1 week Later

Half Moon's POV

"Why did you bring him here?" Fox demanded at Ivy.

Ivy rolled her eyes, clearly not having it with him. "He helped us before, he can sure as hell help us again. Besides, Leaf said we need all the people we can get, and he's one of the only people I know that actually knew who we were."

"Yeah, and his memories got erased because he knew who we were, smart ass."

They bickered back and forth as the rest of my friends gathered around the person they were arguing about. Dove, Tiger, and I were just plain confused on who this guy was, but Cinder and Lion seemed to know him. Cinder crossed her arms and snorted at the man, who was relaxing on one of the plush chairs smoking a lit cigarette.

"He's gotten fat," she muttered to everyone.

It was true, the man was overweight. Not only that, but he looked very dirty, as if he was thrown away in a nearby dumpster. Like he hasn't bathed in months. His hair was absolutely filthy and his clothed were trashed, having stain marks in every place imaginable. Most of all, his eyes looked soulless, as if the life in them was sucked out by a vacuum. But despite looking like a shady drug dealer, Ivy has said he's helped them in the past. More specifically he's helped them with the Las Vegas mission and ended up saving their asses later on. He was informed on everything later on by I think Jake and I guess decided to come here for whatever reason. But I was also told one more thing about him.

I learned that his name was Xavier.

"You know I can hear you, right?" he asked as he took in another puff of smoke, "You shouldn't disrespect me like that. I volunteered to come here and I deserved to be praised and admired for my unholy sacrifice."

Lion rolled his eyes, stroking his beard. "And you shouldn't act like you're the only one who's doing this. Don't act so high and mighty just because you decided to show up."

"Hey," Xavier pointed at him, "The last time I saw you, you were hanging from a helicopter by only a rope. I saved your ass when that fuck boy Toby was trying to kill you. When you were struggling on that rope, I shot him right in the foot. So yeah, you should treat me like your savior, because that's what I am."

I put a hand on my opposite elbow, feeling awkward about this conversation while Lion rolled his eyes again. "To us it's not a big deal, and it shouldn't be for you either. Besides, we shouldn't be focusing on what happened in Vegas, we should be focusing on the problem we're having right here."

"What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas," Cinder reworded.

Tiger and Dove looked at me for an explanation, but I shrugged my shoulders, showing them I didn't know the specific details they were talking about. But apparently, something happened in Vegas.

"I wouldn't worry so much about this new nutjob," Xavier replied in a very calm voice, "He's just another Toby and nothing else. It's nothing I can't handle."

Everyone remained quiet for a little while. Too quiet. Even Ivy and Fox stopped arguing to look at him. "Are you serious?" Ivy demanded as she shoved his head to the side, "This guy has an army bigger than all of us combined, he has weapons capable of doing severe damage, and not only that, but he took hold of the entire school and have sent out search teams to hunt us down. Toby didn't have any of that, and he almost killed us even without all those things. Why do you think we need all of these new recruits in the first place?"

Xavier smirked at her while taking another puff of smoke. "And I see you haven't changed one bit. Sure, you hair is gone now, but you still have that bomb body and attitude."

I felt myself cringed inside from that statement, even though I wasn't the one being told that disgusting statement. Ivy was still wearing those baggy camo pants, but she was also wearing a white tank top that accented her curves. If I was in Ivy's place, I would probably be disgusted, but she took it one step further and slapped him across the face.

"Gros-," Dove commented at Xavier's observation, but was cut off when the slap echoed throughout the room. It was so loud and powerful I thought someone from one of the upper levels could hear it.

"Ouch," Xavier complained as he held onto his cheek.

"And unfortunately, you haven't changed either." With that final combat, Ivy walked away to the back room. There she has spent most of her time, away from everyone. I'm not necessarily sure what she does in there, but it seems time consuming enough to spend day and night constantly in that room with few breaks in between.

Xavier snickered as he threw his used cigarette on the floor like he owned the place. "Still as feisty as ever."

Fox frowned at that comment and walked towards the staircase, probably to go up to his room. From the way he talked and looked at Xavier, I could tell he didn't like him very much, which may be a problem later on because we're supposed to be a team. And we certainly can't have a team if to valuable key players hate each other.

I let out an internal sigh, thinking to myself that this was going to be tougher than I thought. But I shouldn't hold myself to a higher expectation, especially with Xavier. He did help out my friends once before, he can do it again. Well, maybe. But it might be a little more difficult as he is a little overweight. Plus we still don't have everyone we called here to help us, including the person I asked to volunteer.

But as if on cue, a distant scream became louder and louder as movement from above could be heard.

Since we can't use the transport to the other school, Leaf opened up a very secretive entrance for the first time ever. It was specifically made if something like this were to happen. If there were still warriors or students in the outside world, they could use the secretive transport to get to the bunker safely. But like the other transport to the school, it's not the smoothest of rides. So whoever is in the so called slide was probably having a panic attack at that moment. Their screams became louder and louder until a hatch in the wall opened automatically, letting them fall out of the narrow tube and stumble into the bunker. They groaned on the floor while looking around the new room, confused. I felt myself burst with joy as my eyes lit up when I recognized who it was.

"Oscar!"

I ran up and knelt down beside my cousin, giving him a massive hug. He seemed to still be shaken up from the slide because he jumped when I addressed him and was a little taken aback when I went to hug him.

"Wait wait," he stuttered to say as he broke the hug to look at me face to face, "Hallie Marie, is that you?"

I smiled widely at him, squinting my eyes from how hard I was smiling. "Yeah, it's me."

Oscar looked at me with a wild expression before bringing me back into a hug. He's changed a lot since I last saw him. His light blonde hair has gone gray and noticeable wrinkles were now on his face. But he still sounded the exact same and had the same thick French accent. "Holy shit," he cursed in French, "It's really you. I can't believe it. Holy shit. I haven't seen you in what, eighteen years? Jesus Christ I've aged."

I laughed at his comment and pulled away, looking at him while still kneeling on the floor. "You haven't aged that much," I tried to comfort him, "You look the exact same."

Oscar shook his head. "I really don't, but I appreciate your sympathy." But his smile turned into a frown when I saw everything sink into him at once. He began to frantically look around the bunker, clearly not processing where he was as of now. "Nevermind any of that. Nevermind mind me. Where the fuck are we?" He looked at me with wide eyes. "Are we really in this bunker? Is there really a secret school?" His chest heaved up and down while finally putting all the pieces together. "Everything that you told me a week ago, is actually real? You're really a trained assassin? And so is Noelle?"

I gulped as we both stumbled to our feet. Oscar was still very shaky as he looked around the place, confused as hell and scared of every little thing. Exactly a week ago I contacted him for one him to volunteer as one of our backups. It was because he was really the only person from the outside I could trust with this massive secret. Believe me, I love my other family members, but I don't have the same connection with any of them as I do with Oscar. And I know Leaf wanted as many recruits as possible, but I really only had the courage to contact him and only him. But unlike a lot of others who just told them to come here without giving an explanation, I told Oscar everything.

I told him about Warrior High, the school I was transferred to when I was 17 and every little component in it. I told him about what it was made to be, to train assassins called Warriors to fight dangerous threats all over the world. I told him about the battle 22-23 years ago where I and so many other people almost died in, and a lot others that actually lost their lives, and I told him this so he would know what the threat was about. I told him about becoming a teacher right before I saw him in France again. I told him how Noelle has grown up to become a warrior to defend those in danger. I guess I felt like I had to tell him everything to show that we really did need him, even if he was just one person.

"Yes," I finally told him while putting my hands out for him, "It's all true. Everything is. Now please calm down or you're going to pass out."

Oscar was hyperventilating as his eyes darted around the room at random, finally letting the feeling sink in. He ran his hands through his hair as he looked at my friends behind me. "Alright alright, sit down. You're as pale as a ghost," I commented as I grabbed his arm and sat him on a nearby plush chair. He looked up at me with paranoid eyes.

"Sorry sorry," Oscar gasped as he lied down stiff in the chair, "I just- I can't seem to process any of this. Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. And everything with this Jacques guy, that's real as well? And he's trying to kill you and Noelle and everyone else?"

I took a second breath before nodding my head slowly.

I saw Oscar let out a shaky breath before slouching lower and lower into the chair. "Holy shit, oh fuck. Oh fuck I'm going to die aren't I? Oh fuck."

"No no," I tried to convince him, "We're going to make it, we just need your help and others as well. And after this is all over, you can go back to Europe like nothing has ever happened."

Oscar stayed quiet as his eyes remained wide. He didn't seem convinced, and honestly, I don't blame him. It's a scary time, and I've been doing this for over half my lifetime. I can never imagine what Oscar's thinking about this whole ordeal right now.

I didn't know what to say until out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone walk into the room. When I turned around, I noticed that it was Needle as she froze in place at who just arrived.

"Oscar?" she asked, "Is that you?"

He turned his pale face up to the voice as he became stiffer than before. He immediately got to his feet as he looked at his cousin. "Noelle?"

The two looked at each other for very long time as everyone in the middle looked on in confusion. Everyone was now standing up to witness the meet except Xavier, who was still relaxing on the couch smoking a new cigarette that was already almost burned out. It was complete silence. Complete and udder silence.

Then all of a sudden both of them ran to each other. They had their arms out in praise as they held onto each other in a tight hug. It was the first time in over 18 years that they've seen each other last, when Needle was only 4 going into five and Oscar was 24. And if you couldn't tell already, a lot has changed since then.

I looked on as my two family members reunited for the first time in so long. They cried in each other's arms while I leaned against the chair Oscar was sitting on earlier. My friends also looked on as I saw most of them smile from the heartfelt scene. They watched Needle grow up with no related family members other than me and because of it she's always been independent and at some times isolated. Now that she's finally met another family member and cry in joy from the reunion, I found a new sense of hope fill up in my chest.

I'm not sure if my mind was playing tricks on me or not, but I sincerely hope that it wasn't. I despise myself when my mind gives me false hope for the future. It only lowers me down more and more into what seemed to be an infinite abyss. I've been through a lot of lows in my life, but I've also had a lot of highs as well. But despite all those highs, I can never truly escape the sadness I felt deep down. And that's sort of why I became so dependent on Jay, because he magically made all of the bad stuff in my life disappear. And I think I did the same thing for him as well.

But I do hope we both survive this, along with everyone else of course, but something deep down inside me knew that won't be the case.

And this time I knew for sure my mind wasn't playing tricks on me.

Violet's POV

"There's no way this is the guy," I argued with Cinder while my arms were crossed, "The Xavier I knew was a fucking badass that blew up our house while walking away unscaved with that stupid flashdrive. Where did the fit and spirit in him go?"

"Maybe he ate it," Dew joked from a little ways away. His snicker along with Twig's and Fin's made me almost laugh out loud like a donkey, but I kept my cool. The only person that wasn't laughing was Holly, who was beside Dew rolling her eyes while he leaned on her shoulder like they were old friends. I felt a stab of jealousy in my chest, but I shook it away and looked back at Cinder. I may really like Dew, but I wasn't going to let myself antagonize one of my friends. I don't like him that much after all.

Cinder chuckled at the joke but shook her head. "No no, he didn't eat it. It's just been a long time."

"And a lot of pounds later apparently," Dew snickered again, looking somehow more handsome than before.

Xavier looked over at us from his chair, with a lit cigarette in his mouth. He took it out and pointed a chubby finger towards Dew. "Haha, funny funny, who are you trying to be, Jeff Goldblum?" he asked as a puff of smoke left his mouth, "You shouldn't be smart with me kid. I could kick your Zac Efron looking ass if I wanted to."

I could see that Dew was going to make another childish joke about his weight, but a look from his father Sandy told him otherwise. Sandy was watching over the whole conversation with flare in his eyes. It looked like smoke was going to come out of his ears at any moment now. Finally, after a long sigh, he looked over at Xavier. "I apologize for my son's insensitivity. He was raised to be better than this."

Xavier tilted his head in his direction. "Thank you!" he said obnoxiously while looking our way, "At least someone acknowledges my personal feelings."

We all fell silent, not wanting Sandy to get mad at us again. But instead, he only seemed to get more annoyed. I didn't know why until he approached Xavier, looking like he was about to murder something. "Why did you bother to save them?" he asked as Sandy got right up to his face, "You know who they were and who their brother was, so why did you help them?"

At first, Xavier was confused like the rest of us, but then looked over at my sister and I, finally getting it. "You mean Tia and Violet?" he asked, "What do you mean by that? They were only children. Of course I had to help them, they didn't know how to save themselves at the time. Why should I leave two little girls on their own when they were clearly in danger."

"But you knew who their brother was," Sandy growled, "He killed your brother, didn't he? Therefore you should feel infuriated by them. Therefore you shouldn't trust or befriend them. He was a monster, and they most likely are as well."

"We aren't like our brother," Twig interrupted in a timid voice. She somewhat sounded confident in what she was saying, but her body was fidgeting like the temperature has gone down 20 degrees. "And we never will be. We've sworn on our life to never have the same fate he came across."

"No matter how many times you say that," Sandy growled as he pointed right at my sister or I, "It doesn't change the fact that your own brother was one of the most dangerous serial killers ever. And because of that, why should we trust in what you do or have to say."

I felt shock enter my pores as I looked on at the warrior. Why is this full grown man looking down on my sister and I? Doesn't he know what we went through to get to where we are today? The journey we had to take to find the school? The shock left in an instant as my breath was filled with nothing but anger. Why can't this man see from my side for one god damn minute?! Before anyone could react or do anything, I marched right up to Sandy and slapped him hard across the face.

The slap echoed throughout the room as he stumbled back from the impact and shock. I was about to give him another, but Cinder and Needle stepped forward to hold me back. There arms locked around my elbows as I tried my best to get to him. Lion went up to check if Sandy was okay, but he was shooed away immediately. Meanwhile, Xavier was left in the middle, still processing what just happened.

"You fucking fuck!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, making everyone jumped around me, "How can you be so blind sighted?! How dare you call us murderers! How dare you compare us to our brother! How dare you even talk down to us when we're risking our lives so that you can live another day! You don't know what we've been through, the struggles we had to face when we were only children! You are a fucking prick to only see what our brother has done! We're separate people from him, don't you see?!"

My breath became ragged as my lungs screamed for at least one good breath of air. I stopped trying to escape and yanked my hands out of Cinder's and Needle's grasps in anger. How could he say such things to students, nevertheless students who've worked hard all throughout their training? How could he push himself to do something like that to people half his age?

Sandy turned his head towards us, glaring. On his cheek was a bright red handprint where I slapped him. He somehow got angrier as he stood menacingly in front of me. He clenched his fists for a moment before releasing them just as quickly. "You're just like Toby," he responded in a bass boosted voice, "Whether you think so or not, you are just like him. And you are too." He raised his hand and pointed right at Twig. "Come on boys."

At first, Dew was a bit hesitant to follow his father, but decided not to argue and separated from Holly. Fin however didn't budge one bit, and even scooted next to Twig so that their sides were pressed up against each other. There was both bravery and fear in his eyes as he looked on at Sandy. His father turned around when he realized Fin wasn't behind him. "Fin, don't make this difficult," he warned.

Fin looked to Twig once more before reluctantly pulling away from her. He walked towards Sandy, taking several glances back towards my sister while doing so. The three of them walked around the corner and out of sight.

I was still physically shaking from what Sandy said, but took several deep breaths to calm my nerves. Once I knew I was calm enough, I looked back at my sister to see unshed tears in her eyes. They weren't very visible, but I knew her well enough to know that she was distraught by what happened. Twig was always sort of a crybaby, but she would always cry at things that would make sense, like when her feeling were hurt in some way. And at a time like this, I knew exactly what she was crying about.

I walked up and held her close so that I could comfort her easily. She put her face into my shoulder to hide her tears. Everyone around us stood still, not knowing what to do. That was until footsteps from around the other corner grew louder and louder. I raised my gaze to see Leaf walking toward us, but stop at what she was witnessing.

"What happened?" she asked, "I heard screaming. Is everything okay?"

We stayed silent until Lion spoke up, probably not caring that he was being a snitch. "It's Sandy," he explained briefly, "He was talking down to Violet and Twig, so Violet slapped him in the face, rightfully might I add. He then walked off with Dew and Fin over that way." Lion pointed over his shoulder to the opposite corridor.

Leaf nodded slowly. "I see," she sighed as she turned to Twig and I, "I'll go talk to him. I sincerely apologize on his behalf. This isn't what our warriors were trained to do after all. Again, I'm very much sorry for what he's said."

At that, she gave one final nod and was about to retreat into the hallway until something stopped her. "I almost forgot," she remembered as she turned around, "We're going to go over the final plans in about an hour in this room. We're also going to discuss who's doing what and how we might be able to stop JZ. I hope to see you there." Then finally, she disappeared out of our sight.

I let go of my sister, telling her to go up to her room and just relax for the rest of the day. I know her better than anyone, and I know if she's too stressed about things, it can effect her sleep as well as her overall mental health. So I know what she needs at this exact moment is just a good rest in. I also promised to tell her about the plan so she doesn't need to worry about it. After a while of trying to be convincing, Twig finally gave in and walked up the nearby stairs.

I monitored her movements intently like a parent watching their kid walk to the school bus. It wasn't until I confirmed she was in her room that I turned my attention back to the group. They all seemed to go their separate ways in about a few minutes time, leaving only me left in the lounge area. I was tempted to go up to my own room, but thought it was for the best that I didn't and chose a seat to relax in. I didn't expect anyone to really talk or bother me, especially after that Sandy fiasco, but low and behold, someone came up and sat down next to me.

"Sup," they greeted me in a drowsy voice.

I turned my head around to see a guy a few years older than me, dressed in what appeared to be something a drug dealer would wear. "Hey," I replied back, a bit cautious with my word choices. He was different from a lot of the other warriors at Skyclan. He was in fact so much more different that I thought he was some sort of imposter.

"You were the chick who slapped Sandy, weren't you?" he asked as he leaned on the chairs armrest.

I was a bit taken aback by being called a chick, but I still answered his question by nodding silently, still feeling terrible for my poor sister, Twig.

"He sort of deserved that slap if I'm being honest," the man explained, "Believe me, Sandy is a nice guy at heart, but he's also very closed minded. You shouldn't take what he says too literally, because most of the time he is uneducated on the topic and only argues by his beliefs rather than proven facts. So yeah, I like him, but sometimes he can be a bit of a dick."

I was surprised with this guy's way of speaking. It's almost like he was narrating a dream I was having with his drugged yet smooth way of talking. "What's your name?" I asked him, "I don't think I've seen you here before."

The man gave a relaxed smile. "I'm Tree," he chuckled, "And before you say anything, that's my real legitimate birth name. I don't technically have a warrior name because I'm only the school's mediator and not an actual warrior."

"Hmm," I nodded, curling my lips before introducing myself, "Violet. And yes, that's both my real name and warrior name."

Tree smiled and laugh at the irony. His sense of joy caused me to smile unconsciously. It was the first time ever since I got to the school that I felt content and happy. I felt at peace to a certain extent. "You seem pretty cool Violet," Tree commented, "Like the flower, you know? Violets in literature tend to represent modesty and humility. You seem like that kind of person. You are to me at least from the vibe you give off."

"Uh, thanks," I hesitated, still a bit weirded out by this Tree guy, "You like literature, don't you?"

"I love it," Tree sighed while his eyes drifted off into space, "It's as if you're transported to a world with no problems and no conflict. It's an escape from everything bad in the world. Plus," he grinned while looking at me, "It gives me an excuse to smoke some weed."

I unintentionally laughed from the joke coming out of nowhere. I let myself be heard loud and clear, already feeling better than before.

Fern's POV

"Ouch," I groaned.

"Sorry," Jay sighed while slouching forward, "This is going to hurt for a little while. But at least we know your nerve cells aren't dead quite yet."

I nodded at my uncle's understanding, looking up at the dark ceiling ahead of me.

Currently, I was still lying on the examination table while jay was putting stitches into my leg. Or well, what's left of my leg at least. It's been a week since I lost it, and to be honest I didn't know how lucky I was to have it until it was gone. I can't walk, let alone move much at all because my balance is all off. So all I've been doing is lie on my back and occasionally be lifted to eat or drink before I have to lie back down. It sucks and I hate it with every cell left in my body. I've been treated like a newborn baby, and even though I see why, I just want the freedom to be my own person again. I can't even change clothes by myself anymore, or use the restroom. One of my parents has to help me and it's absolutely embarrassing. I know all of the people here know my situation and understand this is what has to happen, but it still doesn't dismiss the fact that I've been embarrassed out of my mind for the past week.

Jay was stitching up my thigh with careful movements. Since we're running out of materials very quickly, we don't have any more painkillers I can take, so I've been left with lots of pain and no way to get rid of it. Flame and Willow were the only other doctors in the room, but they were too busy working on my new robotic leg to focus on me, which was honestly totally fine. I was only wearing an oversized tank top and blue boxers, I don't need any more attention, especially with the clothes I was currently wearing.

I felt the thread go right through my skin as I clenched onto the sides of the examination table. Sweat was now beading from my forehead as my back started to get sticky from it as well. My muscles flexed like I was going into fight or flight mode and my eyes squeezed shut while the threading through my skin came to an end.

"You need to relax," Jay advised, "Don't flex. If you do it'll only be more painful. You need to become a noodle with your limbs."

I took a few deep breaths, following his advice and letting gravity fall me onto the table. I closed my eyes, trying to dismiss the familiar sensation of thread being wedged into my skin. I let myself go to a happy place. Where I was back at the school with my sister and we were at the pool with our friends. Watching over us was Half Moon and Berry with smiles plastered onto their faces. I felt my heart relax and my lungs release. My shoulders stopped tensing and my head fell to the side. The place I imagined I was at was nice. It was amazing. It was bliss.

But my eyes shot awake when I heard the door to the medical station open.

All at once I felt both surprise and panic go straight to my muscles, that flexed and caused the needle to hurt more than before. I groaned and tried to relax again, but found I couldn't. I opened my eyes to look at who interrupted my nice daydreaming session.

One of the people I did recognize. A small long torsoed woman with long white curly hair hanging down all the way to her stomach. Her emerald green eyes almost glowed in the dimly lit room, making her easily recognizable as my aunt Half Moon. But the person next to her I didn't know. He must be one of the new recruits that came to help us. He was a graying man who wore a button down shirt like he was going into an important interview. But when he looked at me and the situation I was in, he gasped and stood back, looking at my leg.

"Merde," he gasped, "Merde, oh non ce qui s'est passé?"

I had no idea what this man was saying. All I knew was that I was in my underwear while my aunt and a random guy walked in on me getting stitched up for my leg that isn't even there. I felt myself flush in embarrassment. I crossed my arms as I felt my face heat up and my cheeks turn red.

Half Moon said something back to the man before turning to Jay, who was still busy stitching up my leg. "Jay," she smiled sweetly, "This is my cousin Oscar."

Jay tied up the last of my stitches and cut off the string before turning to the two people. The Oscar guy seemed to be intimidated by my uncle because he was wearing his glowing blue glasses. The glasses that actually help him see. Half Moon turned back to Oscar and said something in a different language, most likely introducing himself to her husband.

Jay took a moment longer before holding out his hand for a handshake. Oscar's lips curled before taking his hand and shaking on it. Jay nodded, smiling a little bit. "Nice to meet you," he introduced.

"Nice to meet you too," Oscar replied in a very thick French accent. He must know some English as his pronunciation wasn't completely off.

I sat up on my elbows to see the scene a bit more. Jay reached up and turned off his glasses, causing the bright blue light to disappear. He reached up and took off his glasses, revealing his blind blue eyes as he pushed pieces of hair from the front of his face.

"He's blind," Half Moon explained.

Oscar looked at her, probably confused on what that meant. "Blind?" he asked in English.

Half Moon took a moment to gulp. "Aveugle," she finally corrected.

Oscar was both confused and surprised. He whispered something to his cousin in French, but Half Moon cut him off and said something back. I raised my eyebrow and glanced at Jay, who was gazing in their direction even though he couldn't see them anymore. He seemed to be unaffected by their interaction of him being blind. Probably because this has happened to him for a long time now.

"Uncle Jay," I hesitantly spoke up, "Am I done? With the stitches and everything?"

He looked my way but not directly at me. Slowly but surely, he nodded his head. "Yes. You're good to go, Fern."

I thanked him silently. I took a moment to take a nice deep breath before leaning forward a bit more so I didn't feel so exposed with wearing such little clothing. I glanced to my left to see Flame and Willow still hard at work making my new leg. Willow was wearing a metal face cover as she was drawing quick sparks in certain places while holding a small blowtorch in one hand and tongs in another. Meanwhile, Flame was typing vigorously on a computer, the screen reflecting off his round glasses.

"Don't worry, Fern," Willow said while quickly lifting her face cover and stopping the sparks, "Your leg is almost done. It should be completed by the time we go into the fight."

I curled my lips, not giving a verbal answer. I didn't even nod or shake my head, because I didn't even know how to respond. I was thankful to have a new leg in such a short amount of time, but I also wanted my old leg back. It was a mixed feeling. But I knew deep down that I just wished my real leg was still attached to me.

I've been told because of my amputation, my lifespan would be cut off by a lot. I've also been told it's unlikely that'll make it to thirty, and even more unlikely if I make it past that. When I was told that by my doctors, I felt my heart shatter. I was only 16, and I was being told I'll die early from my accident. I cried for a long time after that and told everyone to leave me alone. It was upsetting because I still wanted to do so many things. I wanted to grow up beside my sister, I wanted to find a partner, I wanted to grow old with them, I wanted to do so many things, but I'm afraid it'll never come to be. All because some guy got lucky with his aim as soon as I walked out of that bathroom.

My parents were told the same thing by Jay. I didn't want to be there when they were given the news, because I didn't want to see their reactions. I knew it would tear me to pieces if I saw their expressions of grief and sadness while being told the news that their own son will have an early death. I could only imagine they were completely devastated because right after they were told the news, they ran to me and hugged me tight while we all cried together.

The only person that doesn't know yet is my sister. It's not that we don't want to tell her, it's just that we haven't had the chance. She's been busy hanging out with her friends along with some new ones, like that Dew guy. She would occasionally check up on me, but never long enough for me to tell her the news. But even if I never got the chance to tell her, I know her well enough to already picture her reaction. She would first be shocked, then deny it, then be agitated, and then storm off or run away crying. Holly doesn't like being left out on important news, so she would probably be mad at my parents for a little bit.

"Married!" Oscar suddenly shouted. I jumped from his voice, but Jay stood completely still as the two cousins seemed to argue back and forth in French. He talked like he was in a rush as well as grab Half Moon's hand to see that she indeed had a wedding ring. She kept it very professional and talked to him like she was his teacher.

"Do you know what they're saying?" I whispered to Jay, careful to not interrupt Half Moon and Oscar.

My uncle shook his head. "I only know a few words in French, and none of them are popping up in the conversation, so to answer your question, no."

I turned my head when I noticed Flame and Willow stopped working on my leg. They put down their tools and shut off their technology before walking out of the room. I turned back to Jay to see him get to his feet and adjust his long sleeve shirt. "We should probably be on our way after all," he sighed and turned in my direction, "The meeting about our plan for the fight is supposed to start very soon. Will you be okay here on your own?"

I nodded, forcing a smile even if he couldn't see it. "I'll be fine."

Jay seemed uncertain at first by my response, but didn't want to argue and went up to Half Moon to tell her they should go. Without a second thought, Half Moon nodded and translated to Oscar what's going to happen. He seemed a bit uncertain at first because he probably found out a lot of new things today and wondered if there's anything else he missed out on. But he didn't want to argue with Jay because he put on his glasses again so he can navigate safely, and those glasses might've scared Oscar a bit. He followed the husband and wife hesitantly, taking one more glance at me before walking out the door.

And so, I was left alone.

I thought back to getting the news on my early death and felt myself tear up. I quickly wiped my eyes and sniffed back my snot, feeling my throat try to close on me. I was right. I've been right all this time. We're doomed. I tried to tell Alder, and now Jay, but both dismissed it as if it was nothing. Sure Jay cried a bit, but he still told me everything was going to be fine. But it's won't be. It was never meant to be like that. It was never meant to come true. It seems all our karma is catching up to us, and I lost my fucking leg because of it. If only I could make this all go away, if only I can turn back time.

If only I can stop all of this.

Jacques's POV

"There's still nothing sir," a messenger informed me, "We've looked everywhere and there's no sign of any warrior."

I felt anger course through me and slammed my hand on the table. "You aren't searching hard enough!" I yelled, "They couldn't have just disappeared into thin air! They're still out there, I know they are!" I turned to the man next to me. "Send out another search team. Don't stop sending them until we found every last warrior."

The man nodded and shouted orders at the messengers, who retreated from the room with him close behind.

I sat down on the bed shirtless, leaning forward so my head was in my hands. It wasn't until I felt a hand go over my chest that I straightened my posture. "Don't waste your energy on something so meaningless," she whispered in my ear, "Waste it on me instead."

I sighed, feeling frustrated but flattered by her flirty remarks. "I was so close to catching them. I was so close I could touch them. But they got away and have seemingly disappeared. That doesn't just happen to anyone, so they must be somewhere close by. Or far away considering they've been gone for a whole fucking week."

She shushed me by putting a slender finger over my mouth. I finally turned towards her to see her covering herself with the bed sheets, as she must be nude under those blankets. "They can't last very long," she whispered, "There are too many of them, there's sure to be a conflict between them eventually." She leaned up and nibbled my ear.

"Susan," I cautioned her, feeling myself breathe rather heavy.

"You shouldn't think too much. It takes time away from you being with me." She ran her hands over my naked shoulders and over my chest. The blankets tore away as she pressed her naked self against my backside.

I closed my eyes and finally relaxed, giving into her butterfly like touches. When I closed my eyes all I saw was a heaven, with my father in it. But that image suddenly changed into the one I saw the night he was murdered. And above his mangled up body was Brandon Curtis. The broad dark skinned man with bright brown dreadlocks. I saw him point the gun at me with scared eyes, but instead of firing he ran out the front door, leaving me all alone with my dead father. I remember holding his limp head in my lap while I cried my vocal chords to pieces until the morning eventually came.

I opened my eyes once again and turned toward Susan. I pushed her back first on the bed suddenly, putting my hands on the sides of her head. She seemed happy I was going along with this until she saw tears in my eyes. They dripped down onto her smooth skin. She frowned and pulled me into a gentle hug while my eyes flooded with unwanted salted tears. I have to kill them, I have to kill him, I have to, or I'll be nothing again. I'll never come to terms with my father's death. I know what I have to do, and I've known ever since that night.

I have to kill Brandon Curtis.

Hey Guys, I'm not dead.

Sorry I haven't been posting for a while, I've been extremely busy with school as well as working on my first original book. I'll make an effort to post frequently for this story as I'm really excited for some future chapters. Again, I apologize for my absence and hopefully this chapter made it up to you.

Thanks,

L