Sheesh, I really hate these…Do not, I repeat DO NOT, plagiarize or sue me (you can't handle the consequences, trust me). Characters either belong to Delia, Chanda, MIB The Animated Series (best show ever! ^_^), or me…Amanda/Artiste. Thanks ever so much.

Written in the Stars: A Destined Romance

Chapter 19: Conspiracy

Elle hurried down the hall, maybe X would FINALLY tell her what the heck had happened back in the JeeDang Galaxy. She never had completely understood why he would leave a job that he obviously enjoyed back on his home world just so that he could come and work on a planet populated by a species that he could barely stand to look at.

She rapped on X's door, she could hear his loud snoring and then the startled cough as he drug himself out of bed and over to his door. Elle stifled a laugh when the door swung open and X stood slumped against the doorframe in a pair of yellow cowboy pajamas. And were those BUNNY SLIPPERS on his feet?!

"What do you want?" X mumbled, still half asleep.

"Um…your sister wanted to talk to you. Something about your old partner?" Elle replied.

"MY OLD PARTNER?!" that seemed to wake him up. He grabbed her hand and jerked her back down the hall to her quarters.

When they were both inside Chassidy sighed and turned to her brother. "I came to warn you X, Ziphron's left the JeeDang Galaxy. He gave notification of his leave just before the investigation about his involvement in the conspiracy was concluded."

"What?!" X couldn't believe what his big pointy ears were hearing, "They let him leave before it was finished?! They held me there until AFTER the trial!"

"I know," Chassidy sighed, "but Ziphron convinced the authorities back home that he was innocent and didn't have a clue that you and F were involved in the smuggling ring."

"Wait a minute!" Elle interrupted, "What trial? X, what's going on?"

"Better tell her Bro," Chassidy insisted, "She's your partner, so Ziphron might come after her too."

X groaned and then explained, "A couple weeks before I came to work with the MIB there was a smuggling operation going down in a warehouse back home. I managed to bust it up and several of the smugglers were incarcerated…except the two ringleaders."

Elle listened intently as X continued to talk about the way that his old partner hadn't been present at the bust and how he had found evidence that his partner and a MIB agent that had supposedly been working with them were connected to the smugglers.

"Anyways, the more I found out about the whole thing, the more I discovered that those two had been working together, BEHIND MY BACK, and that they were the ringleaders!" X fought against an old rage that resurfaced within him.

"It's okay," Elle said as she put a hand on her partner's shoulder, he really seemed upset over this, and rightfully so.

X gave Elle a faint smile and continued to fill her in, "They found out that I was onto them, so they went a little too far and some information leaked out that the whole smuggling operation was a part of some big conspiracy to sneak weapons to a gang of Quantillians that were planning an attack on the JeeDang government. They were gonna get paid a lot of money to help them out so when I ruined their plans they went off and decided to frame ME for the whole thing!"

"Some partner…" Elle murmured, "I can't believe he'd do a thing like that. X, I would never do something like that to you!"

"Yeah, I know, Beady Eyes." X laughed.

"X!" Chassidy shouted, "Don't call her that!"

"It's okay," Elle laughed, "I call him Cowboy anyways."

"Humph," Chassidy replied, "that definatley suits him."

"So how did they frame you X?"

X paused and stared at the floor for a moment, "I had a personal involvement with one of the ringleaders and was convinced that they had been played by the other just as I was. I put my faith in that human and she…" X fell silent as tears came to his eyes. Elle saw this and wrapped her arms around her partner, her friend.

Chassidy was a little surprised when X didn't pull away from Laurel but she smiled at the sight of her brother finally trusting humans again. She had never thought that it was possible after his experience with Felicia. She had tried countless times before to convince him that not all humans were bad, but he had just ignored her or stormed out of the room. 'Maybe all he needed all along was to see that there were humans, like Laurel, in existence, and that they were the reason he shouldn't judge an entire species based on the actions of one individual?'

"It's okay X," Elle said softly as she hugged him close, "I'm here. Whatever that other human did is in the past. I won't betray you, I promise."

'Now where have I heard that before,' something in the back of X's mind called. 'Oh shut up!' a louder inner voice rang out, 'Elle's not like that! She cares about me and we've been through too much to turn on each other now!'

Chassidy sighed as X put a hand on Elle's arms, he finally seemed to be calming down. Things were going to be okay now…if they could just get past Ziphron.

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*K, there's another chapter done, so do like Cowlamity and review already! ^_^*