Buckle up :) It's going to be a bumpy ride from here on out!

Enjoy! 

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

[One Week Later]

[Ratchet]

The white-haired woman typed away quickly at her computer, eyes racing across the screen.

Ratchet looked over at Hunter apprehensively, and the other just shrugged his shoulders. They were playing the waiting game here, and it seemed like this "Kaz" lady was taking her sweet time. Ratchet huffed and started tapping his foot impatiently.

"Hey, can you do this or not?" He asked after a while. The woman paused, turning her head slowly to the side and stopping once they made eye contact. "You're the one that comes here for my help and this is my thanks?" she groaned dramatically, "You make me do all this work and-"

"Kazandra please." Hunter called from behind Ratchet, "I get it, we owe you big time. But we need it done quickly." he said, "The Council doesn't know about you-" Kaz scoffed and then started laughing quietly to herself. Hunter just rolled his eyes and continued, "-but they know about Ratchet here. If Ratchet gets this message out, it could help us with our situation."

Kaz stopped laughing, looking over at her computer tiredly. "Yeah yeah, whatever you say..." she drawled, "You two definitely owe me after this. How about food? I love food. Yeah, now you guys owe me food!"

Ratchet watched with wide eyes as her typing speed became faster. He looked over towards Hunter, who just shook his head.

This was probably normal behavior then...

When she was finished, she turned to them fully, "I will be able to get your message on the next trading ship they send out, which is two days from now. Is that good?"

Hunter and Ratchet looked towards each other, then back at the woman, "As long as it gets out there, it's fine."

The woman nodded, opening her desk drawer and pulling out a paper and a pen,

"Go on then, write it."

Ratchet hesitantly took the items and looked down at the blank sheet of paper.

Oh well, here goes nothing.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

With the letter being written, Hunter and Ratchet went their separate ways. It was late, and Ratchet decided that he would rather get home than be caught heading back to Hunter's place.

He slid through the opening in his window, shutting it behind him quickly as he turned to face the darkness of his room.

This was just a shot in the dark, but he felt it in his heart that his friend was out there waiting for him. And if he really, truly came from another dimension....

The odds were incredibly thin..

He sighed heavily, plopping sideways onto his bed as the chill of the night set in.

It's funny how the familiar feeling of loneliness often crept in nowadays...

He just wanted to go home.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

[The Next day]

[Kaden]

"What is it now, Mags?"

His friend sighed as he laid the blueprints and planning sheet out on their shared lab table. He grimaced as he leaned over to look at them.

"This is what they want us to do." Mags stated, "Not giving us a reason, really."

"But that's bullshit!" Kaden growled, "Something like this? There has to be a reason...." he muttered. The other man just huffed, shaking his head, "There's a reason for everything that The Council does, you know that, Kade." he said, "Personally, I think it's because they want to jump dimensions again."

"To get away from what?"

"The war, Kaden." Mags replied, "You know things are going with that. People are dying every day under The Creator's wrath and you know as well as I do that The Council isn't really trying to do shit about it." a pause, "I can't help but feel that there is something bigger that we don't know about."

Kaden nodded his head, eyes scanning over one of the papers, "After what happened all those years ago, I can only imagine what they want to do with this." he said bitterly, "They could be planning something that could kill us all."

"It's just a dimensional map, Kade."

"Yeah, but why do they need it?" he spat back, "You know how The Council is, Mags. This is...suspicious."

They both sat in silence for a bit, not knowing where to start, or what to do. That was until Kaden realized something, '"You realize what they would need to jump dimensions, right?"

Mags was silent for a moment, before he looked up at his friend in shock, "You think they-"

"The Dimensionator." Kaden interrupted, "Even though that thing has been restricted for years ever since the incident. It wouldn't surprise me that The Council is going against their word."

His statement was only met with more silence. Kaden looked across the table to his friend who was leaning back and staring at the ceiling. "I still think that it has something to do with that kid of yours." and Kaden was about to bite back but Mags continued, "Just think about it! A kit appears from nowhere outside the city. No memories, nothing to his name. The Council is immediately on it, and has been keeping a close eye on the kit ever since. They even sent out scouts and such to search off the planet. Don't you think that is a bit too extreme?" he sighed in exasperation, "They even went so far as to interrogate him on it. And after what you told me...Something isn't adding up."

Kaden bit his lip in thought, pinching the bridge of his nose, "But...Ratchet is just a kit! What sort of threat could he be to-"

"I didn't say a threat, Kaden." Mags interrupted, "I mean that we don't know even half of what The Council does." he propped his feet up on the table, "And I think Ratchet could be in the same boat as us. Either way, it has made The Council resort to what they are planning now."

Kaden scoffed, rolling his eyes as he pushed the papers on the table away from him. While he did have to admit that he had his suspicions, he wasn't keen on delving into Ratchet's situation. Hell, he was just a kid. There was no way he could be the cause for The Council's plans.

Then again-

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, he slid it out of his pocket and looked at who was calling him.

Alister? Wasn't he usually working at this time?

Kaden swiped at the screen and answered the call,

"Hey Al! What do you need?" he asked. He heard Alister on the other line, "Kaden, are you home right now?" he asked quietly, "I need to tell you something.". Kaden furrowed his brows, "No, I'm in my lab. What is it?" he asked quietly. Alister sighed, "The Council is up to something....again" Alister was about to continue but Kaden interrupted him, "What!? What is it?" he asked worriedly,

"It's about Ratchet again, Kaden," Alister explained, "I've been seeing Ratchet around the city while on patrol. And he is usually followed by a council member." he said, "I haven't said anything up until this point because I wasn't sure. But that is not the most worrying part."

"Then what is?"

"Ratchet is up to something too."

Kaden paused at this, shaking his head in disbelief, "What...?" he whispered into the speaker quietly. Alister hummed, "I've seen Ratchet walking around at night during my nightly patrols....Did you and Phoebe know about this?"

Kaden paused, "No. We didn't..." he replied.

Why would...why would Ratchet do such a thing?  Kaden thought to himself.

Alister sighed heavily, "I would ask him about it if I were you. Until then, watch out for The Council." he said, before whispering his last words, "I don't like what's going on, Kade."

"Me neither, Al."

They muttered their goodbyes to each other, and once Kaden took the phone away from his ear, he just stared at it in disbelief.

He trusted Ratchet, and Ratchet trusted him. At least, he thought Ratchet did. But now....now he was probably wrong about this whole thing.

He couldn't pinpoint if he was infuriated, or upset. Maybe it was a mix of both...

He needed to talk to Ratchet about this when he saw him next. Until then he had-

"Hey, are you alright over there?" Mags asked from behind him, still lounging back on the chair. Kaden turned around in surprise, having forgotten where he was at the moment and forgetting that Mags was still there...

"U-Uh yeah! Yeah I'm good. Al just told me something...surprising."

"Oh?" Mags raised a brow, "And what would that be?" he asked. Kaden hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should really tell his friend what was going on. He eventually caved, "It appears that there is something up with The Council." he told Mags, "Alister has noticed some odd behavior from them and decided to tell me."

Mags shook his head in exasperation, "Well, we both knew it. I guess the real problem is what's up with them." he said, "We can't do anything about it now anyways at the moment."

Kaden sighed, leaning his arms on the table as he grimaced to himself.

"I guess you're right." he admitted, "I just wish they would tell us what's going on rather than hiding it from everyone...."

"We can only wait and see, Kade. That's all."

Kaden didn't respond as he sat down across from Mags, sighing heavily, "Let's just figure out how we are going to do this."

Mags looked at his friend in concern, but complied anyway,

"Alright. Now where should we start?"

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

It was well into the evening when Kaden got home. It seemed that Phoebe was already asleep at this time and Ratchet...was Ratchet home?

At this point, he figured that he just had to face the music and be honest with Ratchet and tell him that he knows what he has been doing. Hopefully Ratchet would at least tell him why he was leaving late at night to go who knows where. However, deep down, Kaden was angry that the kid was going against them like this in the first place. Ratchet could trust them, so why didn't he? Why didn't he accept help when it was right there in front of his face?

He believed that he wouldn't know the answer until he asked Ratchet himself.

He put down his back and frowned to himself. He couldn't wait any longer. He needed answers.

He walked up the stairs quietly, turning to the door on the right and knocking, "Ratchet? Are you in there?" he asked. Hopefully he wasn't loud enough to wake Phoebe...

He knocked again, and received no response. With that, he put his hand on the doorknob and turned it.

It wasn't locked.

He pushed the door open quickly, looking around the vacant room. He let out a low, frustrated growl when Ratchet was nowhere to be found. He noticed that Ratchet's identification card was abandoned on the nightstand, along with his journal. His phone was nowhere to be seen, neither his shoes.

And to top it all off, the bedside window was left open just a crack...

Ratchet was already gone.

He reached back to turn on the lights, looking around at the room again.

Perhaps there were answers as to why Ratchet was leaving at night?

Kaden frowned as he looked under the pillows, under the bed, on the floor, in the drawers, on the desk...

Nothing.

He felt desperate because everywhere he looked it turned out that there was nothing to be found. He was about to pick up Ratchet's journal when he saw something odd sticking out from under discarded clothing in the closet...

What is-

He quickly walked over to the object that seemed so familiar to him. Gasping quietly at what he saw. He refused to believe what he was looking at.

How did...

Why was it here!?

How could it be here!?

He quickly bent down to push away the clothing and pick up the journal. He ran his hand over the cover and back again, marveling at the soft leather cover. This was his...it had his name on it and everything! It was his old journal that was supposed to be...

Destroyed. It was supposed to be destroyed...

A dark, heavy feeling engulfed his chest as he swallowed thickly, his heart beating rapidly. He was speechless...and angry. Why did Ratchet have this in his possession!? How did he get it!? And why the fuck did he hide it from him!?

Abandoning all his questions for later, he opened his old journal, flipping through the numerous pages, some old ones falling to the floor at his feet. His eyes raced across the pages, noticing the familiar handwriting...the sketches....the theories....

He paused when a few more pages fell to his feet, looking down curiously at one...folder? That wasn't familiar at all.

He dropped the book to the ground, shifting through the papers until he retrieved the new one. It looked like it had already been open....could Ratchet have put it in there?

He shook his head to clear it for the task at hand. He slid out the paper inside and turned it over to read it.

A code!?

He unfolded a bent corner of the page,

The Council's Logo?

He furrowed his brows, standing up and walking to Ratchet's bedside table, where a pencil was just beside Ratchet's journal. He placed the paper down, and began translating the code number by number, breath quickening as he did so. He took a bit longer towards the end, unscrambling the damn thing but once he finished....His eyes widened as he stepped back in shock.

No way...

No fucking way...

He stumbled back, his back hitting the wall in shock. There was no way that could be real. It had to be fake! That was it! It was just a fake! But then, why the official stamp in the corner? Why the code? Why....!? Just why!

He glared at the book in disbelief, and his hands started to shake as he ran it through his head fur. No it couldn't be, he refused to believe this.

He started pacing.

His son was dead. He was dead. Ratchet couldn't be his son....There was no way he could. He saw his son die right in front of his eyes. Ratchet couldn't be...he just couldn't be...

Then it all started to make sense...

The memory reader. The meeting. The questioning....

The dimensional map.

And Kaden paused mid-stride, eyes widening in disbelief as the pieces started to fit together one by one.

He looked around desperately, eyeing Ratchet's own journal, going over to pick it up and flip through the pages. Glancing over the pages, some of which he couldn't decipher himself. He glanced over familiar names and plans and thoughts and...

He dropped the book...

This was too much for him to take in. Too much for him to simply bear with. He couldn't...he couldn't wrap his head around anything right now. And it's not like he could ask Ratchet about-

That's right! Where could the boy be!? Did he know about the code? About everything!? Is that why he left at night? Is that-

He cut himself off, it wasn't time to freak out. No, it was time to focus.

If that paper was real...and the code was right. The Council would surely have their heads if they knew it was back in his possession, and if not his, then Ratchet's. Fuck, he didn't know how the boy got it in the first place, but that was one of the least of his worries.

Right now, he needed to find answers, and then Ratchet.

He picked up his own journal and the papers, exiting the room and quickly walking into his own. He turned on the light, walking over to Phoebe's side of the bed. The woman opened her eyes, "Kaden? What are you doing-"

"Phoebe I need you to listen to me." he said, watching as the woman sat up and looked at him tiredly. "W-what is it, Kade?" she asked tiredly. The man took in a deep, shaky breath, he held out the papers to her silently. She took it,

And froze...

"What?" she whispered out, looking up at her husband, "Kaden whatever this is, it's not funny. At all!"

"It's not a joke, Pho! Look at the stamp! Everything!" he hissed, "The Council knew everything since the beginning, and this weird shit-" he huffed in exasperation, "-Half of it doesn't even make sense right now but Pho, this is real. I would never lie about this."

The woman swallowed thickly, shaking her head, "Well...I-" she looked down at the papers again, "Who gave this to you!?"

"It was in Ratchet's room." He said bitterly, "Alister told me that he has been going out late at night. I went to check on him when I got home and he was already gone." he growled, "He probably doesn't know about this yet. Knowing him, it would be hell if he did. But the thought that he was going behind our backs..." he pinched the bridge of his nose, "I am going out to find answers, Phoebe. I had enough of these lies and all the fucking secrets."

The woman looked up, pushing the covers off herself, "Then I am coming with-"

"No, stay here!" Kaden said, "If Ratchet comes back, someone needs to be here. We have to talk to him, Phoebe!" he grasped her shoulders tightly, "I am going to get to the bottom of this. And when this is over..." he looked down, "I-I don't know. But we'll figure this out."

Phoebe looked up, tears in her eyes, "O-Okay. I'll stay but..." she took in a deep breath, "I-I hope he'll be okay."

Kaden was silent for a moment, frowning, "I know...I know." he whispered out.

"I'll be back soon, Phoebe." he turned to leave, "Let me know if he comes back."

The woman nodded, shakily holding the papers in her hands as she read the lines over and over and over again. She was in shock, it seemed.

Kaden sighed heavily, before leaving the room and heading out the door as quickly as he could.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

Yuin was currently sitting in his office, looking over patient reports and he hummed quietly to himself. It was a quiet night. Most of the patients were sleeping and it seemed that they were all doing well. All in all, it seemed that this was going to be a-

*Knock**Knock*

He sighed, looks like he spoke too soon.

"Come in!" He called out, eyes widening as he saw who was behind the door. He stood up to greet the man, whose face was void of any emotion. Kaden shut the door behind himself and walked over to the Doctor.

"Oh! Kaden! What seems to be the-"

He was cut off when he was shoved up against the wall roughly, back hitting the wall with a loud thud. He gasped in shock when Kaden pressed his forearms against his neck. He didn't apply enough pressure to cut off his breathing, but it was still hard, nonetheless. He looked Kaden in the eyes, and was immediately frozen in place.

Kaden looked beyond pissed...

"Did you know about Ratchet?" Kaden whispered to him angrily, "You knew this whole fucking time. Didn't you?"

Yuin was silent, Kaden pressed forward harder, "Answer me, damnit!"

Yuin caved, "I knew! Alright? I did know!"

"Then why didn't you say anything!?" Kaden seethed, "You kept this fucking information from-"

"The Council told me not to!" Yuin told him, "They told me not to, I swear, Kaden! I didn't want to keep it from you! I swear!"

Kaden kept glaring at him, "So this whole fucking time..." he let the man go, "You've lied to all of us. You lied to me. You lied to Phoebe. And you lied to Ratchet as well!"

"It shouldn't have been possible, Kaden!" Yuin said, "Your son died years ago, this wasn't a normal case!"

"Then it was okay to keep it from me!? From all of us!?" Kaden scoffed, "Such a fucking-"

"Kaden, if you knew, Ratchet would have never been in your care to begin with." Yuin interjected, "He would have been with The Council from the beginning. They would have denied you from the beginning." he explained desperately, "Please, Kaden, you have to understand. The Council wanted this! I needed to stay silent to protect you! And protect Ratchet!"

"So you knew what The Council wanted to do from the beginning?"

Yuin shook his head sadly, "No, I didn't. All I knew was that his DNA matched with yours and Phoebe's own. That's all." he said, "I don't know what their plans are, Kade. You need to be careful. All of you do."

Kaden turned away from the man and pinched the bridge of his knows. He was starting to have a really bad headache because of all this....

"I don't give a fuck about myself right now." he hissed, "I care about the kid."

Yuin was silent for a long moment, humming in acknowledgment, "I don't understand the situations either, Kaden." he said sympathetically, "It...I know this is hard on you, and Phoebe, and...everyone else that has come to know him. But-" he took a deep breath, "Either way, the kid is in danger. That, and The Council is planning something big for him, Kaden." he said,

"I am afraid of what will happen to you if you intervene now."

"Then what should I do!?" Kaden asked angrily, "Let my kid be taken in by The Council!? Let him suffer after all this shit that happened to him!?"

Yuin sighed, "Kaden, he's not really your kid."

"You think I care!?" he growled angrily, "You think I care about that!? This whole situation doesn't change the fact that I care about him."

He huffed when he received no reply, shaking his head in disbelief, "Yuin, please. Do you know where he is right now?". At this, Yuin looked at him questioningly, "What? No I don't, Kaden." he replied, "Is he...gone?"

Kaden sighed, "No it's...it's complicated." he said. Yuin nodded his head, "You better go find him then."

Kaden nodded, turning to leave the room before pausing, "Oh and...sorry for like...y'know, almost choking you."

Yuin just shook his head, "I probably deserved it..." he muttered, "Good luck, Kaden."

Kaden smiled bitterly,

"Thanks."

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

"Phoebe, have you heard from him?" he asked into his phone. The woman sighed on the other end, "No...I haven't" she replied, "Kaden, I'm worried about him. What if-"

"He's apparently done this many times before, Phoebe. Alister saw him several times." he reassured her, "I don't know where he goes so-" he paused, feeling his phone vibrate. He pulled it away from his ear, seeing an incoming call.

It was Ratchet.

"Hold on, Phoebe, I'm getting a call from Ratchet. I'll call you right back, okay?"

"Alright!" Phoebe said hesitantly. Kaden hung up the phone and then answered the next,

"Callisto. I need you to listen to me right now." an unfamiliar voice hissed on the line, "You-"

"Who is this?" Kaden asked more sternly, "This better not be-"

"Just listen, please. We don't have much time." and Kaden shut up as the person on the other line continued, "You must trust me. I am the one that has been helping Ratchet and-" there was a scuffle on the other line, the voice going silent for a bit. "Listen. We are in trouble and you need to listen and do exactly as I say."

"How do I know I can trust you?" Kaden spat.

"Well, to be honest. I bet you are just grasping at straws at the moment." the voice said, "I am your only lead." a pause. "If you don't listen to me. Suit yourself."

Kaden paused, debating his options. He caved, "Alright, go on."

"First off, there are a lot of things you don't know about The Council." they started off, "They are putting everyone on this planet in danger, and Ratchet is in the center of it." they took a deep breath as there was another loud sound on the line, "To put simply he's-"

"From another dimension." Kaden finished, "I just found out myself..."

The person on the other side of the line sighed, "Good...Good. That's good." but they sounded weary, "Simply, Ratchet is the key to whatever they are...doing..." They said, "Now, they know about what we have been doing."

"What?" Kaden asked, "What do you-"

"They are after us, Callisto." another bang, "Right now, in fact. So you have to listen."

Kaden took a deep breath as the person continued,

"All the answers you need are in my house...I'll send you where it is but-" finally, another crash, "Do. Not. Come. After. Us."

"What do you mean!? Why-"

And the line went dead, the only thing that flashed on the screen was a new message. He tapped on it, and read it.

Looks like it wasn't too far....

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

The Council was there.

Kaden pressed himself against an alley wall, slightly peaking around the corner to see what was going on. It didn't seem like Ratchet was among them at all, and a lot of them seemed to be leaving the place. Kaden glared as one man in particular entered, the only one that had their hood down,

"Arc..." he growled under his breath. The man seemed angry, tense. As if he was on high alert. Kaden tried to tilt an ear to try and hear what the man was saying to the others, but he couldn't quite make it out.

One of them shut the door quietly and nodded towards the man, who scoffed. He said something else, before leading the team away. Kaden waited for a few more moments to make sure that they were all gone, and finally turned the corner when he was sure no one would be coming around anytime soon.

He approached the...slightly beaten door and went to turn the knob, it was...unlocked?

Looks like The Council was a bunch of idiots at this point...

He opened the door and shut it quietly, looking around in the darkness before finding a light switch on the wall. He flicked it on,

The place was a mess.

Couch upturned, glass everywhere, chairs upturned and broken. It was obvious that there was a lot of struggle when it came to...whatever went down.

And...as he feared, Ratchet was nowhere to be found.

He stopped the intrusive thought in his head before they could plague his mind. He needed to search for answers before he did anything else.

He walked forward, scanning over the room to see if there was anything to examine. If he was honest with himself, whatever the caller left was probably gone by now...

With the kitchen and living room checked, Kaden started to head up the stairs to the other rooms. There was only one bedroom and one bathroom...and he doubted that the bathroom had anything so he left it at that and turned into the bedroom instead.

Things seemed almost untouched up here, only the bed was unmade and the closet a mess. Kaden hummed to himself, starting by looking under the bed. There seemed to be nothing but a few empty water bottles...huh.

He stood up and looked upon the desk, and in all the drawers, there was nothing but blank sheets of paper...

He huffed in frustration as he looked in more places, only to turn up empty-handed.

Until, he looked in the messy closet. There was nothing behind the clothes hanging up, but when he looked down...well, it felt like an invasion of privacy but he dug into the clothes on the floor anyways. At least they were clean...

He was about to give up until he touched something out of the ordinary. He yanked up the object and almost dropped it in shock when he saw what it actually was.

The Council's official book...

He dragged his hand down the cover, the cold leather making his hands shake in hesitation. The bind, the seal, everything was right. He took in a deep breath, before opening the book,

Oh shit...

He flipped through page after page of familiar information, scanning through the pages like a madman. He stopped once he got to the newer sections of the book, pausing at what he read..

The Dimensional map...The Dimensionator...The upcoming war...

What...the hell!?

He flipped through some more pages until he found a familiar name...

Ratchet...

He scanned over the page as best as he could. Most of it was just random codes and numbers but what really made Kaden angry was the secrets that the page held.

The Council knew the whole time...

They knew everything this whole fucking time!

He gripped the book tighter, reading the fine details and the findings that The Council had learned.

So...the memory decoder did work...

It didn't matter if Ratchet didn't know anything at the time, it seemed....

Even so, Kaden felt so out of the loop. Perhaps Ratchet did remember some things. Maybe that is why he agreed to this...mysterious person to help him. Maybe he felt lost, or desperate.

Why couldn't the boy just...come to him about it? Why was he so hesitant?

He felt hurt. But reminded himself that he had to focus on the task at hand.

Flipping back to the war information, it seemed that The Council was really planning something big. And that they were going to use the Dimensionator to do...something. That part was censored, but he connected it himself.

The Council was going to use the dimensional map that he would create with Mags to...to leave this dimension and the war behind. But if they were to use the Dimensionator that would-

He paused, staring at the one line that started to burn a hole in his chest. Just...one thing that he couldn't...

Tachyon was still alive...still out there.

He stood, frozen in shock. The Council reassured everyone that the man was dead, and has been dead, for years. Yeah, they all fled, but the few members that held back for a bit just...they just said he was dead.

Oh, how foolish the people here have been. Everyone trusted The Council blindly. Everyone neglected to see what was going on, and now everyone was going to pay the price. Unfortunately, Ratchet seemed to appear at just the right time.

If Ratchet is from another dimension entirely, how did he get here? It must have been the Dimensionator, right? Maybe there was a malfunction and-

Kaden sighed in frustration, that didn't explain the injuries. That didn't explain anything. All this information just left him with more and more questions. And now that he found what The Council was hiding...

He was...he was furious.

It made him think of what happened all those years ago. He looked back on how that day started normally and how it went so very wrong. He remembered running out of his workplace to find his family. He remembered the frightened look on Phoebe's face as she told him she couldn't find their son. He remembered running back to their burning house as quick as his legs could carry him only to find Tachyon there already and-

He didn't want to think about it any longer.

But the thought of the same thing happening again? That...that was startling, and Kaden couldn't help but feel betrayed by his own people, The Council.

Eventually, they needed to pay for keeping this information from the people.

But now, Kaden needed to figure out what to do from here. He couldn't just sit around, but he wasn't going to back down either.

Making up his mind, he shut the book, going to bring it with him. He looked around the room for anything else that could give him any answers. He was pretty sure that he checked everything and was about to leave when something on the nightstand caught his eyes. He furrowed his brows as he walked over.

A photo...

He picked it up gently, looking at it closer in the dim light.

He froze in place. Well...looks like he knows who was helping Ratchet now....

How bad of a man would Arc have to be for his own son to go against him?

Kaden just shook his head. That's a question for another day that he doesn't need to get into right now. Right now he needed to get the hell out of here and go straight to The Council and...and what?

Arc's son (who he assumed was in the photo he found) specifically told him not to follow, but why? Ratchet was in trouble and he couldn't just stand around and do nothing!

But...if he did. It could put Ratchet, and possibly other people in danger.

He growled to himself, heading out of the room and back downstairs where the obvious struggle happened. He frowned to himself, whoever was in here really put up a fight...

He was heading to the door when another thing caught his eyes. Something was gleaming from under the couch. With a sigh, he bent down to retrieve the item, lifting it up to his face and looking at the object.

It was Ratchet's phone.

Unfortunately, it was now cracked, but not too bad. Kaden set down the book and swiped at the screen, reading over the new messages on the screen.

*[New Message!]*

Oliver : Hey...it's been a while.

Oliver : I'm sorry for what happened the other day. I shouldn't have acted the way I did.

There was a 10-minute gap between the messages.

Oliver : Are you okay?

Oliver : You haven't been responding at all...

Oliver : I feel like...something bad is gonna happen...

Oliver : Has The Council been bothering you?

This time, a 5-minute gap.

Oliver : I guess I'll just leave you alone.

Oliver : Stay safe, Ratch.

And that was the end of the messages...

Kaden sighed heavily, accessing the texting app and looking over the conversations.

-Oliver

-Hunter

-Alice

And then himself, Alister, and Phoebe. Having already read Oliver's, he moved on to Hunter.

This was the mysterious contact that called him. Glancing at the past messages, it was clear that they were meeting up. While the messages were somewhat cryptic, these two were planning something. And that something looked like it included The Council as well...

He would look over that later...

He accessed the next person named Alice, scrolling through the messages quickly, only reading a few.

So...that's how he got the books...

Well, it didn't matter now. He would look over more later...

He stood up fully, sliding Ratchet's phone into his pocket and quickly heading out the door, making sure to turn the lights off as he went. He grimaced to himself,

He wonders how Phoebe will feel after he tells her what happened.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

He entered his home a while later, thankful for the warm air hitting his chilled fur.

He frowned when he heard Phoebe rush down the stairs. She looked at him and practically ran forward, "Kaden! Did you find him?" she asked, "He never came back here and-" she looked around the room, and then at her husband's face, "Where is he!?"

Kaden sighed heavily, "The Council has him, most likely." Phoebe gasped, "Then we have to go-"

"No, Phoebe." he said, "Us interfering now can only make things worse. We have to wait.". Phoebe stared at him in disbelief, "Are you serious!? They could be-"

"The Council is planning something big, Pho." he interjected, "We need to do this right, even if it's not for us. They have Ratchet in their grasp, and us getting involved right now could put him, and others, in danger." he said, seriously. "Please, Phoebe. We have to do this right."

The woman looked hesitant at him, before finally caving, "Alright...okay..." She said, still in a bit of shock. Kaden nodded gratefully, "Thanks, Phoebe." he looked down at the book he has in his hands,

"I'll explain this as best as possible."

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

All in all, Phoebe was livid at the news. So much so, that she had to leave the room to cool off, which was understandable. Even so, Kaden was tired from this whole day. So he decided to call Alister tomorrow and tell him the news. For now, he was going to find a place to store the book and Ratchet's phone...

While on the way to his room, he paused at the entrance to Ratchet's room, glancing at Ratchet's journal that was on the floor. He hesitated, before stepping forward and picking it up once more. He flipped through the pages again, unable to understand most of the...the codes? Words? He didn't care, some of the pages were normal, however. As he read over the words, he realized that Ratchet was well aware of what The Council was doing. He mentioned what happened during the meeting, the stalking, and his findings.

The obvious distrust he had of The Council in general was obvious from his writing alone...

Kaden ran his hands over the words. If he couldn't do anything now, perhaps it wasn't too late to start and work from where Ratchet left off.

He had a feeling that The Council wasn't done with...whatever they were doing. And now that Ratchet is in their hands, the suspicious would surely turn on him and Phoebe. In addition to other people that knew Ratchet as well.

They had to be prepared for whatever The Council would do now.

So he made his decision, and took Ratchet's journal with him to wherever he could hide the book and Ratchet's phone. There was no doubt in his mind that The Council would eventually look in the house for any answers.

Looks like he and Phoebe will have to act dumb for the time being...

He'd look in the journal tomorrow.

For now, they had to get prepared for what was to come.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

Surprisingly, this morning was...normal, to say the least.

Kaden woke up next to Phoebe like nothing happened the night before, but something still felt a bit odd...

He got out of bed to brush his teeth and eventually head downstairs to make some coffee. He tried to ignore the deafening silence just behind Ratchet's door as he walked past now knowing what happened to him.

He reminded himself that he had to make a few calls later, especially to Alister. He would have to try and contact whoever knew Ratchet personally as well.

He didn't want anyone to get caught in the crossfire. Perhaps that is why Ratchet didn't say anything himself...

Such a reckless, selfless kid...

He sighed as he took the first sip of his coffee, grimacing at the bitterness. He forgot to out in some-

*Knock**Knock*

Kaden paused, before setting down his cup on the counter and heading over to the window, where he pulled down the blinds a bit to see who was at the door. He frowned,

Of course it was them. He was expecting this, after all.

He put his hand on the knob, taking in a deep breath and composing himself. It was time to face the music..

He opened the door. Only to come face to face with the head of The Council himself.

Arc.

"Good morning Mr. Callisto. Can I have a word with you?"

Kaden could practically feel his chest fill with anxiety. The man raised a brow and looked at him expectantly.

"Sure."

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

Don't worry, you'll see what happened to Ratchet and Hunter in the next chapter. Until then, have a nice little cliff-hanger :)

Sorry for any spelling or grammar errors, my spelling and grammar check on my documents have been overlooking a lot of things recently :/

Anyways, I hope you are all doing well! See you next chapter!