Inspirational quote: Forget the haters 'cause somebody loves ya.

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Dr Kozak was still kind of full on hugging the screen but stopped once he remembered that Kieran and Esperanza were both staring at him blankly.

Esperanza cleared her throat once she found out that Dr Kozak was still hugging the screen.

"Er... Dr Kozak?" Esperanza trailed off, looking at him. "You realise that you're not actually hugging anyone right?"

Dr Kozak stopped hugging the computer and sat back down again.

"Right... Right. I knew that. I'm so sorry. I'm just so happy that you're alive and that you're okay! I was low key worried about you!"

Esperanza turned red and smiled whilst Kieran just sort of rolled his eyes annoyingly and comically in the background, not saying anything.

"Aw thanks, Dr Kozak. Well, I'm happy you're happy."

Dr Kozak grinned.

"I mean, if you did die, for real, then I probably would have disciplined Kieran harshly and would have never forgiven him."

Esperanza turned even more red and smiled even more than last time.

"That's sweet, and really nice, but Kieran didn't mean to kill me."

Kieran just couldn't take this anymore. They were wasting too much time talking. They had to get something done before it was too late.

Told you I didn't mean to kill her, Kieran thought to himself, which Dr Kozak totally read despite the fact that it was via computer.

I know you said you never said you didn't believe me when I told you I didn't mean to kill Esperanza but we both know that's not true. You're not deceiving anyone.

After Dr Kozak had read Kieran's mind, he frowned at him, then shot him a very annoyed look.

Kieran in the meantime just stared at him back in return, smiling, before turning to Esperanza again.

"Dr Kozak? What do we do now?" Esperanza asked him, looking at him confusingly.

He didn't even know to be honest. Well, Kozak did know, but he was way too tired to think about anything right now. He needed to sleep.

"You guys are not too far from DIE ANNA INCORPORATED. Therefore you need to stick together at all times, and stay focused."

For some reason, Kieran decided to test Dr Kozak's limits a bit.

Doing this was honestly a bad thing to do, and Kieran knew this, but he didn't care about it. He wanted to wind Dr Kozak up.

"And what if we don't want to listen to you?" Kieran asked smugly, folding his arms and smiling non stop.

"If you don't listen to me then you'll get in trouble, and so will I for being irresponsible."

"What if I want you to get in trouble?"

Dr Kozak didn't say anything much, with Esperanza kind of whispering you're in trouble! to Kieran.

Then she tried to climb the second and last fence that led to DIE ANNA INCORPORATED.

Although as Kieran was about to do the same thing, Dr Kozak held him back by saying his name through gritted teeth.

"Kieran, may I talk to you for a minute, please?" Dr Kozak told him angrily and through gritted teeth again.

Kieran was halfway through climbing the fence but stopped once he had heard that. He then looked at Esperanza who seemed to be way ahead of them, then at Dr Kozak again.

"Why though? But Esperanza is way ahead of me right now, plus-"

"Kieran may I please talk to you for a minute?!!!" Dr Kozak hollered, not playing games, looking and sounding even more annoyed than before, his voice still (to some extent) sounding completely like helium.

Kieran just stared at him blankly and blinked once in return.

"Okay. Okay. Jeez," he muttered mainly to himself, one of his legs on one half of the fence, the other one on the other side of the fence.

"Although can you wait until I get down first?"

Dr Kozak didn't say anything as he intently stared at Kieran on his computer, jumping down the fence and somewhat catching up to Esperanza.

"Okay, so what did you want to talk to me about?" Kieran asked Dr Kozak, half smiling for some reason.

"First of all, wipe that flipping smile off your face and second of all, what is your problem?"

Kieran just blinked at him once in return.

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," he fibbed helplessly, only making Dr Kozak want to scream at him via the computer even more.

"I can so kill you right now!" He hollered, doing a face palm. "Kid, you know when I give you a dirty look, what did I say it meant?"

"That you're annoyed with me in one way or the other," Kieran replied, making Dr Kozak even more infuriated than last time.

"So when I gave you one just now, why did you ignore me and continue talking even though you knew I was giving you one?"

Kieran was fed up too, to be honest. What happened to Dr Kozak promising not to mistreat him? Because he was clearly doing the complete opposite of that right now.

"Dude! I'm sorry but I bet if I had died, you wouldn't even do anything or care? Yet, when it's Esperanza, you're over the moon. I thought you said you wouldn't show favouritism."

Dr Kozak stood up, hollering at Kieran even more before he sat back down again.

Well, he had kind of thought about what he said first, before saying anything else. But the way he was yelling at Kieran sounded as though he hadn't processed what Kieran had just said.

"I don't mean to show favouritism, kid. I've known Esperanza longer, so that's probably why. I like you both equally, I promise."

Kieran: *annoyed* Seriously though? Then show it, Dr Kozak. Show it.

Dr Kozak: *even more annoyed and so annoyed that he could have made a volcano erupt even from miles away* Do you not think I've tried? And you often show favouritism too, to your teachers at school and all that.

Kieran gasped, whilst Dr Kozak just smiled impishly at him.

Kieran: *absolutely dumbfounded* How the heck do you know that? I never told anyone that.

Dr Kozak didn't really reply, just pointed to his head then winked at Kieran.

Kieran: Let me guess. Mind reading skills?

Dr Kozak nodded then deeply examined his fingernails before staring at Kieran again.

Dr Kozak: That is correct. Plus I have a history of your life down.

Kieran: *confused* What do you mean, you have a history of my life down?

Dr Kozak: Basically, I know everything that's happened in your life since the day you were born. And I also know how long you've been alive for. About 5,550 days.

Kieran gasped once again once he heard that.

Kieran: Are you sure you're human?

Dr Kozak laughed.

Dr Kozak: Who knows. Maybe I'm surreptitiously from Jupiter. No wonder I've got like, seven super powers.

Kieran: Anyway. Going back to Esperanza again. I told you I didn't mean to almost kill her.

Dr Kozak: Maybe. But you should have helped her lift the boxes for her head. She probably would be dead by now had she not done it herself.

Dr Kozak wasn't even paying full attention though. He was still full on deeply examining his fingernails.

Kieran was fed up by now completely.

Kieran: I'm sorry if this sounds rude but can you actually stop staring at your fingernails and pay attention to me for once?!

Dr Kozak stopped what he was doing, only to stare at Kieran with an emotionless expression on his face.

Dr Kozak: Okay. Okay. Jeez. And since when were you the boss of me? I'm like...

Dr Kozak counted on his fingers how old he was compared to how old Kieran was.

Dr Kozak: Approximately twenty years older than you.

Kieran didn't reply at all. In fact he had ended up totally avoiding the question.

Kieran: Can I ask you a question, sir?

Dr Kozak blinked once but didn't really say anything else.

Dr Kozak: Does it relate to Esperanza?

Kieran shook his head.

Kieran: What happens if you get 125 trophies? I don't think you told us this. Or if you did, well... I wasn't really listening to you, no disrespect.

Dr Kozak just rolled his eyes in disbelief.

Dr Kozak: I haven't got time right now.

He then looked at his watch and cursed to himself in annoyance.

Dr Kozak: *continued* I'll tell you later.

Kieran: But...

Dr Kozak: Later, Kieran. Later.

Dr Kozak thought something spiteful about Kieran which luckily he couldn't read.

"I might have to do it when I next see you again though because I'm not the only person in my laboratory right now," he whispered to Kieran, indirecting Arista.

There was silence between them for a while as Kieran and Esperanza had made it across the third fence (it had turned out that there was another one which nobody had personally known about) and unto some sort of really busy street.

"Crud! That road is ginormous! And there isn't a traffic light in sight!" Esperanza noticed, shouting at Kieran.

"Okay. How about we go back over there to where we were before and wait for the number of the cars on the road to diminish a bit," Kieran suggested wisely.

"You guys okay?" Dr Kozak had asked nicely, just turning around on his spinning chair from another conversation with his daughter.

Kieran and Esperanza nodded as they waited for the cars to die down near the third fence.

"Wait. What? Why did you guys go back?" Dr Kozak realised.

"Massive road," Kieran answered.

Him and Esperanza were both waiting patiently now, getting not luck whatsoever out of doing it, until Kieran could hear something in the background.

"Whoa whoa whoa. Esperanza can you hear that? Sounds like fireworks?"

"Fireworks?" Dr Kozak accidentally on purpose overheard. "Kieran, it's March. Bonfire night isn't until November 5th."

"We know." Esperanza replied for Kieran. "But these fireworks are different. I think that they read a message!"

"What do the fireworks say then?!" Dr Kozak snapped back in return.

"Literally. These fireworks say that they're about to read a message," Esperanza read out loud, looking intently at them. "Ooh! Wait. They're starting!"

Dr Kozak forced her to read it out and as she did he seemed to be getting even more ticked off than before.

Kieran replied for Esperanza on what the fireworks had said.

"The fireworks say, in this order:
Dr Kozak
I know you're there.
And I know you've sent Kieran and Espo-"

"Hey! That person spelt my name wrong! There is no 'O' whatsoever in Esperanza!!" Esperanza shouted, where Kieran just told her to shut up and calm down.

" 'Whoops. Sorry. Typo. I meant Esperanza'," Kieran read out loud. "Anyway. Like I said. Dr Kozak, I know you're there, and I know that you've sent Kieran and Esperanza to get the trophy back. Well. Tough luck. That's definitely not going to work, because I am Diana Valentine and I am highly intelligent.'"

End of firework message, Dr Kozak was fully stressed out by now.

"How does she know that you've come here though? Did you tell her?" Kieran wanted to know, staring at a rather frustrated Dr Kozak.

"No. I forgot to tell you guys. Diana Valentine is really really smart. Smarter than me, and I admit, I kind of get really jealous sometimes. She knows every trick in the book, guys."

"What book?" Kieran asked stupidly, where Dr Kozak just did a face palm.

"There is no book."

Kieran didn't reply.

"It's a metaphor, Kieran!"

"I know." Kieran replied, kind of grinning to himself smugly and complacently. "I was just messing with you."

But Dr Kozak just rolled his eyes in disbelief and said nothing else as Kieran and Esperanza finally went forward out into the main road once and for all.

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Moral of chapter: Fireworks are pretty aren't they? Not in this story! That's for sure.