It's quiet here in the coms shack. The events of a few days ago have finally caught up to everyone now, with the V-Types and the Last Riders and all that. It's left us feeling drained and slightly defeated as we try to think of a way to pick things back up again, since the peace conference went so poorly.

No such luck, unfortunately.

All it takes is a slight bristle, a shift, an inhale, and  eyes snap up from my lap. Concern strikes me in the chest when Sam sighs shakily and runs his hands through his hair as he looks at the computer screen.

"Anything?" I ask, and the ache inside me grows when he starts picking at his sleeves, turning just enough in his chair to be polite, but not looking me in the eye.

"Valmont's finally emailed me back about the floppy disks."

I straighten. "And?"

My heart sinks when he looks at me. There are tears in his eyes as he shakes his head.

"He said there's nothing."

"Oh, Sweetheart," I say, standing and rushing over to him.

He doesn't even stand, just wraps his arms around me and buries his face just below my chest. His fingers clutch at my shirt as he starts to cry, too tired and hurt to hold back. He's been waiting days for this, checking Roufflenet every hour since we got back from the peace conference. He's been praying for something-anything about Nikki.

This type of letdown is soul crushing, and I don't know how to make it better.

So I just stand there, stroking his hair as he cries, the mounting sobs shaking his shoulders and stealing his breath. My own eyes sting with tears at seeing him like this.

"I'm so sorry," I murmur, but he doesn't say anything back. He just keeps holding onto me as I try to whisper soothing words to him, hoping to offer some comfort, even though I know deep down I can't even begin to understand his pain, or how to soothe it.

My hands move from stroking his hair down to his shoulders, and I cringe at how tense he is. I slowly, gently, remove his hands from my shirt, keeping his fingers intertwined in mine as I pull him up and lead him to the bed, allowing us both to sit down. I pull him close, his hands wrapping around me again as I bring my hand up to wipe away the tears that stream down his face.

His red-rimmed eyes won't look into mine, but I don't push him.  Instead I lean forward and kiss the red blotches that appear on his skin as he hiccups on another sob.

"I know this sucks, and I'm so sorry we don't have any new leads," I whisper, "but this isn't the end. Even if those files don't have anything on her, that doesn't mean we won't find her. I won't stop until we do, okay? And I don't care where I have to look. I mean, I basically went dumpster diving just to find you before."

That finally seems to get a watery smile out of him, and my heart soars at the sight.

"I doubt you'll have to do that," He says, his voice raspy. A few stray tears still leak from his eyes, and I wipe them away as tenderly as possible. "Nikki is my younger sister, but she's a lot smarter than me. She'd find a better hiding place... And because of that I know she's probably okay, and so we can go on with everything else that's making our lives miserable."

"Oh, no, you don't get to pull a me and push your problems away to focus on the main goal," I say, twisting him around to where his back is facing me. I don't give him a chance to protest. "Just let me do this. You're tense as hell and I doubt sitting in that chair that's two seconds from collapsing is helping any."

Despite the slight bite in my words, my hands are gentle when they rest on his shoulders. "We're doing everything we can to make a plan in stopping the Last Riders and the V-Types. That one we saw before was the first one out of Battenbury, and even though it infected a few others... I'm sure it'll be fine. We can worry about your sister too."

"I'm not talking about them," Sam says, hissing when I press a particularly tight spot on his right shoulder.

"Sorry," I say quickly, trying to be as gentle as possible. "Then what are you talking about?"

"The problem you keep pushing away," He says, and when he looks back at me and sees my blank face, he sighs. "Mortality."

"Oh."

I don't say anything else for a long moment, instead focusing on my fingers that seem to finally be doing something right, since Sam is starting to relax against me.

"Callista..." Sam starts.

"Well, it's really not like we can do much about it, you know? I mean, I want to-I want to find a cure for-for this, but... there's nothing we have to even give us a good start." I pause, trying to hide my disappointment. "I mean, you were my operator for all those secret missions to Van Ark's old bases. There's nothing. Sigrid must've cleared out all his research, and there's no way to know if she still had them... It's times like these I actually wish Maxine hadn't burned the ones Veronica had.

"But even if we did something, I don't know if there'd be a way to reverse it. Whatever Maxine used on Van Ark to make him mortal doesn't work on Peter-we've tried it. So I doubt it'd work on me since we both had refined versions, mine more refined than his. And we also have to worry about how we could even make the stuff without anyone finding out."

"You have to tell them sometime," He says although he doesn't sound like he exactly likes that idea. "I mean, Tom-"

"Tom won't say anything. If he gave it away now, it'd just make things more complicated. He knows that... This is just something we'll have to stick a pin in for now."

He turns a bit to look at me over his shoulder, a frown on his lips. "But you were the one who suggested it."

"I was, but there's not anything we can do about it. We have nothing to go off of and I can't ask anyone to help without them finding out."

He whines like an annoyed child. I bite my lip to keep from laughing. "I hate having to wait for things like this."

"As do I," I say, and I mean it. I want to be mortal so badly. I'll never truly be a normal human, but to be mortal again... It would be a bit closer to feeling it, maybe just enough to fall into the illusion that I'm just as human as I believed I was when I first came to Abel.

But we have no leads, and no one to turn to for help. We're stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"Hey, on the plus side, there is that saying that good things come to those who wait."

Sam doesn't seem to appreciate my attempt to lighten the mood, but whatever retort he was planning on saying seems to die in his throat as he relaxes against me.

"Am I making you feel more relaxed?" I ask smugly.

"Well, I'm not crying anymore, am I?" I can hear the smile in his voice, which brings out one in me.

"No, which is a good thing. I don't like seeing you upset." I lean down and kiss his shoulder, a spot just beside my hand. His clothing separates my lips from his skin, but he still gets the gesture. "I promise we'll find her. You haven't told me much about her. What was she like?"

"Uh, well, she was basically the golden child. Good at sports, good at maths, super tidy-I mean, if people sleep walked, she sleep cleaned. My Mum and Dad were always so proud of her. I was jealous of her for a long time, but I couldn't bring myself to really be mad at her."

"Oh. She sounds-"

"Perfect? Yeah. I'm kind of glad I met you first, because I'd honestly be scared if you'd have met me and Nikki at the same time you would have been crushing on her instead of me."

I snort. "I think you're exaggerating a bit. The first time I saw you, I thought 'He's way more attractive than I thought he'd be.' So, I still would have ended up crushing on you."

He grins, seeming very pleased.

"Nikki's like me in one way though-can't sing to save her life." He laughs, reminiscing. "She tried so hard to, but the notes always sounded flat or off-pitch, or her voice would crack. It made me feel better because I knew that was something she couldn't beat me at."

I can feel the teasing smile growing on my face. "So you were a competitive kid?"

"Only with my sister, but weren't all kids competitive with their siblings?"

"Me and Katelyn weren't, I don't think."

"Then you must not have been real siblings," He jokes, but then tenses a second later, immediately regretting his word choice. "Oh-oh, God. Callista, I am so-I don't mean it-"

"I know," I say quickly, swallowing down the slight sting his words give, but that reminder reminds me of something.

I gasp, my hands leaving Sam's shoulders and he groans.

"I said I was sorry."

"It's not because of that. I mean, it is, but because it made me remember something."

"But-"

"I'll make it up to you," I quickly promise, hopping off the bed and grabbing my backpack.

"And how are you going to do that?" He asks. His tone seems annoyed, but his expression is curious as I open my backpack and pull something from it.

"Oh, I'm sure I'll think of something," I reply with a smirk, but it quickly turns into an excited grin as I jump back down. "I found something interesting in those files. Whether or not Valmont realizes it-most likely not- Sigrid had some knowledge on a person I've been wanting to look at."

I show him the file.

"I forgot about it by the time we got home because you were already waiting for Valmont to get back to you on what might have happened to Nikki. I didn't remember it until know."

"'Cassandra Feive?'" Sam reads, but then his eyes widen. "Wait, Feive. That's what you said the project that you were made was called, and that was the name of the doctor-"

"Over the project, yes. Read the leverage."

"'Genetics/Experimental Failures'."

"Catherine-the Original-told me I wouldn't have been the first failure Feive's had. I always wondered... And maybe if the genetics part of this lets me know more about myself-I don't know. It may help me learn how to get rid of the problems I have with the immortality thing. It's a long shot, but-"

"Something's better than nothing," Sam says with hopeful eyes. I scoot closer to him as he opens the file.

Cassandra Feive. B.S., M.S., PhD, Doctorate. Only child. Husband (deceased) and a daughter (deceased). Daughter was diagnosed with an aggressive case of lymphoma at age 15. Radiation treatments failed to cure it. Feive tried to use her own genetic testing and treatments to cure her. She died thirty-six hours after the first treatment was administered. Date of death: November 17, 1975.

"November," I say. "All of the girls in the Feive project were born in November."

Feive started a genetic project of cloning and the recreation of humans in test tubes. The first girl was created in 1977 with her body that of a teenager's. Experimentation failed with the girl non-responsive in a vegetable-like state. Girl eventually died.

The same result came from similar experiments in 1978 and 1980. Feive has moved on to other projects in terms of cloning and experimentation, but no intel has been found.

"She must have started doing research in the Feive project... Catherine was born in 1984, so I mean," I grit my teeth, "I don't-how will this help with anything? I mean, I'd always wondered why she didn't just make us old enough to initiate the hive mind. I thought-I mean, in Feive's notes she said she didn't want us to grow up there because she wanted us to have a sense of humanity to keep us from going rogue. God, this is..."

"Yeah. Not to mention she killed her own daughter." Sam's voice is dripping with disgust.

I frown. "We don't know that."

"Don't we? No wonder you're the best of the fives in that stupid project. It's because you're the last. Feive got better with practice! I mean, Catherine was the first to be successful, apparently, and she's a little..." He draws circles around his head, sticking out his tongue. If this were about anything else, I would have laughed.

"I thought since it said 'Genetics' I'd find something possibly about me. As horrible as this is-as horrible as Feive is, if she's still alive-learning this does nothing to help me. Although I already knew it was a long shot."

Sam hums. "There are a few other notes too. 'Allergic to strawberries, declined offer to work for Brent Valmont in 2010, refuses to listen to collogues regarding her projects, dislikes Cynthia Hill, has a strong hatred towards Dr. Tomorrow.'" He blinks. "Dr. Tomorrow? I remember her. We met her when you first came to Abel. Her machine was able to change something's DNA, so we could grow superwheat because of food shortages. Funny Dr. Feive would have a problem with Dr. Tomorrow since she changed genetics around too."

"Well, in a way she was right to be suspicious," I say with a shrug. "You remember what happened. The woman we thought was Dr. Tomorrow, Alyssa, was just an actress. The real Dr. Tomorrow-the person who did the actual science was a different woman entirely... Evelyn. Feive just didn't know the whole story."

"We're probably the only ones who ever will. But Evelyn wasn't a bad person."

"But her boss was. You didn't get to see what he made her and some of the other workers into. God, those poor people. I hope they're better now, happy... Dr. Feive only knew about things like mini-mice and smarter-crows that tried to gouge our eyes out, which is bad but... not the worst of it." I shudder at the memory. "Feive did this DNA stuff to create people while that man made people that were human to begin with into animal hybrids. Evelyn said it may have been reversible, but to go through that pain again would probably kill her...

"That's something Dr. Feive didn't know about. She probably didn't like 'Dr. Tomorrow' because she thought she used her PRISER device simply to create a theme park on that island."

"She said she wanted to do more with it."

"But she didn't in Feive's eyes. Maybe Feive looked down on her because of it."

He scoffs. "So she was a snob?"

"She seemed to think it wasn't fair that her work was constantly being questioned by others."

"She was doing genetic tests to create humans. Girls died because of this!"

"I know! I don't think-I'm not saying she was a good person. I just... if she had stopped because of it, I... wouldn't exist." My face scrunches up at just how selfish that sounds, how selfish that is.

"Yeah... I wonder if Sigrid was trying to find out about the Feive Project." Sam pauses in thought. "I mean, she probably was, since that would be something more she could use against her. Dr. Feive would definitely be an asset to Sigrid."

"I guess that meant Feive's been somewhere in England if Sigrid has dirt on her. But if that's true, why didn't she come for me or try to talk to me or something? She'd obviously know who I was."

"Would she?"

I nod vigorously. "She had to! She planned out literally every aspect of my life. She probably knows more about my biology than I do."

"Maybe she knew Sigrid hated you and didn't want to get you killed. I mean, you were, hopefully, her last creation. Maybe that was sentimental value."

"And she probably already knew the Feive Project failed because the hivemind wasn't initiated and we didn't find her," I add, running my fingers through my hair. "But why hasn't she tried to contact us now? Sigrid's gone. We made sure of that."

Sam bites his lip. "Maybe she's dead. You know how Sigrid was near the end. Anyone who looked at her funny became a suspected traitor and then killed."

"Yeah, maybe." I stare at her picture that's given. I don't know how old this picture is, but Feive looks older, wrinkled with gray hairs. She doesn't look as old as I thought she would though. If her daughter died at fifteen in 1975, then she was born in 1960, and I presume Feive was at least twenty when she had her daughter, so that means Feive must have been born around 1940.

This picture was probably taken 2000s since the notes state her refusal to work with Valmont in 2010, so she'd be seventy or so years old, but she barely looks to be in her sixties.

I suppose her genetics that allowed her to look younger than she is gave her the idea to do the same to me. I'll be in my second decade in a few months and I've still been called a little girl by people who don't know who I am.

Then I look at her more closely...

And I notice something, something I didn't realize when I had her face in my dreams.

"Well, this was fun, I guess," I say, standing and taking the file with me. I place it on the coms desk. "I would stay and talk more about all this, but I need to go find Phineas. I left him in charge of Alejandro since no one else wants to take care of him. I'd better go check and see if they're okay."

Sam pouts, not seeming to realize my sudden change in mood. "But I thought you said you'd make it up to me-"

"I will. I will," I promise. "But you have to give me a bit to think of a way to do so. I promise the wait will be worth it."

He huffs, but the pout on his face disappears when I give him a chaste kiss.

"I'll be back soon, alright?"

He kisses me again, surprising me for a brief moment. He has a pleased smile on his face when he pulls away. "Alright."

As I leave, I can only think about one thing.

Sam didn't notice it, but Dr. Feive had brown hair and brown eyes in her picture, like me. And the texture of her hair wasn't too different than mine. Our facial structures aren't the same, but I can only wonder...

Catherine did say I was supposed to look the most human of the five regarding our eyes.

Was Dr. Feive making us in her own image?

•

It takes me awhile to find Phineas.

I find him hiding near the farms where some of the crops are. The corn stalks help hide him and Alejandro, who's laying in his hands. He's a very lazy chinchilla, I've come to realize. Extremely cute, but would rather be held than play. Phineas doesn't seem to mind.

He must feel my footsteps, because he looks up at me before I even reach him. He doesn't smile nor frown when he sees it's me.

"Hey, Five."

"Hi, Phineas. What are you doing?" I ask, signing the words as I say them.

"Just watching Alejandro. I wanted to let him out of his cage, but he gets scared when too many people are around him."

I nod. I suppose being a class pet for a primary school would make your wary of multiple people-all the small hands constantly grabbing and squeezing. I'm surprised he's as trusting as he is with Phineas, or anyone.

"But why did you choose here?"

He shrugs. "Why not? Plus, if I came here, if you came looking for me, you wouldn't bring Adora."

I sit down in the dirt. "You don't want Adora to play with Alejandro?"

"She always tries to take him from me, so no," He says, scrunching up his face. "The only problem I have with Alejandro is he tries to eat my origami creations."

I bite my lip to keep from smiling. "Yeah, that sounds like a bummer."

He stays silent for a beat, two beats. "Why are you here?"

I sigh. Oh, how I forget how blunt this twelve-year-old twerp can be. "I just wanted to check up on you and Alejandro. Pets are a big responsibility, you know."

"I'm responsible," He says quickly, and I nod.

"I know, but it can get overwhelming. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Oh." He pauses, brown eyes drifting from me to the chinchilla in his hands. "Well, we're fine. You can go now."

I blink, staying silent until he looks back at me, face blank. "Do you want me to leave?"

"Not really, but if that's all you came for, then we're fine. So, you can go."

"I don't have to go. I don't have anything to do for today," I say. "I don't mind staying and talking to you. I like talking to you, and we can talk about whatever you want-"

"Why do you keep trying so hard to be my mum?" He asks. His voice holds no malice, no anger. It's a genuine question. Still, it leaves me stunned, blinking owlishly as the blond waits for an answer.

"I... I'm not."

"Yeah, you are."

"No, I-Phineas, I'm the one who found you and Adora a year and a half ago. You're my responsibility."

"Not really. There are people in Abel that would take care of us if you didn't want to. That's their job. And you even used to say finding us didn't make you our mum, but you still started acting like it anyway. Why?"

"Because... because I care about you, Phineas. I care about you and Adora and Milo. And I-I cared about Penelope and Willis. I want to keep you safe and happy. I know I'll never replace your mother, but she wanted me to take care of you."

"You want us to be safe and happy?" He repeats, and I nod.

"Of course I do."

"Is that why you sent Milo to New Canton?"

Again, it's genuine question with no bite, but I still flinch as if I'd been slapped. "I... I didn't send Milo anywhere. He chose to go to New Canton."

"But you still let him. And that's a lot for you because he told me that you used to not let him do anything when he was my age."

I roll my eyes. "For one, he was being dramatic. And two, I thought it would be best to get him away from Abel for a little bit. He still comes around and talks to us, but the constant reminder of Veronica-"

Phineas scoffs when I say her name. He never was fond of her. He didn't like her talking down to him for not understanding everything she did. Veronica, of course, did that to everyone before she became A.N.N.I.E. Sometimes she didn't even mean to, but Phineas takes such things personally.

He also blames her for his and Milo's friendship cracking. They have been getting along well enough when Milo comes around to Abel, but they aren't exactly close-not like Phineas and Penelope were.

"Milo just needs some time away. Things have been crazy lately."

"That's what you always say." He frowns, and I shrug and offer him a closed-lipped smile.

"Well, things are always crazy."

"Are you crazy?"

"Probably." I lower my voice to a whisper. "Just don't tell the voices in my head yet. They don't know."

To my relief, that gets a smile out of him.

"So, is this what you've been doing all day, sitting in the fields with Alejandro?" I ask, and he gives a half shrug in reply.

"I've taken him a few other places, but I know no one is going to come bother us here."

"You know we have a little spot in the corner of the coms shack for his cage if you want to play with him there," I suggest. I don't really mind him being out here. Fresh air and all that is good for a child. I just don't like him being out here all by himself.

But he makes a face. "Yeah, but then you and Sam would be in there trying to talk to me."

"Do you not like talking to me and Sam?"

"Not all the time, and you're weird and can't be in the same room with someone without feeling the need to fill it. It's like you're afraid of it being quiet."

"Well, after not being able to speak for two years, I don't like to not talk when other people are there to listen. Well, most of the time."

"That'd be like me getting a good hearing aid and saying after not being able to hear for like, eight years don't want to not listen to music."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Look, I just don't want you being out here all by yourself, and I'll even shut up in the coms shack."

"Well, you're out here with me now," He says.

"This is for future reference."

"But now you know where to find me, so then you can and I won't be alone."

I purse my lips at his stubbornness, mostly because he says it so casually I can't be sure if he's being smart with me or simply stating what comes to his head. I open my mouth to give a reply, but stop short when I hear footsteps, dirt shifting under someone's weight.

I stand, and Phineas does as well, his eyes on my face, watching to see if whatever I'm hearing scares or worries me. He seems to relax when he realizes it doesn't, but he doesn't exactly seem happy when Maxine trudges towards us.

"There you are," She says, her voice edging on frantic. I cock my head to the side.

"You were looking for me?"

"Uh, yeah. Well, Janine sent me to come get you."

"Why?" Phineas pipes up. "Five doesn't have a run today."

"She doesn't, but there's a meeting. I mean, it's not really a meeting, but you need to head to the coms shack."

"Is it urgent?" I ask, and I'm answered with a quick nod.

"It is for the most part. It's important."

I nod. Even if it wasn't, it wouldn't be wise to not go when Janine calls. I look back at Phineas.

"Put Alejandro in his cage and take him to the library or the Rec room or something. I don't want you sitting here all day."

He scowls. "But-"

"That wasn't a question," I interrupt, giving him a stern look.

He doesn't like it, but I don't have time to sit here and argue with him. With a huff he puts the chinchilla in his cage. Alejandro squeaks, not happy about being moved from Phineas's warm hands, but he quickly moves to a little corner to lay down. I stand and watch as Phineas walks off, looking over his shoulder every few seconds. I know if I don't stay and watch him leave, he'll turn and come back here as soon as we're gone.

"I don't like him being alone all the time. He needs to be around other people," I explain to Maxine as we start walking.

"I understand that," She says with a nod, although I'm not certain if she really means that. I don't ask.

"So, what's so important, and where do we need to go?"

"Coms shack. Sam got an email a little bit after you left," She says, and I look at her expectantly.

"And?"

"Well, I didn't want to say it around Phineas because he didn't... doesn't exactly care for her, but we think it's from Veronica."

My eyes widen. "Are you sure?"

"Not exactly, but there's certain things in there we're going to look for. We haven't read it all yet. We knew if she was contacting us it would be for something important, and you're Head of Runners, so-"

"So you wanted me there," I finish. "Got it."

When we reach the coms shack, Sam is there with Janine, reading over the email.

"Alright," I say, clapping my hands together, "so what's this all about? What does Ronnie need from us, if it is actually her?"

The look Sam gives me slaps any and all happy energy from my body.

"We read the rest of the email while Maxi was getting you, Callista." He looks at Janine, then back to me. "She-Veronica wants us to capture a V-Type for her."

A/N: Here you go, guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please be sure to vote and comment! Thank you and have a blessed day!