(A/N Special, longer chapter! I won't be able to post tomorrow, this chapter and two others will be posted tonight. Hope you enjoy!)

(Lachlan's POV)

     Jerome and I are still frozen at the door. Preston and Rob are frozen in the middle of the room, staring at each other. The man and woman are stuck staring at them. It's like an endless cycle of staring. That is until Rob does manage to squirm away from Preston. "I remember their voices! We were up on the hill, and now I remember. Preston.... we were somebody before the lab", Rob tells him, still crying a little bit. "No, I wasn't anyone before..... how could I? I'm not like you guys....", Preston looks away, backing up a step. "Fine, maybe you can't remember them, but can't you remember teaching me how to grow the dandelions in the backyard? Mom always told us that they were beautiful. Dad said that they were weeds. Don't you remember any of that?", Rob's shaking Preston by the shoulders now. I feel awkward and out of place here in this room with them. "Preston.... you're my big brother".

     "My..... brother?", Preston trails off. He looks around the room, as if finally seeing it for the first time. Preston's eyes land on a picture frame along the wall. It shows a young couple smiling at a pair of boys making silly faces at the camera. The older has an arm wrapper around the younger's shoulders. The resemblance is there for all four of them. "I...... I remember walking around with you. I told you all about the things that you couldn't see. We walked all the way around the wall once because you wanted to know how big it was. Mom grounded us for a month because we weren't back in time for supper", Preston starts to ramble. He looks back at Rob, fear and awe both in his expression.

     Preston and Rob's mother suddenly rushes forwards, pulling her two sons into a hug. I can't help but smile at the sweet reunion. Their dad quickly joins the group hug as well. "We've missed you, so much", he says, "Where have you two been all this time?". "We never wanted to leave", Rob cries, burying his head in the hug. "I r-remember now, we were in the f-forest just outside of town. The lab scientists found us there. T-They knew my name", Preston stutters, "Why would they want us?". Olivia lets go of her sons, but still holds Rob's hand tightly. "Lab? What happed, Preston?", his dad asks him. Preston gets a fearful look on his face stepping back. "You won't be afraid of me, right?", he mumbles. "Nothing would ever make me stop loving you two", Olivia promises him.

     Preston nods before backing up another step. He holds out one hand, his skin hearing up and glowing red. It melts into lava but keeps its shape and pulses a red and yellow color. Rob steps away from his mom a little bit, pulling back the collar of his hoodie to show his glowing spots. I shift beside Jerome and the older couple seems to finally notice us. "Something bad's been happing to all the missing children from a decade ago. We're just a few who were lucky to escape", Preston sighs, gesturing to us. I shuffle my wings and look at my feet, a little self conscious. Preston's hand fades back to normal as his parents watch. He looks away and Rob drops his hand from his neck. "I only wish we could of done something to find you sooner", their dad says. He doesn't think that we're weird or gross? Preston and Rob smile at their parents. So many words are clouded on their eyes.

     "Wait.... people are screaming", Jerome suddenly barks, sticking his head back out the door. "What!? What's happening", Preston asks him, immediately getting protective of his family. "Lachlan? Could you find out what's going on?", Rob asks me, leaving his mom's side. I faintly hear the family discussing something, but my mind is already zipping away. I'm quickly pulled into the chaos behind the wall. People are screaming and running away from a large group of...... me? I can feel my own pain in all of them. Trapped, tortured, and forced to obey. They're just like Preston. It's the experiments from the lab. Two others stand in front of three humans. I recognize them as.... Mitch and Vikk? But the humans that they're protecting......

     "My family! The lab has my family!", I scream out, barreling out the door. The other five are confused and  nervous, Rob quickly promising to be right back. I've launched myself into the air before they can get outside. I remember now. Today is my birthday; that's why there are so many decorations. My mother is a queen, part shadow mage. My older brother looks just like me. My dad is the smartest person that I've ever known. I have a family..... and they're in danger.

     I go shooting over the wall, my wings pumping as fast as I can. My height increases as I use my sharp eyes to see what's going. The full moon glints off my wings and makes me look like faint a star. There! Mitch and Vikk stand in front of the castle with my family behind them. A man stands there, someone I recognize from the lab. He's the one who captured and took me away. He's my Dad's advisor to the throne. How could he do this? My rage is boiling over into a frenzy. Soon, I'm diving out of the sky. I fall like a rock with my wings tucked in close to my body.

      I roar and scream out a challenge when I get closer, my wings cracking back open. All the humans and experiments flinch and stumble back at my rage. I swoop in and land, skittering on the gravel and crouched in front of my family and next to Vikk. I won't let anyone hurt them. I can't let anyone hurt them. I hiss and spit at the human scientist. I'm too far gone to think correctly. "Well, don't you just have perfect timing, huh, little Lachy", Vikk laughs, his voice brining my mind partially back from the deep end. I give him a look of confusion, catching someone else's eyes. My brother. I'll protect him from the real monsters.

     I stand up then, eyes narrowed at the traitor. He's betrayed my father, and his kingdom. "Lachlan....", my brother gasps. "Really? This is getting quite old. Three of you aren't enough to stops this. I'm tired of having things go the King's way. It's time for a new dynasty to begin", the royal advisor sneers. I hiss in response, flaring my wings. Jerome suddenly comes barreling out of an alley, Preston and Rob just behind him. "This is enough! You can't keep doing this", Preston yells. Half of his body is melted into lava, steam coming off of him. Of the 13 or so experiments gathered before us, 9 of them flinch away from Preston's presence. "It won't matter if you had an army ready to fight me! I have allies, and the most successful experiment ever to be done", The traitor laughs at our group. A second voice joins in, with man walking out from the float wreckage. Another boy a few years older than us walks behind him.

     "Dad? Michael?", Mitch asks in confusion, the tip of his sword lowering slightly. "I'm surprised that you made it this far, brat", Mitch's dad remarks, looking him up and down, "I really meant for you to be on my side of things, but you've never lived up to what I thought you'd be. What a disappointment. Maybe I should of had Michael tested on instead of you". Mitch's brother doesn't seem to react, but I can see his hand curl into a fist. Michael suddenly spins to face his father, punching him square in the face. He then draws his sword and steps backwards to stand next to Mitch. "Not as many allies as you thought. Already, I've convinced seven of your funders to not show up to this battle. My dad is the only one still here", Michael yells at them.

     "Well, isn't that cute. It still won't matter. I've already created a better success then any of you six, all thanks to years of different funders all waiting to see what I can do. I don't need them anymore", the royal advisor states, "As a matter of fact, why don't you meet him? Number 284, come here". One of the experiments behind him looks up, two other boys standing near him. One has feathers on his head with a feathered tail, the other looking to be made of living slime. The slime experiment somehow looks so much younger then the rest of us, maybe only 14. The feathered experiment holds him away from #284 when the royal advisor calls his number.

     Number 284's face is blank. He doesn't seem to have any emotion over the situation. Half is body seems to be made of metal, one eye a startling shade of glowing blue. He doesn't even seem human anymore. He stiffly walks away from the other two, obeying the commands of his master. I think I know what he feels like; or maybe what he used to feel. "No Matt, don't go!", the slime experiment suddenly wails. The boy squirms away from the other experiment and lunges forward. He clings to #284's torso, bawling his eyes out. The cyborg stops moving and looks down at him. "Number 321, get off of 284", the traitor yells at them. I watch in horror as he pulls out a black remote and pushes a button. The black collar on the slime experiment makes a beeping sound, then shocks him until he lets go of the cyborg.

     The feathered experiment runs over and grabs the younger one, giving the scientist a horrified glare. He hugs the shaking slime close. "See, this would be a lot easier if you were all as obedient as #284. Open your cannon and fire", he orders. The cyborg doesn't move, looking down at the other two with a blank face. "And this just proves why I thought it still needed more testing", the royal advisor sighs, moving to hit the black button again, this time aimed at the half robot.

     "YOU CAN'T DO THAT! I WON'T LET YOU HURT INNOCENT PEOPLE ANYMORE", Rob suddenly screams, louder then I had ever heard him. He rushes forwards and grabs onto #284's collar just as a wave of electricity in sent through it. Preston screams and tries to run forward, but Jerome grabs onto him. I'm almost blown off my feet from a giant blast, not daring to take my eyes off the scene. I squint at the light and just barely make out Rob's silhouette.  Even though he's not wet, I can clearly see his webbed spine. Electricity is crackling along his body. It's not going into the ground, it's somehow trapped inside of him. The back shock collar on #284 had been broken into pieces. Electricity jumps from Rob to the other experiments, destroying their collars as well. Rob's twitching and shaking all over. He turns his white eyes to the head scientist as my own eyes give out and I have to look away. And this all happened in about three seconds.