you didn't get anything more serious, that's for sure."

My head throbbed, but I nodded slowly along with her. "Yeah, I guess," I chuckled lightly, feeling a little bit better than before, "Still doesn't dismiss the fact that this is a pain in the ass to deal with. If I got anything worst than this, I might've died."

Holly laughed along with me, her eyes squinting as she smiled. I smiled and felt my muscles relax in relief. Maybe this wasn't so bad. I looked around and found out I was in the medical station along with one other unconscious person. I guess we were also lucky that more people didn't get hurt. "Where's everyone else?" I asked Holly, cutting off our bonding laugh.

She pointed over her shoulder to the closed door. "They're in the main area. At least that's where I saw everyone last."

I nodded again slowly, making sure I didn't cause any more pain so that I wouldn't be dying and a complaining mess. But I did want to see my family again. They were probably worried sick after all. But I didn't know if I was well enough to get up and see them, which saddened me a little bit. It wasn't until I spotted a friendly face that I felt hope resurface in me. "Hey Fidget," I called to my friend, raising my arm up to get his attention. He turned around when he heard my voice. "Is it okay if I head out of here?"

Fidget hesitated and scrunched up his face, thinking. "I'm not sure Dew," he broke to me, "You need to rest as much as possible before the eventual fight that might come in the near future." I frowned at his reason because he did have a valid point. There may be a fight in the near future, and we need everyone we can get. He must've seen the disappointment in my face because he quickly eyed Alder, who was sitting next to me on a wooden stool. "I suppose if you're careful enough and make sure to take it easy on yourself, you should be fine."

Alder seemed to get what Fidget was trying to signal to him because he got up from the stool. "I'll supervise him, don't worry," he told my friend with the blanket still wrapped around his broad shoulders, "I just need a shirt. My other one was used to cover up Fern's wound earlier."

Fidget nodded. "Right, I'll be right back."

He ran off while Alder took off the blanket and placed it on the stool neatly. Now that he wasn't covered up, I could see that he had an absolutely ripped body. He honestly looked like a male model you would find on the cover of a fitness magazine, especially with his chestnut skin color. He had well defined abs and back muscles with very toned pecks. His biceps were large, but not so big that they looked synthetic. He had the same formula with his shoulders. To be honest with you, if I liked men, I'd probably have a massive crush on him no doubt.

I looked over at Holly, who seemed to be unaffected with this man's stature. "How?" I asked, a bit dumbfounded.

She raised an eyebrow at me. "What?" she asked back.

"How are you not staring or gawking at this man?"

Alder snickered while Holly's face shifted to one of discomfort. "You serious?" she questioned. I nodded, genuinely curious. "I've known him all my life. I've seen him shirtless many times because like Skyclan, we have a swimming pool as well. Plus, I'm related to him. He's my dad's cousin, so that'll be concerning if I did like him that way. And even if I wasn't related to him, he's still not my type." She turned towards Alder really quickly. "No offense."

He shrugged and pushed away her comment. "None taken."

I looked at Holly again and tilted my head. "So what is your type?"

Holly's face scrunched up in disgust from my question. She crossed her arms and glared at me before turning away momentarily. "I don't know," she responded, "But it's not whatever type you are."

I snickered, finding amusement to her harsh comment. "Come on?" I asked her cheesily, "What's not to love about me?"

By this point, Fidget got back with a long sleeve sweater and gave it to the muscular doctor. Alder quickly put it on and lead the way out of the medical station. My legs were still feeling like jello, so I had to lean on Holly for some support, which helped a lot. "You weigh a ton," she managed to get out as she was crushed by my weight.

I laughed at her reaction. "What can I say," I commented and quickly flexed my bicep, "I just have too much muscle, you know?"

Holly rolled her eyes and trekked on to the main room. "More like flab," she mumbled under her breath. I snickered at her little retort, which only made her face scrunch up even more. We made it to the main room, where several people were gathered around the luxurious couches and chairs.

Immediately, my family saw me and ran over with their arms out wide. My mother, Plum, was the first to hug me. Since she was a small woman, she could really only hug my torso as she wasn't tall enough to reach anything else. But my dad, Sandy, was tall like me, so he was able to hug me properly. My sister, Reed, and brother, Fin, stood to the side, either wanting to wait or were afraid they might hurt me more if they joined in on the group hug. Holly let go of me and stood to the side with Alder as they watched my parents hug me like there's no tomorrow.

"Thank god you're okay," My mother sighed in relief.

"Yeah," I agreed while struggling to breathe, "But you're squeezing me a little too hard there Mom."

They let go at my comment and was able to breathe once again. Fin and Reed took this opportunity to hug me and ask if I was okay. I told them I was fine, just a little bit dizzy from the headache I was experiencing. When they made sure I was okay, they went their separate ways as something very important was happening. Once they were gone, I went over to Holly and shaky feet and collapsed on her again. She groaned in irritation. "Are you kidding?" she asked as she was being smushed by my weight once again, "Why me? Can't you go over to Alder or someone else?"

I snorted and lifted myself off of her. "Fine," I agreed, trying to sound as hurt as possible, "Be like that." Then I sagged right over to Alder, smiling from the expression Holly must've had on her face as I chuckled to myself again. But as I stumbled over to Alder, I noticed he was concentrating on someone else. I followed his gaze to see that he was looking at that Needle woman, the one who fought off all those guys off quite impressively from earlier. She was talking to a few other people, having her bow slung across her shoulder.

"Hey man," I interrupted Alder, making him jump, "You alright?"

"Huh?" he questioned defensively, thinking over what I said just a moment ago, "Oh yeah. I'm fine."

I raised an eyebrow. He wasn't sounding sure or convincing of himself. Something's up, I knew that very well. I looked back at Needle, then at Alder again. That's when it hit me. Oh, I think I see what going on. "Ohh I see. Look man," I advised as I leaned on his shoulder like an old friend, "You're having some girl troubles. I get it. I had a few girlfriends back in the day. So talk to me, what's up?"

Alder looked at me, confused but surprised at my observations. "What? No no, you misunderstand. She's not my girlfriend. She's only a friend."

"But then what's up exactly?" I repeated myself, "Clearly something is going on between you two. I see it in your expression. You seem troubled my guy." I wrapped an arm around his large shoulders. "So, what's been going on? You can tell me. I'm not the type to judge others anyway, so you're safe."

Alder looked to the side, clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation. But I could tell he knew I was right. He quickly glanced at Needle before turning back to me. "It's just that," he stumbled for the words on his tongue, "I've known her ever since we were four, and nothing has happened between us until she arrived here after her first mission. I'm not sure if this is just me, but everything seems so awkward between us now. She sometimes tries to hide from me or makes up excuses to leave, and I've also noticed she also has been stuttering lately every time I talk to her. And she acts either very defenseless, like when she told me about what happened on her mission, or she acts very defensive towards me, like when we escaped here." He sighed. "I don't know, it's just so complicated sometimes."

I looked over at Needle again to see her quickly turn her head from our direction as soon as I looked towards her. That's when I noticed the back of her neck has turned a light shade of pink as she tried to move her blonde hair in front of her face. She put her hands in her pockets as she reentered the conversation she was having with the people around her.

Oh, I know what's going on now.

I let out a sly smirk and nudged Alder in the shoulder. "Count yourself lucky my guy," I complimented, "She's in love with you."

Alder suddenly perked up in his position, almost sending me backwards on the floor. He looked at me with large brown eyes and with slightly glowing cheeks. "What?" he whispered so that no one would hear us, "Are you serious? How do you know?"

I put my hand on my hip while giving a wide grin. "It's pretty obvious by the signs you've talked about. The stuttering, the excuses, the defensive aspects, those are some of the things girls will do when they're around a guy they like. And because she was looking at you while you were talking." I pointed at her to prove my point. Alder gulped and looked to where Needle was, his body clearly hot. "And plus," I bragged jokingly, "I don't mean to toot my own horn or anything, but I know a lot about women."

Holly snorted and then laughed at my comment. She was near us this whole time, listening into our conversation. She was laughing so hard she could hardly breath. "I'm sorry to burst your bubble," she managed to get out between laughs, "But I'm pretty sure you don't." She shook her head and laughed some more. I was about to retort, but was interrupted when the crowd of people around us became quiet.

Holly and I looked at each other, confused. We made our way over to the semicircle that was slowly forming around two people, making sure we got in front so we could see what was going on clearly. Alder was behind us, but didn't go to the front of the crowd. He was still flustered by what I said as it clearly showed it in the way he was standing. When we made it to the front of the crowd, a man and a woman was getting everyone's attention.

"That's Bramble and Squirrel," Holly informed me as I was just about to ask who they were, "They are the head of the school and the second in command."

I nodded, understanding now who those people were. The man, who I assumed was Bramble, raised his hand for silence. In his other hand was a ripped up book of some sort. I couldn't tell because my eyesight still wasn't the best, but at least I got a good idea of what it was. Everyone around us became quiet as he began to talk.

"You must have a lot of questions," he announced at the now hushed crowd, "I understand. We're up against a formidable enemy who has the power and capability to cause destructive events. Now, I didn't know why he wanted to kill us, more specifically me." He looked at the woman beside him briefly. She gave a soft nod for him to continue as Bramble looked back at all of us, now getting the confidence to tell us everything. "But now I know why, and I wanted to share my findings with all of you. So please, listen up, because this story needs a lot of explaining." He opened the worn down journal and turned to a bookmarked page, quickly scanning it to make sure he's got all the facts right. The room was as quiet as a mouse. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. But can you blame anyone? We wanted to know why this person was doing these horrendous things to us, and we are about to find out why. We were on the edge of our seats, waiting to hear the answer we've needed all along.

Bramble cleared his throat before starting the story. "It all started back in 1999, when I was assigned a mission in Gdynia, Poland."