Pale Monsters had taken Sydney Shame's father, but kidnapping Jill Key would help Sydney reunite with him.

She and her siblings had delivered Able Brick to Heaven, and the Exchangers would take nine more Pures to that place. Afterward, a Bloodhound would help them find their father, Sydney's last biological parent. This year Pale Monsters had captured him, but Sydney would reunite with him before she died.

If she died on Heaven, it would be nice, like when Zoey had saved Hero inside that Freeman base.

Like Sydney, Hero had been born on January first. So had Zoey and Theo Majestic. Sydney was years younger than all of them. Today she had met Jill, who had been born a few months after Sydney had been. Today she and her siblings would kidnap Jill. Earlier, she had made Hero's Pure test ball turn from blue to red. Jill had proven she was a Pure, and Sydney hadn't forgotten why she and the other Exchangers needed to kidnap Pures.

Sydney sat at a long bench in the cafeteria, holding her notepad. She had written information about Jill on one of the notepad's pages. Sydney's siblings stood not far from her. Still in Hawaii, the Exchangers were inside their home, the fastest Soynite spaceship, which Hero had parked in a meadow in a forest. Zoey had spotted Sydney and her siblings in a different forest. Using Misty Windsore's invisibility bracelet, Zoey had followed the Exchangers without their being aware of it. Inside a Freeman base, Zoey had made herself visible. On that day, yesterday, Hero had saved her life.

For most of Sydney's life, Hero had been her brother. When his siblings wanted to kill Zoey, Hero had protected her. He had helped Zoey learn she was Alice Endman, and he would help the other Exchangers become residents of Heaven.

Sydney's brothers and sisters gazed at Soynite laser guns that rested on the table. Six white backpacks with yellow circles on them leaned against the wall.

"I need all of you to remember that we're going to try completing this mission without anyone dying," Hero said. "And I don't just mean us and Jill. I don't want Joseph and Cambridge to die, but we're going to kill them if they try to stop us from kidnapping Jill."

Macy remained beside Hero. "I wish you would let us kill Joseph and Cambridge. If we kill them, we won't have to worry about them taking Jill back after we kidnap her."

Like Sydney and the others, Macy wore an employee jacket of the Ascend Museum. She had been wearing it when Hero injected Vamp into Able's bloodstream, and Macy wore it now. The Ascend Museum had been named after former High Don, and the Exchangers would take his daughter.

"If Joseph and Cambridge give us trouble, we will kill them," Hero said. "We're going to take Jill away from them. And when we arrive on Heaven with her, I hope Joseph and Cambridge will still be alive. We need to kidnap Jill. We need to take her to Heaven, but we don't need to kill her father and her uncle."

"If letting them live creates problems for us, I'm going to be so mad at you, Hero," Macy said. She looked at the laser gun in front of her. "If Joseph and Cambridge die, they won't be able to cause us trouble. What if one of them is secretly a Bloodhound? What if we kidnap Jill, and then that secret Bloodhound finds us? Or what if Joseph and Cambridge find a Bloodhound, and then get them to find us?"

"If that happens, we will kill all three of them," Hero replied.

"When we wanted to kill Zoey, you didn't let us. If Joseph and Cambridge end up as people we will have to kill, will you help us do it? Or will you try to save them, like what you did with Zoey?"

Hero shook his head. "I'm not going to save Joseph and Cambridge if they end up as people we will have to kill. Trust me. I know what we have to do, and if killing Joseph and Cambridge becomes something that we'll have to do, we'll do it. If those men hurt any of us, we'll get rid of them. And if they try to take Jill back, we'll kill them. I haven't forgotten what we need to do, Macy. We need to save Father, and we need to be allowed to live on Heaven. Those are the reasons why we have to give Heaven's people a bunch of Pures."

"I want a bunch of kisses," Everett said. "Maybe one of our future victims will give me some."

"Zoey gave me some kisses," Hero said. "She isn't my girlfriend, but I wish she was. I need to see her again. She's smart, and so was her grandfather. But his intelligence didn't prevent him from dying. Zoey needs to stay alive, for as long as possible. She also needs to be with us again one day. And I haven't forgotten that there are other people she has to reunite with. There's Archer and Holly. They're probably still alive, and Virginia might be, too. Zoey needs her parents and her grandmother."

One of Sydney's parents had been killed. Eleven years ago, Amelia Shame had entered the Ascend Museum, and she had never walked out of it. She would never see Sydney use her power, which she had activated inside that Freeman base to help her siblings, good teenagers her mother would never meet.

"I wonder if they know that Boris is dead," Hero said. "Do they even know that he joined Lock Tannis on the day the Invasion happened?"

Cambridge had informed Joseph Boris and most of the other former Highs had joined Lock, and Joseph had informed Sydney and Hero about it. Joseph had given them valuable information, but they still planned on abducting his daughter.

Hero frowned. "While pale brutes were destroying our planet, I had a picture of Boris and Zoey in my pocket. I wanted to be like him. That was before I found out that he sided with the man who got my birth parents killed. On the day of the Invasion, Boris became a terrible person. I wonder if he died as one. At least we know that his granddaughter isn't terrible."

"And we also know that Zoey can't live on Heaven with us," Macy said. "Soon, you're probably going to see her for the last time."

"No."

"No?"

Sydney furrowed her brow. "What do you mean by that, Hero?"

"Zoey can live on Heaven with us," Hero replied.

If Hero or any of the other Exchangers told Zoey about Heaven or its people, Heaven's people might kill Sydney, the other Exchangers, and Zoey.

Sydney frowned. "No, she can't."

"No," Kat said, sounding as if she had spotted a Freeman warrior outside the spaceship. "No. No. No."

"Relax, Kat," Wade told her.

"If Zoey finds out about Heaven, its people will kill all of us," Kat said. "And I don't want anyone to kill me. I also don't want anyone to do that to all of you, or Zoey."

Macy unleashed a frustrated sigh. "Hero, what is wrong with you? Do you want to ruin all of our lives? What you want to happen can't happen. You know that, right?"

"You and the others don't believe that Zoey can find out about Heaven without Heaven's people killing us afterward," Hero said. "I know. But I have a plan. President Wilson's favorite High was Boris Endman, and Zoey is Boris's granddaughter. After we finish kidnapping ten Pures, Zoey can come to Heaven with us, and we can let her see it. We will let her find out about it. Wilson will like her. He will let her live, and he will let us live, too."

"No, he won't!" Kat shouted. "If Zoey finds out about Heaven, Wilson will order his soldiers to kill all of us. Or maybe he'll even do it himself."

"Kat is right, Hero," Wade said.

Sydney hadn't forgotten what Wade had tried to do yesterday. "Wade, you tried to kill Zoey inside that Freeman base, and now you don't want to. Hero was able to convince you not to do it. President Wilson can be convinced to let Zoey live, including all of us."

Hero smiled.

"Thanks for supporting my plan, Sydney," he said. "And I need all of you to remember that we're going to finish this mission. After we arrive on Heaven with our tenth victim, Wilson will be too grateful to let his soldiers kill us. That's another reason why I believe letting Zoey learn about Heaven won't get us killed. We will have to be done with the mission first, though. We will give Heaven's people nine more Pures, and then we'll show them Zoey. We'll show them Alice Endman."

After kidnapping Able, Sydney and her siblings had gone to Heaven. So had Zoey, but she had stayed inside the spaceship, blindfolded. She hadn't seen the beautiful place the Exchangers had taken Able to. If President Troy Wilson let the Exchangers and Zoey live on Heaven, Sydney would live there with her only friend. It would be nice, like when Hero had become her brother.

"We should do it," Sydney said. "We should let Zoey find out about Heaven."

"No, we shouldn't!" Kat said. She went near the cafeteria's door before wiping away a tear on her face. "I don't want Heaven's people to kill us, and that's what's going to happen if we let Zoey find out about that place."

"It's not guaranteed that we'll get killed if we let that happen," Hero replied. "Wilson is going to show us mercy."

"Even if he does, Zoey will hate you," Macy told Hero. "Wilson and Heaven City's soldiers are the only citizens of Heaven City who can leave Heaven. If Zoey is allowed to live there, Wilson probably won't make her become a soldier. And I doubt she will ever be Heaven's next president. Zoey wants to find her parents. That most likely won't happen if she becomes a citizen of Heaven City, and that's what you want her to be."

Kat stayed near the door. "And if we agree with your plan, Hero, Zoey will hate us too. She's the only friend we have, and I don't want her to hate us."

"Zoey wants to reunite with her parents," Hero said. "I know that. And if she becomes a citizen of Heaven City, she will probably never leave Heaven ever again, but Archer and Holly might find that place. If they're already there, Zoey will be able to find them, and she won't hate us for making her unable to reunite with her parents."

"Archer and Holly probably won't become citizens of Heaven City," Kat said.

"I really need you to support my plan, Kat," Hero said. "I need all of you to do that. I also need Zoey. That's why I want her to live on Heaven with us, and that can still happen one day. It's not too late."

Sydney and her siblings didn't live on Heaven, and neither did Zoey. Someday they would.

"Are you okay, Kat?" Macy asked.

"No," Kat said.

Stolen story; please report.

Macy approached Kat before hugging her. Kat hugged her back.

"Sydney supports my plan," Hero said. "Wade and Everett, the two of you have to do the same."

"The two of us have to get Zoey to hate us?" Everett replied. "She will do that if we support your plan, Hero, and you know that. Can you at least admit that you're planning on doing something terrible?"

Hero toyed with his Soynite pendant. "No."

"Why should I support your plan?"

"Because you don't want your oldest sibling to be miserable. That's what I'll be if Zoey doesn't get to live on Heaven with us. She's going to be my girlfriend one day, and I'm going to be in love with her. I need her to live on Heaven with me. Don't you want me to be happy, brother?"

"Yes."

"Then support me. Please, Everett."

Everett inhaled through his nose before exhaling through his mouth. "Zoey is going to hate me for this, but okay. I'll support you."

Hero smiled. "Thank you. What about you, Wade? Are you going to support me?"

"Yes," Wade said. "But when Zoey finds out that I supported your plan, I'm going to be angry at you for putting me in that situation."

"That's fine," Hero said.

Near the door, Macy and Kat stood in front of each other. They had stopped hugging. Macy kissed Kat on the lips. They couldn't be with their father, but Macy could show Kat sweet affection. Sydney smiled.

"It's okay, Kat," Macy said.

She and Kat went closer to the table.

"Everett and Wade support my plan," Hero told Macy and Kat. "And so does Sydney."

"If we agree to follow your plan, Heaven's soldiers will kill us," Macy said. "And even if they don't, Zoey will hate us."

"If she does, she won't hate us forever. Also, if we let Zoey find out about Heaven, its soldiers will let us live. President Wilson won't order our deaths. We're going to give him and his people nine more Pures, and then we're going to show him Boris Endman's granddaughter. If Wilson orders his people to kill us after that, he will be a fool."

"We're all going to be fools if we make Zoey live on Heaven," Macy replied. "We'll be cruel fools."

Hero moved closer to Macy before holding her hands. "When Zoey is living with us on Heaven, she'll still be able to find a way to reunite with her parents. Please believe that, Macy. And believe that Wilson will show us mercy. Do those things for me. Please."

Sydney could help Hero convince Macy to support his plan.

"Please, Macy," Sydney said. "I want Zoey to live on Heaven with us, too."

"Fine," Macy said. "You're going to get what you want. So will you, Hero. We're going to make Zoey live with us on Heaven."

"Thank you, Macy," Hero told her. He released her hands. "Zoey will live with us at that better place, and it will be a good thing."

Kat cried. "I really don't want to die, Hero. Your plan is going to get all of us killed. It's going to get Zoey killed, too."

"We survived the Invasion, Kat," Hero said. "And we survived our attack on that Freeman base yesterday. We're going to survive against Wilson and his soldiers, too. Your brothers and sisters believe that, and you have to do the same. You have to support my plan."

Kat looked at the table, as if it could tell her what she should say. She wiped away her tears.

"Okay," she said. "I'll support your plan, Hero. Even though I wish I could stop you from doing it. And even if Heaven's soldiers don't kill us, Zoey will hate us forever."

"It will be temporary hate," Hero said. "It's going to be okay, Kat. We're going to finish our mission to kidnap ten Pures. And President Wilson will let us live. And we're going to reunite with Father."

During the Invasion, Sydney hadn't been able to call Mitch Shame Father. Back then she had been two months old. By the time she was old enough to speak, each of her siblings had known what it was like to call Mitch Father. When would he hear Sydney call him that again?

"If he was here, life wouldn't be this awful," Kat said. "I miss him, but I'm going to die before I can reunite with him. All of us are going to. Hero, can't we just get Father back, and then show Zoey to Heaven's people?"

"No," Hero said. "I'm sorry, but we have to show Zoey to them shortly after we bring them our tenth victim. We'll have to reveal Zoey to them while their appreciation for us is very fresh."

"But your plan isn't going to work. It's also going to get us killed, including Zoey. And Father will be one of the Freemans' prisoners for the rest of his life."

Hero shook his head.

"I'm going to prove you wrong, Kat," he said. He placed a hand on the table, and let it rest in the gap between two laser guns. "Listen, all of you. We're going to see Father and Zoey again. A Bloodhound will lead us to Father, and Zoey knows where we live. She will find a teleportation stone, and she'll use it to get inside this spaceship. One day she will be living on Heaven with us, and so will Father. After we complete this mission, we'll get the things we want. We found Able inside that Freeman base, and we took him to Heaven. Because of us, Wilson and his people have a Pure, and they're going to have nine more."

"I hope we manage to kidnap Jill," Kat said.

"We will."

Macy walked closer to Sydney. "I'm glad you're still with us, Sydney. I wish Father was here too. And if I could hug him, I would. I miss being able to hug him. I'm sure that you and the others miss being able to do that too. Father deserves to be with us. We're the only family he has left, and he's not with us. The Freemans have him. Those terrible people aren't going to keep him, though. We're going to free him."

For too long Sydney's father hadn't been free, but his children had kidnapped a Pure named Able, and they would kidnap nine more Pures. After they completed their mission, a Bloodhound who lived on Heaven would take them to their father's location. His terrible imprisonment would end.

"I know we'll do that one day, but I hate the fact that he isn't free right now," Sydney told Macy.

"I hate it, too," Macy said. "Father isn't here. He isn't with us, and I can't deny that. None of us can. Because of the Freemans, we can't see our father. And we're going to take Jill away from hers, but we have to do that, because we need to get our own father back. Kidnapping Jill will be worth it. We're going to take her to Heaven, and she will become one of Heaven City's soldiers. She will have to accept that. And she's a High, but we're not going to obey her. Wilson won't, either. He's going to be Jill's leader."

Jill was one of Soy's leaders. The planet had six rulers, and Zoey's stepsister was one of them. Zoey had never met Lovely, but Zoey might have met the Soynite woman she had seen while looking through Hero's bedroom window. Maybe Zoey had introduced herself to the woman. Had Zoey told the woman her name was Zoey All, or Alice Endman?

"I hope that woman Zoey saw isn't like Misty," Sydney said. "Zoey might be with her. She might be with that woman."

"If Zoey is with her, let's hope that woman is treating her well," Macy said. "I like Zoey. I don't want anyone to be awful to her. If she's with that woman, that woman better be giving her the kindness she deserves. Our brother is alive because of Zoey, and she's nice. Soynites like her don't deserve to be treated harshly. Unfortunately, Misty was harsh to Zoey. She even slapped her because she lost her invisibility bracelet, even though Zoey had given it back to her. That's the kind of woman Misty is. Let's hope that the woman Zoey saw isn't like her kidnapper."

Zoey deserved to be hugged, not harmed. Sydney nodded.

"When we were at that Freeman base, I wanted to kill Zoey," Macy said. "I thought that she needed to die. If I had killed her, Alice Endman would be dead right now. I also would have killed a sweet girl. I would have murdered her. You and Hero wanted to keep Zoey safe, and I didn't. I wanted to kill her back then, but I should have been trying to keep her alive too, which is what you and Hero were doing."

"Zoey is alive, and you want her to stay that way," Sydney said. "You're friends with her now, and that's what matters."

Macy smiled before kissing Sydney on the lips. "Thanks for being such a sweet girl, Sydney. I'm glad that you're my sister. There are too many awful Soynites out there, but you aren't one of them."

"You aren't one of them, either. You're not like Lock Tannis or the former Highs who work for him. And you're not like Bane Sinister or the other members of the Lock Tannis Church."

Macy looked at a Soynite pistol on the table. "I wish I could shoot Bane in the head right now. He needs to die. His followers need to die, too. All of those Soynites worship the worst one there is. Bane and his people love Lock Tannis, but I never will. I don't want to kneel for him, and I don't want to pray to him. He can't even hear the prayers that his foolish worshipers send him. They think he hears them, though. Just like they think he's the greatest Soynite who has ever existed. But I know the truth, and so do you and the others. Lock is the worst Soynite in the universe."

"I hate him," Sydney said. "He ruined all of our lives. And because of him, none of us have mothers anymore. Plus, Lock is the reason why Father is gone. Pale Monsters took him away from us. I hope they don't kill him before we can reunite with him. I want Father to stay alive for as long as possible, and I want him to be okay. I know that he isn't. He's with the Pale Monsters, and we still haven't found him. I know that we will, though. We just have to finish this mission."

Wilson had given Sydney and the other Exchangers their mission. They had taken Able to Heaven, and nine other Pures would be there because of them. Wilson would get his wish, and the Exchangers would get theirs.

"And we will, sister," Macy told Sydney.

Macy placed a hand on Sydney's shoulder before moving to the spot beside Hero.

"Able was the first Pure we took to Heaven," he said. "And he's not going to be the last one we take there. We have to kidnap nine more Pures, and Jill is going to be the second one we take. Unlike Able, Jill is a High. And me and Sydney kneeled for her, but we don't serve her. Jill is a Pure. She's a girl we have to take. After we do that, we will deliver her to Heaven. She will be one of Wilson's people. She's also going to be a soldier."

"Let's hope she's going to be the victim of a kidnapping today," Everett said.

Hero nodded. "Yes. Let's hope. We should have an easy time kidnapping Jill. She doesn't have any Saves, and neither does Joseph or Cambridge. We have the advantage over them. I can fly. Wade can teleport. Macy can heal wounds. And Sydney has pyrokinesis."

Kat crossed her thin arms. "I wish I had a Save."

"After we finish this mission, it shouldn't take us long to reunite with Father," Hero said. "We're going to take Jill to Heaven, and she will be made into a soldier. And because Heaven's soldiers can't go wherever they want to when they're away from Heaven, that means Jill won't be able to visit Joseph after we kidnap her. But we're going to take her anyway. Our father needs us, and we need him."

"We really need him," Kat said.

"Don't worry," Hero said. "We're going to save Father. I want him to meet Zoey. I want him to meet the girl who saved my life. She isn't just the girl who saved my life back inside that Freeman base, though. She is Alice Endman. She's a good person, and she deserves to live on Heaven with us. Just like she deserves to be away from that awful woman who kidnapped her. Zoey saw a different woman, and then she left us. Hopefully that woman isn't a member of the Lock Tannis Church. Or someone who works for Lock. I also hope that she isn't a Child of Still."

Sydney had never seen a Child of Still, but Zoey had. And her friend Crammer Cole used to be one. For years he had known Zoey was Boris's granddaughter.

"We also have to hope that Lovely Windsore became a good person," Everett said. "You and Sydney learned that she was cruel when she lived with Jill and the other Highs. Lovely was terrible, and there's a chance that she still is."

Joseph had told Sydney and Hero about Lovely. They had learned what kind of person Lovely had been while she lived with the other Highs and their Watchers.

"If she is, I hope we don't meet her," Kat said. She sighed. "But I also hoped that Father would never be taken by Freemans, and it happened anyway. We probably will meet that terrible High."

Macy looked at Sydney's notepad. "Today we're going to meet the High who Hero and Sydney met. Maybe we will meet Lovely, or maybe we won't. But I do know that we have to kidnap her co-ruler Jill, and we will do that. I wish you didn't want her father and her uncle to live, Hero."

"I know," Hero replied. "But we're only going to kill Joseph and Cambridge if we have to."

"As long as we do what Hero wants us to do, we'll be okay," Sydney said.

Hero smiled. "Sydney is right."

One day Hero had let Sydney know she was his favorite sibling, and she had informed him he was her favorite one. Her father had adopted three boys and two girls. Sydney had five siblings, and Zoey had one. Sydney remained near her brothers and sisters. Was Zoey in the same place as Lovely?

"We're going to kidnap Jill," Hero said. "And after today, she probably won't see her father or her uncle ever again. I also haven't forgotten that she has two fathers. One of them is her Watcher, and the other one is the former High the Ascend Museum was named after. Don is a traitor, just like Boris was. Don and Jill have never met each other, and I don't know if they ever will. And if Don finds a Bloodhound in a few days, Heaven's soldiers might kill both of them before they can even reach Jill. She probably won't ever meet her biological father, but her biological father works for Lock. He's Lock's friend. Both of them are terrible Soynites. If Don dies before Jill can meet him, it will be a great thing."

"I believe you," Macy said.

"And I believe that we're going to give Jill a surprise today," Everett said. "She thinks that Hero only has one sibling, but she's going to find out that Sydney has more than just one of those. And Jill is also going to find out that Heaven exists."

Hero nodded. "She will. After we kidnap her, Jill is going to learn that Heaven is real. Right now, she doesn't know that it exists. And she also doesn't know that we're going to kidnap her. She's going to be a citizen of Heaven City before each of us become one, but we're all going to be living there one day. So will Father and Zoey. Boris is dead. He's gone forever, but his granddaughter is still here. She's not with us right now, but she's out there, and Wilson is going to meet her. He will allow her to live on Heaven. He's going to let us live on it too. We're going to show him the granddaughter of the man who used to be his favorite High."

Zoey had found Sydney and her siblings in a forest in Washington. Zoey could find them again, and someday she would meet Troy Wilson.

"President Wilson is going to like Zoey," Sydney said. "He's never going to meet Boris, but he will meet his granddaughter. Wilson will appreciate us for bringing him ten Pures, and he will also appreciate us for bringing Zoey to Heaven."

After kidnapping Jill, the Exchangers would go to Heaven again. They would return to that planet.