After yesterday's event with Dad, followed by a few choice words from Uzi to him, things began to change...... The talking behind our back that was vile and cruel turned into shocked and frightened whispers, and others were nicer than normal, but it was as if they were being held at weapon point! I had mentioned the clock to Uzi, but when we inquired what it was for, Gambit could never seem to come up with an answer for what it was; deeply worried, we began to scrounge data files from the WDF to see what EXACTLY we could come up with, but never finding anything about reports of Drones with defective internal clocks! I haven't forgotten about Khan's words, running them over like a broken cassette as I tried to find out what about Gambit caused him to panic like he did, but when I thought I had something, it simply fled from my mind before I could come to terms with the thought! Defeated, I went to the food court with Uzi for lunch; sitting at a table next to a group of friends who gave us fearful glances, and shocked side eyes as Uzi muttered, "What is their problem?" "Khan's been running his mouth, and I think he's hiding something BIG from us!" I replied quietly, trying to ignore the loud whisperings next to us as we waited for our meal. "That's crazy! What guts does my dad have to do a cover up without anyone knowing?" "I don't know, but his words still unsettle me.... And the fact Gambit only knows so little about herself is worrying me even more!" I replied, shaking my head as a sinking feeling washed over me... I wanted so badly to find the truth, but what would that mean for us as a family? What if Gambit's life is in peril?! I shook the thoughts from my head as I grabbed onto Uzi's hand, and I stated, "Whatever is going on with our daughter, I'm determined to work through it- no matter WHAT happens! I love her too much to let her go now!" Uzi clasped my hand in return as she cooed comfortingly, "And I'll be there every step of the way. We can work through whatever is going on because we're a team, and Gambit is going to see just how strong we are together than if we were apart!" Just then, a paper ball landed smack dab in the middle of our table from nowhere, causing Uzi to grow furious as she growled, "HEY! WHAT THE-" she and I looked around the room until we found a lady about our age, wearing big, round glasses, and her neon green hair pulled back into a medium ponytail behind her gray hard hat, and a fringe that was parted down the center. There were big, neon pink words on her visor that said, "READ IT" and like she instructed, we quickly uncrinkled the paper to find a note that said the following:

"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Doorman,

I'm sorry to be reaching out to you in such an, well, unprecedented way, but there are simply too many spies around to talk normally! Please, if the rumors are true, then I may have information that is of dire cruciality to you both. Meet me in the unused North Eastern wing of the Colony with your daughter, and anyone else you know with you! Please, keep this letter on your person at ALL TIMES- I can't fathom what they will do to us if they find out I told you...

Please forgive me, Marrisa Click"

Confused, we looked up to find the lady again, but this time, she was no longer at her table... "Marrisa? Why is that name familiar?" Uzi asked under her breath before looking up at me. "Wasn't she the second most unpopular girl in the school besides you?" "Ouch!" "Sorry, just going on memory here..." I replied, thinking about my days in school, and seeing her sitting quietly at the back of the class in goth Victorian attire. People were terrified of Uzi, but when it came to Marrisa, she was always considered odd because of her philosophical speech and views. She was lightning smart, but that was all people knew her for besides being odd and quiet. "God, I hadn't talked- let alone SEEN Marrisa since graduation! I've seen her younger sister Marlene about, and even Mr. and Mrs. Click but NEVER Marrisa. I wonder how she's been all these years?" Uzi said, skimming through her note one last time while covering her mouth thoughtfully. "She said that she may know what's going on, right? I say we take her on her word for it!" I suggested, wanting to get to the bottom of this mess once and for all. "But what does Marrisa know about Gambit? And why?!" Uzi asked, seemingly suspicious of the entire ordeal. "What I wanna know is what she means by "Spies" and "I can't fathom what they will do". Who are "they" and why are there "Spies"?" The whole ordeal was only bringing more questions than answers as we tried to piece together the cryptic message our school mate left for us, and how it all tied back to Gam as we munched on our salad bowls, and chicken sandwiches. We had no choice but to wait until this evening to find the answers we sought.... After a long work day, and a busy one at that trying to uncover what Khan knew about Gam that would cause him to go off like he did, we made our way back to the unit where a very stressed out V was sitting with Gambit on the couch, watching T.V. when Uzi flashed the crumpled letter to V. Adjusting her glasses, she squinted her eyes as she carefully read the small handwriting, and afterwards widened her eyes in shock as she exclaimed, "Click?! I've talked to her during my time as a teacher!" "Wh-What?!" Uzi gasped, shocked. "Y-You have?!" I asked, equally as surprised. V nodded furiously as she explained, "She used to ask me for manuals and encyclopedias revolving circuit sciences and the idea of using a circuit to freeze time! I told her the findings were inconclusive, but there was a spark in her eyes that said she believed different." "So she's gone from philosophical to conspiracy theorist? No WONDER we haven't seen her since! That stuff boggles your motherboards good I heard." Uzi scoffed, putting her hands on her hips. "But what if it ties into what she knows about Gambit? O-Or maybe about what secret Khan is keeping from us! This could be our chance to help Gambit, and for her to finally get some answers as well." I argued, taking the letter back from V to observe it again. "She mentioned bringing people you trusted to hear her out as well... Could she mean Thad and Lizzie?" V asked, making me shrug in response as Uzi replied, "Well they're our friends after all.... I wonder if we should invite dad?" "I don't know about that, Uzi... She wouldn't talk to us normally while surrounded by our Co Workers, I doubt she'll open up around dad." I replied thoughtfully, remembering her frightened features as we read the letter. "Please, the WDF couldn't even defend themselves from US, let alone carry out an act that'd make a Drone make secret meetings for. But I guess if you're adamant to that belief, then we won't tell ole man Doorman the scoop, right Uzi?" "Absolutely! Let's go ahead and contact Thad and Lizzie, then we can meet up with Marrisa at the North Eastern wing." "ON IT!" V and I replied together, and I prepped a backpack with flashlights so that we could see in the dark, near abandoned halls of the old wing without tripping on debris, and bringing a feather duster to keep the webs away while Uzi brought blankets, and V made calls to Thad and Lizzie. We all met up with each other at nine P.M. sharp; Gambit shivering under the blanket she shared with her mom as she whispered, "What IS this place?" "It's an old portion of the colony we couldn't keep up with the repairs on, so we just let it go to ruin." Uzi explained, cuddling closer with our child to keep her warm. "I SO can't believe the nerve of that girl- luring us away from warm beds to this filthy, unkempt, spider infested-" Lizzie complained, huddling under her own blanket as Thad tried to quell her outbursts. "Khan is hiding something, and I think Marrisa knows as well as any what exactly that is. At least, I HOPE so otherwise I'm going to be cross with her for the sleep deprivation she's giving ALL of us!" I replied, my breath producing a thick cloud of steam with each word I spoke, and breath I took as I shined my light down the spooky looking hallway. The wind blowing past us was stinging us as it whipped by, and I took a deep breath for courage as I took a step forward. "P-Papa! The monsters will eat you if you go further." Gambit cried, frightened by the scene before her. Smiling, I looked back at her as I assured, "No monster is gonna nab me, I'm the monster that ALL monsters fear- if they come after us, I'll gobble them up till they're no more!" "But what if they-" "It's okay, Gambit. Papa and mommy will protect you from whatever is lurking in the darkness!" I assured, going further into the darkness as her mother followed behind, causing her to gasp in fear. Lizzie and Thad followed close behind, and our small party found our way winding deeper, and deeper into the darkness of a once lively portion of the colony, wondering where it was to meet with our eccentric schoolmate. "N? Any deeper and we'll need masks!" V exclaimed, grabbing my shoulder as I looked around the old store room we were in, and I sighed reluctantly, "I guess, now we wait..." "I don't wanna look Mhamaí.... It's too scary in here!" I heard Gambit whimper, and I outstretched my arms to take her from Uzi as I consoled softly, "Papa's got you. Try to get some rest while we wait, okay? We'll wake you when it's time to talk." "You won't leave?" "Nope. I'm staying RIGHT here with you, and mommy, and Aunties V and Lizzie, and Uncle Thad! I won't let anything happen to ANY of you, I promise. So you get some sleep now, okay?" I stroked Gambit's hair, my anxiety building as she yawned, and finally fell asleep.... Where WAS Marrisa? "Are you SURE we were supposed to come this far?" Thad asked, scratching his head as Uzi said, "She didn't specify a location, so I assume so..." "Well she'd better hurry. This place is CREEPY!" Lizzie whined, grabbing ahold of Thad as V scoffed, "Oh, grow up! Gambit's got a reason to, but you're a grown woman for crying out loud!" "Easy for YOU to say!" "And what's THAT supposed to mean?!" "LADIES!" I scolded, not wanting Gam to wake up from her little night's rest. After I did, a voice echoed from behind, "So..... You came after all...." startling us all as I flashed my light quickly in the direction it came from. "SHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Not so loud!" It was Marissa.... My God it was ACTUALLY her in the flesh..! Her neon eyes flashed with fear as she scanned the area, and she quickly waved all of us over to an abandoned warehouse with a shutter on the windows and doors. There we all stood in the blackened pitch until we heard a soft banging of metal, and a light click of a lamp to reveal a makeshift housing unit! "W-Wait.... You're LIVING here?!" Uzi asked, looking around in shock as Marrisa replied quickly, "After everything, I dropped off the grid..... I never even spoke to my sister or parents again! The only contact I had was V, and it was because I needed help.... It may seem though that I'm running out of time...." "What on Copper Nine are you talking about!? And what did you mean by "Spies"?!" V inquired, making all of us wait in suspense as Marrisa simply clammed up. "I-I..... I can't tell you that JUST yet..... Not until I know for sure that I wasn't just hearing things!" Marrisa looked my way, a pained look on her face as she stared at the lump beneath my blanket, and asked, "Could I see her? Your daughter?" I was hesitant at first, but it seemed from the look on her face that she may have some sort of history involving Gambit, and so I gently shook my daughter awake before giving in to her desire to see her. Gasping and cupping her hand over her mouth, she exclaimed, "Oh my God, it's you! You're alive, Silver!" "H-Huh?" Gambit and I asked at the same time as she happily stroked my daughter's face- tears running down her cheeks before breaking down entirely. "Marrisa, WHO are you talking about?" Thad asked, thoroughly as confused as Lizzie added, "What's this about?!" Marrisa gathered her bearings as she replied, "S-Sorry, I'm just so... You're probably all MORE than confused at this point- please, have a seat!" She invited, and we all obliged as we took the nearest cushions, chairs, ANY furniture that could support us as Marrisa sat at the very front of us. "I suppose I should start at the beginning, right? Fifteen years back, in fact! There was a guy by the name of Sean Ol'Rig that was new to the colony. He had Gray metal like liquid mercury, and his hair was a nice, royal blue color, and his eyes were a gorgeous shade of Lavender!" "I remember him! He was a real prankster my dad told me!" Uzi gasped, and I connected the dots based on his features alone.... Sean was Gambit's TRUE father! "Y-Yeah! But he tragically passed before Gambit left her home, and came to live with us.... He was such a nice guy!" I added, stroking Gambit's hair as Marrisa said bluntly, "That's NOT what happened..." "Th-Then what DID?" V asked, raising a brow. "Like I said, Sean showed up one day without a trace, and integrated himself into our day to day without us knowing his TRUE mission! He was sent by the parent company, much like how N and you were before figuring out the truth, to eliminate the runaway Drones on Copper Nine in the form of a disguised bomb with enough C4 powder to make a nuke hang it's head in shame, for it would've taken the entire colony, as well as half the planet with it. On his chest was a clock, displaying how much time he had left before he exploded the colony and planet- deeming him what we classified as "Kamikaze Drones", or Drones that were made to self destruct when the time hit zero!" "B-But that's impossible, Cyn killed them all! The parent company is no more!" I cried in disbelief as Marrisa shook her head. "Not ALL of them because these were a regiment located from a different galaxy, trying to finish what the first could not achieve.... Sean was content to carry out his deeds until he took the time to truly stand back, and see what we had created: Jobs, families, education, and Sean completely fell for the way of life that we were carrying out! In fact, he coveted it SO much that he somehow found a way to reset his clock so that he may get to experience all the things he was supposed to destroy without taking it all away from us. The only ones who knew the truth, and kept his secret was myself, and Alessandra!" "Wh-Who?" "Alessandra, Silver's mother! Oh, she was a lovely, frail Drone- her eyes a powdery blue like an orchid, and her hair was a gorgeous sunrise color. Sean and her fell for each other almost instantly, and after a few months, the two got married." "Awww. How cute!" Lizzie fawned, cupping her hands over her chest. Marrisa nodded, smiling sheepishly in agreement as she said, "Y-Yes.... I was her maid of Honor..... They remained without kids for a few years, then one day, Alessandra came to Sean and I with the news that they were going to be parents. The look in Sean's eyes as he cheered and cried, they were moving enough to put even the best bards of old to shame! It wasn't until after Silver, whom you've called "Gambit" this whole time, was born did the uproars began to start- beginning with Alessandra's death after conceiving their only daughter! The doctors.... They were horrified to find that she had inherited the Kamikaze gene, and promptly reported the baby and Sean to YOUR father, Uzi. Khan didn't even give him the time of day to explain how he had the situation under control; taking him and baby Silver both, and locking them in a cage to be executed!" Mine and Uzi's eyes grew wide with terror and disbelief as our jaws hung agape.... Executed..? As in taken away and KILLED executed?! "Wh-What happened after he locked them up?" I asked, trembling as I clutched Gambit tightly. "I went looking to bail them out of course! Sean was crying profusely, losing his wife and now coming to terms with never seeing his baby grow, and the fear she wouldn't get the chance to. He turned to me, and he said, "Now you listen, Mar, take my newborn and flee away from the colony while the night's still young! Go, and run as far as your legs can take you until both you and Silver are safe." he gave me Alessandra's locket, and the two of us stole away into the night without anyone finding out. I ran like he told me- the stinging wind and freezing snow slapping us both while Silver merely wailed bloody murder! I found an abandoned research cubical, big enough for us to hide out during the storm as I busily programmed the system to raise Silver as it's own with a Hologram of Sean until the time came for her to return, and I even drew her a map of where to go from the cubical..... The only thing I didn't program the interface to do was say her name..... I left the baby in the care of the Hologram, hoping one day I'd go back to her with a way to make her normal like us, but it seems that day never came..... And what's more, she's found YOU two! I've heard of your achievements and Valor- I'd sleep better at night knowing she is in good hands with you than still suffering by herself." She laid her eyes onto my child, clearly frightened as she reached her hand out to her. "If I may see the clock, please?" She asked, and I turned Gambit to face her as she unbuttoned the top of her dress to see the clock now marked at three days, and two hours remaining as she tisked, "It's a crunch, but with each other's help, we can figure out JUST what Sean did when he opened himself up to reverse the clock!" "So what you're saying is that in three days Gambit will die, and take half the planet INCLUDING us with her? She was born only to DIE?!" I asked, voice cracking as my lips trembled. "If we don't reverse the clock in time, I'm afraid so..." Marrisa replied, giving a consoling hand to me as I stared distantly in thought. Gambit, who had been listening quietly, shook her head before stammering, "N-No, no, you have the wrong person. My old papa died-" "After you were born.... The Hologram was a fake, but spitting image of him!" "B-But I! It just!" Gambit began to hyperventilate as she sobbed, "B-But I like it here with my papa N and Mhamaí Uzi! I don't wanna die, and kill others because it's not right! And I'm not "Silver"- "Silver" is dead; I'm Gambit!" Hearing her in so much distress washed an entire ocean of emotions over me: anger that our parent company had forced this child to die so young, terrified that Khan went to such lengths to cover up a murder secret, and heartbroken that Gambit had to learn it all from a woman who wasn't even familiar to her.... It was all just too much to bear! Clenching my teeth together I began to curse the parent company, then turned to Marissa as I begged, "Please, Mar, how did he say he opened himself up? HOW did he reverse his clock?!" "Th-That's the issue! He never told us both! But I theorize he made blueprints to stache somewhere- we just need to find them." "Help us. Help HER! We can't do this alone, and you're the only one more informed on the matter than we are! Please, PLEASE do this for us..." I sobbed, bringing Gambit closer to me as I started to sob. I dropped to my knees, still holding her to my chest as I sobbed, "It's not fair.... I thought V and I were messed over, but this-" I couldn't finish the sentence as I looked into Gambit's terrified eyes, and it was almost as if I saw a reflection of my former self in her as she said shakily, "I don't wanna die, papa... Please don't let me die...." Uzi dropped to her knees beside me as she threw herself into my embrace, and before I knew it I had not only a fearful child but her mother as well as she tearfully began, "N-No.... I..... W-We waited too long...! H-How could Dad DO this to us! Gambit, I'm SO sorry..." I looked back up to Marrisa with pleading eyes, causing her to sigh as she turned her back to us. "For Sean and Alessandra Ol'Rig, I'll do it... Even if it means I have to put my fears aside to call out Khan for his twisted crime, I'll make sure that his bloodline lives on for generations to come!" She stated, a sense of resolve in her tone as she turned her head over her shoulder to flash us a smile. "Could you do me another favor, Mr. And Mrs. Doorman?" "A-Anything!" "Could I see Sil- pardon me, Gambit's locket? It's on a silver chain around her neck." Now that I knew it, I've seen the beautiful treasure around her neck, and she hardly ever took it off! Taking the necklace off Gam and handing it to Marissa, she gingerly twirled the chain in her fingers before resting the heart shaped pendant on her palm, and caressed the front before opening it with a soft click. "Waaaahh! She broke it Papa!" She cried out as Marrisa quickly replied, "No, sweetie, it's not broken. It's SUPPOSED to open up like that! And inside it- there are two pictures I want you to see..." keeping the locket in her hand, she leaned over my shoulder so that Gambit, Myself, and Uzi could see the photos, and it stung my core as it depicted a lively looking young man on the left, and a beautiful, captivating lady on the right, with her long hair in an ombreyed ponytail of orange that cascaded to pink and purple hues..... "These were once your TRUE parents, Gambit... I kept the necklace and photos inside so that you may recognize them, and remember how much they love you always." Marrisa explained, gently setting the pendant in Gambit's palm for her to have a closer look. "They were beautiful...." Uzi breathed, gently touching the image of Gambit's mother. "They deserved SO much..." I added, keeping my eyes on them both when I saw two empty slots clasped together in the middle. "Why are those slots empty?" I asked, looking up at Marrisa. "Alessandra never had the chance to fill them.... But YOU could...." she suggested, letting go of the chain as she straightened her posture back up. Gambit remained speechless as the other three that came with us surrounded me, and Thad placed a confident hand on my shoulder as he said, "We'll do them both, and Gambit justice. Khan WON'T get away with this!" "Y-Yeah, just tell us what you need, and we'll see about getting it for you!" V added firmly as Lizzie nodded. As angry as I was that this had to happen, I was also blessed that we had friends around to help Gambit, and fix what SHOULD'VE been..... But I hope we could manage it in three days....