In the space station's cafeteria, Hailey and her mother sat across from each other. In a different cafeteria, Lena had tried murdering Hailey, but her mother would never attempt to kill her. Hailey's precious mother loved her.

A food tray lay in front of Hailey, and another tray remained in front of her mother. A bottle of fruit juice stood beside each tray.

"Mother," Hailey said. "Earlier, you told me that there was something you were going to tell me more about later."

"I remember," Hailey's mother said.

"Can you tell me more about it now?"

"I can, baby. We have to kill Lena. That's what we have to do."

Hailey fiddled with her fingers. She didn't speak, as if doing that might make her mother stop wanting to kill Lena.

"You must be shocked," her mother said. "And you're probably feeling uncomfortable, too. But that's okay. And when we kill Lena, both of our lives will be easier, and we won't have to worry about what she will do to Nova or any other innocent Soynite. Lena is a monster. And she hates Lock Tannis, but she needs to die, just like he does. We can make that happen, Hailey."

"But..."

What should Hailey say?

Five teenagers and one eleven-year-old girl ruled Soy and its people, and Lena was one of those teenagers. Regular Soynites should want to protect their Highs. If Hailey murdered Lena, that would be more terrible than the last time she had tormented Hailey. But her mother acted as if assassinating Lena would be almost as great as seeing Lock die. Hailey bowed her head.

"We both know what Lena is," Hailey's mother said. "She's a monster."

"She's also a High," Hailey said. "We can't kill her."

"But we can, and we should. Lena tried to murder you. You, Hailey. You're an innocent girl, and a terrible one tried to kill you. Why should we let her live? If we don't kill her soon, she's going to kill good Soynites in the future. Do you want your sister Nova to be Lena's murder victim one day?"

"No, I don't. But Lena isn't going to kill Nova, Mother. She knows that Nova is one of her co-rulers."

"You're the sister of one of her co-rulers. Lena knew that when she tried to kill you. If she wants to kill one of the other Highs, it won't be a shock. Plus, you're not just the sister of a High, Hailey. You're the daughter of the most powerful Soynite in the universe. Your father used to be the Supreme High, too. And he is the one who made Lena into a High. Despite all of that, she tried to murder you. Lena is willing to kill anyone she hates. If she ever reunites with Nova, Lena will eventually try to kill her. And she might succeed."

Hailey looked at her bottle of fruit juice. "Maybe she won't try to kill Nova."

"But she might try to," Hailey's mother said. "We have to prevent that from happening, Hailey, while we still can. We can't let Lena ever get the opportunity to kill Nova. And keeping her safe isn't the only reason why Lena needs to die. We have to protect innocent Soynites from her."

"If Lena meets one, they probably won't give her a reason to kill them. She can live, Mother."

"You shouldn't want her to. You don't even like her anymore. I don't think you should come up with reasons why you shouldn't kill her, especially since killing her will be a great benefit to us. Not just to us, though. Nova will benefit from Lena's death. So will a lot of innocent Soynites. Lena is a High, but she has to die. And I think you should kill her, Hailey."

Hailey had killed Freemans, but she had never killed another Soynite. Lena had tried murdering Hailey, but Lena had failed. After that, Hailey had killed someone for the first time. He had been a Freeman. Because Hailey had gotten rid of him, he couldn't murder Lena.

"I saved her life," Hailey told her mother. "I broke my no-kill code to save her. If I hadn't killed those Freemans who went into her space station, one of them would've killed her. They didn't do that, because I stopped them. Me. I saved Lena's life, and I don't think I should end it. I don't think you should, either. I know that me and her aren't friends anymore, and she is an awful person, but she is also one of the rightful Highs of Soy. And she needs to stay alive for as long as possible."

"Nova needs to stay alive for as long as possible," Hailey's mother said. "Not Lena."

Hailey fought the urge to glare at her mother. "I wish you would stop trying to convince me to kill her. I'm going to finish my food, and then I'm going to go to my room."

"Okay."

Hailey ate her food, then drank her fruit juice. After leaving the cafeteria, she retreated to her bedroom, and sat on her bed. She and her mother had slept on it. Back then she hadn't tried making Hailey believe Lena needed to die.

Hailey stayed seated on the bed, her bare feet touching the floor. Minutes passed. Hailey's mother entered the room, wearing a blue robe. She hadn't worn shoes or socks when she was still in the cafeteria today, and she didn't wear shoes or socks now.

"I know this is probably going to make you feel uncomfortable, but I have to do it anyway," Hailey's mother said.

She untied the robe's wraps before taking it off, then made the robe drop onto the floor like an arm that had been severed. She didn't wear her pendant, which she had been donning in the cafeteria. She didn't wear anything. Hailey's mother stood in the room, naked.

"Mother!" Hailey shouted.

She looked away before shutting her eyes.

"No, Hailey," her mother said. "Look."

Hailey didn't open her eyes. "No. You're naked, and you're my mother."

"Seeing your mother naked isn't an awful thing. On the day you were born, you saw me naked. And that wasn't the only time that happened, either. We saw each other naked many times before."

"I know. But why are you naked right now?"

"Because it's going to help me convince you to kill Lena," Hailey's mother said. "Look at me. It's okay. Please, look. Look at my body."

Hailey opened her eyes. She looked at her mother's body.

Her mother gestured to herself. "This is what I was when I gave birth to Nova. Naked. I gave birth to all of my children like this."

"I know," Hailey said.

"And I fed all of you with these," her mother said, putting her hands on her breasts.

"I know."

Hailey's mother moved her hands away from her breasts. "And I know you know. Nova came from this naked body, Hailey. And this naked body nurtured her. A few days after she was born, I couldn't use this naked body to nurture her anymore. But I still loved her. And I love her right now. My love for her is the main reason why I want you to kill Lena. We can't let her and Nova reunite with each other. I'm going to ask you something. Do you love Nova?"

"Yes," Hailey said.

"You and Nova came from this body," her mother said. "The two of you are sisters. You're family, and family should protect each other. Will you kill Lena to protect a member of your family?"

Hailey had ended Freemans' lives to protect Lena. Hailey had slain those Freemans to save one Soynite. In the future, she could kill one Soynite to keep another one safe. Tears blurred Hailey's vision.

"Yes," she said.

Her mother smiled. "Good, Hailey. Good."

Hailey's mother lifted her robe off the floor before putting it on. She tied the wraps. Afterward, she went closer to Hailey, then pressed her lips against her forehead, kissing it. How many times had Hailey seen Betty give Lena a kiss? When Hailey killed Lena, Betty would never be able to show her affection ever again.

"You're a great girl," Hailey's mother told her. "You're a really great one. I'm proud of you, and I am so happy that you're my daughter. And you're going to protect another daughter of mine by killing Lena. And Nova isn't the only good Soynite who will be safer when Lena is finally dead. There are other good members of our race out there, and Lena won't be able to kill them if she dies when I want her to. And I want her to die soon."

"She's never going to become worthy," Hailey said.

Her mother sat next to her on the bed. "No, she's not. And she's going to die today. If you don't kill Lena, I will. But I hope you will be the one who gets rid of her. She hurt you, and she tried to kill you. She didn't treat you the way you deserve to be treated. That blind monster was awful to you, but you're going to kill her soon. When you do that, this universe will be a better place. It doesn't need Lena in it. It needs good Soynites, not bad ones."

Boris Endman had become a bad Soynite. He had started serving the worst one, Lock. The attack he had ordered had gotten good Soynites killed. Boris hadn't lost his life during the Invasion, but he had died. And when Hailey saw his granddaughter for the last time, she hadn't been on Lock's side. Hailey doubted Zoey had stopped being a good Soynite.

Soon she might stop being Hailey's friend.

"After I kill Lena, Zoey will probably find out about it," Hailey said. "And if that happens, me and her won't be friends anymore."

"You're right," Hailey's mother said. "Plus, after you kill Lena, Betty will probably find out about it, too. She won't be friends with you anymore, either. Betty and Zoey love that terrible High. You will kill her, and her sister and her Watcher might find out about it, then they will hate you. But I know the possibility of that happening isn't going to stop you from killing Lena. You know what you need to do. Keeping Nova alive is more important than staying friends with Zoey and Betty. Hopefully they won't try to kill you after you kill Lena. You being Theo Majestic's daughter and the sister of one of the Highs should make Zoey and Betty decide not to try killing you, though."

"I don't want to kill them," Hailey said. "I hope they don't give me a reason to. Betty was good to me, and so was Zoey. They treated me well. They're my friends. And I know that Lena isn't my friend anymore, but she used to be. I loved her, and she probably still loves me. But she's going to find out that I want to kill her, and then she's going to hate me. I have to get rid of her, though. I have to do it for Nova. And I have to do it for all of the good Soynites out there. Lena needs to die so Nova and a bunch of others won't have to worry about her hurting or killing them. I need to get rid of her. I turned some Freemans into smoke to protect her, but I don't want to protect her anymore. I want her to be dead."

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Hailey's mother put a hand on Hailey's shoulder. "And I'm going to help you get what you want. We're going to go to Lena's space station, and we're going to make sure that she dies today."

"I've never killed another Soynite," Hailey said. "But I know that some of them deserve to die. Lena is one of those Soynites, and so is Lock. Both of them have been alive for too long."

"They're going to be punished for all of the terrible things they've done. You will kill Lena, and a Majestic needs to kill Lock. A descendant of King Hase needs to do that."

"You don't want to kill Lock?" Hailey asked.

Her mother shook her head. "I will be happy if someone kills him, but I don't want to be one who does it. I want a descendant of Hase to do it. I also want one of his descendants to become the Supreme High."

Nova and Cape had been born as Majestics, and they were both descended from Hase. Nova and Cape were Highs, and only a High could become the Supreme High. How happy would Hailey's mother get if someone told her Nova or Cape had been elected as the Supreme High?

"Nova and Cape are the only Highs who are descendants of Hase," Hailey said.

Her mother nodded. "Yes, they are. I want one of them to be the Supreme High, and the other one needs to become the next Great Leader. Or one of them can be the Supreme High and the next Great Leader. Either way, I will be happy."

Hailey frowned.

"And I'm definitely going to be happy when your sisters are finally here," her mother said. "They've never been inside of this space station, but they're going to be. Nova and Anne will like this place. This home isn't the royal palace, but it's still a great place to live. Nova and Anne will know that, because they're going to be living here, too. I never should have let Summer keep Anne. The terrible woman who shot my husband and kidnapped my baby is probably with her right now, but she needs to be with me. I'm her mother. Not Summer. I'm going to kill her, Hailey. I'm going to punish her for what she did."

Summer had wounded Hailey's father, then she had abducted his youngest child. Hailey's mother planned on punishing Summer because of what she had done. Lena had never kidnapped a baby, but she had tried murdering Hailey. And if Lena reunited with Nova, Lena might attempt to murder her at some point after the reunion.

Using a sword, a dagger, or something else, Hailey would assassinate Lena, before she could get the opportunity to kill Nova. Hailey wouldn't let Lena murder Nova, her precious sister.

"I wish your father had never seen Summer at that Watcher academy," Hailey's mother said. "If he hadn't, Anne never would have gotten kidnapped by her. Unfortunately, I can't change the past. No one can. But I can try my best to give myself a great future. And your father is the reason why Summer was able to meet Anne, but I can't be mad at him. He didn't know that woman would end up taking our baby away. This family of ours is going to have our youngest member back, though. I will see Summer again, and I'm going to make her regret what she did. She never should have taken Anne away from us. I'm going to find her, and then I'm going to kill her."

Inside the Soynite royal palace, Summer had wielded a laser pistol, which she had used to shoot Hailey's father in the leg. Strife had been too close to him back then. Summer had shot him, but she hadn't murdered him. Nor had she killed Hailey's mother. Theo and Lilly hadn't died. In the future, they could reunite with Anne.

"Summer deserves to get killed," Hailey's mother said. "She deserves to die."

"And Anne deserves to be with us again," Hailey said.

Her mother placed a hand on Hailey's knee. "She will be. So will your other siblings and your father. He isn't here, but he's somewhere, Hailey. And Nick, Anne, and Nova are out there, too. Nick is probably inside of the spaceship that me and him left in a long time ago. I don't know where Anne is, but she will be with us again. And wherever Nova is, Ken is hopefully still protecting her. Just like he was doing when the Freemans were attacking our planet and murdering our people."

"I'm glad Nova had Ken back then."

"He kept her safe while that terrible attack was happening," Hailey's mother said. "Freeman warriors murdered a lot of children during the Invasion, but Nova wasn't one of them. My brother protected her. He wasn't able to prevent that Freeman from killing Bowie and Prim, but he did keep his niece safe, and he took her to the place where her father was. She didn't know Supreme High Theo was her father, of course. And he still is her father. Nova didn't know that Ken was her uncle back then, either. He still is. He's her uncle, and your father is her father. He loves her. She is his first daughter, and he's going to tell her the truth one day. He will let her know who she is. There are a bunch of people who are aware that Nova exists, and Lock is one of them. I never wanted your father's worst enemy to find out that he had children, but Lock knows that now. You told Betty who you are. You told her that Theo and Lilly are your parents, and now Lena and Zoey know it, too. They know that Theo has children."

"I'm sorry, Mother."

Hailey's mother rubbed Hailey's back. "It's okay. Lock knows that me and your father have children now, and Lock knows your names. It wasn't a bad thing, when you told Betty who you are."

"She was nice to me," Hailey said. "Betty never hurt me. After I went inside of her space station, she even wanted me to leave, because she knew what Lena is like. Betty didn't want her to hurt me. She wanted me to leave, but I didn't. I stayed. I didn't go back into my spaceship. I stayed inside of the space station, and then I met Lena. I wanted to serve her. I wanted to help one of my Highs. But when I was helping Lena, I was helping a monster. I should have done what Betty wanted me to do. I should've left that space station before I met Lena. If I had done that, she never would have hurt me. And those other terrible things she did to me never would have happened."

Tears came from Hailey's mother's eyes, as if Lena had hurt her.

"You are my favorite girl," she told Hailey. "And Lena is a girl who will die soon. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you from her, Hailey. But Mother is with you now, and she isn't going to let that blind monster hurt you again."

Hailey's mother wiped away her tears.

"It's a major disappointment that Lena didn't get killed during the Invasion," she said. "So many Soynites died in that attack, but Lena wasn't one of them. It really is unfortunate. It's not too late to kill Lena, though. I know what needs to happen. You have to take both of us to Lena's space station. We're going to let Zoey and Betty live, but we won't let Lena live. She's going to die. And if Zoey or Betty try to kill us, we're going to kill them. But I don't want that to happen."

"I don't want that to happen, either," Hailey said.

"I know. Zoey is your friend, and so is Betty. But both of them love Lena, and she's also their High. They're willing to kill to keep Lena safe. And that's a problem for us."

Yesterday Freemans had gone into Lena's space station, and each of those Freemans had become a problem for Hailey and Lena. Hailey had slain most of those Freemans. Betty and Zoey wouldn't stop her from slaying Lena.

"Regardless, we're not going to let Zoey or Betty stop either of us from killing Lena," Hailey said. "Betty has all of the Saves. She's powerful, but we have strife on our side, and we also have Vamp. We'll be able to make Betty become Saveless. And Zoey isn't as deadly as I am. She won't give us too much trouble. We'll be able to deal with her. Lena is blind. And she managed to kill a Freeman warrior yesterday, but that doesn't mean she's a great fighter. She won't be able to stop me from killing her."

"Lena isn't a great fighter, but you are," Hailey's mother said. "Vera trained you well. I'm glad that she's your Watcher."

Nick's Watcher had been Pristine Claude. During the Invasion, a Freeman warrior had shot that precious woman to death. Nick had loved her, and some people he loved were alive. Hailey was one of them. She and Nick shared a mother and a father, and Hailey and Nick used to share the Soynite royal palace as their residence. Freemans had destroyed that home, the first one Hailey and Nick had lived in.

Hailey had spent more time in this space station than Nick had. When he was a young boy, he and Hailey's mother had made a Soynite spaceship their home. Their mother had made this space station her main home again. Nick hadn't. But this home would someday be his main one.

"Vera is a good Watcher," Hailey's mother said. "And your brother had a good one. Pristine loved my boy, and he loved her. I wish that Freeman hadn't killed her. She deserved to survive the Invasion. Unfortunately, she didn't. She got killed by one of Lock's Freemans, and he has many more of those awful people working for him. One day his warriors will fight for a different Soynite, though."

"And you want that different Soynite to be one of Hase's descendants," Hailey said. "I think it will be okay if a Soynite who isn't descended from him becomes the next leader of the Freemans. That Soynite will have to be one of the good ones, of course."

"Hase was the most powerful Soynite in the universe, Hailey," Hailey's mother said. "He was also the first member of our race, and he was the first leader of our planet and our people. Majestics who are descended from Hase deserve to be leaders. They deserve to be the leaders with the most authority. That's why a descendant of Hase needs to become the Supreme High, and it's also why a descendant of Hase needs to become the next leader of the Freemans. Hase's descendants are great people. They were born that way. And each time I gave birth to a new Majestic, it was an honor for me. Being the wife of the oldest Majestic alive is an honor. I approached your father at that park a long time ago, and we eventually fell in love. And we still love each other. I miss your father. I wish we could hug, but we can't, because we aren't together. I don't even know when we will be in the same place as each other again, but we're going to be. One day me and your father will reunite. We will be together again, and so will you and your siblings. You and Nova were never together, though. And I'm sorry for that. I want you to meet your older sister at some point."

"Nova will be good to me," Hailey said. "She's going to treat me well."

"That's how she's going to treat both of us," Hailey's mother said. "Hopefully she will know who she is by the time the three of us are together. When that happens, I want Nova to know that she's related to us."

Nova's uncle and her distant relative had lived in that Soynite spaceship with her. Ken Herman was her mother's younger brother. Cape Majestic was Nova's sixth cousin. Unlike On Majestic's other descendants, Cape hadn't died. He had escaped Soy, and he and Nova had become friends. She hadn't known he was her sixth cousin, and neither had he.

"She will see you," Hailey's mother said. She ran a finger along Hailey's cheek. "She will see her sister's face. And she will see your blonde hair and your blue eyes. Every time you saw Nova, you were invisible. She couldn't see the girl who loved her so much. And you still do. You still love Nova. You're going to keep her safe. One of the ways you'll do that is by killing Lena. I know you're going to do it, Hailey."

"I am," Hailey said. "And I'm going to do it before Lena can kill Nova. I've spent years wanting to meet her, and I loved her for years. I have to be with her one day. I can't let Lena kill her."

"Soon that terrible High won't be a problem for us anymore. She's going to be dead by tomorrow, and there will have to be a new High. I hope they will be a much better Soynite than the blind monster you're going to kill. I don't know what you're going to kill Lena with, but I do know that you have to get rid of her. If we were fortunate, she would have died while the Freemans were attacking our planet. She managed to survive the Invasion, but she isn't going to survive what you're going to do to her."

Hailey had broken her no-kill code to save Lena's life, which Hailey would end.

"I killed some Freemans to protect her," Hailey said. "I became Lena's savior yesterday, and I'm going to become her killer today."

"And when you do kill her, you won't have to worry about her doing the same to Nova one day, because she will be dead," Hailey's mother said. "She will be dead like that mother of hers."

"If Lauren and Boone had never met, we wouldn't even have to worry about Lena killing Nova one day. I wish she had never been born. It's awful that she was. Lena was born, and now she's a terrible person. And she has to die. One day I want to hug Nova, and I want to finally have a conversation with her. But if I don't kill Lena before it's too late, I won't ever hug my older sister, or talk with her. If I don't do what I have to do, Lena will kill Nova. I need to kill her. I know that now. I didn't believe it earlier, though. I thought that it would be okay if I let Lena live."

"And now you know the truth," Hailey's mother said. "You know that Lena needs to die. She has been alive for too long, and you have to kill her today. We can't let her live. She isn't a good Soynite. She's far from being one. And she hates your older sister. If we believed that Lena doesn't have to die, we would be fools, and neither of us is a fool, Hailey. Lena is one, though. And she's going to be a dead fool by tomorrow. Soon Zoey won't have a sister, and Betty won't have a mentee. You're going to make them very unhappy, but that's okay, because Lena's death will be a huge benefit to us."

Hailey nodded. "And it will be one to Nova."

"She will probably be mad at us, though. Right now, your sister might not want Lena to die. Nova probably feels the same way you did. She probably believes that Lena needs to live, but killing her will benefit Nova. By getting rid of Lena, you will be doing Nova a favor, regardless of how she feels about it."

"You're right."

"And assassinating that blind monster will be the right thing to do. It has to happen, Hailey. Don't stop believing that."

"I won't."

"Good," Hailey's mother said. She stood. "I'm going to start getting ready. We need to pay a visit to Lena's space station, and we'll bring strife and Vamp with us. We will have what we need to make sure that this assassination mission becomes a success. Betty won't be able to stop you from killing Lena, and neither will Zoey. They aren't going to prevent us from doing what needs to be done. When you kill Lena, Nova will be safer, Hailey. Getting rid of that terrible High is going to be worth it."