HEY YOU THERE!

I keep forgetting to do this! To @IcedCoffe and @ashleighstyles_ thank you for the covers you made for S.I.X and Z.E.R.O! I loved them! 😊

Lol, so I clearly have more to say before you proceed, so I'll get right to it:

1. I have no clue when Element will be up since I apparently wasn't clear enough in the previous post when I said that ELEMENT WILL NOT BE UP ANY TIME SOON. Stop asking me. You're irritating me because I take time to write these things, only for you to badger me about something I've already answered. STOP IT!!!

2. So some people don't like the way Z.E.R.O ended. Ok... And?

3. Those who still can't access Swoon Reads, I'm genuinely sorry, but I can't help you.

4. Those pointing out that 'Element' isn't a number; you have truly taught me something new. I always thought it was '1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Element, 7, 8, 9, 10...' No duh! I know Element isn't a number. I would've thought we all know that Element will  be explained down the line in terms of how it fits into a 'Number Series'.

5. Because of Z.E.R.O, I have suffered some major writer's block on all of my other books (especially TMA, TB, AA101 & Calypso). I'm going to ask that you bear with me. I need to reread the books to rejog my memory and creativity.

Onwards for now...

***

"So, I was thinking about white daisies for decor," I told her.

"What exactly do you want to have there? I feel like everything so far has come down to what I like," she replied.

"What the rest of us would like to understand is why the two of you are choosing this moment to have this conversation," Nigel commented.

"Twins, there's three incoming from your right," she told the twins. They easily handled the situation.

"We're just passing time," I defended.

"Two coming your way," Jayme told me.

"I think white daisies are a great idea, but I'm with Elliephant on this one. What do you want to add?" Malachi asked me.

"Not you too!" Aziel protested.

"What? Would you rather discuss how hot it is?" Malachi asked as I put the second guy down.

"I don't know what to contribute. I don' think the things I like are things that can be incorporated into a wedding," I replied.

"Your favourite colour is a start. There's a group heading towards the E's," blossom said.

"Do you really think we can mix purple and red?" I asked.

"She did it with her hair, but no. The two of you have to choose another colour scheme altogether," Jayme jumped in.

"Seriously? You people are seriously discussing wedding decor at this time?" Tee asked. From the sounds coming from the background, I could only guess that they were dealing with the group blossom gave them a heads up on.

So here we were, on our mission. It was three in the morning, which we agreed was the perfect time to strike. There's a lesser chance of any civilians getting hurt at this time. Jayme and blossom were currently our eyes and ears since we managed to bug the building we believe the BNK set up camp in.

With help from our civilian friends.

It's safe to say that they had a blast when they found out that they were helping with this mission. It had been blossom and Jayme's idea. The BNK knows our faces, but not our friends, so it was easy for them to infiltrate the building as 'curious tourists' and strategically bug the place for us.

"Would you like to contribute Theodore? Would that make you feel better?" blossom asked him.

"Your name is Theodore?"

"How do you know my name?"

The guys, myself and Tee asked, with Tee asking the latter.

"I know a lot of things Theodore. Would you like to contribute to our wedding?" blossom asked while the guys and I laughed.

Theodore was quiet for a while before replying. "Go with a theme that incorporates lavender and pink. If the both of you like red and purple, then lavender and a light pink, which actually go together, are closest to your favourite colours. It also makes it easy for you to pick a delicate dress that will go with your floral themed ring."

Silence settled on all of us, and I could imagine that we all probably had the same WTF looks on our faces. "That actually makes sense."

"Four headed towards Zuri and Karr," Jayme commented.

"Did you expect me to say something stupid? On second thought, don't answer that," Tee said.

He already knew the answer.

"I didn't know that you're such a wedding guru Theodore," Zuri taunted.

"I hope you're happy with what you've done," he told blossom.

"Quite," blossom replied, clearly amused.

"I clearly need to defend myself here. I don't know anything about weddings, but I'd like to think I know a thing or two about logic, and my idea is logical and solves your dilemma," he defended.

"Three coming up behind you," Jayme told me. I turned around and dodged a kick in time.

"Well, colour us impressed. Do you want to take over as our wedding planner?" blossom teased, making us all laugh.

If you'd told me that wedding planning would bring us and the E's together, I would've had you admitted for smoking your socks.

"We've reached the room with the weapon. Are we supposed to just grab it?" Karr asked. He was with Zuri where he was.

"My dad said so, but you must be careful with it. If you shake it too much, it will blow," Jayme replied.

"Of course it will. I don't understand why your father would make something like this and then be careless enough to let it land in the wrong hands," Vee commented.

"To be fair, he sold it to someone, who then lost it to the BNK," Zuri defended.

"We'll meet up with you guys there. Just need to get through a couple more obstacles," I said as I watched an approaching group.

"Seriously! How did the BNK grow without us noticing?" Mordecai asked.

"They've just schooled us in paying attention, even to the people you think aren't a threat," Malachi replied.

That's the truth behind this whole thing- we thought nothing of the BNK. I mean, they raided Karr's place and forced him to go underground yes, but we knew that he hadn't asked for our help because he had it handled.

However, by doubting and belittling them, we gave them the perfect opening to grow without us knowing. We didn't pay attention to them, simply because we didn't think they were a threat, and that was our biggest mistake.

"Uh guys, you're not going to believe what we're looking at," Zuri commented.

"Well, we're not going to guess, so you may as well tell us," Zee told her.

"The weapon Franco wants isn't a weapon," Karr replied.

"What the hell does that even mean?" Nigel asked just as I walked into the room Zuri and Karr were in.

"Is he still alive?" I asked as we approached the person tied up in the chair.

"That's not what I'm most concerned about. Look at the logo on his chest," Zuri told me.

"Guys, we're not seeing what you're seeing," Aziel pointed out.

"That's the same logo we saw on The Dragons," I said in realization.

"Is he a Dragon?" Nigel asked. I moved to check for the branding behind his ear.

"He is," I replied.

"Is he still alive?" blossom asked.

I checked his pulse. "He is."

"Why does the BNK have a Dragon tied up here?" Zuri asked the million dollar question.

"Should we even tamper with him?" Karr asked.

"Jayme?" I called.

"My dad says he is the weapon," he replied.

"He's not human?" we asked in confusion.

"He is. My dad just has a twisted sense of humour. He said not to shake him because he might explode as in throw up. Apparently he's been through a lot," Jayme explained.

"Hold on, I'm confused here. This is what we came here for?" Karr asked.

"My dad says to just bring him as he is and he'll explain everything when you all get back," Jayme replied.

"Is it clear to even take him?" I asked.

"The room doesn't seem to have any activity, but you're going to need some help with leaving the building. Twins, cover the east, Tee and Bee, cover the west, Zee and Vee, cover the south and Gee and Five, cover the North. One, get the SUV," blossom instructed.

She's good at this.

Just like we'd been doing the whole day, we carried out her instructions. Karr and I carried the unconscious 'weapon' out of the building, while the rest of the team covered us. Soon enough, we were getting him in the SUV before the rest of us also headed back to the safe house.

"Who the hell is this guy?" Tee asked once we'd laid him down.

"That, is the person otherwise known as Drayfus," Franco informed as he walked into the room.

"Drayfus? As in the inventor of the Super Soldier Formula?" Zuri asked.

"The very one," Franco confirmed.

"I thought he was dead," blossom commented.

Franco laughed a little. "You will not believe the things I'm finding out lately."

"I think we will," Tee said.

"Calm down Tim Gunn. I'm getting to my explanation," Franco said.

We couldn't resist laughing at the look on Tee's face.

"Drayfus was believed to be dead because that's what they wanted Black to believe," Franco said.

"They who?" I asked.

"The Dragons; from my intel, it would seem that The Dragons are either double crossing Black, or something big is in the works here," he replied.

"What exactly is the connection between the two?" Zuri asked.

"I took the pictures you sent me of the logo and did some digging. The logo isn't actually new as such. It's the old Dragons logo turned upside down. They then added that crossbow and the letter 'B'. I'm thinking that the logo change was demanded by their new sponsors. There's no way that The Dragons could've possibly survived Cuba without a sponsor," he explained.

"What the hell happened in Cuba exactly?" Gee asked.

So bloody much!

*FLASHBACK*

"There's no way in hell you're going to make that shot," she said.

I raised an amused eyebrow. "Is that a challenge?"

"Oh, I'm pretty confident that you won't make that shot," she said strongly.

"And what do I get if I do?" I asked.

"I'll cook anything you want for the rest of the week," she replied, wrapping her arms around my waist.

"Are you trying to distract me?" I asked amusedly.

She trailed kisses across my neck. "Only if it's working."

I shot at the target and got it. "Not by a long shot."

"That's not fair! You cheated!" she complained.

"How? How could I have possibly cheated? I was even paying attention to you and I still made the shot," I pointed out, keeping from laughing at the look on her face.

"He's got you there. If anything, you're the one who cheated," Imran Tsar said as he walked into the room.

"You're siding with him over your own daughter?" she asked incredulously.

"My beloved daughter is just mad that someone is actually better than her at something," he laughed.

"Ooh I hate you so much right now!" she said to me.

"I feel like spaghetti and meatballs today," I teased.

Imran chuckled. "It sounds to me like you need to get a head start on those meatballs. I need to talk to Coren anyway."

Yep, my undercover name was Coren.

"I am no daughter of yours," she huffed before storming out of the room.

"Your daughter is something special," I commented.

I wouldn't lie and say I wasn't nervous in that moment. I'd heard a lot about Imran Tsar, and a lot of it had been experiences from Nigel himself. His father was known as one of the greatest Dragon Leaders ever, and they believed that he would take the group into a new era.

"That she is, but I'm glad she has you," he responded.

"You're glad she has me?" I said in confusion.

He chuckled. "I see the way the two of you look at each other; we all do. It's no secret that you've broken down her walls in the time you've been here. I think it's safe to say that she's fallen in love with you."

"Storm doesn't do love," I denied.

She couldn't be in love with me, especially since her affection would be misguided.

"You're afraid of what you feel for her," he noted.

"She can't fall in love with me. She barely knows me," I confessed, except this man thought I was kidding.

"You're Coren. Everyone here knows you, and we all trust you. You've earned our trust and I trust you with my daughter, but I also trust you with something much greater," he said.

You see? I'M NOT COREN!

"What is it?" I asked, ignoring the voice in my head.

"I want you to be my successor," he informed.

My eyes grew wide. "What about your sons?"

"My sons are never returning to this place. I need someone to takeover once we've gone into the new era," he replied.

"What about Storm? She deserves it," I pointed out.

"I know that she does, and I want you to rule with her," he said.

I scowled. "I would have to marry her."

"That you would. I know you do not come from royalty, but the elders and I spoke about it and we agreed that for once, that doesn't matter. We're choosing to trust the gods to lead us the right way here, and they've chosen you," he explained.

"I'm honored, bu-"

"Take some time to think about it. I'm going to tell my daughter, and then the two of you can decide on the day you're going to get married," he said before leaving the room.

***

"The answer to that question is truly known only by those who survived Cuba," Franco replied, looking straight at me.

"You're not getting anything out of me, so you may as well get on with telling us what the story is with Drayfus here," I replied.

"Fair enough! So I looked into the new Dragons logo before I caught word of an alliance between The Dragons and the BNK. Drayfus is the son of the leader of the BNK, and The Dragons were sent by Black to get him. They instead told Black that Drayfus is dead, while they gave him back to the BNK after clearly branding him," Franco explained.

"You do realize the holes in your story right?" Jayme asked him. I think the rest of us were just relieved that even his own son could see it.

"Of course my story has holes in it. It wouldn't be a mystery if it didn't. You're missing the bigger picture here," Franco said frustratingly.

"The villains are working together," Karr commented.

"Bingo! Something big is going on here, and it involves two of the most well known criminal groups in the world, and a secret organization no one knows anything about except for the reference Black," Franco said.

"And Sigma?" blossom asked.

Franco raised an eyebrow. "What about it?"

"My brother got shot because of whatever the hell Sigma is, so I think it's only fair that you get us in the loop here," she replied.

"Nick was shot because of Sigma?" Jayme asked. I guess he and blossom haven't spoken about the party.

"That's probably what he was rambling to you before Izsak shot him. Apparently Izsak told him to warn you about looking into Phoenix and Sigma," I told him.

"I don't even know what the hell those things are," Jayme said angrily.

"Calm down son," Franco pleaded with him.

"I refuse to calm down dad. Nick is fighting for his life because of us. He's innocent in all of this," Jayme retorted.

It was very small, but I caught the slight change of reaction on Karr's face, which I would have to ask him about later.

"Ok, ok, let's all calm down. It think it's safe to say that we're dealing with some big things here, and we're going to need all the help we can get to solve them," Nigel hinted.

"You want to let them in?" Mordecai caught on.

"We might as well. We're dealing with too much," Nigel replied.

"On our terms though," Malachi said what I was thinking.

"Who are you guys talking about?" Gee asked.

"They're talking about us genius," Zee responded on our behalf.

"Why do you make it sound like dealing with the BNK is the least of your problems?" Bee asked us.

"Because you're the smartest person in your group, so of course you figured it out," Aziel told him.

"We're barely getting things right with this very mission with the BNK, and you mean to tell us that this is small waters compared to whatever else you're dealing with?" Vee asked.

"You can back out now and we promise to not hold your cowardice over your heads," I taunted.

"Not a chance! We want in!" Tee said confidently.

Like we already knew he would.

"Like Four said, if you're joining us, then you're doing so on our terms. This is your chance to make an actual difference," I told them.

"We're in," they said.

"Good! We'll explain everything down the line. Right now, we need to first list everything we need to do and find out," Nigel said.

"We need to defeat the BNK, we need to get Two, we need to figure out who had her, we need to know what she knows so we need to find a way to get her to wake up, we need to find out who Zero is, we need to know more information on Tyson and Tyler, we need to find out about this alliance between The Dragons and Black, we need to find out what the hell Black wants, we need to find out more about blossom's past, we need to get more information about the bombings and killings across the world, we need to find out who's trying to kill me, we need to find out who's a traitor in Cypher and we need to figure out what the hell is going on with Margaux. These are just the things on the top of my head. I may have left something out," I said, purposefully leaving out some things. The E's looked stunned.

"I think I understand why you're better than us," Tee surprised us by admitting.

"I'm with Tee on that. We only deal with one thing at a time. You guys have so much going on," Zee said.

"And that's just some of the things you're dealing with," Gee added.

Malachi shrugged. "We're very busy people."

"You didn't mention who blew up the cabin you and Ellie were in," Mordecai told me.

"He already knows," Zuri said on my behalf.

"You do?" my best friends asked me in surprise.

"You were right to suspect Rio because it was her. I just didn't tell you because I knew you'd hunt her down and she wouldn't talk to you. I got to talk to her and I found out that she blew up the cabin under instruction from Black. She didn't know that blossom and I were in the cabin. Black threatened to kill Silo if she didn't blow the cabin up," I explained.

"I've just realized that we've been wrong about this the entire time!" blossom exclaimed.

"Mind sharing with the class?" Franco asked her.

"We thought Black wanted to bring Six back to him, but I don't think that's the case. Black is the one who wants to kill Six, and he clearly wants me," she explained.

"Two saved him from dying," Malachi added in realization.

"If he's out to kill Six and Zuri, then why have Kenya, Rio, Silo and I been spared? What is it about the two of you that requires you being taken out of the picture?" Karr asked.

"Six was the best of the guys, and I was the best of the girls," Zuri replied, which was true.

"Wouldn't he then want to keep you alive and kill off the other four?" Tee asked. From their lack of shock, I assume Kenya told them about the time she was kidnapped.

"Unless if this was the plan all along," blossom said.

"Care to elaborate?" Gee asked her.

"The one thing we know about Black is that he enjoys testing the limits of his test subjects. What if this is just one big test for Zuri and Six in the outside world?" she explained.

"He would've already put two and two together about your capabilities six years later. Zuri was the best agent at Genesis and Six is the best agent at Cypher. He probably feels like he made you that way," Jayme added.

"And now he's testing us for whatever big thing he's up to," I finished off.

"That's why he needs Drayfus! He wants to make you guys into Super Soldiers," Malachi noted.

"Except the formula is gone, despite the fact that Drayfus is clearly alive. I hear he didn't save any record of it," Franco commented.

"The formula isn't exactly gone," Jayme said lowly.

"What are you talking about?" Franco asked his son.

They didn't tell him what they did.

"We injected the formula into someone," Zuri was the one to reply.

"Why would you do something so dangerous? That formula is untested and will kill the person if their genes aren't a perfect fit for it," Franco said frantically.

"She's the perfect fit. I ran all the tests. No one has her genetic build anywhere in the world except something to do with Sigma," Jayme responded.

"And who is this she?" Franco asked.

"I am," blossom said lowly.

Franco was stunned, silent even, before turning to me. "You're ok with this?"

"Am I not supposed to be?" I asked in confusion.

"You people don't even have the slightest clue about what exactly it is you're dealing with here, do you?"

"Izsak!"