 
Gone

By, Lizzie Pearson

Prologue:

A girl ran along a crowded street, pushing past lost tourists and annoyed locals as she went. She had to get away. She had to escape. They. Were. After. Her.

"She's getting away!" A voice called angrily from behind her and startled, she forced herself to move even faster.

In her hurry to escape, the girl brushed past a startled boy who turned around to figure out what she was running from. A shiver of fear ran down his back when he saw her pursuers.

They were wearing entirely black, had a tattoo of a square on each of their foreheads, had multiple piercings and happened to be in a gang that worked for the government called the Russe.

"She's broken the law." The boy muttered sadly to himself before turning back to cutting up the fish.

Everyone knew that if you broke the law, there was nothing anyone could do to help you. The Russe would capture you eventually and then you would be as good as dead. It was best to let them finish the torturing as soon as possible because that was the most humane thing a person could do in that situation.

However, the boy couldn't help thinking that the girl was too young to be imprisoned. He wanted to know what she had done. He wanted to give her mercy. He wanted to help her. He knew those were forbidden thoughts and yet he couldn't seem to quench them. Seeing the girl run with terror in his eyes had flipped a switch inside of him and the sixteen year old boy who had always been law-abiding up until now, wanted to rebel. Dropping the dead fish he had been cutting up, the boy took off running after the Russe and the girl without having any second thoughts.

The girl pounded onward – slowly growing weary – and finally she darted into a shop at the edge of town, hoping the Russe wouldn't follow.

"I am so dead." She whispered, voice quaking with fear.

"Why?" A kind voice asked behind her and she turned to see an old man standing in front of her.

The girl froze finding herself unable to speak with fear. The man knew the Russe were after her – that was the only reason why anyone would ever say that they're dead – and now she didn't know what to do. If the old man gave a shout, the Russe would be there in a matter of seconds and then it would be too late. She decided to not say anything and silently looked at the ground. She was in a fix and they both knew it. The man muttered something to himself that the girl couldn't quite hear and suddenly, her mouth had a mind of its own.

"They discovered who I am." She blurted out, completely not in control of what she was saying.

"Ah. I see." The old man said kindly as the girl clutched her face in shock. Had she just said that without meaning to?

"D-Don't tell them I'm in here. Please." The girl started begging, saying exactly what was on her mind without meaning to "I didn't mean to do anything wrong. I promise. I don't want to die."

"I can help." The man said, kindly "I only know one way though. Many have run in here in the same situation as you however – although all my aid is free – there will be consequences to the solution. I can replace one problem with another."

"I don't care. Just help me." The girl begged, realising she was in control of herself once again "Anything is better than facing the Russe."

The man sighed and nodded. He hated doing this however, it was the only way that she would survive and live into her adult years. It was the only way for her to start fresh and not have to live with whatever foolish mistake she had made in her youth.

The man walked to the back of his shop and produced a bottle that contained a clear blue substance. With shaking hands, he tilted the girls chin upward and placed a single drop of the potion on her tongue. Instantly, the girl collapsed and all of her memories were taken. The memories floated up into the air until finally they landed inside a necklace that the man hung around her neck. The man shakily put away the bottle and carried the girl out of his shop, laying her down on the street. He had done as she had requested and now all they had to do was wait. The Russe immediately appeared and rushed up to the old man's side, studying him.

"She's dead." The old man said in a grief stricken voice "She ran into my shop and fell down a flight of stairs. She broke her neck instantly."

"This is the fifth time this has happened, Mr. Hobbes." The Russe gang leader sneered "It's beginning to look like more than just an accident."

The old man – Mr. Hobbes – said nothing and continued staring at the ground as the Russe checked for the girls pulse.

"He's right. She is dead." Another Russe member said.

"But her neck isn't broken anymore." The Russe leader said suspiciously "Interesting...

"That's what I thought happened." Mr. Hobbes quickly said, realising his mistake "However, I'm not entirely sure. I didn't inspect the body before I brought it out to you. That's understandable."

"Indeed." He replied, suspicion still thickly apparent in his voice "Very good, Mr. Hobbes. We will file her death and arrange for her to be collected later on today. Unless – of course – you would like to deal with her?"

"That's fine. A pickup later will be perfectly understandable." Mr. Hobbes quickly said, knowing that he couldn't push his luck anymore today.

"Excellent. I expect we will be seeing each other again soon." The Russe leader said ominously before leading the way back down the main-street again, people quickly stepping aside to let them pass. No sooner had they disappeared from view than the girl gasped in a breath of air and began coughing. The old man watched her thoughtfully for a moment before looking up and down the main-street to make sure the Russe were really gone. He spotted a boy crouched behind a barrel who had seen the entire scene and was staring at the girl with startled eyes.

Beckoning him closer, the old man whispered "She isn't dead. I just gave her a potion to make her appear that way. Take care of her. She'll need it when she awakens..."

The boy nodded and watched as the old man hobbled back into his shop before running to the girl and scooping her up in his arms.

"You're going to be safe with me." The boy promised and then staggered back home, carrying the girl to safety... 
Chapter 1:

I was falling down and down and down in a pit of total blackness. There was pain... lots of fear... and nothing but despair.

"HELP!" I screamed, my voice echoing all around me to no avail "Please! Someone help me!"

Blackness answered my voice and I continued to fall.

"Kayla..." The blackness seemed to say "Kayla Adams... you deserve this for what you did. You DESERVE this..."

I screamed and then the blackness shattered into a million pieces, raining in sharp chunks all around me.

And through it all, I continued falling – the pain and fear and despair a never ending cycle – ALWAYS...

I jolted awake, sweat pouring down my back as I sat up, panting with fear. Slowly, my eyes began to focus and I glanced around, surveying surroundings. I was in a room of some sort. A room I didn't recognize. There was a bookshelf crammed with books, a desk littered with crumpled paper and a TV. And I happened to be laying on a _very_ comfortable couch...

"H-Hello?" I said, my voice coming out in a raspy almost broken sort of way. Something had happened to me. Something I couldn't explain. I didn't know how I had gotten here, I didn't know _who_ had taken me here and most importantly, _I didn't know who I was_. I couldn't remember. My head throbbed with the effort of me trying to figure myself out. _Who am I? What's my name? How old am I? What's my favourite colour? Where am I from?_ I couldn't remember and with a jolt I realised something. My memories were GONE.

There was a shuffling sound coming from outside the door and I turned to see a boy about my age walk into the room, staring at me with the utmost interest. We stared at each other for a few moments - neither of us speaking a word - before I decided to break the awkward silence, "W-Who are you?"

"Your savior." He replied and I stepped back in confusion. _What?_ If he was the one who took my memories from me then I swear I was going to kill him...

"You call this saving?" I spat with anger that even startled myself "I can't remember a damn thing about myself and you call that saving? Did _you_ do this to me?"

I was shaking with so much anger that the boy took a startled step backwards, putting his hands up in a peaceful manner to show he meant to no harm.

"I swear. I didn't do anything to you." He stuttered "There was this old man and the Russe and you were running and... this happened."

"I don't understand." I said, my voice sounding strange. It was like every word that was coming out of his mouth was gibberish. Old man? Russe? Saving me?

"Of course you don't." The boy sighed and mumbled to himself "Mr. Hobbes _told_ me that you would need me when you awoke but I never expected... you need help."

"Who's Mr. Hobbes?" I asked, my head still spinning with all these words.

If I couldn't remember who I was then how did I remember how to speak? What language was I even speaking in? Could I still write? What happened to me? Why was I like this? What did Mr. Hobbes _do_ to me? And... Why?

"Listen. I don't know much more than you do." The boy said, putting his hands up defensively "All I know is that I was at the fish market yesterday morning and you ran past because you were being chased by the Russe. The only reason why they would be chasing you is if you broke the law. The next time I saw you, Mr. Hobbes was standing over your supposedly dead body and you looked pretty dead to me. The Russe announced you dead but as soon as they left, you started breathing again. And then Mr. Hobbes spotted me and told me to take care of you. That's it! I swear!"

His words swirled around and around in my head as I slowly linked them with my many questions, trying to answer them.

"So you don't know who I am?" I asked quietly. I still had no idea what my name was. This was embarrassing!

"No. I don't even know your name." He said sheepishly before realising something else "Oh and I'm Kyle by the way."

"Kyle." I repeated and sighed when I realised his name didn't bring any memories back.

"I really am sorry." Kyle said and I nodded.

"I know. Me too."

We sat in silence - not looking at anything in particular - before I noticed the hard cold feeling of something pressing against my chest. Confused, I reached into my cotton brown shirt and pulled out a bronze necklace that shone in the afternoon light.

"What's this?" I whispered and Kyle turned his attention to me, gasping as he noticed the necklace too.

"A necklace." He whispered.

"I know that!" I snapped absentmindedly as I studied the hard metal surface.

The pendant that hung on the chain had a strange box shaped symbol etched into one side of it and on the other a name shone in the sunlight: _"Kayla Adams"_

"Kayla Adams." I whispered the name out loud and I suddenly remembered the dream I had dreamt last night "That's my name. Kayla."

"Kayla and Kyle. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" Kyle said thoughtfully and then - for reasons I wasn't entirely sure of - we both burst out laughing. What a strange thing to say in circumstances like this.

"Yes it does." I agreed before returning back to reality "But the name doesn't bring back any memories. I'm as clueless as ever."

"Except for the box symbol." Kyle pointed out "That's the symbol of the Russe. That's a lead at least."

"Yeah." I snorted "That tells us that I broke the law and they're after me. It doesn't tell us what I did or why they were after me or where I'm from or -"

Kyle interrupted me sounding annoyed "But at least it's something! And we could go to them and ask!"

"Sure. We could go up to three scary guys and go 'hey. Do you remember chasing a girl named Kayla Adams around the streets a few days ago? Yeah, that girl. The one that you decided was dead? Yeah, why were you chasing her?'" I snorted sarcastically "And that wouldn't be the least bit suspicious now would it?"

"I'm just trying to help. I'm trying to be positive here!" He argued back and I sighed.

"I know. It's just... hard for me right now. I don't even know who my parents are!" I exclaimed and Kyle's eyes softened.

"Yeah. I think I get it." He nodded and we fell back into silence again.

The necklace _had_ to be a lead. It had to have been left with me by the old man - Mr. Hobbes - as a clue to help me get my memories back. The problem is, I had figured out all the clues on it and they still hadn't helped one bit. This was beyond frustrating, it was just plain annoying. I wanted my memories back! I wanted to be Kayla Adams again! I wanted to remember those people I loved and hated... the books I had read... my childhood memories! And they were all gone. It sucked. No, it beyond sucked. It was plain horrible.

I sighed and stood, deciding that I wanted to get some fresh air, "I should probably go. I've troubled you enough, Kyle."

"No! You can't go!" He exclaimed quickly, causing me to glance at him in surprise. He looked away embarrassed and added, "You're my only friend. My parents are always travelling. I like the company. Please... stay."

"O-Okay." I stuttered, still startled "But can I get some fresh air, at least?"

"Of course. Just... we should probably get you a disguise. We wouldn't want the Russe recognizing you." Kyle said and I realised that he was right. I couldn't just go waltzing back into my normal life like I hadn't been previously proclaimed dead.

I followed Kyle out the room and he led me up the stairs into what I assumed was an attic. All around us there were crates full of endless supplies of clothes and I immediately found an outfit that I liked. Tan skinny jeans, black and white striped shirt, brown converse sneakers and a black hoodie. They fit my tastes perfectly.

"Uh... Maybe you shouldn't dress in clothes you'd normally wear." Kyle said from behind me when I turned to face him, my arms full of tasteful clothes.

"Why?" I asked disappointed.

"Well... even if the Russe don't recognize you... others might. And they'd think you came back from the dead." He explained and for the second time this afternoon I realised that he was right.

"Fine. What do _you_ suggest I wear then?" I asked and stuffed the clothes into a shoulder bag. If I couldn't wear them in public, I would at least wear them when I was going to be comfortable at home.

Kyle sheepishly held up a pair of booty jean shorts, a crop top, flip flops, and a sunhat.

"You want me to dress as a _tourist_???" I snarled appalled. Everyone knew that the tourists were as annoying as can be and should really not go parading in a local's town when there were no touristy shops in sight and then start complaining about that fact. Everyone hated the tourists and there was _no way_ that I was going to dress like them.

"Nobody would give you a second glance if you were in crowds of them and..." Kyle trailed off as a strange look came across his face "Wait. How did you know about the annoying tourists? Did you just... remember something?"

Just as I was about to go on a tirade about how I was _never_ going to wear those clothes in a million years, I stopped short and let his words sink in. Kyle was right. I had just _remembered_ something. And of course it had to be about the stupid tourists.

"I guess I did." I said and Kyle smiled.

"Maybe you just need things that will help trigger memories. You got pretty emotional there. Maybe the key is talking about touchy subjects that your mind will automatically remember and then the memories will slip out. Voila! I've figured you out!" Kyle said dramatically and I laughed before becoming serious again.

"But there is _no way_ that I'm ever going to wear _that_." I sneered at the outfit in his hand and he dropped it to the ground in defeat.

Finally we compromised on normal sized jean shorts, a touristy shirt that said "I Love New York" (even though I had no idea what a New York was and I was pretty sure that wasn't where we were currently located), brown boots, sunglasses and a map.

"Fine. Fine. This'll do." I muttered and grumpily grabbed the clothes from Kyle's hands.

"Finally!" He exclaimed in obvious relief that we were finished arguing over clothes and then led me to a bathroom so that I could change in peace.

After dressing and tying my hair back into a pony tail, I walked out of the bathroom and went to find Kyle, realising for the first time just how big his house was. After taking about an hundredth wrong turn, I finally rounded a corner and spotted him with his back to me, in a heated discussion with a middle aged lady.

"She needed help! I couldn't just leave her for the Russe to capture!" I heard Kyle yelling and then the lady yelled back.

"What if the Russe find her here? Then we're all done for! How could you, Kyle!"

"Marmara, listen." Kyle pleaded "She isn't harming us if she stays for a few days. I'll have her dress in a disguise when she goes outside and..."

"NO! She is leaving _right now_ and that's final!" The lady yelled back.

"THE RUSSE THINKS SHE'S DEAD!!!!!" Kyle finally roared and the lady fell silent. _Awkward._

"Uh... hello? Is this a bad time?" I asked, stepping into view for the first time and causing both Kyle and the lady to jump.

"Why is she dressed as a... _tourist_?" The lady scowled at me in disgust.

" _He_ made me." I said with the same amount of disgust in my voice as I pointed to Kyle "It's my 'disguise', apparently."

The lady took one look at me as I said that statement and then burst out laughing. Okay, so maybe we could get along after all.

"On second thought, I think she's a keeper." The lady said to Kyle who grinned at me and for the first time I noticed his dimple. Shaking my head to clear them from my embarrassing thoughts, I turned to the lady and introduced myself, "I'm Kayla Adams."

"Marmalade Dukaine." The lady introduced herself and I almost did a double take. Did she say marmalade as in...? "Yes, I was named after the jam." She sighed and I looked away embarrassed.

"Sorry. The name just took me by surprise." I admitted "Although, I once had a friend named Nutella so don't worry. Your name could be worse!"

Marmalade laughed however, when I turned my attention back to Kyle, he was frowning at me again.

"What?" I asked in surprise. Didn't he want me to get along with Marmalade?

"You remembered something again." He said and my eyes widened with understanding. Why was it that every time a memory slipped out, Kyle was the first one to notice? And why did that memory bring no picture into my mind? I remembered that I had a friend named Nutella but I didn't remember what she/he looked like and where or when we were friends.

Marmalade stared at me for a second before finally deciding to change the subject and say, "You can call me Marmara - like Kyle does - or Miss Dukaine. However, please don't call me Marmalade. It's _really_ embarrassing!"

I laughed and nodded, deciding that I should stick with Miss Dukaine until I got to know her better. I didn't want to overstep boundaries that I shouldn't cross yet. We had only just became friends, I didn't want to ruin that newfound friendship.

"Kyle was going to take me outside." I said, remembering why I had gone to find him in the first place.

"Well, I'm afraid that even in that disguise, the Russe would certainly recognize you." Miss Dukaine said, much to my alarm "I'm afraid that you're probably going to have to change your appearance even more to get past them."

"What do you suggest?" I asked, already fearing the answer.

"Well your hair _is_ pretty long. It goes all the way down to your waste! Perhaps we should cut it to shoulder length and tie it up in a bun." Miss Dukaine said and I frowned.

"I don't think she's going to want to do that, Marmara." Kyle said, concern etching his voice.

How did he know that was exactly what I was thinking? I barely knew Kyle and he already knew me better than anyone I had ever known. Or at least, that's what I felt like even though I couldn't remember anyone else from my past.

And although I didn't want to cut my hair, I could tell that Miss Dukaine was right. No matter how different the clothes I wore were, my appearance and face were very much the same.

"Yes. Let's cut my hair." I decided, surprising them both "And I think we should dye it a different colour as well."

"Are you... are you sure?" Kyle gasped and I nodded.

"Virtually nobody around here has red hair." I pointed out "And that's one of the traits the Russe would be looking for. I think we should dye it a dirty blonde. That way I'll at least fit in with the locals."

"She has a point." Miss Dukaine agreed "Although, I hate the idea of completely ruining her beautiful hair. It's been a long time since I've seen hair as red as that. It's a dying trait, you know."

"And that hair colour is only specific to one area of the world." Kyle added, thoughtfully "The UK. Maybe _that's_ where you're from. And maybe _that's_ part of the reason why the Russe were after you."

I shrugged and looked away realising that I didn't like all the attention they were suddenly giving me.

"And maybe we could get her brown coloured contacts to cover her emerald green eyes." Miss Dukaine said, breaking into my thoughts "But besides doing that, I'm afraid there isn't much else we can do."

"Unless we made her disguise as a boy." Kyle said and I suddenly grinned, a warm feeling spreading inside of me.

For some reason I was excited about the prospect of dressing as a boy. I liked the idea of defying society and completely fooling all of those people around me.

"Yeah!" I said, excitement clearly apparent in my voice "Let's dress me as a boy!"

Miss Dukaine and Kyle raised their eyebrows up at me in surprise but then just shrugged and set to work.

"Whatever you want, dear..." Miss Dukaine had conceded and immediately the uncomfortable treatment began.

First I watched in a mirror as they cut of my bright red hair until it only fell barely below my shoulders. I felt a small flicker of remorse as I stared at the fallen hair on the ground but forced myself to forget it when I realised the sacrifice had been for the greater good.

Then they mixed a few old dyes and set to work colouring my hair a dark brownish blonde colour. And finally, the stuck brown contacts in my eyes, tied my hair back so that it fit under a boys cap and dressed me in boys clothes. The disguise was complete and _I completely looked like a boy._ My appearance even surprised me and I _knew_ that I wasn't actually a boy.

"Wow!" Kyle exclaimed "I have a new best mate now!"

We all laughed but my gaze never once left the mirror and suddenly, I felt a hot sensation against my chest. With shaking fingers, I withdrew the necklace and gasped when I realised it was glowing a bright orange. The pendant floated upwards and then a beam of light shone from the square in the middle and projected directly into my forehead.

And then I felt myself falling into my very first returned memory...

Chapter 2:

~~~ FLASH ~~~

I was standing on a bustling street in the middle of a very crowded city. All around me there were crowds of yelling merchants, pushing pedestrians and thousands of billboards that were plastered with the same message:

VOTE VICTOR OLIVER FOR PRESIDENT!!!

HE WILL MAKE EUROPE GREAT AGAIN!

HE WILL STOP THE FAMINE AND HELP ALL THOSE IN NEED!

HE WILL SAVE THE WORLD FROM ALL PAIN!

HE WILL ACCOMPLISH EVERYTHING BEYOND ANYONE'S WILDEST DREAMS!

I frowned at the phony message and realised that I didn't even need to know that much about this Mr. Victor Oliver to know that he was a foolish and horrible leader. I wondered briefly how many people would actually support him.

"I must be in the European Empire." I realised and for some reason, I knew what that was. I knew what all the places on the map were. My memories of this place were slowly clicking in place inside my head. I was getting better.

"But why did I dressing as a boy bring back this particular memory?" I wondered to myself as I began blending into the crowds of people, deciding to just go with the flow.

"Psst." I heard a voice whisper close to me as I passed an alley way.

I froze and turned to the voice, searching the shadows in the hopes of seeing who was talking to me.

"Psst." The voice whispered again and I looked up to see a boy crouched on the rooftop, looking at me expectantly.

"Oh... hi." I said, sounding as startled as I felt.

"Amber. Idiot. What's the password?" The boy asked and I frowned in confusion. He had called me Amber? That wasn't my name! My name was Kayla! And he recognized me and obviously expected me to know the password? I was beyond confused.

"Uh..." I stalled and suddenly my mouth automatically said the words "Rats droppings, of course."

"Well, why didn't you say that in the first place?" The boy scowled and jumped down into the alley way, landing with a loud thump and causing the sharp pebbles to spray everywhere and hit me in the legs.

I scowled back at him and he just grinned, glad to have annoyed me. I could already tell that this boy was going to be a pain in the ass but I had to put up with him apparently if I wanted to ever learn anything.

The boy beckoned me forward and led me down the dark alleyway without a word. And suddenly, his name came to me: Brant.

"Brant. Where are you taking me?" I whispered and the boy froze. He spun around and whipped out a dagger, placing at my neck in a threatening manner.

"How many times do I have to tell you this, Amber?" He spat in anger "My name is no longer Brant. NOBODY calls me that anymore, do you understand?"

I nodded against his blade and forced myself to keep the fear out of my eyes. I wasn't sure if I succeeded, though.

"Need I remind you that you are to call me Shadow like everyone else?" He continued and I frowned, my eyes narrowing with anger.

There was no way I was going to call him a preposterous name such as Shadow! That was ridiculous!

"Huh. That's funny." I said before I could really think my words through "Because wouldn't Asshole fit your new name better?"

Brant glared at me and swung his fist at my face but I automatically ducked and sent him sprawling in the dirt. I quickly reached down and pulled his dagger from his grasp, placing it at his neck now.

"I can call you whatever I want." I said, showing my older authority to him "And that's final."

Brant continued glaring at me with a thick sense of hatred but then let himself cool off a little bit by saying, "Fine. AMBER. But when I figure out your real name, you can't stop me from calling you that."

"Good luck with that." I found myself saying "Considering NOBODY knows my given name but me."

"Except for Jacob." Brant said and I kicked him in the nuts.

"DON'T SAY HIS NAME AROUND ME!" I spat "He's as good as dead! I'm never going to see him again and that's final! And even he doesn't know my real name."

Brant shrugged and curled his body up as he nursed his now throbbing parts and I briefly felt bad for him before realising that he deserved it. I never wanted to hear the name Jacob again. He hurt me more than anyone else in the world and he deserved what happened to him.

The other boys in the gang knew that Jacob and I had history and they knew how much I hated it when they brought him up. Brant had said his name on purpose so that he could hurt me. That was why I particularly hated him.

I curled my lip up in disgust at Brant's whimpering form and then marched the rest of the way down the alley way, somehow knowing where to go even though I had no recollection of what it the place would look like.

I found myself automatically crouch outside of an old corroded manhole and peered down into the hole to find a pair of eyes looking up at me.

"Skunk Cabbage." I whispered the password I somehow already knew and the manhole grating opened up to reveal a tunnel underneath. I slid into the passage and suppressed a shiver as the grating above my head slammed above me and left me trapped in the tunnel with a person I had no memories of.

"What are you doing here, Captain A?" The mysterious person in the shadows asked and I realised that the voice sounded like it belonged to a small girl.

"Business." I said curtly before remembering something I had brought back for her "I have something for you though, Beth."

The little girl came into the light and I almost did a double take when I realised that her eyes were cloudy and sightless - she was blind.

"Ooh. Ooh. What did you bring? What did you bring?" Little Beth squealed excitedly as I reached into my pocket and withdrew a small doll and book.

I wordlessly handed them over to here and Beth's smile grew even wider when she immediately identified them with her hands.

"A doll! Oh thank you thank you thank you!" She squealed, her happy voice echoing down the tunnel "And... a book in Braille? That must have been so hard to find! Thank you so much, Anna!"

"Yeah... no problem." I said and frowned when I realised that she had called me a different name to Brant. Why did different people call me different names? Did my previous life include different identities? This was beyond confusing.

I reached into my pocket a final time and withdrew a blank paper and pencil. An idea came to me and I quickly scribbled a few words on the paper.

AMBER = Brant

ANNA = Beth

Different names because of different identities? Is Kayla even my real name?

Password for Alley = Rat droppings

Password for Tunnel = Skunk Cabbage

Satisfied with my list, I stuffed the paper and pencil back into my pocket and smiled to myself when I watched Beth happily play with her new toys. I hoped that she didn't lose them like the others I had gotten her. I had a feeling that they weren't actually lost, they were stolen. The problem was, I couldn't do a thing to help her. I was too busy with my missions.

Wait. Missions? I went on missions? So maybe I WAS a spy or secret agent of some sort? Happy with myself for realising this, I realised more and more how much that would make sense. That would explain the different identities, names, my love of disguises, the boys and gang, the tunnel I was currently in and the secrets.

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I said a goodbye to Beth and continued down the tunnel, squinting when the dim light grew brighter.

A few minutes later, I stepped out of the tunnel and found myself in a large open cavern, full of crevices where boys and girls alike were hanging out. There was a large table in the middle of the cavern and at the very top, there was a hole to let the sunlight in.

The youngest children's crevices were towards the bottom of the cavern where I could see messy unmade cots, unfolded clothes, and toys littering each space in the wall. Towards the top of the room I realised the crevices grew neater and older teenagers hung out there.

I searched the cavern and finally spotted a crevice five openings from the top of the cavern that I somehow knew was mine.

Grinning, I walked over to the wall and began climbing upwards, using the various foot and hand holes to pull myself up.

"Hey Ginger!" A little girl yelled to me and I smiled back. I guessed that the girl didn't actually know my name and probably just called me that because of my hair.

"Hey Sandy!" I found myself calling back and made a mental note to add Ginger = Sandy to my list later.

"Oi, Shark Face." A teenage boy that looked around my age called to me and I frowned at him. Shark Face? Who did he think he was calling me a name like that?

"Hello Nutella." I sighed and realised that he was the boy I had remembered earlier today. I had to keep pinching myself to remember that this was just a vision. It felt so real and I was almost enjoying myself. I could understand this world and I wasn't very confused anymore. It felt amazing.

I had almost made it back to my crevice when I felt something fly past my ear and slam into the wall, literally centimeters away from my hand. It was a knife. I turned my head in amazement and spotted an older girl glaring at me with the utmost hatred.

Oh yes, Jacob's girlfriend. I briefly wondered what lies he had been telling her lately. Probably not good one's by the look on her face.

"Hey, Christa!" I yelled angrily at her "Watch where you're throwing things!" Idiot.

"Oops. Sorry Becky Wecky. Didn't see icky little you there." She sneered back and I just ignored her. What a complete asshole, just like her boyfriend.

I finally made it to my crevice and gratefully sat down on the cot, glad to have finished climbing. I was confused about one thing, though. Why did everyone call me a different name? Why didn't they know that Kayla Adams was my name? Or is it? Maybe that's just another name I made up and it was the last one I used before I lost memories? THIS WAS SO FRUSTRATING! I was remembering things but at the same time, I was adding more questions to the ever growing list.

I just wanted my life to go back to normal. I wanted my memories to return. I wanted to be free from the confusion and carry on with my life like I always have. Why was that too much to ask?

I pulled out the list from my pocket and added the few names to the list before tucking it away and slumping back onto the cot. It had been a long day. I had stolen the toys for Beth, run halfway across London with them, asked to do another mission by Big Boss and... Wait. Hold up.

I HAD BEEN ASKED TO DO ANOTHER MISSION BY BIG BOSS. What mission? I jolted upright and wracked my brain for the answer but came to no avail. I couldn't remember. And what was this cavern I was in? It looked like a place where orphans congregated and from what I could see, they were trained to do missions for someone named Big Boss. Is that what I was doing? Was I doing a mission for big boss and the Russe discovered that I was a spy? That was definitely a possibility but then why was I doing a mission all the way over in the American Empire? I was certain that I was in the European Empire right now!

My head spun with my thoughts and I forced myself to promptly discard them in the back of my mind to ponder over later. I briefly wondered why the vision hadn't ended yet and then I realised that I was meant to remember one last thing before it did. The problem was, I would just have to wait until that thing happened.

Deciding that I was too restless to sleep, I got up and zip-lined back down to the cavern floor, deciding to go for a walk. Maybe I would see something that would help me remember.

I headed past rows of mats where sets of children were wrestling in some kind of training session. Training for what? I briefly answered before the answer came to me, ah yes. To go on Missions for Big Boss. To become spies.

Was I a fully-fledged spy? I wondered and realised that if I was going on missions then I must be. And that would make sense why the Russe would be after me if they found that out.

I passed a training wall and found myself at the far back of the cavern where stacks of books were leaning against the wall. There was a girl already there, deeply engrossed in a book full of pictures of spy gadgets.

"Hey Lucy." I said kindly and the girl mumbled a hello without even glancing up. So she was a nerd. Good to know.

I walked past the book stacks and entered a side chamber that led to a bathroom. There were three rows of ancient toilets and I was pleasantly surprised to find them all clean. Apparently the children who lived here tried to live in comfort as much as possible.

I did my business and it was only when I was washing my hands that I looked in the mirror for the first time. My face stared back at me with a look of shock on it. I WAS DRESSED AS A BOY.

~~~ FLASH ~~~
Chapter 3:

I opened my eyes and found myself wrapped in a cozy blanket back at Kyle's house. My head was throbbing, my mouth was parched, and I had a desperate urge to relieve myself. It took me a moment to remember what had happened and then it all came rushing back to me all the memories I had seen completely intact. I had been given a memory by the necklace and it had taken me to my past when I was a SPY.

I had been a spy! It was an exciting discovery and yet I still didn't know entirely why the Russe were after me. And I didn't know for sure anymore if Kayla Adams was my real name. The memories had been confusing and not only that, WHY HAD I BEEN DRESSED AS A BOY???

Everyone had called me girls names when they saw me and yet I had been dressed in baggy overalls, a blue men's button down shirt, men's boots and my red hair had been tucked into a cap. Which was similar to how I was dressed now in my 'disguise' and was probably the reason why the memory had come back to me.

"Kyle?" I called out weakly as I struggled out of the blankets cocooned around me and put a hesitant foot on the ground.

"Kayla? Oh my god, you're awake!" A voice said and a second later, I was crushed into a hug.

"I can't breathe!" I gasped for air and laughing, Kyle released me.

"I was so worried!" He exclaimed "There was a bright light and the next thing Marmara and I knew, you were passed out on the floor and wouldn't wake up! What happened?"

"I'm okay. Don't worry. I uh... a memory came back to me. In vision form." I tried to explain and Kyle's eyes widened in surprise.

"So... do you remember everything now?" He asked and I sighed.

"I know a bit more about my past. And I have a few ideas about why the Russe were after me..." I said and then began to explain. Kyle's eyes widened with every word I said until finally he could barely control his surprise.

"YOU'RE A SPY???!" He roared with excitement "Teach me! Please? I've always wanted to be a spy! And now it turns out that my mysterious best friend is actually one? Oh my gosh. This is the best day of my entire life!"

"Calm down, Kyle." I sighed, expecting this reaction "I doubt I'll actually remember how to be a spy. I just remembered that I did missions and was a spy. I probably won't even remember anything anymore."

"Wow. You're such a downer, Kayla." Kyle huffed and his excitement faded making me feel slightly bad "But at least we know that you aren't a serial killer or something so that's good!"

I laughed and looked down at my hands before saying the one thing that still confused me, "But I was dressed as a boy. And everyone was calling me girl's names. So they knew I was a girl and I'm confused why I was dressed that way then!"

Kyle frowned and we thought in silence for a few moments before he just shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe we'll find out soon. Maybe you'll have another vision!"

I shrugged not convinced, "Maybe."

"You've been unconscious for a day though. We were getting worried!" Kyle said, breaking me from my thoughts and I immediately cringed when he said that.

"AN ENTIRE DAY???" I couldn't believe it. It had felt like maybe an hour in my vision. That was crazy. I had lost an entire day when I could have been investigating just because of a vision that created more questions than answered them!

"This is so frustrating. I just want my life to go back to normal!" I complained and covered my face with my hands.

"No offense." Kyle said and I realised that he was going to say something obvious to me that I should already have noticed "But it sounds like your life never was normal. Unless, you call being a spy and living underground in the EUROPEAN EMPIRE to be normal!"

"What's so special about being from the European Empire?" I asked "Isn't it basically the same as the American one?"

"Are you serious? With Mr. Victor Oliver as the president it's basically a dictatorship! Nobody is allowed in our out of the borders! You being here proves that there's a flaw in the system! That's crazy! And that means that theoretically the Americans could use you to infiltrate their system and overrule them! You're really important, Kayla! That's why I'm so excited!" Kyle finished and left me stunned.

Victor Oliver had ended up becoming president and just like I had predicted in the vision, he really was a horrible leader. I wondered what the other kids back in the camp were faring under his rule. And it was then that I realised what I needed to do.

"I need to go back." I whispered "I need to go back to them. That's the only way I'll discover who I really am!"

Kyle raised his eyebrows up at me in surprise, "Seriously? You want to go back into the European Empire when you just escaped from it? We could die! That's crazy! Do you have a death wish or something?"

"Kyle, listen." I tried to reason with him "This is the only way that I'll figure out who I am! This is the only way I'll get all my memories back! This is the only way that can help me."

Kyle frowned and thought for a moment, trying to come up with a way to reason with me, "Fine." He finally conceded "But I think we should go and get some help first."

"From whom?" I asked and Kyle grinned back at me with excitement before replying.

"Mr. Hobbes..."
Chapter 4:

Kyle led the way through the crowded streets of town, purposefully dodging the tourists and warily looking out for the Russe. After a very long heated argument, Miss Dukaine finally agreed to let us go as long as we returned by dinner time and were careful. We agreed although all three of us knew that we couldn't necessarily guarantee the truth in our promise.

"It's at the very end of town. We're almost there." Kyle whispered and I nodded, trying to look as manly as possible in my disguise. It was strange feeling so comfortable in boy's clothes even though I knew full well that these were the kind of clothes I used to always wear all the time. I was just glad that I wasn't wearing that tourist disguise Kyle had tried to convince me to wear yesterday. That would have been so embarrassing. I still hadn't gotten over the fact that he had almost made me wear it. I don't think I would ever have been able to live that down.

Finally, after walking for twenty minutes, we came to the end of town where the posh shops slowly grew older and frailer as we continued walking. And there - at the last shop I would consider part of town - Kyle stopped.

"Hobbes Apothecary." The creaky sign read as we cautiously stepped into the shop, looking up and down the street first to make sure we weren't being followed.

"H-Hello?" I called and waited patiently as Mr. Hobbes shuffled into sight. He took one look at us and glared, giving us a look of utmost hatred.

"What are you doing here?" He snapped, clearly annoyed at us for unapparent reasons.

"We've come for guidance." Kyle said politely, although he sounded slightly taken aback by Mr. Hobbes' tone.

"Well you shouldn't have come here then." He snapped again and turned away.

"Wait!" I called "Please, we just have a few questions!"

"Well I don't have time to answer them! You've already caused me enough trouble as it is, little girl!" He was practically yelling now and my anger boiled to full capacity.

"You know what old man?" I exploded "I'm here because you took my memories. You ruined my life! I have no idea who I am and I need help! So the least you could do is respect that fact and swallow your own anger until you hear me out."

I was angry that he was acting upset with me even though I had done nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing and he was basically slapping me in the face.

"I thought I told you to take care of her!" Mr. Hobbes yelled at Kyle now "I don't want to see her ever again. Do you hear me? NEVER!"

"WHAT DID I DO???" I screamed and a few pedestrians outside turned to stare at us through the grimy shop windows.

Scowling, Mr. Hobbes hobbled over to the window and shut the blinds so that we could have a bit more privacy.

"You forced me to use my potion." He said quietly "And now I feel a connection to you that I can't explain. I feel your pain and I know what you did and it's hard for me to not judge you when you don't even know the horrible thing you did. So I don't want to see you when you shouldn't be remembering anything anymore."

"You don't want to see me because you know what I did?" I whispered, surprised "And it pains you to just see my face after what you know about me? How is that entirely fair when even I don't know what I did?!"

"Exactly. Which is why you need to leave." Mr. Hobbes snapped, his anger returning "And only when you discover your memories for yourself again then I am relieved of your pain. I can't help you any more than that. So please... just go."

I nodded speechless and marched angrily out of the shop but not before hearing Mr. Hobbes call after me, "Remember though! You asked for this! You begged me to take them from you! It's all your fault!"

And that's the last thing I heard before I slammed the door and marched away, oblivious to the fact that I was now being followed by a dirty little boy...
Chapter 5:

I was beyond angry at Mr. Hobbes. I had no idea what I had done wrong. I had no idea why he was so angry. And I had no idea why he thought it was all my fault that I was in this mess! How was I supposed to know that I would lose all my memories? How was I supposed to know that the Russe would go after me because I was a spy? How was I supposed to know that he would be kind enough to help me and then blame it on me once he began feeling my pain?

I was frustrated. I was angry. And most importantly, I was sad. I wanted to be that spy girl again who went on missions for the Big Boss and didn't have a care in the world. I wanted to return to the European Empire and go back to living in the cavern with the crevices and the training equipment. I wanted to go back to my friends and enemies... I wanted to be normal again. And that was likely to never happen again at the rate I was going at.

So it was whilst I marched along angrily that I began to get the impression that I was being followed. I felt like someone's eyes were trained on my back and I kept on hearing footsteps hurrying along behind me but when I discreetly looked over my shoulder, there was no suspicious person there. Just the usual bustling crowds.

I shrugged and continued walking – my guard no up – and waited for the person to make a mistake. Followers always did. Especially beginners. Making sure to not look worried at all, I ducked into a shop and became very fixated on some flower sun hats that were arranged in the shop window.

And then I saw him. A little boy looking directly at me through the window. Our gazes locked and I saw a flicker of panic shine in his eyes as he realised I knew what he was doing. He took one last look at me and then took off running down the street. Before I could ask what I was doing, I took off running after him.

I followed him down the winding streets until he ducked into an alley way that I happened to know led to a dead end. I triumphantly rounded the corner and barely missed the brick that was thrown from a rooftop in an attempt to knock me out. I looked upward in surprise and was angry to find the boy up there holding another brick and looking at me with suspicion.

"Why are you following me?" I snapped "And don't even think about throwing another brick at my head. You know I'll be able to dodge it."

"Are you... are you Master Arlene?" The boy asked and suddenly the name run a bell. I felt a warm feeling against my chest and I realised that another memory was going to be released. No. This was a very bad time. I staggered backwards in the hopes that the light wouldn't appear with the boy watching.

"I have to go." I called up to the boy "But come tomorrow to the book café on Main Street. We can talk there."

And then I ran back out to the street without a backwards glance. The heat against my chest grew steadier and steadier and I forced myself to keep my breathing even until at last I stumbled up to Kyle's house and collapsed at his doorsteps. The light flew out of the necklace and hit me square in the forehead like last time.

And then I fell into darkness...

Chapter 6:

~~~ FLASH ~~~

I was back in the same cavern as the last vision except this time all the lights were out and children all around me were speaking in hushed voices. I looked out of my crevice and was alarmed to find that I had somehow reached the highest level of seniority. I was in a crevice at the very top of the cavern. That meant I was the highest and most advanced spy here. What had happened to the others?

"Did you hear?" I heard a voice next door to me say and I realised that the teenage boy was talking to me.

"About what, Connor?" I whispered back "And why are the lights out?"

"You've been asleep a long time, Agent Cassandra." Connor whispered "The lights shut off whenever something horrible happens. The last time that happened, you were out on a mission so I suppose that's why you wouldn't know."

"Okay so what happened?" I asked impatiently.

"You know Agent Tris?" Connor asked and I nodded. She was the agent above me and had been a spy a whole year before I became one. She was the one of the most genius child prodigy spies in history! "She was sent on a mission by the Big Boss to see if she would make a good master. And she died."

I felt like someone had taken a blow out of my heart. Had he just told me that Agent Tris – my training partner and best friend – was dead? He must mean another Agent T... one that I wouldn't care that much about... And yet, the way Connor was looking at me with sympathy in his eyes, I knew that he meant what he said.

"She's dead." My voice cracked when I repeated his words.

"Yeah. And that means you're the highest Agent now. Big Boss will be testing you to see if you can become a Master. Hopefully you don't die!" Connor said and then stuck his head back in his crevice.

My head swam with so many emotions. No. Agent Tris couldn't be dead! She promised that she would tell me her deepest darkest secret when she became a master. She told me that she would recommend me to take the master test too. She told me that we could be masters together one day. And now that wasn't ever going to happen.

"Agent A?" A tiny voice called from the bottom of the cavern and I knew instantly who it was. Beth.

I quickly climbed down to the floor and hugged the blind little girl against my chest.

"Did you hear?" I whispered and Beth nodded against my chest, tears soaking my shirt "It will be okay. I promise."

Beth nodded and pulled away for a second to stare at me with her blind eyes, "When you go on your master mission." She whispered to me "Be careful. Come back for me."

"I promise." I said even though I had no idea how I was going to keep it. If I survived then I would be moved from the cavern and would start working officially for the European Empire's government.

That was the goal of this training cavern. To produce orphan spy children that would carry out all the government's plans including spying on other empire's, reporting any signs of rebellion within an empire and basically doing all the dirty deeds that the government didn't want to deal with.

We orphans didn't have much of a choice, though. It was either train to be spies and probably die or live on the streets, get robbed, starve to death and die even faster. This option was the most life prolonging one. All the orphanages had been closed down by the government purely for this reason. They wanted all the spies in training as they could get. Surprisingly though, only about ten spies a year make it to graduation.

My year had been unlucky. They had recruited fifty-two of us at the beginning and now Connor, Bella, Ash, and I were left. The government wasn't going to be happy at our low turnout rate. And there was still a chance that all of us would die doing our master missions. Most people in the years died doing them. That was a commonly known fact.

I led Beth back to her quarters and then trudged back to my crevice knowing that this could quite possibly be the last time I would be sleeping in there.

I had barely made it back to the climbing wall when I heard it. The whisper.

"Kayla Adams..." The voice whispered and I spun around, trying to figure out where it was coming from. There was nobody in sight.

I placed a foot on the climbing wall and then heard it again, "Kayla Adams... It is time..."

I didn't have to ask what the whisper meant. I already knew. I was being summoned for my master mission.

I turned around and spotted a light coming from an open doorway that previously didn't exist. Taking one last look around me, I walked through the doorway without a second to regret my decision...

~~~ FLASH ~~~

There was a single desk in the room in front of me and when I turned to see where I had come from all I saw was a solid wall. Interesting...

"There will be three parts to your test..." The whisper said and I nodded, intently listening to the instructions "A written, an action and a decision part. You either pass each part or fail. Good luck."

"Wait." I said hoping that the whisper was still there "Can I ask one more question?"

"Very well..." The whisper waited patiently for me to continue.

"How did Agent Tris die?" I asked trying to keep my voice from showing any emotion.

"She committed an infraction. Like all the failed and dead ones do." The shadow answered "She tried to run away when she was taking the action part of the test. It was a shame. She would have made an excellent Master... Now, Agent Kayla it's time for you to begin..."

And then I was left all alone in the strange room with the desk, a paper and a pencil.

I took a shaky breath and sat down at the desk, realising that was what I was meant to do. Looking at the desk surface, I picked up the only thing sitting there – the white paper – and began to read.

Q1. You are going to be sent on a mission. The Missionary gives you the opportunity to ask only three questions and that's all the information you'll get to complete the mission. What three questions would you – as a professional spy – ask? Why?

Q2. You are sent to spy on a town that was supposedly starting an uprising against the government. You are told that the ringleader is a feisty girl by the name of Martina Kowals. You are confused because nobody in the town goes by that name. What is your next course of action?

Q3. You are told that you will be working with another agent who has completely different skills then you. You have never worked with another agent before – much less one with completely different skills – and you need to figure out a way to get along and collaborate appropriately with each other. What would your first course of action be?

Q4. If you could go under any undercover name, what would it be? Why?

Q5. If you were promoted to mission distributer and you were given the following options, which mission would you see as the most important and why?

  1. A possible uprising in a small town at the very border of an empire.

  2. Stolen goods from stores in the capital of an empire.

  3. Suspicious explosion in a mine.

  4. Possible infiltration in the government network.

The test didn't seem particularly hard – I realised after I had finished reading it – the only thing was... I needed to make the right choices in a difficult situation. And I had no idea how long I had to take this test.

Realising that the best thing to do would be to answer all the questions and then edit them later, I set to work analyzing the questions and coming up with the most logical responses. I just hoped that what I saw as logical would be logical to the Big Boss who was grading this.

Twenty minutes later, I had completed the test and ran through my answers to make sure I had answered them as well as I wanted to.

Q1. You are going to be sent on a mission. The Missionary gives you the opportunity to ask only three questions and that's all the information you'll get to complete the mission. What three questions would you – as a professional spy – ask? Why?

  1. With whom will I be collaborating with on this mission?

This question is important because if I'm working solo I would have to decide which of my skills would help me with the mystery mission and which I would need to practice to get the optimal results. If I was working in a team then I would meet with my partner and decide which skills we could use to work together and complete the mission efficient and effectively.

  2. What is the problem and goal of this mission?

This would be important to know because it is necessary to understand what situation you are dealing with and how high the stakes are. You would need to know how to accomplish the mission without error and you would need to know what level or goal your missionary expects you to reach before handing off the mission to government hands.

  3. Where will the mission take place?

This – in some ways – is one of the most important pieces of information to know because it is always necessary to know how far you could be potentially travelling from home and it would be easier to grasp how long you'll be on this mission so you can be prepared with the necessary supplies to complete the mission.

Q2. You are sent to spy on a town that was supposedly starting an uprising against the government. You are told that the ringleader is a feisty girl by the name of Martina Kowals. You are confused because nobody in the town goes by that name. What is your next course of action? Why?

My next course of action would be to ask if there were any feisty troublesome gangs in town that had enough power and support to hypothetically overthrow the government. This would be a more straightforward and honest response that could lead to some suspicion however, it would be asked in a more casual way at a bar where hardly anyone would register the question as suspicious. It would be important to know about gangs because if you find the gang then you find the leader who was going under a false name. Telling them that you knew their real name would give you power to get the answers to all of your questions and decide whether they were going to lead a rebellion or not.

Q3. You are told that you will be working with another agent who has completely different skills then you. You have never worked with another agent before – much less one with completely different skills – and you need to figure out a way to get along and collaborate appropriately with each other. What would your first course of action be?

I would talk with my partner and discuss the mission with them. I would ask about their skills and we would create a chart and plan discussing the mission to figure out ways to combine our skills to be an optimal team. The goal of every spy's mission is to be efficient and effective as a team or solo.

Q4. If you could go under any undercover name, what would it be? Why?

I would go under the name Amanda Smith because it is such a common name in the European Empire that nobody would think twice about it. There would be a thousand other Amanda Smith's across the globe and it would be hard for an enemy to find you under such a common name.

Q5. If you were promoted to mission distributer and you were given the following options, which mission would you see as the most important and why?

  5. A possible uprising in a small town at the very border of an empire.

  6. Stolen goods from stores in the capital of an empire.

  7. Suspicious explosion in a mine.

  8. Possible infiltration in the government network.

I would go with the suspicious explosion in a mine" mission because that issue sounds like it was a diversion to a bigger problem. It looks like whoever set up the mine explosion wants the government to focus on that so that they can cause bigger problems elsewhere. It seems like the most suspicious mission on the list. There are always things being stolen from stores in an empire and so there's nothing remotely special or important about that mission. There are always uprisings in towns and there are governmental video cameras spread around so that the uprisings can't grow in size. And the infiltration in the government network shouldn't be handled by a spy because the network has alarms in it that could alert the government if their network was being infiltrated and then a spy wouldn't have to deal with it, the government would.

The last question had been particularly sneaky – I thought – because unless you knew a lot about the spy system and the government, everyone would probably have picked either the network infiltration or the possible uprising.

I set down my pencil and flipped the test over as I waited for someone to come and get me. I had finished the test and was quite confident with my answers although I was nervous to see how well I did.

"Excellent job." The whisper was back and I forced myself not to visibly jump in surprise. My heart pounded a little bit faster as I forced myself to calm down. A good spy never showed their emotions, no matter how hard the situation was.

"You may rest until we grade your test. You are doing a fine job, Agent Kayla."

I nodded and watched as my paper floated up into the air and disappeared into the ceiling. I wondered briefly if I would be able to fit into that opening if I were to find a way to open it before I realised that I couldn't attempt to escape unless I wanted to commit an infraction.

And now it was back to the infraction thing again. Why had Agent Tris tried to run away? We both know that was a very foolish thing to do. And she was not one to get scared. In fact, she was one of the bravest people I knew. She was too smart to ever attempt something like that without reason.

"Maybe she did it on purpose." I thought suddenly "Maybe she learnt something and realised that it was better to be dead than live with that fact."

That was a horrible thing to think and yet, it was the only thing in my mind that made sense. I sat in the chair – letting my thoughts race around in my head – until finally the whisper came back into the room.

"You passed with an excellent score." The whisper said "You may move onto the next part of the test, the action part. A warning beforehand though. This is the hardest part of the test. Most of the agents before you that failed, have failed during this part. You will actively be taking part in one of the hardest master missions in all of history."

I nodded and waited for the whisper to continue however, the room remained silent. That was all the information that I was going to get. Taking a deep breath, I stood from the desk to signal that I was ready and immediately a doorway opened on the far side of the room leading to who knew where. Looking at the room one more time, I stepped forward and was enveloped in the light... It was time to take part two of the test that would lead to me becoming a Master...

~~~ FLASH ~~~

Chapter 7:

I slowly opened my eyes to find myself in a soft bed again cocooned in a blanket and I got a weird sense of déjà vu. My head was pounding and yes, I needed to relieve myself again.

"I'm never going to get used to this." I groaned as I sat up and rubbed my throbbing temples. As much as I liked my memories returning, would it really kill them not to hurt me in the process?

"Another vision?" Kyle's voice asked and I jumped when I realised he was seated on a chair at the foot of the bed. He had apparently been watching me sleep.

"Yeah." I said "Apparently I was the best spy in the cavern and they recruited me to take a test to see if I could become a Master."

"Well, did you become one?" He asked impatiently.

"I passed the first part of the test before I woke up. Apparently I haven't even passed the hardest part yet." I said "So I don't know if I am or not."

Kyle rubbed his hand tiredly across his face and I realised that he looked like he hadn't gotten much sleep at all, "Well you were knocked out for longer this time. Three days. Imagine how worried I was."

"It's not like I can help it." I said and he sighed "It just happens."

"What triggered it this time?" Kyle asked and I jolted upright when I remembered.

"A boy." I said excitedly and Kyle's eyebrows rose, a strange look coming across his eyes.

"A boy." He said flatly "Like our age or younger?"

If I didn't know him any better, I'd say that Kyle was jealous! Laughing I replied, "He was younger, don't worry! And he called me Master Arlene!"

"So you do become a Master!" Kyle said, his excitement returning.

"I don't know. He could have mistaken me for someone else." I pointed out "Because why would he be here instead of in the European Empire like all the other children are?"

"Good point. So... how did you end up on my doorstep then?" He asked and I explained how I had hurriedly told the boy I would meet with him later and then staggered away, barely making it back here before passing out completely.

And that was when I realised something, "Oh no! It's too late! The time I arranged to meet the boy has already passed!"

I was panicking. The little boy had been a valuable clue I couldn't dare lose. He could help me trigger more memories. And I had just lost the opportunity because the stupid memory hadn't woken me up in time.

"Calm down." Kyle ordered "I'm sure the boy is still around town. It sounds to me like he would want to talk to you as much as you want to talk to him. Besides, we can just go to the café later and you can look for him then. We'll eventually find him, don't worry."

I nodded and slumped back into the bed, growing tired again. Although the memories slowly answered my questions, I wasn't really sleeping when I was having them so slowly the energy exerted to see them was wearing me down.

"I think... I think I'm going sleep for a little bit." I said yawning, my eyes already growing heavy.

"Alright. You do that." Kyle said yawning himself "And I think I might get some shut eye, too."

And with that, my eyes slid shut and I didn't even notice the warmth against my chest and the light piercing my forehead until I was already falling down into another memory...

~~~ FLASH ~~~

All around me there were trees and strange tropical plants. The air was sticky against my skin and I had already begun to sweat.

"First course of action." I told myself "Preserve water supply."

I reached for my belt and felt for a canteen, relieved to find one there that was entirely full. I was still wearing long pants and a sweater so I quickly stripped off my excess clothes and stuffed them in a bag I found in my pocket. Using a pocket knife that was clipped at my belt, I cut off my pants so that they only hung just above my knees.

I felt a slight twinge of remorse at the fact that I was ruining a good pair of pants but seeing as I didn't have any other choice, I sighed and set to the task at hand deciding that it was more important to survive then to not destroy my pants.

After everything was set, I began walking through the trees as I tried to figure out why exactly the mission had taken me to the rainforest. The mission could be about a strange infestation of a plant that is killing off crops for a town or a mysterious disease that originated in this forest... however, I wasn't entirely sure. I had gotten no information on the mission and I was frustrated. How was I supposed to complete the mission if I knew nothing about it?

I continued walking until I spotted signs of movement ahead. There was something wiggling back and forth in the trees in front of me and with a jolt I realised that it was a human!

I stepped forward cautiously – my knife at ready outstretched in my hand – and I crept into the clearing so that I was standing directly behind the thrashing human.

It was a boy around my age who had somehow gotten stuck in a trap and I wondered briefly if I should free him or not.

"Who are you?" I asked causing the boy to jump. He tried unsuccessfully to swing around to face me and only ended up tightening the ropes that were holding him in place.

"Agent J." He said through gritted teeth and I realised that the ropes were really hurting him "And who are you?"

I decided it was okay to reveal myself and so I circled around him and walked to a standstill in front of him.

"Agent K." I replied and looked the boy up and down. He looked oddly familiar although through his unshaved facial hair and oddly coloured eyes, I couldn't be sure if I knew him or not. I realised that he was in disguise and I sighed when I realised his disguise wasn't helping me figure him out.

"Get me down, would you?" He asked and I froze, suddenly unsure what to do. If this Agent J was an enemy then my definition if I let him down I would fail the mission and be sent to a work camp to die. If I didn't let him down then I might also fail the mission by not getting the information I needed out of him and therefore meet the same fate. I was in a catch 22, every spy's nightmare situation.

"And how do I know that you aren't the enemy?" I asked. Wow, way to be subtle Kayla! I realised that was a very straightforward approach but the look on the boy's face answered my question. He looked genuinely taken aback and surprised by my comment and I realised that no, an enemy would have been trained to control all emotions from appearing on their face.

"What makes you think I'm the enemy?" He asked.

"I don't know. I have a right to be suspicious of a fellow Agent, don't I? And your disguise honestly doesn't make you look any more suspicious." I pointed out and he frowned.

"Is it really that obvious that this is a disguise?" He asked disgusted and I forced myself to control the laughter bubbling up inside of me.

"DON'T SHOW ANY EMOTION, KAYLA." I fiercely told myself before returning my attention back to Agent J.

"Yes." I said coolly "But I can plainly see that you aren't the enemy. You're too stupid for that. I'll get you down. One second."

The boy looked briefly angry at the fact that I had called him stupid but he remained silent as I cut him from the trap, watching with satisfaction as he fell flat on his face. There was something about Agent J that made me hate him, even though I barely knew him at all.

Once we were both safely on the ground I studied him for a moment, certain now that I had seen him somewhere before. Realising that I couldn't remember who he was quite yet, I returned to the task at hand and to the mission I was supposed to be doing.

"So what are you doing in the forest?" I asked him and he happily responded. I realised that he wasn't a very good spy if he was going around spreading all his secrets as he was.

"I'm on my Masters mission – I'm sure you'll do yours soon – and I'm waiting for my partner to show up so that I can tell him what mission we're supposed to be doing." Agent J said excitedly.

"How do you know your partner is a boy?" I asked him realising that he had specifically said "him" instead of "them".

"Because there's no way the masters would pair me with a girl." He sneered and it was then that I realised two things.

Number One: This boy was sadly my partner and Number Two: This boy was Jacob, the boy I hated the most in the whole entire world...

~~~ FLASH ~~~
Chapter 8:

"Wake up, Kayla." A voice said and I felt someone shaking my shoulders, waking me from the vision. I groaned and tried to roll over however, someone was holding me firmly and wouldn't let me move.

"I'm up. I'm up." I grumbled and reached up to rub the sleep out of my eyes, noticing for the first time that Miss Dukaine was the one waking me up.

"Kyle told me that you had somewhere to go this afternoon." She told me kindly and I nodded sleepily.

"Yeah. I do. Unfortunately." I yawned and sat up to stop any thoughts of falling back asleep from taking over my better judgement.

"You were really asleep, there. It took me about five minutes to get you to wake!" She exclaimed and I realised what she was really saying. Were you having another vision?

I decided that I didn't want to tell Kyle or her quite yet until I finished having the vision so I just shrugged and muttered, "I'm a really deep sleeper" before crawling out of bed and changing back into my boy disguise.

A few minutes later I walked downstairs and found Kyle waiting patiently for me at the kitchen table.

"Took you long enough." He said and I playfully punched him in the arm.

"I was tired!" I said, my lie slipping out easily and he just laughed.

"I know. I feel ya. I definitely could have slept longer too!"

We chattered as we ate a quick snack and then Kyle led the way into town towards the book café. It was great hearing him cheerfully talk when I had been stuck in a very serious vision that was completely stressful. In a way, I was reliving the pain of my past all over again and I realised that wasn't entirely fair. It wasn't my fault that I had forgotten the pain and now apparently I was going to have to feel the pain again to make things right.

The book café was soon in sight and I reveled in Kyle's company even though I had been with him just this morning. It was strange how the visions messed with my concept of time and the present. Sometimes when I was having them, I would forget that it was actually a vision and it was hard to snap out of being in spy mode.

We walked into the café and saw that it was bustling with tourists, which I curled my lip upward in disgust at. Tourists were all the same. They were loud, annoying and completely disrespectful. They made me feel sick.

It took me a while but finally I spotted the little boy in the farthest corner of the shop. He caught my eye and stared at me for a moment before turning his head away in a beckoning manner. I pushed through the crowds and walked up to the table cautiously, taking a seat after I made sure my dagger was still in my pocket. You may call it paranoia but I just preferred to think of my caution as my spy training returning to me. Never go to a meeting with someone without a way to defend yourself. Every spy knew that! I had told Kyle to sit at another table towards the front of the shop so that he wouldn't interrupt our meeting but would be able to see if the boy took me out of the shop for some reason.

"Hello." I said and waited expectantly for the boy to say something. He didn't say a word. I waited a few seconds before asking "Do you want a password or something because I'm afraid I don't know the current one anymore."

The boy sighed and finally looked me in the eyes, opening his mouth for the first time to speak, "Where have you been Master Arlene?"

I paused and studied the boy for a moment before saying, "How do you know that I'm Master Arlene?"

"I've studied with your apprentice, Beth." The boy replied "She taught me everything about you. She showed me pictures of you that she would never be able to see but she liked having anyways. She told me how everyone said you dressed up as a boy because you felt more comfortable and respected that way. She said how you would get her toys whenever you came back from missions and that you cared for her whenever nobody else did. And she told me how you barely survived your master mission but went missing in action when you took your first proper spy mission."

My head spun with this new information and I realised that everything was finally clicking into place in my head and that my past was suddenly not so mysterious anymore.

"How long have I been missing?" I asked the boy and he raised his eyebrows at me in concern.

"Don't you remember?" He said in surprise "You've been gone for just over two years now!"

Two years. That was too long of a time to be away. What had happened to me after my Master Mission? Nobody knew but me and I had no idea how I would trigger that memory to resurface.

"Okay. I'm going to tell you something and you have to promise to still trust me, okay?" I said to the boy and he nodded excitedly, respect glittering brightly in his eyes.

I was probably a legend back at the Cavern. Not many spy's survived the Master Mission's and certainly not that many girls did. I wasn't being sexist it's just that the boys often were stronger than the girls physically and it was easier for them to survive the action part of the test. And if I had really gone missing in action then I would be an even bigger legend.

"I lost my memories." I whispered and the boy's eyes widened even more "I lost them about two weeks ago and they are only just returning to me. I don't know what happened to me after the Master Mission. I don't know what my mission was after that. I don't know how I got to the American Empire and I don't know why you're calling me Master April. The last memory I received was during my master mission and now I'm trying to get things to trigger the memories. Hearing you call me master triggered the last one and I was hoping that you could help me trigger the next one but since nothing's happened then I guess not. Do you understand? I don't even know who you are."

The boy stared at me in shock before a single tear slid down his cheek, "Are you still... are you still the same person inside, though? Still the amazing spy who can... can take down a single man with a blow to his head? Are you still the girl who could climb the highest cliff and wasn't afraid of a thing? Or would Beth not recognize you anymore?"

"Don't cry." I said sounding harsher than I intended "A good spy never shows their emotions on the outside. I haven't changed, I promise. I just need help remembering why everyone thinks I'm so great, okay?"

The boy nodded and wiped his tears away with his hand, "Okay. I'm Apprentice Michael by the way. Beth's my Tutor. She couldn't become an Agent for obvious reasons so she's my history teacher. She loves her job and she was the one who sent me to find you. She was the only one who knew you were in the American Empire. I assume you must have told her before you went on the mission."

"I guess I did." I said and smiled sadly at little Michael "But I don't remember."

Michael sighed, "You've been gone so long. Everything's different from when you left. The new president Victor Oliver has changed the Cavern so much. He's cut funding and is pressuring us to produce more spies than is physically possible. We can't just lower the harshness of the final test otherwise more spies will die out in the field! There's so much pressure and everything is so much more competitive. We have to fight over the food we're given. The Tutors have to be harsh on us. The entire Empire has gotten crueler since you left. And... you're Wanted, Master Arlene. You're Wanted as a criminal."

"Why?" I gasped "I thought you told me that I was missing in action?!"

"That's what we're told but they think you ran away from the mission completely." Michael said and I frowned.

"So if I return, they're going to arrest me and put me to death? For something I don't even remember doing?" I gasped.

"I guess... which is why we need to get your memories back!" Michael said and I nodded.

"So... why do you call me Master Arlene, Michael?" I said after a brief silence.

"Well... you do know that nobody knows your real name?" He said and I grinned.

"Oh yeah, I forgot." I smiled "But if you pass your master training one day, Michael then I promise I'll tell you what it is."

Michael grinned back and stood from the table.

"So let's go!" He said excitedly.

"Go where?" I asked, slightly confused.

"Let's go and get your memories back!"
Chapter 9:

"So how'd you get out of the empire, Michael?" Miss Dukaine asked curiously after I finished recounting our conversation to her and Kyle. Kyle looked slightly upset that he hadn't actually been there in person to listen to our exchange but I pointed out that it just would have been awkward and he probably wouldn't have understood it without me explaining everything to him. He grumpily admitted that I was right.

"I uh... probably shouldn't tell you that." Michael said "Beth promised not to tell any of the enemy how I got out because if the European Empire government found out... they would mark me a traitor."

"Oh." Miss Dukaine remarked, sounding disappointed "I understand."

I was beginning to realise that Michael was very much like I was when I was his age. He was funny and nice however, when he was ordered to do something, he would respect that order no matter how hard it was to do so. Michael would make an amazing Master one day – I realised – and it was then that I felt the warmth under my shirt again.

"Gaah." I gasped in pain as this time my head literally felt like it was on fire. This must be the biggest memory yet.

"She's getting another memory." Kyle's worried voice suddenly sounded very far away.

"That's a good thing, right?" Michael sweetly said.

"Let's hope so..." I heard Miss Dukaine say before blackness consumed me once again...

~~~ FLASH ~~~

"You're meaning to tell me that we're partners?" Jacob scowled at me and I scowled right back.

"Unfortunately." I snapped "And let's just say that I'm not very happy about it either."

"But... but... you're a girl!" He exclaimed.

"And you're an asshole!" I snapped back "But there's nothing we can do about that now can we? So I suggest you tell me all about the mission and we get this over with before we rip each other's throats out."

"Wow. You really DO hate me. Say... do I know you from somewhere?" Jacob said, suddenly looking at me with curiousity.

"You wish." I snapped "Now spill it. What do we need to do for the mission?"0

Jacob scowled at me and began speaking, "Well. I didn't know I would be doing this with a girl but my mission instructor told me that there's this town where there was this strange explosion in the mine and they want us to find out if that's a diversion for something bigger."

Well, that makes sense considering that was the answer to one of the questions on the test I had taken.

"Okay. Let's go." I said and started walking off into the trees.

"Wait! We need to compare skills and figure out where we're going first!" Jacob called after me.

"We can do that while we're walking, Jacob now come on!" I shouted back and continued walking, not bothering to wait for him to catch up.

"How do you know my name?" Jacob immediately asked me when he caught up with me a few seconds later.

"What do you mean?" I asked, playing dumb even though I realised exactly what he had meant. I had slipped up and used his name even though he had only told me that he was Agent J.

"You said and I quote 'We can do that while we're walking, Jacob now come on!'. You specifically said Jacob and I never told you that was my name." He said and I scowled.

"Lucky guess, I suppose. There's not that many names that start with 'J.'" I answered and quickly changed the subject "So what ARE your skills?"

The skill system was ranked from one to ten with one being the worst and ten being the best. The few skills that you had that ranked above an eight were your best skills and anything below a five didn't count. The ones in between were what you tried to work on so that you could become a better spy. If most of your skills were below an eight then you were sent to a work camp and were never seen again. If you had special needs that caused a lot of your skills to be below an eight then they made you a Tutor. It was a very effective system.

There were twelve skills in all; Active, Logic, Field, Gadget, History, Climbing, Weaponry, Poisons, Blade, Body, Intuition and Clue. The skills were split into two sections; The Physical Strength section (which included Active, Field, Climbing, Weaponry, Blade and Body) and the Mental Section (which included Logic, Gadget, History, Poisons, Intuition and Clue).

"Okay so um... I've got a 9 ½ in the active and climbing sector." Jacob started, rattling off his statistics from spy training "8 for field, weaponry and blade. 10 for body and gadget. 5 for logic, intuition and clue. 3 for history and poisons."

I was surprised at the low numbers in the mental section but I supposed a big guy like Jacob didn't really need the brains when he had the body, right? I was just glad that I was well rounded.

Before Jacob could ask about me, I quickly just rattled mine off without caring. I was the top of my year so it wasn't my fault that I had such excellent numbers. It was slightly embarrassing but only slightly. I enjoyed my skills. What was wrong with that?

I started with the lowest and worked my way up to the highest, "6 in Body and Intuition. 7 in Poisons and Clue. 8 in Weaponry, Blade, and History. 9 in Active. 10 in Gadget, Logic, Field, and Climbing."

Jacob was looking at me with an expression of pure wonder on his face.

"YOUR LOWEST NUMBER IS A 6???" He screeched, his face bright with anger and I scowled at him.

"I don't have to be muscular to be smart." I pointed out "And isn't it better if your both? That's what my goal was in training instead of just focusing on the Physical Sector like you obviously did. It's not just about having a good body! You need the brains as well, you doofus!"

Jacob seemed sour at my good numbers and barely muttered, "Well it sounds like you only need me for the physical stuff." Before he fell into a grumpy silence, making me feel slightly bad for him.

"Hey. You have good numbers. It's just not my fault that I'm the top of the class!" I said, trying to be kind and all I got was a glare in return.

"Fine. Be an asshole. I was only trying to be nice. It's not like you were ever nice to me before anyways. I should just stop trying." I muttered and marched on ahead, angry at myself for even trying to be remotely kind to Jacob. HE was the one who broke my heart, HE was the one who also physically broke my leg and took me out of the league of getting a score of 10 in the active sector, and HE was the one who just laughed when I yelled at him about it.

"What did you mean when you said 'It's not like you were ever nice to me before anyways'?" Jacob asked and I forced myself not to jump in surprise when I realised he had easily caught up with me.

"Seriously, dude? You STILL don't recognize me?" I said disgustedly and shook my head in disappointment at him. It just goes to show that bullies never remember who they terrorize.

"Wait. Wait. Let me think..." Jacob stared at me thoughtfully and I watched as a steely look came into his eyes when he finally realised who I was, "Wait. KAYLA? IS THAT YOU?"

Before I could stop myself, I slapped him in the face and ran away into the trees, angry that he finally figured it out and still couldn't manage to keep that ugly sneer off of his face.

~~~ FLASH ~~~

"We're here." I scowled and walked across the decrepit town-square to the entrance to the mine.

I had refused to speak to Jacob after his revelation and likewise he didn't say anything back to me. I hated that he was the only one who knew my real name. I hated that he was such a big asshole. And I hated that he wasn't even sorry for what he did.

My leg was still slightly crooked because of him. My active skill numbers still weren't as good as they could have been because of him. I was constantly doubting myself and my actions because of him. And I was still heartbroken because of him.

There was no way I was going to let him harm those I loved ever again.

I could hear Jacob behind me as I inspected the entrance to the mine and saw day old footprints in the soft soil.

"So they haven't been down there since yesterday." I muttered in thought "Which means – although the accident happened a week ago – someone was still down there when they weren't supposed to be..."

"Interesting point." Jacob said from behind me and this time I couldn't stop myself from jumping in surprise. Jacob just laughed and I fought the urge to slap him again. His face was still slightly red from the last time and sadly, that only brought a slight bit of satisfaction to me.

"Shut up." I snapped and then walked into the mine with him walking quietly along behind me.

"That's rude." He complained, his voice echoing all around us and I was sad that he couldn't see the glare on my face through the darkness.

I turned on my mine lamp when I was certain we were far enough from the surface for people in the town to see us. I didn't want them to know that we were the one's investigating the case. It was better for the townspeople to know the least about us until we were finished investigating.

It was about a mile under the earth that we came across the cave in. The rocks had obviously crumbled from the ground above us and I realised that if this explosion had been done by a human then the explosive had been set off from above us. Which meant... the one who set off had been in the mine before and knew where it was meaning... they had been a miner themselves.

"Another excellent point." Jacob agreed and I realised that I had been saying my thoughts out loud again. It was a bad habit I needed to teach myself to control. I was so used to working alone for missions it was weird having someone tagging along after me. I decided that I didn't really like it.

"I would say that it was set off on purpose." I said out loud "And that definitely seems like a diversion for something bigger. But what?"

I thought for a moment and then an idea came to me. This had been a real case scenario that had been on the test. If that was the case then didn't that mean the other possible missions had been as well?

"Where's this town located on the map?" I asked Jacob and swung my light around so that I could see the crumpled map in his hands.

"There." He said and pointed to a town towards the edge of the European Empire.

And there had been a "possible uprising in a small town near the border" as one of the mission possibilities as well.

"Maybe it was referring to this town. Which means... we have an uprising on our hands." I said and then explained my idea to Jacob. His eyes widened and for the first time, the smile on his face was genuine.

"I think you're right!" He exclaimed and then his voice grew darker again "And now it's time for you to say goodbye, Kayla."

"W-What?" I stammered and took a step backward from him. The look on his face was cold and full of so much hatred that I was beyond confused. Why was he mad at me? HE was the one that ruined MY life, not vice versa!

"You were always too smart for your own good. I tried blinding Beth without the attention coming to me but YOU figured it out. YOU caused me to break up with my girlfriend. YOU were always ahead of me in the rankings even though I was the year ahead of you. And YOU are the reason that I was sent to that stupid work camp." Jacob continued, eyes shining with pain "But now is my chance to redeem myself. They told me that I could destroy you and I would be freed. So I really hate doing this – I really do – but it's time to say your goodbye's now, Kayla."

And with that, he lunged at me.

In that brief second before Jacob made impact with me, I realised that this must have been the reason Agent Tris had run during her Master Mission. She must have been attacked by someone she had once loved as well and she couldn't bear to fight them. I wonder who it was. However, the difference between her and me is that I let go of the people who hurt me in the past. And there was nothing different with Jacob. He was attacking me so I was going to attack BACK.

Jacob crashed into me and we went sprawling in the dirt, him on top of me so painfully that I found it hard to breathe. I kicked upward and connected with his chest, managing to thrust him off of me and take in a quick gasp of air before he was punching me again.

I managed to stumble to my feet and we began wrestling around, the mine creaking dangerously around us.

Chunks of stone began falling around us as Jacob continually bruised me more than any training session had ever done. However, I refused to give up. I punched and kicked and bit and fought with all the strength in the world. I was fighting for the grief of my past. I was fighting for Beth. I was fighting for my broken leg and my dead brother and my future. I was fighting so I could set things right again.

The tunnel began collapsing and through the dust and grime, I refused to give up. I refused to be scared. If I died fighting then so be it. I would have died doing something worth it.

Something slammed onto my foot and I screamed in agony when I realised that I couldn't get it off. Jacob slammed into me again and dislodged the thing on my foot but causing me to hit the wall.

A huge rock fell from the ceiling and crashed onto Jacob's head, knocking him unconscious. The tunnel was collapsing all around me and I realised that Jacob was not going to wake up in time to get out.

I don't know why I did it. I don't know why I decided to help him but just as I was about to escape and leave him to die, I found that I couldn't. I turned around and stumbled back for Jacob. The tunnel was going to collapse any second and I was crazy enough to want to go and save my enemy.

I don't know what I was thinking. I just went in there and did it. I grasped Jacob's shoulders and dragged him down the tunnel hoping that I wouldn't die doing something I regretted. And finally, through all the dust and dirt, I reached sunlight just as the tunnel collapsed.

I had saved us both.

And then I was lost in darkness.

~~~ FLASH ~~~

"She'll awaken soon."

"Why did she do it?"

"She is certainly a confusing Agent!"

"Nobody before her has ever saved the betrayer!"

"Does that mean she still has feelings for him?"

"No. I doubt it. The way she fought him proved that she hated him with a passion."

"So she was just showing her weakness at not being able to kill another living thing?"

"Or maybe I was just trying to show some mercy." I said and sat up, wincing from the pain in my head, chest, and foot.

I was in a plain white room that contained the cot I was sitting upright on, a bedside table and a clear plastic bag that contained my dirt and bloodstained clothing from the mission.

I had been cleaned up and given medical attention. I could feel the strong clean bandages on my various wounds and the clothing I was wearing was soft and cool against my skin. It felt much too expensive to have been my own.

I looked at the three spy masters in the room and realised with a jolt that they weren't just Masters. They were Grand Masters, the highest level a spy could ever get to. They were higher than even Big Boss!

The three men were staring at me with confusion on their faces until the shortest of the three burst into applause, the other two quickly following.

"You've passed." One of them said.

"With the highest grade of the century!" Another added.

"You might be one of the best spy children prodigy's in the world!" The last one exclaimed.

"But what about... the decision sector of the test? I haven't done that yet!" I said, confused.

"Oh but you have!" The first one said happily.

"You had to decide whether or not to let your enemy live!" The second one said.

"And although most decide not to and they still pass, you proved yourself differently!" The third one said "The decision isn't based on what you chose to do. It's based on WHY you chose to do what you did. And THAT my dear, is how we decide how good of a spy you will be."

I nodded and suddenly felt a burst of pride in my chest. I had done it. I had survived. Just like I had promised little Beth.

"Did... Did Jacob survive?" I asked and the three Grand Masters looked at me with surprise again.

"He did." The first one said after a moment's hesitation.

"And he said that he's forever grateful to you." The second one added.

"Although, he will be returning to the work camp." The third added remorsefully.

I nodded. There wasn't much I could do for Jacob now. I had at least saved his life and I was glad to hear that maybe he didn't hate me too much anymore. Although, I honestly didn't care what he thought. I was never going to see him again and that was final. I was relieved. I would never forget that look of pure hatred in his eyes when he had attacked me.

"So you can return to the Cavern to say our goodbye's to your friends." The first Grand Master said.

"And then you can go to Big Boss to get your first mission." The second Grand Master added.

"And then you can start our career as a professional spy, Master Kayla." The final Grand Master said.

I smiled triumphantly as they led me out of the room and as I took my first step out of the door I realised that this was going to be my first step into adult hood. My first step into the future. My first step to becoming who I've always wanted to be inside...

~~~ FLASH ~~~

Chapter 10:

"Is she okay?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll wake up soon."

"She better. I want to know what this vision was about. She was thrashing around a lot. It better be exciting."

"Shh. I think she's coming to now."

"FINALLY!"

I cracked open my eyes to see Michael, Miss Dukaine and a very impatient Kyle sitting at the foot of my bed.

I sat up and groaned at my familiarly throbbing head, my parched throat, and – of course – the desperate desire to relieve myself.

"Well?" Kyle asked impatiently "You've been unconscious for an entire week! Tell us what happened!"

I could tell that he was really excited to know but for some reason I didn't feel up to it at the moment.

"Give me a second..." I said weakly and sat up wincing at my sore body. I must have been thrashing around a lot this time and I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open.

"Oh look at the poor girl. She looks like she hasn't slept in forever!" Miss Dukaine said in concern.

"Yeah. When I have the visions my body isn't actually asleep." I said "So I feel like I haven't slept in an entire week. You'll have to forgive me. I need to get some actual sleep before I can actually tell you anything."

"Fine. But you better explain everything when you wake up." Kyle grumbled and I saw Michael nodding eagerly as well. Even he probably didn't know what really happened during my Master Mission.

I nodded and sank back down into the pillow again before falling into a comfortable darkness full of nothing but pleasant dreams...

~~~~~~~~~~

"And so I decided to save him." I finished "To give him mercy and the Grand Masters loved my reason so much that they basically said that I was the best child prodigy of the century and they were so proud of me."

"But you saved him? Why? He was such an asshole!" Kyle was practically yelling and I just sighed in disappointment at him.

"I gave him mercy. Weren't you listening? And that's what you really should do in life. No matter how much you hate someone, they deserve mercy if you want to get mercy in return. It's a commonly known fact, twerp. Now stop yelling at me for a decision I made two years ago. It's a bit late to change it now, isn't it?" I finished and laughed as Kyle made a face at me when he realised that I was right.

"I don't like it that she's suddenly gained her knowledge back. It makes her so much smarter than me." He complained and we all laughed.

"So what are we going to do now?" Michael asked shyly breaking the silence.

"Well. I think it's time for me to return to the European Empire." I said and silence met my proclamation.

"Absolutely not." Miss Dukaine scowled "Don't you remember earlier? Michael said that you're WANTED! Like – as in – a criminal! You could be arrested and killed before you even got to explain yourself!"

"And you would be abandoning me!" Kyle said, equally upset "You're my best mate! You can't do that to me!"

"And what about the mission you went missing from?" Michael asked "You probably haven't completed that yet considering that was probably the reason the Russe were chasing you three weeks ago! That means you haven't finished the mission yet!"

"Guys... guys. Calm down." I ordered and they fell silent as I looked at each and every one of their faces "I need to do this, okay? I need to see Beth and I need to explain why I went missing! And along the way I'll probably remember the mission I was on! I could complete that and then return! And I hate leaving you all – I really and truly do. You're like my lost family I never knew, okay? But I'm a spy! I'm a Master! I have a job and I have family back home as well! And as soon as I see them, I'll be back! I promise!"

Silence met my speech and I realised that nobody could fight with me anymore. They had each realised that this was what I wanted and there was nothing they could do to stop me.

"Fine. You can go. But we're going with you." Kyle said and I gaped at him.

"Are you out of your mind?!" I practically yelled at him "You're an enemy to the European Empire! You aren't even a citizen! I can't just waltz in there and explain why I went missing in action and brought an enemy with me! ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

"YEAH! I would be marked as a traitor! Then I could never be a spy! DON'T YOU DARE!" Michael added.

"Okay cool it! All of you!" Miss Dukaine yelled and we all fell silent. Once she had gotten our attention she continued, "We will go with Michael and Kayla to the border. And then we'll wait for them to return."

Kyle looked like he was about to protest but Miss Dukaine quickly added, "Don't argue, Kyle. There is no way they'd let you in without killing you on the spot and you know it."

Kyle looked away and frowned, realising that she was right.

"I'll be careful." I said "I promise."

He nodded and then stiffly stood up, marching outside without a backwards glance. I stood to go after him but Miss Dukaine put a hand on her shoulder stop me, "He needs to think right now, dear. He needs to get in control of his anger. He needs to be alone."

I nodded and then sat back down, Michael quickly walking over to take Kyle's place beside me on the bed.

"You're my hero." The sleepy ten year old boy said and I smiled as I watched him curl up on my lap and fall asleep...

Tomorrow I would start the long journey to the European Empire and I realised with a jolt that I had no idea what lay beyond that. I didn't know if the spy agency would accept me back with open arms... I didn't know if I would like the current administration and the new tension in the Cavern... I didn't even know if I would live long enough to explain why I had gone missing in action. However, I also knew that I had to try and so – without a further thought in mind – I watched cute Michael sleep and waited until morning...

Chapter 11:

We had been walking for just over a week now and with every step I grew more and more worried about returning to the European Empire. What if they kidnapped me without hearing me out first? What if they rescinded my Master status for going missing in action? What if they put me to death and punished Michael for bringing me back?

I had to force myself to quench these thoughts before they went any further. I was going to the European Empire and that was final. Nothing could stop me now. Absolutely nothing! Well, that was what I thought until I saw my final memory. That memory changed everything and suddenly I didn't think it was a good idea to go anywhere anymore.

We had been walking through more miles of trees when Michael struck up a conversation with me about spy training.

"So you were the best at Gadget, Logic, Field and Climbing?" Michael asked me and I laughed, amused that he adored me enough to want to remember my best skills.

"Yeah. What about you currently?" I asked. As soon as a kid became an apprentice, they were placed in the ranking system and their numbers varied as they progressed with their studies.

"I'm good at Blade, Wrestling, Climbing, and Gadget." He said shyly "They're the ones I have a nine in right now. I only have one ten in Field currently though."

"Four nines and a ten, that's amazing!" I told him. The rankings were graded less harshly when a spy was younger but even I had only had three nines and a ten when I was his age. Although, I hadn't taken my studies very seriously back then. A lot had changed since I was ten – I realised – and I thought it was funny that my eighteen year old self was actually surprised by that fact.

"And what's your worst subject?" I asked and Michael made a face at the thought of it, "Wait. Let me guess. History?"

"No, no!" He said laughing "Beth teaches that and she makes it fun. No actually I hate Poisons. I hate the idea that I might actually have to poison someone one day. That's a very gruesome way to die."

"That's what I thought when I was your age." I said "But then I realised that poisons nowadays are relatively quick to work and kill someone. And as I became more advanced I realised that I only used the poisons on animals, never on humans. You'll rarely actually have to use them but it's a good skill to have."

Michael nodded, "I suppose... It's still my worst subject though. I have a three in it."

"Is that your worst grade ever?" I asked and he nodded again "Well when I was your age I had a one in history just because I would always back sass the teacher. And look where I am today? See, at least you weren't me!"

We laughed and continued talking until Michael finally popped the question, the one that triggered the final memory, "What tutoring job will you pick up when you retire?"

And then I felt the familiar warmth against my chest and my head was on fire. It hurt more than it had ever hurt before and the pain began to spread down my neck and through my spine. I was on fire. I clenched my teeth and screamed internally with agony.

And then the light exploded from the necklace and shot into me, knocking me to the ground. I sprawled around in the dirt before the darkness claimed me and I fell into the worst memory yet...

~~~ FLASH ~~~

I was in the desert stumbling around with a parched throat and a nearly empty canteen. I was finding it hard to breathe against the burning sun and I felt like my skin was literally on fire.

"I am so going to be burned when I get out of here." I grumbled looking at my lobster red arms "And all because my first mission had to start in the American Empire!"

I knew that it was a great honor to be asked to travel outside the European Empire – especially since this was my first proper mission – and yet the pain of the drought and thirst was the worst thing I had ever felt before.

I knew this mission wouldn't be easy but I had barely started and it was already beginning to feel impossible.

Finally, I could see the border in sight and I heaved a sigh of relief. There was a reason this manmade desert had been placed here. It was one last obstacle to make sure no citizen made it outside the border of the European Empire. Everyone knew it was a dictatorship in there but everyone was happy with their lives and rarely few people wanted to leave.

Virtually nobody in history had actually successfully managed to escape. Except the government had lifted the temperature twenty degrees so that it was only eighty degrees Fahrenheit whilst I travelled across it but after stumbling around for thousands of miles and not being used to the heat, I felt like they had barely helped out at all.

One thing was certain, I would never have survived this if the temperature was any hotter!

Finally the border was in sight and I basically had to force myself to flop over the wall and make it to instant coolness. Looking behind my shoulder all I could see was the murky force field that had been disabled for my crossing and I watched as it solidified again. I would have to send a message illegally back to the government when I returned from the mission.

I was to be sent to spy on the American Empire's government. It was an incredibly dangerous mission and I had a seventy five percent chance of getting caught, a fact that I was slightly nervous about. It was strange that they wanted to push me into doing something so difficult so soon after I had become a Master but I wasn't complaining. At least I had a mission to do! It was better than sitting around and doing nothing all day!

There had been a rumor that a ton of spies had been killed on a mission a few months ago and there had been a shortage of good spies ever since. I suspected that was part of the reason why they had entrusted me with such an important mission.

It was also a yearlong mission as well. They told me that I likely wouldn't return for an entire year as long as I stayed undetected and I was sad that I wouldn't see Beth in a long time. I had said goodbye to her before I left and had secretly told her where I was going. She had begged me not to go but for once I had to refuse her request.

"It's for the best. I'll be back before you know it." I had said and then I was gone, leaving Beth far behind me. I instantly regretted leaving her but there was nothing I could do. She would start training to be a Tutor soon, anyways. She would soon be busy and would forget about me, or at least, that's what I hoped anyways.

"Once you get past the border there should be further instructions on where to go." The Big Boss had told me from behind his curtain. Nobody was allowed to see his true appearance and I had a sneaking suspicion that was because he was someone we saw regularly under a different identity.

His voice had sounded familiar. Almost like Big Boss was Mr. Victor Oliver himself... However, I had been forbidden to mention anything about Big Boss to any of the other spies and sadly had to keep my thoughts to myself.

I had only walked a few miles into the new land before the temperature drastically dropped to sixty degrees and I instantly grew more comfortable. I pulled out some ointment to rub on my lobster red arms and watched with satisfaction as the redness faded away and my arms were left only lightly pink. Ah. That was much better!

I continued walking onward until I heard the bird screeching overhead. There was a tiny capsule clasped to its claws and I realised that it was meant for me. So this was how I would get further instructions... interesting...

The bird landed on the ground in front of me and promptly started screeching at me as if it expected me to understand it.

Hesitantly, I reached down and untied the capsule from its foot and with a very disgruntled look at me, the bird flew back to the European Empire. I suppose it was upset with how far I had walked and how extra it had to fly to find me.

"Well, I'm sorry but you're not the only one with a job to do!" I muttered and then laughed to myself as I untied the capsule and pulled out a tiny slip of paper from within.

Stay on track. Got you a job as a Maid. Find the necessary files/evidence. Keep unnoticed. Act natural. Report once a month via owl. Finish as quickly as possible.

I laughed at how straight to the point the message was however, I knew what to do now and I knew that I had no time to lose. It was time to start my mission.

They had told me that I was being positioned as a worker in the American Empire government. There had been news that they were planning to attack the European Empire and it was my job to find evidence. I was being stationed as a maid so that I had access to pretty much every room in the capital building and while I "cleaned" I was to search for clues.

Boy was I excited!

Well, I was until I found out the truth. And then everything changed.

~~~ FLASH ~~~

I had easily been stationed at my position and I had been working with no signs of any evidence at all for six months. I was beyond frustrated. They had sent me to work one of the most gruesome jobs left to mankind and it hadn't even been that worthwhile at all!

I was furious after I scrubbed toilet after toilet day after day and never learnt a thing that could help the European Empire at all. I was beginning to wonder if there even was an attack coming!

And then I was promoted and everything changed. Absolutely everything.

I had been given the keys to all the top rooms of the building and everyone had gone home, the time being just after ten o'clock in the evening. I had taken on all the shifts of the day and was constantly exhausted but it kept me working and keeping my mind off everything else. I didn't want my anger effecting my judgement. I was loyal to the European Empire and that was final. Or at least, that's what I thought.

I tiredly unlocked the door and found myself in the communication section of the capital building. The room was full of desks stacked high with papers, file folders, high-tech computers and communication devices. This was where they contacted all the main cities in the Empire and the capitals of other empires.

Quietly, I shut the door behind me and looked around, realising that this was just the place to find plans of a possible attack.

I started shuffling the papers on one desk and moved across the isles, my hopes rising every time I found a paper that had "URGENT", "TOP SECRET", or "OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE" at the top of it.

I was beginning to give up hope on finding everything after shuffling around for a good ten minutes until I came across the desk in the very middle. It was the biggest and held the most files, all of which were from the highest officials across the globe.

And then I found the file I had been looking for. "Attack Strategies" the paper said across the top and when I flipped it open, there were possible plans for attacking another empire.

I gasped and flipped through the papers, looking at countless maps with red arrows drawn all over them, plans for splitting up the army and sending them to attack in different waves and one paper for where to hide the president if the attack happened.

Except the only thing missing was when they planned to attack. The papers just looked like possibilities if it was ever necessary to attack another Empire. The date at the top of the paper was from three years ago, too long ago to have been urgent when I had finished my Masters Mission.

"This doesn't make sense..." I muttered and flipped through the file once again. This should be all the evidence I needed and yet... there was something not quite right. Why go to all the trouble to make these plans and never use them? Why be so nervous about being attacked when they were the ones who were supposed to be attacking the others?

It was almost like the American Empire was the one being threatened not the European Empire. And it was almost like my entire mission had been flawed. My commander hadn't sent me to find evidence of them attacking. They sent me so that I could retrieve this exact file so they knew how the Americans would attack so that they could counter their attack so that they could defeat them so that the EUROPEAN EMPIRE COULD TAKE OVER THE WORLD.

At first I that I was just being paranoid. At first I thought, "No. They would never do that!" And yet, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

I needed to find evidence. I needed to find the hypothetical threats from the European Empire to the American Empire. I needed to find out if I was right and I needed to find out why.

Suddenly, I had made my own mission and I had discovered that my loyalty had wavered. Was my loyalty in the right place? Should I continue to support the European Empire when really it seemed like the Americans were in the right?

The European Empire was a dictatorship. They could control whatever we saw in the news. They could feed us lies. Propaganda. And suddenly I realised that what I had believed my entire life wasn't true at all anymore. And I felt sick.

I stuffed the papers back into the folder and returned it under the pile of papers, trying to cover my tracks. I was shaking with shock but vaguely I remembered to clean up the room before looking around one final time.

"Look for attack threats." I muttered to myself "Attack threats..."

I shuffled through the papers in the front of the room until I reached the telephone desk. And there sitting on top was my answer.

DO WHAT'S RIGHT! LET THE EUROPEAN EMPIRE CONTROL THE ANTARCTIC TERRITORIES OR THERE WILL BE WAR.

I gasped and scanned the paper, reading how the European Empire under the rule of Mr. Victor Oliver was basically forcing the American Empire to let them take over control of the Antarctic Territories or they would attack. The date on the top of the paper was the date I had been sent on this mission.

I sank to the ground in astonishment. Everything I had once believed was a lie. Everything I had supported no longer had my loyalty. What was I going to do? Give the European Empire what they wanted and start a world war? Or betray my country and alert the enemy?

I was a spy in a situation a lot worse than any catch 22 in history. And I didn't know what to do.

I mentally memorized the attack threats paper and then returned back to the old folder with the attack plans. Should I take the file just in case?

"What should I do?" I whispered weakly "Everything. Everything is entirely messed up. This wasn't supposed to happen!"

"I think you should drop that folder and explain the hell you're doing before I arrest you on the spot." A voice said coolly from behind me and I turned around in horror to see a late night worker staring at me through narrowed suspicious eyes.

I quickly dropped the file and put my hands up, following everything I had ever learnt in spy training. I was to deny everything... not tell the enemy anything... and die if necessary to protect what was right.

"But is my mission worth protecting?" I asked myself in my head "Does the European Empire deserve my loyalty?"

"Tell me what you were doing. Now." The man said coolly and I realised that it was time to decide. Follow my spy training or betray my country?

"I found the file on the floor when I was cleaning." I said and looked the man directly in the eyes so that he couldn't tell that I was lying "And I admit, I opened it and I was shocked. I... I didn't know that there m-m-might be a war on our hands and I couldn't help myself from looking! I'm so sorry!"

I let fake tears slide down my cheeks and looked at the ground with an expression of pure misery on my face. Yes, I was protecting my home country but only until I got more answers. If I ever got the chance to, that is.

"Listen, lady. What's your name?" The man asked, sounding a little friendlier.

"Kayla. Kayla Adams." I whispered automatically because that was the first fake name that came to my mind. I had finally remembered my real name but I didn't have a chance to revel at that fact as the man looked me up and down.

"And you're a maid." He said.

"Yes. I'm a top maid now. I got promoted. I've been working here for six months." I said.

"I should report you for this." The man said "But I won't. Not unless... you aren't a spy are you?"

"What are you talking about? Of course not!" I scoffed but suddenly the man seemed suspicious of me again.

"Where are you from?" He asked and I quickly wracked my brain for the first American Empire town that came to mind.

"Alexandriaville." I said "It's a small town near the border..."

"And the town where there is a possible rebellion." The man finished and I grimaced mentally. I knew that! I remembered studying about it in History. That definitely didn't help my case!

"I left before I knew of any rebellion." I said "I've lived in the capital now for a few years and I took this job to save up money for college."

"Why haven't I seen you around these parts before?" He asked and I shrugged.

"Maybe because you're so caught up on work that you don't get home until late every night." I said before I could stop myself.

"That's it." The man said clenched his jaw "I'm going to have to report you."

I was horrified. No. If they interrogated me then they could find out everything! Unless... the man was bluffing. He wanted to see if I would crack and admit anything. I couldn't be sure but I was certain that was a tactic I would have used in this situation if our rolls had been switched. There was no way that I was going to break down now.

"Okay." I whispered "Do what you must. But I'm innocent."

The man looked slightly disappointed that I didn't break down screaming but he just shrugged and withdrew handcuffs.

"My name is Drew by the way." He said "And Kayla, I truly am sorry. But I'm loyal to my job and that's final."

"I understand." I said "And I – unfortunately – am too."

While Drew was confused with the statement I had just said, I grabbed the outstretched handcuffs in his hands and spun them around, clipping them onto his wrists instead of mine.

"Hey!" He yelled outraged but I was already out the door and down the hallway. I ran as fast as I could – adrenaline and spy training kicking in – and I felt a feeling of exhilaration run through my body. This is what I had longed to feel my entire life – the feeling of excitement at doing my job and loving it – and yet even in my current situation, I couldn't forget how flawed my training actually had been. I had been taught my skills for the entirely wrong people and I was disgusted at how gullible I had been back then.

I was never going to use my skills for the European Empire again. Or at least, not under Mr. Victor Oliver's rule!

I heard yelling a few floors above me but I continued running until I managed to dart out the door and escape the building just as the doors were locked, trapping everyone inside.

I had escaped. And it was then that I realised the folder with all the documents I had found was still in my hand.

~~~ FLASH ~~~

I had been on the run from both the European and American Empire's for an entire year now. The European Empire had already discovered that I had gone missing in action and I knew that there were agents from both sides after me everywhere now.

I was a wanted criminal in both empires and for the first time I didn't belong anywhere. I was completely alone. And it hurt more than anything in the world.

I missed Beth. I missed the Cavern and my Crevice and the spy world I thought I knew. I missed the training and the goals I forced myself to reach in life. And now all of that was gone and I didn't know how I would ever be able to get it back. I ran for a few more weeks before I decided to stay in disguise in a town near the edge of a border kingdom in the American Empire.

I had been safe for a few weeks before the Russe discovered my real identity. I had run into them on the street after they had seen me steal a peach from a nearby stand. I had forgotten to exchange the little money I had with the bank in this new kingdom and I had been so hungry that I had grown desperate.

They had caught me, discovered my identity and then I escaped when they let their guard down. They had underestimated my abilities but even I couldn't have escaped the second time they went after me. And then I had run into the shop at the edge of town and the man had offered me a chance to start afresh. To leave all my crimes behind me. And I accepted.

The last thing I saw before I closed my eyes and stopped breathing was the boy watching from behind a barrel. Somehow – even then – I knew that we would see each other again but I hoped for his sake that he would never know who I truly was inside...

~~~ FLASH ~~~
Chapter 12:

"I don't want to talk about it." I snapped and glared at everyone as soon as they clustered around me to hear about my memory as soon as I had woken up "I know what I did and it was unforgivable."

"We won't judge." Michael whispered sweetly.

"We'll still be your friends no matter what!" Kyle agreed.

"And we can help you forgive yourself." Miss Dukaine added.

"NO! It's not about forgiving myself!" I nearly shouted "It's about forgiving everything I ever believed in. And I can't. Not right now. I need to... I just... Leave me alone!"

I marched off and left them all gaping behind me as I walked through the trees lost in the images that kept replaying in my mind. Tears ran down my cheeks and for once I let my emotions out. I cried my bottled up tears I'd had for nearly a decade.

I thought about all my friends who were back at the Cavern living in lies that they would never know about. I thought about the stupid Mr. Victor Oliver who didn't deserve to be president and Big Boss who was edging everyone on. I thought about all the spies in history who had discovered what I had and felt equally betrayed. I thought about the spies who hadn't figured it out and told the government what they wanted to hear and how it was those spies fault that something bad happened.

"EVERYTHING WAS A LIE!" I yelled to the trees and startled birds flew away from me in alarm.

I felt beyond betrayed. I felt beyond broken. I felt hollow. There was no way I could go back now. I didn't know who to be loyal to anymore. Everything was so frustrating even though I remembered everything now.

"At least you'll be happy, Mr. Hobbes." I muttered "At least you're relieved of my pain."

No wonder he had hated me so much when we had met again. He had been feeling everything I was feeling right now and he had been looking at the person who had caused it. I had figured everything out and it was my fault that I had. It was my fault that I was feeling this way. If I hadn't doubted my Empire then I would have delivered the information needed and returned to the Cavern as a hero.

"But now you're Wanted as a criminal." I muttered and sighed as the tears flowed to a stop.

There was no point in crying now. What's done is done.

I walked through the trees until I came to a lake shore. I don't know how far I walked I just knew that I had come far enough. Ahead of me I saw a cliff face and I walked towards it like a zombie.

I reached the foot of the great rock mound and rubbed my hand against the surface, remembering how the wall at the Cavern had felt just like this. I grasped the rock with my hand and was vaguely aware of pulling myself upward. I climbed and climbed and climbed – not even bothering to pay attention to what I was doing – until finally I reached the top and gasped at the view in front of me.

There were trees stretching for miles around in an endless sea of green and natural beauty. The lake shone in the afternoon sun and the sounds and smells of nature woke up my senses. It was stunning to say the least.

I walked to the tip of the cliff and then sat down, just staring out at the view in front of me. My hair blew out of its ponytail as the wind whipped around me and I just lost myself in the beauty of everything until reality landed back down onto my shoulders. Hard.

I had been betrayed by my own Empire. My memories, my training, my beliefs... all of it had been led on by Mr. Victor Oliver himself. They had been fooling spies for years, edging them on to get what they wanted and training them so they wouldn't rebel.

It had begun in recent years, though – the betraying and propaganda of spies – because I was sure this new leadership rule had to do with Mr. Victor Oliver.

And now – after everything – I wasn't sure if I even wanted to ever return to the European Empire. I would be killed on the spot for abandoning my mission if I even showed up at the Cavern and I doubted that I would ever be a spy again.

My entire life that I had been led to believe was a lie and now I could never go back to living how I did before ever again. I just couldn't go back to ignoring the fact that the European Empire wasn't all that it seemed.

I could never go back again.

I was wanted in two of the most powerful empires in the world and I knew that I wouldn't fit in anywhere anymore. And soon I was certain that I would be captured by one of the empires unless I did something about it.

I didn't know what to do. My life was completely messed up and I didn't know how to get it back on track. And so I just sat that – watching the nature and oblivious to my surroundings – until the sun began to fall in the sky and dusk approached.

I found myself subconsciously rubbing the necklace with my thumb as I just watched the beauty of everything around me. If it had been possible, I would have stayed here forever. If it had been possible to escape reality, I would have done so in a heartbeat.

Although... I had chosen that chance before – I realised – when I accepted the memory wiping potion. I had accepted the option of being a coward and escaping all the pain of the past. Once before I had tried to escape reality without doing anything about it myself and look where that had led me.

"If you want to get your old life back." I whispered to myself forcefully "Then you need to fight for it."

I knew that I was right and finally I knew what to do. I stood and walked to the edge of the cliff – staring at the lake directly below it – and then I jumped. I fell through the air like I was weightless and for once I felt like I was really flying. I flew down and down and down until the water rushed quickly towards my feet. I heard a screaming sound from far away but I didn't have much chance to think about that before I curled my body roly-poly style and hit the water, falling into darkness.

There was a feeling of numbing coldness and stunned silence before I came to my senses and realised that I was in the lake. I swam upward towards sunlight and then broke the surface of the water, coughing and spluttering.

I had washed farther toward the center of the lake so I began swimming toward the shore, glad that my spy training actually worked. I had been fairly certain that I wasn't going to die when I jumped due to my training however, I hadn't been entirely certain.

I laughed like an idiot and then continued swimming, happily enjoying the water. I remembered everything and for once I was happy about it. I knew what to do to make everything right in my life again. And I was free.

I was almost at the shore when I saw something swimming frantically toward me, sending up big waves as it did. And then I realised it was a person... KYLE!!!

"Oh. My. God." Kyle yelled at me before I could react and then I found myself in a smothering hug in the water. The next thing I knew, he had sunk me under the water and I swallowed a mouthful of disgusting water before climbing to the surface again.

"Kyle. Please don't kill me." I croaked and I could feel his glare even when I was pressed against his bare chest in our still embrace.

"ME KILL YOU???" He screeched "HOW ABOUT YOU ALMOST KILLING ME???"

"What are you talking about?" I said and managed to disentangle myself from his arms so that I could start treading water and not swallow anymore water.

"YOU JUMPED OFF A CLIFF!!!" He continued yelling "And I thought that you were... that you died! Do you know what that did to me? For a brief second I thought that one of the people I love more than anything in the world was dead and I felt like my heart had been torn out!"

"I'm a spy. A professional spy." I said, laughing slightly "I can take care of myself."

"I don't know about that." Kyle said not sounding convinced "It looked to me like you were trying to commit suicide a minute ago."

"I KNEW WHAT I WAS DOING!" I emphasized "I've done that hundreds of times before!"

Well, in theory. I had been trained how to successfully jump off a cliff into water however, I hadn't actually done that until just now. Kyle didn't need to know that, though!

Kyle fell into a sullen silence as I turned and swam back to shore, soaked to the bone and extremely tired.

"What do you think you were doing?!" Miss Dukaine yelled at me when I got back to shore.

"Getting down from a cliff." I said, stating the obvious "The not boring way."

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW WORRIED I WAS!!!" She screeched and wrapped me in a hug, Kyle joining her.

Sandwiched between the two of them, I managed to throw a weak wink at Michael through under Kyle's arms and he smiled back.

"I was the only one who wasn't worried." Michael said and I grinned "I knew that you were badass. That was awesome!"

Finally I managed to get Kyle and Miss Dukaine off of me and then we ate, much to the gratitude of my stomach.

Once we had finished, we all fell into an awkward silence and I realised that everyone wanted to hear about the final memory.

"How long was I unconscious?" I whispered. It was going to be hard to tell them and I think we all knew that I was stalling. I was going to have to tell them eventually it was just so hard for me. I was going to betray my Empire and as much as I hated to admit it, I realised that even after everything I had learnt it was still going to be hard.

"A week and a half." Kyle whispered "I had to personally forcibly feed you otherwise you would have died. I was so scared, you have no idea."

"Sorry." I mumbled "So I suppose you want to know the rest then?"

Everyone eagerly nodded and I sighed. Bracing myself, I began and once I had started I didn't stop until the end. It was actually relieving to get all my newfound knowledge off my chest. Also, they were all amazing listeners so that helped.

Finally I finished up, "So that's why I was so upset. I've been betrayed my entire life! You have no idea how horrible I feel!"

I watched everyone's faces as they dealt with this information in their own way. Miss Dukaine's face was just purely shocked, Kyle was angry, and Michael was silently crying. With a jolt, I realised that it was the same feeling for him too.

"C'mere, Michael." I said and he obligingly climbed into my arms "It's going to be okay."

"So..." He sniffed and rubbed some of his tears off of his face with the back of his hand "Everything was a lie?"

"Not everything." I said "Just that what we were training to be – to work for a very corrupt government – was not like they told us it would be. But the training and the missions, that was all real. There was a reason behind everything and although we were all doing bad things, we didn't know what we were doing."

"This is all Victor Oliver's fault." Michael said and clenched his fists with anger.

"And that's why I'm going to make him pay." I said coolly and Michael nodded "He's completely ruining the European Empire and the entire world as it is. It's time to teach him what happens to liars."

"So what do you plan on doing?" Kyle said, breaking into our conversation.

I grinned and a look of pure mischief and excitement sparkled in my eyes. Everyone took one look at my face and cringed. Whatever it was, it was going to be dangerous – they realised – but they couldn't do a thing about it. I began explaining and once I was finished, the look of horror and excitement on each of their faces proved only one thing to me.

This was going to be fun.

Chapter 13:

"Are you absolutely sure that it has to be me to do this?!" Kyle hissed at me from outside the airbase in the capital of the American Empire. I was dressed in my boy disguise and Kyle kept on snickering every time he saw me. That is, until I told him what he would be doing in my plan. That shut him up!

"Yes." I said for the millionth time "Because you're the oldest and look like you could actually be a pilot of one of those things!"

I was referring to the old American Empire plane that we were currently staring at from outside the hangar where it was stored.

"You're just as old as me!" He argued back "And more experienced with this stuff!"

"I'm a girl dressed as a boy, idiot!" I hissed back "If they looked closely they would realise that I couldn't actually be a pilot. I don't even have a deep voice! It has to be you, okay?"

"Fine." He said "But you have to do something for me after I finish."

"What do I supposedly have to do?" I hissed.

"You'll find out soon." He whispered "So do we have a deal?"

I shrugged and frowned slightly before nodding, "Now GO!"

I watched as Kyle darted into the hangar that contained the certified airplane we needed to make it back into the European Empire. I knew that we wouldn't survive the long trek across the desert and I also knew that Michael would never tell us how he managed to get to the American Empire to find me. He told me that despite everything, he still couldn't betray Beth. I didn't blame him.

"I feel guilty but I have to keep a promise." Michael had told me and I watched him duck his head in shame.

"No. You have to do what you feel is right inside." I replied "And if not betraying Beth feels right then you did the right thing. Besides, this is the best way for all of us to make it across the border anyways. Flying with all of us together and in the equal amount of danger is the fairest and safest thing we can do so as to not lose any of us. We were going to have to use a different way of getting all of us there anyways. Don't feel bad."

I had to admit that I felt kind of nervous at leaving one of the key parts of our mission in Kyle's hands but I decided that I trusted him so I sat back and waited for the hangar door to open.

There was a few faint shouts, a loud thump and then everything was quiet for a few seconds before the hangar door started lifting and I breathed a sigh of relief. Kyle had done it.

"Good job." I whispered as I climbed into the ready airplane beside him, taking the pilot spot while he became co-pilot. A few minutes later Miss Dukaine and Michael joined us and I started the airplane's engine, waiting for an alarm to go off. None did – much to my surprise – and so I put the plane into gear and started leading it out onto the runway.

However, no sooner had we left the hangar then I saw the flashing light at the top of the communication tower. They were sending a silent distress signal.

I internally groaned and forced the plane to move faster and faster on the runway. The sooner we got into the air the better.

With one last oomph, the plane lifted off the ground and I steered it up into the sky, well aware that we were in huge trouble if/when the plane was caught.

"Are you sure you know what you are doing?" Kyle whispered and I realised just how terrified everyone was right now.

"Yup." I said just as two fighter jets appeared on my radar "But I think you should hold on because we just got some company!"

I flew faster and faster through the air – diving and flying upward sharply in an effort to lose them – until the first bullet was fired. It missed our left wing by inches.

"Okay, Kyle." I said through clenched teeth, my hands sweating and cramped as I clutched the steering wheel as if it was my life support "I need you to start firing back."

"But I could... I could kill them!" He whispered.

"Listen, first of all they've been trained on how to survive plane wrecks." I said "And secondly, we're just trying to lose them not kill them. Just don't think about it and fire. Don't aim for the engine if you don't want them to explode! Go for the wing or something!"

Kyle nodded and then pulled down the firing radar from the ceiling, his thumb hovering over the eject button as he waited for the perfect timing.

I dodged another few missiles before I heard Kyle push the button and watched in the radar as the missile flew a foot shy of an enemy's wing.

"You'll get the hang of it." I encouraged and I watched in amusement as he frowned in concentration and grew more serious.

I focused once more on dodging the bullets and finally after ten minutes of excruciating stress that seemed to be a fire burning up my heart and soul, Kyle successfully hit one of the planes and caused it to veer into the other, knocking them both from the sky.

"WAHOO!!!!!" We both screamed simultaneously and then grinned awkwardly at each other in amusement.

The rest of the flight was without trouble until Kyle brought it up, the subject I didn't want to talk about again, "So now I think it's time that you give me what I'm owed for successfully risking my life to get this plane."

"And what is it that I have to do?" I asked and kept my voice neutral. I was nervous to be honest. What if he asked me to do something I couldn't do? I hoped that he realised I wasn't entirely sure about my feelings for him and if he asked me a certain question... I was afraid that I would hurt him.

"Okay, I want you to ask you a question," He began and my heart seemed to freeze in my chest "But I think I might wait until we survive all of this."

I nodded and focused once more on the sky ahead of us. I was glad that he hadn't asked the question yet. We had grown closer daily ever since I began getting my memories back and even more still since I remembered everything and forgave myself but I still didn't know what I entirely had in mind for our current relationship.

Did I want us to be something more or did I want us to remain just as friends?

"Let's play twenty questions." Kyle said and didn't wait for me to reply before he asked, "What's your favourite colour?"

"Orange." I said immediately "Like fire. It burns and grows. It feeds off of its surroundings and fights until its last breath.

"So basically the colour reminds you of yourself." He finished and I nodded.

"Do you have any siblings?" I asked as my question and Kyle nodded.

"An older brother and sister. They were twins. Now they're all grown up and live in different empires. They left before the rifts between everyone and now they're afraid to come back to visit. So I haven't seen them in a long time."

I nodded and we continued playing until it was time for the last question.

"We should make it the most personal one." Kyle said and I grimaced.

"It depends on what you mean by personal." I replied.

"Like if we want to know about their past love life then they can't hold back. They have to ask that question." He said and I groaned.

"Fine." I agreed and waited with baited breath for him to ask his question.

"Have you ever dated anyone before?" Kyle asked after thinking over his question before asking it.

"Nope." I said, popping the 'p' "Because the boy I had a crush on was horrible and ended up killing my brother, blinding my best friend, breaking my leg, and ruining my self-esteem and trust for years, not to mention that he walked all over my heart more times than I can count."

"Jacob?" Kyle asked and I nodded.

"Of course." I said and then blurted out the question that had been on my mind for a while now, "When was the last time you had a crush on someone?"

Kyle blinked his eyes in surprise at me and then I could feel him staring thoughtfully at the side of my face before answering softly, "Not that long ago."

"Is that all the information that I'm going to get?" I said sounding exasperated "I don't get to know what she looked like or why you liked her or anything like that?"

"Fine. I'll tell you what she was like." He said "It was about a month ago. I met this fiery girl with red hair that glinted beautifully in the sunlight, green eyes that sparkled mischievously in the most beautiful way and she was the best friend I could ever have had. I guess I just loved that she was amazing at everything. And she still is."

We fell into an awkward silence after that because we both knew who he was talking about.

"What are we right now, Kyle?" I asked a few moments later.

"Best mates." Kyle replied like he was fighting with himself on what to say next "But also something more."

"Yeah. I just don't know what yet." I said and he agreed.

That was the last conversation we had before the border came ahead of us and I slowed down. However, there was something wrong with the breaks. The plane wasn't slowing at all! Before I could react, the plane smashed into the force field with full force.

I felt myself jerk forward in my seat and I coughed against the smoke that was beginning to come into the cockpit from the engine. Glancing over at Kyle, I realised that he had been knocked unconscious.

Hands shaking and my leg now aching from the impact, I unstrapped myself from my harness and then carried Kyle out of the plane, landing on the ground on the other side of the force field.

The plane had made a hole into the other side however I hadn't anticipated the fact that it might have been destroyed by the force field. The boundary had been a lot stronger than I had originally thought. And now we were in trouble.

I saw Michael and Miss Dukaine successfully make it out of the plane and we just stood there, watching in burn because we had nothing else to do.

"They're going to come and kidnap us." I said realising that I had to tell everyone the bad news "But it's going to be okay. I promise. I have another plan."

However, before I could tell them what I was going to do, three European Empire planes appeared in the sky above us and landed so quickly that even I was surprised. The planes were a lot more high-tech than the American Empire ones and I realised that even if the plane had made it through the force field, we still easily could have been destroyed before we landed at our final destination.

"Put your hands up." The guards ordered as they marched out of the plane. There were fifteen of them in total – too many of them for me to fight off – and so I did what they said, much to the surprise of everyone.

It was then that Kyle decided it would be a good time for him to awaken. He groaned and sat up on the ground but after taking one look at the guards he sprang to his feet and rushed to my side, glaring defiantly.

"Tell me when we're going to attack." He told me bravely and I sighed.

"We can't fight them off. It's not possible." I whispered to him and his mouth opened in shock, disappointment showing in his eyes. I ignored him and continued with telling them all what to do, "Put your hands up and let me do the talking."

The all nodded and we turned our attention back to the approaching guards, readying ourselves for what was coming next.

"WHO ARE YOU?" A guard yelled and I realised that we had to identify ourselves.

"I'm Master Kayla Adams. A spy who went missing in action a year ago." I said "I do believe that I'm now wanted as a criminal. These are my companions who have helped me return."

"You are going to have to come with us." The guards said sharply and then withdrew a needle and a pair of handcuffs from his coat pocket.

I grimaced at the needle and realised that they were going to sedate us. Great. Just great. I was the only one of us who knew how to fight the sedative and I realised that I wouldn't be able to hijack the plane now.

I watched them clip all of us into handcuffs and then handcuff us together in a long line, like we were prisoners. Well, I supposed that we kind of were.

I felt a sharp needle pierce my arm and the feeling of cold numbing liquid began flowing into my blood stream.

Almost immediately I felt like my body weighed a thousand pounds. I felt like every step I took used every ounce of energy I had and I was pelted with a feeling of never ending fatigue.

I groaned and forced myself to let my mind escape my body. If I could find a way to convince my body that this wasn't real then the sedative wouldn't work.

I flumped to the ground like everyone else but forced myself to keep fighting – making sure to keep no emotion on my face – until I felt the strange pressure release and my body returned to normal.

I stayed on the ground – breathing deeply and slowly like I would be if the sedative had worked – until I felt myself being roughly shoved into the European Empire plane.

I slid forward slightly when the plane took off and it was only when we were safely in the air that I sat up and formed the rest of my plan.

The only other cargo in the plane besides Kyle, Miss Dukaine, Michael and I were three crates that contained more sedatives and food supplies.

I loaded two sedatives and then crept towards the front of the plane as quietly as possible. Outside the cockpit door, I began picking the lock as quickly as I could before sliding it open and crouching behind the co-captains chair.

"Hey, did y'hear somethin'?" The captain asked and the co-captain glanced at the way I'd come, his gaze completely looking over me.

"Nope." He replied and returned his gaze back out the windscreen.

Quietly, I injected the needle into the co-captains thigh and he barely gasped before flumping in his seat, the sedative working its magic.

"-isn't that right, John?" The Captain was saying "John?"

When his friend didn't reply, the captain turned in his seat and saw his friend unconscious beside him.

"Of course you fell asleep." He muttered and pressed autopilot so that he could rest too.

I quickly stabbed the other sedative into the captain's leg before he spotted me and with a yelp, he passed out in his seat too. I dragged him off the chair and then unclipped his earpiece from him, fitting it snuggly around my head. Smiling to myself, I switched back into pilot and took control of the plane fully. It was time for the real fun to begin...
Chapter 14:

The others woke up right before we got to the European Empire's capital and I quickly informed them of my plan.

"No! That's too dangerous!" Kyle complained as soon as I told him what I was going to do.

"It's the only way I can make sure Mr. Victor Oliver never hurts us again! And you know that it has to be me to do it!" I argued back and eventually he gave up. This was one thing I had to do alone and nobody could help me with it.

Everyone was preparing themselves as the capital came into view and I increased the speed of the plane, heading towards the capital building. The building grew closer and closer until with gritted teeth, I grounded the plane at the entrance of the building and smashed into the side of it.

There was a creaking noise but the building held although the plane – however – did not. There was lots of smoke and I knew that the plane could explode at any second. Hands shaking, I unclipped myself and followed everyone outside. The others ran away to get into position whilst I ran past the plane and into the building, pounding up the stairs and making it to the second floor before the plane exploded, completely destroying the interior of the first floor.

I continued climbing, my hands gripping my knife at my belt and my mind running through all the battle moves I knew as I climbed upward and upward, getting closer and closer to Mr. Victor Oliver himself. I was used to the stair climbing since we did a lot of it in spy training class and so by the time I reached the thirtieth floor, I hadn't even broken a sweat.

Most of the people hadn't even heard the explosion from down below because of how far away it was but I briefly glanced out the window and saw guards frantically running around while a crowd of people had gathered to see what had happened.

I spotted Michael inching up a flagpole while everyone was distracted, clutching a walkie-talkie in his hand and I quickly turned mine on before continuing to run up the stairs.

Mr. Victor Oliver's office wasn't on the top floor. It wasn't in the basement. It was – in fact – directly in the middle of the building.

I reached the seventieth floor barely panting and quickly fried the password box so that it would let me into the corridor that led to his office.

The office was guarded by two muscular men and I smirked as I recognized one of them. Peter. We had met each other when I had been on the run in the American Empire and he had almost caught me. Keyword: Almost.

I marched right up to them and before they could even blink, I stabbed them each in the foot and punched them in the face. Howling in pain they didn't even have time to react before I shoved a sedative into their necks and they fell into a crumpled pile at my feet.

I felt slightly sorry for them but then I remembered the scar I now had on my arm from my previous encounter with Peter and then I didn't feel so bad anymore. That's pay back for stabbing me in the arm. After I was satisfied that they'd be knocked out for a while, I took a deep breath and marched right into Mr. Victor Oliver's office without a second thought.

It was time to finish this thing once and for all.

~~~~~~~~~

Mr. Victor Oliver was sitting at his desk, completely engrossed with a file in his hand and unaware of my sudden appearance.

"Hello Mr. Oliver." I said, trying to sound as polite as possible. It was hard not to sneer when I said his name. I needed him to think that I was on his side... for now.

Victor looked up – startled – and then chuckled when he easily recognized me. There was a wanted poster stuck right behind his desk – I suddenly noticed – and I realised that he was probably the one to send out that flier to the empire.

"Ah. Miss Adams." Victor said, sitting up in his chair as he did so "I was wondering when you would show up."

"Why am I Wanted?" I asked trying to sound confused "I was doing my mission and then I got kidnapped! I got the information I needed and then when I was going to return I found out that you had put a Wanted warrant out after me so I decided to run. Why?"

Victor chuckled before replying, "I think we both know there's more to your story then just that. I have multiple witnesses saying that you supposedly found out that we were trying to take over the world. I have witnesses saying that you fought agents that once used to be your friends. And I even have witnesses saying that you told them you wanted me dead. Now, my dear. How do you explain that?"

"Do you seriously trust witnesses over me? One of your top spies?" I countered, not answering his question.

"Yes." He simply said, removing his glasses from his face "And the fact that you knocked out the guards – one of which you used to be friends with – and you hijacked one of our planes also proves that what they said is true."

I nodded and let my innocent expression change to a hard angry one and said, "Then explain to me, Mr. Oliver what these are."

I hooked my knife into my boot and cut off the sole to pull out the papers concealed underneath. The papers were the same ones that were in the file the day that I took with me when I escaped.

The one I showed him was the one with the death threats. I decided to keep the one with the plans on it to myself.

"Ah." Victor chuckled nervously "American propaganda."

"Nuh-uh." I said shaking my head "I don't think so. I was in the American Empire a long time, Mr. Oliver. They were keeping this information a secret. And it makes sense with everything I ever learnt. So tell me Mr. Oliver why you want to take over the world. Now."

"To have ultimate power of course!" Victor said his voice full of so much lust and power hunger that I almost flinched "I could control all the people of the world and have them do everything I wanted. I could be rich beyond compare! Don't you see Kayla? It would be amazing!"

"All you care about is yourself!" I spat "And that's why this has to end. Now."

With shaking fingers, I withdrew the gun I had told myself in training that I would never use. However, this was what needed to be done. Oliver needed to die because only then would the world be at peace again. Only then would things in my life return to normal. This was what was right.

I had never killed anyone before. I never wanted to kill anyone ever. However, it was up to me to do this and it was time.

I clenched my fists and raised the gun to Mr. Oliver's forehead.

"Say goodbye, Oliver." I spat.

Mr. Oliver stared in amusement before saying, "You really don't know, do you?"

"Know what?" I said, aiming the gun and getting ready to fire.

"You aren't an orphan anymore, Kayla." Oliver replied "Because I'm your father."

His words sunk in slowly at first and I lowered the gun a split second when I realised what he had just said.

VICTOR OLIVER WAS MY FATHER???

His words sunk in and I almost believed them. Almost.

"Liar." I spat.

"How would you know?" Mr. Oliver's asked and I could tell that he was slightly scared now "You wouldn't remember your real parents! They – I – abandoned you at birth!"

"That's true." I said coolly "But unfortunately my real father would know my real name. And Kayla Adams isn't it."

And then without any more hesitation I fired the gun.

I watched Mr. Victor Oliver's slump to the ground.

I watched the blood flow around my feet.

I watched the gun clatter to the ground.

And I watched Oliver take his last shaking breath before I turned and walked out of the room without a backwards glance...

I had done what was right. The European Empire and entire world could be at peace again. And finally, finally my life could go back to normal...

Chapter 15:

"So you just killed him?" Miss Dukaine gasped and I nodded hollowly.

"There was blood everywhere. And his eyes... they were so empty." I shuddered as I remembered what I had done just hours before.

"But it was the right thing to do." Michael reminded and I nodded. It had been the right thing to do but I still couldn't help but think that Mr. Oliver had deserved to at least be alive. And then I remembered his plans for the world and how bloodthirsty he had sounded when he told me the plans and quickly I changed my mind. Yes, it was a good thing he was dead.

"I can't believe he tried to convince you that he was your dad!" Kyle exclaimed and then thought for a moment before adding "So what is your real name?"

"Rose." I replied "Rose Ellen Carlsworth. I only remembered a while ago and I realised that I had changed my name to Kayla because I couldn't bare using the name my parents had given me."

"So that's why everyone calls you Kayla if they think they know your real name!" Michael said thoughtfully "But now I know the truth."

"And you can't tell anyone." I teased "Or else!"

We all laughed and the pain of what I had done ceased. I would never forget that I killed another human being and I would never forget how there might have been a way of letting him live if I had really put my mind to it... but I would also remember that I saved the world and that a solution can only come with a sacrifice.

~~~~~~~~~~

It was a few days later after everything had calmed down at the capital before the new president was elected.

"I am pleased to announce that Mr. Roger Dukaine will be the new president of the European Empire!" The announcer on the radio said.

We all turned in unison to Miss Dukaine when we heard this.

"Wait." I said slowly "That's your relative?"

"Y-Yes." She murmured "I knew that he was in politics but I never expected... I assumed that he wasn't so high up yet! He's only thirty!"

"Who is it?" Michael asked impatiently.

We had been laying low for a few days while we waited for the new leader to be elected. We were going to have to find a way to talk to the leader so that I could return to my old life again.

"He's my brother." Miss Dukaine said weakly, happiness and surprise showing in her voice "And I'm certain that he will help us!"

We all cheered for her and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Surely any brother of sweet Miss Dukaine would be better than Mr. Victor Oliver... right?

And for once, I was right.

Epilogue:

"Put your back into it!" I ordered and watched with satisfaction as my students continued pushing the boulder up the hill.

"My back hurts." Kyle complained when he passed me and I just smirked at him.

"It won't if you don't think about it. Now no slacking off apprentice Kyle."

He grumbled at my response and continued pushing as I stared dreamily after him. He was just so cute when he was annoyed... wait, what? Where had that come from? I shook my head and watched my apprentices as my thoughts drifted elsewhere again.

Mr. Roger Dukaine was the best leader the European Empire had ever had. He made the empire a democracy, bettered the quality of living for us spies in the Cavern and helped create new bonds with all the other empires of the world. He had saved us.

Miss Dukaine was so proud of her brother and he had managed to make her his official secretary much to everyone's surprise. She had told us how they got into an argument a few years ago and how they hadn't been in touch until he won the election. She said that he felt guilty about the fight and wanted to pay her back for everything so he made her his secretary. I was just so happy for her.

And as for Michael, Kyle and I? Well... everything is perfect.

Michael was able to return to the Cavern and continue his spy training. I got to return as a teaching instructor until everyone trusted me enough to let me go on more missions and Kyle managed to obtain a citizenship so that he could begin spy training as well.

It was funny because he was one of my apprentices and I just loved being so hard on him. I don't think he particularly cared for his girlfriend being the one to yell orders at him or scold him for everything he did wrong but he loved me and it was all good.

Kyle was the first one to reach the top of the hill and I smiled at him when he came panting to a stop beside me.

"Is someone out of breath?" I said sounding surprised.

"Yeah. I wonder why?" He said and I just laughed.

"I'm so glad that I'm finished with my apprenticeship." I said.

"Yeah. I wish I was you." Kyle agreed "Because then I could boss you around and see how you like it!"

"But unfortunately our roles can't be switched now can they? Too bad!" I laughed and he scowled again.

I ended the training session and headed back to my crevice, glad to get my old one back.

"Hey Charlotte!" A girl called in greeting.

"Hi Samantha!" I called back.

"Yo! Wazzup Grace?!" A boy yelled over to me from the climbing wall and I chuckled.

"Hey Nutella! That's a new name! You aren't calling me Shark Face anymore!" I called back and he laughed.

"Yeah. I'm a bit more mature now. I only call you that behind your back!" He yelled back and I scowled up at him.

I was a bit of a celebrity after they had found out what I did and it also didn't help that I was the only Master Spy that lived with the trainees. I loved bossing the others around.

I climbed into my crevice after saying a quick hello to Beth who was busy teaching her students a lesson and settled back onto my cot to think about everything.

My life had returned to normal finally. I had new friends and memories good and bad. I felt loved and happy and so did everyone else. The pressure of Mr. Victor Oliver was gone. The spies were happy with their lives and nobody died doing the master tests anymore. A spy could fail but they could never die. And I was glad.

I pulled out my necklace and subconsciously rubbed it, my thumb tracing the now worn out etching of the square. It had become a habit of mine after I realised that I liked having the necklace as a reminder of everything. I would have quite a story to tell my children one day!

However, whilst I was rubbing it today I noticed a crack that wasn't there before. Glancing at it more closely I realised that the crack was meant to be there. The necklace could open up!

I quickly stuck my knife into the crack and pried open the necklace to find a small potion and a note inside.

With bated breath I shakily picked up the note and began to read:

Drink this when you have remembered all your lost memories. The potion will make sure all the details are secure and that your memories can never be taken again. I hope that you have learnt your lesson, Kayla and that you will always choose where your loyalty lies from now on. Have a great rest of your life.

Your friend (I hope).

\--- Mr. Hobbes \---

I smiled when I finished reading it and quickly unscrewed the bottle. I was glad that after I drank this nobody could take my memories again. And yes – Mr. Hobbes – I have learnt my lesson, I realised.

I learnt that it's necessary to always forgive yourself and others despite what they may have done to you in the past. I have learnt that making and keeping friends is extremely important in life and that a solution can only be made with a sacrifice as long as it is really worth it. Finally, I learnt that whatever happens in life is unpredictable but it will at least be one hell of a rollercoaster ride until the end...

The End!
