Ivy

"You know," I wouldn't have been able to hide the bitterness in my voice, even though I tried. "I find it a little odd that you're pulling us all into the same space, after you begged us to bury the hatchet last night. It's almost like you're calling for trouble."

Ethan's gaze shifted between Glory and me. "You met with them?" he asked her.

Glory was quick to put on her calculated smile. "Hm, yes... there was a lot of bad blood, considering a lot had happened before the move, I knew I owed them apologies."

"Funny, I don't remember you apologizing for shit." Caramel spoke up.

"Fellas, fellas," Dean spoke, taking a step forward. "Let's leave all the bad blood with the old dimension, hm? We know you're all young spirited youths, fighting for justice, and whatnot, but wouldn't it be much better if we all stop for a moment and appreciate what's right in front of us."

This bastard. I so badly wanted to punch his face in.

"The only thing I see in front of me, is a man who is supposed to be long fucking dead. If that isn't enough prove that all this dimension shit is fucked up, then I don't know what is." I said, crossing my arms against my chest. "Why are we here?"

Dean took a step back as silence stretched on.

"There have been reports." Glory spoke up. "Lit is back in operation."

Lit? that's impossible.

"We put an end to it," Fiona said. "It's impossible."

"Well, these reports are from reliable sources." Glory said. "They say the operation is bigger than it was, led by some real powerful people."

"What does this have to do with the Rebel-lions?" Markel asked.

"They have the crowd." Dean said. "They have strong leadership, and they have the motive."

What?

I blinked. "Are you suggesting that we... are responsible for this? selling drugs?"

"I wouldn't put it pass the Rebel-lions. We have some Lit addicts amongst you. Maybe you shouldn't be asking me, maybe you should be talking to your people." Glory said. "The Rebel-lions aren't completely saints."

"I beg your pardon, Glory. But I trust my guys, they would never. We went through a lot to pull down the lithian operation, a lot of people had to die because of it, why in hell do you think anyone would want to go back to that?" I asked.

"Or probably they're just looking for people to blame." Roman said. "If there's a flaw in your shiny new dimension, figure it out yourselves."

Glory smiled. "It's what we're trying to do, but for us to do that, we would need your cooperation." She said, stretching her hand to a man beside her, who placed a white file on her palm, then she made her way towards us, stopping right in front of me.  "Here, I'll need you to sign this."

"What is it?" I asked, taking the file from her as my eyes scanned through it.

"It's all in there, but if you want me to spell it out... you're going to be signing an agreement to shutting the Rebel-lions operation down."

"What?" that came from Fiona.

"All symbols of the gang in form of jackets, bracelets, face masks and caps, will be banned. Including the Rebel-lions Hub."

"That's just bullshit." Caramel argued.

"Anyone caught disobeying these rules, will be arrested and fined. The Rebel-lions Hub will be shut down indefinitely, until the investigation is done."

As she spoke, I read it all in the file.

She's taking it all away, she's taking everything from me.

"This is to take place effective immediately."

"You can't do that," Roman spoke up, sounding slightly pissed. "Rebel-lion is home to some people; you can't just take it all away just because you assume we're trafficking Lit. that's fucking baseless."

Her attention shifted to Roman. "Mr. Huxley, I understand where you're coming from, I do. But I created this dimension for the good of everyone, the other dimension had been stained, and a lot of terrible things took place there, a lot of gangs which didn't need to be formed, were formed. But this is a new beginning, and I will not let a bunch of kids," her gaze fell on me. "ruin that for me."

"Uh..." Ethan spoke up, coming closer to Glory. "Maybe you need to rethink this?" he said to her.

"There's nothing to rethink, Ethan. They are clearly responsible for this."

"But there's no prove of that. You're not going to make these decisions based on assumptions, are you? A lot of people will be affected."

Glory raised a head to stare up at him in confusion. "Excuse me?"

He blinked. "I'm only saying it would be best to handle this more professionally. You say you're trying to promote peace; but you're doing the opposite of that. Why not, let them be, while we carry out the investigation, then no one is going to get hurt."

"Yeah, Ethan's right." Silas said.

I closed the file, a chuckle escaping me.

This caused Glory to look back at me. "Honestly, you really did it this time.'" I spoke. "Ever since you met me, you've been out to get me, why?Do I challenge you that much? This foolish little wanna be girl from Brooklyn, New York, does she... scare you that much?"

Glory's jaw hardened.

"I sat, and I watched you take everything away from me... My family, my entire life, my friends... I sat back and watched because I knew the person I cared about most in the world didn't want you hurt, because foolishly, like the person believed, I thought there was some good, I thought that maybe, just maybe she really did care but now—" a laugh escaped me. "Now, I don't see anything holding me back anymore."

I took a step closer to her.

She inched back a bit. "You want to play dirty?" I whispered, so only she could hear. "You really want to use the lithians as an excuse to shut us up? I think you're forgetting how it all came up in the first place... Who created it, and why?"

"Thread lightly." She gritted out.

"Oh, but I don't care, Glory. What could you possibly do to me?" 

There was silence, as she just stared at me. Eyes hard, breathing harsh.

Quickly, she took the file back from my grip, stepping backwards.

I took in a deep breath, crossing my arms against my chest.

"Maybe I was a little harsh." She spoke out loud.

"What sorcery." A blonde-haired guy from the superiors circle, said in awe.

"We will carry out the investigation, but—they can still remain—operating, until we find prove."

I smiled. "Better."

Her hard glare made my smile widen, as she turned sharply, walking right out of the training room, followed by everyone else who accompanied her.

"Come on, Eth." Silas voiced, walking towards the entrance while signaling the superiors to follow suit.

My gaze met with that of Ethan's whose eyes searched mine in confusion, before his gaze raised to our circle.

He could feel something.

It was written all over his eyes.

He knew something was amiss.

There's hope still... we can bring him back.

You'll be back soon, Ethan... I promise.

Almost as if he heard my thoughts, his gaze met mine again, giving a small farewell nod before turning and walking towards the entrance.

I let out a shaky breath when they were all gone.

"The nerve of that woman." Abby muttered.

I turned. "Code, Lulu... is there anything I should know?"

"What?" Lulu asked, eyes wide.

"Obviously she called you both here because you're known for introducing people to it. I'm not saying you still do that, but—is there—"

"Ever since it got pulled down, the distribution stopped, so this is news to me." Code said.

"He hasn't been doing anything." Abby defended. "I would know." 

My gaze fell to Lulu. "Lulu?"

All eyes shifted to her.

She let out a breath. "I swear, I haven't been taking it."

I raised a brow.

"But?" Markel prompted her to continue.

"I heard stuff around, okay? but I didn't pay any attention because I didn't want to get into any sort of trouble. But—Yates he... he told me he knew where to get them."

"That motherfucker." Caramel said. "I'll bring him in, and you, are coming with me." she said, grabbing Lulu as she began walking away.

"I'll help!" Abby yelled. "It's a good day to burn someone." She said, rushing after her, as Code followed.

A ping was heard, and Roman was quick to pull out his phone, his eyes reading through whatever text he had gotten.

"What is it?" Fiona asked him.

"A lead... on Malcolm's whereabout."

My eyes widened. "Really?"

He nodded. "It's not a strong one, but—it's a start," he pocketed his phone. "You coming?" he asked Fiona.

"Sure." She said, before turning to me. "I'll call you if anything comes up."

"Yeah, please do." I told her, as they both left too.

I sighed, massaging my temple.

"You, okay?" Markel asked from beside me.

"Honestly, I don't know what to think anymore."

He nodded. "Wanna ditch school? Was thinking of heading to the studio apartment, I could make us a little brunch," he said, taking my hand in his. "you need to get your mind off things. Let me help."

"How did I land you?" I asked with a smile.

He returned it with a smile of his own, throwing his arm around my shoulder. "Come on, V. Don't make me blush."

I chuckled halfheartedly, following him out.

Though my body was right beside Markel, my heart sort out to Ethan. The way he looked at me. The way he called me Ponytail, almost like his instincts pushed him toward a memory we shared.

There was hope.

Though it was faint, but hell if I wouldn't hang on to it for dear life.

This time, I won't let Glory win.

Just like today, I'll try everything in me to remain one step ahead of her.

__

Vote and Comment;)

The lithians?? Tell me, what are your thoughts on this? who could be behind the operation this time?

Silas though, whose side do you think he's on?

Do you think Ethan's gonna remember soon?

Let me know what you think!

See y'all in the next update!