Tom and Sarah were quietly dragged by the M'arrillian towards the others. They knew they couldn't do anything against the humanoid crab. His exoskeleton was too hard and the eyeballs out of their reach. Not only that, but they couldn't escape a creature who could easily capture them again or destroy them in annoyance. They also had to remember that the others were around. Those who could fly were much faster.

Against their preferable option, they just complied. They said nothing and didn't do anything, as ordered by Neth'uar in their minds.

They just wished that they wouldn't be under the control of the M'arrillians. They went through it and despite having little memories of the experience, it was a horrible one. Being half conscious of your actions, but incapable of stopping them.

Eventually, the day was coming to an end and they reached an abandoned city. It was a rather small one. They were put on the ground.

"Keep moving," Rath'tab ordered.

"Okay!" Sarah groaned in annoyance.

They walked forward. The desolate state made Sarah nervous. She saw only the buildings where there was once life. No one was around, wandering to a destination, shopping or anything like that. It was a deserted town, like in the horror movies.

Tom didn't feel as nervous. He had escaped one who was in the middle of turning like that. He just saw what probably remained of Summervale. He grabbed Sarah's hand.

They both found some strength in each other and just in time.

Chapter 134: Prisoners Of Milla'iin

They reached the middle of the city. The M'arrillian army was assembled and talked loudly with each other. They wondered why they stopped. They became silent once they noticed the two humans and it made all sense for them.

Tom and Sarah could see and feel their morale increasing by the second.

Milla'iin noticed them and seemed to grin, despite having only an eyeball, "They are finally here," he held his tendrils together and chuckled, "Two of them. Tom and Sarah. I wonder what Maxxor and Aszil will do with you under our control? Pretty much nothing," he stood near them. He didn't do anything else, "Still, there must be much in your mind. Knowledge of their plans and their spy that ruined our plans to capture more humans for a while. You will give us the answer, by force if necessary."

"Do it by force," she replied.

"Like we will obey you willingly," Tom spatted.

The Chieftain chuckled, "Very well. I will enjoy it," he put a tendril on the forehead of the teenage boy, "Show me all of your secrets."

Tom was still in control of his thoughts, even if he felt the M'arrillian looking into them. Thankfully, he didn't see anything that would damn everyone. He still tried to annoy the creature by focusing on unimportant things. Like his ballet camp. Despite how it would humiliate him, it was better than giving a hint of anything else. He pushed the thought of their prisoners to the side and focused on his ballet camp.

"W-what is this?" Milla'iin was confused by those memories. Still, he knew it was a distraction. Also, he hadn't expected Tom to do something like that. He frowned as the girls around him clearly liked him somehow. Words about how brave he was to be with them and show off his talent. He had no idea what that was about and pushed it aside.

The M'arrillian searched elsewhere in the mind of the boy. He just knew he might try to distract him by pushing some thought forward. He needed to see what the human hid deeper in its mind. He found something and saw what happened at the military base. Especially one thing. He paled a little, "There was no spy!"

The others gasped and loudly spoke.

"That makes no sense."

"Cities are always empty when we invade them."

"It has to be a spy. There is nothing else that could help them predict when we will come!"

"What's going on?"

Meanwhile, Sarah let out a small smug look at their panicked reaction. She wondered how they didn't realize there might be other ways than spies. Their reaction at that revelation was funny. Still, she knew it meant trouble for them from now on. If they knew how they were observed, they would act another way to avoid surveillance. Maybe try something instead. They had nothing to counter the military technology.

Milla'iin decided to explain, "They are spying with a battlegear in the stars," he pointed at the sky, "Too high for us to see or do anything about it."

That made the creatures very nervous.

The leader of the tribe raised his tendril, "Having the knowledge will help us. We still managed to capture the two humans without knowing of this. That means that there are limits to their star spying capacity. We need to fully exploit it. We need to prepare a plan to defeat those humans' army quickly and conquer the Cothica."

Sarah said, "By the way, there are many armies in our world."

Milla'iin remembered that the human tribes weren't like theirs. He ignored it, "We will get control around the world by any means necessary. Anyway, there is surely more in your mind," he continued to check in the mind of the boy. He then stopped when he saw Tom talking with Aval'par and Bahrakatan. The moment he saw where the conversation went and how the prisoner reacted, he ended contact. He made sure to not show his fury at their treasons. It was not the time to divulge that intel, "There is nothing else in here. Nothing about the other tribes, except that they are trying to fix the portal and aren't done yet. Still, we have less time than I hoped," his eye turned towards the chieftain, "Rath'tab, find a place to jail the humans. Meanwhile, we will plan an attack to defeat the humans and conquer the Cothica, Despite those spies."

"As you wish," he replied.

"And you three," he pointed at three Kha'ralls, "You will guard those prisoners. We won't control their minds yet. I'm sure it will cause a lot of despair among the humans and the creatures. More than if we didn't already."

The three nodded as they pushed the two humans towards a place where they could be put in jail.

A few minutes later, Tom and Sarah sat in a jail from the police station of the small city. They both ignored the two creatures as they sat at each side of their small room.

"Didn't think we would end up here," Sarah grumbled.

"Me too. Didn't do any crime and I'm getting a taste of what a jail here is. Kinda better than in the Overworld," the boy didn't like to think that much of his first meeting with Maxxor.

The two watched the creatures. They said little. They would rather not hear anything out of their mouth. Still, their minds weren't safe. They could be spied on at any time. It was really annoying to always be careful with what they were thinking.

Thankfully, they weren't that knowledgeable of the military's might or any plan the army had.

One of the M'arrillians suddenly asked them, "Where is the Messenger of the Cothica?"

The two humans gazed at each other. They kinda forgot about him.

"No idea. Forgot about him. Anything happened in Chaotic?" Sarah asked, remembering she had been coded.

"He… They captured him after you were coded. I left, so I have no idea what happened afterward. Then, the attack in Summervale made me forget about it," Tom admitted. He had no reason to keep it a secret. Ignorance was good.

"Where is he on Earth? He killed himself in Chaotic," the M'arrillian told them.

That was the last thing they expected. They paled a little. They knew he was a code, just like them in Chaotic. Still, that action really disturbed them.

"N-no idea," the two weakly replied. They knew where he was. Thankfully, he was out of their reach.

"Out of reach," another one grumbled. They saw what was in their mind. Just at a very far away land of ice.

"Leave them be. Milla'iin will decide what to do with them later."

The three creatures left.

The humans had a feeling they were around. Still, they felt alone in their jail. They tapped the ground a bit nervously as the silence was starting to get to them.

Tom was the first to break the silence, "Sarah… thanks for… you know," he scratched the back of his head, "Trying to save me. Trying to be a movie hero or what?"

It was a little awkward. She grumbled, "That was stupid of me. I just- I just attacked him when you were in danger. I had to make him regret his decision. I just ended up captured and I hurt Wamma. He is surely worried sick for me."

"The others are too," the boy admitted. He gazed to the side, "You were brave to attack him like that. Stupid, but brave."

She glared at him while a small smile was on her face. She knew he wasn't serious about the stupid part, "Don't call me stupid! I know it wasn't smart to just jump on him like that! I just… I couldn't think. We saw what they did to Kaz. And you saw what they did to me," she sighed. She put her hands on her face, "And my parents are surely really worried for me."

"Mine too."

Silence once again. They scratched their arms and looked in the opposite direction.

"Sarah…"

The teenage girl waited for a few seconds for the question, but it never came, "What is it?"

"Well…" he took a deep breath, "Why did you do it? Why did you attack him like that?"

Sarah blushed lightly at the question. She was too embarrassed to answer that one directly, "You were in danger and I was your friend."

"Kaz would have done it too. He just knew it wouldn't work. I know that he knew that. You said you didn't think… why?" He noticed her face turning a bit redder. He also changed to that color as his mind put two and two together, "I see. Like when I was really angry when they got you. More than Kaz. Just a little," he sighed as he tried to calm down. His heart began to beat faster and louder.

The girl also understood that. They understood their feelings for each other. She cursed herself. She wondered why it was so hard to say those words, when she tried to kill a M'arrillian who was bigger and stronger than her. She mentally grunted as those words wouldn't come out. It was obvious they were both aware of their feelings. Expressing them like that was difficult. She guessed that being a prisoner of the M'arrillians didn't make it easy to speak out either. Still, they could read minds, so saying nothing was kinda pointless too.

Sarah took a slow breath before she confessed, "I…I really… really like you Tom," she played with her fingers nervously, "No idea when it started, but I really like you."

The boy nervously played with his black hair, "I… noticed it today. Me too."

It was followed by an awkward silence. They simply stared at each other. They gazed to the side after a while.

"So…what now?" She asked.

Tom raised his shoulders, "No idea. It's a first for me."

"Me too."

The teenager moved and sat by her side. He just grabbed her hand, "You know…maybe we should think of what we will do once we are saved. Because they will save us," he let out a small reassuring smile.

"Well…holding hands is a first," she replied.

"Maybe have a date once everything settles down," he went on.

"And ignore the creatures' thoughts about it," Sarah continued with a small smile.

"And our parents and your brother's teasing," Tom lightly chuckled.

"Then we learn how to drive so we can meet more often," she suggested.

"Right. Won't ask Kaz to drive for us. He will be pissed," he snickered.

"And many other things to look forward to," she went on. She sighed, "Tom. I'm really glad we met each other… even if you were in your underwear."

"Can you just forget that please," he blushed.

"Never."

"Damn."

Despite their situation, they found hope in each other. They just prayed that their friends were alright and that they would be saved.

AC: This is the end of this chapter.

Next: The Quiet Night.

The mission to rescue Tom and Sarah approaches. Meanwhile, Chaor wants to talk with Kaz alone.