"Remember what I told you." Elizabeth stationed us around the circular conference table, high above the city of Las Vegas. We'd been guided into the uppermost floor of the hotel, with the twinkling night sky pouring in through its wall-sized glass panel.

  "Don't repeat undocumented intel during the call," I sighed with a nod.

  "Don't ask any invasive questions," Blessing added.

  "Don't make fun of his ugly mug," Tomás folded his arms and leaned back in his creaking chair. Out of the four of us, including a timid Charlotte, he was the one who would be the most difficult to control. Elizabeth requested our audience for a conference call, with a man he despised more than anyone else.

  "Why am I doing this again?" I asked Elizabeth, who strained the gap between her eyes with pinched fingers.

  "Because, we're backed into a corner here. Telos have known about our location for at least a week, and yet they haven't made a move. There must be information that we're missing... We need an alliance."

  "But... Why us?"

  "You know him well, don't you? Some friendly faces might make the negotiations easier. I'll do most of the talking, all you have to do is nod along. Understand?

  "Yes, Ma'am." We 'nodded' in unison, wondering how we'd gotten into this sticky situation. To think that man would be our only salvation...

  In the centre of the massive conference table, the cameras flicked on and three monitors lit up with a ringing tone. After a brief second or two, a gentleman in some kind of armored vehicle glared back at us with a piercing stare. It only took him a small tilt of our video-recording room to lift his cheeks in a menacing smile.

  "Miss Boudica, radiant as always. To what do I owe the pleasure?" James Burkley's gravelly voice slithered in through one ear and out the other with a deep shiver. Elizabeth raised herself from the table, and began pacing behind each of us as the O-Saints' leader watched carefully.

  "James. You once told me, that your objective was to unite the world under one blood type. Now your intent is to access the Ark. Would you like to clarify?"

  "My dear, you do realise that we stand as enemies? Our truce has long since ended," his gaze glossed over Blessing, "ever since you took my doll away. Didn't you want her dead earlier?"

  "I wanted to keep my family safe," she countered, "but circumstances change. I'm sure you of all people understand that much, with the sacrifices you've made."

  "Ouch, Boudica. That was almost cold," he chuckled to himself as his vehicle hit several bumps. Wherever he was, it must've been off-road somewhere. "Was there something you wanted, or did you just call to crack jokes about dead wives?"

  He left a tense silence in the room, and my eyes flew between him and the resistance leader. I hadn't considered that Burkley once had a family to care for... He never seemed the type. Was that how Telos forced him into their employment, threatening them before all of this started?

  "You know I would never," Elizabeth seethed with impatience. "I've recently come into some knowledge... through a high-ranking defector of your organisation." The Swede, I thought to myself as Burkley smirked in my screen's direction.

  "Ah, yes. The nameless brat. I figured that he might try and align himself with Walker. He was a big fan of yours, bless him. Must've had a little crush."

  "The Ark," Our resistance leader continued blindly, "is a state-of-the-art compound of unknown origin and volume, pre-dating Telos' occupancy. Rumor has it that the First One is contained within its walls, along with countless other inhumane projects. Potentially, a cure for the Shezmu virus is being held there as well."

  "Someone's been doing their homework," Burkley droned as though he was getting bored. "They say that one can rebuild an entire civilization using the provisions stored in there. The Ark has always been a fail-safe option for the United Nations, in the event of thermonuclear war... or other catastrophes."

  His hands raised to encompass the area outside, as a barrage of Lost rolled past the speeding car's window. Taking my eyes away from the screen, I jolted as TB slipped inside the conference room and shut the door behind him. Sharing an apologetic nod with Elizabeth, she glanced back at Burkley with a more determined glare.

  "Except... that's not all, is there? Rumor also has it that there is a glass room, at the very heart of the complex. Some might call it the most secure, protected room that humanity has ever conceived. No one knows what's inside, but only one person has been allowed access via DNA and retinal scanners."

  "The First One," Blessing breathed, leaning forwards in her chair. "Is that why you sent Wayne, the O-Saints after me? Because I share her genetic image, I could... deactivate the security system? What would happen then?"

  Everyone's attention converged on the monitors, analysing the strange look on Burkley's face. He almost appeared unsure himself, but then his dark lips curved into a menacing smile.

  "The person who controls that room, controls the fate of the world. Right now, Boudica, neither of us want Telos in the driver's seat... I know why you called today. If I help you climb out of your 'predicament', you'll hand over the Puppet?"

  "What?! You can't be serious-" I hissed in Elizabeth's direction, only to be shushed by an agitated Blessing. Her mute eyes met mine, glazed over with the unsettling information she'd just heard.

  "Daniel, this is my decision. I'll do whatever I can to end this nightmare for you all... even if it means using him to get there."

  "Listen to Barbie, son. She gets it," Burkley grinned to himself. Elizabeth was not so easily sated. Gritting her teeth, her bunched fist slammed down onto the piles of paperwork surrounding her seat.

  "You bastard. Making demands on my call? You knew that we were under attack! How?!"

  "Did you check the Telos Network, my dear?"

  "Yes, of course we-"

  "It's nothing but lies. The TMD are fully aware that we monitor their encrypted broadcasts, which is why they started filling their airtime with routine mission chatter-"

  "And now the covert ones are classified. Shit."

  "I have a few little birds in their nest, don't worry." Burkley braced himself against the ceiling of the car, as the camera shook and rattled around on the bumpy terrain. "Reports show that TS-19 never boarded your evac chopper, so they've been holding off on a full-frontal assault until now. Their special forces are scheduled to lift the ceasefire in roughly 36 hours."

  "Why should I believe you?" The resistance leader asked, clearly beating herself up about the failed espionage. Her new ally just shook his head, and tilted the camera to the right by a few inches. The withered face of a horribly disfigured man glared back at us, forcing my stomach to drop entirely.

  "Because, help is on the way. We'll be seeing you soon... Ta-ta."

  The monitors cut out, leaving us jaw-dropped and staring at the black screen. Blessing's throat gulped heavily, and a similar noise could be heard from TB's sheltered corner of the room. The twins shared a look of dread, although it was certainly not exclusive to them.

  We'd all had dealings with the man we just saw, except Charlotte. Perhaps that was why she threw around confused shrugs, while we tried to think of what could be said. I thought that guy was dead for sure. I saw him being eaten alive, sucked right into that pile of bodies like a wrinkly-bald tumor.

  "Sgt. Riles," Elizabeth croaked for everyone's benefit. "I was told that TS-07 was absorbed by a Class-Three infected organism. Legion, correct?"

  "Well, it looks like he shat himself back out. Don't your people ever die?!" Tomás threw his head back at TB, who had grown considerably paler.

  It wasn't like the musician to lash out like that, but it made sense after what happened at Puck's Motel. Riles executed every last person in the vicinity as he searched their rooms for Blessing, slaughtering families and their children just because he could.

  "Our accelerated lifespans kill us off before anyone else can..." TB sighed, running his fingers through his youthful greying hair. "But Riles, he's not bald by choice. His body has regenerated so many times, it's been a drain on his energy. The old man's at the end of his rope, only has a couple of months left in him."

  "Great, we'll just hibernate till Christmas and outlive him," Tomás retorted with a flail of his arms. "What kind of plan is that? You guys are supposed to be the smart ones!"

  "I... don't think he was threatening us."

  Everyone's eyes moved to Blessing, as she stared at her own reflection in the black mirror. She'd practically been raised by the man, albeit through combat training. If anyone knew what was going through his mind, it would be her.

  "Riles was devastated when that monster showed up in Patch. I've never seen him so careless... It sounded like he'd given up, that he'd been betrayed. I believe that my father may have sent Legion as a personal message, in order to punish him. Or worse."

  "Kress has been questioning Riles' failures in the hunt for TS-19," Elizabeth added to the theory, "and the TMD has been in unrest ever since an infected soldier became their commanding officer. It does make tactical sense, sending in a corpse-magnet to immobilise the Puppet while wiping the board in the same move."

  "What board? Can't anyone in this room speak English?" Tomás slumped back in his seat, while Elizabeth began drawing plans on a sheet of discarded paper. Her eyes lit up, smirking at Charlotte for being able to confirm the information.

  "I'll tell you what's going on, kids. We're back in the game."

----

  We rode the elevator down by a couple of floors — which felt terrifying, after relying on staircases for months on end. We were still at the very top of the building, within some kind of red-velvet lounge area where a man dressed in a black apron kept pushing for us to have coffees.

  While I repeatedly told the world's last-living barista to bugger off in polite ways, eventually I caved and ordered a cappuccino. Everyone besides Blessing and TB asked for tea, something to calm their nerves after that intense conference call.

  Elizabeth and Charlotte sat by the empty bar to draw up military plans, picking each other's brains as they estimated what measurable force Burkley and Riles would be coming with. They both seemed equally impressed at the other's intellect, and I was happy that the clever girl finally had some form of mental challenge.

  I almost tuned out as Tomás crudely asked Blessing whether she'd gone insane, promising to hand herself over to Burkley once he arrived. All she could answer with, was some drivel about 'seeing how it would play out'.

  A strange tingling sensation crawled up my back every couple of seconds. Sure enough, when I turned around I saw TB's eyes darting back to his laptop as he sat in the darkest corner of the lounge. Something told me that he wasn't used to having company in his coffee place, not even his own twin sister.

  "Hey! You coming over or what?" I yelled a little too loudly, making him widen his eyes with embarrassment. Just to shut me up, he put his computer away and rose to his feet, waddling over awkwardly.

  "...Why?"

  "Why? You're one of us, aren't you?" Tomás grinned up from his reclined seat, scratching his missing eye. "Come to think of it, you were always there watching out for us on CCTV. I'd have lost both of my eyes, if it wasn't for you!"

  "Oh. Sorry?" TB sat himself down, two tables away. And I thought I had trouble speaking to a crowd...

  "No, dude, I-"

  "Tomás means 'thank you'," Blessing stated with a sigh, "in a really roundabout way." Her brother seemed to understand now, but showed no sign of caring whatsoever.

  "Et tu, Blessing?! It's usually Alisha who busts my... uh, whoops." The musician cut himself off, seeing the depressive hunch I fell into at the mention of her name. In the midst of Patch and losing my arm, I'd almost forgotten about what I did to her. I wrote off my own friend, and I barely even noticed.

  Before I could take another sip of my strangely-delicious cappuccino, some kind of ruckus drew my focus towards the main hallway. The noise behind the double-doors revved up until they burst open with an almighty roar, and to my own surprise, a terrifying hunchbacked mummy came charging straight towards our table.

  "Guuaaah!!" The creature screamed, and I almost pissed myself laughing. The bandages tore themselves from his face with a heavy swipe, and Harry glared back at me with a burning intensity as he yelled more animal sounds.

  Beth was strapped firmly to his back in a white hospital gown; he must've carried her the entire way up here from intensive care. Her youthful attention was all over the place, flipping between Blessing and myself as she crawled down from Harry's shoulder and dropped immediately into my arms.

  "M-Mister! They said you were...! I knew it! I knew you'd come back!!" Her face actively buried itself in my chest, a far cry from the girl I'd seen sleeping soundly hours ago. I thought about telling her that we'd already visited them both, but in that moment, a hug was more than I could handle.

  "I'd never leave you guys... Come on. What would you do without me?" I chuckled, trying to punch myself on the inside just to quell my bubbling emotions.

  "What on Earth?! Bethany, you're still sick!" Her aunt bellowed, running towards the chaotic shuffle. "Where do you think you are, running around the compound this late at night?"

  "Auntie Lizzie, I feel fine now!" Her cheeks puffed, clenching my resistance vest tighter. "It was just a headache, I hate taking those sleepy drugs! Please, let me stay with Daniel and Blessing!"

  "Oi! Did you forget about me? Why you little...!" Tomás stuck his tongue out, sweeping Beth off her feet and throwing her into the air light-heartedly. Seeing her niece chuckle for once, Elizabeth had no choice but to grumble and divert her anger towards the grievously-injured Harry.

  "And you! How did you get past my guards in that condition?! There must have been at least ten patrols stationed outside!"

  "Was that all? I didn't count," he smirked, tearing the final bandage from his sticky face. "No offence lady, but your guards? Bunch of pussies."

  "This is your final warning, Burnside! Pick one more fight with my men, and there won't be a position for you on my squad! Is that understood?!" The resistance leader never waited for an answer, storming out to scold whoever let them both slip past.

  While Beth pottered around to greet everyone excitedly, my widened eyes linked with Harry's as we communicated through flickers alone. His cheek looked as though someone had sliced it open and shoved a giant plum inside, purple and practically glowing with agony. It could've been way worse, to say the least.

  "You're alive, then?" he asked, as though he'd never seen me in the hospital. I was confused, until I realised he was staring at my freaky stump. I guess it was a bit of a gamble, the way Elizabeth cauterised my wound on the scene.

  "...Yeah."

  "Cool. Same."

  Shortest conversation I'd ever had. Maybe it was just the atmosphere, but having all of us under one roof again, it felt like old times. There was only one person missing from the picture...

  Right on cue, the doors opened once more and Belle was ushered in, apparently via request of the guards instead of fighting her way through them. She cradled her stomach carefully, glancing around as all of our bobbing heads converged on her.

  Tomás took a few uneasy steps in her direction, raising his hands in caution. She'd just finished her check-up, and I could tell the last thing she wanted was to deliver her news in a room full of strangers.

  "Well? Did they... What did they say?" The musician led her in, closing the distance with a hesitant arm around her shoulder.

  "It's... It's twins." Her voice cracked, and she couldn't help but stare guiltily at the ground.

  "Twins?! Those quacks, they told us last year that we couldn't even have one-" Tomás was already leading into a joke, when his fiancé broke down into a mess of tears. "W-Woah, I'm sorry! Seriously, I'm so... I'm happy!"

  "No, I... I just..." She croaked over his shoulder, while we all pretended to busy ourselves with nothing. "...You know that they're not yours, right? That neither of them can be-"

  "They're ours." Tomás lifted both hands and took his bulging wife into his grasp, almost starting to cry himself. "These are your kids, and mine. Not some twisted O-Saint scum... I don't care if he's their father, because I'm going to be their Daddy. That's all the difference in the world."

  Laughing and hugging tightly, I found myself feeling an incredible joy from watching the two of them. That after all of this time, it was still possible to find what we were looking for if we tried hard enough.

  Tomás wasn't done, though. He turned to face me, still holding his partner's hand as he extended the other to me in a sincere handshake. Grabbing ahold, I tilted my head in slight anxiousness.

  "What's this?"

  "My resignation, dude."

  "W-What?!" I tried to stumble back, but he firmly held my one hand in his steady grip. For what he was saying, it didn't connect at all coming from behind a honest smile.

  "I mean it, I'm done. This was never my fight, I always said... and now, I'm going to be a Dad. I've been thinking about it a lot lately. That's a full-time job, not the kind that I should be rubbing in Telos' face. It isn't safe, for Belle or the babies."

  "Where... will you go?" I asked, still feeling a little dumbfounded.

  "Who knows. We found all sorts of places on the road, didn't we? Settlements and crap. The world isn't over, people are still looking to make a quick buck or two. Hell, maybe Patch has started rebuilding its walls. There's only one way to find out."

  He turned back to face Belle, wiping his smirk clean. For once, he didn't have to bury his emotions. They would resume their lives as civilians, not soldiers for a cause. He was finally free from that burden.

  "Belle... I love you. I lost you once before, and I know that you're probably sick to death of dealing with me already-"

  "Tomás..." She started, but then he did something unexpected. The idiot got down on one knee, and everyone in the room groaned awkwardly.

  "I won't lose you again. I won't buy you a second ring, because I'm a cheap bastardo, but I want you to marry me. Tonight, if you're free."

  "A-Are you insane?" She stuttered with a laugh, gripping his hand a little tighter. This was coming from a woman who didn't know we were going to be annihilated in a day's time, I thought to myself.

  "Insane? We're in Vegas, baby! This is the perfect-" The musician started with his own chuckle, but I couldn't stop it in time. No one could have seen it coming, considering how passive we were only moments before.

  A tensed fist tore through Tomás' shirt, yanking him away from his would-be bride and sending him flying into the nearest upturned table. Charlotte screamed curtly, having to dive out of the way as his body almost crash-landed on top of her.

  "Argh, fuck! What the hell is your-" Tomás started, but Harry was already towering over him and squeezing his hand around the groom's throat. Lifting him up into the air, I'd seen that scorned look in his fiery eyes once before. The day he almost blasted me in the face with a shotgun.

  "You're not running away from this... I won't let you!! Either you die fighting with us, or you die right fucking now!"