"I want to rescue Haywire," Sky said. "And Aunt Naomi. And retrieve my time-skipping wristwatch."

The moonlight cast an eerie glow over the park where they were hidden.

"Your what?" Kenji asked, baffled as if Sky was crazy.

"A watch I tinkered to be able to travel back in time," he replied. "Mrs Evergreen stole it from me. If she activates it, we'll travel back in time and forget everything that's happened since..." He closed his eyes as if it hurt him. "... the night I hit Haywire with my sonic gun."

"Which means... we won't be friends," Winona whispered, her shoulders slumping.

"We'll be arseholes again," Charlotte added, putting her hands over her face. "Shit."

"And Haywire and I won't be friends either," Sky said, clenching his fists.

"Oh, no," Hazel whispered with worry. "We have to do something—and fast."

"Agreed," Sky replied with renewed strength. "Let's see. I... I think it would be best to rescue Haywire first. With his imposing size and power, then we could force Mrs Evergreen to give me back what she stole—and force the guards to free my aunt as well. What do you guys think?"

"Good idea," Hazel replied.

His friends were awkwardly silent, their shy gazes cast on the floor or their hands.

"Come to think of it," Sky added, "once we have what we want, we could also force them to hand over more meds for both my aunt and you, Hazel."

She nodded and smiled at him, a positive reaction he didn't get from the rest. Kenji was fidgeting. Charlotte bit her lower lip over and over. Luca's hands were sweaty as they held his laptop. And Winona's eyes were downcast.

I wonder what's going through their minds right now. They don't seem to be committed. Well, I shouldn't be offended. They don't know Haywire. My aunt is just a teacher to them. They might feel fighting against Mrs Evergreen and her immense power is beyond their reach. They might even be scared. This is my war, after all—not theirs.

"Okay, guys. I'd like some help from you. It would mean a lot," Sky whispered. "I don't want to force you to do something you're not ready for, though. Besides, I've got no idea where Haywire might be locked in, but..." Sky added with determination after softly biting his lower lip for a moment, "who's with me?"

His friends exchanged worried glances at each other.

Am I asking too much of them?

Kenji sighed and said, "I'm in."

"Me too," Winona whispered with a shy smile.

"Damn it, Sky," Charlotte said. "Yes, me too."

Luca nodded at Sky right after that while holding hands with Charlotte.

Hazel stared at Sky with a wide smile.

"Thank you, guys," Sky whispered with a nervous smile.

"Hey, do you think Naomi is locked in there, just like you were?" Luca asked.

"No. The guards took her down a different hall in HQ," Sky replied. "So, she must've been locked up in a different holding facility than the one I was in. And Haywire, though hurt, must be locked up somewhere with other phoenixes. The arena. It's where the Elite usually take the captured phoenixes, right?"

"Yes," Hazel replied.

Sky nodded.

"Let's go there first, then," Hazel said. "Security will be compromised there too. We should make the most of Endurance taking the Internet."

"How did that happen, anyway?" Sky asked.

"I don't know how, but after I read about you on social media tonight, things started to go crazy," Hazel replied. "Electric and digital devices malfunctioning, home automation failing, ads glitching, you name it."

"Only lightbulbs work well," Winona added.

"My parents said that it looked like back in the early and mid-20th century, from films and documentaries they had watched," Kenji said.

"Endurance sent a message shortly after the chaos had spread, claiming authorship of that mayhem," Hazel went on.

"That's why we were able to rescue you so swiftly," Luca commented. "The security system had a vulnerability we could take advantage of."

"Mrs Evergreen did nothing to stop this?" Sky asked.

"We don't know," Hazel replied. "Probably."

"She's got control over the entire city," Sky explained. "It's her life project. Her pride. She's got everything and everyone she needs here, including experts in coding. She must've tried something to stop Endurance."

"If she's tried," Charlotte said, "she's failed—for the time being."

"Either that," Sky went on, "or she just wishes to protect herself and Anti-Ageing Inc.'s headquarters, not the Hovering Hive as a whole."

"That makes more sense," Hazel concluded.

Sky grunted softly as his gaze rested on a distant spot on the horizon.

"Kovak called to tell me to flee and didn't explain why," Sky said, pacing up and down between the trees, under the cover of their thick crowns while voicing his thoughts.

"He sounded angsty, as if he was in a hurry," Hazel whispered with furrowed eyebrows, standing beside him.

"Next, I'm apprehended, Haywire gets poisoned, and I'm locked up." Sky sighed, clenching his fists. "Now this, Endurance taking the Internet and causing havoc. What's going on?"

"Someone is moving the pieces in this huge chess game," Hazel concluded, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yes," Sky replied, putting a hand in his hair, combing his long fringe backwards with annoyance. "And I'm flying blind."

"I saved Kovak's number, just in case," Hazel whispered, offering Sky her phone. "Would you like to try calling him now?"

"That man is a shitload of trouble, but it might be worth a shot."

Sky took her phone in his hands and dialled. The beeping line sound echoed in his mind. For a long moment, they remained staring at the phone in Sky's hand.

Come on. Pick it up.

"He's not picking it up," Hazel said.

"That could mean two things. Either he's not in the mood to talk to me," Sky said seriously, "or he can't talk to me." The grip on the phone tightened.

"Are you suggesting something's happened to him?" Hazel asked with worry.

"It could be," Sky grunted and gave Hazel her phone back. "I'll try again later. In the meantime, we should check whether the arena is guarded or not." He squatted beside Luca to say, "Luca, you could run a digital search first?"

"I could. But the Internet is partly broken, not to mention compromised," Luca replied. "If you want to keep things from Endurance and Mrs Evergreen, I suggest not to use it. We already risked a lot by using it to save you."

"Besides, that's a shitload of work, Sky," Charlotte added while Hazel squatted beside her. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but in the case we do find him, your phoenix friend might attack us."

"No, he won't," Sky replied.

"He doesn't know us like you," Winona whispered. "Are you sure he won't be hostile towards us?"

"I hope so." Sky sighed. "The Lifebringer Mrs Evergreen injected in him cured his wounds fast, but... it was weird. His eyes went back to bright red, guys."

"What if that drug has changed him?" Hazel asked, getting pale.

"One step at a time. We'll see it when we free him. Besides," he said after a large intake of air. "If there's any problem, I can rehack his brain like the first time, I guess."

"Good," Kenji whispered.

"There's one more thing, guys," Sky added. "Mrs Evergreen wants to use Haywire and the other phoenixes to attack Endurance on a suicide mission. We can't let that happen."

"So, should we set the other phoenixes free as well?" Kenji asked. "To piss Mrs Evergreen off?"

"If we did, she wouldn't be able to carry out her plan," Hazel said.

"Don't get ahead of yourselves," Sky added. "She used my coding to brainwash them, to make them her slaves. Freeing them from their physical bonds would do nothing. They're loyal to her. We need to hack their brains."

"Okay...," Luca said. "So, first we locate all phoenixes being held captive. Then, you rehack their brains to undo the brainwashing. Next, we release them from their cells."

"And their training collars," Winona added.

"That too," Luca said. "And then?"

"With the exception of Haywire, we get them to the woods," Sky replied. "There's a clearing big enough for them to rest and hide there. Haywire and I will go and save my aunt and retrieve my stuff, especially the time-skipping wristwatch."

His friends nodded.

"Hazel, have you got more Dream Cream?" Sky asked.

"Yes. Why do you want it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"After being injected with the Lifebringer serum, Haywire started to spread a weird, sparkling red mist around him. It was like... fire, I guess. It was as if his skin oozed it, becoming airborne with the movement of his feathers. His joints also bent into impossible angles. I'm hoping the cream might stop that from happening."

He crushed a hand with another as his gaze darted around, unable to meet the eyes of those around him. Instead, he focused on the ground. The lines on his forehead deepened, a physical manifestation of his inner turmoil.

His lips would part as if he wanted to say something, but the words remained trapped in his throat. His eyes, once filled with determination, then betrayed a sense of doubt and self-reproach.

"Sky, are you okay? You look-" Hazel whispered, putting a hand on his arm.

"It's nothing," he whispered lowly, his eyes still downcast. "What matters now is Haywire. He's in trouble because of me."

"It's not your fault," she whispered with determination.

"Yes, it is!" he whisper-shouted with furrowed brows. "I should've fled just as Kovak said, but-"

"You were trying to spare me," Hazel said, lovingly. "I came to you for help. You're too good. It's my fault."

"No." Sky shook his head vehemently. "No, it isn't, Hazel. I really thought my mother could help you. I thought why not." He shrugged his shoulders. "She wanted a chance, so I was willing to give her one. But when I got home, she was waiting for me with an army of Mrs Evergreen's goons. She was pissed off at me for the photo and, well, everything that led to my friendship with Haywire. They took me to Mrs Evergreen." He sighed. "If I had-"

Words stuck down his throat as he suppressed the urge to cry.

"You didn't do anything wrong. You did an amazing thing!" Hazel said, getting closer and grabbing him by his arms. "Look, if a butterfly moves its wings here, causing a tornado at the other extreme of the planet which kills hundreds of people, is the butterfly to blame?"

No one dared to say a word.

"Sky, you can't blame a butterfly for causing a tornado," she concluded. "Otherwise, we should kill all butterflies in the world. What I mean is, you can't be blamed for something you have no control over, especially when other parties who seek their own personal gains are involved. See what I mean?"

Sky sighed. "I know. But he'll need the Dream Cream again."

"I'm not sure the Dream Cream can make him go back to normal, Sky," Hazel whispered with a shaky voice.

Neither do I. Haywire's changes could be DNA-related, as the company's logo might indicate. If I get my hands on the Lifebringer formula, that might prove it. Anyway, I have to try. I don't think the Dream Cream can revert his body to his original DNA and undo all those changes, but... could it soothe him and ease his suffering? He did cry a lot after the injection.

"I want to try the cream on him, at least," Sky concluded.

"Very well," Hazel replied. "I'll sneak back home and steal my mother's Dream Cream."

"The academy is a blood-chilling place at night," Winona whispered as the group of friends sneaked into the premises.

Hazel had picked the lock using her Swiss army knife. Their careful footsteps echoed in the dark, empty halls as they approached the arena's double doors. They walked in the darkness, only guided by the light of the torches from their phones.

"Endurance made things simple now that digital locks are easy to pick," Luca said. "Who would've ever imagined he would help us at some point?"

"Keep it quiet," Sky whispered as he opened the tall steel double doors to the arena. His voice echoed under the large metal dome. "Remember, we'll deal with the phoenixes one by one, slowly but surely."

They walked all the way to the other side of the dome. Seven steel doors stood tall before them. None revealed which phoenix might be waiting behind those. Thick metal bolts blocked their access.

As they approached the first of many cell doors around the arena, Sky furrowed his eyebrows, focusing his gaze on the shiny metal bolt in front of him.

"What's wrong, Sky?" Hazel whispered.

"This bolt," he answered. "The metal shines brighter than the surface of the door. It's brand new."

"Strange," Hazel answered.

"Not strange," he replied as he rushed to check the other bolts with his torch. "Revealing. Haywire became way more aggressive."

"Could that mean that... he might've broken it when they tried to lock him in?" she asked. "That they had to replace the bolt for a new one? Could he be behind this door?"

Kenji hesitated. The light of his torch shivered. "We're unarmed. Are you sure he won't kill us the second we open those doors? He will still recognise you, right?"

"Only one way to find out," Sky whispered as he came back. He nodded to his friends as he pushed a button right beside the door to open the first cell.

The bolts receded. Next, the doors moved with a blood-chilling creaking sound. Sky's heart raced with a burning desire to see his best friend again. His whole body was tense.

Cool air came out.

Nothing more.

Disappointment hit Sky the hardest as his eyes stared at the empty cell before him. His shoulders slumped. His eyebrows dropped as his body let go of all the accumulated tension.

"I guess I was wrong," he whispered in a broken voice.

Staring at the floor while his friends checked on the nearest cell, he took a long moment to think.

"He must be kept somewhere else. You last saw him at HQ, right?" Hazel asked, putting a hand softly on his shoulder. "Maybe he's still there."

"Yeah, you're..." Sky hesitated, "you might be right."

"Guys," Hazel said, "any other phoenix in there that we can use to help us take the HQ?"

"No. All cells are empty," Winona said with worry as she rushed back to Sky and Hazel's side. "They're all gone."

Sky went pale and whispered with a broken voice, "This can't be good."

"When was the suicide mission planned for?" Hazel asked, her voice trembling.

After a shaky sigh, Sky replied, "I don't know."

Hello, my sugar cubes!

I'm juggling many storytelling elements right now. I like it, although it's hard. I hope this chapter makes some sense... of the things that aren't still a secret, that is. 😉

Stay tuned!

XOXO

Mar