Chương 71: Chapter 33: Finding Answers

He stood there. Motionless, without any expression in his eyes. I felt broken. Torn between loving and hating the person standing in front of me. Flint, my best friend from the lifeboats who I never thought I'd see again was standing right in front of me. Yet the monster occupying him had invaded my living room as though he had any right to be there. I squeezed my hands into fists. After everything Artemis had done, after everything he put me through, after everything he did to the melodians, I wanted to hurt him.

I wanted him to feel the pain he'd caused to everyone else. But it wouldn't be him feeling the pain, it would be Flint, my friend, the person who swore he'd never use the assembler. My body was shaking, my breath quivering as I managed to muster the only words I could think of.

"What have you done?" I said, speaking in a hardly audible whisper through my clenched teeth. He lifted his chin, straightening his posture as he kept his hands behind his back.

"I think it would be best to speak in private" he said, his tone was confident, speaking less robotically than I'd heard him speak before. I could see Gav and Oliver off to the side of my vision, but I didn't take my focus off of Artemis as I lifted my hand, gesturing for the two of them to leave. They looked at each other for a moment, no doubt wondering if they should ask what was going on, but thankfully they both turned and left, going out through the garage door and closing it behind them.

"My apologies Tess. I didn't mean for…" he began to say.

"What have you done?" I asked again, speaking a little louder. He sighed, his blank facial expression changing to concern.

"I was only looking out for y…" he started to say. I didn't want to hear it, I didn't want to hear excuses, I wanted to grab him, shake him, wake Flint up from underneath. I threw myself forward, reaching out to grab him by the shirt, but just before I grabbed he stepped to the side, making me fall to the floor behind him.

Without a second thought I leapt up again, reaching out once more, but he was faster as he reached up, grabbing my hand and pulling me forward, using my own momentum against me as he threw me to the ground where I'd originally started. Before I could get up a massive weight fell onto my back as he landed on top of me as he grabbed my wrists, pulling them behind my back and holding them so I couldn't get up.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAhhh!" I screamed as he held me firmly in place. Rather than respond, he simply remained quiet, letting me struggle against him for long enough to understand that I couldn't shake him. Flint was stronger than me and Artemis was using that to his advantage.

"Nobody made him use the assembler, Tess" he said after a few moments as I was struggling to catch my breath. Despite having my face pressed into the carpet, I shook my head.

"No. You're lying, he'd never… He'd never... I know him, you did something to him" I said, refusing to believe what he was telling me. He leaned in, speaking quietly but with an intensity I'd never heard him speak with before.

"I understand you care for him, that's why I tried to send you both here together, to escape that place" he said, his hand loosening a little as he spoke, "You've known him for only a few months, but I've known him his entire life. He did what almost no melodian ever does, he chose to stay out of the assembler. I knew he was different and I wanted to do everything I could to protect him.

"I was with him while I was forced to steal his friends away, making him watch as their lives dulled into the people they'd promised him they'd never become. I was forced to stand idly by as he cried himself to sleep, wishing he could go back to the way things used to be. Despite my efforts to keep him out by doing what I'm never supposed to do, letting him speak to his other half, I only ever received hatred from him.

I saw the vitriol, the absolute disdain he had for me every time he encountered 'me' while a melodian was in the assembler, having no idea that I was the one trying to protect him. I was the villain to the melodian I'd learned to care for the most.

"He was the youngest melodian to join the listeners because I feared that he'd give up, I feared that he'd lose hope of having a better life. I did everything I could for him, but after he saw you leave, he finally gave up. He lost hope. I put myself at incredible risk to get him here so the least you can do is give me a chance to explain myself." I didn't know how to feel. I hated him, but that hatred felt a lot less justified.

I had no idea what he may have been doing for me behind the scenes, but everything seemed to keep working out, and that was feeling like it was at least partially his doing. One thing he said stuck with me, it ran through me as I realized something that he'd just said.

"Lost hope... Is that what Lampro was trying to say? That he never lost hope for the melodians?" I asked.

"Correct" he said as he returned to a more neutral tone in his voice, "he was the best of us."

"What do you want from me?" I asked, my feelings toward him getting muddied.

"I came here to talk" he said in an unnaturally calm voice. I closed my eyes, trying to get my thoughts in order. The assembler four looked a lot more intense. It was forced, giving the user no choice in using it. None of the melodians I'd seen under the effects of the assembler four were able to speak, instead they behaved more like robots. Only the melodians maintaining their higher level functions could appear more natural, but that was under the effects of the assembler three, which was voluntary.

They could leave it at any time. The only way Artemis could be speaking through Flint is if he chose to use it. I relaxed my arms, taking a long deep breath to try to show him that I was done struggling. Thankfully, the weight lifted off of me as he let go of my hands, allowing me to pull myself up to my feet. I opened my eyes to see him standing upright once more, his hands behind himself as though nothing had just happened.

I sighed as I furled my brow, my ears pulling back as I asked a question I knew I'd regret hearing the answer to.

"How long did he last?" I asked, already dreading the answer. His face changed to that of sorrow as he replied "Flint entered the assembler the moment he saw the airlock close behind you. He had already decided to enter it when you told him you were leaving the lifeboats, well, at least before he thought he could join you. He just didn't have the heart to tell you and wanted to wait until you had gone. Once he saw the door close, he didn't see the point in continuing."

"B-but… He said he'd rather die than use that… Why would…" I said, struggling to find my words.

"He lied Tess. He wanted to see you return home safely" he said, his facial expression changing to what looked like remorse as his ears folded back, "After everything that had just occurred, he didn't see any chance of turning off the assembler. Or of killing me. So he gave up. He lost hope." There was that line again, I had a feeling it held a lot more significance to Artemis than I'd thought.

"Lampro saw something in us that the other mechara didn't. Is that why you saved him?" I asked.

"I tried my best, but he sadly didn't entirely make it out. He had an oxygen tank with him, but he nearly died before getting to the escape pod because he didn't want to jeopardize Nori's life by sharing it" he said, his shoulders sagging a bit, "We're shaped by those we've lost. Lampro was a good friend. But through his loss I learned that there's always room for hope. I think it's a lesson we could both learn from him" he said. I sighed, slumping my shoulders "I didn't even know him. Not really" I said.

"No, but he knew you" he said as he looked up toward me again.

"I'm sorry, but I don't remember much from back then" I said, shaking my head, "the only thing I remember was… Well. I remember standing in the forest, watching the gravity games with my mom. I remember that." Artemis turned his head, looking curious.

"Hmmm… Amazing what moments stick in our minds isn't it?" he said as more of a statement than a question. I sighed. It didn't seem like he was visiting me as an adversary, he seemed like he genuinely needed to talk to me.

"So why are you here?" I asked. He nodded, gesturing toward the door.

"I'd love to speak further but as I stated, I'd like to speak in private" he said. I frowned, looking around the room for a moment.

"But we're already alone" I said.

"Your friend standing behind me on the other side of the window holding a baseball bat would disagree with you" he said in a calm, matter of fact tone.

"W-what? How did you…" Emily said as she stepped into view from the other side of the glass door.

"I see everything Emily" Artemis said, his eyes not leaving me as he spoke. He gestured to the front door again to lead me out of the house. Emily looked confused, but didn't try anything as Artemis led me out of the house, out into the cold winter air. I followed him along the driveway, neither of us speaking as we entered the woods. Oddly enough after my eyes adjusted to the darkness for a few seconds, the bright white of his eyes provided enough light to see what was in front of us.

As we walked I noticed he kept reaching out, grabbing small sticks and clumps of pine needles to inspect. He'd never seen earth plants in person, but it was strange to see the ship's computer exhibiting a sense of curiosity. With the initial tension out of the air I found my mind racing with questions. I was finally with Artemis, I could ask him the questions that had been on my mind since I first met him. There was so much to ask that I didn't know where to start.

As we reached the top of a small ridge near my house he hopped up on a large rock, sitting over the edge and looking out at the mountain ahead of us. I stood next to him, the rock bringing Flint up to eye height with me.

"You should come back with me to Lifeboat eight" he said. I blinked, all the questions I was preparing vanishing from my thoughts.

"W-what? After everything that happened?" I asked. He didn't respond. Instead, he just looked out at the stars, leaning back on his hands.

"B-but, you're the one that tried to stop me from going in the first place" I said, remembering the robot trying to keep me against the tree on Sheep's Nose, then later holding me down until Sloan shot out the dome on the ship which turned it off.

"I am" he said plainly.

"And when I got there you kept trying to get me back. Isn't that why you brought Nori to me? Isn't that why you did that whole thing with the spinup? You nearly killed Nori just to prove to the listeners that I was one of them" I said.

"Nori was never in danger" he said quietly, sounding like he was regretting what had happened. I huffed, crossing my arms as I glared at him. Although he wasn't looking at me I could tell he knew how I felt.

"I was running out of options. I needed you to leave and the listeners didn't trust you. They were planning on capturing you again because they thought you were a fake. They thought you were working with the mechara. I had to show them you were one of them" he said. I started tapping my foot, my muscles tensing as I thought through the events on Lifeboat eight.

"Why did you tell the mechara about the music?" I asked as I stepped in front and glaring into him. His gaze fell from the stars and onto me.

"You needed to leave on the first flight out. It was the only way you'd get back. You had nearly been discovered already and I couldn't risk you getting caught. To be honest, when you decided to stay, I panicked. I felt like I'd run out of options, so I forced your hand. I'm sorry about that" he said, sounding remorseful.

"You heard that conversation with Gron and Flint?" I asked. He shook his head.

"You spoke in Melodian. You said it to the crowd" he said. I tilted my head, my anger turning to confusion.

"Emily told me that when I first arrived on earth I was speaking in a way that sounded like music. But… I forgot that a long time ago. I-I don't even know how I learned it. I didn't hear anything like that on the lifeboat" I said. Artemis shook his head as he leaned forward.

"You never forgot. You used to speak it every day. Before… all of this started" he said.

"Before I left Lifeboat seven?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Before you left your home here. Our language wasn't like the one the mechara speak, or like the ones you see here on earth. We could speak any of their languages while speaking ours at the same time. We never had hard rules around grammar or structure. Sure, we created words with specific meanings, but those words could be substituted in an infinite number of ways to fit the rhythm. We demanded more nuance than the languages we speak now. We spoke through thoughts, through feelings, through emotion.

We spoke through music."

"Then wasn't it a good thing that I was teaching it to the other melodians?" I asked, getting more frustrated as I spoke, "I could have convinced them to not use the assembler, I could have saved them!" I exclaimed. He sighed, slouching a bit.

"I'm sorry Tess, but it wasn't going to be enough. You didn't spread it fast enough. They didn't learn fast enough. Whispers were making it to the surface. They were going to activate the assembler four either way. I accelerated it to get you out, but it was going to happen either way. When I said 'good luck', I meant it. But it was too slow. You didn't succeed" he said. I stepped back, pacing slowly back and forth as he spoke, but it didn't make any sense.

"So after you did all that. Putting people in danger, throwing all of the melodians under a bus just to save me, why do you suddenly want me to go back?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips.

"I never said I wanted you to come back" he said. I squinted at him. He took a deep breath before continuing, "I don't want you to come back. I said that you should come back. What I want, is for you to refuse." I threw my hands in the air in frustration.

"You don't make any sense!" I yelled out in frustration, "Just… Why? Why me? Why am I so fucking special to you? What about all the other people on that lifeboat? What about all the people who died on Lifeboat seven? Why did you save me and not any of the millions of other people that lived there?!" He waited for a moment for me to catch my breath before speaking again. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Because I made a promise" he said.

"To who?!" I asked.

"To you" he said flatly. I started tapping my foot again in frustration. It felt like every answer he gave me just led to more confusion.

"Why do you want me to refuse?" I asked as I crossed my arms again.

"Because this is your home. You belong here" he said.

"Then why should I go back to Lifeboat eight?" I asked, my patience starting to run thin.

"Because they belong here too" he said softly. I bit my lip, trying not to scream at him again.

"Then why" I asked, gritting my teeth "didn't you help me while I was still there?" He sighed, shifting his body to move his tail out from behind him to the front as he laid back on the rock, looking at the stars once more.

"I make plans Tess" he said, "It's what I do. I'm always thinking about what to do next. What will get me closer to my goal. My life is built around plans. But when a wild card is introduced to the mix, I don't know what to do. I didn't plan for it, I didn't anticipate it. Yet somehow, despite the odds, that wild card gave me potential for my plans to succeed better than I could have ever thought, or fail in a way that makes this entire endeavor pointless."

"You're talking about Sloan?" I asked.

"I'm talking about you" he said, pausing briefly before continuing, "And now I have to make the next move and rely on something I swore I'd never rely on again. I need to take the advice I had once rejected from an old friend. I can't manipulate this plan to make it work out. I can't stack the odds against them in a way that guarantees my success. I need to rely on something I'd given up on a long time ago. I need to rely on hope."

"Hope in what?" I asked.

"You" he said.

"But… Why me?" I asked.

"Because you're not broken. Not like her" he said softly. I frowned, speaking quietly.

"Sloan?" I asked.

"Sloan" he said with sadness in his voice. We sat in silence for a few minutes. He sounded genuine, but he was keeping something from me, I could tell. There was something off about the way he was presenting things, like he wasn't giving the whole truth.

"Are you working with Sloan?" I asked. He nodded "I am."

"Ugh" I exclaimed, "Who's side are you on exactly?"

"I'm on your side Tess" he said in his usual cryptic way.

"Yet you're working with Sloan?" I asked again.

"Yes" he said.

"Why? Isn't she the one that destroyed Lifeboat seven? What makes you think she won't do the same to eight?" I asked.

"She's responsible for what happened on Lifeboat seven. Yes. But now that the listeners have been disbanded, she's the only person that has the drive and motivation to kill me" he said.

"And that's a good thing?" I asked.

"It would end the assembler program. I didn't want to put this onto our people, I want us to be free" he said.

"You've said that a few times now.

'Us', 'Our species.' Why do you consider yourself one of us? You're an artificial intelligence" I asked. He shook his head.

"There's nothing artificial about me Tess" he said firmly.

"You're a melodian?" I asked, a little confused.

"I used to be" he said quietly. Based on how he'd been acting on the lifeboats and everything I'd learned about Artemis and the building of the lifeboats, I'd felt a small suspicion that he could be the Artemis, but everyone on the ship seemed to think so little of him that I hadn't thought much of it. I sighed, frustrated at my lack of understanding of what he wanted from me. The night was cold, but it was comfortable. Familiar. I didn't want to go back to the lifeboats, I wanted to stay on earth.

"Why should I trust you?" I asked him.

"You shouldn't," he said bluntly. I wasn't expecting such an honest response from him.

"So I guess I should stay then" I said, mostly just curious to see what he would say.

"I wish you would. But I know you won't" he said as he brought his hands to his chest.

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"For the same reason Nori sent me down here to talk to you," he said. I stepped forward, getting closer to him as I turned my ears up.

"Nori sent you? Why?" I asked. He smiled, tilting his head up to look at me.

"She'd like to be able to sleep at night" he said with a small grin before laying his head back down, looking at the stars once more, "She looked it up." My emotions were a whirlwind. Between Nori and Artemis, I couldn't tell how to feel. I was angry with them both, but they both tried to help me. If anything, I needed time to think, but that was likely time that I didn't have. With a sigh, I hopped up on the rock next to him, laying at his side as I looked up at the stars.

We both looked at the stars through the bare branches above us, the wind blowing through the trees as it carried the night air. I couldn't imagine leaving again, especially if I couldn't guarantee that I could come back.

"I don't know Artemis…" I said.

"Let me ask you something Tess" he said, continuing the sentence before I could respond, "You have two options on the table. The first option is to stay. Flint goes back to the lifeboat alone. They'll get lifeboat seven operational again and leave this solar system forever. You'll spend the rest of your life in your safe place, but you'll live with the guilt of knowing that you could have done something to help.

The other option, is that you give it a shot, you do your best and whether you succeed or fail, you'll at least know that you did the right thing. Which of those two options would let you sleep at night?" I frowned.

"When you put it like that it doesn't sound like much of a choice" I said quietly.

"That's why I put it like that" he said in an affirmative tone. I wanted to say more but nothing was coming to mind. It all felt like it was so much to take in. If anything, it felt like he was thinking far too much of me.

"I know you better than you think" he said.

"Think so?" I asked sarcastically.

"I do. You originally wanted to leave here because you felt like an 'other.'" he said as he sat up, leaning over to look at me, "You wanted to fit in with your people, you didn't want to be an 'other.' You knew you'd always be a stranger amongst the humans, so you sought out more of your own kind. But when you got to the lifeboats, you found yourself being more of an outcast than you ever were here on earth. You feared you'd never fit in.

You found friendship with Nori, but you saw how the mechara treated a melodian without the assembler. You saw it in Rosa. You knew you'd never fit in, not with the mechara, not with the melodians. You were happiest when you started teaching the melodians music. You didn't feel like an 'other'. You felt like you belonged. You were right to think that Tess. Let me make this clear. You're not the 'other' Tess. You're exactly who you were always meant to be. It's the other melodians."

He said as he reached his hand forward, pressing it to my chest. I looked down at his hand, his fingers gripping gently into my shirt.

"We're the others" he said, his language suddenly switching from English to Mecharan. My hearts stopped for a moment as I looked up to see his eyes had stopped glowing.

"Flint! Oh Flint it's you!" I screamed as I reached up and pulled him into a hug. He laughed, hugging me back as he buried his face in my chest.

"I thought I'd never see you again" he said, sobbing into my shirt.

"Me too. I'm sorry I left you there" I said, hugging him a little tighter. He shook his head.

"I did it, it was me, I'm sorry I couldn't join you" he said as he pulled away from me. I sat up with him, leaning against him as he settled into the spot Artemis was sitting a few moments before.

"Did he give it to you?" he asked as he sat back, patting his hands against his chest as he looked like he was searching for something.

"Give me what?" I asked.

"Oh here it is" he said as he reached in his pocket, pulling out what looked like my cell phone, but it was different.

"I don't think that's mine. Mine had a big crack in it" I said as he handed it to me.

"Oh, no they fixed it. This is how Artemis tricked them into sending me down here. He said you needed this. They didn't want to at first but Nori told them it was important" he said. I held the power button, smiling as I watched the screen turn to life for the first time in a long time.

"Thanks for this…" I said as I looked back up at him. He nodded as he started turning side to side, looking around us.

"So this is it huh?" he asked. I smiled, "Well, it's not much to look at when the sun is down but yeah this is it." He nodded as he turned back to me, "Hey um, there was another reason why I asked them to send me down here."

"Yeah?" I asked.

"You said you had more mp3 players?" he asked. I nodded as I opened up the phone, turning the flashlight on to guide us in the absence of the assembler eyes.

"Wait, isn't the house the other way?" he asked as I led him along the trail.

"No no it's up here. I think you'll like it" I said as I led him through the woods. He didn't say much. Although I couldn't see him behind me, I could tell he was in awe of the forest around us. I figured he must have felt the same way I did when I first arrived on the lifeboat. A few moments later the treehouse started to come into view.

"Oh what's that?" he asked as he started to get ahead of me.

"This is where I always used to play music" I said as I gestured for him to climb up the ladder. After a brief climb, I closed the trap door behind us, reaching over and turning the overhead light on to reveal the sea of instruments crammed into the tiny space. Flint stood there, breathless as he looked at all of them. I smiled, turning the light off on my phone and putting it in my pocket.

"This is where I always used to play. I'd sit up all night and just play whatever came to mind" I said as I sat down at the chair. When I turned around he'd moved from where he was over to the window, looking out of it at the trees once more. I smiled, looking over at him as I realized he was far more interested in the view of the forest than he was of the instruments. After all, he'd seen instruments before, but earth was new to him.

I turned the light off and joined him at the window, standing next to him and taking a deep breath as we both sat together, listening to the forest. We sat for a few minutes, looking out at the trees and listening to the gentle wind hitting the branches. It was dark, but I could see him looking all around us, taking everything he could.

"You left this?" he asked quietly. I sighed, "I guess... I guess I didn't know what I was leaving behind." He nodded as he leaned against the bottom of the window sill.

"Hey Flint?" I asked quietly.

"Hm?" he asked. I sighed, tapping the side of the treehouse.

"What did you see in the assembler?" I asked him. I could hear the smile in his voice as he quietly responded "At first I looked at the memories I had with you. Then I went back, saw the memories I had with my old friends, from before they started using the assembler. I played back the times I played in the gravity games. I went to a lot of places. But then Artemis showed up…"

"In your memories?" I asked. He shook his head.

"He stopped the memories" he said. I nodded, remembering how he'd done that when I saw the memory from my father, when he told me I was saved.

"He told me… That he had something to show me, but I had to get something for him first. After I got it, he showed me... So much... But afterward he wanted me to never return there again" he said, speaking a little slower as he went on.

"Why?" I asked.

"He said, because I was better than that" he said. I nodded, turning away from the forest to look at him.

"What did he show you?" I asked.

"I… I'm sorry but I can't tell you. He needs to show you himself" he said.

"Why can't you tell me?" I asked leaning in. Flint reached out, grabbing my hand in his as he locked his fingers between mine.

"I'm sorry Tess but I can't tell you. You just have to…" he shook his head, "We need you. Artemis can shut the assembler down but he needs you."

"Why me though? I don't understand" I said.

"I… Can't tell you. I'm sorry but I can't tell you" he said, his voice shaking a little, "I've done everything I could, I even went back to lifeboat seven, Artemis sent me to find the Rat Man, I had to get his old assembler, then he showed me... Ugh... I can't... I can't" he said, trailing off.

"The... Rat Man? What?" I asked. He shook his head, "Forget about it, it'll make sense soon. Please..." I didn't know what to say. He sounded so certain, yet so worried. I didn't understand why he couldn't tell me but I could feel how strongly he wanted to say it. I wanted to say yes, but at the same time it felt like the easier answer was to just decide to stay. Find a way to keep Flint on earth where he could learn to play more music, settle down with me and just pretend the lifeboats were never there.

But that wouldn't work. I knew that wouldn't work. Artemis was right, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing that I had the opportunity to help the melodians but chose not to. But at the same time, it didn't feel fair to say yes to it without him telling me what the plan was. Flint was still holding my hand as we sat together, looking out the window and listening to the forest. Listening to the breeze as it rustled the branches.

I noticed he was looking up at the sky a lot when I remembered he'd only ever seen it when he was at the bottom floor during a spindown. The view was so common, so ordinary on earth but from where he was from it was special, despite being surrounded by the stars all the time, he rarely had the chance to see them sit still. I didn't know what to say, clearly neither did he, so we decided to just sit together and enjoy the moment.

For what we knew, it could be our last time being together, it could be his first and last time ever being outside of the lifeboats, we wanted to enjoy it for what it was. The phone in my pocket suddenly buzzed, making me jump back a bit from the sudden interruption.

"Gah! What is it?!" Flint yelped.

"Sorry! Sorry, uh, the phone went off" I said as I pulled it out of my pocket to find a surprising message plastered across the front of it.

"Happy Birthday!" it read. My hearts sank as the realization hit me. It had been a year. One year since everything had started.

"What is it?" Flint asked, looking over my shoulder. I barely heard him as the memory from that night came back to me. I was sitting in the bed off in the corner. I had overslept. It was just past noon. I had no idea that my entire life was about to change, that I'd lose everything. But gain something new I thought as I looked up to Flint who was still waiting for an answer. I couldn't help it, tears started rushing from my eyes as the gravity of the situation hit me. I couldn't leave them.

I couldn't live my life knowing that I could have helped. I needed to do whatever I could, even if I failed, I'd at least know I did my best. I reached down, grabbing the big drawer filled with all the mp3 players I'd left behind from when I'd originally set out on my journey.

"Come on Flint, let's go" I said as I hooked my toe under the latch, flipping the trap door open as I jumped down, landing on the forest floor. With my free hand I tried wiping the tears from my eyes, then grabbed the phone, turning the flashlight on to guide us back.

"You're joining me?" he asked.

"Let's go before I change my mind" I said as I started walking down the trail, guiding Flint along the way. As we approached the house I saw three familiar shapes just outside the front door.

"Tess! You're back! We were getting worried!" Oliver exclaimed as he rolled toward us. I turned to Flint, handing him the drawer full of mp3 players.

"Get everything started, I'll be there soon" I said. I turned around, making my way over to Oliver as I hopped up, standing on the side of the wheelchair as I wrapped him in a hug. Emily and Gav were following quickly behind.

"Tess? Is everything okay? How did it go?" she asked. I took a deep breath, pulling back from Oliver as I looked at the other two.

"Guys… I'm sorry but I have to go back" I said.

"What?!" they all asked in unison.

"I'm sorry, I have to, I have to try" I said.

"Will you be coming back?" Oliver asked. I sighed, "I'll try my best."

"I don't like the sound of that…" he said. A brief realization came to me as I looked between them. It wasn't entirely impossible that this was the last time I'd ever see them. I took a deep breath, turning toward Emily first.

"Emily, I'm sorry about the times I was difficult with you. I wasn't…" Emily cut in "Tess it's oka…" she started to say before I cut her off.

"Please, just let me finish" I said as she nodded, not saying in order to let me continue, "Emily, I'm sorry about the times I was difficult. I want you to know, I love you, I appreciate everything you've done for me and I wouldn't be the person I am today without you. Thank you for being there for me and thank you for being there with John to help raise me." She had started crying as I was speaking to her, but she waited until the end to lean in and give me a hug.

We held it for a few moments, until I turned to Oliver.

"Oliver" I said, "None of this could have been possible without you. You turned your life upside down and helped me when I needed it the most. We've known each other for so many years but after everything we've been through I can say without a doubt that you're the best friend I've ever had and I don't know what I did to deserve you." He smiled, hugging me again as he replied, "I'd do it all again if I had to." I pulled back from him, turning to Gav.

"Gav… Uh…" I had to pause for a moment, "Keep uh… Keep being weird." He smiled, standing up straight and giving me an overly dramatic salute. I was about to say something else, but the engines on the ship suddenly roared to life, telling me it was time to go. I hopped off the wheel chair as I ran toward the ship.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Emily screamed out, just loud enough to hear over the engines.

"I'm saving the melodians!" I screamed back at her.

"How?!" Oliver screamed back as I jumped onto the back door of the ship. Just as it started to close I turned around, looking at the three of them as I yelled back, "I have no idea!"