Author's Note: Hey guys! Did ya miss me? *Hangs head in shame* I know it's been a long, long time, and I'm really sorry, but real life has a tendency to get in the way when it comes to writing :( Fortunately, though, it's summer now, so I have no school and two months in which I can spend all my time writing! *Does her version of a happy dance, which really shouldn't be legal*

I know I do this every time, but I really want to thank everyone who reviews and subscribes to my stories. Even though it's been a couple of months and I have the tendency to update sporadically, you guys keep leaving me wonderful reviews (almost daily!), and I usually get 4-6 new subscribers per day (which is friggin' AMAZING!). Thank you so much everyone! I promise the next chapter will have a big shout-out with everyone's names (you have to leave a review on this chapter so I know who to include, though). I LOVE YOUZ ALL! *Send cyber-hugs through the computer* I have to give a huge shout-out to burning, of course – I didn't send her this chapter because I wanted to give it to you guys as soon as I finished writing it, but she is the main reason every chapter is as good as it is. *Sends cyber hug and fruit-fly killing spray, since she is apparently being attacked at the moment*

As for the winner of the copy of The Gathering… only 3 or 4 people said they wanted to enter, and I didn't think that was very fair, so we're gunna try it again in the next few chapters. Just let me know if you want to be entered to win a copy of Kelley's book The Gathering – once there are at least 20 entries, I'll pick the winner out of a hat or something and PM the winner :P

Anyways, I think that's it for now (although I am working on a one-shot, so be on the lookout for that soon!) Enjoy the chapter, guys!

Disclaimer: Christina and Steph are discussing Christina's workout routine while they're on the treadmill together at the gym.

Christina: And I was so tired after eight minutes on the elliptical that I decided to just skip it from now on!
*Smiles widely*

Steph: *Confused*
Eightminutes? As in the number after seven? How did you only last eight minutes?

Christina: I was tired, okay? Anyways, I've decided I'm just gunna do 45 minutes of walking on the treadmill from now on so I don't get tired or sweaty; that way, if I see some hot guys while I'm working out, I'll still look good!
*Winks*

Steph: *Pinches bridge of nose*
You are the laziest person I have ever had the misfortune of meeting.

Christina: *Smiles*
I know. I appreciate your honesty! So now I gotta be honest with you: you don't own DP sweetheart. It's time to let go and move on from that childish dream.
*Chuckles*
I mean, seriously Steph! What's it been, like three years now? Give it up girlie!
*Makes heart with fingers*
Love youuuu!

Steph: *Glares, then smiles back*
Love you too!
*Leans over and turns the speed up on Christina's treadmill all the way. Christina flies off, lands on an exercise ball, and begins to moan in pain.*

Steph: *Gets off treadmill and stretches*
That was such a great workout!
*Leaves; meanwhile Christina is still laying on the exercise ball moaning*

Guilt

"The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but the one who causes the darkness."
-Victor Hugo

After Simon's dramatic announcement, the van became a very quiet place.

Once I'd found my tongue and remembered how to speak, I sat up straight and addressed Andrew: "What does he mean, 'double agent'? Have you been working for the rebels the entire time I've known you, Andrew? Did Aunt Lauren know this was going on?"

"It's good to see you again, kiddo – and to answer your question, yes, Lauren knew for a while. She disagreed with the whole thing until recently, when Davidoff took you away from us…"

Simon looked like he'd been punched in the face. "Wait a sec, Chloe … this is your Aunt's husband? This is Andrew?"

I nodded once and turned back to Andrew. "So you guys have been enemies all this time while still living under the same roof?" I asked, extremely confused.

"Not enemies, per say… it was more like we agreed to disagree, because we both wanted out of the Edison Group, but we couldn't agree on which method would work out the best," he admitted. "Your aunt wanted us to just take you and run as far away as we could and go into hiding – she said that was what your parents would have wanted, and that it was the only thing we could do if we wanted to keep you with us," he explained.

"Then why didn't you do that? Why didn't you guys just tell me the truth in the first place?" I demanded, my anger towards him growing by the second. If they had just told me the truth … everything would have been so different! I took a deep breath, pushing away the thoughts that had begun to rush in - I spent all those years worrying about hiding my abilities when Andrew and Aunt Lauren knew about them all along anyway?

"We wanted to tell you, Chloe, believe me, but it was way too dangerous: we were under constant surveillance, and Davidoff kept threatening to take you away if we 'compromised the experiment' – meaning we weren't allowed to tell you what was going on in case you decided to support the rebels instead of Davidoff and the rest of his group."

For a moment Davidoff's face flashed in my mind – he was smiling the same way he'd been smiling when he'd shown me my injured aunt and tried to blackmail me into helping him, and it strengthened my resolve. He'd had a part in every single facet of my life – controlled it, manipulated and shaped and re-shaped it as he pleased – but now I was done being his puppet. I'd lost everything because of that bastard: my parents, Derek, and the happy, carefree life I could've lead were it not for that pitiful excuse for a human being. I glanced at Tori – unconscious in the back seat and looking more fragile than I'd ever seen her look - and felt a stab of guilt in my stomach; if she didn't recover from the explosion of power she'd used to save us from Davidoff's cronies, I knew I'd be adding her to that list as well.

"Davidoff is mine," I whispered, fists clenched as I tried to rein in my anger. "I'm going to kill that bastard myself if it's the last thing I do."

Simon nodded in agreement and put his hand over mine before asking Andrew, "What about your plan? What did it involve that Lauren disagreed with so strongly?"

"I thought that was obvious," he said. "I was tired of running and hiding - everyone knew Davidoff was a madman that needed to be stopped, but nobody was brave enough to step forward and volunteer to do the job…. except the rebels. So I joined up with them, hoping that we'd be the ones to take down the Edison Group once and for all."

His idea sounded great, but I knew things hadn't gone as planned – I knew from Derek that the rebels had been struggling to get the advantage over the Edison Group, but they always seemed to be a few steps ahead of the game….

"But couldn't you have combined your plans?" Simon asked, looking straight out the windshield. "Why didn't Lauren take Chloe and the rest of us into hiding while the rebels fought the Edison Group? We could've been safe and avoided all the shit that's happened in the past couple of months, and Lauren wouldn't be their hostage now!"

I looked out the window, watching as the road became more and more unfamiliar while I waited to hear Andrew's explanation. We'd been driving for over an hour now, and I didn't recognize any of the surrounding area we were venturing into – there were hardly any trees along the road, and all I could see for miles was the highway we were on.

"It's not that simple, Simon," Andrew said. "And Lauren knew what she was doing…. Didn't your dad explain this to you? The rebels' were fighting as hard as they could, but we weren't getting anywhere; we needed some sort of advantage over the Edison Group. We knew that they were planning to use you kids as these 'ultimate destructive forces', so we figured if we could find you and bring you over to our side-"

"You… want to use us as weapons?" I whispered, unable to believe what he was saying. When he didn't deny what I'd said, I saw red. "But that was the whole point of escaping from those guys!" I said, furious. "We're not going to be used as weapons in this fucked-up war, Andrew!"

He seemed stunned by my outburst and didn't reply until a few moments of silence had elapsed. "Chloe…" he began, his tone gentle, "you don't understand. We need you guys, or else we might as well surrender right now. These past few months we haven't stood a chance, kid – you guys are our last hope for defeating the Edison Group!"

"So your last resort is throwing some teenagers at the Edison Group and waiting to see who the last one left standing is? Do you really expect us to survive when we're up against the entire group?"

"Chloe, it's not going to be like that! The rebels are going to be fighting right alongside you!" He smiled at me in the rearview mirror, trying to ease some of my worries. It didn't work, but I decided to change the subject rather than argue, because in the end, I knew we'd have to fight anyway… especially if I was going to get my way and be the one to end Davidoff's life.

And who was I kidding? I wanted to fight, dammit! I wanted to punch and kick and injure anyone who'd had anything to do with what happened to Derek. I would get my own revenge no matter the cost.

"Where are we going?" I asked, looking out into the night. I could hardly see anything, save for the approaching storm clouds.

"The rebel headquarters," Andrew replied. "It's our base of operations. The building was donated by one of the original leaders of the rebellion before he was killed by…" He trailed off, but I knew what he had been about to say: "… by Davidoff".

Simon didn't say anything, so I nudged him with my elbow to get his attention. "What do you think? Have you ever heard of this place?" I asked, keeping my voice hushed so that Andrew couldn't hear me.

"I think my dad told me about it once," Simon whispered back. "Apparently there are spells around the entire perimeter to keep out any unwanted visitors."

"Has anyone ever broken in?" I asked, not trusting the description – it sounded too good to be true.

"I don't think so – I'm pretty sure it's never happened during this war, but it could've happened before…." he rationalized.

I nodded before letting out an enormous yawn, the adrenalin having finally exited my system. "If you're tired, Chloe, there's a blanket and an old pillow in the back," Andrew told me, hooking his thumb over his shoulder. Instead I leaned against Simon, who put his arm around me. "Try to sleep and I'll get some more information out of him," he whispered in my ear. "It's gunna take a while to get there – at least a couple of hours."

I closed my eyes in response; I was asleep within seconds.

What felt like a minute later, I was being shaken awake gently by Simon. "Wake up, Chloe! We're here," he whispered. It took me a while to remember where 'here' was supposed to be, but once I did, all traces of fatigue disappeared from my system.

I got my first look at the place the minute I stepped out of the van. It was nothing like I'd imagined - instead of a high-tech, modern-looking building, I found myself staring up at an old Victorian mansion, complete with what I was sure were gargoyles and a bell tower. Simon was attempting to support an unconscious Tori, but he still managed to stop and get a good luck at the house's exterior. "Holy shit," he whispered in excitement, "Is it just me, or does the rebels' HQ look like Hogwarts?"

Andrew chuckled, coming to stand beside us with his hands in his pockets. "It just looks old from the outside," he assured us. "Inside it's modern, and its got everything we could ever need."

"It doesn't even look like it has electricity," Simon said under his breath. "Are you sure it's safe, Andrew?" he said a little louder.

"Of course," he said. "It may not look like it, but this house is being protected by dozens of protective enchantments – we've created an almost impassible barrier to keep out any unwelcome visitors," he boasted, sounding more than a little proud of his contributions.

A question floated through my mind and, moments later, Simon voiced it: "Then how were we able to get in so easily?"

"Simple, Simon: You're with me, and I've allowed you inside with me – thereby revealing the location to you and adding you kids to the small number of people who are allowed in and out. Now you guys can come and go as you please…" he paused, turning to smile at us, "… although I do recommend, for the sake of your safety, that you stay inside the barrier."

And with that, he led us up the driveway and into the house.

Inside, the house was everything you would imagine a high-tech base of operations to look like: there were dozens of computer screens on every wall, each being manned by what appeared to be an extremely stressed out individual. There were people rushing back and forth, all looking like they had somewhere important to be and important things to do. Andrew stepped forward into the middle of the hustle and bustle and called out, "Can we get a stretcher over here, stat? We've got a kid here who's been injured in battle!" You could hear the authoritative edge to his voice, and almost immediately a stretcher – pushed by someone who was wearing scrubs and a stethoscope - appeared next to Simon.

He carefully laid Tori onto it, then turned to me. "Chloe, I think I'm gunna go up with her if it's okay with you – just to make sure she'll be alright and everything," Simon assured me, sounding almost as if he was asking for permission.

"S-sure Simon..." I stumbled over the word, having been caught off guard. He nodded and followed the nurse who'd just left with Tori in tow. I was left alone with Andrew.

He smiled but didn't say anything, and for a moment I wished that Simon hadn't left to check on Tori – the tension was so palpable between Andrew and I that I was at a complete loss for words. Should I apologize for yelling at him earlier? I wondered. Is he waiting for me to say something? Thankfully, a moment later Andrew cleared his throat. "Since you'll be here with us for a while, I think it'd be good for you to go upstairs and choose a room for yourself and Tori," he suggested. "Just go up the stairs – all the bedrooms on the first floor are unoccupied at the moment, so you'll have your pick!" The way he said it made it seem like he thought he was offering me a treat or something; I was tempted to ask Andrew if he really thought I cared what my room looked like at a time like this, but decided it probably wouldn't help to relieve the tension between us.

"Okay," I mumbled, heading towards the stairs I'd spotted on my way in.

Andrew had been right about the rooms - there were dozens to choose from, each with a mishmash of unmatched furniture and linens that suggested the place had been furnished thanks to the contributions of a multitude of benefactors. The walls were wood paneled, making the place seem older – a huge contrast from the bottom floor, where everything looked like it'd just come out of the box – and most of the rooms were carpeted with a dull green that was probably brand new in the eighties... But despite the amount of rooms and the decor, the upper level still felt cozy.

Although my choices were in no way limited, I ended up choosing the room closest to the stairs because it had two beds instead of one; I figured that it would be good to have it in the off chance that Tori would want to bunk with me when she woke up.

That is, if she ever wakes up...

Stop it!

I shook my head, dispelling the pessimistic thoughts. Tori will wake up. She has to.

She has to….

I sat down on my bed - the one closest to the door - and tried to pull myself together. How could she do something so stupid? I wondered. She knew how dangerous it would be for her, and she still did it – risked her life just to protect us from those bastards after she followed us straight into that trap. And now she's unconscious and we have absolutely no idea what's going to happen to her after using that much power…. I shuddered, picturing the destruction caused by Tori's monster spell – the amount of power she'd released had been as powerful as a bomb, creating a huge crater in the middle of the backyard and successfully knocking out every single Edison Group guard in the area – knowing that the only reason Tori was able to command such a huge amount of energy was because of the Edison Group's tweaking of our genes and her mixed supernatural heritage. That's why the Edison Group wants her so badly, I rationalized, imagining Tori fighting alongside Davidoff and her mother. With the proper training, she could clear a battlefield in one go and not even break a sweat!

I took a deep breath and rested my head in my hands, closing my eyes tightly in order to shut out the world - I needed to process everything that had happened to us in the past few days, and the only way I could do that would be to write it all out; pour it all out onto paper and sift through it before figuring out what exactly I was feeling and what I could do to fix things. In the past few days alone, I'd learned that my entire life had been built on a web of lies spun by the Edison Group; that they were the ones responsible for everything that had ever happened to me, from losing my parents to getting adopted by Andrew and Lauren to losing Derek. Now there was nothing left of the life they'd created for me - I'd lost everything, and soon I'd be forced to fight for my life against them. They're responsible for all of this – altering our genes, murdering our loved ones – and all we've done so far is sit back and watch it happen. Well no more – they created us to be the perfect weapons in this war, and now there's nothing left to do but end it.

And only one thing was certain: they weren't going to take me alive. I was done being their pawn – the girl who obeys orders and can't protect herself from even the simplest of spells; the weak one.

I was going down fighting.

I decided things might look better after a couple of hours of sleep, so I shut the door, turned out the lights, and let reality fall away.

A few hours later there was a knock at the door, and a familiar voice drifted in from the hallway. "Chloe, it's Simon! Can I come in?"

Instead of answering, I got up, rubbed my eyes, and crossed the room, pulling the door open for him. "Hey Chlo!" Simon said, and judging by the tired look on his face, he was obviously making an effort to sound cheerful. "Andrew says it's time for dinner. Wanna come down with me?"

"Uh.. sure," I said, my brain still a little clouded by the remnants of sleep. I rubbed my eyes and stretched before following him out the door and into the hallway.

"How is she doing?" I asked as we descended the stairs, knowing he would understand who I meant. "Has there been any change …?"

He shook his head. "Nothing yet, but the shaman down there said her body probably just shut down because of all the energy she used during the battle," he summarized. "She could wake up once her body's rested in a few hours…" He trailed off, like he didn't quite believe it.

"Simon…" I whispered, "what she did… it can't be normal for spell-casters to do stuff like that, can it?"

I took his silence as a confirmation of my statement.

"Do you think that maybe it was because of-"

"it doesn't matter what I think, Chloe," he snapped. "If she doesn't wake up, we're to blame, no matter how she was able to do it."

"Don't you think I know that?" I said, matching his tone.

"All I'm saying is we shouldn't concentrate on that unle –until she wakes up," he said, his tone apologetic.

"Alright, I guess."

He didn't say anything else, so we spent the last few moments of our trek to the dining room in silence.

We followed the sounds of people chatting and chairs scraping against the hardwood to a door just off the kitchen. I was about to turn the knob when Simon put his hand over mine. "If anyone asks, downplay our abilities – dad said a lot of the members were scared that we were too dangerous to be left on our own," he warned. "Don't tell them about how you can raise things without a ritual, and if they ask about Tori…" he paused and bit his lip while thinking of what to say, "…. Just say there was an explosion or something caused by the Edison Group."

"But didn't you tell the shaman what happened?" I asked.

"I told him she was casting a lot of spells, not that she was responsible for the explosion," he explained.

I nodded, took a deep breath, and pushed open the door.

The effect was instantaneous – the moment we walked into the dining room, it was as if all the air had been sucked out, leaving everyone unable to speak. All the sounds we'd heard from outside the door disappeared within the span of two or three seconds as all eyes turned towards the genetically modified teens who'd just entered the room. Simon and I shot tight-lipped smiles to everyone in the room before rushing over to Andrew, who'd saved us both a seat next to him. "Chloe, Simon! We thought you guys were going to sleep through dinner!" He chuckled nervously and stood, pulling out our chairs for us. We sat down obediently and looked to Andrew, who was still standing, as he addressed the rest of the room. "These are two of the kids we rescued from the Edison Group – Kit's son Simon and Chloe, my adoptive daughter," he said, pointing to each of us when he said our names. The group unanimously said 'hello', followed by our names – it sounded a bit like the introductions to an Alcoholics Anonymous group session, and I would have laughed if it hadn't been for the fact that these people were planning on using my friends and I to win a war for them.

Once Andrew's introductions were over, we piled food onto our plates and started stuffing our faces. I couldn't remember the last time we'd had a proper meal outside of the Edison Group's headquarters - where the food had all been bland and tasteless anyway – and despite my being uncomfortable around the dozens of stranger in the room, my appetite was alive and well.

When we couldn't fit anything else into our stomachs, Simon and I asked to be excused so we could check on Tori. Andrew didn't seem too happy about the idea – he'd probably been wanting us to introduce ourselves further or tell our story to the entire group – but he let us go, informing us that 'lights out' was at 11 pm. Feeling like we were 5 years old again, we assured him we would be in bed by then before making our way to the infirmary.

Seeing Tori was like a slap in the face – she was shocking pale, and she looked extremely frail as she lay there with an I.V. tube snaking its way up her arm. I almost couldn't believe it at first, but it was definitely her…. and we were definitely the ones responsible for the state she was in. The look on Simon's face echoed my thoughts: Tori wouldn't be lying there unconscious if it weren't for us wanting to go back. We sat around her bed – one on each side – and stayed silent, each stuck in our own heads. I silently pleaded with whoever could be listening to let her wake up – please, please, just let her be alright – and squeezed her hand, hoping it would comfort her a little and let her know I was thankful for what she'd done.

I looked over at Simon, but he had his eyes closed; I thought he might be praying as well, so I stood up and left, retracing our steps back up to my room. Once the door was locked, I sat cross-legged on the bed and closed my eyes, preparing to summon. I'd decided on a course of action on my way out of the infirmary, and it involved some intersession from beyond the grave… Tori did what was in her power to save us, and now I'm going to do the same.I concentrated my thoughts on the beach and the waves and the crippling fear I felt whenever I visited the spirit world I'd dreamt about – the place where I'd met the demi-demon.

It was time to make another deal.

A/N: *Smiles like an idiot because this is the first chapter she's finished and months and she feels accomplished*.

I hope you liked it! The next few are going to be intense (and a lot more exciting than this one, I swear!). Anyways, please leave some love for your friendly neighbourhood fanfic author, and wish me luck (I'm going to get my driver's license tomorrow).

PS. Review for this chapter = shout-out in the next chapter… just saying :P