MARCH 4, 2022

A new day had come.

Ben Sam had assaulted Jake's ears with his wails. Kara Ascend used to do the same when she and Jake lived together in that spaceship, the one that had taken them from Soy to Earth. Jake had met Kara's birth father inside the Freeman base he and Sabrina had attacked. There, she had reunited with Don Ascend. He used to be friends with Theo and Kevin. Now Don would kill them if Lock Tannis ordered him to.

Yesterday Sabrina could have killed Don, but she hadn't. She had left him alive so he could deliver Lock a message. She hoped that message would lead to Lock's arrival on Earth, the planet she wanted to kill him on.

Jake stood in Sabrina's bedroom, dressed in a white shirt and blue jeans. His socks touched the brown carpet.

Sabrina wore a blue shirt and blue jeans. Her feet were bare. Like Jake, she wore a Soynite pendant. Sitting cross-legged on her big bed, she held Ben. He drank milk from the bottle she held.

He was the size of the average Soynite baby, which was the size of the average human one. The typical Freeman adult was bigger than the typical Soynite one. During their teenage years, the Freemans grew taller, larger, and more muscular than the average Soynite adult.

If Ben lived long enough, he would someday be seven feet tall. If the baby died, Kevin might be as happy as Jake had been when he entered this mansion for the first time. But he wouldn't let Kevin turn Ben into smoke. Neither would Sabrina.

"It's great that you adopted Ben," Jake said. "Kevin doesn't like him, but I do."

Sabrina didn't look away from Ben. "Kevin is going to love this sweet boy one day."

She didn't wear makeup, yet looking at her was nice, like when Jake found out Theo was her birth father. She had adopted a baby Freeman she could have murdered. Being her best friend was an honor.

"I hope so," Jake said. "It's too bad that we can't command Kevin to love Ben."

"I really wish we could," Sabrina said. "Unfortunately, we can't order Kevin to love my son. That doesn't mean he never will, though. When I met Ben, I wanted to kill him. I could have shot him. I could have turned him into smoke. If I had done that, there would've been one less Freeman in this universe. But I didn't kill Ben. I became fond of this adorable Freeman, and Kevin is going to do the same."

Sabrina shared her bedroom with Ben. It had a crib in it, and the mansion contained more than one. Kevin had known there was a chance at least one baby would live in the home someday.

Sunlight came into the room through its wide windows. A red backpack lay on the desk. Sabrina had put Ben inside that backpack, back when they were at the Freeman base she and Jake had attacked. She had brought Ben's red blanket home as well.

Freemans favored red, black, and gray. Soynites favored blue.

"Not every Freeman is evil," Sabrina said. "The baby ones are definitely innocent. Theo knows that not every Freeman is evil, and that's one of the reasons why he exiled Lock. He wanted to destroy the Freemans. The other reason why Theo exiled him is because he believed all life was precious. He wouldn't have wanted the Freemans to be destroyed."

"I wonder what would've happened if Theo had never exiled Lock," Jake said. "Maybe he would've convinced Lock to stop wanting to destroy the Freemans. Maybe the Invasion never would've happened."

"It's a nice thought. Regardless, the Invasion happened, and we can't change that. That will always be the truth."

Jake crossed his muscular arms. "Yeah, it will."

Lock had ordered Soy's invasion. Jake assumed Lock and Reed Pisces were the same person. Theo had banished him from Soy. He would have had the motive to kill off the majority of his own race. He had the power to shapeshift, which meant he could morph into a Freeman and pretend to be what Ben was.

Lock had been born on Soy, and his mother and father had been Soynites. He would never be a Freeman. If Sabrina fought him in the future, she would be fighting one of her fellow Soynites. Lock was a Soynite who deserved to die.

A note had informed Jake that Don, Ray Fire, Tale Wick, and Notch Slip worked for Lock. Peter had the note. He had Maggie Up with him, too. She had informed Jake Lock was a Soynite. Peter knew that, too.

Sabrina moved the bottle's nipple away from Ben's mouth. "Everything is going to be okay, Jake. Remember that. I'm going to kill Lock, and I'm also going to save Anne from that cult of morons who worship him. And I'm going to be with my birth parents one day."

Bowie Low and his wife, Prim, had spent more time raising Sabrina than Theo and Lilly had. A Freeman named Vale Lit had murdered Bowie and Prim. Yesterday Sabrina had killed Vale. She had avenged her adoptive parents, but she couldn't bring them back from the dead. No one could.

"Theo Majestic is my father," Sabrina said. "For so long, I didn't know that. Kevin knew I was Theo's daughter, but he kept it a secret for years, because Theo wanted to tell me the truth. Kevin told me who I was, though. He let me know that I'm Theo's daughter. I'm Nova Majestic. It wasn't guaranteed that Theo would be able to tell me the truth one day, so Kevin did what he had to do. And Theo is going to forgive him. He's also going to appreciate Kevin for telling me the truth. Because of him, I'm not going to die not knowing that I'm Theo's daughter."

"I hope you don't die anytime soon," Jake said. "I need you."

"I need you, too. I'm so glad I met you. Back when we were living in that spaceship, we didn't have our parents, but we had each other. And I had my uncle. I just didn't know it back then. Kevin hates my son, and he wants me to kill him, but I'm still grateful for my Watcher. He's been taking good care of me for a long time. And he loves me, unlike a certain High we know."

Jake sighed as if someone had told him he would reunite with Lovely today. "I wonder how much of a monster Lovely is now."

"I wonder how she went blind."

The note Jake had read had mentioned Lovely, but it hadn't explained how she had gone blind.

"Me too," Jake said. "I don't know how she lost her vision, but I do know that she used to be so terrible to us. Her Watcher was great, though. Marina was a good person. I hope she still is. I don't want her to ever become like Lovely."

"I wish she wasn't a High," Sabrina said. "I hate that Theo made her into one. Do you remember how she felt about most of the Soynites who died during the Invasion? I do. She hated that they got killed, because they couldn't serve her. She loved her mother, though. I know that. But that doesn't excuse how she treated us. I wish that she was a good person. Will she ever be like me and you? Or will she die before that happens?"

Jake moved onto the bed, and sat across from Sabrina. "Whatever Lovely decides to do, we'll protect each other from her. She might try to hurt us, and she will definitely insult us, but we have each other, Sabrina. You have me. And I have you. No matter what happens, we're going to be good to each other. I'll treat you well. Just like I did when we were younger, back when we were still living with Lovely and the other Highs. I'm never going to treat you like Lovely treated you."

Sabrina smiled. Jake hadn't killed Lock, but at least he had made his best friend happy.

"You're so sweet, Jake," Sabrina said. "I'll treat you well, too. Just like I've been doing. I'm also going to be good to Anne. She's my younger sister, and I don't want Bane and Summer to keep her forever. If I don't save her, someone else will have to. She needs to be with her family. Bane and Summer aren't her parents. They're two morons who want her to stay in their cult. Anne isn't going to be in it forever, though. One day she will realize that Lock doesn't deserve to be worshiped. She will also be with her family. Her real family."

"I wish you could be with your other sister," Jake said. "Hailey is part of your family, but you were never with her. When you were a baby, you met your brother, Nick. And you met Anne at that Freeman base yesterday. But you haven't met Hailey."

"Yeah, I know. Theo used to make himself and Hailey invisible, and the two of them would watch me. One day I'll be with her."

Like Theo, Hailey had been born as a Pure. If she lived long enough, she would someday have every Save.

Another Pure was Kara. She had been born in the house Camille Ascend had shared with her older brother, Cambridge Downer. Kara's Watcher had delivered her. His Soynite name was Victor Valley. Don and Camille had made Kara, but Victor had become her adoptive father. If she was still alive, she wasn't a baby anymore, unlike Ben.

Sabrina could have murdered him, but she had adopted him instead. Kevin wished she had taken Ben's life instead of taking him home. She was a High, though. Not him. Sabrina wanted Kevin to protect Ben, and that's what he needed to do.

Sabrina looked at Ben. "One day you'll be with her, too, my sweet boy. Your aunt Hailey is out there. She's somewhere. I can't wait for both of us to meet her. I'm going to keep taking care of you, Ben. I won't let Kevin hurt you. I'm not going to let anyone do that to you."

"I'll protect Ben, too, Sabrina," Jake said. "He's not one of the Freemans we have to kill. He's one of us. Keep being good to him, okay? Be the best mother you can be."

"I will. And I know my mother got killed during the Invasion, but my other one might still be alive. I need to find Lilly. I will always love Prim, and I will never forget her. But I still have a mother who's alive. I have to see her. I need her and Theo in my life, Jake."

"And I want to see them in your life. Lilly gave birth to you, and Theo delivered you. They were with you when you were born. And you've been away from both of them for too long. I really hope you see them again. You need to reunite with them. You're their daughter. The first one they had, actually. If you ever get the opportunity to meet them again, you'll have to take it."

Sabrina nodded. "And I will take it. I'm not a moron. I know what I have to do. My birth parents need me, and I need them. Bowie and Prim are dead. I only have two parents left. And I have a brother and two sisters. All of those people are people I have to see. As soon as possible, too. The earlier I meet up with them, the better. I can't see them right now, but at least I can keep being a good mother to the best Freeman alive."

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Sabrina kissed Ben on the lips, and smiled. She and Jake remained seated across from each other on the bed. A few days ago he hadn't known what it was like to live in a mansion with Sabrina Sam. Now he did.

"I'm glad you don't hate Ben," Jake said. "And I'm also glad that I'm here."

He gestured at the space around him. He sat in Sabrina's room, within the mansion he shared with her, Ben, and Kevin. They wouldn't hurt Jake. They weren't like the Freeman warriors he had killed.

"Two great boys live here," Sabrina said. "And I still remember Aris and Path. They were great boys, too. I hope they're okay. And if Path was here, he would be able to lead me to the people I need to find."

Path Seekman had been born before the other Highs. And he had a power, one his co-rulers didn't have. Like the other Highs, Path could be killed. Maybe he had been.

Jake sighed. "But he's not here. We don't even know if he's alive. He could be dead. I don't want him to be, though. Path is our friend. He's also a Bloodhound, and a High. He's one of our co-rulers, and we need him to be alive. Not dead. I want all of the Highs to be alive, and that includes Lovely. As much as I hate her, I can't deny that we need her. She's as much a High as we are. Our people need us."

"And they have us," Sabrina said. "None of the Highs are dead, Jake."

Jake could confirm at least two Highs weren't dead. "We know that two of them aren't. You haven't seen any of the others in a long time, Sabrina. And neither have I. We don't know if the other Highs are still alive. I really hope they're okay, though. I want them to be as safe as me and you are right now, but there's a chance that they aren't. They might be dead."

"They might be alive. We haven't seen them in years, but we also haven't seen their dead bodies. A few days ago I didn't even know if you were still alive. Now you're here, and you're with me. You're obviously alive. What if the others are, too?"

"If they are, we'll have to find them. We need to be together. Because we have to rule Soy together."

Sabrina nodded. "We do. And I remember one of us being a really awful girl. If Lovely is still like that, she needs to change. She needs to become a better person. Highs have to be good people, and Highs have to get along with their co-rulers. Aris and Path like us. Kara will like us too. But becoming friends with Lovely is going to be hard. We will have to do it, though."

Kevin entered the bedroom. He and Sabrina had blond hair and blue eyes, but he had never been her father. He was her birth mother's younger brother.

He walked to the spot next to Sabrina's bed. "Hello, my Highs."

"Hey, Kevin," Jake said.

"Kevin, there's one person you haven't greeted," Sabrina said.

Kevin didn't glare. He didn't smile, either. He looked at Ben, whom Sabrina still held.

"Hey, Ben," Kevin said. He averted his attention to Sabrina. "Sabrina, we could have died yesterday. I love you, baby. I've told you that plenty of times before, but I needed to tell you that again."

"Thanks for the reminder," Sabrina said. "But I need you to love Ben, too. He's a Freeman, but he's also my son. I chose to be his mother, and I don't regret it. Ben is innocent. His birth parents weren't. I needed to kill them, but I didn't have to kill their baby. And I didn't. He's alive, and I'm going to keep him that way. I won't let anyone kill my sweet boy. I love him."

"I remember when you were a baby. You were a newborn when I met you for the first time. You were also my first niece. You still are, of course. Your mother didn't want to raise you, because she wanted you to be safe. She believed that the Freemans were going to destroy Soy one day."

"Unfortunately she was right," Sabrina said. She held out Ben's bottle. "Put this on the nightstand for me."

Kevin took the bottle before putting it on the nightstand. "Your mother knew the Soynite royal palace would be a high-priority target if the Freemans were ever to attack Soy. She wanted to protect you, and that's why you ended up with the Lows. I wish they weren't dead. They didn't make you, but they loved you anyway."

"And I loved them."

Bowie and Prim would never meet their grandson. Ben had been born as a Freeman, yet he wasn't the one who had murdered Sabrina's adoptive parents. Kevin wanted her to kill Ben, but she would rather feed him than shoot him.

"Bowie and Prim weren't the first parents I had, but they raised me when Theo and Lilly didn't," Sabrina said. "Bowie was my dad. And Prim was my mom. Vale murdered them, but I finally killed him yesterday. I can't change what he did to my parents, though. I can't bring them back to life. But Theo and Lilly are still out there. They're my parents, too. I wonder where they are. If Path was here, he would be able to take me to them. I miss him. Wherever he is, I hope he's okay."

"Me too," Jake replied.

"I want all of the Highs to be okay. That includes that blind moron who treated us so badly."

Kevin sighed. "Lovely is one of my Highs, but she's also a terrible person. I feel bad for Marina. Her mentee is the worst High there is. She was cruel, and she probably still is. She was rude to her co-rulers, and being awful to the two of you was one of her favorite things to do. She loved it. And she believed that me and so many other regular Soynites are just people who needed to serve her. If she still feels that way, I won't be surprised."

"You're not just a regular Soynite," Sabrina said. "You're my uncle. I am not Lovely. I love you, and I care about you. I care about my people."

"So do I," Jake said.

"Why couldn't Lovely be like the two of you?" Kevin asked.

Lovely Windsore had lived long enough to go blind at age six. Yet it was possible a Freeman had murdered her years ago. Or was she alive? Was she someone who would torment Jake again?

He pressed his hands against the soft comforter. "I wish she was like us, but she isn't."

"She definitely isn't," Sabrina said.

"Lovely isn't even close to being a good person, and that's assuming she's still alive. She went blind years ago, but she might be dead right now. How do we know that she's not? I haven't seen her today. Or yesterday. Or the day before that. None of us have. The last time we saw Lovely was when all of us were in that desert in Nevada, and that was a long time ago. I don't miss her. And why would I? She wasn't just awful to me. She was awful to my best friend, too. I hate that we had to spend a few months living with her."

"I hate it, too, my High," Kevin said. "One day you and her will have to reunite, though. The Highs were only meant to be temporarily separated. All of you have to be together. You all have to make decisions together. You're the leaders of our people. Lock Tannis and the former Highs who joined him don't support you and your co-rulers, but I do. Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it."

"You serve two Highs pretty well, Kevin," Sabrina said. "It's a shame that the former Highs who joined Lock aren't like you. I reunited with one of them yesterday. Don is a traitorous moron, and I want him to die, but I also need him to deliver that message to Lock. I still want to kill him. And that's why I need him to come to Earth. On March sixth, he needs to be at that Freeman base we attacked together."

Lock owned a strife sword. He had more Saves than Sabrina. And no one had ever managed to kill him.

"Lock has a strife sword," Jake said. "And he's immune to strife. Killing him won't be easy, Sabrina. I don't even think you should try to do it."

Sabrina moved off the bed. Carrying Ben, she walked toward his crib. After putting him in it, she turned.

"I have to kill Lock," she said. "He made the Invasion happen. He's the reason why my mom and dad are dead. He's the reason why so many good Soynites are gone forever. And Soy is dead because of him, too. I have to get rid of him. And after I do that, his Freemans will kneel for me. I will sit on the Red Throne, and I will wear a red crown. The Freemans will love me. They're going to love me like I love Ben."

Jake didn't speak. Sabrina walked toward the bed, then sat across from him.

"I know you don't think I can kill Lock," she said. "But I'm going to. On March sixth, Lock is going to be on Earth. He's going to be at that Freeman base that me and Kevin attacked together. I'm going to kill Lock. He's not going to kill me. Remember that."

Jake ran his fingers through his hair. "I want to talk about something else. Kara. Let's talk about Kara."

Like Sabrina, Kara had an uncle. Cambridge was older than his sister, Camille. After Kara's birth, Camille's friends had left with Kara and Victor, while Cambridge stayed with Camille. Her friends had died while trying to help Kara and Victor reach the place where Theo had waited.

When Jake lived with Victor, he had been beardless. He used to walk in the spaceship's halls while carrying Kara. Eleven years ago, she had survived the Invasion. Was she still alive?

Kevin remained next to the bed. "She's the youngest High, but she's also a Pure. She might be the most powerful High one day. She just has to live long enough. I wonder what Kara looks like now. She should be able to talk."

"She can give commands," Sabrina said.

"If she's still alive," Jake said. "And if she is, I hope she doesn't become like Don. He might find her. What if he tries to convince her to join Lock?"

"We don't have to worry about her joining him, because that's never going to happen," Sabrina said. "Kara won't make the same mistake her birth father did. She's not going to join Lock. She will never do that, and neither will I. I'm not Don. I don't want to serve Lock. I want to kill him, and that's what I'm going to do."

Jake rubbed his forehead, as if a Freeman had struck it with a laser gun. "I don't want you to fight him. Can we please get back to talking about Kara? If she joins Lock, what should we do?"

Sabrina looked at the brown wall. A few seconds passed before she focused on Jake.

"If Kara joins Lock, we will convince her to stop serving him," she said. "And if she doesn't do that, we will kill her. But I don't want that to happen. I love Kara. I used to hold her when she was a baby. We both did. I don't want Kara to die. Regardless, I know that hard choices have to be made sometimes. If Kara becomes our enemy, and if she doesn't want to stop being our enemy, I will get rid of her."

Sabrina fiddled with her fingers.

"She needs to stay good, because I don't want to kill her," she said. "And if I could, I would kill Don before he gets the chance to meet her. She doesn't have to die. Her birth father does, though."

Kevin crossed his arms. "Before the Invasion happened, I didn't know Don was going to become such a terrible person. He decided to join Lock. And that's why he wasn't with Camille when she was giving birth to Kara. Don was with the worst Soynite in the universe, when he should've been with his family."

"I wanted to kill Don, but I needed him to be alive. That's the reason why I let him live. He needs to give Lock my message. He probably already did, actually. I spared him because he needs to do that favor for me. He's going to outlive his usefulness, and then I'm going to kill him. When I get rid of that traitor, it will be justice."

"When the time comes, I know you'll do it, Sabrina," Kevin said. "You're going to give that traitor the death he deserves. Someone has to do it, and someone will. That person will be you. You will get rid of Don, and you will also get rid of Lock. Those two Soynites deserve to die, and I'm going to be alive when that finally happens. Lock planned the Invasion. He ordered his Freemans to attack our planet and our people, and Don is one of his allies. He's helping him. But he's not just helping the leader of the Freemans. He's helping a man who used to be what you and Jake are right now. Lock is a former High. We assume that he and Reed are the same person, but I think our assumption is true. Lock is the former High who got exiled by your father so many years ago. Those powers that he has are Saves. And he looks like a Freeman, but he's as much of a Freeman as I am. He's a Soynite. He was born as one, and he will die as one."

Sabrina glared at the comforter. "I will never forgive Lock for what he did. My parents are dead because of him, and so are lots of other innocent Soynites. Don and those other traitors shouldn't have joined him."

Sabrina scooted over. She lay on the bed, and stared at the ceiling, as if doing that might kill Lock and the former Highs who worked for him.

"Don acted like he knew me," Sabrina said. "Because he did. He said, 'Hello, again'. I didn't ask him why he said that, because he talked some more and that distracted me. I didn't ask him why he acted like he had already met me before. I'm Nova Majestic, and my pendant made him realize that."

"He used to hold you, back when you were a baby," Kevin said. "All of those former Highs who joined Lock used to hold you when you were a baby. They used to talk to you, too."

"Now they want to kill me. Now they support Lock and not Theo, who used to be like a brother to them. I don't want to kill Theo. He's my father. I have to call him Dad one day, or Father. It depends on whether or not we will speak Soynite to each other."

The Soynite language didn't have a word for Dad , Mom, Grandpa, or Grandma. And various other words didn't have a Soynite translation.

Jake moved off the bed. Sabrina moved under the comforter, then shut her blue eyes.

"Kevin," she said. "Clean Ben's bottle for me."

"Okay, my High," Kevin said. He lifted Ben's bottle off the nightstand. "I hope you have a nice nap, baby."

Kevin left the room. He would clean Ben's bottle. Kevin wished Sabrina had killed Ben instead of adopting him, but she believed Kevin would someday love Ben. Kevin might never stop wishing Sabrina had slain Ben yesterday. Jake could tell her Kevin would probably hate Ben forever, but Jake didn't tell her that.

Would Kevin's hatred for the only Freeman Jake liked last forever?

Sabrina opened her eyes. "Can you sleep with me, Jake? Like we used to do?"

"Yeah," Jake said. "Sure."

During the journey from Soy to Earth, he and Sabrina would sometimes sleep together. Lock might kill her soon. Jake should sleep with his best friend for what might be the final time.

He got into the bed. Sabrina moved onto her side. As Jake lay behind her, he put a hand on her arm. He could tell her he didn't want her to fight Lock, but she deserved to have some peace.

"This is nice," she said. "That Freeman base was a terrible place, but I'm so glad I reunited with you there. Thanks for being my best friend. I love you, Cape."

"I love you, too, Reese," Jake replied. His love for her was as real as the hand he kept on her arm.

Soon Sabrina fell asleep.

Jake shut his eyes. Not long after that, he slept.