We're going from 0 to 100 from here on out, my dudes.

Despite the desire to tell them, I was silent for a long minute.

"…I don't know where to start," I said numbly, still staring at the plant.

"…well, how about the beginning?" Eagle suggested, looking a little confused. "That seems best, right?"

"There are two beginnings," I clarified, thinking of the father I never knew and the uncle I felt like I never knew. "Mine, and my father's and uncle's."

"This sounds like Star Wars," Bear said quietly. Tiger smacked him, but I smiled a little.

"It's…a lot," I warned, suddenly feeling apprehensive. Would I remember everything? How would they take it? Would they think I was lying, making it up? Would they think I was exaggerating?

Would they side with MI6, that the greater good outweighed me and my needs?

But it wouldn't matter. It wouldn't matter, because I wouldn't have to deal with it for very long.

"That's fine. We'll sit here as long as it takes," Lion said immediately.

I breathed, deep and slow. "Okay. Okay, I'll…start with…my dad. And my uncle."

And then I told them everything.

I told them about how my father was in deep cover, how he mentored Yassen Gregorovich, how he got out for my mum and me, how he died in a plane crash. I told them about Ian and how he'd been a good uncle, and a good man, but how he was absent on assignments that I thought were just work trips, how now I didn't know if he had just liked spending time with me or if he'd been training me since birth to follow in his footsteps.

I told them about his death, breaking into Ian's office, and the undeniable, unexplainable proof of his double life. I told them about being knocked unconscious, and the meeting, and Jack's visa, and the awful orphanage they threatened to send me to, and the blackmail, and my answer.

I'd never seen their faces look so dark.

"You're telling us that MI6—the fucking intelligence agency we work with on a regular basis, the one responsible for the security of the entire country—brought in a teenager with no formal training who'd just lost their only living relative and blackmailed them to complete an assignment that killed a seasoned agent," Bear said slowly, frost in his tone.

I nodded to the carpet.

"Those fucking pricks," Wolf said under his breath. "They sent you with no training? No courses, no backup—just—sent you?"

"I had a couple of gadgets, and I had the eleven days at Brecon Beacons," I corrected quietly. Somehow, now, with the truth slowly weaving its way into the open, the air felt heavier; like the secrets spilling out of me were drowning the silence.

"That can hardly be considered training," Snake said almost to himself, leaning back, his eyes narrowed. "All ye did was a bit of typical physical fitness and a wilderness survival course. What were ye supposed to do on the mission?"

"…Observe. Observe and report, but it never turned out that way. They wanted me to—"

I stopped abruptly, unsure if I should continue. "Am I…allowed to tell you? I signed an Official Secrets Act, and I know I don't owe them anything, but…"

"Yes, you can tell us," Lion said, uncharacteristically quiet. His eyes, instead of dark, were slight. They were on fire. "They were exploiting a child. You weren't even old enough to sign that without guardian support or permission."

I smiled, ironically and with so much weight. "But they were my legal guardians."

He didn't have an answer for that.

"…I was tasked with investigating Herod Sayle," I said eventually, not sure what harm it could do. I was about to do far worse than this. "He was going to give supercomputers to all the schools in Britain, as a gesture of friendship. Called Stormbreakers."

"I remember that," Eagle said, eyes drawn in confusion. "Evie was obsessed with it, she's always been a fan of computer science stuff. They were all mysteriously recalled, said it was for something hazardous."

I nodded. I'd just demolished their faith in MI6; I supposed a few missions that had already been resolved wouldn't be anything too major. "Sayle had bioengineered a smallpox virus that was going to kill all the schoolchildren in London. It was going to be released when the computers were activated from the Science Museum, by the Prime Minister. By the time I'd figured out exactly what was going to happen, I was captured, and I couldn't reach anyone in MI6, so I ended up having to stop it by myself."

"You were captured?" Tiger asked almost as soon as I'd finished speaking. "With no backup, no way to contact MI6?"

I nodded, to confirm, still looking at the carpet. It was so much safer than the faces. "I got away, but yeah, they caught me sneaking around."

And then came the inevitable questions of how, of why. Of how I escaped, how I was captured, was anything done to me while I was captive. And I told them everything. Everything that I had never been allowed to tell anyone else, but Tom, for whom I spared some of the worse details.

I didn't have to spare anything for them. They knew this deadly world.

"…jellyfish," Bear said quietly. "You said…at the hotel in France. Jellyfish."

I nodded, thinking back to the time just a couple months ago when I was resolved that they would never, ever hear any of this. When I was resolved to live and die a black box to remain unheard. "I'm scared of jellyfish."

And then, despite every desperate part of me, someone asked.

"How old were you?" Eagle said quietly after a moment of terse silence.

I flinched. I remembered my lies and I put them in order, and I killed another part of myself with another lie in a sea of time-tested truths. "Seventeen. Barely."

I saw Fox close his eyes in something like disappointment.

And from there, I went chronologically through my missions. Every single one, and I spared nothing. I let them see every ugly, pathetic part of me, everything twisted by the twistedness of others. Everything devoured by the cruelty of humanity. Everything broken by the selfishness and madness of the people around me. I left out some details, extraneous or memories that couldn't be surfaced right now, but they knew everything important.

Once I was done, I tied everything together. I told them about Yassen and my father, how he died for me, how that led me to SCORPIA. I told them about Ash, and his part in my parents' deaths. I thought Fox was going to throw up.

I told them about the assassination attempt and my blood on the pavement, and I told them about trying to kill Ms. Jones after seeing the footage. I told them about finding out it was a lie. I told them about feeling like I was being torn in half, sucked into two different worlds and firmly rooted in the center, in a place in which both of them had equal chances of destroying me.

Then I told them about moving to California, about living a month in school and trying to be normal, to heal, to let myself be safe, and then about Sabina. About her parents, and how I couldn't stay.

I told them about the homeless shelters and the loneliness and the lies. Smithers, the forged documents, my decision to hide in the SAS, because everything was provided, I was paid, and here, people cared about you and your life, if out of nothing more than obligation. It was more than I got with MI6.

"…I never meant for any of this to happen," I muttered shakily. The confession of it all had left me hollow in a way that hurt. "If I could go back and change my answer, I would. Someone else would've taken care of it all, I'm sure. If I could've given up Jack to keep her and Sabina and everyone else alive, I would have. I really would have."

I trailed off into silence and stared at my shaking hands, clasped tight between my knees. Lion's hand was still on my back. It hadn't moved at all. I wondered if he could feel me shaking. He must have—I was trembling like cornered animal.

"…why are they so insistent on getting you back?" Lion asked after a minute.

I took a breath. It wasn't any of the questions I was expecting. I thought I might have been grateful for that. "They said it all the time, that…that no one could do what I could do. Mrs. Jones told me that I was so good because it was in my heart that I was one, not that I was made or trained to be one, but…but I never wanted this," I keened, my voice breaking as I put the heels of my hands against my eyes.

I had to make them understand. This wasn't on purpose. I knew I wasn't blameless, I knew this wasn't right, but I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I didn't mean to have been lying to them all this time, I didn't want them to think I didn't care about all the lives I'd somehow saved, but…

…but I was just so tired.

"I suppose it's…it's a lot easier to send in one of me than a whole team. You know, less…loss of life, cheaper, and I'm…effective. It's all been luck, and some help, but…I get things done. I clean things up. They would send me when things couldn't be fixed traditionally, or loan me out to other agencies, if needed. I'm just…"

I didn't want to say a weapon. I didn't want to say an asset, or an agent, or a child soldier, or anything like that.

"…I'm unconventional enough to be dangerous, and I suppose they don't want to lose that," I said candidly.

"And in return? What do you get?" Fox asked darkly.

And I knew exactly what he was doing, because he knew I didn't get anything. He knew I just got nightmares and panic in return. He was making sure I didn't leave out any more than I already had—making sure I laid everything out for them.

"…nothing," I whispered reluctantly. "Just…I got to keep Jack. That's all."

"And when Jack died, they let you go," Bear concluded.

I shook my head, feeling the need to correct him. "The head of MI6 was fired for using me. That's why they let me go. The current head, who used to be the deputy head, Mrs. Jones…she didn't like using me, and she always made that clear. I suppose something's come up where they need me back. She came to the Pleasure's house three days after Sabina died, I'm assuming to take me back. I don't know if they were waiting for an opportunity or there's a situation, but…"

I trailed off, well and truly out of words.

I stared at the carpet. My vision blurred. I was tired from the drugs and the confessions.

There was silence around me.

"I'm gonna fucking riot," Wolf finally seethed, looking inches away from flipping the table when I sent him a glance. "That mother—she told me you volunteered. That you asked to go undercover, like your family, who I was under the impression was still alive," he spat. I assumed he was talking about Mrs. Jones, at Point Blanc. "Fuck. And you—fuck."

"Okay, so…that was a lot," Bear said hesitantly, sitting up a little straighter. "Alex, drink. Everyone else—we need to figure out what to do."

I obeyed, and listened, though I knew it was pointless. Just like at the Pleasures', out of cowardice or strength, I'd be gone by morning.

"We need to call the Sergeant," Lion said immediately, moving his hand up to squeeze the back of my neck. He left it there, heavy and warm, and I didn't look up. "He'll know what to do."

"Could we call someone you've worked with before, Alex, have them testify? Or drop an anonymous tip to MI5?" Tiger asked, leaning back in his chair.

"It'll be an internal investigation, there's too much room for sabotage," Snake said, shaking his head. "It'll just make the situation worse."

"Start by calling the Sergeant," Wolf said, standing up. He was taking command. I could tell. "Cub, you're not leaving our sight until we have a game plan. Fox, go back to ours and get our things—"

"I'm not leaving. Send Eagle or Snake," Fox said decisively, and I could feel him looking at me, even though I didn't look up.

"…fine, Eagle, you go. Get us some supplies. We'll split our time here and the hotel. Tiger, I need you to draw up a list of every entrance and exit in this building; we need to know what we're working with. Who's good with computers?"

"I can do some basic spyware," Bear said, already standing. "I'll call a friend and try to get some surveillance from the surrounding blocks going. They're good for it, don't worry."

Scary connections, I thought to myself, and smiled a little despite it all.

"Lion, you're on Alex duty," Wolf said. "Snake, you and I are about to call the Sergeant. Anyone have anything else to add or say? Cub?"

"…what are you going to tell him?" I asked hesitantly.

"Everything." Wolf's answer was immediate and strict.

I nodded. I'd thought as much. I supposed I'd need to leave even sooner, though I wasn't feeling up to it. "Mm."

"Okay. This is a right fucking mission, now, and failure isn't an option. Go."

And go they did.

Two SAS units doing their damndest to keep me safe, and I was about to make their lives infinitely harder. The irony almost made me smile.

Bear went to his room. Tiger, Snake, and Wolf went to Tiger's room. Eagle left after patting my shoulder.

Soon, Lion, Fox, and I were alone.

"Alex." Lion.

I shrank.

"We're going to be fine, kid. You'll see. Sergeant does this all the time—"

"Does he?" I asked, toneless.

"…nothing quite like this, no. But he's been around the block more than any of us," Lion amended, moving his hand from my neck to around my back, gripping my shoulder tight. "They're not taking you back there. You're going to—"

"I told you everything," I interrupted, finally glancing up at him. His face was pale, eyes stark against his pallor, and he was angry in the lines of his body and the tension in his shoulders, worried in the crease of his eyebrows, and…sad. Sad, I could see, somewhere behind green eyes and in a mind I've never been able to figure out. Wounded. "You don't need to keep protecting me."

Sadness, though remaining, was overshadowed by steel. "You deserve to be protected just as much as we do. Just as much as anyone else."

"I tried to assassinate the Deputy Head of MI6," I argued, sitting up, feeling anger—reluctance and desperation and just shame—simmer in my stomach. "I joined a terrorist organization. I—I've done good things, but I've done horrible things too."

"Shut the fuck up," Fox said, standing abruptly. So abruptly that I flinched. I thought Lion was going to scream at him. "You didn't do any of that by choice. You were a fucking child that they manipulated and you're still—"

He stopped abruptly. His jaw clicked audibly shut.

My heart raced.

"…Alex—"

"I will never, ever trust you again," I promised with fear in my eyes, not even sparing Lion a glance as he looked between us. "Don't you dare."

Fox's eyes softened. "I won't. I won't. But you should just think—"

"No."

The word shook. It fractured in the silence, and I wondered distantly how much more I could crack before the fractures finally gave.

"There's something else," Lion said, eyes zoning in on me when it became apparent that neither of us were going to keep talking.

"Not right now, not right now," I said quietly, returning my face to my hands.

"That's fine," Lion said quickly, but it was no use.

The panic I'd been so tentatively keeping contained was surging forward.

This time, I didn't think the tidal wave would stop with me—it would sweep everything around me away until I was left with nothing but a wasteland of broken promises and empty vows. A sea of carnage of my own making, a world of loss and betrayal.

I took a shuddering breath, and finally, I understood.

There was nothing left already.

I was simply riding the wave of the fantasy I'd created here, and soon this tidal wave would inevitably land me on the shore. Reality would return—the reality that had begun the moment I'd heard the doorbell ring in the middle of the night—and I would look back on this as a slice of happiness to cling to in the bad moments, but nothing more, because it would never be anything more. They would never let it be anything more.

Desperation faded, and resignation faded.

I felt something like mourning emerge.

Mourning for myself, this family I thought I could keep, these people working so hard to keep my safe. Mourning for Cub and Jaguar and Tom's Alex and the boy I would never be again, no matter how hard I pretended.

"I need to leave," I said quietly.

"You're not leaving," Fox and Lion said immediately, dropping whatever discussion they'd been having. They said it at the exact same time, with the same intensity. Nearly shouted it. Lion's hand tightened on my shoulder.

I didn't respond.

Mourning was engulfing me.

Numbness spread to my fingertips.

The nausea was of a different nature, now.

If I could incapacitate them, I had a clear shot to the door. Normally, I could be out and, in the wind, before they could come after me—even Fox. If I played my cards right, of course. Still, with the weakness from the drug, nothing was certain. I was weak and unsteady, and both of them were trained professionals, and strong. Their reflexes were good. They'd be able to stop me.

"…do you want to try eating anything?" Lion asked quietly. "I'll make whatever you want."

I shook my head to say I couldn't stomach anything, but then, an idea came to mind. And I hated myself for it so very, very much.

"Maybe some soup," I said reluctantly.

Without a word, he tousled my hair and went to the kitchen. I heard him getting things ready—pots and pans clanging quietly. He was moving slow. Maybe he was in shock.

I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream at the world that this wasn't fair. I wanted to yell and beg and pray and just scream that I wanted to keep one of my families for once. For once. For once. I wanted to bargain and beg and trade and plead and take.

But I knew better than anyone that time was unemotional, and the world didn't give a damn about tears.

"I should call Tom," I said slowly. I made to stand, but my legs shook.

"I'll get your phone," Fox said. His face and voice were both very, very blank. "Where is it?"

"On my nightstand, I think."

"Okay. Lion, I'm going to Alex's room for a second," he said, raising his voice to be heard over the running water in the kitchen.

The water stopped, and Lion stood in the doorway while Fox was gone. It only took a second. My phone was at half battery.

"Thanks," I said numbly.

Lion went back into the kitchen. I heard soft voices coming from Tiger's room.

I texted Tom.

Hey, mate. Something's come up—can't talk for a while. If you need anything, call one of the guys in L-Unit. Stay safe. I'll call when I can. This isn't me dropping you, just going away for a while.

And I hoped it was true.

I saw the typing bubbles come up on his side of the thread, but I closed out of it and opened a new message.

I texted 999.

Fire in the kitchen in flat 6o6 of Hillshire Flats on Beckan Avenue in Cookham. Hard of hearing and physically disabled, I can't get out. I can't get to the fire alarm.

I sent it. Tom texted back and I ignored it. I put my phone on silent and ignored his calls, too.

It was only a few minutes later when the fire alarm went off.

I made sure to look surprised, as much as I could when I felt so bloody numb to it all. I looked up, blinking at the flashing light and the wailing, piercing alarm.

"You've got to be fucking with me," Wolf muttered as he came out of the room, quickly followed by Bear, Tiger, and Snake. "No, Sarge, bloody fire alarm. We've gotta evacuate. Yeah, he's here. I'll call you back."

"Let's go, Alex," Fox said, and I blinked. There were all standing.

Even though it was my plan, for a moment, I'd forgotten what was expected of me.

"Right," I said quietly.

I was the last one out the door, purposely taking a bit of time to slide my shoes on, chalking it up to the lingering fatigue. Before I left, I waited until Fox and Lion were turned away from me, and I swiped a bill from the drawer in the hall table. Enough for a train ticket.

I followed them down the stairs. Lion held my elbow. I let him. I wasn't entirely sure of my feet yet, anyways. Droves of residents swarmed down with us, and I distantly wondered what I'd interrupted. Had I ruined anything? Did I sabotage a family dinner, or a video game? Was someone just getting to the good part of a movie?

We filed out onto the sidewalk. It was a good crowd—lots of people were in town still visiting family, so there were more people than usual. First responders pulled up onto the sidewalk. I shivered a bit in the cold, and Lion put an arm around my shoulders. Luckily, someone had the foresight to grab my coat, and I slipped it on.

"I'm sure they'll work it out in a minute," Lion promised. He was being extraordinarily quiet about anything—more so than I thought he'd be.

"Hm," I acknowledged.

Now I just had to wait for a chance to slip away. It came far too quickly.

While police questioned the people in flat 606—a Hispanic couple, who knew very little of what was going on—another officer was coming around asking if there was anyone unaccounted for from the flat. He got to us, and Lion did the talking. While he was distracted, I slipped out from under his arm and said, "Fox needs me."

Fox was with Wolf and Snake and Tiger on the other side of the crowd, on the phone. Bear was nearby, sitting on the curb, on his laptop. I hadn't known he liked computers.

Lion didn't let me go that easily. He snagged my jacket's sleeve for a second, and I made the mistake of meeting his eyes.

"You're just going to Fox?" He asked, eyes hard and sincere.

A piece of me broke further as I held his eyes and nodded.

Lion searched my gaze for a second longer before he let me go, squeezing my shoulder. "Okay. I trust you. See you in a minute."

I trust you. Something cracked. "Mm-hm."

I slipped into the crowd.

I was three blocks away three minutes later.

…

The train station was four miles away.

I walked it, slow and unsteady, teeth chattering from the cold. I'd already disabled the location services on my phone, but I still hated myself enough to watch the messages flood in, the calls, the texts, the voicemails. So many of them, from everyone. Tom was still trying to contact me. Lion had called a dozen times.

I knew it was dangerous, but between the cold, the weakness, and the bitter resignation, I was moving slow. Numb to everything, even to the sadness. I took frequent breaks to rest on benches before I reached the train station at 19:42.

Trains ran every hour on the hour. Provided they were far enough behind me, I could catch the 20:00 and be gone.

I shivered, teeth chattering as I purchased a single ticket to Paddington. That was far enough away that I could regroup before I figured out what to do and where to go.

I'd need to access a computer and cash out everything in my account, then close it. I'd need to start completely over if I had any hope of disappearing thoroughly enough to have a chance. If MI6 couldn't contact me or find me, they'd have absolutely nothing to gain from harming or threatening the people around me—they were cold and practical, but not vindictive.

I sat in the darkest corner of the station and observed as sharply as I could, trying to focus on the tangible so I wouldn't give thought to the utter desolation in my chest. There were a few people around—a lot of them had luggage, like they were doing post-holiday traveling back home. Someone's family was there to see them off, waiting until they boarded to leave, I supposed.

I shivered again, feeling the weakness persist. It was bloody cold and I was sure I still had some of the drug in my system—I felt awful, beyond just the sadness. I put my hands in my pockets and found my keys—they were still there from last night. I took them out and traced the flat key, still shiny and new and clean. Some of the numbness faded and became a pain so sharp I almost felt it.

When the clock hit 19:50, I gave in and read my messages.

A few from Tom, asking for an explanation, reminding me of what I'd promised. Threatening to board another Red-Eye to come find me, should he have to overturn all of England.

I texted him back and told him the bones of what was going on, but that he didn't have to worry. That I just probably wouldn't be available for a while.

He started calling immediately. I ignored it.

I moved onto K-Unit's messages. Eagle left a voicemail telling me to call, to not make any big decisions, that we could work this out. Snake left two voicemails—the first asking me to stay where I was and send a location. The second asking me to at least let them know where I was going. Wolf—

Wolf's wasn't as…explicit as I thought it would be. He sounded genuinely worried, almost. Telling me not to be fucking reckless.

Bear sounded terrified. Tiger sounded so, so angry, and so scared. Fox was furious. The furious he only got when he didn't know what else to be.

And Lion.

He sounded like he knew, but he didn't want to believe.

He left four voicemails.

"Alex, you said you were going to Fox—dammit, don't do this, kid, don't do this. I said we'd work it out and I meant it, okay? Don't do this to me, Alex. Don't throw all this away now that we finally know how to help. Wolf's on the phone with Sergeant right now, we're coming up with a game plan. Everything's going to be fine. We're not going to let anyone take you, please just—have I ever lied to you? Just—call, okay?"

"Alex, I'm serious, I'm frantic right now. You can't do this. Not after everything—shit. Okay. Okay, just…call me, okay?"

"You're at the train station, the bus station, or the Tube station, I know you are. You're too smart to go on foot. We're splitting up to come find you. Wait for us."

"The Sergeant is driving over to us right now. He's gonna be pretty sour if he gets here and it's for nothing, you know." A pause. "I know there's something else you're keeping from us, you and Fox. I want you to know whatever it is…it's okay. We'll work it out together, just like I said we would. We're in this a little too deep to just get out whenever. You're not just a kid in my unit, Jaguar. You're family, you know that. Let your family save your arse for once. Just…please. Think about this, okay? Call me."

I held the phone to my ear long after the voicemail ended, letting it fall into my lap eventually. My hand was limp around it.

I started to cry.

I bent over in half and held the phone against my chest and cried.

Christmas Eve came to mind.

Lion's hand tightened on the back of my neck, and mine tightened around his wrist. His pulse was steady and sure.

"Just stay," he said. "Give us a chance to help you figure this out and stay."

"Stay," I repeated, dumbfounded. I laughed, hollow and small. "You don't have to ask me to stay. There's nowhere else I want to go."

I didn't want to leave.

I didn't want to leave.

I wanted to stay.

Selfish or arrogant or cowardly or stupid or reckless as it was, I wanted to stay. I didn't want to be alone again, or hurt again, or scared without anyone to call or anywhere to go. I didn't want to be on my own in a huge world with the knowledge that I could die at any minute, and no one would grieve or even know.

Was it so bad to want friends, a family? Was it so bad to want to keep them, knowing full well that I couldn't, and if I did, someone was going to get hurt? Was I wrong for wanting that, knowing who I was and what I was capable of, and what others were capable of doing to the people around me?

The only answer I could think of was that maybe it was wrong.

But I also just couldn't bear being alone. I'd rather die. I'd rather kill myself right now than get on that train.

Eagle and Evie brought so much light to my life—it was a relationship of love and respect and just goodness, and it was so, so bright. Snake was so infallibly kind. So incredibly, overwhelmingly kind, and kindness was something so hard to come by. Wolf was protective. Abrasive and rude, but so protective, and he would walk through fire for the people he cared about, and twisted as we both were, I had somehow become one of them.

Fox was constant and consistent and good. Funny and a little all over the place and a bit too lax for my taste but so good, and respectful of my privacy and supportive and there.

Bear. Bear was compassionate. Compassionate to an extent I'd never be able to understand. Willing to sit in a cold bathroom with me at four in the morning while I was sick from my nightmares and listen patiently and openly. Compassionate enough to return with a secret of his own. Compassionate enough to empathize with me about suicide, though he wasn't ready. And he cared so fiercely.

Tiger was rough on the outside and so, so loyal inside. His anger in the beginning was out of loyalty to Elliot, and I could never fault him for that. He would stand beside me no matter what came my way, of that I was certain. He may not show it like Bear or Lion, but his care was endlessly deep.

Tom—was Tom. Had always been and would always be Tom, and Tom was everything I could ever ask for, and…God, I didn't even want to think about how frantic he was.

Lion.

Lion, the enigma. The man who gave me a unit and a home and permission to use my name again and promises and compassion and secrets and his cigarettes and his faults and his shortcomings and his past, his fears and his family and his protection and strength and love and patience and unerring kindness for free, without expecting anything in return. Nothing at all. The one who told me I had a home, no matter what my secrets were, the one who convinced me of it when I doubted.

I sobbed over the phone they gave me and the key they gave me and the love and home and protection they gave me. I sobbed and I mourned. I didn't know what I was mourning, but this feeling was far too familiar to be anything else.

20:00 came. The train pulled in, and everyone boarded.

I couldn't stand.

At 20:06, the train left, and I was still sat on the platform in the dark corner, sobbing.

A/N: Ouchies.

First of all, WOW. Feedback for the last chapter was awesome! I'm so excited you guys were as happy about the reveal as I was, and I hope this chapter didn't disappoint!

Secondly: my loves. To clear up any confusion, this is…not anywhere near the end. We have a SHIT TON of content left. I'm talking hundreds of thousands of words. Some of y'all are like "ohhhhhh climax" and I'm like "ohhhhh maybe in ten years". I hope that's a good thing lol

Thirdly, is Alex BAMF? Yes. Is he allowed to feel emotion because he's sixteen and terrified? Also yes. They are not mutually exclusive please and thank you :)

Reviews. Love you guys SO MUCH!: jhalverson2027, storyspinner16, otterpineapple06, Cirque De La Folie, Lira, Guest, GrangerWinchester, Guest, Finnix Weirdo, RiderKitty, OnlyABookworm, Guest, Fox, MistyToriRabiyah, Draycone, Cakemania225, Guest, MillieM04, agent potter, Wraith and Demjin, Eva Haller, Guest, NeleWW, Guest, Guest, Razeli, Guest, Guest, marthecaterpillar, Padfoot's Marauder, Clover266, KMer79, Swirling Starlight, GUEST, Guest, Cortanacordeliacarstairs, and Jess!

Lira: AHHHHH THANK YOU!

Guest (I just came back to read…): Ah thank you! I'm so glad!

Guest (omigooness…): HI HOW ARE YOU I'm honored that you wanted to reread, lol! Hahahaha major plot twists indeed. Thank you, positive affirmations make my day :) and yeah I am really happy to hear that! Thank you!

Finnix Weirdo: WEIRDO! Of course I remember you! Your reviews make me smile, remember? Don't worry, life happens! Ugh I am such a simp for Lion, lol. Thanks for sticking around!

Guest (I'm so excited for…): Omg thank you! That's such a nice compliment! And me too, dude!

Fox: You're so welcome :) I hope this was what you wanted!

Draycone: AHHHH WAIT THIS WAS SO SWEET THANKS! Yes I loved that line, I was proud of it, I'm glad you liked it too! Thank you so much!

Guest (You absolutely SLAYED these…): OMG THANKS! Hehehe cliffhangers are my jam, lol. YES IT WAS INTENTIONAL! Nope, they're sadistic little maggots. Hahahaha hope this is soon enough!

Guest (So I don't usually comment…): OMG thanks for commenting! Thank you so much and I hope this didn't disappoint!

Guest (Please don't let them…): Hehhee no spoilers! Thank you so so much, I hope this didn't disappoint! Omg that is commitment and I am so grateful for it

Guest (I may be overthinking it…): Hm…I don't think you were. We all know how Alex's mind shuts down sometimes

Guest (WHY DID YOU BRING SCORPIA AND THE BANK BACK): I'M SORRY I GUESS I LIKE CHAOS Lol thanks I'm glad you're somewhat pleased!

Guest (Not me reloading this page…): COMMITMENT! THANKS!

Guest (I LOVE YOUR ENERGY): THANK YOU FOR MATCHING MY ENERGY

Guest (I love this story…): Oh my goodness thank you so so much! Thank you for reviewing!

Cortana: AHHH HEY I'M SO GLAD! That's ok! You're always so kind, I'm glad you enjoy it so much! Hope this was everything you wanted!

Jess: Omg thank you so much, that's so sweet! I'm glad you're enjoying it! Thanks for the review!

…

Til next time :)