As soon as Drew and Zack entered the building, all eyes turned to them. People started coming towards them, and Drew started feeling more and more uncomfortable.

"Who's he, Zack?" It was a teenager girl who spoke first. She had dyed her hairs pink which, along with her glowing white skin gave her a cute look. She was dressed in a dark-blue outfit which had red strips everywhere.

"This is Drew. He makes gadgets." Zack then turned to Drew, "Drew, meet Judy. She's my best friend. You should see her in combat someday. She's also a brilliant hacker."

"Stop it. You're the God of combat." Judy shot back.

"Alright Judy, we'll have this conversation later. It's time for our new recruit to meet Bogart."

Zack bid her farewell and gave her a casual kiss on cheek before moving his way past all the children who had surrounded them. Drew was feeling very uneasy among them and Zack realized it.

"Guys, go back to your work. Give him some time." Zack shooed away the crowd.

"I'm sorry for that. You'll soon feel comfortable around them. Let's meet Bogart first." Zack said.

Drew only give a weak nod in response before following Zack across the main hall and into a corridor. They would occasionally pass through a group of kids having some conversation.

Zack finally stopped in front of a maroon door. There was a screen on the door that displayed the words - Council Room. Zack opened the gate with his finger prints.

Inside the room, three men were sitting around a table, laughing.

"Hello Zack." One of the men said, stopping his laughter.

"Hello everyone. I've brought a new recruit. Meet Drew." Zack introduced.

"Hello Drew. Welcome to the family." A man stood up from his chair. He had long hairs, and a face covered with many scars. The man looked like he was in his forties.

"This is Bogart." Zack said. "Shake hands with him."

Zack nudged Drew forward. He slowly walked to Bogart and nervously shook hands with him.

"The others in this room are Jim, the one who handles our security and Andy, the one who supplies us all the weapons."

Jim had a handsome appearance. He had the hairstyle which all celebrities had. His face was shaved clean.

Andy was dark skinned. He had enough strength to break anybody's bones by just a single punch. Drew shook hands with both of them.

"Alright Zack, show him around and then let him rest for today. His training will start from tomorrow." Bogart instructed.

"Sure, Chief." Zack said before departing from the room with Drew.

"What training?" Drew asked once they were out of the room.

"You need to be trained in combat." Zack replied.

"I don't think I can do much well in combat." Drew stated.

"Everybody can. You just need practice for it."

"Can I ask you one thing?"

"Sure."

"Do you kill your own people if they do a mistake in some mission."

"Don't believe them. We don't. The government twisted things. We kill only those people who we find are betraying us." Zack assured. "What else did you hear?"

"That Rebels get all of their money by robbing people."

"Totally not true. The actual source of our funding is quite a big secret."

"What is it?" Drew asked with interest.

"I'll show it. Follow me."

Zack returned to the main hall. He then headed to the elevator with Drew right behind him. Once they entered the elevator, Zack pressed the button which led them to the lowest floor of the headquarters.

When the elevator's door opened, Drew found himself in a tunnel build by cutting through the Earth. Lights were installed at various checkpoints to light up the tunnel. He followed Zack deeper into the tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, there was a huge pit. Robots were working inside the pit with heavy machines.

"What's happening down there?" Drew asked in confusion.

Just then, a trolley full of shimmering yellow irregular crystal was lifted up by a mechanical hand. Drew gaped at it in shock.

"Is this —"

"Yes, you're looking at Kerb. The most expensive material in this entire galaxy. Way more costly than platinum or diamond." Zack replied. "And it's also the reason why your family was killed."

"What do you mean?" Drew raised an eyebrow.

"Nine years ago, the government discovered that there are huge reserves of Kerb underneath the entire planet of Mecca. They realized the amount of money they could earn by selling Kerb to other planets. There are regions where Kerb is in minor quantity and regions where it's in major quantity. They are clearing the serious regions first. Your house was one of the major regions. That's why they wanted your house."

"All the time I was living above a huge reserve of Kerb?"

"Yes, you were. After all the major regions are cleared, they might come for minor regions as well. Our headquarters lies in a minor region."

"I just saw a trolley full of Kerb in front of me. How can this be a minor region?"

"That's the beauty. The government has scanners that can scan the amount of kerb that lies in every region. Then the regions are sorted into major and minor regions. Our headquarters is built in a place that almost crossed the major region."

Drew shot him a confused look.

"Alright, I'll tell it to you in a easier way." Zack sighed, "So, imagine that the government decided that places with less than five hundred bars of Kerb should be labeled as minor regions and those with more than five hundred will be major regions. Then imagine a place with 499 bars of Kerb. It will be called a minor region but will have almost as much Kerb as major regions."

"I see. That's clever." Drew said.

"The government are trying to hide the fact that beneath everyone's land lies at least some Kerb. Chief Bogart, however, knows about it, and now all our funding is by selling Kerb to other planets."

"How did he know about it?"

"That's a story for some other day. Let's meet Ava first."

______________________

Ava was trying to increase the range of his drone so that it could detect enemies at a much wider range, when Zack and Drew came to disturb him.

"Hi Ava." Zack said, entering the small cramped room where she worked. In the purple light that lit the room, a figure could be seen staring at a table that had all kinds of wires and machineries on it.

"Hello Zack. Who's he?" Ava changed the light color to white from his phone to get a better look at the new person.

Drew found himself looking at a girl of roughly his age having brown skin and curly hairs that were sprayed purple from a few places, which was no surprise, given, her fondness to the color purple.

"This is Drew. He's our newest recruit, and he builds gadgets like you." Zack introduced.

"It's such a relief to finally get someone like me. Nobody understands me when I talk to them about machines. I hope you will." Ava shook hands with Drew.

"What are you working on by the way?" Drew inquired.

"I am trying to build a more powerful drone. I upgraded the sensors, but the drone won't work now. I guess it has something to do with battery." Ava replied.

"I don't think that's the problem." Drew inspected the disassembled parts of the drone and then made a few changes to it. This time, the drone worked.

"I can't believe it. You're amazing!" Ava gawped at Drew in disbelief as he flew the drone around the room.

"There you go." Drew smirked and then placed the drone in the hands of a very surprised Ava.

"I need some serious talk with that kid." Ava said at last.

"I'll send him to you tomorrow." Zack replied as he went out of the room dragging Drew with him.

"Enjoyed your little meet with her?" Zack questioned, once they were out of the room.

"Yes, our interests match."

"That's why I wanted you to meet her."

"By the way, I still don't know what you do." Drew stated as he followed Zack to wherever he was leading him to this time. "Like Ava is responsible for gadgets. Judy is the hacker. Bogart sir is the Chief."

"I'm your boss but also your friend. I am the leader of all the children inside this place; and believe me when I say that 90% of the Rebels consists of kids only. So it's a big responsibility."

"And where am I being led to now?"

"You'll see."

Drew thought he had seen all the wonders of the Rebels. He saw the Kerb mines, the main hall and an underground skylight. However, one wonder was still left.

Drew followed Zack inside another door and into a huge spacious hall which had everything the kid of his age needed. There were all the latest VR Games, equipments for all of sports and even shooting ranges.

However, the thing that captured Drew's attention was the bond between every kid inside that was visible when they were playing and laughing in groups.

"Walk ahead. Meet your new friends." Zack nudged. "Were you always that shy in school too?"

"My classmates usually didn't plan plots to take down the government." Drew laughed.

He then looked around again. The place wasn't neat and tidy. It turned into a mess. However, a place that feels like home doesn't have to be beautiful. It just has to feel comforting. And the atmosphere inside the place made Drew realize that maybe he could settle in after all.