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37

Once the room cleared, Gemma opened the water bottle and handed it back to me with the pills. "If you thought anyone was a traitor, it should've been Pluto. He seems mean." Shaking my head, I lifted my head up slightly to take the medication. 

"Sure, Pluto's mean but he doesn't have that crazy look in his eye that Jupiter does. Even if he's not a traitor, I don't know if he's entirely for us," I said before laying back. Shrugging, Gemma put the cap on the bottle. 

"He can't be anymore against us then Titan." At the sound of his name my skin crawled, making me feel the urge to hold myself. 

"What happened after they took you guys?" I asked, my voice scarcely above a whisper. Swallowing thickly, Gemma tucked her knees against her chest and leaned back against the dingy wall. 

"When I woke up, I was in an entirely white room. The walls, the bed, the chair, the table, the cup—all of it was white. I thought for the briefest second maybe I had died, but then the door slid open and some of the men who had been hunting us in the office building were in the doorway. They grabbed me and dragged me out into the darkest hallway I had ever been in and despite all my kicking and screaming they didn't lose their grip. I didn't see anyone else, just the me and them. Then they took me into this room, a throne room."

 Feeling goosebumps crawl up my arm, I reached out and grabbed her hand tight. 

"The room was brighter than the hallway and strung along the walls was the most weapons I had ever seen. That's when I saw him for the first time. He was sitting on a throne, made from automaton parts. I then noticed Naomi was also there, and she was terrified. She wouldn't stop crying no matter how many times I reassured her it was okay. Titan then stood up and I had no doubt in that mind that man—robotic demon had nothing but the worst intentions. He then walked up to me and looked at me for a long time before walking over to Naomi." 

Gemma took a sharp breath. 

"When she started crying and tried to look away, he grabbed her chin to make her look at him, before pushing her away. He then gestured to the door and some more men dragged in mom, dad and Toby. Mom and dad looked tired and a little sick but okay. Toby was angry. He was screaming and cursing and throwing threats at Titan I didn't know he could make. Titan just smiled before having the men line us all up and he grabbed one of the guns off the wall." 

She then started crying. 

"H-He then grabbed Naomi and he put the g-gun to her head. She started screaming, we all started screaming and begging. He just smiled and calmly told us they were going to take a video of us to s-send to you, to convince you to come b-back to where it all began. He said if we didn't comply, he would punish one of us without hesitation. He then l-let her go and one of his men took the video." 

Feeling my heartbeat grow in my ears, I thought back to the terrified looks on my family's face in the video that had crashed the training rooms computer system. I was beyond mortified that Titan had the balls to suggest he was the good guy after pulling that. "What...what happened then?" I dared to ask, unsure if I could stomach much more. 

"O-Once they s-stopped recording, Titan then told his men to put us back. That's w-when Toby lost it. He attacked Titan and within a matter of moments was pinned on the ground taking the worst beating I had ever seen. I—there was nothing I could do. T-They pulled me away and locked me up in that damned room before taking me to you tonight!" Gemma wheezed before attempting to gasp for a proper breath, but instead started sobbing. 

Feeling an overwhelming array of emotion rush over me, I hit the wall with my fist and hit it again. I felt like I couldn't do anything either. Toby was laying in a white prison cell somewhere suffering, Naomi was likely still scared out of her mind and my parents didn't sound like they were doing well either. I was injured, Pluto was injured, Jupiter might be a traitor and it was likely Neptune wasn't going to disobey the Minds again. Sure, Jupiter said he had blown everyone to hell in that building but knowing our luck there was a good chance Titan had escaped along with the worst of his men. Mac was in the hospital; our house was gone, and our existence was erased from social media. It was unlikely anyone was looking for us or into my family's disappearance. 

If anything, it was likely my family was blamed for Mac's family getting gunned down. This whole situation was hopeless—or at least it felt like it was until something Gemma had said struck me. "Where it all began?" Looking up at me with red eyes, Gemma shook her head. 

"What?" 

"Titan, he said he wanted to persuade me to go back to where it all began?" I asked, to which Gemma nodded. Immediately, despite my leg still throbbing, I shot up and hobbled out of the room at an impressive speed into the other room where everyone was gathered around the table Pluto was resting on talking. 

"Where did it all began?" I asked loudly upon entering, startling everyone. 

"Abigail why aren't you in bed resting?" Neptune asked, stepping out of their circle to grab my arm. 

"Answer me! Where did it all began?" I desperately asked, gripping Neptune's arm.

"Where did what began?" Mercury asked. "You! Mars, Pluto, Jupiter! All of you! Titan. Where did the Archytas experiment began?" I asked frantically. 

"Well, when you joined, we had you come to our lab right outside the city but most of the work was done in the Kingsley lab five miles away in the forest. Because their work was so top secret, they had to keep it as far from the public as possible." Mars explained, crossing his arms.

 Taking a deep breath, a victorious smile spread across my face. "The Kingsley lab, that's where they are. The one place he didn't think we would look." 

"What are you talking about?" Pluto asked and my grin only grew wider. 

"Titan is holding the rest of my family at the Kingsley lab and we're going to get them." 

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Howdy! After catching up on sleep and drinking a little I finally have an update for you guys :) I am planning on working on the next one today, so hopefully I will be updating again tonight or in a couple of days. 

Have a brilliant day!

-Mari.