A/N: Josh Hutcherson as Sam ;)
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By the time two weeks had past, Max and Ariana were fully integrated into the Oldmere base. They had both been put on numerous amount of shifts, some together but also some apart. It didn't matter though. They always stayed in contact through the telepathy link.

Apart from the odd training drill, life inside the Unity base was extremely boring. Max just wanted to bang his head against the wall in frustration. Mr Loop and Marcos had sent him and Ari here to gather information on Unity attacks but so far, they hadn't had the chance to find anything. Everywhere they went there were guards and soldiers, meaning that it was impossible to have a good look around the Control Room without being caught.

But Max had a plan about that.

"Hey, Ari," he said as he sat down in the cafeteria. Ariana looked up from her food tray and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey yourself," she replied. "Do anything interesting today?"

"Not much," he said. "Just guarded General Lancaster's quarters for two hours then got changed to the base perimeters. You?"

"I packed up the rest of Commander Patricks stuff today," Ariana said quietly. "You know she moved out two weeks ago? Well, I found out today that she went home because of the whole spy mess." Max knew the hidden message within that sentence. Patricks had been told to leave for not finding Oscar sooner.

Glancing around him, Max made sure that no one was watching before he turned back to Ari. "Loop expects a report tomorrow," he said through the telepathy link. "We've got to bring him something more than just one commander leaving - which he probably already knows."

"I know," Ariana replied. "But there are soldiers everywhere. How the hell are we meant to get into the Control Room?"

"Tonight there's going to be an attack on the town of Shakleton," Max said. "It's Flame held and about ten miles away. Most of the soldiers will be out but we haven't been called up. We can sneak in then and no one will spot us." Ari nodded, taking another spoonful of her soup.

"Sounds good," she said. "Let's do it."

***

Later that night, Ariana and Max slipped down the dark corridor that led to the Control Room, keeping an eye out for any Unity soldiers. Other than the odd guard on patrol, most people seemed to be out on the attack.

Ari slipped into another corridor with Max behind her, checking for guards. Now there was only the security cameras in their way. From her pocket, she brought out a small device that was part of their mission pack. Max grinned at her as she held it up then pressed the button. It made a small ringing sound before the cameras that lined the walls all shut down, battered by the EMP.

"Two minutes to get in before the camera's come back online," Ari said. Together, they both jogged towards the Control Room door, quickly picking the lock then entering quietly.

The inside of the control room was filled with maps and computers. It reminded Ari a bit of their Prep Room back home. She and Max wordlessly went forwards, both sitting at computers and hacking in. Ari shifted through files upon files of information about different known Flame bases, weapon supplies and the blueprints of Oldmere castle. After downloading everything she could onto a memory stick, she then moved onto some of the harder files to crack.

"Max," she said. "Have you managed to get into 'Unity Base Locations' yet?"

"No," Max replied. "It is too heavily encrypted. So is 'Planned Attacks.'" Ari sighed in frustration. This is when they needed Finn here to crack these files. She shut down the computer and disengaged the memory stick.

"Okay, we have everything we could," she said. "We should get out of here before someone gets suspicious." She stood and was about to leave only to find that Max wasn't with her. He hadn't seemed to register her as he walked towards the centre table. "Max," she hissed but he waved her to come over.

"Look at this," he said. She jogged over as Max placed his hands on the table. It had a paper map spread across it, different locations marked on it with red and blue flags – Flame and Unity. "It's all the Fronts. It's where every battle right now is taking place, where all the troops are."

"Sage Coast is looking like it's going to be pretty packed," Ari muttered, pointing to the three blue flags that were heading to the Sage Coast. "They're moving troops there."

"Yeah, we're going to have to warn Loop-" Max said before breaking off. Ari looked up and saw him staring at two flags to the very north of the map. One was blue and the other red but both were completely isolated from all other Unity and Flame forces.

"What the hell is that?" Max asked, walking around the table to the top of the map. "Why would there be a battle up in the north? Surely there isn't anything there worth fighting over." Ari bit her lip, glancing behind her.

"Max, we have to go now before someone suspects something," she said. But he still wasn't listening. Bending down, he tilted his head, reading the name of the location on the map.

"Collinworth Factory?" he said softly. "Why would they be fighting over a factory?"

"Supplies?" Ari suggested, getting slightly agitated. "Weapons, maybe? Look, it doesn't matter. It's not important. We should go. Now." Pulling out his phone, Max quickly took a couple of pictures of the entire map and the strange isolated troops before joining her by the doors.

"Okay, let's go," he said. Once again, Ari used the EMP to knock out the cameras in the hallways before they slipped past the guards and to the barracks. When they reached the female quarters, Ari turned to Max.

"Tomorrow we should contact Loop with what we've found," she said. "Then we can discuss the next steps." He nodded.

"You're right," he said. Leaning down, his lips brushed overs hers for just a second before he was gone, heading to the male barracks.

Ariana watched him go before quietly opening her door, sneaking past the sleeping Unity soldiers and reaching her own bed. She quickly undressed then climbed into bed, turning onto her side. But she couldn't sleep. Her mind was buzzing, thoughts flying through her head.

How was Oscar? Was he recovering? What was going on at the Mansion? Did the Unity succeed in their attack of Shakleton? How many good Flame soldiers were lost because of it?

She felt like it was her fault. Maybe they could have got a warning signal out to the Flame. At this point, she didn't really care if it compromised her and Max's position. As long as Flame soldiers were saved, then it wouldn't matter. But she reminded herself that what Project Midnight were doing would save countless more lives from Unity oppression. She just had to hold on.

Rolling over, she closed her eyes, hoping that what they gave Loop tomorrow would help.

***

Oscar found Tobias in the Mansion's chapel after his test. It was small, only big enough for about ten people, perhaps. Yet it was decorated like it belonged in a king's palace. Beautifully crafted tapestries, statues and ornaments adorned the chapel, making it the most gorgeous rooms in the Mansion.

Not many people used it though. In fact, Oscar only knew of Marcos, Megan and Tobias ever coming down here. He didn't really know where their faith came from but they had prayed here for as long as he could remember. Something just called them here. He admired that they could be so full of hope and wished that he could share their belief, but unfortunately faith was never a gift he received. He just couldn't see God's work in a world that was tearing itself apart.

Leaning on the door frame, he watched Tobias kneeling in front of the chapel alter, his silver cross necklace between his fingers as he murmured his prayer. His curly locks fell into his eyes as he bowed his head, making the sign of the cross over his chest before standing, turning to face Oscar.

"How did testing go then," he asked, smirking slightly. "I take it that Loop and Marcos passed you considering you're here." He was right there. After being compromised, Oscar had to take a virtual reality simulation exam to test if he reacted to the situation correctly. It always happened whenever an agent of the Flame made a mistake. Of course, it wasn't that Oscar made a mistake, it was that he was betrayed.

"Yeah," Oscar replied. "They said I reacted to the simulation perfectly." He stopped for a second then said: "I told them the whole thing was crap though." Tobias laughed, shaking his head.

"You rebel," he chuckled. They fell silent, walking out of the chapel together and upstairs towards the cafeteria. Oscar didn't feel uncomfortable, though. Tobias' presence was easy to be in. They entered the lift and Oscar pressed the button for the first floor.

"Scarlett's meant to be back today," he said. "Everyone said that she was just scouting out some territory, but Loop's lying from what you told me." He hesitated for a moment, smiling slightly. "I still can't believe you spied on their meeting."

"It's kind of what I do," Tobias grinned. "But the point is, Loop and the Flame? They're not being totally honest with us."

"Yeah, I know," Oscar said. "But they also suspect me. So if we're going to find the spy, we've got to do it quietly. I think we should start going through all the files of everyone in the Mansion. See if we can find something that Loop and Marcos missed." Tobias looked down, biting his lip.

"You're still holding onto this spy business then?" he sighed. Oscar looked at him sharply before pressing the stop button on the lift, making it halt in the middle of the elevator shaft. He then grabbed Tobias by the shoulders, pinning him to the wall. "Oscar! What the hell-?!"

"Tobias, I heard Flint Lark himself say that a spy informed him that I was there," Oscar said fiercely. "I wouldn't lie about that, especially not to you. Now, I need to find this guy as soon as possible to make sure Ari and Max get home safely. Are you going to help me or not? Because if not, then just say so."

"Oscar, buddy, seriously-"

"Are you going to help me?!" Oscar growled.

"Jesus, yes, I'll help you," Tobias cried. "There's no need to freak out on me!" Oscar looked straight into his green eyes and knew that Tobias was telling the truth. He wouldn't abandon him.

"Okay, good," Oscar said softly. "Good." He watched Tobias' face, the way his delicately sculpted eyebrows were arched up in confusion. His lips were pink and slightly parted in surprise, his pulse jumping in his neck. He looked so-

"Er Oscar?" Tobias asked. "Hello? You can let go of me now. Seriously, let go." Oscar jumped back, releasing Toby.

"Sorry," he said, blushing. His stomach was flipping with nerves. God, what was happening to him? "I just-um-"

"You wanted to make sure, I know," Tobias said, pressing the lift button again to get them moving. "I get it."

Ding!

The doors opened at the cafeteria where Sam, Dani, Megan and Finn were eating lunch. They waved them over but Oscar stood frozen in the lift. "You coming, Oscar?" Tobias asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah," Oscar said. Tobias only smirked slightly, turning away but then stopping.

"Oh, and by the way, in the lift there..." he said. "That was kind of hot." He left Oscar gaping after him.
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Hello my lovelies!!!

So, more of a filler chapter but with some developments...;) Who do you guys ship, I wonder...? ;)

Next chapter, Scarlett returns with some interesting news, Ari and Max run into a bit of trouble and Tobias...well, you'll see.

Okay then, I hope you enjoyed this one! Don't forget to comment and vote! Oh and you're welcome to make any covers or banners if you would like ;)

Love y'all!

CricketCat