It was dark when I woke up. I had yet another moment of confusion. Was I back in the Rebellion? No. No, Mikhail and Keelan had escorted me back. Back into the clutches of Dr. Blue.

I wasn't even able to feel happy upon seeing Robyn. Another surprising thing was that I'd actually missed her. She has been nice to me, most of the time anyway.

I had to look. I had to look at myself. I wanted to know what Dr. Blue did to me this time. My eyes didn't even need to adjust to the dark to find out where I was. I already knew this was my room, my cell. It smelt like me. The thin sheets under me were familiar to the touch.

The moment I sat up, a strong wave of nausea washed over me. I groaned loudly, clutching my stomach till it subsided before slowly standing up. My legs shook a bit under me, but didn't give way as I stumbled over to the mirror. My eyes glowed bright green in the mirror as I looked over myself. In the dark, my skin was washed out in my vision. I looked greyish. My wings were blots of black in the already dark room.

Stepping away so I could see my entire body in the small mirror, I tugged my clothes off. The bandages on my wrists practically glowed white, spotted here and there with blood, it smelt of strong antibiotic. My cuffs had been taken off. My body seemed untouched. There were no more cuts or scars. Maybe I'd be able to see more clearly once the lights we-

The lights above flickered, turning on with their full force. I blinked a few times, adjusting to my now bright surroundings. I was wrong, my body hadn't been left alone. There were some needle marks on the inside of my elbow, they'd drawn blood. The wound on my upper arm had been rebandaged too. The cut I'd made on my collar bone almost completely healed over. Yet another scar. There were also some new cuts on my body. Small cuts, almost completely healed over already. Three on my back, two on my front. Two scars on my lower back, one under my right shoulder blade, one on my lower abdomen, and one on the upper right side of my stomach.

Disgust crawled through me. Disgust at myself and Dr. Blue. My wings settled over my shoulders, covering up my front as I continued to stare at myself in the mirror till I couldn't anymore. Storming into the shower cubicle, I turned the water on, setting it to the coldest it could go and staying in there till I was shivering. Hot water hurt the sensitive areas on my back, I tended to avoid it.

I dried off and changed quickly, feeling the cold a bit too much outside of the cubicle. About an hour passed before a guard finally arrived. He took me to an interrogation room very similar to the first one I'd been in. I sat down on the seat meant for me, waiting for the shackles to be brought in but they just left me like that.

In another few minutes, the door opened again. Robyn, Malcolm, Dr. Gonzalez. I stood up as I spotted Robyn, giving her a salute before she could glare at me.

"At ease." She nodded, looking me over with hidden concern. "How are you feeling?"

"Confused." I replied, still standing. Holding up my hands, I continued. "What is this? Why are there new cuts on my body? How long was I out and what did that son of a bitch do to me this time?"

Robyn glanced at Malcolm. He cleared his throat. "Those bandages are for the burns you suffered when you were stunned. They will heal given time, but there will be scars."

"Thanks." I replied sarcastically. "As if I didn't have enough of those already."

"Your consent was required to opt for skin grafts, but you were under sedation."

"Oh, now you need consent? Those cuts on my body can't just have appeared out of thin air. Who consented to that? I certainly don't remember saying yes." I crossed my arms across my chest, my scathing words clearly getting through. "How long was I out this time? Two days? Three days? Another goddamn week?"

"Five days, to be precise." Dr. Gonzalez spoke up, taking a seat across from me. "Dr. Blue took tissue samples from your organs for further research. Please, take a seat."

I sighed defeatedly, remembering the nurse who said that he didn't want to be in the same room as me until I was under sedation. My wings shuddered behind me as my back crawled. I needed another shower.

I sat back down as the door opened and another two chairs were provided for Robyn and Malcolm.

"You probably know why you're here." Malcolm began. "So let's cut to the chase. Tell us everything happened once you entered the Rebel's base."

I nodded, collecting my thoughts before I started speaking. They trusted me now, to an extent anyway. I would probably only need to repeat it once or twice.

The main story was that I'd been kept in a room with no interaction apart from being given food and the other two times when the leader had walked in to record those videos. Sedation had occurred while I was already sleeping, so I never noticed when they walked in or when I was shifted to a box for the exchange.

They seemed to accept it pretty easily, exchanging glances and nodding to each other. Malcolm leaned forward. "I know you said that you never left the room... but did you ever hear or see anything? Any lead right now would be helpful."

I cocked my head, pretending to think as Lionel's last talk with me before we left crossed my mind. "I did hear the leader say 'Willowwood' once. I don't know what that is. It doesn't even sound like a real place."

Robyn leaned back, a thoughtful look on her face. "Terra, do you know what Willowwood is?" I shook my head. Robyn nodded understandingly. "This probably happened before you were born. Willowwood was a hotel in a booming tourist location called Garmenia. But the location fell off the map as their economy went to shit. Willowwood was running in losses, till it went up in flames one night. A lot of people in the areas around it were suddenly left without a job, so they started leaving. It's currently surrounded by nothing short of a ghost town."

"It's been about 30 years since..."Robyn turned her head to look at Malcolm, a gleam in her eyes that made my stomach turn with worry. "It's worth checking out."

Malcolm leaned back in his chair too, scratching his chin. "We could strike a huge blow to the Rebellion with an attack on a base that size... if the information turns out to be true."

My stomach twisted confusingly as I leaned forward. "Will we go again?"

"No." The two chorussed, but Robyn continued. "It will handled by the Army. No more squads, no more Black Ops teams. This has to be a large-scale operation if it happens. They need to know they can't get away with taking a State operative hostage."

I nodded slowly, leaning away as I tried to look disappointed. "I get it."

That had gone better than expected. Now all I have to do is hope Lionel can handle it.

I didn't understand why the other doctor had been brought here. He didn't say a single word throughout the questioning, just watching me quietly and tapping some notes onto his tablet now and then. It was a bit unnerving, but easily ignored.

No sooner had I entered my room again that there was a knock on my door. No one ever knocked.

"Uh, come in." I called out, feeling out of place saying that.

The door was pushed open a crack and Rush poked his head through, a mischievous smile on his face. "Hope you're decent, T-oh, you're right here."

"Don't sound so disappointed." I smiled back at him as he fully pushed the door open. "Besides there's no way I would've told you to come in if I was in the bathroom."

Mikhail whacked Rush lightly on the back of his head. "Idiot."

Rush pouted. "I was doing it for Keelan."

Keelan's gray eyes widened as he turned red. "I didn't say anything!"

I laughed softly. "Calm down. Now, what are you guys here for?"

"To check up on you." I shifted back on my bed to make space for them. Mikhail sat right in front of me, the other two taking their place behind him. "You've been sedated for a while."

"Five days, to be exact." Rush piped up.

"I know." I nodded. "Dr. Blue always does this. Last time, I think it was ten days."

"Yikes." Rush grimaced. "Did he do anything to you?"

"Yeah." I reached down, lifting up my shirt till my diaphragm. "He took tissue samples from my organs."

The three of them grimaced. Rush shook his head, recovering quickly and holding out a bag I'd seen him walk into the room with. "Here. This is for you."

"A gift?" I hesitantly took the brightly coloured bag from him. I wasn't used to receiving gifts.

"Clothes. Normal clothes." Mikhail glanced back at the other two, secret smiles playing on all their faces. "Commander Malcolm gave us permission to take you out of here for the day."

My jaw dropped open. "No way." I whispered.

"Yes way!" Rush grinned back, eagerly leaning forward on an irritated Mikhail. "We bought a couple of clothes for you. In size medium. You're definitely not a large, but there's a few things in there, just in case."

"Hold up, hold up." I held up my hand to shut Rush up. "I can really go outside? This isn't a prank?"

"No." Mikhail's green eyes shone earnestly. "Even the psychiatrist agreed. Dr. Gonzalez said it will be good for you to go outside after all you've been through. And it's a good way to get you used to the changes that have happened since you were away from society."

I rolled my eyes. "I was in the Rebellion for a while, not a hole in the ground. Plus, I caught up with the news whenever we went on those earlier missions."

"Good enough." Mikhail shrugged easily, standing up. "You get changed. We're waiting outside."

"Hey, hey." Rush protested. "I'm not waiting in the corridor. She can change in the bathroom."

I frowned at him, shifting forward to place my hands on his chest and push. "Go away!"

"Terra, stop!" Keelan had a panicked look on his face, his fingers digging into Rush's shoulders as he started to lean dangerously back. "I'm going to fall!"

"We need to use your mirror!" Rush grabbed my wrists, trying not to fall back as well. "Then we'll leave!"

"Oh." I stopped pushing. "Why didn't you say so?"

I sat back, fishing inside the bag as those two straightened up before standing up. My eyes went to Mikhail as he fished a small container out of his pocket, first in line for the mirror. I watched curiosly as he pulled his lower eyelid down, using his finger to place a green contact in it. He blinked a couple of times, eyes flickering to me as he noticed my stare.

"People don't normally notice unless they're close but it's best to be careful."

Keelan scoffed. "He's a chick magnet. He's got to look human or they run away."

"That's not why I wear contacts and you know it."

"And you, Rush?" I quickly cut in between before anything else was said.

He held up a small bottle. "Concealer for these." He patted the scales on his cheek.

I glanced at Keelan. He was pretty covered up. Full sleeves, jeans. Probably to hide the scales on his arms.

I turned away from them, spreading their haul out on my bed. A few shirts, a pair of jeans, a pair of shorts. Pretty comfortable clothing, stuff I would normally wear back in Section D. Light wash ripped jeans, my jeans back home were ripped too, but I didn't buy them ripped. There was a white shirt with a simple rose embroidered on the chest pocket. I liked it. Simple. I tugged on my own pair of boots before leaving the room.

The three turned to look at me. Rush nodded slowly. "Good. Can't believe those boots work on this."

I ran a finger over the denim, rolling my shoulders to help my wings settle into my harness. "I haven't worn normal clothes in what feels like ages."

"It's surprising how normal you look." Keelan mused, eyes running over me. "I mean, I can hide my scales, but I still look scary. Rush has to keep fixing the concealer, and eventually Mikhail will have to remove his contacts or his eyes start watering."

"You guys look pretty normal too." I replied easily, turning to start walking towards the elevator. "Come on, let's go. I'm excited!"

Before leaving, we had to visit Malcolm's office. He had a nice office. Wood panelling, glass shelves with tomes of books on them about strategy and war, a few plants in the corner. Comfy looking guest chairs too but we weren't invited to sit on them. We stood behind them, standing with our hands behind our back as he stared at us. Me, in particular.

"Where did you get the clothes?"

"We bought them." Rush replied, blankly staring straight ahead. "She didn't have anything but prisoner digs to wear."

Malcolm straightened in his chair. "I see. It's almost ridiculous how innocent you look like this. We know the truth about you though." He scowled softly, pulling out a box from under his desk. "Doctor's ordered not to put those cuffs on you again. This is a substitute for the remainder of the time you're here."

I couldn't help the grimace that crossed my face as he opened the box. There was a round, metal band in it. Too big to fit on my ankle or wrist, which meant it would go on my neck. Shame gripped me to my core as the metal settled against my skin. I didn't say a word as Malcolm snapped it shut. There was a soft hum from it as it was activated.

"You can't take it off." Malcolm played with the new remote in his hand as he walked back to his seat. "It works on the same principle, but lesser voltage so it won't burn through your neck." A sadistic smile crossed his face as he sat down. Still smiling up at me, he placed the remote on the desk and gestured towards the door. "On that note, have fun."

I was already feeling pretty hopeless. Swallowing the remainder of my pride to snap a salute to him before leaving was a piece of cake. "And here I thought we were just starting to get along." I mumbled as the door closed behind us, my eyes on the floor as my fingers skimmed across the smooth metal band.

Rush placed his arm around my shoulder, rubbing my arm to comfort me. "He's bound by protocol. It doesn't look that bad. It's like a choker."

"Actually a bit less eye-catching than the bandages on your wrist." Keelan bit his lip as he stared at them. "Those are going to raise more eyebrows than the thing around your neck."

"There has to be a way to cover that." Mikhail frowned thoughtfully, eyes widening a moment later in realisation of what he'd said. "I mean, you don't need to hide it if you don't want to. It's fine."

I ran a hand through my hair. "I don't want to attract attention. Atleast not the kind of attention these would bring." I shrugged listlessly. "You guys mind if I change? I'll be fast."

All of them seemed to agree to it. They seemed to be going along with whatever I was saying. As if nodding along to every word of mine would keep me sane and happy. The collar was to be expected. They'd want to keep a closer eye on me, but I'd never expected such an obvious placement this time around. It didn't annoy me as much as it made me self-conscious. I found myself absent-mindedly stroking the smooth metal throughout the day. Even if I started to relax, just spotting my reflection in the mirror made me feel awkward again.

Nonetheless, it was nice to be outside again as a temporarily free person. The exit of the station we were in was at the cusp of Section B. The rooms provided to us to keep us away from the general public were pretty close-by, a gate from them leading into Section A.

I'd been to Section A a few times before. I'd always found it a fascinating contrast. Shiny, glass buildings everywhere. Some transforming every minute to catch the eyes of the customers, others with eye catching displays in front. Every kind of establishment a rich individual would require in the same place-malls, high-end boutiques, restaurants, bars, offices. There was nothing over our heads, like clothes, or random walkways or shop awnings like in Section D. The sky was a bright blue filled with floating advertisements, billboards and holograms.

They led me around for a bit, chatting away easily as they pointed out places that were their usual nooks. I had no idea their salary was that high. Would I be earning that much too once I was set free? I had been worried about finding enough money to help my parents move away from Section D as quickly as possible but it might be easier than I thought.

My fingers ran over my neck once more as they had been doing all day. My wings were stretching themselves out, freed of the harness as I lay in bed thinking. Curfew had passed, the lights were off, and I was heading into dreamland too. It had been an exhilarating, yet exhausting day. A small taste of freedom. Of what I was working for here. But freedom was close, so close.

A month, maybe two. Or perhaps a few weeks. Then I would be out. It was time for me to take care of my parents. I'd promised Tristan I'd watch over them. I would have to get out of here to do that. Nothing was going to come in my way anymore. Not the Rebellion, Malcolm, Robyn, or even Dr. Blue. I'd put up with them all if I needed to. But soon enough, I wouldn't have to.