Disclaimer: Refer to first chapter.

I am so, so sorry about my recent slow updates, guys, but I've had a really big school project that I just finished up last night, so I woke up and was like "I'm gonna write now" so here it is!

This is Minho and Teresa and Thomas meet combined into one, by the way.

He was hot, Teresa supposed, gazing at Subject A7. A7 was a tall boy of Asian descent with spiked up dark hair and dark eyes that seemed to bore into Teresa. It was an entrancing appearance, that grasped Teresa's attention and refused to allow it to waver. A7 tilted his head back, continuing to gaze at Teresa with slim eyes. Beside her, Thomas dug a elbow into her side, causing Teresa to shoot him a glance, refusing to allow emotion to trickle into it, just as she had been taught. Teresa showed almost no emotion whether on her face or in her eyes, nor did she allow her almost non-existent emotions to affect her and her work. Thomas had been taught the same, though had learned to pick up the slight hints that Teresa did give off and even preferred to show his emotions rather than hide them. He had found that hiding emotions only led to 'greater emotional responses' or something along those lines. In Teresa's opinion, it was extremely stupid, but she had long since decided that Thomas was welcome to his own thoughts. If he did not want to be strong, he did not have to be. Nonetheless, Teresa still found her brother figure to be annoyingly stupid in that manner, but there you go.

A7 tilted his head back, dark eyes glowing with challenge as he leant against the blank wall behind him. The three youngsters had been ordered A7 into the room, dull walls, three chairs and a table, for no apparent purpose, Thomas and Teresa watching from a video camera. Then Chancellor Paige had come to get them, asking them to explain the Killzone Experiment's first stage, the Maze. So there they were, awkwardly sitting at the table showing almost no emotion while staring at a sassy boy of fourteen who seemed very stubborn.

"Sit," Teresa advised finally, her eyes not leaving A7's face. "There is a lot to speak of. What did the Chancellor tell you?"

A7 regarded her with cold eyes, not sitting nor speaking. His expression seemed to say, quite obviously, 'Go to hell'.

Teresa spoke again. "My name is Teresa Agnes and this is my partner, Thomas. We are here to explain the Killzone experiment. The KE is a project instigated by the World in Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department, or WICKED as it is affectionately called by many of its members and members of the community. The purpose of the KE is to find a cure for the virus that is plaguing our world, the Flare. Of course, you probably know that. For the KE, you, along with thirty-nine other bots, will be placed in what we call the Maze. The Maze is a highly sophisticated system of moving walls that will change during the night. At the centre of the Maze is a large square with forests and fields. When you enter the Glade, as we call the square within the Maze, you will have no memories. All forty of you will have no memories save for your name. Do you understand?"

A7 gave a slight nod of understanding, eyes not leaving Teresa. His face was a sarcastic smirk that seemed to fit him quite well. "Oh shuck yes I understand! When can we start?"

Thomas gave A7 an odd look. "You are supposed to be screaming at us right now."

"Seriously?! Yes!" A7 raised his voice in a bad imitation of Molly Weasley. "How dare you break such news to me! Your Chancellor's facing an inquiry at work and it's entirely your fault!" He stopped speaking, seemingly trying to remember the next words to Mrs. Weasley's speech. "If I hear another word out of your mouth, I'll, I'll, ehm, bring death to your doorstep! Yeah, that's it! Bring death to your doorstep!"

Thomas let out an amused huff, a slight glint of humour in his eyes. "I applaud your sense of humour-"

"Good! I have an excellent sense of humour!"

"-But I am afraid-

"No, don't be afraid!"

"-To inform you that-"

"That what?"

"-You are going to-"

"To what?"

"-Have your memory wiped!"

Irritation laced Thomas' voice as he stared sadly into A7s eyes. The tall boy looked on the verge of fainting as Thomas stood from his seat to stand next to A7, gently nudging him to the waiting chair. The boy seemed to have gone into shock, his dark eyes blank with fear and confusion. A7 sat down, not paying attention to anything as Thomas gently pat his shoulder. A tiny, crystalline tear traced A7's cheek as he seemed to take a deep breath of inhalation, his eyes still blank.

"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news," Thomas stated, voice as soft as his fluffy blankets that he'd had since he had arrived at WICKED, the only comforts of home that WICKED had managed to find for their most precious subject. Thomas' favourite had been the one he kept from his old home from before WICKED had taken him away. Teresa was on the verge of face-palming at the raw emotion that was radiating from her friend- her friend that she sincerely did not have a crush on and treated as more of a brother, she might add.

"Thomas!" She hissed quietly, giving him a stinky look. His eyes raised to meet hers.

"I'm welcome to my own emotions, Teresa. Nothing is going to change that. I am not a robot and never intend to be." His gaze dropped again, resting lightly on the back of A7's head. "Are you alright?" he asked in the same soothingly soft voice as before. Very faintly, A7 nodded, his former unshakeable exterior having dripped away just as glaciers did after the sun flares.

"I'll be fine," was the hoarse whisper that followed. He then looked up, saddened. "I will get to say goodbye to everyone, right?"

"Of course," Thomas stated gently. "Minho, right?"

There was another faint nod. "Let me assure you, Minho, everything will be alright."

And as the tan boy glanced up to meet Teresa's eyes, she saw the unspoken message. 'I hope.'