The final Ethan chapter is here!! I'm trash at editing so please point out any mistakes. x

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Ethan shivered under the thick layer of clothing soft against his skin. Winter had well and truly fallen over Arabel, and with it came a dark time in the Control Centre. The weather leeched warmth from the walls, the lights, even the people. But he felt very warm; he pulled one knee up and encircled it with his arm, thanking the cold weather for allowing him to wear jeans. His eyes darted between the two assailants on either side of him. One dark haired and eyed, the other with fiery locks and splattered freckles. Kyra. Boomer. The two people who knew him best. He could trust no one, especially not them - not tonight, that is.

Board game night was in full swing.

Situated in one of the many labs, they cowered between two tall tables, cross-legged around a board. Sighing, Boomer scooped up the dice in a smooth movement, trying to hide the flicker of a red token by tossing the dice around to show of his adeptness.

"Aha!" Kyra swiped her token out of Boomer's hand. "I knew you were cheating."

"I was just picking it up." He shrugged in feigned innocence, but Ethan saw straight through it.

"Let's not forget the board game fiasco of 09'."

Boomer rolled his eyes. "I swear, to this day I still don't understand how your token ended up lodged in my throat."

"Oh yeah?" he said, tucking his shaking hands in his pockets. His body had been like that for weeks; it was a wonder no one had noticed, especially Boomer. They worked on intricate projects that required steady hands, but he hadn't been able to hold anything still.

"Mhmm."

"So you weren't hiding it in your mouth, and didn't accidentally choke when I opened a bag of chips and you got excited?"

Boomer pursed his lips, and slowly said, "I don't recall."

The trio burst out laughing. Ethan's cheeks hurt from smiling but he didn't dare stop; this was the best he'd felt in months.

If only he always felt so alive.

Ethan rubbed his eyes to keep them open. Ever since he'd spotted that drone, sleep was a second priority, and finding a way to fulfill his father's final wish was all he could think about. That left little time for sleeping, eating and working - but to him, nothing else mattered more than family. Especially family that was presumed dead.

Kyra gasped, a sound so sharp he was pulled back to Earth.

"What's wrong?"

She ran her hands through her hair. "Boomer, the world must be coming to an end because Ethan hasn't told a single bad joke today."

"He hasn't spoken at the speed of light either." Boomer clutched his chest and fell backwards. "Oh no, how ever will we survive?"

The pair chuckled as Ethan rolled his eyes. Was it that obvious he wasn't himself? "I've got plenty of dad jokes up my sleeve. And on my shirt," he added, pulling back his jacket to expose the tee beneath. It read 'Why are there no good jokes about paper? They're tearable.'

Kyra shook her head with a smile. "You're terrible."

"Agreed. You all right?" Boomer asked, clapping him on the back. The force of it made Ethan's balance waver; he placed a hand against the dusty floor to keep his upper body upright.

He smiled a small smile. "Yeah, just tired. I need some caffeine." And sleep, he wanted to add, but doing so would only make it that much harder to hide his recent activities from them. "Speaking of caffeine: why did the coffee file a report with the Enforcing office?"

The pair exchanged a glance. After a long moment, Kyra gave in. "I don't know. Why?"

"It got mugged." At their blank stares, he added, "You know, because it got put in a mug? It was, like, mugged..."

Kyra pursed her lips to hide a smile. "Oh, don't worry. We got it."

Boomer's head fell into his hands. "That was terrible. Like, seriously terrible. Like, 'I want to shove my head in a coffee grinder' terrible. You really do need some caffeine."

"He'd pass out in the hall, there's no way he'd make it to the kitchen." Kyra's forehead furrowed.

Boomer looked him up and down. "I'm hungry anyway. Want anything, Ky?"

"Something salty, please," she said with a grin.

Before Ethan could object, Boomer sped out of the room and out of sight. It occurred to him after Boomer left that his best mate had eaten only an hour ago, and although Boomer could eat for hours on end and not be full, that trip was more about Ethan than him. Warmth clutched his chest at the thought.

Kyra smiled at him as she placed the token back on the board. "What have you been up to lately?"

"Nothing, really, just the usual, you know." He spoke too quickly, pushing his glasses further up his nose. At her raised brows, he slowed his words, and added, "Inventing, drawing, helping my mother with her Head Controller duties." The lie tasted acrid on his tongue.

"That doesn't explain the dark circles under your eyes." She reached out to touch his shoulder, forehead crumpled in concern. Something tugged painfully at his chest. How could he lie to her when she cared about him so much? The answer was simple: he had to. She couldn't know what he knew, not if his plan was to work.

"It takes a lot out of me considering I hardly ever see the sun."

Kyra nodded, her hand dropping back to her lap. Based on the colour around her eyes, he wasn't the only one who'd had a few sleepless nights. "So you draw?" she asked.

"Mhmm. Comic sketches at the moment - minus the words."

She frowned. "What? I thought the words were the most important part of a comic book. How do you know what to draw without them?" That was the main difference between them: Kyra believed in language, in the power of a single sentence or simile to change someone's life. He, on the other hand, preferred actions and tangible things. Words could always be backspaced, but the imprint of a drawing on paper left a mark not easily removed.

"I dunno, I've never really relied on words. Things I can see though, things that are real - I've always trusted them." He shrugged, shoulders shaking as he laughed softly. "My drawings are pretty bad though."

"Why do you say that?"

"Everything I do turns out looking like a machine. Boxy, sharp. One time the villian I was drawing legit had a square head. No matter what, my mind always comes back to inventing."

She smiled to herself. "I get what you mean. It's like when I write, the characters all have bits and pieces of people I'm close to in real life. Guess whatever we create stems from what we're passionate about."

"Yeah that makes sense." Smirking, he added, "Wait, what about Boomer? Ninety percent of what he makes explodes."

"I don't think anyone's ever doubted how much he likes to blow stuff up," she giggled. He couldn't help but notice the pale bruises on her skin, not yet faded from that night on the train, yellow and green mixing with her tawny complexion. He hoped helping her then would make up for what he had to do soon. Hoped she would be able to forgive him in the end for having to do it alone. Ethan was sure Boomer would understand his need for closure, but Kyra? Not so much. And he knew exactly why.

Because she needed it just as much.

"Can I ask you something?"

The words pulled him out of his reverie. Her voice was different, quiet, the joking edge fading. He froze, taking several moments to process the meaning of her words. "Sure."

"And you promise you'll answer, no questions asked?" Her hazel eyes widened as they rapidly switched between his.

Ethan's heart raced. Did she know? How? When? And what would he say to her? He regretted his promise already. "Sure, I guess. I mean, yes," he added with conviction.

She took a deep breath. "What do you know about 'The Ones to Watch'?"

His eyes automatically scanned the room for peering eyes, the red flash of a secret camera; gripping her wrist in a vice, he forced her to look at him as he spoke in a low voice. "Kyra, how do you know about that?"

She gently gripped his hand in her free one and spoke in a tone that matched his own. "The other day I was reading a book, one of the ones I borrowed my first lesson here, and it mentioned something strange about them. I don't really understand it."

Ethan knew for a fact 'The Ones to Watch' was a top secret program - something definitely not mentioned in a book, let alone in a conversation aloud. "Really? So that's the only reason you're asking?"

"Of course," she responded, her eyes widening too much to be innocent. "I just want to know what you know."

She was lying, that much he knew for sure. But telling her what she wanted to hear was safer than saying nothing. Despite the tightness of his chest that urged him to keep his mouth shut, he said, "Not much, to be honest. Everything I know about it I learned from eavesdropping, and you know what my hearings like so I probably imagined half of it, or exaggerated it, or something." His words faded off under her steady gaze.

She pursed her lips. "I understand if you can't, or won't, talk about it. I'm just curious I guess." She almost got away with the lie. Almost.

"At the beginning of our society, one of the first Controllers noticed certain citizens needed extra special attention - they couldn't survive off automated responses like most, they needed more discipline. So he placed them into a program to make sure they received the help they needed."

Kyra nodded, narrowed eyes on his. "And this program still exists, right?"

"It does but it's top secret. My mother's the Head Controller and even she hasn't seen the program in action."

"But you've seen the list of citizens in it?" she asked. He could tell by her attentiveness, the excitement in her voice, that this was the question she wanted to know.

"No, there isn't a list, at least not one I've seen. Like I said it's top secret."

Kyra leaned against the table leg behind her, wrapping her arms tightly around her knees. "Right. Of course. I mean, it's a secret organisation there wouldn't be a list anywhere. I just... Nevermind." She shook her head, her usual smile back in place. "It doesn't matter. I was just curious. Thank you, for being honest about it. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to trust people these days. Or maybe you would."

Kyra didn't do anything without a reason, that much he knew for sure, and all of her questions had reasoning behind them. So what could possibly motivate her to ask such a thing?

"Kyra, you have to promise me you won't ask anymore questions about it. The program... It's run by powerful people who don't appreciate questions." He took a deep breath, his hand once again finding her wrist. "But I need to know why you asked about it. Kyra, you could get in a lot of trouble if you-"

"Three coffees, with sugar and cream." Boomer traipsed into the room before he could continue, arms laden with enough food to feed a large family. Ethan caught a glimpse of Kyra's face, enough to note her widened eyes and parted lips, before Boomer blocked his path. He placed the coffees on a table, careful not to spill them, before dropping the food with a rustle of wrappers.

"Bernard, you're a lifesaver," Kyra exclaimed as he tossed a bag in her face. She laughed and launched it back at him. As she accepted her coffee and took a large sip, Ethan glanced at her, wondering. How could she know about that program? What possible reason could she have for wanting to know more?

He wrapped his hands around his warm cup, mind racing too quickly even without the caffeine. He might have been lying to her, but she was lying to him too, and whatever she'd gotten herself mixed up in was bigger than the both of them. The least he could do was keep her safe. He owed her that. The only problem was 'how'.

— author's note —

Hey y'all, how are ya?

I tried to focus more on how the characters and how they interact in this chapter, so let me know what you think! I also had to include a little bit of plot for Kyra's sake as the chapter didn't feel right without her confirming her suspicions lmao.

Anyway, I hope you guys are good! Thanks again for your support x