Ames:

I want to be part of everything that happens.

I am a double agent, sided with Luke and Dustin with the rebels. I pulled up the file for that girl Luke brought into his room, then made a copy to give to Dustan. Everything Luke does I am the first to know, besides Mike of course. Then I immediately report back to the rebels.

My two eldest brothers and little brother Dustan both go into a private conference room. They are going to discuss something, they don't know I have been listening to their conversations for the past month. Both sides each are proposing something, it's not good.

Mike and Luke want to be leaders, send criminals to the Earth prison and have total control. Mike and Luke want all the glory to go to them.

Dustan wants to find a way to bring Nathaniel and Vestry back from wherever they are. He wants to elect a leader from all twelve of the main children. Best of all, he wants the people of Malison to decide.

By the end of their meeting they have emerged with a compromise. Dustan bring forth a single someone to be part of his party, while Luke will bring someone from his party. Each candidate will get to have a speech for the planet as well as a debate. Then we will set aside a day to elect our leader. But Nathaniel and Vestry are long gone and out of the picture. They are nothing, just gone.

I sent Arielle to earth with a portal to bring Nathaniel back, but she hasn't returned. It makes me think that I doomed her.

I already know the outcome of this election. Luke will bring forth Mike and won't matter what Dustan does Mike will win, he is just too popular. Mike and Luke will get what they want.

No one else was with Dustan when he signed this paper. I could of told him this was a bad idea, he could never win. It would take a miracle for the odds to be on Dustan's side. I wish I had telepathy to speak with Dustin like Azun and Nathaniel did.

He doesn't know how the game is played, the art of Luke's convincing state where he can make you think you hold the win till he draws out all the ace.

He doesn't know how Mike works. Luke is his brain, Luke makes all the decisions. Mike is just the face, the press, the bronze.

Dustan just assumes that everything will just happen for a reason. Luke is the puppet master and now has Dustan tied up in strings.

I wish Dustan would of brought me into that room with him.

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"Luke!" I yell at him after Dustan and my other siblings had all left dinner that night. "How can you just stand there deceiving Dustan, you can't do that!"

"Please." Luke crosses his arms. "Dustan was in distressed, he approached me, basically he begged me. I know Mike and I both hated him, but despite all that we listened to what he had to say."

"You are deceiving him." I argue. "You are making him do all the work just so you can get what you want."

"Well let's see." Luke thought for a second. "I arranged the dinner plans, our meeting, the agenda, transportation. It seems that he hasn't done anything so far and I have done all the work."

"You always do everything." I snap, clenching my fist.

"By the way." Luke walks over to me. "Here are the invitations to dad's funeral. Make sure your siblings get them."

"Fine." I leave the argument at rest, no point in making him angrier.

But still Dustan is going to loose this debate. He doesn't even know that I know what's really going on.

I sat in my room thinking about another way we could work all this out, any way to beat Luke's game. How can we not be one of those pieces that are sacrificed?

Dustan is just assuming things, he doesn't know Mike and Luke like I do.

He is going to lose this election.

Last week when I was eavesdropping Mike and Luke in the living room I over heard something.

Luke is stressed out on how Dustan proposed is idea to the public and that Mike can't just take over.

He also talks about a surgery he has been trying to perform on Nathaniel. But Nathaniel isn't here, is he? Luke tells Mike that he doesn't know how to erase an event that traumatic. I think he is insane, or operating on another patient that has the same name as my brother.

I know what Luke did, who he saved. But I didn't think he had Nathaniel. I just saw the thirteen year old girl in his room.

The people are fighting over if the Zodiacs should still be their kings. It's not good.

"What about a dinner with Dustan?" Mike suggests.

Luke responded with his big words and opinion. He discussed the matter with himself a million times. It's quite confusing, like watching one man play all the parts in a play.

"Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone." Mike states.

"Oh-yes!" Luke smiles.

"Something for something." Mike continues. "Luke, wouldn't you like to rule the world?"

"Actually I would. ." Luke grins. "I will make a personal note. Set up a dinner."

"I will propose an election."

"We will make it seam like he can actually win."

"Let's see how this goes." Mike writes down their ideas onto a scratch paper, giving it to Luke. "What could go wrong? We got this game in the bag."

"No." I gasp, hurrying back into my room before they see I was listening in on them. I knew their agenda before it even began.

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After their dinner and my discussion with Luke, I rush off the give Dustan a piece of my mind.

"Dustan Libra Zodiac!" I throw open his bedroom door unannounced. "Why would you agree to anything Mike and Luke have to say? Why didn't you tell me about this dinner? It was all Mike and Luke scheming to bring you up before squashing you like a bug!"

Dustan was on his Net-pad, typing something up. He was surprised by my sudden entrance.

"It doesn't matter who you bring up to fight against Mike." I tell him.

"I was going to ask you." Dustan says.

"I will loose."

"You have as much of a chance as anyone."

"What do you mean?"

"The people will vote."

"Mike is popular."

"But he has no ideas."

"You achieved more then I thought you did."

"I wanted what I got."

"Are you in on this game." Dustan asked me.

"I accept." I shake his hands. "And I forgive you of your foolish actions."

"Let's go." Dustan stands up, I follow him out of the room.

I had completely forgotten about dad's funeral. There are flowers everywhere, decorated with black petals and leaves. I am wearing a black suit, like the rest of my brothers. My sisters wear similar black dresses. During the moment of silence, Luke leans over to me.

"I have our little brother." He whispers.

"What?" I whisper back.

"I have Nathaniel." Luke smirks. "And you don't. Now listen to my instructions and if you disobey them, you will be punished with death."

"Wait what?" I try to process all this information. "Hold on- back up!"

"Nathaniel has no memory of any events." Luke states. "I have built a wall, protecting him from his memories. Certain words and stuff can trigger the wall to break. Any mention of earth, Dad, the military, or Azun."

"So Nathaniel is alive?"

"Of course he is." Luke rolls his eyes. "I am releasing him today. He remembers back to his fourteenth birthday, but nothing after that. Ames, do not scratch the wall."

"What can you do to me?" I sass. "You can't touch me, I'm an elector candidate."

"I won't kill you." Luke pushes up his glasses. "But I can tell you that in the history of torture, nobody is going to be tortured with the torture I will torture you with." Luke smiled an evil grin. "Don't scratch the wall."

The moment of silence ends and Luke walks away from me. Dustan grabs my arm and walks me to the cascade.

"Did Luke tell you about Nathaniel?" Dustan whispered.

"Yes." I reply. "Did he threaten you?"

"Of course." Dustan pulled me away. "You know what this means right?"

"Yes." I smile.

We had a fighting chance. If Nathaniel can survive, anyone can. We just had to not scratch the wall, or just scratch it enough so it doesn't crumble.

"Don't scratch the wall." Dustan mocked my older brother.

"I don't know about you." I looked over to Dustan. "But I am totally gonna scratch the wall."