I was standing in Andres' hospital room with Michael. A few hours ago, the doctors had stopped the drugs that placed him in a medically-induced coma. A simple calculation using the half-life of propofol, the coma inducing chemical agent, estimated that he would wake up within a few minutes.

As if on cue, his heart rate began to rise and his gamma brain waves became more active. They suddenly spiked as the monitors began beeping.

"Wakey wakey," I said as I looked over the bedside. His face began to move and his eyelids began to open.

"Huh?" He asked softly. "W-where am I?"

"Relax, you're safe now," I responded quickly in a smooth and comforting voice. I placed my hand gently on his and kept it down on the bed.

As his eyes finally opened, he looked towards me. "Zack? What happened?"

"Don't think about it," I said trying to reassure him. "Just focus on what's happening now, in the present."

Tears started to form in his eyes and slowly trailed down to his cheek. His eyes reddened up. The tears wouldn't stop. "H-he-"

"Don't think about it," I wiped the tears off his face. "He can't hurt you anymore."

He looked up at me. His eyes still looked full of fear yet they still showed liveliness. One that didn't belong to a broken man. Rather, his eyes were that of a rat that escaped from a coyote. A prey escaping from its predator.

But that didn't stop the look of fear in his eyes.

"You wouldn't be here if there was still danger," I assured. He closed his eyes as if to think about my statement before opening them up again. The tears slowly began to cease. The look, while still remaining, slowly subsided.

"How are you feeling?"

He opened his mouth but no sound came out. He was struggling to find an adequate word. He quickly closed his mouth and then opened it again. "Better."

I nodded out of relief. It felt like a small weight was lifted off my shoulders.

"Are you feeling good enough to move around?"

He moved his arm up and down before nodding. I helped him move to his side and off the bed.

"I never expected you to have a soft side," Michael commented as soon as he got onto his feet.

"The devil was once an angel before he fell," I said.

"I guess I should feel jealous. You never treated me like this."

"Yeah, but you were never tortured."

"Touché," He said while narrowing his eyes.

"What's he saying?" Andres asked. I forgot that he couldn't understand English.

"Nothing important," I said to him. I slowly moved away to take away his support. Before fully leaving, I made sure that he was able to stand by himself.

When left alone, Andres surveyed the room with his eyes. "Where are we?"

"We are in Atlantis. More specifically, England," I spread my arms apart in a grandiose gesture. "Welcome to the most advanced nation on Earth."

He looked around his hospital and examined the unknown devices that he saw. The rest of the world was easily a few centuries behind and as such he looked at everything with child-like fascination.

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What was about to happen next was going to pain me, but it still had to be done.

I gritted my teeth and inhaled through my mouth. "I hate to ask this, but I need your help with another adventure."

He looked at me like I was crazy, which I suppose was fair. "Are you serious?"

"Unfortunately yes."

His fist and jaw clenched as his voice raised. Tears once again started to stream down his face. "Last time I agreed, I ended up getting tortured! Hung to die!"

"My friend, I am sorry for what you experienced," My voice was laced with melancholy. "And I'll do anything to make it up. However, I need your help with this."

He shook his head. "No!"

I didn't want to bribe his help, but if it was the only way, then I would do it. "If you do, I'll get you into the Academy."

I saw him examine me from head to toe, looking at all the spots that I've trained him to look to spot for deception.

That would be inconclusive. We both knew that if I really wanted to lie, then there was nothing he could do to spot it.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"Frankly I'm hurt. Does our years of friendship mean nothing?" I asked, shedding a fake tear.

"It means a lot," He quickly clarified. "But it's my dream. I need some sort of assurance."

"That's fair," I said while nodding my head. I pointed my hand to Michael. "This little boy is the king of England and has agreed to write a formal recommendation letter to the Academy on your behalf."

"The king?" He asked. "You know the fucking king?"

"Old friends," I responded. "But he only agreed on the condition you help us."

"Us? You two are asking for help together?"

"Yes," I said nodding. "Now what's your answer? We're on a bit of an important deadline."

"What even is this adventure?" He asked as his head tilted.

"We're planning on collapsing five countries."

He once again looked at me as if I was crazy, but his face looked more intrigued. It wasn't something that you would ever expect to hear. Even more, it sounded like an impossible task, something that hooked the two of us.

A thick silence passed as the two of us waited for his decision. Hesitantly, he opened his mouth to speak. "I'm in."

A big grin crept on my face as I went in for a hug. He awkwardly stayed there until I retracted. I brought my wrist up and looked at the watch.

"Well, we don't have time to waste," I said as I began to leave the room. "Let's begin to recruit everyone else."

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"There's no way it's this easy to break in," Michael told me. We were at my family's mansion. I didn't want any of my siblings to know that I was back so I resorted to sneaking in.

We were in the forest near the mansion. About half a mile before we reached the estate, there was a border that only allowed humans to get through. This area wasn't populated at all, and thus no guards were required.

After reaching the mansion from the back, you just have to hop a simple fence and you're in. I've used this route countless times to get in or out unnoticed.

"You know, thinking about it now, it really is concerning," I admitted as we walked through the open field. We walked for a while before reaching the window to my room.

"Ready for another climb?" I asked him. All we had to do was climb a tree and open the window.

Michael let out a deep breath, tired from all the walking that we've done. He couldn't get any sleep on the way here due to my antics in the jet. Turns out it's hard to sleep when flying upside-down at Mach 3.

"Ah! They're in the trees!" I jokingly said as Michael climbed out first. He shook his head in embarrassment.

"You're a moron."

"Takes one to know one, loser," I said. "Oh wait."

He just rolled his eyes. When he successfully reached the top, I began to climb the tree. I put my thumb on the corner of the glass where I had installed a fingerprint scanner, and it opened by making a pathway from the tree to the room.

We both walked through it, although Michael did look down. He gulped before completing the small walk.

I began walking to my desk. Michael just looked around my room, taking everything in.

"This is bigger than mine," He commented.

"I think our room sizes are based on our intelligence," I snickered. When I reached my desk, I pulled out a walkie-talkie. I made sure it was on the right channel. I coughed to clear my throat pressed the button on the side and began speaking.

"What's up bitches, I'm back with my bullshit," I said playfully. It took a few seconds before Leo responded.

"Sir, you're back?" He asked.

"No, I'm a ghost that came into my room," I deadpanned. "Come to my room, I need to talk to the two of you."

"Coming," Leo said before it went silent again.

Hanson still hasn't responded. He carried it around all the time so he should've heard my message.

"Hanson? Did you die?" I asked before releasing the button.

The static sound came up before Leo spoke again. "He's with your fa-"

Another loud voice spoke up and broke through the previous transmission. "Zack, you're back home."

The voice, which was imbued with anger, irritation, and concern, was my father.

Immediately I heard footsteps in the hall. I looked up from the walkie-talkie to the door. When my eyes went up, it immediately swung open. My father appeared with Leo and Hanson running to the side of him.

His eyes, however, immediately snapped to an unfamiliar presence. Michael. Henry immediately recognized him as Nacio's grandson, but that only brought him questions.

He turned to face me.

"What is going on here?"