Chapter 9: While At Manticore
Training Grounds, Manticore
The following day, after roll call, Max attempted to sort them into two groups of five to begin their sparring lessons for the day. Only four of them moved – an improvement from yesterday morning. Max sighed inwardly, knowing they had concocted another plan, with 321 behind it, no doubt.
"What's the matter? Have too much wax in your ears? LET'S MOVE!!!"
Those ready to start the day's exercise watched in anticipation as Max attempted to control the rebels. When they still didn't move, Max spoke, "I hope you thought out your plan carefully this time, 321. Don't expect me to let you off so easily this time."
321 snickered. "You know, 452, you talk big, but you've got yourself outnumbered right now."
"What, you need five other people to take me out? Is that your big plan?" she asked with a laugh. She was also laughing at the irony of the situation. She had initially sorted them into two groups to practice defending themselves against multiple attackers. Well, at least there would be one hell of a demonstration.
261 still couldn't believe she had agreed to take part in this. She was never really one for unfairness, but 321 had somehow managed to talk them all into it. He had been so determined to see 452 taken down that he agreed to accept full responsibility for whatever would happen during the fight. When it came time to report, 321 would admit that he got into a fight with 452, but no one else was involved. Injuries sustained by the other transgenics were a result of trying to end the fight. Everyone else would deny their participation as well. They were risking the fact that the four others not part of the plan would report the truth, but in the end, there would be more lies than truths. There was also a high probability that they too were against the traitor – just too afraid to act on it. 321 reminded them that since Renfro was on their side, their plan would certainly succeed. If they could damage 452 enough to put her out of active duty, they would be reassigned back to their units – or a more suitable CO would be found to replace her.
Within seconds, the six surrounded her, forming a circle to prevent escape.
"I hope you all have one hell of an excuse when I kick your sorry behinds," she declared as she fell in to a fighting stance.
321 was the first to charge at her. Max felt two X5s grab her from behind to stop her from getting away. Knowing 261 was the weaker of the two, she stepped on 261's foot, hard. It was just enough to make her loosen her grip on her arm, but not enough to let go. Within those few seconds Max had before 261 regained balance, Max used all her strength to move 261 in front of her so that she would take the blow from 321.
321 slammed right into 261, as it was too late to stop himself. As the two fell to the floor, Max dealt with 157, who was still holding on to her other arm and about to move Max into a lock to throw her down. From the corner of her eye, she could see 409 approaching to take 261's place. Max quickly twisted out of 157's grip by putting him in an arm lock before he could do so to her. She dislocated his shoulder to immobilize him from this fight, but not to disable him from near future exercises. She had no intention of losing this battle. 409 blurred as soon as 157 was down.
Max used the momentum of his speed to send him flying off the mat when he approached her with a flurry of punches. All she had to do was time it correctly. They still didn't learn that the enemy could use the force exerted against you. It was a very basic principle found in martial arts such as tai chi and aikido.
By the time 409 was out of her way, she had to deal with 863 and 428, who were already approaching her. She could also see that 261 and 321 were recovering. She blurred to attack 428 before she would have a chance to initiate an attack. 863 had to move quickly to avoid getting knocked over by 428, who suddenly found herself being thrown off the mat just as 409 had been. 863 jumped over Max and aimed an attack at the back of her head, but Max ducked just in time, catching 863's fist as she punched air and flipping her onto her back. "You'll have to do better than that, soldier," she reprimanded before dislocating her arm as well to take her out of the match. Two down, four two go.
261 hesitated before blurring yet again to attack Max. 321 was ahead of her though, having not taken the few extra seconds to rethink the ordeal. Max blurred to meet 321, blocking his punches and kicks with ease. She would remind herself to make them work on improving the speed of their attacks. When she got bored and noticed 261 was getting closer, she caught one of 321's punches and used her other hand to throw an uppercut, sending him flying once again into 261.
409 appeared from behind and sent a kick to her back, sending her to the ground. She quickly rolled to avoid the axe kick that landed inches from her head and swept 409 down to the floor beside her. Before he could do anything, she had him in a lock, "Do you give up soldier? Or should I make you?" she threatened, applying pressure into his arm.
409 tapped the mat as they had been trained to do if any exercise brought them too much pain. If she bent his arm any more, he knew it would break. "I give up!" he cried. He was not going to lose an arm for this.
"What was that?" Max asked, her tone clearly demanding some respect.
409 swallowed his pride and replied, "I give up, ma'am."
She got off him and prepared to meet 428's attack. "Go help the others fix their shoulders," she ordered. 409 quickly distanced himself from the fighting, sulking in defeat. 452 was a damn good fighter, he thought. They were going to be in so much trouble. 428 sidestepped so that she was behind Max and aimed a roundhouse kick at Max's head. Max ducked and turned her body to elbow the girl behind the knee, causing her to lose balance and fall on her butt. Before 428 had a chance to get up, Max had kicked her in the head, knocking her out. She could hear 321 approaching from behind her though and jumped just in time as he charged right past her and onto 428. Max saw 261 had given up on her own accord, as she made no motion to attack. 321 quickly rolled off of 428, attempting to sweep kick Max, but Max jumped away. 321 kicked up and charged at Max, throwing a series of punches right at her.
Max noticed the anger in 321 sped up his punches, allowing some of them to break through her blocks, so she quickened her blocks to meet his pace, ignoring the pain from the blows. She continued to block them until the right time came, where she then caught one of his fists and maneuvered herself to throw him onto the ground. As Max approached him to end this, he kicked her away, sending her several feet back and landing hard on the mat. Max rolled away just in time as he aimed a kick at where her head had been. She quickly attempted to sweep kick 321, but 321 jumped back, avoiding her attack. Max kicked up and caught his leg as he attempted to kick her in the side. She then threw him into the air, sending his body spinning several times before landing with a loud thud on the mat. It was the same move Alec had used that first day before the spar ended, knocking the wind out of Max that time. It would have the same effect on 321.
Max walked up to 321, clearly out of breath from the hard landing. "As I said earlier, 321, I hope you have a damn good excuse for this mess you just got your fellow unit members in. If you ever try something again, I'm coming for you personally, and you will be lucky if you get out in one piece. Is that understood?"
321 nodded numbly.
"I asked you a question, soldier!"
"Yes, ma'am..." he muttered.
Max walked away from 321 and examined the damage she had done. 409 and 261 were helping 157 and 863 put their arms back into the right place. 428 was still out cold, and 321 was lying on the mat defeated in humiliation and anger.
536 let out a whistle. "Damn...now that's what I call a fight."
"I have to admit – you don't see that in Manticore everyday," 134 commented.
"And that would be the reason why we didn't bother to find out what 321 was plotting," 729 declared. "We would have missed the show getting our asses kicked."
The other two nodded in agreement. "Well, that would be considering we would be dumb enough to follow him with his plan. 452 sure can fight..." 134 muttered.
The three turned their attention to their CO when they heard her yell, "ATTENTION!"
428 had finally come back to consciousness and joined the others as they limped over to form a line.
"Anyone care to tell me who's idea this was, just so I'm not making things up?"
The X5s all darted glances at 321, who guiltily spoke up, as promised. "Ma'am, it was my idea. I accept full responsibility for my actions. Leave them out of this, ma'am." For some reason, he was starting to think Renfro's punishment would be mild compared to what his CO had in mind. The flare in her eyes reflected exactly how angry she was right now.
"Spoken like a true matyr," she said in disgust. "Now I know you all think I'm a traitor, a deserter, a rat, and everything else Manticore programmed you to think about the escapees, but I'm also your CO. So let's get this straight. While you're still going to stay in Manticore and be good little Manticore soldiers, then you're going to listen to your CO like all good little Manticore soldiers do. If you don't want to be a good little Manticore soldier, then run. That's exactly what I did, and I don't regret it. I ran because I didn't like being here, and I still don't like being here. But I'm here anyway because they won't let me leave. Instead, they think it's a good idea that I stay here and help them train and lead a bunch of disobedient, ungrateful, soldiers. What do I have to say to that? Well, at first, I said to hell with them. I don't care about a bunch of misfits. Why should I? They wouldn't give a shit about me, and it's true, isn't it? You've proven that to me today. But then I thought, maybe that's what Manticore expects. I mean, they stacked the odds against me, giving me soldiers that didn't completely form strong bonds with their unit like their peers had done. They gave me soldiers who recently got back from a failed mission. They gave me anyone who they could afford to spare. They didn't want me to succeed."
Max surveyed the soldiers before her, who all had their Manticore mask intact, but she could feel the guilt in the air as she continued her speech. "Now you all probably still hate me, especially after things didn't turn out the way you wanted it to, but while I'm still in Manticore, I'm going to be a good little soldier and follow Command's orders to be the CO of Unit 9. I'm also going to prove them wrong in thinking Unit 9 will become nothing more than an extra unit to keep 452 from escaping. I'm going to prove to them that Unit 9 can become just as good as any of the other units. Now if anyone wants to back out, then I dare you to make your escape. Just make sure your plan is well thought out and not as embarrassing as 321's was. You'll disgrace your unit." She paused to allow the impact of her words to take effect. "Any takers? I'll let you sit out of training just to figure out an escape plan," she bargained. "And of course, I won't report you. You'll need all the help you can get."
No one spoke up.
"Now that we've all decided to be good Manticore soldiers, let's get down to work. I was going to show you all how to effectively defend yourselves from multiple attackers, but I think we'll skip that lesson today. But from what I've seen today, the majority of you need it. Maybe I'll get around to it when I can trust that you won't be using it against me. Split up into three groups."
"Yes ma'am!" they all shouted before dispersing into three groups.
Director's Office, Manticore
"Ma'am, you'll want to see this," a TAC Leader said as he arrived in Renfro's office.
Renfro followed the TAC Leader to a security monitor room. They replayed the video of Unit 9's fight. "The 6 X5s surrounded 452 with the intention of attacking her. Judging from the expressions on the X5s, it was not an exercise proposed by 452. Should we bring them in for evaluation?"
Renfro continued watching the video as 452 took them down one after another. She shook her head. "That won't be necessary. Tell me...do the X5s practice exercises against multiple attackers often?"
The TAC Leader shook his head. "We don't emphasize that during classes since most of the missions the X5s are deployed on require stealth. They are generally not faced with large resistance. Most of the X5s are also capable of moving quickly enough so that it won't seem like he or she is attacking more than one enemy at a time when faced with ordinary humans. It also makes it easier for us to recapture them if they were ever to escape. Lydeceker always used an overwhelmingly large force when attempting to bring in the escapees. It created confusion."
That certainly explained why 452 had been so good at fending them all off. She had practice from eluding Manticore troops for eleven years, starting at the age of nine. It wouldn't be a surprise if she was also ambushed by drunks looking for young girls late at night. She had plenty of practice. As she saw more of 452, the Director couldn't help but be impressed. She was certain after that display, 452 would have no problems with Unit 9.
The Director had chosen to give 452 the profiles of her unit members at the last minute, thinking if 452 would take her job seriously, she would need it. It would give her an advantage most COs were not given, but she wasn't exactly just any CO. She was seen as a traitor. Although Renfro didn't want 452 to succeed too easily, she wasn't go to stack things entirely against her so that she would lose miserably. She intended on giving 452 a fighting chance to keep her on her toes. 452 would want a challenge she could accomplish – not one that was impossible. If she had a difficult, but doable challenge, she wouldn't think of escaping. Renfro smiled as she watched the transgenics line up in, their faces hiding the guilt they felt as they received a tongue-lashing from their CO. 452 was doing things according to plan, if not more.
Gymnasium, Manticore
Max worked them hard after her speech, intending on punishing those who acted out that day. Most of them were already bruised and tired from fighting, so the exercises she piled up were painful. She made sure to pick on anyone who started lagging behind. She couldn't help but pick on 321 more than necessary – she found it helped her release her anger. For the four that didn't participate, it was merely a good workout. Max allowed them free play in the gymnasium afterwards. It would give her a chance to observe the developing friendships and find out what they enjoyed doing outside of training. It would also give them a chance to reflect on what happened and what she said. She hoped this would be the end of it. So far, there hadn't been anymore indications of upcoming challenges, but the atmosphere had changed little. She could still feel the tension towards her. She knew the only way things would start to change was if she proved to them that she could indeed lead them and not kick them around.
The members of Unit 8 had formed a basketball team to go against the two members from Unit 3 and 428, who was from Unit 7. Apparently sometime later in their training, Manticore thought it was important for them to learn the rules of traditional American sports in case they were ever invited to play on a mission.
536 was chatting with 729 and 134 in the weight room. 645 was no where to be seen. Max sighed and went to go look for 645. 645 certainly knew how to disappear.
Gym Weight Room, Manticore
"So, what do you all think of 452 so far?" 134 asked as he made his way through a second set of repetitions with some free weights.
536 shrugged. "494 told me to give her a chance. After the display 321 put up, I think she deserves one. It's not like she asked for this job, and us giving her a hard time isn't going to help."
"That's true...now I see what you mean, 729," 134 stated. "She fights like no one I've seen before. Was she always so...scary?"
"Well, she wouldn't let anyone get close to her. She always pushed people away. I thought she was rather bitchy, if you ask me. Some of the moves she uses aren't exactly conventional in Manticore though. She probably picked them up outside," 729 stated.
536 nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she's got some mean tactics, but when I was under her during a training exercise last week, which I now realize was just to prepare her for this, she took things seriously. She tried to minimize casualties and risks, while keeping us away from her. She knows we don't trust her, and I'm guessing she doesn't exactly trust us either."
"Well, at least she can lead," 134 thought.
"What doesn't make sense is why they would give her such a honored position," 729 said. "I mean, they risk upsetting the respect we have for Command."
"They risked a lot of things when they put her in command," 134 pointed out.
It was 536 who had the answer, since he had discussed 452 with his former CO. "452 was outside a long time. She admitted she doesn't want to be here. Command must have figured that the only way to keep her here was to give her a heavy responsibility that she couldn't just run from."
"Us." 729 nodded in understanding.
"But that's assuming she cares about us," 134 pointed out.
"Funny, I said the same thing to 494. He suggested we give her something to care about," 536 said. "452's not a bad soldier, though. She learned quickly when she was with Class Alpha. I don't think Command would have put her in this position if they didn't think she could carry it out adequately, since that would truly mess things up. It was just a matter of making her take it seriously."
"So then the question is – does she take it seriously?" 134 asked.
"I think she does," 729 inputted. "321 might have indirectly provided the catalyst for that, and she clearly knows more about us than she lets on. If she wasn't taking this seriously, she wouldn't care about who we were."
"That's true..." 134 admitted.
"Traitor or not, I say we give her a chance," 536 suggested to conclude their conversation about their CO.
"I agree," 729 stated.
The two turned to look at 134, who nodded reluctantly. "I trust your opinions," 134 added.
"So...who do you think is going to win the match?" 729 asked, turning her attention to the match on the other side of the glass window separating the weight room from the basketball court.
Gym Climbing Wall, Manticore
Max finally tracked 645 to the climbing wall on the other side of the gym complex. It was hard to see her at first, but she was lying down at the top of the wall, which was directly under a domed window. Max quickly made her way up the wall and sat down beside her. 645 did not bother to acknowledge her presence.
"You always alone?" Max asked, as she took a seat beside her to watch the clouds moving overhead.
"What's it to you?" 645 asked quietly.
"Manticore's not a fun place to be when you're alone."
"It doesn't bother me," 645 replied.
"I heard you were good at stealth and recon. Can't say I'm surprised – you disappeared rather quickly."
"Why are you here?" 645 asked, wishing it was once again silent.
"I was just wondering where you were."
"You found me." 645 observed. "I like to be alone," she stated, hoping her CO would take the hint.
But Max wouldn't leave.
"You know, when I first started training a month ago, I pushed away everyone who tried to talk to me. I wanted to be alone as well, so that when I ran, it would be easier to leave everyone else behind."
645 said nothing, but she was listening now to what Max had to say.
"I thought that if no one liked me, then no one would miss me; that if I didn't like anyone, I wouldn't miss anyone. I could just forget all the people I left behind to suffer. Manticore knew what I was doing though, so they signed me up for CO. They knew I wouldn't be able to just run out on you guys."
"You should leave before you get too attached then." 645 got up and began making her way down the climbing wall.
Max followed 645, trying to figure out if 645 was just saying it out of hatred for a traitor, or if there was another reason. "It's too late now. I can't get out of Manticore; my escape plan isn't quite accessible to me anymore, and by the time I do find a way out, I'll be in too deep." Max didn't know why she was admitting this to 645, but her intuition told her it was safe to do so.
645 still said nothing as she headed to another corner of the gym where there were punching bags. She started taping her hands before putting on the gloves.
"If you're up for a little sparring, I could practice with you," Max offered.
645 shook her head and starting punching the punching bag, adding in a few kicks now and then.
"Do you consider me a traitor?" Max finally asked.
"Manticore says you are." 645 replied, her voice void of emotion.
"I'm asking if you think I am one."
645 didn't respond again and continued practicing some more punches.
"I asked you a question, soldier," Max stated firmly, but gently at the same time.
645 stopped for a bit and turned to face Max.
"No, I don't. A deserter, but not a traitor," she finally answered as she went back to practicing with the punching bag.
Max sighed as she walked away to check on the others. She still didn't quite understand 645, but she didn't think she'd be getting anything more from her today.
Mess Hall, Manticore
"Max."
Max glanced up into the face of her sister. "I thought it was clear that my designation is 452," she began cautiously, keeping her guard intact.
"Oh come on, Max. Can't things be like they once were?" Brin tried once again.
"Those times are long gone, 734."
Brin flinched as Max threw out her designation, and Max almost felt bad for doing it. As much as Max wanted her sister back, she still held some distrust. She knew one day, she'd be able to bring Brin back. She just wasn't sure now was the best time to try and change Brin. As far as she knew, Brin still belonged to Manticore, and that wasn't going to change overnight.
"I heard about your new status. I just wanted to congratulate you," Brin informed. "So...congratulations little sister. Zack would be proud." Brin smiled before turning to leave.
Max tried her best to keep her Manticore mask intact at the mention of Zack's name. Would he really be proud? She frowned at the question. On one hand, she was helping Manticore by taking command of a unit. On another hand, they thought she would be good enough to be a CO, or did they? They had meant this to be a trap. Whether or not she really was capable of being a CO wasn't a factor they had considered when they did this, was it? Max shoved the question away. Now was not the time to think about this. Max knew from Brin's sincerity that she was like any other soldier – she saw Max's CO status as a great honor, rather than the trap it was meant to be. The only difference with Brin was that she was family, and being family meant she could be proud of Max, even if she was a traitor.
Max forced a smile, "Thanks...Brin."
Brin stopped and turned around again, smiling when she heard Max acknowledge her name. "You'll do a great job."
Max shrugged as she took a seat down at an empty table. "If they don't kill me first," Max muttered. "No one likes a traitor." Max gestured for her to take a seat, if she wanted to.
Brin frowned and nodded in understanding. "The others weren't that different towards me when I first returned. I felt much better helping Command bringing everyone back home than being stuck in training with Unit 8," Brin admitted as she took a seat across from Max.
Max looked away as the memories of her encounters with Brin flooded back while she and Zack were helping Tinga. "They're killing us one by one, Brin. Renfro killed Tinga, Zack died for me, and Ben..." Max went silent as she remembered her brother. "Don't you see – they're the enemy. They only want to keep us in a cage and use us as a science experiment to do their bidding." Perhaps she was going to try and change Brin now after all.
Brin shook her head. "Command knows what's best for us. This is our home Max. Lydecker killed Tinga, not Renfro. He went rogue, which was why he was put under arrest."
Max shook her head, knowing it was another lie she had been told. "Do you honestly believe everything they say, Brin? Have you forgotten how to think for yourself?"
Brin frowned. "Our sole purpose is to follow orders, Max. Why would we need to think? Have you already forgotten our training? Besides, Director Renfro informed me Tinga was undergoing experimental treatment for a genetic anomaly when she was brought back. It was because of Lydecker's interference that she died."
Max sighed. "Brin, Tinga was already dead when Lydecker found her. I saw our sister with my own eyes. Lydecker had nothing to do with it. Unbelievable as it seems, he claims he would never do anything like that to us. You were lied to."
Brin looked away now, struggling with an inner debate on whether or not to accept this new information as truth.
"Brin, trust me on this. I won't forget what I saw. She murdered our sister." Max frowned to herself as she tried to recall other memories from that time period. She knew she blew up Manticore's DNA lab with the help of her siblings. She remembered how her siblings looked, but the actual event was still a blur. She knew Lydecker was there, but she still had trouble remembering the events leading up to their attack on Manticore. She would never forget Tinga, however, and how Lydecker had prematurely ended her mourning for her sister by capturing her.
Brin sighed as she turned her attention back to Max. "I'm sorry Max. I'm not sure I'm ready to believe that, but Max, no matter what, we'll always be family, right? We can trust each other?"
Max nodded numbly, but there was an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. She trusted Brin, but only to a certain extent. There was no denying that contrasting views would get in the way of Max's long term goal. She would have to keep trying to help Brin see things as they are, rather than whatever Manticore "taught" her to believe.
"Max, I thought I should let you know...600, technically my CO, even though I rarely train with my assigned unit, encouraged his soldiers transferred to your unit to raise hell."
Max chuckled knowingly. "I'm aware. Already dealt with it." Max grinned proudly as she gestured to her unit. It was clear some of them had sported some dark bruises from their...fight earlier, if you could really call it a fight. It was more like an ambush.
Brin smiled slightly, and for the first time since she sat down, she noticed the slight shade of bruises that were visible on her sister's skin from what had to be a hell of a fight.
"Zack would definitely be proud," Brin stated.
Max couldn't disagree this time. Max had shown these Manticore drones exactly how good this "traitor" was, and they would never forget it. Zack would be proud. "I don't think I'll be having any more problems, except from 321, possibly."
Brin grimaced and nodded in sympathy. "He's a jerk. You don't know how many times he's reminded me of being a rat and a traitor. He also plays far too many pranks for his own good. It's amazing they haven't sent him to psy-ops for reprogramming."
"Maybe it's in his genes," Max hypothesized.
"If that were true, then the scientist who created his DNA makeup probably isn't making anymore," Brin joked. But they both knew that would be true.
"Thanks for the heads up though. I've been keeping an eye on him. I hope his friends will keep him in check."
"They can only do so much to stop him. He's a leader, not a follower."
Max nodded. "Don't worry about me Brin. I'll be fine. But maybe things can be like they once were," Max thought with a small smile.
Brin returned the smile. "I'm glad you're back, Maxie."
Max forced a small smile, but said nothing more as she finished the rest of her meal and headed out again, leaving her sister with a quick goodbye and wishing her well. Brin still was loyal to Manticore, but at least Max had given her something to think about. She was willing to bet that this time, Brin wouldn't report any of her thoughts to Command. They were still family, after all.
A/N: OK, so Max totally kicked butt this chapter...whether or not she could really hold her ground against six opponents is a tough call to make. But I figure in some martial arts, they do have practice/rank tests against multiple attackers (usually up to four, I think, but it might be three...), so six can't be too bad if she gets rid of two of them early on, right? -uneasiness- Thoughts welcomed. Flames included, but I would prefer a warning so I won't be too depressed when I finish reading it. Still, I wanted an event that would provide a turning point for the relationship between Max and her unit, so it had to be something big. It could have been something else, but nothing else came to mind...
I personally liked her speech in this chapter; I thought it was quite effective. But who am I to say? I'm not a speech writer, that's for sure. I don't know where it came from when I wrote it, but it just...came to me effortlessly, which certainly brought a smile to my lips. The segment with Brin was added just a few days ago to provide a slightly longer chapter (heh) and to provide a chance to develop their "family" bond again.
I apologize for Alec's absence in this chapter, but he will definitely be starring in the next chapter, and there's some dodgeball involved. Another teaser for the next chapter: names! I'll provide an updated character profile so you don't have to page back and forth in the next chapter too.
I know some of you are hoping to see Max and Alec officially get together soon, but I'll be honest and inform you now: I'm one of those authors who likes to build things up before letting things happen, just so that it seems more appropriate when it finally does happen. As of now, Max still holds onto the hopes of reuniting herself with the boyfriend she can't remember (i.e. Logan), so nothing can really happen, even if there is some chemistry that everyone else seems to be noticing...but I promise you all that it will eventually get there! I hope this insight doesn't discourage anyone from reading this, but I'm not going to mislead anyone...
With that said, thanks for reading, and please review! You know I'll reply.
P.S. If anyone cares, I've uploaded some Dark Angel vids on youtube featuring Manticore escapees. You can find links on my profile. I'd appreciate it if you could rate the videos, comment, or both (on the youtube site)!
For my anonymous reviewers:
opalshine: Thanks for the computer. -grins- Here's your update! Thanks for reviewing!
Kayla: Too bad 321 didn't learn in the last chapter, but I think he's definitely learned his lesson by now. I hope. Thanks for reviewing; I hope you enjoyed the new chapter!
random person: I'm glad you didn't find it boring. I hope you enjoyed this new chapter! Thanks for reviewing!
Maria Gonzalez: Glad you like the "new kids". They were certainly fun to create. I hope you enjoyed this new chapter; thanks for reviewing!
