Chapter 18: SAP

Lydecker's Office, Manticore

"The Committee will have your throat when they find you've sent out an unauthorized mission," Lydecker calmly stated.

"The mission was authorized – it was authorized by me," Renfro defended.

"You don't have that authority any more." His tone rose, as did his anger.

"The mission was a success. The Committee will thank me when they hear I brought back another rogue X5, something you spent years doing to no avail."

"You don't know what you've just done."

"Then why don't you explain it to me," Renfro demanded, not at all concerned.

"If 452 finds out about this, we will have a problem."

"You mean you will have a problem, Director."

Lydecker glared at Renfro, clearly not happy with what he just discovered. "Manticore will have a problem if 452 decides she's been betrayed and enlists the help of her unit to avenge her sister. You've seen how loyal Unit 9 has become towards their CO."

"Then don't let her find out. Either way, we have another rogue X5 back, and I'm sure that 210 will be a nice addition to Unit 3. They did just lose a member. Maybe even Unit 9. After all, they are family, aren't they?"

"This isn't over. If you ever carry out another unauthorized mission, I will have you arrested," Lydecker bit out.

Renfro just smiled before leaving. "Good to know," she said casually. She didn't believe Lydecker one bit. "Oh, by the way, 734 just finished a Psy-Ops eval. I told her to meet you in your office in an hour."

Lydecker's eyes burned into the back of the woman's head as she left. She had yet again gone over his head and authorized a Psy-Ops eval on one of the rogues. She would pay.

Gym, Manticore

"I hope they didn't treat you too bad while I was gone," Max began, taking a seat next to Kev as she gazed at the stars that filled the night.

Kev smiled slightly. "Well, Nic behaved himself, but I don't suspect it'll be long before he tries something else."

"Oh, I'm not concerned. I've got plenty of goodies for him if he tries something," Max informed with a laugh as she thought back to all the prank stuff she brought from her time outside.

A moment of silence passed between them as each were lost in their own thoughts.

Kev finally decided to break the silence. "Things were a bit different without you around, Max. Everyone was worried Manticore might have sent you to Psy-Ops or something. There was no explanation for your absence."

Max smiled slightly. The thought that her unit had been concerned about her never crossed her mind when she left Manticore, but knowing that they had was...heartwarming. "Don't worry. I doubt I'll be heading to Psy-Ops anytime soon. Lydecker knows it won't do me any good," Max replied confidently, hoping her words were indeed true.

"I hope so," Kev murmured. She paused a bit before continuing, debating whether or not to bring it up. "There was another thing that happened while you were gone."

"What do you mean?" Max asked, curious.

"We had another field exercise against Unit 2," Kev explained.

"We crushed them, I'm hoping?"

Kev nodded, but then realized Max wouldn't have been able to see it since they were lying down, so she continued, "Yeah, but it wasn't just any normal field exercise, Max. It was a five-hour long escape-and-evade night exercise. Unit 2 also had reinforcements – an X6 unit. We were outnumbered 3 to 1."

Max was silent as she absorbed the information. "Talk about unfair odds..."

"I'm not sure if you know this, but typically most exercises like that are only against other X5 units and last two hours. Of course, most of them end up with no absolute victor, since rarely anyone is caught, but still, it's just good practice."

"So you think there was a reason behind it?" Max asked.

"...I don't know. I saw Lydecker watching us from the Command tent, and although he's been back for a while, I haven't seen him observe too many of our exercises. Then you were gone, and well, you know how we thought they might have put you back in Psy-Ops. So I was thinking, what if he was testing us?"

Max nodded, now understanding what Kev was getting at. "Maybe he was," Max confirmed with a sigh. "Exactly how did we do then?"

"We held out the whole five hours, but we had plenty of close calls. We were boxed in several times, but we managed to escape before anyone was captured."

Max smiled at that. "I guess Lydecker wasn't too pleased with the results."

"Perhaps, but I doubt we would have lasted much longer."

"It doesn't really matter, I don't think. If Lydecker was indeed testing you all, he wanted to see how you would have done if you wanted to escape Manticore."

Although Kev didn't consciously register that possibility, she knew subconsciously that it was possible. It had been a fear that she ignored, hoping Manticore wouldn't think of them as a flight risk. After all, they were afraid that Max might have been taken to Psy-Ops for being a flight risk. Manticore would want to know how Unit 9 would have performed if Max wanted to help them all escape. Kev understood. She just didn't want to admit it.

"How did we do then?" Kev asked.

Max laughed a bit. "Well, I think if we really wanted to get out of Manticore, we'd have a better plan than just running," Max honestly stated. "Not saying you guys did bad. Five hours without getting caught would probably get you far away enough from Manticore to escape. I mean, I was nine when we escaped. We had no real plan besides to run. We knew little of the outside world. It's amazing we managed to blend in, but I guess it's in our genes, you know. We're older now, and if we're going to leave as a unit, I'm going to make sure we get a bit more creative than the infamous 2009 incident. We have a record to beat. There are less obvious ways of running then hopping over the fence," Max grinned.

Kev smiled, too, now. "Are you saying you have ideas?"

"I've always had ideas, Kev, but I don't think the rest of them are ready to leave yet."

Kev sighed, but agreed, "You're probably right. I'm sure Nic still intends to prank you in front of Lydecker."

"He told everyone about that?" Max asked miserably.

Kev smiled. "Yep." Kev paused before asking her next question. "Are you going to tell me where you really went then?"

"You really want to know?"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to..." Kev replied.

"I was on a mission, but you can't tell anyone else. It was off the books, so even Manticore isn't supposed to know. One of my siblings was in trouble, and Lydecker didn't want him falling into the wrong hands."

Kev was silent, surprised by the news. "So...you didn't bring him back?" Kev inquired, realizing now why it was off the books. "And Lydecker just let that happen?"

"Yeah...I was surprised too," Max admitted. "But let's not dwell on that too much. I still don't trust Lydecker. I was going to go to the rec room to check up on everyone else. You want to come along?"

"Sure." Kev sat up and began making her way down the climbing wall. The only thought that occurred to her right now was that Max was given a chance to run, but she didn't. She had come back for them.

Lydecker's Office, Manticore

A knock at the door indicated 734's arrival.

"Come in," Lydecker answered.

"X5-734, reporting in, sir!"

"At ease," Lydecker said dismissively. He was not in the mood for this, but it was customary for him to review every soldier after a Psy-Ops eval before returning to active duty.

734 switched to the at ease position.

Lydecker looked up from his paperwork and surveyed the transgenic before him. There was not an ounce of personality in 734's eyes. Before he asked the questions, he knew the Psy-Ops eval was successful. 734 was just like any other Manticore soldier. "What is your purpose?"

"To serve Manticore, sir!"

"Finish this sentence. Emotions are..."

"-a sign of weakness, sir!"

And so Lydecker continued down the list of questions, with 734 correctly answering each and every one of them without so much as blinking. When it was over, he dismissed 734 and returned to his work. Renfro had indicated that 734 had become a flight risk, which was why she had sent 734 for a Psy-Ops eval. He couldn't help but wonder if Max had anything to do with that...

Still, if Max ever found out they had Jondy, there would be problems, and at this point in time, he did not want to think of all the problems that could arise. Not after seeing Unit 9's progress these past few weeks. It would be chaos.

Rec Room, Manticore

"So what do we do during SAP anyway?" Max asked her unit, while they all were busy playing a game or watching a movie during their rec hour. It was the day before the Skills Assessment Period began, and Max realized she had no clue what it really was.

"A little bit of everything," Dart began. "Every unit has a different schedule, but in the end, everyone does the same thing, just on different days and with different units."

"One day is usually dedicated to the individual tests, such as marksmanship, obstacle course times, underwater times, track times, a physical fitness test, and other things like that," Gai added.

"The other days, units are paired with another unit in a little bit of...friendly...competition, whether it be in hand-to-hand combat or field exercises," Tri explained.

"Some field exercises are not so friendly though," Ammo stated, recalling some previous exercises that ended with him in the infirmary for several days.

"While some are a walk through the park," Joy countered.

"Some may include heavy rapids, while others will require us jumping off an airplane," Fin said.

Cody smiled as he added, "Some require us to hack or download programs too."

"All in all, it can be pretty much anything. It's whatever Command is in the mood for," Nic complained. "I suspect it's going to be hard for us."

Ammo elbowed his friend. "Stop being so pessimistic."

"I'm not being pessimistic. Just realistic," Nic corrected. "Besides, you know Command's going to make things difficult for us. They've only done that since we've formed."

"That is true..." Gai observed.

"That doesn't mean we're not going to kick butt, right everyone?" Max asked.

Not surprisingly, Joy was the first to agree. "Right on!" she exclaimed.

Everyone agreed, cheering right along, except for Kev, of course, who was silent as usual. Just then, another X5 walked up to the group. It was X5-343 from Unit 6.

"I couldn't help but overhear. Looks like we have a challenge," 343 began.

"That you do," Dart assured. "Don't expect us to go easy on you." He never got along well with 343, and they often ended up in arguments back when they were in the same unit.

Surprisingly, 343 did not provoke Dart this time. He just grinned and retorted, "I'll be looking forward to it."

Dart watched 343 leave, confused by his behavior. It was rare that the two did not walk away without getting into some kind of altercation. What changed?

"What's with him?" Tri asked, just as confused. She was aware of their previous bouts. "I thought you two never got along."

Dart shrugged. "Me too. I'm just as stumped."

Max surveyed the other transgenics in the rec room. There were many scattered conversations going on – some about SAP, others about random things. There was no doubt that other units were eying Unit 9 curiously, wondering if the talk was true – if they really were that good.

Well, they would just have to find out.

Cell 421, Manticore

As rec hour came to a close, Max headed back to her cell. She was surprised, however, when she found someone already there, eating the candy she had bought for her unit. She was intending on distributing it to them after SAP, as a reward of some sort.

"What the hell do you think you're doing in here?!" Max asked, storming into her cell and snatching the candy away from the intruder.

"I heard you got back," the hazel-eyed transgenic replied with a grin. "Nice candy, by the way."

"What gives you the right to barge into my cell, Alec?!"

Alec just grinned stupidly. "It wasn't locked or anything," he justified. "Besides, I just had to be sure I wasn't hearing lies about your return. Where the hell have you been anyway?"

Max's anger was distinguished with that question. She didn't realize how much of an effect her absence would actually have on the people around her. It wasn't until Kev pointed it out earlier and Alec's question now that she came to see she was actually missed. Then again, her unit never realized the damage they did to those they left behind when they escaped. She sighed as she took a seat next to Alec.

"I just had some things to do," Max began. "No big deal."

"Things that got you candy?" Alec asked, pressing for more details. "And these awesome prank items which I have a feeling will be an enjoyable show to watch when you decide to give 321 some payback?"

"Yeah, so what, you missed me?" Max grinned, changing the subject.

"As if," Alec snorted. "I think you, Max, X5-452, from the traitor class of 2009, went out on a mission," he declared confidently. "And you came back with all these goodies!" Alec grinned as he snatched the candy back from Max and started downing some more.

"HEY! Give that back!!!" Max yelled as she tried to snatch the candy from him. "I'm saving it for my unit Alec!"

Alec laughed. "Oh please. You have plenty to share," he said, pointing to the hidden stash stored behind the bricks she had sawed out.

Max crossed her arms, clearly angry. "Alec. Give. It. Back."

"Oh come on, Max. I'll share my stuff with you when I go on missions," he bargained.

"No deal."

Alec sighed and grabbed a few more candies before throwing the bag back to Max. "You're a party pooper."

That was it. Max unleashed her anger on the only person there to take it. Alec ducked just in time to avoid an incoming punch.

"Oops. Guess I shouldn't have said that," he murmured to himself. He blurred again to avoid a kick aimed at his side.

"Max, can't we talk about this?" he pleaded as he continued sidestepping her attacks.

Max just returned a rather wicked smile before replying, "Nope."

"Umph! Oww...ok please stop Max?! You've made your point. No touching the candy," Alec cried as a blow made it to his stomach. Another blow sent him to the ground. He held up his hands in surrender.

Max stopped and smirked as she took a seat on her cot. "So what brings you here? I thought you said you didn't miss me," she teased.

Alec got up and took a seat next to her. "I don't. That would be an understatement," he replied, looking into her eyes. After his conversation with Dart, he knew that he indeed liked Max, if not loved. He didn't dare admit it earlier because he was afraid of what it would mean. Now he knew it was true and nothing he would tell himself would make it false. "I hated not knowing what happened to you, Max. There were no reports of anyone in isolation or Psy-Ops."

Max realized now that perhaps her sister had been right. Maybe there was something between the two of them after all. Neither of them would admit it. Until now.

Alec continued, "Dart didn't know where you went. Hell, your whole unit had no idea where you were. I checked everywhere, including your hiding places andstill couldn't find you. I was afraid you might have escaped and lef–"

Alec was silenced when a set of lips enclosed his. His eyes widened in shock, but eventually, he returned the kiss, pulling Max closer to him by placing an arm around her back.

When they broke off the kiss, Max smirked. "You talk too much."

Alec's mouth was left hanging as the realization of what happened hit him. His fingers touched his lips that had just recently been kissing the beautiful woman across from him. Finally, he grinned a rather goofy grin. "Is there any more of that?"

Max just laughed and kissed him gently on the cheek. She wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer to her and whispered into his ear, "I missed you too."

Alec sighed, slightly disappointed, but he wrapped his arms around her shoulder, embracing her into a hug as well. "Does this mean the rumors are officially true?" he whispered back.

Max smiled. "I guess so."

Alec grinned, enjoying their close embrace. A moment of silence passed as they listened to each other's heartbeat and breathing.

"This doesn't change things, you know. Unit 6 is still going to come out on top," Alec finally declared, breaking the silence.

Max scoffed. "Yeah right. I told you, Unit 9 is taking the lead."

Alec just smiled as they broke their embrace. "Guess we'll just have to see tomorrow then, eh?"

Max returned the smile. "Guess so."

Alec got up to leave, but before he did, he reminded, "You owe me a story. I've been looking for good candy like that for ages. You have to tell me where you got it from."

Max rolled her eyes. "Tomorrow."

Alec grinned. "It's a date."

Training Grounds, Manticore

Unit 9 was told their schedule the following morning, after roll call, when the drill instructors divided everyone into their units.

"Unit 9 will meet remain here with Unit 3 today for combat and field exercise evaluations. In the afternoon, you will meet with Sergeant Anderson to conduct your individual test assessments. Tomorrow, you will meet here with Unit 7 for combat and field exercise evaluations. In the afternoon, you will meet here with Unit 5 for the same evaluations. On Day three, you will have the rest of your individual assessments in the morning and meet here in the afternoon with Unit 1. Day four – you are granted a break while we analyze your performance and determine the appropriate schedule for the rest of SAP based on your performance."

It was evident that Unit 9 would not be going against Unit 2 at all. They had already proven themselves better while they were in Class Charlie. All they had to do now was prove themselves against the other units of Class Bravo. After the break, if they did well enough, they would move on to test against the other units in Class Alpha, that is, if those units remained on top of the others in Class Charlie.

After the drill instructor reviewed their schedule, Units 3 and 9 were ordered to pair up with a member from the opposing unit to begin sparring. Unit 3 had an extra person; so one person would work on forms while the others sparred. The trainers would go around assessing their techniques. Every few minutes, they rotated.

The field exercise with Unit 3 was, as Joy had said, 'a walk in the park'. It was a simple infiltration mission, where a few members were sent to infiltrate the enemy base and plant "bombs" without getting caught. Unit 9 was in and out before anyone in Unit 3 was able to get passed Unit 9's defenses.

After lunch, Unit 9 completed their track time assessments, the obstacle course, and their marksmanship evaluation. Although their overall scores weren't the best, they weren't the worst either. Nic, once again, scored perfectly in his marksmanship evaluation, and Viper was only off by a centimeter on one of her shots, while Dart topped the record for track time. Max, Kev, and Tri held record times for the obstacle course.

Day two went by quickly as they were tested nonstop. Their field exercise with Unit 7 proved a bit more difficult than the previous day. They had to send a small group to raft through some rapids in order to reach the enemy base. Whoever eliminated everyone defending the base first won. Determining who should stay and who should go was not easy, as it was known that Unit 7 had much larger numbers than Unit 9, topping off at 15 members when the average was 13. After a hard-fought, well-planned battle, Unit 9 came out the victor, but with more casualties than desired.

Unit 9's mission in the afternoon against Unit 5 required rescuing a hostage held in enemy territory. The rescuers would sky dive into enemy territory, and stealthily make their way to the enemy base. After eliminating all hostiles, the hostage would be secured and the mission would be accomplished. This exercise proved easier than the one earlier in the morning since Unit 5's defenses were weak. They had sent many more to attack Unit 9's base than to defend, thinking it would help them achieve victory faster. Unfortunately for them, they underestimated Unit 9's defenses, which although were lacking in numbers were more than capable of eliminating the enemy in record speed. Several soldiers made the mistake of landing themselves too close to the base, making it easy to be spotted by Unit 9 soldiers on patrol nearby.

The third day arrived and they finished the rest of their individual assessments. Ammo aced the physical fitness test while Fin topped the records for their underwater exercises (one exercise tested how long they could hold their breath, while another tested how long it would take for them to free themselves from restraints while underwater). Cody practically hacked the given server before the trainers could blink while Joy was the first to properly treat her "victim" in their field med exam. Gai aced their tracking and navigation exam, which required them to locate a "missing" trainer within a set time.

Perhaps the trainers arranged it intentionally, but their final exercise, before their break, would prove to be the most challenging. As the trainers gave them their instructions, it seemed rather easy, yet something didn't seem right when the trainer vaguely indicated it might last longer than the previous ones.

The two units were situated at opposite ends of the training field to allow an equidistant from the goal, but a good enough distance from each other that they should not run into each other until near the goal.

"Your mission objective is to infiltrate the enemy base and download their database. The enemy base is located west of here and marked on your maps. The first unit to do so will achieve victory. Dismissed."

Unit 9 saluted and headed west, waiting until they were out of the DI's hearing distance, before speaking.

"Something doesn't sound right," Kev began.

"I felt that too," Max thought aloud.

"You two nervous or something?" Nic teased. "This is one of the easiest missions we've ever gotten."

The others looked at their leaders, whom they trusted more than Nic. "What do you suppose is wrong?" Fin questioned.

Max shrugged. "I'm not sure. I just have a feeling this exercise really may cause us to miss dinner, for whatever reason."

"Oh come on. Just because the trainer said 'I hope you ate lunch' doesn't mean we're not going to have dinner. You're over analyzing it! He's just implying we should have energy," Nic argued.

Max and Kev sighed, still uncertain. "It's not only that. Something just doesn't feel right. Well, since it is an easy mission, we don't all need to go. Dart, I want your group to remain behind, just in case anything does go wrong. Stay in the shadows and observe from afar. If Unit 1 tries to come up from behind, stall. Viper, take your group and infiltrate the building to download the database. Nic, take your group and eliminate any scouts, patrols, and enemy defense teams. Provide cover for Viper. Kev and I will remain in between Dart's group and the enemy base to watch for anything out of the ordinary," Max ordered.

They all nodded and broke up into their groups. Viper and Nic's groups left together, moving ahead of the others. Max and Kev moved cautiously forward. Dart's group covered them from behind. There was still no sign of Unit 1.

"Hey Vip," Nic began. "You up for a movie this weekend?" he asked conversationally.

"Shut up, we're in the middle of an exercise, for crying out loud!" Viper reprimanded.

"Aww, come on Vip. It's just an exercise. Movie this weekend? Yes or no? It's easy to answer," Nic tried.

"I'll tell you after we complete this exercise Nic," Viper said, trying to keep her cool. "But please, stop talking!"

Nic sighed. Viper was always so uptight. That's why he had pranked her to begin with. She needed to learn to have fun and relax. "Fine, after this mission then, Viper," Nic muttered.

As they neared the base, there were still no signs of Unit 1. It was clear they were the first to arrive. They had already won the mission, in a sense.

Viper and Nic's groups worked together to eliminate the defenses, including any patrols. Max and Kev helped eliminate any the groups had missed as they advanced towards the enemy base. Dart's group remained hidden, watching for anything out of the ordinary. Unit 1 still had not arrived – would that be considered out of the ordinary?

As soon as they were clear, Viper's group entered the enemy base and quickly found its way to the basement where the database was kept. Cody got to work and began transferring the data.

Nic's group had finished eliminating the few enemy patrols and was now heading down to the room as well. That turned out to be a bad idea, for as soon as they entered the building, the doors locked tightly behind them and the building released a sleeping gas.

Dart's eyes widened at the sudden change of events. "Shit. That's definitely not normal. We should tell Max."

Max and Kev turned their attention to the building that suddenly shut down. Unfortunately, they didn't notice the tazers that seemed to come out of nowhere. They were out before they even saw their attacker.

"We can't," Tri declared from her perch on the tree. "Unit 1's here. They've been hiding, which is why we didn't see them earlier. I just saw two of their members blur to attack Max and Kev. They had tazers. Max and Kev are out cold."

"Uh...where are the others then?" Gai asked uneasily.

Tri hopped down. "They're coming right for us."

"Oh...crap. Let's scatter and rendezvous 100 meters southeast of the Nest Rock," Dart ordered. "Back to escaping and evading," he muttered with a sigh.

Tri and Gai nodded before taking off. This was definitely unexpected.

Enemy Base, Manticore

When Max awoke, she couldn't see anything. As her pupils dilated to adjust to the darkness, she realized she was lying on the ground of a small cell. She assumed she had been captured and was probably being held at the enemy base. After recalling the lockdown the building faced, it can only be assumed that Viper and Nic's groups were captured as well.

Hopefully Dart's group is OK, and maybe Kev made it out alright, Max hoped. So much for an easy exercise.

Max moved to a sitting position and reclined against the wall. Her hands were handcuffed behind her while her feet had been chained. Manticore just created another excuse to torture them – all in the name of testing. She should have known.

A few minutes later, Max's cell opened and a figure entered, bringing her to her feet. She didn't bother resisting – she had no way of knowing where to go even if she escaped. Attempting escape at this point in time would be unwise.

Max's night vision revealed the figure was another transgenic, most likely from Unit 1, she thought bitterly.

The female transgenic led Max into a larger room and tossed her into the center. Another transgenic took a step forward and spoke.

"X5-452, it's a pleasure to meet you," the male transgenic smirked. "We were told your unit beat us to the mission objective already. Unfortunately for you, we were given a chance to redeem ourselves. Our new mission objective is to extract as much information from your captured unit mates before midnight. That gives us nearly ten hours – more than enough time, I can assure you."

Max could only laugh at his statement. "You're telling me you actually believe you can redeem yourself? If you haven't heard, Unit 9 holds quite a record. Whether you extract information or not, you're not going to be in the lead."

"I'm sure we both can agree to disagree. So have you met the other members of my unit, 452? I should mention...we don't appreciate traitors in our midst."

Before Max could reply to that statement, her body hit the floor from a blow a nearby transgenic dealt. And so it would begin.

Basement Cells, Manticore

The locks turned and the door opened. Two soldiers accompanied Renfro as she entered the cell.

Jondy remained seated; she was determined to not let them get to her. They had taught her how, and she was certainly going to use it.

"Get up," Renfro ordered.

Jondy ignored her; so Renfro signaled the two soldiers to...assist her. The two soldiers quickly approached her, powering their tazers as they approached. A few minutes later, Jondy was glaring at the former Director and trying her best to not give her any satisfaction. She could tell from just the first few minutes that the woman thrived off of power. The tazers had weakened her – as if a few days without food and water wasn't enough, so the soldiers were now holding her up to stand before Renfro.

"Your sisters will be pleased to know you're back home," Renfro began. She knew that the primary weakness of the rogue X5s were each other. They cared too much about the others in their 'family', and she was certainly planning on using it to her advantage.

Jondy's eyes softened for a moment, hearing that Brin wasn't the only one Manticore got to, but quickly turned into an icy glare when she realized the woman was doing it on purpose. "This will never be my home," Jondy spat.

Renfro smiled, knowing that her statement had gotten to the X5. "452 is doing quite well, you know. She'd make your brother Zack proud, leading her own unit. They're even one of Manticore's best now, in spite of their below-average numbers. Perhaps we can send you to her unit after you are cleared. Her unit is lacking a few members, so I'm sure she could use another soldier."

Jondy's heart sunk, hearing her best friend and sister had been taken back by Manticore. Who else did Manticore get to? One thing was certain, however: she would try her damn hardest to resist. Manticore could not win. "I will never be a solider for Manticore."

Renfro just smiled. "We'll see about that." She then directed her orders to the soldiers. "Take her to Psy-Ops. It's time."

With every attempt to free herself, Jondy was met with the excruciating pain from a tazer's jab.


A/N: Well, here's the update. I hope it meets your expectations. I promised it was the one everyone was waiting for, and after reading it through now before uploading it, I really do hope it was OK, but I fear I may have brought your hopes up a bit too much...Let me know...

Anyway, I'll be uploading the next one roughly a month from now as well, most likely some time near the beginning of April. I'm using the deadline of my 5, 3-page paper assignments in one of my classes to guide me, haha, since that's the class that I have to write the most for, which resultantly takes up a lot of my time.

A lot happened in this chapter, and I'm interested in hearing what you all think about...whatever caught your attention. Please leave a review with your thoughts!

Well, I guess I've said all I have to say. Special thanks again to mars494 who has helped to beta this chapter.

Thanks for reading! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

For my anonymous reviewers:

dUsHala: I'm glad you're enjoying this story! Thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope you enjoyed the update!

dobie1201: Welcome aboard! I'm glad you're enjoying this story. Thanks for reading and reviewing; I hope you enjoy the update!