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It's a long chapter, grab your coffee.

...

Ivy

"There you are." I smiled when I spotted Roman by our lockers, he had dissapeared from class right after it ended.

He turned towards my direction, no emotions in his eyes, just a blank look. Well, it had been like that for quite sometime, he needs a break. "Hey, did you need me for anything?" He asked, closing his locker. 

I shrugged. "No, I was looking for you after Inc History."

"I made a quick stop at the library, needed to get some minor research about this place done."

I nodded slowly. "Find anything interesting?"

"Nope, dead end, I'm still trying to figure out how Glory fights the natural protocol of aging. I'm getting no where on that."

I smiled with a small sigh, my hand going to comfortly rest on his arm. "Maybe you should take a break." I suggested. "I also want to figure all this out, but we can't rush it okay?" I drawled, my hand going to hug my Tcom to my chest.

"Yeah, yeah... I get it." He nodded, raking his fingers through his curls.

"Wanna hang out tonight? We could check out some fun spot in the Rebels sector? Buy stupid things at malls? Explore? Just spend some time... The two of us? Humans?" I chuckled.

His smile mirrored mine. "Well, I'd love to-"

"You'd love to?" I repeated, a little bit taken aback by that. "Do you have plans?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess... Just some stuff."

The smile faded from my face slowly. "Wait... What stuff? Wait- you really have something else to do?"

He nodded. "Yup, but it's nothing dangerous, so don't worry."

I blinked. "Okay... But- I'm still curious."

"Is there a time you're never curious about anything?" He grinned.

I rolled my eyes. "Right... But seriously... What's the stuff you have to do?" I probed, making air quotes when I said 'stuff'

"Well, this girl-"

"Okay guys! Who's ready for some adventure to the future!" Ralph's voice cut through the air, before I felt his arm fall around my shoulder.

Fiona and Caramel followed him close behind.

"What are you talking about? What adventure?" I asked, trying to look up at his mischievous face, while trying to get free of his hold.

"Ever since the Rebel-lions originated, I have been working with some of my close buds at the Futures sector. And we came up with something, we're gonna go see it now."

Finally able to free myself from his hold, my eyes met his. "What?"

"The Futures sector? I'm out." Caramel was saying as she began to turn around, but Ralph was quick to pull away from me, rushing to hold her back.

"Not so fast beautiful. You're a Rebel-lion, have no fear." Ralph grinned.

"I thought the Futures don't accept visitors from other sectors?" Roman asked, leaning on his locker, his eyes moving to Fiona's direction for a quick second before falling on Ralph.

"Yes, but- turns out, the Rebel-lions are allowed. Wear the uniform, you get a safe entry." He informed.

Caramel glared up at him. "That's just stupid, the Futures sector is like- a no zone sector, they're fucking scary."

Fiona scoffed. "Scary?"

"Yes, Fi. They're like half human half actual Robots. And they're always so angry."

"Yeah yeah, that aside, they have only one fear, Rebels... And we're not just Rebels, we're Rebel-lions. The first gang created within the Inc dimension with the main purpose of bringing it down to the ground. Yes, we have more haters, than supporters- but, they can't touch us." Ralph injected, trying really hard to get this into our heads.

I shook my head. "I don't know Ralph... Don't you think we're moving too fast? I mean... Yeah, it's cool, the gang name, the half lion half skull logo. I just feel like we need more strategy, more planning."

Ralph sighed. "Won't you just see it first? We don't wanna be all talk and less action, we need to show these people that there's a world out there that's more inviting than this, we need to show them that Rebel-lions are here to stay, and no matter the amount of haters we have, we'll never back down... You know why? It's cause we're the good guys. We have territory... And we plan on making a mark in every sector, starting from the Futures, cause well... I love the name of the sector, and how it relates to our mission... Also, I've always wanted to say 'who's ready for an adventure to the future.'"

I smiled, taking in a deep breath. "Okay, let's do this... It's now or never, right?"

Roman nodded, a smile on his face. "I'm all in."

"I want out of this hell hole, so... Count me in." Fiona voiced out.

Our eyes fell on Caramel.

"What?" She asked, an unimpressed look resting on her eyes.

We all stared expectedly at her.

Finally she rolled her eyes. "It's not like I have a choice, do I?"

I grinned. "What about Ethan?"

Ralph smirked. "Oh don't worry about him."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just trust me when I say, he is a very very sneaky mastermind-ish genius, and he's even more invested in this, than I am."

I blinked, trying to make sense of what he just said.

"Don't worry too much about it Fisher, let's go see the Future."

__

Now I know what Caramel meant by scary.

"Don't stare at them for too long." Fiona stated as we maneuvered our way through the crowd.

I saw an old lady with one of her eyes replaced with some kind of device that looked like an eye, but wasn't. A man with two robotic legs, moving through the crowd.

A young girl who had an iron fixed neck, two of her fingers were also iron.

Up in the air, was a different transportation system, like spaceships, but not as big, they looked like little boxes with wings, flying above our heads.

"This is the most amazing thing, I've ever seen." Roman's voice was filled with awe, as his eyes tried to capture everything at once.

I swallowed. "Ethan was right... This is big. How the hell do people like this fit in with humans?" I looked over at Roman, pulling him close to me. "Roman, do you know what this means?"

He nodded. "Humans are assholes, and the insiders are all experiments. All of them."

"Fuck." I swallowed.

Soon enough, we left the busy streets, down to a small pathway, leading to a large spaced building with so many elevators, at least, that was what they looked like.

"Each pod, leads to just one building. The Rebel-lions Hub." Ralph informed. "Wear the uniform, it'd let you pass through."

Roman nodded. "So like the uniform isn't just a uniform?"

"Yeah, it's just like an identity card." Ralph answered.

Roman exhaled. "Sweet, glad I got the wrist band." Roman grinned, pulling up his black sleeve to show the same wrist band I saw on Code.

Well, I never got to get any of the uniforms because I never fully bought the idea.

"And you're lucky, I got two." Roman grinned, passing me one.

I sighed, taking it from him, wearing it around my wrist.

"Ready?" Ralph asked.

"I was hatched ready." I blurted out before I could stop myself.

Ralph's face morphed into a frown, mirrored by Fiona and Caramel, Roman on the other hand, got it.

"What?" Caramel asked, her eyes on me.

I gulped down the embarrassment, plastering a weird smile on my face. "Just forget I said anything."

They all nodded slowly, walking ahead.

I turned to Roman who had an impressed look in his eyes. "Don't worry, I thought that was cool." He grinned, extending a fist.

"Finally, someone gets it." I smiled, bumping my fist with his.

___

When Ralph said we were only coming to check it out, I actually thought we were coming to just, tour the area, I never thought I was going to have to face over a hundred people, waiting for the so-called leader, which unfortunately was me.

"You're gonna have to give the leader speech, these people have been dying to hear from you, and today marks the official naming of the gang."

I stared up widely at him. "Are you crazy, Daltimore?" I snapped, my voice below a whisper. "I was so not prepared for this! I never planned to give a speech. I-- I don't even know what to say, there's so many of them-- I-"

"Relax, Fisher, the best speech, is the one that comes from the heart, not the mind."

"But-"

"Ralph! Over here!" Someone yelled his name from another area.

It looked like a bar, well, it was like a bar, but the whole atmosphere was inked and sprayed with the Rebel-lions signature. Half skull, half lion.

People with Rebel-lions jackets were everywhere. People from different sectors were also here, but most of them were from the Rebels sector, some, from the Futures, very few from the Purest and the Willings.

I swallowed, trying to take out the chatters and the smell of alcohol.

Roman was busy admiring a graffiti art on the wall. It gave the booths a different vibe.

Quickly, I whipped out my phone. I need Ethan, I can't do this on my own. My eyes widened when they registered the no service sign. "Now, thats just great." I muttered, looking around.

Caramel was close to a bar table, taking shots after shots.

I walked up to her. "Hey, can I borrow your phone? The service is down on mine."

She wiped her mouth with her knuckles, dropping the shot glass. "Ethan?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"You two are really okay now? No bad blood?" She asked.

"Yeah, we sorted things out."

"Good. Which means, you're no longer into Ralph?"

I furrowed my brows in confusion. "I was never into Ralph, Caramel... He's just a friend."

She eyed me. "He better be just a friend... Cause like I said, I don't want Ethan getting hurt by two of the most important people in his life."

I smiled, knowing exactly what this was. "Or, you're just trying to mark a territory on Ralph? Cause you're into him?"

"Stop spewing shit. Ralph's an idiot. I don't hook up with idiots." She said, her eyes not giving anything away.

"Just admit it, you like Ralph."

"I don't." She denied, deeping her hand into her pocket, pulling out her phone. "Here, I'm done with this discussion."

"Thanks." I said with a small smile, moving away from her.

Quickly, I dialed Ethan's number, which I'd stored successfully in my brain. She had it saved though.

Letting out a strained breath, I placed the phone against my ear. He picked up on the first ring. That was fast.

"Whoever the fuck you are, I'm in no mood to play introduction games." He sounded pissed, harsh and somewhat frustrated.

For a second, my tongue went a little dry. What the hell happened to him?

I swallowed. "Ethan, it's I-Ivy." I stuttered.

Anyone would have stuttered.

I thought I heard a sigh of relief at his end. "What number's this?"

"Caramel's- uh... I thought you saved it, um I just remembered you both aren't exactly friends at the moment."

This time, I was sure of his sigh. "I'm sorry, for- for the way I responded." He apologized.

Worry encased me. "It's okay... Are you-are you okay?"

"Yeah yeah I'm fine. Why are you calling me through her phone?"

My eyes swept to Caramel's direction. "It appears where I am, there's no service on my phone... Caramel was close by..."

"Where you are? Wait, aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"Yeah, class ended few minutes ago, and um- Ralph took us somewhere through a portal, and um- I think we're at the Futures sector..." I made sure to pick my words, seeing as I didn't know how he'd react to that. "For a- Rebel-lions meeting at a place he called the Rebel-lions Hub...uh... There's too many of them, and- and I'm nervous, and I need you, like right now." My voice trembled as my eyes scanned the crowd once more.

"Tell Caramel to text me the address. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Relief flooded through me. "Okay... Please be quick... I can't do this without you."

"Don't worry Ponytail, I'm on my way... I love you."

My heart made a little jump at his words, my eyes shutting close for a moment, never have I ever really been sure about anything, but the next words that left my mouth, I was more than sure of. "I love you too." I replied, hanging up.

I have to come clean... I gotta tell him about what Roman found... Tonight.

__

"Hey." His heart soothing voice resounded from behind me. I turned, not giving him a second to breath before wrapping my arms around his shoulder, placing a lingering kiss on his lips.

When I broke away, I felt refreshed.

"Someone's excited to see me." He grinned.

"You didn't take long." I smiled up at him.

"Why didn't you call me as soon as you guys left Inc high?"

I sighed. "Ralph said you were a very sneaky mastermind, and that you were more invested in this than he was-"

"There you are, Mastermind. I honestly never thought you could keep a secret." Ralph's voice cut through our little space, reminding me that we weren't alone.

I let go of Ethan.

"What secret?" I asked, staring between the both of them.

"Well, are you gonna tell her, or should I?" Ralph grinned.

Ethan on the other hand, looked slightly pissed. "Yeah, I'll tell her, since some of us don't really understand the meaning of when the time is right." He said, pulling me away from Ralph, to a bar area.

"What was that all about?" I asked with a small chuckle.

He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Remember in class when I told you I was having sleepless nights and you thought it was nightmares?"

I nodded.

"Well, I was busy bringing this to life... The hub. All those times I missed school and just disappeared, I uh- I was here."

I blinked. "What?"

"Yeah... It was hard to work with Ralph but- well- it was worth it. Besides, we were granted access to the Futures because of me. I made a few calls and deals and misused my relationship with Glory a little bit."

Yet... Yet here I was thinking all those times he disappeared, he was with Michelle.

"Is it too much? If- if it is, we can- we can take a step back-"

I threw my arms around him in a tight hug. "I love it. It's brilliant Ethan." I said, pulling away to look up at him. "I love that you wanna make this work- I never thought you would do this."

He shrugged. "We work together, right?"

I nodded with a grin. "But- you asked for the address, you said you've been here before right?"

"I didn't want to tell you over the phone, and Ralph never told me he scheduled the opening for today, so I thought I could play it cool, cause you're smart, and you would have figured it out... I wanted to tell you myself."

"Fisher, you're up." Ralph came over to announce. "People are waiting for that speech." He said quickly, rushing back to wherever he popped out from.

I let out a shaky breath, looking back at Ethan. "I can't do this-"

He cupped my face, silencing me with a soft kiss. "You've got this, Ivy. I'm here."

My stomach churned with uncertainty.

He pulled back a bit, taking off his Rebel-lions jacket, "here," he said, helping me put it on.

Warmth flooded through me, creating and removing goosebumps.

"You're a Rebel-lion, we're one amongst the mighty, fearless... Be fearless, cause you're a leader... If you lead fearless, they'll follow fearless."

I took in a deep breath while nodding and exhaling. "Fearless." I whispered. "Don't go anywhere."

"I'm always here."

Shaking off the fear, I went to the small stage... People were still chattering, but- when they noticed I had climbed up the stage, everywhere began to quiet down.

My eyes moved around the crowd, stopping to meet Ethan's gaze. He gave me a small nod of encouragement.

Be bold... Be bold.

It was now so quiet, everyone waiting for me to open my mouth... To say something.

"We-" I stopped, my heart hammering.

My eyes found Romans', he gave me a small thumbs up.

Bold.

"We all have something in common. Everyone of us gathered here today. That one thing, brought us all here today. We've all lost something dear to us... Friends," my eyes found Caramel's. "Family," my gaze moved from Caramel to Fiona, and then to Ethan. "Our lives." I swallowed. "Some of us are here 'cause we want the normal, we want out, some of us are here, because we miss home," my eyes landed on Roman, before falling back to the crowd. "Basically, we all want freedom. We want our lives back. I've been told, many have tried, I've been told they didn't come out successful.

But you know what? What if they tried? What if they didn't come out successful? Within them, they found freedom. Do you know why? It's because they made a move. They didn't think about the consequences, they branched out in freedom, and fought for good. We think they didn't go out successful... Truth is, they did... They might have not stopped this dimension, but they stopped wondering what it'd feel like to be free, they stopped imaging what freedom is, instead, they grabbed it... Fearlessly, and they went out, free and fearless.

So yes, there might not be a guarantee that we would make a difference. But there's hope that we will. We will fight for our freedom, and show everyone that there's more to this dimension, it might take months, years... But one day, we'll all be free.

So, I'd like us to take a cheer to freedom, cause if we believe, we can truly be free."

I looked down at a bar tender, he already knew what I wanted. He passed me a shot glass, his eyes staring up at me in awe, like I was the very thing he'd been praying to, every night.

"Let's make a cheer," I raised my glass, and so did everyone in the crowd. "To freedom."

"TO FREEDOM!" Everyone choroused. The cheers, so loud I got deaf for a second, taking a shot of whatever was in the shot glass.

The alcohol, slapped me awake.

Ugh! This is disgusting.

Music blasted through the air, chatters resuming in double folds

I got down from the stage, rushing to engulf Ethan in a hug.

"I've never been so proud of you." He murmured into my hair.

I felt my body shaking, the thrill of it all was so new to me. "Thank you for being here."

"I'll always be here, Ponytail. I love you so much."

My arms tightened around him. "I love you too."

"All hail the queen!" Fiona's voice broke us out of our embrace.

She had her arms open wide for me. I hugged her tight too. "I wouldn't have gotten this far without the support."

I pulled away. "I'll always support you, because I have faith in you, in this, in Rebel-lions. I just wanna be free."

"We all wanna be free." Ethan said.

"And we will." I reassured, believing in this, believing in my words.

__

"So, I got it all on video... If we can get it out there, we're in." Ralph said as he joined me, Fiona, Ethan, and Caramel at the booth.

"We could always go through IncLine?" Caramel suggested.

"It's not large enough." Fiona said. "We need something that'd hit everyone at the same time."

"Listen guys, we already crossed one thing off this list... Let's relax, have fun, fix a date to come back here, and talk about it...okay?" I said.

Ethan squeezed my hand from under the table. "Totally agree." He said. "We just made Rebel-lions official... Marked a territory. We should drink to that."

I smiled up at him. "Yeah."

"So-" Roman appeared from the crowd, cautiously sliding next to Fiona. He didn't spare a glance her way, which made her look somewhat sad? "I made something, for me and Ivy, seeing as well we're basically the only exposed humans in the Inc."

I furrowed my brows as he brought out two devices, it was silver with a red button at the middle. "I call it an emergency red button." He said, handing me one.

It was light to hold. "Cool." I smiled.

"I know, I can be a genius, if I wanna be." He wiggled his brows. "Well, it's only connected to, just our phones, I mean in this circle. Ivy, hit the red button, don't worry, nothing's gonna explode."

I chuckled, pressing it. A notification sound went off in all our phones.

"Whoa." Ralph voiced out, pulling out his phone.

"No matter the service, it gives you the notification."

Fiona stared down at her phone. "Fresh apples?" She voiced out, confused.

I was also confused cause I was seeing the same thing on my screen, I guess with the look on everyone's face, it was the same.

"Yup, that's the distress signal message, if we get in danger, and press that button, you'd know we need your help."

"Why fresh apples though?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I couldn't think of anything better, besides... It- it reminds me of my Mom, she always keeps her apples fresh and cold. She loves apples."

The table grew silent.

"Anyways," he broke the silence, getting to his feet. "I have to go- I have this thing to go to."

"What thing?" Fiona asked immediately, looking up him.

He raised a brow. "I have a date."

I was taken aback by that, I would have acted more on my surprise if I didn't notice how hurt Fiona was at his response. Her brows had suddenly gone down in a sad frown. "A date?" She repeated.

"Yup, with Lulu, you guys know her right?" He directed the question to everyone at the table.

"Yeah, Lulu's a nice girl." Caramel spoke up. "I'm not surprised because the both of you would make a good cou-"

I kicked her shin from underneath the table, cutting her off.

"Yeah, I'm late... Catch you guys later." He said, rushing away from the booth.

Silence desended on us.

Our attention shifted to Fiona. She looked somewhat lost.

"Are you okay?" I asked softly.

"Why wouldn't I be?" She snapped, getting up from the booth and heading straight to the nearest bar stand.

"She's not okay." Ethan said from beside me.

"Trust me, I know."

___

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Ivy's speech?

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