Sean reached into the cylinder tube, touching his hand to Mark's cheek. He felt warm and was stained in dirt that he assumed came from the warehouse. Matthew jogged over, slipping past Ricky as Ricky got up from the ground in front of the container. Matthew leaned over the tube, his hands checking the wires attached to Mark. Sean watched him work, then asked a bit anxiously. "What are you looking for?" Matthew followed one of the wires that had a strange liquid in it. Upon glancing at the computer and lab equipment, Matthew mumbled out distracted. "I'm looking at what she's done to him..." Sean swallowed; gripping Mark's bicep tighter. Matthew moved around him to the computer. Typing away to bring up data and information on things Sean was too stressed to look at, he asked him uneasily. "Well?" Matthew gave him a shrug, answering honestly. "She got him into a cryo-state and managed to get the serum into him..."

Sean shrugged back, stating out a bit bluntly. "What serum? What did she do to him, Matthew?" Matthew tossed his hands up, letting out a light sigh as he retorted. "She was clearly trying to wipe his memory... but I don't know if it worked. His vitals are all off the charts... The readings are inconclusive." Sean rolled his eyes, pleading with Matthew as gently as he could in his rising concern. "English, Matthew. I'm not a doctor." Matthew began to type something, while he replied a bit defensively. "It means that because he is injured, his body is not operating under normal conditions. It means that anything she put in him... His body is too distracted to register properly." Sean felt a small spark of hope as he said positively. "So... It didn't work? He still remembers everything...?" Matthew looked over his shoulder but didn't look directly at him when he said softly. "I didn't say that... With his vitals like this... I don't know how much the system has given him."

Sean tensed up, uttering out seriously. "Isn't there a log on there? Doesn't it tell you?" Matthew turned his attention back to the computer, grumbling out. "I'm looking. But it just tells me that she administered the vial manually... Doesn't say how much was in the vial she administered." Matthew yanked a vial off one of the machines to look at it, mumbling out to himself. "Without knowing how much she gave him... I'll have to wake him up slowly. If I wake him up too fast, I could send his body into shock." Sean slid his hand up to Mark's shoulder, saying in a mousy voice. "How long will that take?" Matthew began collecting journals from around the floor of the desk, answering honestly. "If I can get him to the hospital... a few hours. Give or take. The machine they have will be able to analyze his vitals better." Sean jerked his head up with a spark of hope, blurting out. "Wait! Couldn't mother monitor his vitals? Do you think you could find out how she-?" Matthew shook his head, cutting him off as he said. "She monitored us through our implants. Mark removed his and Nate removed mine. That's why she didn't know that I was alive..."

Matthew looked at Mark briefly, before telling Sean with an arm full of journals and notes. "I'm going to help him... Just give me time." Sean nodded reluctantly, leaning over the cylinder to look Mark over. He could see the swelling on his arm. Touching it gently, he bit his lip. It was broken. He'd seen enough broken bones in the Slums to tell. Matthew walked out of the container, calling out to the others. "Can anyone carry the cylinder? We need to carefully move Mark from here." Al stretched his bandaged arm but told Matthew confidently. "Just burns. I can work through the pain. Doesn't look that heavy." Ricky nodded to Matthew, interjecting. "A few broken nails and bruises, but I'm still good to try." Sean felt his adrenaline fading and the more it did... the more everything hurt. His dislocated shoulder was the worst of it. The stiffness and pain forced him to hang his free hand limply. Parts of his body felt bruised and sore, but with all the dirt on him... it was hard to see the full extent of the damage.

Al moved into the container, taking deep sniffs, before asking Sean with concern. "How bad are you hurt?" Sean glanced at him, giving him an honest shrug as he said coolly. "Beaten but alive... But now that everything is settling down... I feel it." Al kneeled to sniff Sean's leg, before touching the stained hospital cloth. Sean thought it was just dirt and grime from the warehouse. Until Al tugged on the cloth to pull it away from his skin. Sean yelped, gripping the cylinder with his good hand. It had felt like Al was ripping his skin off. Snorting, Al told him seriously. "You should sit. Your leg is bleeding." Sean stepped back to lean on the counter, reaching down he carefully pulled up his pant leg and uttered out. "Impossible. I didn't get-" Sean stopped talking when he pulled the pant leg up enough to see for himself. His leg was caked in dried blood and hidden in his road rash was a screw that had impaled his leg. Pulling it out a little, he cursed and put it back to keep himself from bleeding more. He recognized it. It was a piece from the broken container door.

Taking a shaky breath, Sean slid down the counter to sit on the floor. Al put a hand on his good shoulder, asking him a little worried. "Are you ok?" Sean nodded, honestly admitting. "Ya... Still processing all this. Go. Help Mark." Al nodded reluctantly but got up to grab the cylinder. Matthew rushed in to carefully unplug some of the wires, while taking some of the more important wires and the things they were attached to with them. Al and Ricky moved slowly with Matthew tagging along beside them. Leaving Nate to limp over to him after they cleared the container. Wincing as he took a seat beside him, Nate told him with a small smile. "Just another day in paradise, right?" Sean chuckled, leaning enough to rest his head on Nate's shoulder. Nate groaned lightly but put a hand carefully on Sean's bleeding leg. Nate watched the others, before playfully saying to lighten the mood. "Just once... I wanna do something... and not get hurt." Sean chuckled, whispering to him. "That's half the fun of doing anything. Getting a nice scar."

Nate chuckled with him. Sean's chuckle faded first as his worry over Mark grew. Noticing where his eyes were looking, Nate squeezed his leg very gently, telling him confidently. "He'll be ok. I saw that crazy fucker run through traffic after you, remember? He stormed the Slums to get you. You think this will stop him?" Sean lifted his head off Nate's shoulder, telling him seriously. "Losing his memory might..." Nate lifted his hand to tap Sean's chin to coax him into looking at him. The moment he did, Nate purred out sweetly. "He's an Elite. I'm sure he'll surprise you." Sean nodded, but his heart wasn't in it. He was too worried. Trying to distract himself a bit, he told Nate with a lovingly smile. "I'm glad you're still here, Nate. The thought of losing both of you... after losing the gang... I don't think I could deal with it on my own..." Nate cupped the side of his face, pulling him into a brief kiss to his cheek before hugging him. Sean gritted his teeth in pain from his shoulder, but hugged Nate back. He felt better in Nate's arms. Nate always had a strange way of making him feel like everything would be ok.

From the doorway of the container, someone cleared their throat softly. Sean pulled away from Nate and blushed a little. Matthew shuffled his feet, telling them lightly. "He's loaded. Let's go." Sean used the counter to pull himself up with painful groans. His body was feeling stiff and sore now. Nate used the counter to get himself up too with his own set of groans. Matthew smirked at their pain, rubbing his arm. Nate ruffled Matthew's hair, coaxing him to lead the way out. For a bit Matthew did, then stopped to pick up something. Sean stepped aside a little to see better before going still himself. Matthew was picking up a large robotic heart off the floor. At first, Sean thought the heart was the one Matthew had carried around before... until he looked around. Scattered across the floor were pieces of Skip. The Fake Sean had torn him apart. Nate put a hand on Matthew's shoulder, telling him in a loving voice. "I'll help you rebuild him." Matthew nodded, sniffling a little as he said to himself. "I had planned to update him anyway..."

Nate hugged Matthew to his side for a moment, then managed to get him to move onward. Nate talked Matthew into getting into the front of the truck with Ricky and Al. While Sean and Nate, stiffly got into the truck bed to sit on either side of the closed cylinder. As Al drove them through the Slums and back toward the main highway ramp, Nate and Sean looked at how barren their home was. Sean had never seen it so empty. It was frightening and awful to see. Across from him, Nate uttered out without looking at him. "I hate to bring this up... But with Elite Mark down, Matthias blown up, and Mother erased... The people will look to Elite Matthew for answers." Sean put his good hand on the cylinder, asking slightly defensive. "Why does that matter? Matthew is going to help Mark and-" Nate finally looked away from the Slums to cut in seriously. "I know that. But the men locked in those containers? Sean... With the power down... They can't stay in there. And if they are released... you know where they are going to run too."

Sean shook his head, stating out firmly. "Nate... I want them free just as much as you do. But you know that right now things are so fragile... Matthew isn't ready to make a decision like that. If he lets that happen and things go wrong... Valhalla will turn on him!" Nate shifted on the edge of the truck a bit, leaning over the cylinder to say more seriously. "What if we could unite the Slum gangs? What if we had a way to make that decision without putting the heat on Matthew?" Sean leaned forward, stating out sternly. "It's impossible! The gangs have NEVER and will NEVER unite! And even if they could. How would that be possible?" Nate locked eyes with him, saying bluntly without flinching. "An Elite Slum Dog." Sean blinked. That was the last thing he expected to hear. He opened his mouth to say something, but Nate cut in quickly. "Don't speak. Just listen." Sean closed his mouth, gesturing for Nate to go on. Taking a deep breath, Nate rested his arms on the top of the cylinder.

Exhaling, Nate began in a cool tone. "I overheard them talking. Matthew and Mark. They said that Mother tested all the people of Valhalla to find the Elites. You were never tested because she sent you away... but when your DNA went through the system... You tested positive to be an Elite!" Sean shook his head, but Nate continued on firmly. "I'm not kidding! Matthew had the paperwork on it! What if we tell the gangs that Valhalla chose you to speak for them! What if YOU took the power of the Slums into your own hands?" Sean huffed, chuckling out. "They'd think I'd lost my mind and probably try to kill me. And who knows how the people of Valhalla would react to that kind of news! They hate me as it is." Nate shrugged, telling him in a hopeful voice. "Just think about it. But don't take too long. Shit is going to hit the fan. And one way or another... Something is going to change." Sean stared into the clear cylinder at Mark. He wished Mark was awake to give his advise on this.

Mark knew the people of Valhalla. They trusted him. They needed him. Passing through the gates of Valhalla, Sean's eyes widened as a tall shiny looking man with solar wings verified Matthew. Nate waved hesitantly to the robot as the man let them go, but it didn't wave back. A few tiny little children looking robots with wings escorted them down the road and cleared paths for them to reach the hospital faster. The second they arrived it was chaos. Varies species came rushing out to look everyone over. A woman with an owl face and a human body, pulled him down from the truck to look him over. He tried to tell her that he was fine, but as she saw his wounds and heard him groan from touching his shoulder... she ignored his statement. She began to drag him into the hospital, causing to Sean to thrash and resist. Men were taking Mark somewhere else. He wanted to with Mark. The woman dragged him away toward a room, forcing him to yell and start shoving her. Matthew told him to calm down, but he couldn't.

After everything that had happened. The last thing he wanted was to be separated from Mark. He punched a masked doctor that tried to calm him down, before someone stuck him with something, and he fell forward into Matthew. Matthew reassured him that everything would be fine, before Sean felt a deep sleep creep up on him. The last thing he saw was people putting him on a floating gurney and rushing him down a hallway with bright lights. To Be Continued...