The Diaries of Alice (revised edition)

I'm not sure Tangled Terrors are their name. I haven't played Fusion Fall in a while. :/

8- Interference (Part 1)

"Ohhh...What a weird dream..."

I woke up and rolled onto the carpet floor. My face landed right into an unfinished pint of chocolate (or was it coffee?), splattering the leftover goop of melted ice cream all over me. Note to self: Never attempt to eat two pints of chocolate and coffee ice cream, plus a fudge cookie, ever again.

Wiping off the ice cream, I looked up to see Blaze sleeping against a corner. I laughed a bit, then I kicked him just for the fun of it. He stirred and groaned. I ran the heck out of there before he woke up and didn't stop until I was in the space under the stairs. I randomly shouted:

"Don't blame me! YODA MADE ME DO IT!"

Yoda...? I heard him climb up the stairs, moan, and mutter, "I've decided to hate coffee." True, coffee, even in ice cream, made me hyper.

- ding ding ding ding- The doorbell rang forever. I waited for Blaze to answer, but after ten minutes of the continuous ringing it seemed apparent he was sleeping. I went to the door, wondering who would visit at this hour.

"Hello? I'm not buying what you're selling...."

Out on the lawn were several old trees mutated by FM with permanent sour faces painted onto their bark. They turned their heads slowly to look at me, and started towards the doorway. I calmly closed the door, walked into the kitchen, closed the kitchen door shut, and breathed deeply. "OK."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

I screamed hysterically for a minute straight, but by then my voice was already obliterated. Gotta find a match, gotta find a match! I zipped all over the kitchen trying to find a box of matches, but in vain. "Why aren't there any matches?!!"

I was about to scream until one of my Spidermonkey arms poked me. "Huh?" It gave me a box of matches. "Oh thanks!"

I silently added, "Awkward...." It's not every day you see a limb act independently on its own and just hand you something! Or is it?

As I lit a match I ran outside, and then I threw the match onto a tree, setting it on fire. I did the same for the others, throwing each match with supreme accuracy- Well, except for this one tree, but it caught on fire from the other trees!

I grinned triumphantly as I watched the Tangled Terrors head for the swimming pool, diving in one by one... WHA-

"Ohhh," I said. "Crud." I began the process all over again.

----------20 minutes later------------

"Aw, forget this!" I yelled and went back inside. I came back holding a firecracker. "I knew those leftover fireworks from last Fourth of July would come in handy someday!" I pointed the firecracker at the group of Tangled Terrors and pulled the string. The force of launch pushed me backwards, but just in time to see the trees explode. "YES!" I shouted in relief. "I DID IT! NOW I'M GOING TO BED!"

I shut and locked the door behind me, sighing. I ran up to my room and locked that door also. Now, I thought, it's time for bed. I tucked myself in, and waited for sleep to take me in.

-DAAA DAAA DAAA DA-

"ARGGGGGGGGHHH!"

Ha, Yoda. That's my new excuse for everything now.

A month and a half to write the next part...That's not so good. I've been bombarded with private school (I need to maintain high grades so my scholarship won't be revoked, something like that), a demonic math teacher, a powerful case of Steve Irwin nostalgia (God bless his soul), an obsession for Kingdom Hearts (last phase was three years ago), an addiction to Birth by Sleep (curse you Xehanort!!), and a million story ideas running in my head. Phew.

The Green Forums is beginning to revive. Glad to see there's still some Lingering Sentiments. Ah, my KH obsession still goes strong!!

The second part should be posted soon today.

Aw crud. Well, better late than never. XD, if I were Alice I'd be trembling in fear. Or at least have a giant catfight with 86.

8- Interference (Part 2)

"Everything just wants to ruin my sleep," I mumbled. I dismissed the alarm and checked the time: 4:21

Ugh, why do I have to wake up so early? I asked myself. Gah, I can't sleep anyway, from that coffee ice cream. I sat up and looked to the balcony. There was a faint green glow coming from within the white curtains. "Huh..."

I opened the curtains, revealing the shard of glass I had used before, lying on the floor. Several wispy veins of FM ran through the glass, giving it a faint glow. I swung the shard around, remembering the event several days ago. It was several days ago, right? I asked myself. It feels like it happened yesterday...

Halfway through my thoughts, I felt the shard cut through a lamp. The lamp fell over, making the room dark. "Umm...." I said, inching away from the lamp. "I should probably clean that up."

After cleaning up the shattered remains of the lamp, I suddenly got an idea. I ran off to the backpacks from the Plumber base. I rummaged through them, trying to find some scrap metal.

There were lots of scrap in them, to my surprise. I had forgotten most of the objects I'd stuffed into them were scrap. "Iron, iron, iron, iron, titani-" I lifted a chunk of titanium gingerly, trying to avoid the jagged edges. It looked like enough for a sword hilt. Without thinking I cut the chunk in half with the sword, that was met by my surprise.

A metallic -shing- destroyed my ears. I thought Blaze's hearing next door had been destroyed as well. "Huh. That was so easy." Well, time to get to work.

Using my Spidermonkey arms, I formed the first half into a shape roughly like a T. Then I smoothed the sharp edges with pieces of felt smothered with glue. The end result was a sword with a FM-infused glass blade and a silver and red polka-dotted titanium hilt. I groaned, knowing more work was to be done.

I painted the hilt a dark green, and glued on more red felt until the back of the handle was all red, to accommodate my hand. At the end, I breathed deeply with relief. "Finally!" The homemade sword wasn't too bad; you could still tell it was done by an amateur, but at least a decent amateur. Too tired to praise myself, I slumped back into bed.

-----------------------------------------------

The sounds of violence and struggle woke me up. I rolled out of bed, grabbed my sword, and jumped over the balcony.

The whole neighborhood was an intense battleground of blood, FM, violence, and hardship. The ait hung heavy on me with the mists of struggle. What am I standing around for? Let's fight!

There were many kids fighting Fusions near Foster's, so I ran over there quickly. I slammed my sword into any Spawn getting in my way, and soon my sword was drenched in green, and dripped FM. Some ran onto the bare fingertips of my gloved hand, but I didn't notice. It didn't hurt anyway.

"Ugh," I complained as I swung my sword at another Spawn, "why weren't this many people helping before?"

"Because," said an irritated voice nearby, "we were too busy with Moon Base!!" I turned around, so quickly my sword almost sliced the girl in the stomach, if she hadn't backed away. Now I wish I had. I could tell she was from the KND- she wore a helmet with the numbers 86 stamped on it. The moment she saw me, a look of surprise came on her face, though she quickly dismissed it.

"Who are you?" I asked, bracing myself. "Who am I?!" Numbuh 86 yelled. "I'm Numbuh 86, for Pete's sake! Why does every..." I wanted to run away while she was facepalming, but I couldn't move out of fear.

"Look," 86 said as she looked up from her facepalm, "are you or are you not part of the KND?"

"No...." I answered, making a face of puzzlement. "Not really..."

"THEN WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" 86 shouted. "THIS IS A KND-ONLY MISSION!"

"Whaat?!" I asked, enraged as well. "So I hurt my knees jumping out of the balcony for nothing?!"

"Well, 'missy', then you go out there alone without 2x4 technology!" 86 hollered. "Missy"?! I thought. "Missy"?!!!" A line had been crossed, and there was no going back. Something inside me snapped. "THAT'S THE WORST INSULT I'VE EVER HEARD!" I shouted at her. "I didn't know only operatives were fighting!"

"What do you mean, you didn't know?" 86 shouted back. "Any stupid idiot can tell this is KND only! Don't you see everyone here has numbuhs? You are one of the stupidest-"

Before I could interrupt her and point out the many people without numbuhs fighting, a boy did it for me. "Enough, Numbuh 86!" He commanded. "This doesn't have to be only operatives." I swear Numbuh 86 growled. I looked at the boy. He was Numbuh One!

"Numbuh One?" I asked. I couldn't believe it was him, he who defeated Grandfather! I wish he had defeated Father, also. I thought. Numbuh 86 mumbled something; I didn't want to know what she mumbled.

"The Numbuh One?" I asked again. He nodded. I snapped myself out of it, though I zoned out to avoid listening to 86's ranting.

"Not even our 2x4 technology is enough for them!" 86 started. "We've just begun modifying our weapons!" Numbuh One flinched slightly at the word modifying for some unknown reason. "I know, Fanny."

I muffled a few snickers. Fanny? That's awesome, I thought. A name that's also an insult! "Fanny" gave me a look of pure evil. On second thought....

Halfway through her rants, in the corner of my eye I saw a Fusion resembling Bloo, slipping into Foster's. Wha... I gaped. Before One and 86 noticed, I ran for the mansion.

See ya...

FANNY!

Ha, I love Numbuh 86. I don't know why, I just do. I think you potrayed her and Numbuh 1 very well here.

I have something AWESOME planned Halloween!

8- Interference (Part 3)

I stared out of dismay at the portal full of the slowly swaying FM tentacles. I quickly stepped back, just in case they-

"AAAAAAAHHHH!" I screamed as the tentacles grabbed me and pulled me down to darkness.

-pant pant pant- I looked around, and saw that I was in a dark cave. It seemed like one cave I had seen before in my dreams. Veins of FM ran all over the cave, some throbbing violently. "Oh gosh!" I shouted as I retreated into a corner. "Where am I?"

Suddenly something moved, blindingly fast. I sprinted after it, determined to hunt down the creature, until I cornered it. I was about to slice it in half until I realized I had been chasing Bloo. I sweatdropped.

"Alice, why are you chasing me?" Bloo asked. "Why are you here?" I counter-asked. "I thought you were...some sort of monster!"

"I saw this monster that looked kind of like me! I followed it here, 'cause I thought he had my paddleball!"

"Your...paddleball."

"What? Someone stole it! Where are we anyway?"

"Underneath Foster's..."

Bloo stared at something behind, his mouth pretty much hanging. Don't look back, don't look back, don't... Even though, I looked back. There was a green blobby Fusion with fiery red eyes. I pulled out my sword, and swiped at the Fusion with it multiple times. It did nothing. "Great," I muttered as I ran, holding Bloo. "Of all times..."

Fusion tentacles grabbed us and threw us out of Foster's.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!" We both screamed as we're plunged into the air. I'm having serious deja vu!. "Bloo, we're not going to die!" I shouted, but through the whizzing of rapidly falling wind, he couldn't hear me. "WHAT?"

"I SAID, WE'RE NOT GOING TO-"

-THUMP-

-thwack- We both moaned as we hit the grand old tree, some weak branches snapped under us. "I told you...We're not going to die..."

"......"

After we had climbed down the tree, I asked, "Where's Mac, anyway?"

"I can't find him anywhere!" Bloo shouted as an act of panic. "Is it 3:00 already?!" I looked at the Sun, then inspected our shadows. "I don't think so," I said. "It looks like half past one."

Bloo sighed in relief. Then he screamed. "I ONLY HAVE AN HOUR AND A HALF TO FIND MAC!!!" His screams made me cringe. "Um, o-okay," I stammered. I was beginning to panic as well. "Split up. I'll go this way, and you'll go that way." We parted ways, though I doubted my decision. Maybe this isn't such a good idea...

Soon I found myself traversing through the confusing mazes in the back lawn. I jumped, then looked around. "DRAT!"

"W-Who's there?" A nervous voice asked. It came from the hedge behind. "Is that you, Alice?"

"Jamie!" I recognized the voice as his, and I climbed over the hedge. I looked down at Jamie. He looked down to a teenage boy, who bore a striking resemblance to him. The boy was unconscious, severely wounded, and his clothes were stained with blood.

"Jamie, is that your...?"

He resentfully nodded, filling me with a wave of pity. "Oh."

Aw, poor Jamie. I hope everything turns out okay for him. And Bloo's so funny. Love it.

Darn it, I just found out they were called Timber Terrors, not Tangled Terrors. -_-

9- Grievances (Part 1)

I couldn't bear the thought of losing anyone precious, and I don't think Jamie could, either. Seeing him mourning over the unconscious body of his brother was a sorrowful sight. Time froze for a few seconds, and in those few seconds, I reflected on the past, and mourned a little.

Wait...what about Mom? I suddenly remembered. Mom!

She never came back.

Does that mean that she....

"NO!" I cried out loud, not wanting it to be true. I couldn't help but let a few warm tears trickle my cheeks. Their warmth surprised me, letting out a faint gasp. It can't be, it can't!

Then there can't be any chance that Dad will come back.

Blaze and I are alone, then. Jamie and his brother, also.

Every kid on this planet, I guess, is alone.

-----------------------------------------------

With newfound determination me and Jamie struggled to carry Daniel- that was his brother's name- towards help.

"ALICE," Bloo yelled as he stopped us our way. "I can't find Mac! Did you..." He trailed off when he came upon Daniel. I shook my head.

"Oh."

We hurried along the road, careful not to trip into any cracks or potholes. We were quiet, also, since we didn't want to catch the eye of any Fusions. Jamie spotted a wagon out of the wreckage of some poor house that had gotten destroyed in the battle. He loaded Daniel onto the wagon and

The neighborhood around Foster's was a ghost town; its buildings empty and some ravaged, and not a lone soul in sight. I doubted the notion that Mac was still alive. In just a few minutes, I wondered, the KND lost?

We kept walking, since we, including Bloo, had enough sense to notturn around. The rustling came again, but louder, accompanied by indistinct noises. "On the count of three," I whispered to the others, "we run."

The noise grew louder, and the voices formed gibberish.

"One...two...THREE!!" We blasted off, Jamie wheeling away his brother as fast as he could. The grip of something alien clutched my leg. "OH MY-" I was knocked out instantly.

...I think Aura just made a Final Fantasy reference.

9- Grievances (Part 2)


"Hey, are you awake?"

I woke up to see blue eyes peering at me. "Yeah," I said, rubbing my eyes, "but WHO THE FUDGE ARE YOU?!" I scampered to a corner of the tent. Wait- a tent? "And how'd I get here?" The intruder chuckled. She had dark brown hair with red bangs. "Well, first I'm Aura, and you can thank me, 'cause I saved you!"

I blinked twice, then asked,"'Saved you.' Well, thanks, but where are the others?" I looked over to two empty sleeping bags. Hope they're Jamie and Daniel's...Wait is Aura even a name? "Oh Jamie, Daniel, and Bloo?" Aura said. "They're a-OK."

"How do you know their names?" I asked inquisitively. "Oh," Aura stammered, "w-well, I happen to be Daniel's friend. We're on the same team, er, baseball team."

"Really," I said as I stood up. "'Kay, I believe you."

"Really- uh, OK," Aura said, then stared at me. "You know, you're the weirdest person I ever met, appearance-wise." I glared at her. "It's a long and weird story."

"Seriously," Aura continued, "I've seen people with these green tentacles-" she gestured with her hands- "partially crystallized faces, robot masks, blank -literally- eyes, or even red eyes." She pointed to my spidermonkey arms. "But I've never seen anyone with things like those, no sirree."

I kept glaring at her maliciously. "What's wrong with red eyes? They're kinda nice... Also- I HAVE NO IDEA WHY OR HOW I GOT 'EM!" I shouted, eyes ablaze with fire. Aura shouted, "ME NEITHER," probably just to be dumb. "I'm not judging you, you know."

Suddenly we heard an animalistic outburst of pain from outside. "Where's that coming from?" I asked. Aura had a grave face. Her eyes had a sad, faraway look from them. Then her expression melted away. "Come on," Aura said. "Honestly I think we should stay, but..." She trailed off, and walked out of the tent. I followed.


------------------------------------------------
Five minutes ago


-beep boop beep boop-

"Daniel's alive?!" F shouted as she looked at the monitor. "I thought those Fusions would kill him!"

"That completely screws up plans, doesn't it?" F turned to the figure in a dark corner of the room. "Wha- What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Ha, don't toy with me," the figure said. "If I wanted to, I could crush you like a grape. I came here for my reward."

"What reward?" F asked. "You're the one toying with me!"

"You promised me," the figure said, "that if I fatally wound- or kill- your so-called Agent D, you'd give me the information I need."

F gritted her teeth. "I never told you that, according to the records. Maybe you did, but there's no evidence to prove that, is there? Go, before-"

"You want them dead, don't you?"

"What?! Of course not!"

"Trust me. You do. All of your agents have a home and a family to be all warm and cozy with. Except you. You've been living the life of a..."

"Can't find the word?" F chuckled. "What-" F's giant hammer struck the Fusion before it could finish. "There's no way you'll make me press that button!"

Suddenly the Fusion disappeared. F quickly turned around, and scrambled for the controls. "Too late!" The Fusion got there before she did. F kicked the Fusion, only to be thrown away. She ran and tried to headbutt the Fusion, only to be stopped. The Fusion grasped F's throat with a fist of steel. "Don't...press..." She managed to breathe out. "You..."

"Believe me," the Fusion said, "you've always wanted to kill them. Don't deny it, for in the deepest depths of your soul darkness resides." She smirked. "It's always the red button isn't it? Oh how cliche, yet it's so convenient."

The Fusion pushed the button as she let go of F, who fell to the floor.

"...You murderer."

THREE CHEERS FOR MURDER!

I just finshed read this, and I love it!! Keep up the good work!

Gee, thanks a lot!

...Suddenly I'm scared.

Hm? Why?

Blaze Coral's lust for blood is more than my own. If that happens, bad things happen.

*Evil maniac voice* Yes, BAD THINGS!

Guys, I'm sorry.

The cold, dead, and barren winter's gotten to my head and has brought me a severe case of writer's block. So The Diaries of Alice will be on hiatus until spring, when the first flower blooms. Hopefully that first glimpse at life will turn the story's gears again. During the rest of the winter, I'll still work on Children of BBlood and maybe even get to posting that fanfic I'm writing offsite. It'd take a while, though, since I have to format and stuff... Please forgive me guys, I really love this fanfic as it's the first I've ever written and also the one that got me into writing fanfiction. I've always loved it from the first letter typed to the review from NZ to that miserable gloomy rainy night when I swore to myself that I would not die before Alice was finished.

And so, here ends my written apology. Forgive me, again, PLEASE. Remember that when you see the first flower bloom, you'll know that Book 1 is nearly finished.

---Forestgur.

PS. Sorry if my speech was a bit cheesy.

There's no need for an apology.

And it wasn't cheesy, and even if it was... OMNOMNOMNOM CHEESE!

What kind of cheese would it be?

*Thinks really hard* Hmmm, I don't know. A round blob of cheese with a smiley face on it.

That's gotta be one fancy cheese.

*Between bites* Yes, yes it is.

Good fill- I mean, good ladies and gentlemen, HERE IS PART 3 and the END OF BOOK ONE.

9- Grievances (Part 3)


"Hey, isn't this Camp Kidney?" I asked as we walked through the camp. Aura nodded. I remembered the time when I had wanted to enroll for this camp, but couldn't go because I was a girl. There was no way I was going to that camp-that-shall-not-be-named across Leakey Lake. That's so...so...pink.

As I passed a....certain building, I soon realized that maybe that other camp was better all along. "Where're we going?" I asked.

"The infirmary," Aura answered. "Jamie and Daniel are there."

What did she say? I thought, but I took my mind off it by changing the subject. "So what's your baseball team called?" I asked. I knew about all the baseball teams in the whole entire town. I hoped that it wasn't in another town.

Aura hesitated, but said, "The Fledgling Furries."

"...Fledgling Furries?"

"It's fantasy!"

"Oookaay..." I decided not to say anything further about the name. I was disappointed that it was a fantasy team, not a real team. "Stats?" I asked.

"Wins: 5; Losses: 7."

"That's it?"

"I don't know everything! I'm not the captain!" Aura protested.

"Who is?"

"Bubbles..."

"Bubbles?!" I shouted in shock. Aura said, "Well, Bubbles and I thought it'd be sort of cute if all the fantasy team members...weren't...human... Ugh, forget it."

Before I got to say anything else, Aura said, "We're here." However, she said this just as I walked into the wooden wall of the building. After I recovered, I glared at her, then followed her into the infirmary.

The sounds were way worse inside. The metallic screeching was almost deafening. "Where's that coming from?" I asked as I covered my ears.

"The machine," Aura answered.

"What machine?!"

"The machine over there! It makes ice cream and-and cold stuff. I gotta fix it."

I double facepalmed. "That animalistic-like screaming...was from...that gigantic ice cream machine..." I couldn't believe it at all. Yet here I was just because of a stupid ice cream machine. "So where are Jamie and Daniel?" I asked just as Aura handed me a cup full of ice cream and a spoon. Her arms were shaking. Why?

"In that room o-over there," Aura answered as she pointed to a brown beat-up door. "M'kay," I said as I put a spoonful of ice cream into my mouth.

I did find Jamie and Daniel, but not in the way I had hoped. Daniel was unconscious, lying on a cot, and Jamie was anxiously pacing around the room. Daniel was hooked to medical doohickeys, including a little screen that showed how fast or how slow his heart beat. Only multiple beeps broke the silence between us.

-beep-

-beep-

"...What happened?" I asked.

-beep-

"Daniel's been like this for a while," Jamie said. Obviously he was trying to change the subject. "He's not okay at all."

"But-" I stopped myself. But what? There's no denying it now. There grew an awkward silence between us.

-beep-

-beep-

Jamie appeared to be lost in thought. His expression would often shift from grief to hopeful to anger. He seemed to be stuck in those stages. I swiftly left.

"Aura?" I asked. She wasn't there. "Aura?" Then I heard her talking to someone in another room. I walked towards the sound, taking care not to let myself be seen by the doorway. I stole a brief glance at her to see that she was talking through a round device I had never seen before.

Aura also spoke in a serious tone of voice. "I got a feeling that this war isn't gonna be short, F. What you're doing's a dangerous habit and you should really break it. Who knows what can happen? I mean, look at D. Leader or not, you should listen to me...I know I'm being a little worrywart, but still..."

F? D? Dangerous habit?

"Lying's gonna make you lose them, especially C, FOREVER!...Why did you just repeat what I said, but the first part changed- Oh...I'm slow today...I gotta go, Sub. A's right behind me !"

I bolted into Daniel's room. Apparently I was "Sub. A." But who was D, C, and F? Anyway, I had to stay quiet about the matter, since Jamie might think that I was crazy. "Jamie, hide me and pretend I didn't run-"

Aura entered the room and looked at us strangely. "Hey," she said as she popped a piece of bubble gum into her mouth. I feared that she would do the worst to us, maybe offer us a piece of gum. A poisoned piece of gum.

"Here," Aura said as she threw us two devices like her own. I caught it just before it hit the floor. I held it gingerly as if it was a hot potato. Or a ticking time bomb. "What is this?" I asked sharply.

"It's a Nanocom," Aura answered. "All KND operatives and those of...other organizations are supposed to have one. For others, it's hard to get, unless you can prove yourself."

"...Cool," I said suspiciously. I glanced over to Jamie who was already toying with it. If it didn't explode in his hands, then it oughta not explode in mine. "What does the nano part mean?"

Aura shrugged. "I'm a bit of a techie nerd, but I don't know. Maybe Dexter will say soon."

"Dexter? As in the Dexter, world-famous child genius."

"Yep."

"Oh. Who else is helping Earth?"

"Not just the heroes, you know. Some of the baddies are helping, too."

"Who?!" I shouted in disbelief.

"Let it stay a surprise," Aura snickered. "Fine," I groaned. I looked over to Daniel. "What about him?"

"He'll be moved to Professor Utonium's house. If he stays like this...It's pretty hot here in the summer."

"Thanks so much."

The sound of Jamie's voice jolted me. "Thanks a lot, Aura," he said. "Daniel...He likes air conditioning way better than this."

"He's gonna be fine, Jamie," Aura tried to comfort him. "Don't you know that?"

"Already do," he replied.

I felt helpless since I couldn't do anything for Daniel. Then I remembered the last I saw Blaze. I also remembered all those times we fought. All that fighting and rivalry seemed like it was for nothing now, right in front of Jamie's brother. I wondered what he was doing at the moment, what he was thinking, and if he was worried about me.

Blaze was my big brother. I didn't want to lose him. I wanted to take back all the hurtful things I said about him. I'll make it up to him, I thought, by helping to make sure that we win this war. Sorry will so not cut it. I decided that I wouldn't go home until after this was all over.

Also, I wanted to find out why I had these Spidermonkey arms and where and what happened to my parents. I wanted to know the truth.

"...Alice," Aura said as she snapped her fingers right in front of me. "What?" I asked.

"Thought you were sleepy or something. Anyway, that roleplay conversation you heard earlier was just a test to make sure the Nanocom works. It can transmit voice and text messages like a phone."

"What?" I asked again. I thought I heard the word roleplay. "Ugh, you know what, forget it." Everyone here, I thought, is CRAZY!

"So," Aura said, "I think you want to do something besides mope around, right?"

Jamie and I nodded.

"Well, I'll do something for you, since I have some connections. You don't look like KND material, so I-"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Jamie interrupted.

"Not everyone can be a KND operative," Aura said with a touch of annoyance as she rolled her eyes.

"You're overage, that's why," I muttered under my breath.

Aura ignored my comment as she continued. "ANYWAY, go talk to the pilot of the S.C.A.M.P.E.R over there. As long as you pay him...200-something taros-" She paused just in case we were outraged. "-he should take you to Genius Grove. Once you're there, use this Dexbot transporter thingy to get to Dexlabs. When you're in, talk to Computeress. She's going to give you a mission, I think."

Aura then gave us 1000 taros each for the journey ahead. "Wait here," she said as she hurried out. When she came back, she gave us back our weapons. "If you need any more taros, kill some Fusions or do favors for people. You'll often be given taros or sometimes new armor or weapons."

"OK," we said in unison.

"Oh, and while you were unconscious I modified your weapons to make them lighter and more effective again the Fusions.

"Yes," I cheered under my breath.

"Well...this is it, isn't it?" Aura asked as she led us out of the room and onto the veranda of the infirmary. "Next time we meet, hopefully Daniel's...okay."

"Yeah," Jamie replied, "I hope so too."

"Well, bye!" Aura waved us goodbye as she watched us walk over to the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. "Bye!" We said back.

Once we were in the S.C.A.M.P.E.R and headed towards Genius Grove, Jamie was almost back to his self again. "So, I'm on an epic adventure with the-"

"Don't...say...it..."

He looked at me with wide, love-struck eyes. "Yeah, OK." But I had to admit, we were kinda on an epic adventure to save Earth. But we weren't alone. Millions of other kids were going to help. It did seem that everyone was going on an epic adventure of their own.

I proudly thought, But this adventure will be ours alone!


THE END OF BOOK ONE

So...I fear that the ending was a bit cliche...

Anyway, Book 2 will be started with a bang!