I follow the nurse through the white corridors, with Jack at my side. We walk in silence, the nurse stopping next to one of the many large, wooden doors, indicating for us to go inside. I nod my thanks, and slowly open the door, just so that it's ajar at first, and, after taking a peek inside, open it the rest of the way.

"You don't think it's bad news, do you?" I whisper over my shoulder to Jack. He shrugs. Inwardly sighing, we walk in to find Daxter and Raven mumbling to each other, but they stop when they see us. Raven smiles politely, and Daxter grins, waving at us. We walk over to stand on the other side of the hospital bed.

"So, what's new?" I ask.

"I'm not exactly sure where to begin," Raven says, pausing, then looking up at us, "how much do you two know of what happened to me? Did you at least know where I was?" He asks. I nod.

"We found you down in the West basement." I answer.

"So you know about Tiare's...?" Raven trails off, unwilling to speak of the place in a public hospital. Jack nods.

"Yeah, we know." He says. "What'd you find there?"

"Well, in case you didn't quite catch it, Tiare's entire study of the Survival Gamers was in that little room down in the basement - history and everything." He begins hesitantly. I nod.

"Yeah, we saw that, is that the news?" I ask. Raven shakes his head.

"No, the news is that the notes contain a secret. I would try to explain to you how I found this secret out, but it would waste much dear time, so I'll just get straight to the point: the Survival Gamers have been lying to us. They don't have the stone." He says. My mouth gapes.

"Wait, but what about Milana? She was talking about--"

"Using the stone? Yes, I looked into that too. Maybe 'lying' is the wrong word to use here, because, technically, the Survival Gamers we've met so far are not lying to us. They do believe that they have the stone. It would seem that the trouble is not with them but within the team of the five Survival Gamers themselves. They're lying to each other." Raven explains.

"So, if the Survival Gamers don't have the stone, who does?" I ask. Raven pauses, thinking deeply.

"This is kind of a long shot, but I believe Tiare may have possession of it. If not, she at least knows who does." He answers. Jack scoffs.

"Homicidal freak." He mutters under his breath. I stiffen at his tone. His eyes soften, and he almost looks sad for a moment, then he shakes he head, clearing it away. "Tiare has gotten us into enough trouble already. I say we settle this once and for all." He declares. Raven's eyes widen, and his face turns pale.

"Y-y-you mean now? Jack, we can't just storm up to Tiare and demand the answer from her like that!" Raven exclaims nervously, startled by Jack's fierce expression.

"Why not? We have the advantage! Don't you get it? Tiare is kicked out of the Survival Gamers, and in the next couple years, we see the Survival Gamers targeting the same planet that she's fled to. I don't see that as a coincidence." Jack reasons angrily.

"What are you saying?" Raven asks, raising an eyebrow at Jack curiously.

"I'm saying that the Survival Gamers are coming after Tiare: she still owes them something. She still has a debt to them." He snaps.

"But she said she paid off her debt, remember? She said that she could live, but someone had to take her place. And then she took Jenny and--"

"But the Survival Gamers didn't kill Jenny, I did!" Jack snarls. My eyes widen, and I take a nervous step back. Taking a deep breath, Jack continues slowly. "Something must have went wrong. Something happened and somehow Jenny - Tiare's debt to the Survival Gamers - ended up on my ship. And now Tiare is still in debt, and that means the Survival Gamers are coming for her. They mean to kill her." He explains.

"I'm confused. Is that good or bad for us?" Daxter cuts in.

"I say it's good! Tiare is trapped like a rat on this planet - the Government has prevented any ships from leaving until they can solve this 'alien crisis.' So, Tiare's a sitting duck awaiting death to come knocking on her front door! As far as the Survival Gamers go, they've got no advantage at all if they don't even trust each other! They're all on the outs with one another, no team that doesn't work together is going to make it through in a game like this!" Jack exclaims. I think about this for a second, Raven and Daxter shooting nervous glances at each other.

"I say it's bad," Raven admits, "because even if we do have an advantage, their disadvantages could be ours as well. If they're not following the rules anymore, than this is no longer game, it's a war. A war with no rules, and no regulations."

"Then give them a taste of their own medicine!" Daxter cheers, a grin plastered on his face. "If they bite hard, bite them back! If they fight dirty, fight dirty back! Hit rock with rock, and paper with paper! That's what my brother always told me!"

"Why paper with paper when I can just hit paper with rock and annihilate paper?" I smirk half-jokingly. My smile quickly fades however, and I return to the topic at hand. "I agree with Jack - and Daxter." I add. "If they want to break the rules, who's to stop us from doing the same? I say we find Tiare and make her pay! Grab the stone and charge the ship! I say we take this fight to Myrror herself! And once she's gone, we use their weapon against them and blow their own empire to pieces!" I exclaim in triumph.

"Woah, woah! Ease up! This... this, uh..." Raven stammers, pausing to collect his thoughts together. "This plan it's just very, um, jumpy. How do you propose we get onto this ship anyway?" I smile mischievously.

"I remember you once told me you were just about finished with a 'project,' you called it, one that was capable of getting me off this planet." I begin. Raven's eyes widen as he realizes where I'm going with this.

"Oh no. No, no, no, no, no! Absolutely not! Klere, you're mad!" Raven exclaims. I open my mouth to speak, but the nurse comes in, and we all quiet down. We stare at the nurse in silence as she walks around the room, neatly organizing little things. Finally, after a couple of minutes, she looks at us oddly, having noticed that we're all staring at her. Giving us a weird glance, she heads back towards the door, and leaves. I look back at Raven, waiting for the sound of the door. When I hear it click closed, I continue.

"Come on! We don't have any better plans! If operation is a problem, we can test it! We've got time, and a stone to find. What better time to make sure it works?" I plead with him. Raven shakes his head crossly.

"Klere, you're being foolish and have completely crossed the line! First of all, we can't test the ship in open air! Do you have any idea what the Government would do to us once they saw that thing? And secondly, we can't even get to the ship, until the doctors let me out of here! And goodness knows how long that'll be!" He snaps.

"Why don't you just give us the password?" I retort sarcastically.

"Because I don't trust you to take good care of my things." He replies bluntly.

"Fair enough. Why don't we just ask doc? As soon as you get out of here, you can enter your place and test your ship, and then we can all fly up to the Myrror's empire." I say in an exaggerating tone. Raven groans, reluctant to agree to my proposal. "Come on, Raven! I know it's foolish and childish and stupid and goes against every safety regulation you've memorized in that big brain of yours, but it's the only plan we've got! Please!" I beg him. Raven bites his lip, thinking. Finally, after several minutes, he groans again.

"Alright! Fine! But you've gotta go find doc and ask him, because I'm not supposed to move from here!" He snaps. Daxter jumps to his feet, exhilarated.

"Allow me!" He pipes, running off to find the doctor.

"This is suicide! If we die, Klere, I will kill you!" Raven snaps.

"Deal." I mumble, pausing, then smiling. "I wonder how long this deal will last, since our last one hardly made it a week and a half." I wonder aloud. Raven narrows his eyes at me.

"Don't push it. I'm true to my word." He warns me. I sigh, then turn to Jack.

"Come on, tall and grim, let's go find Tiare."

******

That night was the busiest I'd ever had in my life. Jack and I returned to the school, getting the goods off of Tiare's notes, and we're now back at my place studying them. Pft. "Studying," yeah right! I think. We spent a lot more time trying to get the texting app to work so we could discuss our notes with Raven! Plus, Daxter was constantly sending random pipe-up messages! We're getting nowhere with this! I think. Finally, Jack and I begin to study the notes on our own, shooting Raven a text letting him know that we'll bring what we have to him in the hospital later.

"She's literally got every last detail on these things but not even a hint as to where the stone might be!" I exclaim. Jack nods in silence. I glance up at him nervously. Ever since the conversation the four of us had in the hospital, he hasn't said a word. I had to admit, even to myself, that I was beginning to worry about him. For some reason, in the middle of my confessions to myself, a memory jumps out at me - nothing important. Just the conversation me and Jack had after running from Tiare's freaky partner.

Are you jealous? He had asked. I'm almost tempted to laugh, but I shake it off instead, my attention returning to the notes. You're worried about him! I can't believe it! I voice sneers at me. You'd give your life to protect this "friend" of yours! You couldn't care less about this silly little boy not two weeks ago! The voice continues nagging at me as I look over Tiare's delicate scribbles.

"I can't believe this girl! Even when she's running from death itself, she's got to write like a princess! I bet you wouldn't find a piece of paper in this girl's life that's got chicken scratch. Honestly, sometimes this girl annoys me more just by doing little pretty petty things like this rather than doing heartless things like--"

"I'm going to kill her." Jack mutters. I freeze, staring at him with wide eyes.

"What?" I choke. Jack looks up at me, angrier than ever.

"I'm going to kill her!" He yells. "I'm going to find her, and make her suffer for everything she's done! And once I've got her to her knees, I'm going to kill her!" He snarls. I don't dare to do anything. I just watch, partially in horror, partially in sorrow, as he continues. "I don't want the Survival Gamers to get her. I hope they never find her. I want my face to be the last thing she sees before she descends into eternal blackness! I hope the Survival Gamers never get to her! I hope--"

"Argh! Jack, stop it!" I scream.

"Why? Do I make you uncomfortable? Are you afraid of me now? I hate to burst your bubbles, but I'm not who you thought I was! You obviously didn't expect this! Whatever you thought I was before, I'm sorry I turned out to be someone else!"

"I didn't think anything of you before!" I snarl. "Jack, I couldn't have cared less about you when we first met! I hated you! I hated you all! I hated every living soul in this universe! I hated the humans, I hated the Survival Gamers, I hated the Survivors, my parents, I hated myself!" I scream. I pause, breathing deeply, and then continuing more softly. "But I can tell you one thing: you've got to pull yourself together. Killing Tiare is going to get us nowhere, Jack." I say, my voice hardly more than a whisper. But Jack's gaze only hardens more.

"No." He says, "I'm tired of being a freaking coward! I ran from my father, I cowered under his iron fist! I'm not going to cower against the heartless freak that took my only friend and got her killed."

"Jack, you're not a coward..." I whisper.

"I am too a coward!" He yells. "You want to know why I killed Jenny, hmm?" He challenges me. "You want to know why I killed the only friend I ever had? I'll give you a hint: it wasn't a problem with Jenny. It was a problem with me!"

"Jack, stop it."

"I was a coward, Klere! I killed her because my father told me to and because I was afraid of otherwise! I was afraid of what he might do to me - to her - if I didn't! And because of my cowardice, Jenny is dead!"

"And you think killing Tiare is going make up for cowardice? Jack, that's ridiculous!" I snap. "Up until now, I've been nice to you because, as surprising as it is, I actually care about you!" I pause, "A little bit! But now, I'm going to give it to you straight! Killing Tiare will not prove you to be brave - that will not prove anything! Just that you're a silly little boy who can't control himself!" I snarl.

"Yeah? And what do you know, huh?!"

"I know enough! I may be pretty as an angel, but as sure as this world exists I ain't one!" Pausing, I look down, refusing to meet his gaze as I continue. "The truth is, we're both cowards. I didn't lose my parents, I ran from them. I didn't want to face someone that I knew so well but... didn't know me." I mumble, partially to myself. There is a long silence. Slowly, we both start to calm ourselves, and the room becomes quiet. I hear a thump as Jack sits down in one of the old oak chairs behind him. I sigh inwardly. What now...? I think. Daxter was his best friend, I just have to do what Daxter would do. I tell myself, trying to think of something bright and pixie-like to say. Finally, I give up, letting myself flop back into the chair opposite of him.

For a long moment, I think. Processing the conversation, connecting the dots... everything was just a jumble of notes to me. Tiare. Jenny. Jack. Raven. Daxter. Vienna. Pilas. Milana. Mary Kate. Ms. Veronica. Kai. Marie. Raven's Doctor. The random nurse that interrupted our conversation. Me... I add. We were all just a bunch of people. Connected in no way in particular. I didn't see Jack and Daxter. Or Pilas and Milana. Or Tiare who killed Jenny. Or Jack's father who abused Jack. All I saw was Jack. And Daxter. And Pilas. And Milana. And Tiare. And Jenny. And Jack's father. Nothing seemed to fit into place. My mind becoming tired, I allow it to go blank and stare at the floor. But I hadn't been doing so long, before I speak. I didn't even intend to speak, and I'm not sure why I did. But I did.

"What was Jenny like?" I ask. I shut my mouth closed, appalled at what I've just asked. Drat! You idiot! What are you trying to do, make him mad?! I think. But to my surprise, his answer is calm and sad.

"She was almost like Daxter and Raven put together. Always cheery and bright, always smiling, always hopeful. But she was so polite and calm all the time. She never lost control, she always had faith." He whispers, then smirks, as if recalling the memory as he told it. "Every night my dad would scream at me and throw things at me, and just pitch a fit." He says, laughing. I snort.

"I think I take after your dad." I joke. Jack rolls his eyes in amusement, then continues.

"Once my father was done shouting at me, I would sneak out the house and go down to the prison cells. Jenny and I would talk through the cell walls. They were solid, so we couldn't see each other, but they were very thin, so we could hear each other. To be honest, I never saw her face until the day I killed her..." he admits, trailing off. I smile at him.

"How did she look?" I ask, giving him a nudge, "Stunningly attractive?" I tease. Jack smirks, shaking his head.

"Peaceful." He answers. Suddenly the door opens, and Daxter bursts in.

"Hey guys!" He greets, then breaks off, frowning awkwardly. "Am I... interrupting something?" He asks. Jack and I glance at each other, then back at Dax.

"Nope." I answer bluntly.

"Not a thing." Jack adds, and we both smile, trying to look casual. Daxter's not convinced, however. He raises an eyebrow, giving us a wary look.

"O...k." He mutters to himself, then continues. "Doc told me to tell Raven who told me to tell you that Raven has to stay there until tomorrow morning. So the three of us have until then to get the rock!" Daxter announces.

"Tomorrow! Isn't that a little... rushed?" I ask. Jack laughs.

"Nah, Tiare's nothing but an elegant princess anyway. If we can give her enough of what she doesn't like, she'll talk." He says.

"Well, what doesn't she like?" I ask. Daxter and Jack smile at each other, and I look at them suspiciously. This is either going to be really good, or really bad. I think.

"We'll meet you in the lounge tomorrow morning before classes!" Daxter says, heading towards the door. Jack gets up to follow him.

"Wait, what? What're you two up to?" I demand.

"Tomorrow in the lounge, alright?" Jack calls over his shoulder as he leaves. I smirk as I watch them go. Boys... I think, amused, alright then. I'll play along. Maybe the cowardly Murk and the cowardly Catry can work out their differences...

******

I curl my fingers through my wavy, blond hair, and throw my shoulder bag on, walking through the Gathering Hall towards the staircase leading down to the Lounge. I ignore the hostile glares from all the human girls, hunched together in their little morning gossip groups. My ears perk up as a familiar voice hits me. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mary Kate with three other girls I didn't know.

"He is not my friend! I was just helping him!" She exclaims. The three girls laugh. Their laughs are harsh and ugly, almost like a snort rather than a laugh! My paced walking slows down, until I stop right outside the door to the stairwell, watching the group of girls.

"Yeah, right!" A girl snorts.

"Don't be lying, now, MK!" Another sneers. The third speaks up with a concerned look on her face.

"Come on, now, MK, this isn't like you! We know you're a very caring young girl, but associating with the enemy? That's not the Mary Kate I know at all!"

"I was not associating with the enemy!" MK defends herself desperately.

"Don't pull that card on us, we saw you with the boy, carrying out his freaky little friend from the West basement!" The first girl exclaims.

"He was hurt! I was just helping them take him to the hospital!"

"Why?" She demands. MK thinks for a moment. I look at the ground, then back at Mary Kate. I am definitely going to regret this... I think.

"It was my fault." I say, stepping over to join them. MK looks at me with shock and bewilderment. "I threatened her, and forced her into helping my friends and I on a little... project." I explain. I knew most of what I was saying was a lie. I didn't force MK to stay in that basement, she chose to. But I did tell her to help Daxter afterwards. The three girls cross their arms at me.

"Hmm. So the little freak admits her violence now, does she?" One of them taunts me. I smile mischievously.

"I'm not ashamed of my passionate personality." I retort humorously. Mary Kate stifles a laugh. The other three girls, however, think nothing of it and scoff.

"Freak." One of the girls mutters under her breath, "Come on, MK, let's go." She urges, and the three of them start walking away. Mary Kate and I watch them go, turning back to me once they've walked out of hearing range.

"Thanks." She mutters, smiling. I nod.

"Don't mention it." And with that, we nod goodbye, and I head downstairs to the East basement. I'm about to open the door to the lounge when I hear a swift clip-clop as someone hurries down the stairs towards me.

"Hey! Wait!" MK calls after me. I roll my eyes, partly annoyed, partly amused.

"You know, if those girls catch you down here, I'm not going to cover for you again." I warn her. MK smirks.

"Yeah, yeah, but I never got to ask just what on earth all of you were doing down in the West basement yesterday?" I think about it for a second, trying to come up with a good answer.

"We were just looking for something, that's all."

"And that glowing rock you had? Was that what you were looking for?" She asks. I pause, then shake my head.

"We thought it might have been, turns out, it wasn't."

"So what is it?"

"What?"

"The glowing rock?" She asks. I scratch the back of my neck.

"Er... it's sort of like a time machine. But it's not a machine." I explain. "Why are you asking so many questions about it anyway? Don't you have more important things to do?" I inquire. MK shrugs.

"Nah, those three girls I hang out with aren't all that much fun." She jokes. I stifle a laugh.

"They seem snotty." I tease.

"They are snotty."

"Then you should fit right in!" I exclaim teasingly. MK rolls her eyes.

"Whatever." She smirks, then continues. "So if the rock's not what you're looking for, what exactly is going on?" She asks. I groan silently. How do I get this girl off my tail without telling her? I think.

"Look, I'd love to tell you, but this whole thing is just very... secretive." I explain. "I just don't need anyone else causing problems: we have far more than enough already. The less people who know about this, the better."

"If this is something bad, you'd better tell a teacher or someone who can help." She advises me, her expression becomes serious. I shake my head.

"I'm afraid this has gone far beyond teachers, Mary Kate." I mumble, then turn to enter the lounge. Closing the door behind me, I leave Mary Kate to her bewildered thoughts. Searching through the clusters of aliens chattering in the lounge, I finally spot Jack and Daxter in the corner, waiting for me. Pushing my way through the crowd, I join them.

"Alright, what's the plan?" I ask.

"The plan has changed a bit. We won't get the stone from Tiare, but we did manage to get it's location." Jack explains, then reaching in his pocket, he pulls out the compass we had acquired back at Pilas and Milana's apartment flat. "Raven was right, this isn't a compass. It's a device the Survival Gamers created: a map to the stone."

"Blast!" I curse under my breath. "Myrror gives us nothing but the rulebook, meanwhile her stupid thugs are getting fancy devices like these to find the stone with ease? No wonder they win all their games!" I snarl, crossing my arms. Jack shakes his head.

"Myrror didn't make it. The Gamers did, they made it as a cheat. It's definitely becoming evident that more of them are following after Tiare. They're tired of playing this game."

"So, what? We use it to find the stone?" I ask. Jack nods.

"Precisely."

"Then what are we waiting around here for? Let's go!" I exclaim. With that, we run upstairs, and back out the school entrance, following the compass's bright, red arrow.

******

The three of us sprint through the city, the compass's red arrow acting as our guide. Finally, the compass leads us back to the nuclear plant. I almost want to laugh. It was here the whole time! We could have finished this days ago, when Jack and I had gone in here, but one event led to another and we've travelled back and forth from one side of the globe to another several times before finally discovering it right where we'd started! Jack and I glance at each other, and the three of us charge down the hill, but just as we make it to the entrance, the door bursts open and I recognize the old, pale face of Milana. She slams the door behind her, holding out her palm indicating for us to stop.

"Halt!" She snarls, "You bunch of good-for-nothing creeps have poked your noses where you shouldn't for the very last time! Get out of here!"

"Make me!" I retort. Milana's ugly snarl turns into a sickly laugh.

"Don't you get it?" She sneers. "This planet is already dead! You've lost!"

"Wait, it is? What does a dead planet look like?" Daxter asks, turning to us inquiringly. I ignore him, narrowing my eyes as I notice something behind Milana. A ship. A spaceship! And Pilas, with three other humans - probably Survival Gamers - that I don't recognize. Seeing that my gaze lies on him, Pilas smiles at me, opening his hand to reveal a small, misshapen stone with an eerie purple glow.

"You're going to fire up the weapon now?! It's hardly ten days into the game!" I exclaim.

"Oh, don't play that card on me! It's ten days for you, a hundred, a thousand, maybe even a million for me! If you were in my shoes, you'd do the same thing! We're all tired of putting up with you! We're tired of this game!" Milana's snarl turns into a crooked smile, and she addresses the Gamers, keeping her gaze on me. "Consider this night our very last game. And our last stupendous victory!" She cheers. The four Gamers behind her cheer with her, pumping their fists in the air, all high in spirit. Immediately, as their cheering dies, they all hop into the ship, ready to fly up to the Survival Gamers' mothership. Milana turns, walking over to join them. As she puts one foot up to climb into the ship, she turns around, giving us a mocking, sympathetic face.

"Oh, don't look so upset," she says softly, "you would have never won anyway." I grit my teeth, and curl my fists. This isn't over. I think. Milana snorts at us mockingly, and hops in their small, winged spaceship. Closing the lid, the Gamers launch the ship and propel towards us, pulling up just in time to fly right over our heads. As I whip around to watch them fly up, I see not one ship, but two! Another ship is coming towards us. It doesn't look like any model spaceship I've ever seen.

Horizontally, it's in the shape of a perfect triangle, with a flat bottom and top. The top however, scoops up into a window, which is faded black to prevent outsiders from looking in. The ship halts to a stop beside us, and the window slides forward smoothly, creating an opening. I grin with delight as Raven's gaze meets mine.

"Get in." he instructs, and we all hop inside. Closing the window, Raven launches the ship up into the air, and we prepare to chase the Survival Gamers down.