"You are late," the well-spoken woman said over the phone. "I expected a call from you over two hours ago."

"Apologies, ma'am," the man replied. "We're still hard at work putting together our report."

"I'm aware of that, yes, but it is imperative to have open communication at all times. I understand what happened was, as you say, not within your intel, but we cannot allow ourselves to be held back by these circumstances."

"Of course, ma'am," the man replied. "Our investigation is still proceeding. The data we collected indicates that there was an escape. How it happened, we're not sure, but it has caused plenty of havoc in the process. The facility is going to have to put everything on hold to fix the damage caused."

"The board isn't very pleased," the woman said. "They're all scrambling to find a solution."

"We're aware, ma'am. Our investigation is finding there was help outside, but we're not sure who it was. They did everything they could to cover their tracks."

"That changes things," the woman said. "Especially considering this is a different plan of attack than what originally happened. We may be dealing with a third party here."

"Are you worried?" the man asked.

"It is none of your concern. Keep your investigation going. Report when you have something to add."

"Yes, ma'am."

The line disconnected. The woman looked out the window of her office. The city's nightlife bustled along below as cars drove by, looking as if they were ants moving to their colony.

"If we are dealing with a third party," she said to herself, "I'll need to find out who they are. They might prove useful."

The lights were off. It was dark. The empty halls stretched far into the darkness, seemingly forever. Miku had walked out of the dorms to see what it was she could do to help today.

She threw on a green jacket, and walked out. It was still early, so she figured she'd get something to drink to start her day.

As she walked into the elevator, she heard the sound of shoes coming down the hall. Miku figured it was probably one of the others coming down. She pressed the button to head up. Before the door shut completely, an unfriendly voice, one that Miku knew immediately, spoke.

"And here I was thinking you had gotten away for good."

Miku's eyes widened in terror as the elevator door was pulled open.

"Miss me?" Kallen asked.

"No, you're not supposed to-."

"Know about this place? Funny thing, here I am."

Kallen rushed after Miku, pinning her to the wall. His hands gripped around her neck.

"And YOU shouldn't have managed to escape! It's funny how things work out that way, huh, Miku!?"

Miku couldn't breathe. She choked for air as best she could, but Kallen dug his fingers into her neck, almost tearing into her chassis. Before she almost lost consciousness, Kallen let go, and dropped her to the floor.

"Disgusting," he said, wiping his hands on his jacket. "But I can't destroy you here. No, I have to show you something. They want me to."

Kallen pressed a button on the elevator, as Miku lay on the ground. A purple-ish liquid leaked out of her neck.

"Isn't that just funny," Kallen mused darkly. "Not even your blood is human."

The elevator pinged, and Miku was dragged into another room. One she hadn't seen in the facility.

"Get up," he said.

Miku refused.

"I said, get up." Kallen kicked her in the stomach. Miku coughed and gagged as she felt his boot land into her. The pain took everything from her. She was so overtaken by fear, that she couldn't do anything but lie there.

"Fine, since you're that useless, I'll show you."

Kallen picked her up by her shoulders, and forced Miku to look at whatever it was he wanted to show her.

"Look, Miku," Kallen ordered. "You see it, don't you?"

Miku looked up, and saw behind a window. A production line. On the production line were nothing but figures being moved. Figures that looked like Miku. All the same size, shape, hair, and eyes. Complete replicas.

Miku panicked.

"No!" She yelled. "No, they can't be doing this!"

"But they are. And soon, you'll be just like them. You'll be exactly like every other version, especially when we rip that brain of yours out, not even you will know who the original was."

Miku started crying, but Kallen would have none of it.

"Save the waterworks," Kallen said, and grabbed her neck again. He started pulling against her head.

"They won't mind if I get started with getting your brain ready!"

He cackled maniacally, and Miku shrieked in horror.

Before she knew it, she was sitting up in her bed, hyperventilating. Miku grabbed at her neck. Everything was still intact.

She took a deep breath, and sighed.

"Bad dream," she said to herself. "He's not here, is he?"

Miku was almost too scared to step outside of her dormitory to check. She waited in her bed a while before even entertaining the possibility of going outside. She did, however, get up out of bed to check her computer terminal. It was still plenty early in the morning. The clock read "6:43 A.M." She debated on sending Griff a text message to see if he was awake at all. She looked at it, wondering if she should tell him about the dream she had. Eventually, she gave in.

"Hey, you up?" She asked.

No answer. About a minute passed, and then a response.

"Am now," Griff replied.

"Sorry to wake you, but I'm up early, figured I'd ask. You can go back to sleep if you want."

"Doesn't bother me," Griff said. "I'm supposed to be up in a little bit with school and all."

"Yeah, I kinda forgot that."

"Trust me, I wish I could forget it. Would love to not have to go to begin with, but then I'd be raising suspicion, wouldn't I?"

"Yeah," Miku said, "that's true."

"Though, you're up plenty early. You sleep ok?"

"Kinda." Miku replied. "I had a weird dream."

"Oh? You dream?" Griff asked.

Miku felt a little annoyed at the question, but also felt as if it was a genuine question, not a jab at her.

"I do, sometimes." Miku said.

"That's amazing!" Griff said.

Miku smiled. She knew he was curious, and she felt a little happy to know someone thought highly of her for once.

"What'd you dream about? If you don't mind me asking."

"I don't know if I wanna talk about it. At least not now. Maybe when we're in person?"

"Sure, whenever's fine with me."

Miku changed the subject.

"Have you been talking to that girl you made friends with lately?"

"Akira?" Griff asked.

"Yeah, her. Is she doing okay?"

"We've seen each other at lunch but haven't hung out since. Why?"

"Just wondering, she sounds like she's good company. I'd like to meet her myself."

"Hopefully you two can meet," Griff said.

"Probably not for a while, though. I can't come outside. At least, not until things clear up."

"Hey, I'm hoping for that to be sooner rather than later."

"I'd like that," Miku said, "but until then, I'm going to be down here."

"How about I come visit today? It's been a little while."

"I'd like that, Griff." Miku said.

"I'll plan on it. With Halloween coming up soon I'd like to hang out then as well."

Halloween, huh? Miku thought. I've never actually been able to celebrate that. Being able to dress up in a costume for the fun of it sounds nice, though.

Griff added: "I mean, if you'd want to. I'm a little too old to be trick-or-treating, but I'm sure we could do something fun."

"I've only really read about Halloween. Not exactly something I could do locked up in a cell."

"Duodecim never let you have any fun?" Griff remarked.

"Between you and me, I think they wanted to keep it a secret."

Griff laughed.

"Hey, I'm gonna head out," Griff said. "I gotta go get ready for school."

"Take care," Miku replied.

"Likewise. Love you!"

Miku decided to head out as well. She figured one of the others was awake by now. Talking to Griff served as a good distraction, but the feeling the dream left her with still lingered.

"Maybe I should see if I can help work on something," Miku said to herself. "Maybe all I need is a good distraction."

David sat at home as Griff had gone off to school some hours ago. Today, David had the day off from work, but that didn't mean he was free of his administrative tasks as the security advisor for File Forward Shipping Experts. He sat at home at his laptop, writing a report for the now cancelled trip he had returned from.

Suddenly, a hand knocked against the front door. David went over to answer it. He looked through the peephole and saw two figures in suits standing outside.

He promptly opened the door.

"Good afternoon, Mister Kruger," one of the men said. "I'm Agent Stanley and this is my partner, Agent Navarro. We're from Duodecim Security."

"If you're here to sell me something," David said, "I'm not interested."

"Oh, sir, no, this has nothing to do with a security system," Navarro said. "We're here following an investigation."

"An investigation into what, exactly?"

"We've been following an investigation from about a month back, and wanted to interview the boy you have guardianship over. Is he by chance home right now?"

"He's still out," David replied, his eyebrows furrowed. "And what business do you have in interviewing my kid?"

"Sir, I didn't mean to offend," Navarro said. "We're simply here to ask him a couple of questions, nothing more."

"You still didn't answer my question," David said, now losing patience. "What does Griff have at all to do with this?"

"Well, seeing as he was involved with an incident a month ago, we're following all leads we can."

"That's extremely vague," David said. "Unless you have a warrant and evidence that Griff is directly involved, you two can take a hike."

"Sir," Agent Stanley said, producing a document from his breast pocket, "our investigation department just needs a couple of questions answered. We won't ask anything more of him."

"As much as this fancy document will say, I'm still not letting you talk to him. Get lost."

David slammed the door in their faces. The two agents walked back to their car.

"Well, that's a wash." Stanley said.

"Can't wait to hear this one from Kallen," Navarro said, dread in his voice.

"Knowing him, he'll throw a fit and blame us for not trying hard enough."

"Surprised he's not doing this," Navarro said.

"He's going to try and get in contact with the boy one way or another," Stanley said. "If we couldn't get his guardian's permission, we go the other route."

"Oh, the 'we were in the neighborhood' route?" Navarro asked.

"That one," Stanley said. "I'll call Kallen. Maybe he'll look into this David Kruger guy."

"Wish he did that before he made us talk to him," Navarro said, regrettably. "Dude was a real piece of work."

"I'm sure it was scary," Gumi said to Miku. "I mean, you know perfectly well your neck doesn't bleed purple goo."

Miku gave Gumi an annoyed look.

"I don't think that's the part she was terrified about Gumi," Luka

chimed in.

Gumi shrugged, and continued typing on the computer.

"It makes sense, though," Luka added. "You're obviously still

adjusting to a change in your environment. You're most likely still feeling cautious over the fact Kallen is still out there, and Duodecim is looking for all of us."

"Have you talked to Griff about this?" Luka suggested.

"I mean," Miku said, "I told him I had a weird dream, but didn't go

into any detail."

"Might be a good idea to let him know," Luka said. "He may not be able to give advice, but you trust him more than you trust us."

"Sorry," Miku said.

"No reason to be sorry," Meiko said. "We all get it."

"I was going to ask if you could pick him up today, Meiko." Miku said.

"Well, I was thinking of having him come here today, anyways," Gumi said. "We're going to be resuming our virtual world expedition soon."

"You have a plan?" Meiko asked.

"Not a concrete one, but I'd rather Griff be in the know."

"Well," Meiko said, looking at the time on her phone, "he's about to get out of school."

"I might go with you," Miku said. "I wouldn't mind seeing him myself."

"Sure," Meiko said. "But that's up to Gumi."

"I'd like to limit your time outside, Miku. You should know that."

"I know, I know," Miku said. "Just figured I'd try to."

"That said, Meiko seems to go out in public enough, and Duodecim hasn't been able to

find her. I'll allow it just this once, but please keep out of their sight."

With Gumi's permission to go outside, Miku figured she should go change into something a little nicer to be outside with. Her current outfit of gym shorts and a dirty t-shirt weren't going to be very appealing in public.

"I'll be back," Miku said.

"Be quick," Meiko said, "I'm leaving to get him in like ten minutes."

Miku nodded, and headed back to her room.

Miku entered her room and changed into a pair of blue jeans and a red striped flannel shirt. After cleaning herself up a bit, she took herself back up to the Operating Room.

"I'm back," Miku said. "Ready to go, Meiko?"

"Sure, we'll go get him. Know where he's at?"

"No, but I'll contact him-."

"He's near the Palmview Subway Station," Gumi interrupted.

"Huh?" Miku said.

"He's there, and you need to go get him."

"What's going on?" Meiko asked.

"Duodecim blotter went live. Some agents are moving in on him. I'll try and put together why that is, but I need Meiko to get him."

"I'm still coming with her," Miku said.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Luka argued. "They're looking for you especially."

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"I know, but if there's agents looking for him, Kallen might be there. I don't want him getting hurt."

"Fine," Gumi said, irritated, "but you two need to go now!"

Miku and Meiko ran out of the Operating Room into the elevator.

"If we're dealing with agents," Meiko said, "Kallen might be among them. You're not doing this for petty revenge, are you?"

"No, of course not," Miku protested firmly. "If he's there, he might hurt Griff. I can't let that happen."

"Alright, well, with agents around at all, it might get messy," Meiko said.

"Hopefully it doesn't go that way."

Meiko and Miku dashed out of the elevator and ran to Meiko's car. Once they reached her car, they both moved to rip off the camouflaged tarp, and stuffed it in the trunk. Once in the car, Meiko put her keys in the ignition, and hit the gas.

"If things get messy," Meiko said, "I've got a gun in the glove compartment."

Miku opened the glove compartment, and saw a glock sitting in

it.

"Would rather not make a scene," Miku said.

"It's there for emergencies. Just letting you know we have a defensive option."

"Alright," Miku said. "Hopefully he'll be okay."

I followed behind Griff without his knowledge. He took a

different route home than he normally did, and it led me to the train station up near the school.

He didn't seem all that concerned about anything. In fact, he looked pretty happy to be heading over.

Griff was acting weird since he had dinner with my family. Part of me said he just wanted to take some distance and I should respect that, but another part of me, the more stubborn side, had a different idea: I wanted to find out what his deal was.

I trailed behind him, keeping myself away from him at all times, and sticking to the more crowded areas. Griff seemed to have his eyes on his phone all the way there. His attention didn't seem all that focused on the outside world.

Once he got into the station, he ducked into a convenience store nearby the Palmview Station Subway entrance.

If I went in there, he'd see me for sure. I kept an eye on him from outside, though trying to look as casual as I possibly could. I pulled my phone out to try and blend in.

I noticed Griff went to the refrigerated section and grabbed a couple of bottles of vegetable juice, and a larger bottle of carrot juice out of the two.

Huh, I thought, guess he likes healthier drinks.

He took the drinks up to the cashier and paid for the drinks. Once paid, he put them in his bag and started for the door. However, he stopped in his tracks and took his phone out of his pocket. He had gotten a call, and answered it.

I couldn't tell what he was saying inside, but I noticed his expression had changed. One that looked more fearful than anything. What was going on?

Griff dashed out the door, not noticing I had been watching him. Instead, he ran into the subway. I took off after him, trying my best not to get too close to him.

Down the stairs, I saw Griff had been stopped in his tracks. Though not because of anything I did. Instead, two men wearing suits were talking to him. Both showed badges and seemed like fairly intimidating figures.

"Hi, you're Griff, yes?" One of them asked.

"I'm agent Navarro," the other said. "We work for Duodecim Security. We wanted to see if you'd be willing to answer some questions."

Griff just stood there for a second before he'd answer them.

"I have nothing I can say. Leave me alone."

"We just wanted to follow-up with you on an incident. Happened to be around and figured we'd ask you some questions."

"Get lost," Griff said. His demeanor changed.

"Griff!?" I yelled, not really sure why I called out to him.

All three of them turned in my direction. Griff looked shocked, and took it as a signal to run off. I took off after him.

The two suited figures stayed behind, one of them sounding as if they were calling for backup.

Griff was nearly at the bottom of the subway, and I had to take a second to pay the fare. The train had already arrived and was about to leave. I wasn't going to let him get away.

Lucky for me, Griff didn't seem to run nearly as fast as I could. I got to the bottom of the staircase and dashed into the train before the doors closed.

Griff looked behind him, and threw up his arms. He was out of breath.

"I give, I give," he said, defeated.

I wanted to slap him so hard for some reason. Maybe it was because he didn't bother to explain anything to me, and just ran off.

But I held back. Griff may have had his reasons for running off so eagerly.

Griff sat down on an empty seat, still trying to catch his breath. I was barely winded.

"You're outta shape," I said.

"I'm still trying," he said. "I've only been on a new exercise regimen for like a month."

I cut to the chase. I'd rather not run around him with pointless banter.

"Why'd you run?" I asked.

"'Cause I had to." Griff said, coolly.

"No, you were trying to get away from those two, why?"

"A lot of reasons," Griff said.

"And what were those reasons?"

"I can't tell you," Griff said. "At least, not out here."

"Fine, where can you tell me?"

"When we're off the train."

"Okay, then, here's my follow-up question: why did they say they were from Duodecim?"

Griff swore under his breath. I raised an eyebrow.

"I can't tell you," Griff repeated. "It's better you don't know."

I was fed up with the runaround on this. I wanted to announce to the entire train that a fugitive was on board this train, and that security should take him away, but I wouldn't have been a good friend if I did.

"Look," Griff said. "It's not because I can't trust you. It's because I'm putting you at risk if I do. It's a long story, and you might not even believe me."

"I'm willing to believe a lot," I said. "Especially if you have evidence."

Griff's face lit up.

"Then I'll show you."

"Show me what?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Fine, but if you run off, I'm telling everyone."

Griff raised his hands up. "Don't worry, you've virtually got me at gunpoint."

Griff shook his head and muttered something.

"They'll probably kill me for this, but oh well."

"Who'll kill you?" I asked. "Duodecim?"

"No, my friends."

My eyebrow raised. Griff didn't explain any further.

"Now arriving at Vincent Concert Hall."

Griff looked over at me.

"This is our stop. They'll be meeting us here."

"Who will be?"

"My girlfriend and a driver."

I got up and walked with him.

Griff kept his eyes on the street as we left the subway. Maybe more men in suits were looking for him. Just what had he done to get involved with them?

Griff got a call, and he answered quickly.

"Hey, it's me, I'm here."

Someone replied.

"Alright, stay there," Griff said, looking over at me. "And uh, make room. I've got friends."

Griff hung up and grabbed my hand.

"Come on," he rushed me, "there's no time."

I let him guide me. As much as I had no idea what was going on anymore, I figured I'd let Griff show me.

Griff took me into a nearby parking garage, and ran us both down to block P-3. It ran underground. It was full of cars, and Griff scanned around, looking for one in particular.

"There they are," he said, walking over to a red Chevrolet Volt that sat with its lights on.

Griff opened the door on the left of it, and hurried me in, with him behind me.

Two girls sat at the front; one was the brown-haired girl who picked up Griff the other night, and the other had teal hair and pigtails. I assumed that was his girlfriend.

"Whoa, whoa!" The brown haired girl yelled. "Who the Hell is this?"

"Right," Griff said. "Aki, this is Meiko and Miku. Miku, Meiko, this is Aki. Can we get a move on please?"

Meiko looked so frustrated, she looked like she was about to rip the steering wheel off and beat Griff with it right then and there. Instead, she turned the car's ignition all the way on, and pulled out.

"And why in the Hell did you bring her along?!" Meiko continued questioning.

"It's not important," Griff said. "Just keep your eyes on the road and away from Duodecim."

Meiko gripped the steering wheel, her fingernails almost digging into it. And despite his best to hide it, Griff looked plenty nervous. So much so that he was sweating profusely.

Miku, the girl with teal hair, looked over at both of us, and then back to the road ahead.

"You'll want to duck somewhere out of sight," Miku suggested. "If Duodecim is looking for us, we should lay low for a bit."

"They just wanted to question me," Griff said. "They didn't seem to really want to give chase."

"Not a good look for them to do in public," Miku said. "Did you see Kallen?"

"No," Griff said. "Just two other guys. One named Navarro, I think."

Meiko turned into another parking garage. She stopped in a parking lot, and put the car in park. Immediately after, she lost it on Griff.

"I cannot effing believe you, Griff!" She exploded.

"Hey, it wasn't my idea," he shouted back. "She followed me. Said she'd turn me in if I didn't tell her what was up!"

"Oh, and you let her? Great job, remind me to never let you out ever again."

"Oh, give me a break, like you wouldn't have done the same."

I looked over at Miku, who also noticed I was staring at her. She turned around and gave me a rather content look.

Griff and Meiko argued for what felt like forever.

"You know what," Griff said, "why don't we talk about this outside?"

"Fine," Meiko said. "Better we have at least some privacy."

Meiko turned to Miku.

"Keep an eye on her, alright? We'll be back."

The two stepped out of the car.

"You don't look worried," I said. "Isn't he your boyfriend?"

"He is," Miku said. "But I also know he's not going to get kicked out over this. However, I have a question for you."

Miku turned back to look at me.

"You weren't really planning on outing Griff, were you?"

"N-No," I said, nervously. Though the thought had definitely crossed my mind, I was mostly bluffing.

"Thought so. You don't look the type."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I dunno," Miku said. "I'm just good at reading people. And you have a certain look about you. You're less concerned with the situation Griff is in, and more about the truth."

"And how would you know?" I inquired.

"I'm just guessing. You're the only one who can tell me I'm wrong, but you and Griff are friends, so I'd imagine you don't want to see him get in harm's way."

She had some good intuition, I'd give her that. Almost as if I was an open book.

"Fine," I said. "You got me. Griff said he'd give me answers, and so I came with him."

"Well," Miku said, "I bet he also said even if he told you, you wouldn't believe him."

"How'd you know that?"

"Because he's right. You'll have to see it for yourself."

Just then, my phone started ringing. It was Mom. I answered immediately.

"Aki," Mom asked, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mom," I answered. "I uh, got caught up hanging out with Griff."

"Are you still at school?"

My eyes darted around, thinking I should tell the truth or not.

"Yeah, I'm still here. Sorry, forget to tell you."

"Well, you need to come home. I was expecting you back twenty minutes ago, and you never called!"

I didn't even know how much time had actually passed. It was almost 4:30 P.M. now.

"I'll be home soon," I said. "Sorry Mom."

"We'll have to talk about this tonight."

I hung up, and Griff and Meiko got back in the car. Meiko seemed less aggravated and Griff seemed less nervous.

"So, what do we do now?" Miku asked.

"Well," Meiko replied, "talking it over with Griff, we can't really keep it a secret from you."

"It's okay," I said. "I don't want to tell anyone else. This seems serious. Just what exactly did you do to get Duodecim going after you?"

Miku sighed.

"Because they want Griff."

"And why do they want him?"

"Because he's associated with us," Meiko said.

This just confused me even more.

"Look," Meiko said. "These people are dangerous. Even being in the same vehicle as us is putting a target on your back. The less you know, the better."

I conceded. It felt like this was the most I was going to get out of them.

"Fine," I said. "I need to get back home. My mom is upset as it is."

"Okay," Meiko said. "But we need to have your word on this. You won't tell anyone about today, okay?"

"I have your word," I said.

"Trust me," Griff said. "Maybe once things are less crazy, we'll be able to show you, but right now, it's better you keep your head down and pretend everything you saw today didn't happen."

Getting home was going to be a disaster, I could feel it already.

I told Meiko where I lived and we made our way back to my school. No one really said much on the way back. Being back in public, both Meiko and Miku tried their best to keep out of cover. Griff seemed to have relaxed, but even he was a little tense after all of this.

I wanted to pry further into all of this, but with how things were looking, it would be best to hold off. They knew they couldn't cut me loose, either.

For now, I'd have to worry about Mom and Dad chewing me out over this.

I got out of the car, and said goodbye. Meiko kept a watchful eye on me. She still didn't seem to trust me, but Miku didn't look quite as concerned.

I stepped inside the house, awaiting the consequences I set myself up for.

I stepped inside, and Mom was sitting on the couch. I tried my best to look away from her, but she got my attention.

"Akira," Mom said. "Akira, what happened. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mom," I said. "I just got caught up with friends."

"But I called you over an hour ago!" She yelled. "You said you'd be home soon!"

"I know, and I'm home now, okay?!" I shot back. "Get off my case, Mom. I can take care of myself!"

I stormed off, frustrated, and locked myself in my room. Mom didn't say much else after. I felt like Dad would have even more to say about this. I threw off my hat and sat myself on my bed.

I let out a loud sigh. Today was rough, and still far from over.

"You think she'll say anything?" Meiko asked me, starting the car.

"I doubt it," I said. "Aki's good people."

"Her Mom sounded worried about her being home on time," Miku added.

"I guess I missed something," I said. "Her parents are kinda strict about her."

"Any reason?"

"They're worried about her safety. Incident happened to her sister a few years ago. I guess they worry the same could happen to her."

"Ouch," Meiko said. "I'd hate to be in her situation. Being cooped up and having a curfew to follow. That's rough."

"That's so sad," Miku said. "I guess I understand where they're coming from."

"I agree," I said. "Guess I'm lucky. David doesn't seem to dote on me quite as much."

Time passed by as we made our way back to the base. Meiko chewed me out pretty hard over bringing Akira into all of this, but I could guarantee Gumi and Luka would have plenty more to add on.

Maybe they didn't even know about any of this. Though I highly doubted that. Gumi was probably watching the entire thing unfold right from her chair.

This sucked. But if the worst of today ended with me getting chewed up, it beat getting thrown into the back of a Duodecim van any day.

I still wondered why they wanted to question me so badly, though.

Once we arrived, I grabbed my backpack and got out of the car. Meiko, Miku, and I all placed the camo over Meiko's car, and we headed inside to the base.

Once we stepped inside the Operating Room, I saw Gumi and Luka,

whose eyes were both trained on the entrance we stepped into.

Gumi looked unhappy, and Luka had her arms crossed, with a cold stare in her eyes.

"Guys," Miku said, "before you say anythi-."

"No, before you say anything," Luka interrupted. "What were you

thinking, Griff!?"

I shrugged, not really knowing how to answer.

"You let a civilian into Meiko's car, for one thing," Gumi said. "How do you justify letting that happen?"

"Well, for one thing," I said, "she followed me."

"Okay, but how did you let her get in your vehicle?"

"I uh, let her in," I said.

"Why exactly did that happen?" Luka prodded.

"Because I couldn't hide it anymore. She wanted answers and I told her as much as I could. It was either that or she was going to turn me over to the authorities."

Miku stepped in.

"She doesn't intend to turn him in, either."

"And how would you know?" Luka sneered.

"Because I just do, okay? She won't say anything. I think we can trust her."

Luka shook her head. "Another thing, is this the same girl whose father works for Duodecim?"

"Yes," I said. "But he doesn't seem like an agent, I'd imagine."

"He's an accountant," Gumi said. "An accountant that's tied to Duodecim. I would still be worried and not act like he can be trusted."

"I didn't say that," I said. "I just said he doesn't seem like an agent."

"Fine," Luka said, taking a deep breath. "I'm just a little frustrated you let her get to you so easily."

"Let me take the floor for a second here," Meiko jumped in. "I was pretty mad at Griff, too. But I talked with him about it. It seemed a little strange to both of us that the two agents didn't really give chase."

"Obviously they wouldn't," Gumi said. "They just wanted him for questioning. Knowing Griff, he's probably not the best at police interrogations."

"Thanks," I said, sarcastic.

"Oh, no," Gumi said, "I didn't mean it like that. I just don't think you know how to talk to police in a legal manner."

Gumi was right. I'd probably blab inadvertently or say something that tied me to the group's involvement. Maybe that's all they wanted, but it was better I never ended up with them.

"That Akira girl used it as leverage," Meiko continued. "But I'm willing to go with Miku on this. She didn't seem like she'd want to rat us or Griff out. I'm not saying we should trust her, but we should keep an eye on her. Whether she likes it or not, she's most likely going to be tied to our group now that she was in the same vehicle as us."

"Great," Gumi said. "Do we roll out the red carpet and let her on the team?"

"Not entirely," Meiko said. "But if it comes to that, I don't think we could say no."

Damn, Meiko, I thought, you turned around quick.

"Fine, then," Gumi said. "What about you, Luka?"

"If you guys are willing to take her side, I'll take it. I haven't met her, but you need to be more careful, Griff."

I nodded. "If that's all, I wouldn't mind moving on."

"Well, there is one thing I think I need to bring to the floor, especially after today," Gumi said.

"Let's hear it," I said.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to be in the public eye. I'm voting to remove you from it, at least, until things cool off."

"Like, disappear?"

"Not exactly," Gumi said. "But you being at school might be a bad idea. It's too many people watching you and not much you can do. I say you still hang around your home when you can, but I'll be seeing about keeping you on sick days until I can come up with a better plan."

"I'm not sure I like this," I said.

"Unfortunately, I think it's our only option. If I pull you from the school's roster entirely, there's no doubt that will raise suspicion."

"Damn, alright, if that's what you think, then I can't argue."

"I'll have Meiko pick you up before school. She'll take you here from now on."

"Got it," Meiko said. "No arguments here."

"Fine then. I figured while you're here, Griff, you might want something to eat. I had Luka stock some of our food supplies a little while ago. It's all sitting in the recreation room by the sleeping quarters."

"I appreciate that."

"Even us androids have to eat," Miku said. "Come on, I bet you're hungry."

I was pretty hungry, now that I thought about it. Besides, it would be a good chance to sit down and talk to Miku.

"Oh, one last thing," I said, opening my backpack.

"Oh?" Gumi asked.

"Part of my debt," I said, placing the bottle of carrot juice on her desk.

"Oh, well thank you, Griff."

"Figured I'd pay you back a little bit of it. They don't sell them by the gallon, sadly."

"You can pay me everything later," Gumi said. "For now, I'm going to savor this."

"You do that," I said. "I'm getting something to eat."

"Aki?" Dad asked at my door. "It's your father. I'd like to come in and talk to you."

"We'd both like to, dear," Mom said. "Can we please come in?"

I sighed, and stood up to open my door.

"Your mother told me what happened today, can we sit on the couch to talk about it?"

We moved into the living room. Mom and Dad sat on the couch and I sat by them.

"Look, Aki," Dad started, "we're not upset with you. We get that you're growing up and we can't control that, but we're still really worried about your safety."

"Okay," I said. "Then why are you sitting me down here like I am in trouble?"

"Because you didn't even call to check in."

They had me there, as they always did. But I couldn't tell them why that was. I couldn't just say, "hey, dad, your company was going after my friend and think he's done something wrong." How would they even react to that? Not very well, and probably wouldn't even believe it.

"Look," Dad said, "I get what it is like to be young. Your mother gets it, too. But we need to have some knowledge of what it is you're doing."

"I know, and I should have checked in, but, well…"

"Well, what?" Dad asked.

"I was just worried you guys would say 'no.' Like you always do. I just wanted to hang out with Griff today."

Mom and Dad looked at each other, a little perplexed.

"I'm not a baby anymore. I can take care of myself. And the city is safe enough that we don't have all that much to worry about!"

"I know that," Mom said. "And maybe your father and I aren't being fair in that regard."

"I know," I said, "but I kind of want a life of my own. I hate being cooped up in the house all day. Or I'm having to go out but only under you guys."

They didn't say much after, maybe thinking over what I said.

"It's okay, Aki," Dad said. "I get what you mean, but we want you to be safe."

"But why? I know you're worried I'll end up like Satsuki, but I promise I'll be as safe as I can."

"Aki!" Mom shouted.

"No, she's right," Dad admitted. "As much as I don't want to think about it, I do worry about it happening to you, and so does your mother."

"We just want what we think is best for you," Mom said.

"Then maybe the best way is to let me have more of a social life?" I suggested.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt," Dad said. "Our one stipulation will be no parties or anything of that sort."

I could agree to that.

"Don't worry, Dad," I said. "I just have a couple people I want to hang out with. You've met one of them and he seemed decent enough."

Mom and Dad nodded.

"Now that that's over," Dad said, "why don't we get dinner?"

I nodded, and we stood up and left for the dining room.

The sun had started setting now. I sat with Miku under some trees near the base's entrance. We had grabbed some small reheatable meals for dinner tonight, and some vegetable juice to go with it. We would have eaten in the recreational area, but it needed to be cleaned up before we would be able to do that. So we opted for out here.

"It's nice out here," I commented, enjoying the passing breeze.

"It is," Miku replied. "Kind of glad we came up."

"Yeah," I said, sifting through my mashed potatoes. "Sorry it isn't the most romantic meal to be having with me. Maybe someday we can eat at a real sit-down place."

"I'd like that," she said, sliding her fork out of her mouth. "But that's not really something we can do right now. I'll take this over not having you around."

"Yeah, same here," I said. "So, I should ask then; you had something you wanted to talk about?"

Miku let out a loud sigh.

"I did, yes," she said. "It was just a bad dream, I feel like it isn't super important, especially after the day you've had."

"I wouldn't say that," I said. "Besides, if it was a bad dream, I'd like to hear what it was about."

"Okay," Miku said. "Well, it started with me waking up in my base. Everything seemed normal, until I left for the elevator, and then Kallen showed up."

"Oh no," I said.

"Yeah," she said, "it was scary. He ripped open the door to the elevator and started choking me, then told me he couldn't take me apart because it was 'orders from above' or something like that. He took me to another part of the base that I hadn't seen before. A whole production line of androids that all looked like me."

"Oh, jeez," I said. "Sounds scary.."

"That's just the short of it," Miku said. "I woke up with this feeling that Kallen was right."

"Right, how?"

"How do I know they aren't mass producing androids based on us?"

"I wouldn't know," I said. "Sorry."

"Nah," Miku said, "telling you about it did make me feel a bit better."

I chuckled. "Well that's good."

"Yeah, though earlier today Gumi focused on the fact that I don't bleed purple goo and that I should have known it was a dream."

"That's kinda how Gumi is," I said.

"She's very…"

"Unique?" I said.

"That's definitely a word I'd use," Miku said. "Not many people wear a labcoat just to 'feel cool,' but I kind of respect her for it."

"If it weren't for her, I don't think we'd have gotten as far as we have," I said. "I bought her carrot juice, but she did a lot more to save our skin than I would like to admit. She's definitely the smartest out of any of us."

"Heh," Miku chuckled. "I'll be sure to let her know my appreciation next time I see her."

"Now, as for Kallen," I said, "I think next time we see him, we can both kick his ass."

"Ooh," Miku said, "and where did you get such a mouth?"

I shrugged. "I thought it sounded kinda cool, I guess."

"I'm teasing," she said. "Just hope next time I don't dream about him. In fact, I wish I could have dreamt of something more pleasant. Like, puppies, or something."

"I think I can guess what you might be thinking."

"Oh stop it, you," Miku said, gently shoving me.

I would have loved to continue hanging out with Miku, but almost as if on cue, my phone started going off.

It was a message from Gumi.

"Come down into the Operating Room, pronto. Something's up."

I showed Miku, and we dashed back inside.

We arrived in the elevator and ran into the Operating Room, with everyone else's eyes glued to the screen.

"What's going on?" Miku asked.

"Take a look," Gumi said, scooting her chair back.

We both joined into the huddle in front of us. A set of coordinates sat in front of us, leading to a location on a map.

"We just got a message from someone earlier," Gumi said. "They know about our group, it looks like."

"They sent it to this computer?" I asked.

"Yep," Gumi said. "Not through the Rangers, and sent right to my terminal."

Gumi pulled her chair back up, and pulled up a message.

"Hello, Operators," it read. "We've been very aware of your situation from the very beginning. We admire your resourcefulness. We would like to offer assistance."

"Who is this?" I asked.

"We don't know," Gumi answered. "But it continues, look."

"We are sending you coordinates. These coordinates lead to a new operating base we believe that you will find rather useful."

The coordinates pointed to somewhere on Other-Earth.

"Who we are is unknown. We would like to keep it that way."

"I guess we've been given an impromptu faction to work with."

"Question is if we can trust them," Miku said.

"That, too," Gumi said. "But if they're giving us something to work with, we'll find out. I'm going to initiate a new operation."

"So, what's next?" I asked.

"Well, Griff," Gumi said, "since you'll be back in with us; we'll be moving on it tomorrow. Since it'll be a weekend, that'll give us extra time."

I nodded. Whatever it was we had gotten, I hoped it would be useful to us.

It was on, and things were about to heat up.