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Italics: (Na'vi language, or Metkayina sign language, and Jake's inner thoughts)

A/N: Ive been saying this a lot recently but just a small reminder; don't forget to comment :,) Don't be ghost readers, I love reading your replies and they make me so happy 🤍 I hope you guys like this chapter!
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Lo'ak continued to inspect the giant footprints that were definitely not from a human. Spider was also aware of what these tracks implied. These were Avatars, and not from the ones of their Omaticaya Stronghold. "Do you think it could be...?" Spider trailed off, but Lo'ak knew exactly what he meant. "Maybe. They're for sure not ours," Lo'ak said, continuing to walk his way through the trail with stealth.

"What are you doing?" Kiri asked, not having a good feeling about this at all. If their suspicions were correct, they should get the hell out of there and not go straight towards what was at the end of this trail. "Shh. I'm tracking," Lo'ak said, with Spider helping him track the footprints as well. The two boys didn't have any concerns so far, but Kiri could sense that something bad would happen. It was obvious that nothing good would come out of this. Tuk was also too young to witness any of it.

Meanwhile, it turns out that while the kids investigated, Quaritch had made it deep enough into the forest to the point where he and his crew of soldiers encountered the old base, or shack, in which he and Jake fought in front of 15 years ago. They were on a recon mission at the moment. Also, it's the place where Neytiri killed him. The Ampsuit was still there, with moss and vines growing all over it.

The female soldier that accompanied Quaritch was walking behind the Colonel and made her way around him and walked over to the broken window of the base. "Watch your six," The Colonel said to his soldiers. With her gun still being held tightly, the female Avatar looked over the broken glass and didn't see anything out of the ordinary on the inside of the room. "Clear," She called out, letting the others know that the space was empty and deserted.

The Colonel decided to take it upon himself to look over the area a bit more on his own, Quaritch walked over to the Ampsuit he died in. He made his way around it, seeing how damaged and rusted it had become over the years. He moved out of the way some vines from the side of the suit, revealing his name printed on it with white stars above it showing his branch of service. With an emotionless face, Quaritch leaned over to see the inside, still knowing exactly what awaited him there.

There it was, still as he remembered. His skeleton and old body had rotted and disintegrated over the years that have passed. He could see the bones and his skull. The air mask he had on that day because Jake broke through his windshield was still there as well. Nothing had changed, and his memories kept that battle fresh in his mind to this day.

What he saw next was something that made his heart almost stop. The man's face paled completely. Still skewered into his human body, the arrows Neytiri shot at him that effectively ended his life still looked the same as they did that day. He put his fingers around the stick of the arrow, turning it around to reveal the green feathers that adorned it.

At the sight of the arrows, Quaritch's face drained of color, and his expression turned into a horrified one. His ears tipped back in fear as if the memories of his past were still haunting him even in another life. If he was honest, when Neytiri shot him, it was one of the scariest moments of his life. And that on its own was hard to admit. He was rarely ever scared of anything or anyone for that matter.

Lo'ak and Spider were guiding the girls throught the mud trail and followed the footprints until they were nhiding behind bushes and some leaves that concealed their presence. Lo'ak leaned over some branches, with Kiri behind him, looking over as well. He could see clearly that Avatars were circling the area and inspecting. They didn't look like the Na'vi from their village either. They looked very shifty too, and very threatning.

The four kids hid behind a log and some branches, spyinh on the Avatar soldiers from afar. They stayed as quiet as they possibly could. If they were found out, it wouldn't end well for them. "We are never supposed to come here. Dad is going to ground you," Kiri started, but Lo'ak started to get annoyed. "Shhh! Kiri, Stop," He said quietly, not trying to make any noise. "For life," Kiri finished, turning her eyes to look back at the soldiers not to far away.

Lo'ak turned to Spider with a smile that spelled out trouble. "Bro, we have got to check this out, let's go," Lo'ak whispered, and Spider nodded with no hesitation. The Sully brother started to walk further towards where the Avatars were, with his best friend in tow behind him. Kiri and Tuk stayed behind, and the oldest Sully sister still thought this was a terrible idea. They were treading on thin ice here, so one wrong move and they would be in so much trouble.

After revisiting his Ampsuit, Quaritch walked away from it and started to head over to the broken window. From his memories, he remembered that he was the one that broke the one he was approaching to get to Jake's pod. At the time, he was so close to winning the battle and eliminating Jake, but then everything turned to hell before he knew it. The tables turned on him and he didn't stand a chance.

The same woman from before entered the base with her gun still in one hand, opening the broken pods with her free one, checking if there was anything suspicious that they had yet to noticez But there wasn't. Everything was covered in dust and all equipment was rusty on every inch. Nothing on here has been touched or revisited for almost two decades.

Lo'ak started to crouch forward, holding his bow and arrow in his grasp. Spider was doing the same, avoiding making as less noise as he possibly could. The two boys came across this knocked-over tree trunk that had some leaves fanning on top of it, so Spider and Lo'ak were able to hide in plain sight. Even so, they knew that there were Avatars still searching the area so they had to be careful, no matter how conceled they were behind some branches.

Spider's eyes widened and he gaped at the sight before him. "Bro, that's where your dad and my dad...fought," Spider said in awe, turning to look at his best friend with amazement. "That's your dad's actual suit," Lo'ak whispered as quietly as he could. referring to the knocked-over Ampsuit on the ground. "Holy shit..." Spider muttered, completely in disbelief.

Back with the Avatar crew, Quaritch stepped away from the broken window and started to approach soldiers nearby that were serving as lookouts. "Lyle? See if you can pull some data off that dashcam" The Colonel asked, walking over to his second in command. Lyle himself insisted that the camera is long gone and overly damaged. It hasn't been active in years, so the footage may be in total shambles, or not even functional in any way whatsoever.

Lo'ak looked from behind the bushes he was in and turned to Spider with a nervous expression. If they had any chance of getting the upper hand in this situation, Jake needed to know. "Better call this in," Lo'ak said, meaning that he called his dad through his coms to tell his dad what was happening. Spider's eyes widened, knowing they would be in even deeper shit for being in this situation already, or even being this close to the enemy. "No, bro. We're gonna get in so much trouble" Spider said, disagreeing with Lo'ak's decision, but as the Sully brother stood up, the human boy followed him to get back to Kiri and Tuk.

Meanwhile, Jake and Neteyam were out on patrol, flying on their Ikrans through the Hallelujah Mountains. Neteyam was flying beside his dad, overlooking the forest below them. Suddenly, Jake heard a small scratch of radio chatter in his coms wnd then Lo'ak's voice through. Worry and concern instantly seeped through Jake, knowing that he must be calling be something is wrong. Not out of the blue. The coms were supposed to be used for communication in the most dire of situations.

"Devil Dog. This is Eagle Eye, over" Lo'ak said, and Jake did not hesitate to respond as soon ss he heard his son's voice. The fact that Lo'ak was whispering was enough of a sign that something wasn't right. He pressed the button to his coms and relayed back a message. "Eagle Eye, send your traffic," He said with the calmest voice he could muster, no matter how much panic was consuming him on the inside. That would only worsen the situation, so Jake was going to hear what Lo'ak had to say first before going into action, no matter what the situation was. He had to be smart about it.

"I've got eyes on some guys. They look like Avatars. But they're in full camo and carrying ARs. There are six of them; over," Lo'ak explained, as Kiri put on her coms to listen in on the conversation. Neteyam had his on as well, worried about what Lo'ak was implying. After hearing what his younger brother said, Neteyam's eyes narrowed as he tried to piece together the situation. He looked over to his dad, who looked conflicted about what to do.

"What's your pos?; over," Jake asked, wanting to know where exactly it was that they were. Lo'ak knew the moment he said it, his would not be happy at all. He'd be surprised if Jake didn't scold him right then and there through the coms."We're at the old shack," Lo'ak continued and knew he made a mistake by saying 'we' because that made it clear it wasn't only him there. And by 'we' it must mean that it was most likely that Lo'ak was with his siblings. It was the only logical explanation.

After hearing what his brother said, Neteyam turned over to look at his father with a warning expression. This was not good. They had to play this out carefully and strategically, or else, the kids' lives would be in more danger than they already are. "Who's we?" Jake asked as his eyebrows furrowed together, hoping that his daughters weren't there, but in his heart, he knew they were. His heart was pounding anxiously against his chest, struggling to stay composed during this whole conversation.

"Me, Spider, Kiri..." Lo'ak trailed off as he listed who was there with him, looking over to her sisters, knowing he had to tell his dad that Tuk was with them. Kiri gave Lo'ak a knowing look, telling him that he had to tell their dad. He would find out anyway, but he would be on the recieving end of a scolding once he revealed that his little sister was there. "And Tuk..." Lo'ak said, and Tuk herself tucked herself closer into her sister's arms in fear. She was scared and nervous, also knowing her dad would be upset she was there at all in the first place with the older kids, vulnerable.

Once Jake heard what his son said, that Tuk was there, his breath hitches and his eyes widened. Neteyam looked over to Jake with shock. It finally started to register that his children were there, and that Jake's youngest daughter included. His instincts kicked in, making Jake want to get there as soon as possible to take them home and out of the line of danger. No matter how brave and courageous Tuk was, she was too young to defend herself if anything were to happen. Jake tried his best not to show it, but his face quickly contorted into one of distress and conflicting feelings brewing inside.

Jake groaned quietly to himself, thinking of what to say next. This was a very delicate situation, and he had to get the kids out of there. "Son, you listen to me very carefully. Pull back right now. Do not make a sound. Get the hell out of there. Move, copy?" Jake said as calmly and cautiously as he could, he didn't have time to lecture him right now. That could wait. He just wanted to get his family to safety . It wasn't their fault that they were just strolling through the forest and those Avatars happened to be there. Still, it didn't ease his mind that his kids couldn't be out there without knowing that they were being preyed upon like this.

"Yes, sir. Moving out," Lo'ak nodded at his father's words, starting to get his siblings and Spider to start to move quietly back where they came from. "See? I told you" Kiri whispered, grabbing Tuk's hand and guiding her away, getting her toward the front of the group. The kids tried to move out as quietly as they could, but it was hard. The crunching of leaves, branches, and grass were dead giveaways.

Neteyam flew a bit forward, getting Jake's attention. "Dad! I know a quick way" The oldest Sully brother said, and immediately veered to the left. Jake nodded and yipped, quickly following behind his oldest son on his banshee. Neteyam knew the forest like the back of his hand. If anyone knew where to go, it was him and Jake didn't doubt him for a second.

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Kiri, Lo'ak, Tuk, and Spider were running through the forest, trying to get as far away from the Avatar soldiers as they could. It had been a while since they escaped so they felt like they could be a little louder and communicate a whole lot better. Kiri stayed close to Tuk, making sure she didn't accidentally stray off and get lost. Lo'ak and Spider guided the girls, trying to get out of the forest before the Avatars could realize they were there. But little did they know, that Quaritch and his group, discreetly, already took notice of their presence and were on their trail, sneaking up on the kids.

"You're going to be in so much trouble," Kiri reminded, running beside Lo'ak. He rolled his eyes wity annoyance and continued to move forward. "Kiri, stop," He said, not liking the feeling of being patronized. He was already aware of the situation they were in, but the best course of action was to keep moving. They didn't dare to stop until they were safe.

"It's almost eclipse. Come on!" Tuk urged, turning her head to look at her siblings, running ahead of the group, but as soon as she looked forward again, an Avatar soldier came from the bushes and grabbed her. Tuk let out a terrified squeal feeling incredibly startled and afraid. They had a tight hold on her, and Tuk continued to fight against the almost painful grip that the soldier had on her.

They were being surrounded in the blink of an eye. Lo'ak and Spider did not hesitate to raise their bows and arrows, aiming them at the soldiers that were coming in from the bushes and trees with guns pointed directly at the kids. Kiri stood behind her brothers, watching with distress at how Tuk was being handled. It was so harsh that it made her heart wrench in pain. She was just a kid. The situation was escalating way too quickly, and the kids were all on edge at the sudden appearance of the Avatars.

"Put it down or I'll shoot you!" One of the soldiers yelled out, threatening Lo'ak and Spider. The human boy hissed menacingly out of instinct from growing up with the Na'vi and the Omaticaya. "Drop it! Right now!" An Avatar yelled out, and not wanting to worsen the situation more than it already was. Lo'ak dropped his bow and arrow, raising his hands in the air. Lo'ak turned to look at Spider, who was still aiming his arrow at the soldiers, not daring to give into the enemy before them.

"Put it down. Put it down," Lo'ak said to Spider in Na'vi, and the boy reluctantly put it down and kicked it away. As soon as the kids were unarmed, the soldiers proceeded to each grab one of them. An Avatar came behind Kiri and grabbed her by her braid, making her yelp in pain as the soldier tugged her back. Kiri yelled out in pain from her braid being pulled. It was something extremely painful and agonizing in a way that not even words could describe.

"Get over here. Drop to your knees! Stop fighting," He menaced, kicking her legs with brutal force, making Kiri drop to her knees uncomfortably. "Kiri!" Tuk screamed out in distress at the sight of her sister being mistreated and handled harshly. Kiri groaned in pain as the man pulled on her braid even harder. They had no mercy for any of the kids.

Spider was fighting against the hold that one of the Avatar soldiers had on him. The boy hissed and squirmed around to get away, but his efforts were futile and in vain. "Check them for weapons!" One of them said, prompting each of the soldiers who were holding one of the kids to begin to check if they had any other weapons on them that could be taken away from them.

"Kiri!" Tuk cried out, letting out a strained whimper as tears brimmed in her eyes because of the hold the female soldier had on her and her braid. The small 8-year-old looked at her older sister for help, but Kiri gave her a hopeful expression, hoping that'll ease her fear.

"Calm...be calm," Kiri said in Na'vi, trying her best to reassure her little sister even from afar. Even if Kiri was in pain herself, she didn't hesitate to comfort her little sister from afar. "Shut up! Don't move!" The man holding Kiri barked, holding onto her braid and hair tighter.

A few moments later, knowing that his comrades had efficiently captured the kids, Quaritch came around the corner with his rifle in his hands, inspecting each one of the children they had encountered. "Well, what have we here?" Quaritch started, walking amongst them. He looked at Spider momentarily without a second glance before turning around to face Lo'ak, that had the barrel of a gun aimed and pressed at his head, along with Kiri and Tuk. The Colonel lowered his gun and flipped it around him so it was hanging on his back and his hands were free.

Lo'ak was raising his arms and talking in Na'vi in an attempt to reach out for his sisters to reassure and comfort them. Lyle grabbed Kiri's hand and raised it, showing that she had five fingers. "Look, Colonel. Check it out. 4 fingers. We got a half-breed," Lyle said, showing that aside from her thumb, Kiri had four fingers, unlike other Na'vi that had three.

"Shit..." Spider muttered, knowing that they were surely screwed now that these Avatars discovered that they had human genes within them, and most likely were Jake's kids. Lyle held Kiri's braid, tugging on it harder, making her cry out in agony. The Avatar soldier also had her arms pinned behind her back, so she couldn't move now, even less than before.

Kiri looked at Quaritch with pure fear as she saw him approaching her. The Colonel then turned around and walked over to Lo'ak, standing in front of him as he was being held back by his braid as well. "Show me your fingers," Quaritch asked, and Lo'ak was silent for a few seconds before looking up.

Lo'ak said nothing, and simply raised both of his hands, flipping off Quaritch. He had both of his middle fingers up with a deadpan and nonchalant expression. Quaritch chuckled with disbelief before concluding. "You're his, aren't you?" The Colonel concluded. It was evident and there was no denying it at this point.

Lo'ak did not reply, but looked up at Quaritch since he was on his knees, and let out a throaty and strong hiss while baring his teeth to the Colonel as a threat. Lo'ak wasn't scared of him. His tail moved around swiftly behind him, reflecting the anger and heated emotions he was feeling. Quaritch was not phased by Lo'ak's actions, but his smirk only widened. "You're his, alright," He said, confirming that the Na'vi boy in front of him was Jake's son.

Quaritch proceeded to grab Lo'ak's braid from the soldier who held him before and harshly tugged on it harder, making hiss and groan in pain. Lo'ak's eyebrows furrowed, looking up at Quaritch with nothing but hatred. "Where is he?" The Colonel asked with an emotionless look, referring to Jake. He could use his kids as leverage against him, to get Jake to come out of hiding and face Quaritch once and for all.

Quaritch tugged harder on Lo'ak's braid, making the boy wince and flinch. "Sorry, I don't speak English with assholes," Lo'ak said smugly in Na'vi, and Quaritch understood what he said, so anger boiled inside him. He didn't have time to deal with pesky teenagers now.

"Where is your father?" Quaritch asked more demandingly, and this time in Na'vi, tugging harder on Lo'ak's braid to the point that he thought it would snap off. The Sully brother yelled out in pain, and then let out a strained cry that was a mix of a scream and a hiss. It was too painful for him to bear, but Lo'ak wouldn't let Quaritch see that he was getting through to him. Kiri, Tuk, and Spider all fought against the hold the Avatars had on them.

"Really? You wanna play it this way?" Quaritch challenged Lo'ak, not hesitating to pull out an incredibly sharp knife from his belt. Kiri's eyes widened and begged in Na'vi for Quaritch not to hurt her brother. She couldn't bare to lose another person in her life that she cared about, much less if it was right in front of her.

Unexpectedly, the Colonel let go of Lo'ak, so Fike grabbed his braid again, turned around with his knife, and started walking over to Kiri. Lo'ak yelled out for his sister, and noticing what Quaritch was about to do, Spider was immediately starting to fight even harder on the grip that the soldier had on him. He could not let Quaritch hurt Kiri, especially if he had any say on it. He couldn't allow it.

"No! Stop! Hey! Hey! Don't touch her!" Spider yelled out, trying to break free from the iron grip that he had on his arm. Spider groaned and hissed, trying to escape and protect Kiri. He eventually calmed down when the Colonel noticed the human boy and turned around to face Spider. "Don't hurt her, please," The boy begged, shortly after the soldier holding him tugged him back, telling the boy not to move.

"What's your name, kid?" Quaritch asked, and Spider let a few seconds pass before answering reluctantly. "Spider," He started, breathing heavily. "Socorro," The human boy said, making Quaritch's ears twitch with intrigue. Once he said that the Colonel immediately realized how this kid might be. He gestured with his hand for the soldier holding Spider to release him, and when he did, the Colonel kneeled on one knee in front of the human boy. If Spider was who Quaritch thought he was, then it would change everything.

"Miles?" Quaritch asked, and Spider was taken aback by the use of his first name. The boy knew that the man in front of him was his biological father. Spider pursed his lips and shook his head slightly. "Nobody calls me that," he said, refusing to be addressed by that name, much less by Quaritch. The ruthless Colonel.

"I'll be damned. I figured they sent you back to Earth," Quaritch said, but Spider looked at him with a serious and cold expression, with his eyebrows furrowed. "You can't put babies in Cryo, dipshit," He replied. Quaritch's ears tipped back and he tilted his head to the side. He stayed silent for a few seconds, trying to figure out how to go about this situation now.

If Quaritch's assumptions were correct, that boy was his son. Either way, he ignored those thoughts and let the Avatar soldier grab onto Spider's arms and locks of hair again, holding him back as he was before. Quaritch stood back up and remained silent for a few seconds, that was until one of his subordinates spoke up.

"What do we do, boss?" One soldier asked, but Quaritch didn't say anything. He pressed a button on his coms and began to speak. "Iron Sky, Blue on Actual," He started, speaking directly to General Ardmore that was making her way by ship to the location relayed to her by Quaritch. Flying beside the ship where the General was, there were two helicopters alongside it with extra reinforcements just in case things went south when it was time to recover Quaritch from the forest grounds.

On the main cockpit of the ship, General Ardmore stood behind the pilot, surveying the terrain beyond the window. She pressed the button to her coms to reply to Quaritch. "Blue on Iron Sky, send your traffic," She said, waiting a few seconds to get a response from the Colonel. It wouldn't take long for the ship to reach the designated area, so the Colonel's team had to hold out a bit longer until then.

"We are standing by for extract, over" He replied, and Ardmore nodded. She leaned over the pilot to give him the next instructions. "Take us in," She said, and without hesitation, the pilot followed orders and relayed the message to the other pilots of the ship. "Dragonfly coming left. We are a go for extract," The pilot said, steering the ship to the left and heading to Quaritch's relayed location.

"Sit tight. We're inbound," Ardmore said, walking away from the cockpit and towards the inner part of the ship as she stayed on the line with the Colonel. She still had her cup of coffee in her hands, taking nonchalant sips every now and then. She was completely unbothered. "Bingo in ten. We're on the clock," The pilot in the cockpit said, starting to steer the ship towards their desired location.

Back with Quaritch, he was circling the children, talking to Ardmore, and giving her the last few details. "Be advised. We're bringing high-value prisoners," The Colonel said, making the Sully siblings and Spider all tense up at his words. They prayed mentally that their dad would arrive before they were taken and then they would be at a point of no return.

"Let us go!" Kiri said, fighting against the hold Lyle had on her. "Shut up!" He said, not letting go of her under any circumstance. He only held her braid tighter, causing Kiri more pain and discomfort. This was hard to bear, and it took a while for Kiri to accept what was happening, up until she stopped fighting and looked down at the ground with deafeat and sullenness.

Before they knew it, the kids were being rounded up and tossed onto the floor harshly with no remorse or mercy. At least they were closer together now, even if they were still being held back by their arms and braids. Lo'ak was being thrown onto the grass, and he groaned at the position he was being put in on the ground. They all held back whatever they had to say and complied with what these soldiers said, fooling the Avatars into thinking they've given up, at least that would give the kids the element of surprise when Jake comes.

Quaritch and Lyle stepped away for a minute. Lyle pulled up a small tablet and handed it to the Colonel. There was a video that needed to be analyzed. "Lyle, get me some audio on this," Quaritch asked, and his second in command did not hesitate in doing as told.

As soon as the video they wanted to see came up, it was footage from the Ampsuit during the battle between Quaritch and Jake. The fight in which he was killed. In the video, the camera panned down to Neytiri, showing how she was trying to liberate her body from under the deceased Palulukan. She looked up and hissed menacingly. Anger boiled inside Quaritch just by looking at her knowing that the woman was the one who finished him off.

"That was Sully's woman," Quaritch muttered, referring to Neytiri in the video, and Lyle nodded. "She's an animal," Lyle said with shock at how feral Neytiri had become. Her skills and tenacity were commendable, but it still didn't make Quaritch's anger rise whenever she was mentioned or he saw Neytiri. "Yeah, but she was disposed of a while ago. At least one of our biggest threats is out of the way," The Colonel pointed out, and the Sully's all had their mood visibly sink at the words of Quaritch.

Trying to get out of his bonds, Spider stopped what he was doing to listen in on the conversation between the Colonel and his subordinate. The human boy peeked around the rock he was sitting against, and he was able to get a glimpse of the footage Quaritch was watching with a scowl on his face.

"Give it up, Quaritch! It's all over," Jake said in the video as the camera of the Ampsuit focused on him. "It's Sully," Quaritch said, feeling an overwhelming amount of need for vengeance when he saw him, most likely more than Neytiri herself. Spider continued to peek from around the corner, watching the video from afar. He had never seen that fight before because he'd only heard about it from Lo'ak.

"Nothing's over while I'm breathing," Human Quaritch said in the video, and Spider's breath got caught in his throat at this newfound information he was receiving. "I kinda hoped you'd say that," Jake said in the footage as he started to charge at the Ampsuit. This was much more intense than Lo'ak had made it out to be. There was probably so much more to it.

Spider's eyes widened as his eyes furrowed while he watched the footage. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Never had he ever seen that side of Neytiri or Jake. Spider knew how both of them were very intimidating and skilled warriors, but not to the extent of what he was seeing through that footage. He continued to watch behind the rock he was leaning against, as horror seeped through him.

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I had to divide this chapter into two or it would've been way too long. The other half will be posted soon! If I had left it how it was, it would've been around 11k words or so. This chapter rn is about 5.3k words at the moment!

As always, I hope you guys enjoy what Ive posted so far, and it may seem slow paced now, but I swear that it'll get more interesting once the family gets to the Metkayina and things start to pick up. When I said I wanted to do a slow burn, I meant it shsjs I have so much planned

I have a lot of stuff prewritten already so chapters might be coming a lot faster now! I have a free week coming up so i'll make sure to get more chapters done.

I said this before but now that I have Avatar The Way of Water in HD and with subtitles, I can see more clearly those tiny details in the movie I never noticed before.

Also, because of the digital version being out, I can start revising both 'Barricades' books! I'll start on both of them when Im more ahead on this story but i'll let you guys know when it happens.

There's not much I have to say now, but as always, I'll add other news in future chapters if there are any at all, Anyway, I'll see you all in the next one! 🤍 Have a good rest of your week everyone!

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