"I know I said......I forgave him for abandoning us....but I swear....the next time I get my hands on Lager..." I gasp out in pants, stopping for a moment to put my hands on my knees and take a breath.

Becky collapses next to me, laying limply on the ground and she stares up at the sky.

"I can't do it anymore. Go on without me." She moans, closing her eyes.

I huff, stretching my back as I stand up again, swaying on my feet. You would think that I would be a little more in shape from all activities I've been doing since getting to this island. Constant danger tends to keep a person on their toes at all times after all. But the burn in my legs and the way I can already feel the muscles bunching up and tightening makes me doubt I've done any exercise for the past year.

"We have to continue. C'mon Becky, I'll help you up."

I reach out my hand for her, and she lifts her arm. I grab onto her limb and heave, only making her sit up, before I let go and she falls back down with a thud.

"Ow." She says flatly, her eyes still closed.

I snort, before finally paying attention to our surroundings.

We've passed quite a few temple-looking buildings by now, along with a lot of people, all of them wearing robe-like clothes that are similar to Iris' and Cato's. The first part of the hike I had tried to go for a friendly approach, smiling and nodding at people when our eye's met. Just a few minutes ago I gave up though, too tired to do more than continue the long and horrible trek up.

The higher we climbed, the more the people seemed to thin, until we only passed about one or two every few minutes.

Iris and Cato have long since disappeared from our sight up the mountain, seeming to have no issue with climbing the steep path. Max on the other hand, paused a few buildings back to buy some food, with the promise that he'll catch up soon.

The only good part about this terrible hike is the amazing view. I've seen the jungle plenty of times from Highclere, but there's something about actually being outside when experiencing this scenery that makes it seem all the more tangible.

Another groan from the person laying at my feet makes me snap out of my tired daze, and I narrow my eyes down at Becky.

"Look, I did not come here to be bested by a mountain, so get up right now Becky, before I'm tempted more to kick you."

She opens her eyes, her glare dangerous. "You wouldn't dare."

I open my mouth to rebut, when a familiar voice calls out.

"Hey Ashley! What's Becky doing on the ground? Oh, never mind, I don't want to know. Good news! I've brought some water and food!"

Becky raises her head and I turn mine to see Max a few yards away walking towards us with a spring in his step and a huge smile on his face. I guess that whole 'awkward to be back home after getting banished for a long period of time' phase he was going through disappeared.

"Water." Becky immediately sits up, and I give her a dumbfounded look, but she isn't paying any attention, instead just focusing her gaze on the two flasks Max carries in his hands.

When he gets close enough, he tosses the first one to me, and I somehow manage to catch it. Then he turns to Becky, but she's already giving him a warning look.

"Wait, don't throw it-" She starts to say, but it's too late.

The flask soars through the air and Becky reaches up her hands to catch it, but the cap must have been loose, because the next second it pops off and an arc of water flies up before landing directly on her.

Becky stands there, her clothes wet as the flask falls to the ground with a thump.

"Oh erm....I'm sorry...I didn't know that would....happen." Max says awkwardly, worriedly looking around as if some solution might pop up.

Becky closes her eyes and inhales deeply,holding it for a second, before letting it go in a whoosh of breath. I take a step back as she opens her eyes, prepared to watch her lunge at Max and try to kill him, but what I'm not expecting is to see her gaze on not Max, but me.

Well, not really me, but the flask in my hands.

I take another step backwards up the path, not moving my gaze from Becky.

"Wait, we can talk about this. Max can get you a new water. There's no need to take mine. " I start to ramble, hugging the precious water closer to my chest.

Becky's only reply is to bend her knees, before springing at me. I turn and start to sprint up the mountain, my feet aching and legs straining but my drive pushing me on.

Thank the Core that Becky is so tired, or she would have caught up to me in a few seconds, but as of now, she doesn't seem to be particularly gaining at me. Still, I can't continue to sprint up the path for long, my breathing is already super labored.

"Give me the water, Ashley!" I hear Becky yell behind me, which just makes me push myself to keep running.

"No!" Is all I can afford to say back, the word coming out from between pants.

A flash of blue soars into vision, and I turn my head to see Max flying beside me, but this time in bird form. Any other time I would have taken a few seconds to admire his gorgeous, blue wings, but I'm in the middle of a crisis right now and need to stay focused.

"So you're not going to....try and fix this?" I gasp out at him, and he just gives me a scared look with his huge, bird eyes, most likely not wanting to confront Becky right now. Wise choice.

A minute passes, until my legs are burning with a new and painful fire and I can't take it anymore. I start to slow down, right as I hear Becky speed up. I glance down at the water in my hands, closing my eyes, before sighing and mentally saying goodbye to it and regretting the fact that I never got to drink it.

Max squawks beside me, urging me to go on, but I guess he can't understand the limitations to humans, especially an out-of-shape girl like me.

I slow to a full stop, barely able to stand, only to be tackled from behind a few seconds later by Becky. We rolls on the path, nearing the slope that will go down all the way to the base of the mountain, which I've avoided this entire time for the fear that I'd become paralyzed at seeing the steep drop.

Becky grabs for the flask, and even though I can't run anymore, it's instinct to continue fighting for it, so I grip the flask with all I can, refusing to let go. Becky growls, trying to tear it away from me, and we wrestle for a few good seconds and that's when it happens.

The flask goes flying out of both Becky's and my hands, rolling to the edge. Becky and I pause, watching it roll away with wide eyes.

Don't go over. Don't go over. Don't go over. I plead with the inanimate object silently in my head.

It goes over.

Becky and I both crawl quickly to the edge, watching the flask fall down the mountain until it's out of sight.

A few seconds pass in silence, and Becky and I look at each other.

"This is all your fault!" We both shout at the same time.

"My fault? How is it mine?" I'm the first to speak.

"None of this would have happened it you would have just given me a few sips. That's all I wanted." She says.

"You're a liar and you know it. You would have drank the whole thing!" I exclaim, clenching my fists as we both stand and face each other.

"Maybe, but you still should have given it anyway. what happened to the annoying Ashley who's always sunshine and rainbows and all for doing the "right thing"?" She says sarcastically at the end, which only frays my nerves more.

"Oh yeah? Well maybe I would have felt more inclined to give it to you, if you had for once done something nice for me or anyone else!" I snap back.

"I do nice things all the time for people." She scoffs, rolling her eyes.

"Name something then." I challenge her, and watch her pause.

"Stop being childish." She growls after a moment of silence, crossing her arms and huffing.

We both glare at each other, both of us refusing to back down, before suddenly, Max, who has landed on a tree while still in bird form, starts squawking frantically.

"Shut it, Max!" We both say at the same time, turning to him. He instantly shuts his beak and inches further away, hiding himself in the leaves.

A throat clears, and we turn to see Iris, Cato missing from her side, standing on the path.

"Oh, um sorry to interrupt, but I came to check on you since it was taking so long. " She says, shifting on her feet, obviously nervous.

I instantly turn red, realizing she may have been there for a long time and seen me in that embarrassing fit of anger.

"I'm sorry." I say, clearing my throat and swallowing although my mouth is dry. "How far are we from the Villa?"

"It's actually just around the corner." Iris smiles, looking relieved that I didn't snap at her as well, which makes me cringe just thinking about it. I look up and sees she's right. In all the running

She bows her head, before turning and walking back up the path, leaving me and Becky in a very awkward situation.

"Well..." I start to say at the same time Becky says "Um...".

We both finally look each other in the eye, already knowing what the other is going to say.

"Sorry." We say together.

There's a bright flash of light comes from the trees and I immediately jerk my head away, knowing that a nude Max is probably sitting on a branch.

"I don't know about you guys," He says in a relieved and happy tone, "But it's pretty weird the way you've been saying the same things at the same time."

"It's not my fault Ashley has no originality." Becky huffs, and I look at her, wondering if the fight's really over, but there's no hostility in her gaze, so I decide to banter back.

"Says the copy cat."

She narrows her eyes at me, and I do the same to her, but then I break out in a wide smile and a corner of her mouth turns up, which I consider a victory.

"Let's get this over with." Becky finally says, and together we start to continue up the path.

"Hey wait for m-," We hear Max shout behind and then a sudden crashing sound, but Becky and I don't wait, too tired to do much of anything except keep walking.

The higher we go, the more curvier the path gets until it feels like we're constantly walking in spirals upwards.

"We're actually here." Becky's breathless voice pulls me out of my blank stare at the ground, watching as my feet move forward step by step.

I look up, only for my mouth to drop.

The Villa that stands before us is absolutely huge, besting any of the other large temple-like houses we saw down below. It almost looks like a neatly, polished palace, and even the white stone it's built from seems to glow faintly.

"Well, at least you managed to get here before the sun fully set." A voice speaks, and my gaze travels to in between two of the pillars, where Lager stands. Then my eyes go to the horizon, where I see that the sun has indeed started to sink, turning the sky a brilliant orange and pink.

I faintly remember telling myself that I would never forgive Lager for putting Becky and I through that horrible hike, but all of that seems to have been erased from my head along with my will to stay awake.

My eyelids start to droop, and I see Lager rushing towards me suddenly, calling out my name, as I slide to the ground.

"Max, get over here." Lager says, and I hear another thud beside me, then a curse from lager. that must have been Becky.

I start to drift into the darkness, distantly feeling my head lift before settling back on some kind of support, and then one hand on my forehead and another on my collarbone, right above my heart.

"This is gonna drain a lot of my energy, but the High Commander wanted to meet with them now, so I guess there's no helping it." I recognize Max's voice mutter.

I'm on the brink of fully submerging myself into unconsciousness, when suddenly what feels like a huge wave of energy is sent throughout my body fro where the hand on my forehead and collarbone are.

I jolt awake, gasping for breath and knocking heads with Max, who was leaning over me.

"Ow!" He yells, falling back and clutching his forehead, but I'm too busy staring at my legs, which has been originally like dead weights, but now felt like they could run a marathon.

'What did you do?" I gaped at him.

"A simple Lightling healer trick of transferring energy." He groans, continuing to rub his head.

"Why didn't you do it before?" I ask in a demanding tone.

"Cause it drains most of my own energy." He retorts, before sighing. "Ugh, I'm cranky when tired. I'm gonna need a serious nap after this."

I watch as he crawls over to Becky, who had fallen next to me, and he puts a hand on her forehead, and another on her collarbone.

His hands start to glow with a warm, yellow-white light, and Becky sits up suddenly, her hand moving fast like lightning and slapping Max.

"What in the name of Dalton was that for?" Max howls in pain, clutching his cheek which is already turning a bright red.

Becky stares at her hand, then at max and is the some sheepishness I see in her face?

"Sorry. I thought some pervert was trying to touch me in my sleep." She explains, shuffling over to him.

He looks up at her as she places her hand on his uninjured cheek, gently lifting his face so she can inspect the damage she did.

Then she seems to realize that Max and I are both gaping at her, cause she yanks her hand away, scowling.

"Darn, I think some of your annoying personality traits passed onto me through your energy." She mutters, looking away although I still caught the red blush creeping onto her cheeks.

Max is silent, still probably in shock.

Suddenly a hand in blocking my vision, and I follow the hand up an arm and to familiar gold eyes.

"I'm glad you're feeling better." Lager softly says, and I take his hand, letting him help me up.

"Thanks. Wait a second! How long has the High commander been waiting for us?" I realize, looking up at him frantically.

"Oh, only about an hour or two." He says nonchalantly, and I let a panicked noise out of my throat.

"What are you waiting for?" Becky says, gesturing for Lager to lead the way.

"Right." He says.

I follow behind him, Max and Becky falling into step behind. He leads us past the pillars and into the actual building, our feet being greeted by a beautifully woven carpet along with tapestries hung up in the hallway, the theme of them obviously white and yellow, representing the Lightlings.

Unfortunately, I don't have much time to pay attention to any decorations or architecture, because Lager is walking so fast.

We turn a few times, walk for a few minutes, until finally making it to two huge doors that remind me much of the doors that lead to the throne room in Highclere, except these appear to be made of a lighter color of wood.

Lager pauses before the doors, knocking, before waiting a moment.

He must have heard something that I didn't, because the next second he's pushing open the door, and striding in. Hesitantly, I glance behind me at Max and Becky, who beckon me to go in first.

Taking a breath, I walk in, firstly noticing how the room seems to have no walls, just pillars. It does however, have a roof, which is a huge and gorgeous dome made of glass.

The only furniture in the room seems to be a purple lounge couch, with other chairs surrounding it. Then my eyes take in the woman who's laying on the couch. I can only see the back of her head, because the couch is facing out towards the view of the jungle.

Lager walks to where he's standing in front of the couch, and he bows, deeper than I've ever seen him bow before.

"Malia." He greets.

"Lager." The woman speaks, her voice soft and almost angelic.

Lager rises and meets my eyes, waving his hand and beckoning me to come over. Slowly, I walk towards him, giving a wide berth around the couch out of respect. When I'm finally standing next to Lager, I dare to look up at her.

Her hair is a blonde that looks white, blending in with her pale skin and making her eyes that are the color of ice stand out more. But for ice colored eyes, they don't seem very sharp or cold at all, instead very warm and welcoming. Her hair also appears to be waist length, straight and a bit thin, but quite well kept. A beautiful white robe adorns her, with golden thread woven into it in creative patterns.

"So you're the famous Ashley I've heard about." Malia says, taking a moment to study me, which makes me feel all the more self-conscious about my frazzled hair and dirty clothes.

"It's an honor to meet you, Lightling High Commander." I say and give an awkward bow, cringing mentally at how stupid I most likely look.

"Malia is fine." She says with a kind smile, light seeming to radiate from her smile alone.

I nod, seeing Becky and Max out of the corner of my eye.

"This is Rebekka, my friend,and one of your citizens Max-".

"Oh I know Maximus quite well." Malia cuts in, a corner of her mouth turning up. "Are you still staying out of trouble?" She asks him.

Max winks, seeming more relaxed than anyone else in the entire room. "Of course."

She chuckles, and I feel the mood of everyone in the room instantly lighten from her laugh alone.

"Your father has been worried about you since you haven't come back in the three months. I know he was the one to send you away in the first place, but I'm setting up a meeting between you two tomorrow afternoon. Please consider seeing him." Malia says.

Max shifts on his feet, not meeting her gaze, but nodding.

"Well I'm truly grateful that you all decided to visit, it's refreshing to see new faces. Because of my illness I haven't been outside of the Villa much." She sighs, her eyes returning to gazing out at the jungle beyond.

"Good thing we aren't planning on leaving soon." Lager speaks up, drawing her attention back to him. He locks gazes with her, and they seem to share a silent message.

"Ah, so it's time again." Malia finally says, and I'm almost wanting to burst forth with the questions I have, but I just barely contain myself. Time for what? The business Lager was speaking of earlier?

"Thank you for the hospitality." I end up saying instead, drawing another smile from Malia, which seem abundant.

"Of course. Iris should arrive here any moment to show you to your rooms, which will all be in the same wing to make you more comfortable. Please tell me if anything is not to your liking."

At that moment the door opens on perfect timing, Iris standing and waiting. I wonder what happened to Cato, but knowing him, he most likely went off somewhere to do something he deemed more important.

I give another extremely awkward bow goodbye to Malia, while she gives a delicate wave back, before walking back towards the doors where Iris is, Lager, Becky, and Max following close behind.

"This way please." Iris speaks softly, before turning and walking down the hall.

We follow her, and one by one she leaves Becky and Max at their own rooms, which are conveniently beside each other, which makes me smirk mischievously. Iris turns to Lager as we continue walking.

"If you would like,you can go to your room now." She says, and he nods, giving me a slight wistful glance.

"Goodnight, Ashley. See you tomorrow." He murmurs.

"Goodnight." I nod my head, and watch as he vanishes into shadow.

"Don't worry." Iris suddenly speaks up, giving me a sly glance. "His room is only on the second floor, still in the same wing. It's just because he's a High Commander that his room is different."

I flush red, but don't say a word and continue to let her lead the way.

Finally she stops in front of a room, on the other end of the hallway,opening the door and stepping aside to let me in.

I step in, my gaze going first to the huge bed, white and fluffy looking like a cloud, then the huge gapes in the wall which are shaped like windows but have no glass, just miniature pillars inside them. A nice rug stretches across the ground, with a couch and a nightstand and desk being the only other pieces of furniture. Still fancy, but also a little less crowded than what I was expecting.

"The bathroom is down the hall. There should be some Lightling attendants here in the morning, and if you need anything specific, just tell one of them and they'll come fetch me." Iris says.

I turn to her, giving her what i hope is a friendly smile.

"Thank you, Iris."

She smiles back, bowing her head, before leaving and shutting the door.

The boost of energy Max gave has slowly started to fade, and as I walk towards the bed, the more I near it, the more tired I get.

I flop onto the bed, looking up at the ceiling and sighing.

Tomorrow. I tell myself. I'll definitely start investigating for the mission tomorrow.

With those thoughts in my head, I drift off to sleep.



Dear readers, The update is a little late this week so I'm sincerely sorry but the wifi went out last night, which isn't much of an excuse but at least it's something. This has got to be the longest chapter in the history of Experiment Zero and Human One, nearing four thousand words. I thought since I made you wait a week longer I'd do something extra like this. Anymore thoughts on Iris and Cato? What about Malia? And what's up with Lager and the business he has with her? This chapter has not been edited, and because I want to leave you on a cliffhanger and stuff, I'll tell you that End will be making a very sudden appearance in the next chapter, so be looking forward to that ;). Vote, comment, and make your own milkshake. (It's easier than it sounds, milk and ice cream, blend it together, BAM, deliciousness) Lots of Love,

Dangeroustoken

P.S. Also thanks so much fro all the reads! Experiment zero went through a sudden boom along with Human One, so I just wanted to say thanks for that. XD