A/N - So... I discovered a bit of a continuity error in my story. Nothing too major, but still major enough for it to bother me. The name "Bertrand" was supposed to appear on the artificial conduits' shoulders in chapter 1, but I didn't have that written. I do now. I also made a few edits to fix spelling and syntax. That being said, it doesn't really warrant a re-read, but if you want to, go ahead. Thanks again for the continued support.

"Mr. Bertrand, I'd like you to meet my top student," Wolfe introduced, "This is Bentley Sampson."

"It's a pleasure to meet you sir," Bentley greeted with a hand outstretched.

"Pleasure's all mine," the tall man returned, his thick southern accent hanging in the air.

"Joseph Bertrand is our leading benefactor on this project," Wolfe continued.

"The work you're doing here is revolutionary doctor. I only wish to see myself on the right side of history," Bertrand remarked.

"We're all going to make history," Wolfe agreed.

"Alright, everything is ready," a female voice called from afar, this one only containing a slight accent. The owner of the voice then revealed herself to the group.

"Gentlemen, this is my daughter Penelope," Bertrand introduced.

"Howdy," she greeted with her hand outstretched towards Wolfe who returned the handshake.

"Sebastian Wolfe."

She then turned to Bentley with an open hand.

"That makes you Bentley, I take it?"

"Yes, Bentley Sampson," he said while returning the handshake.

"Great! I was wondering when I was gonna' meet my partner."

He still remembered that first conversation, that first greeting. It was such a long time ago. He was so full of pride then. After all, it was a rare occurrence for a student of his age to be welcomed aboard such a prestigious research project. Looking back on it now, he would've declined Wolfe's offer. But thinking like that was pointless, all he could do was focus on the task at hand. He sat at a lab bench and watched as their tracker, the same one they had recovered from Curdun Cay, sifted through veritable fountains of data in an attempt to find the missing conduits. Using recovered DNA samples, they were able to isolate the radiation combination inherent in Ash, Sebastian, and Celia. However, tracking them down took time and power.

"How's it going?" Sam asked as he walked in on his friend.

"The cross-matching is at seventy-four percent," Bentley informed.

"That's not what I meant."

Bentley sighed.

"I'm fine, I suppose. There's just a lot to do."

"Agreed, seems there's little time to sit around, so why are you sitting around? Isn't the tracking process automated?" Sam asked.

"Oh, so you have been paying attention," Bentley teased.

"What's going on Bentley?"

He sighed again.

"I've been thinking Sam… about when I was working with The First Sons… when Kessler was in charge."

"That was in the past Bentley. The past was meant to be put behind us."

"It was meant to serve as a learning experience."

"So, did you learn from it?"

"Let's hope so."

Meanwhile

"We're twenty minutes out!" the pilot shouted from his seat. The two conduits were unresponsive, as flying for hours left them feeling drained. Ryan looked at Cole who stared at the floor of the helicopter. Bentley had sent them to Curdun Cay on a mission to recover equipment. However, Cole's stoic silence made Ryan believe that we were doing something more than that, that Bentley told Cole something. Ryan wanted to know what that was.

"So…" Ryan began, eager to break the silence, "What was it like… ya' know?"

"Dead?" Cole finished.

Ryan nodded.

"Peaceful, like sleeping after a long day of work… or it was. They brought me back several times, only for a few seconds. And each time, it was like being woken up just after drifting off."

Ryan nodded in understanding.

"We have a problem," the pilot called out.

"What is it?" Cole asked.

"We have several DUP vehicles on our radar," he explained.

"What? I thought we killed their leader… twice," Ryan stated.

"They must be regrouping," Cole assumed before addressing the pilot, "Get us in as close as possible."

"Are you serious?" Ryan asked.

"If this is the last of the DUP forces, we can scatter them permanently."

"But, it's an army against two!"

"We are an army, Ryan. We can put a stop to the DUP for good."

"We need reinforcements."

"With that many vehicles, more than likely they're trying to move. If they get away, that's an opportunity for them to hide and grow. We can't give them that chance. We have to strike them here and now."