Unlike in their last argument, TnTina forgave Skye almost immediately. The idea of knowing something as secret as the Zero Point really intrigued and excited TnTina. And she was even more excited when she found out that Ocean knew too.

Well, Ocean didn't know that much. She knew about Oro and the Zero Point's existence, but she didn't know what it meant. And so, an explanation was in order.

"So, do you understand now?" Skye asked Ocean.

Ocean nodded.

"Zero Point... The Agency... Dreams... Oro... The Device... Komora. I think I've got the gist, yeah," she shrugged.

Skye sat on her bed and then lay down.

"Have you told Ollie yet?" TnTina asked Skye.

"No. I haven't, but I will," Skye nervously giggled.

Ocean and TnTina sighed loudly.

"I guess I can't say I'm surprised," TnTina laughed, and Ocean giggled.

"I can't say I'm surprised either," Skye agreed, and they all laughed.

Skye's laugh turned to a scream when she realised that Joe was spying on them through the window. When he said hi, TnTina and Ocean screamed too.

"How've you been?" he asked casually.

"H-How long have you been standing there?!" Skye asked worriedly.

"Long enough to hear that you're keeping secrets from Ollie! Go on, tell me!" Joe begged.

"We can't. It's top secret. Sorry," Skye shook her head.

"It's a giant orb called the Zero Point!" Ocean blurted.

"It can create giant portals that can lead to all over the place," TnTina continued.

"Apparently it's under The Authority, and that's why Chaos Agent wanted the spot."

To Skye's dismay, they continued to explain the Zero Point and what it did, but it was all in bits and pieces since neither TnTina or Ocean understood it the way Skye did.

After they had finished, Joe looked even more confused than when they had started. He let himself in through the window and sat down next to Skye on her bed. Without his trousers.

"Where have they gotten to now?" Skye rolled her eyes.

"Sharks, again. Isn't there shark repellant or something? I'd happily invest my life savings on it. Otherwise, they'd get burned on buying trousers. I bought ten pairs at the start of the Summer, and they've dwindled to three. Explain that to me!" Joe grumbled.

There was a moment of awkward silence while Joe caught his breath after his rant.

"So, about this Zero Point thing, it's just you three who know?" Joe asked.

"And Chaos Agent, but that's it, yeah," Skye nodded.

"You haven't told Midas?"

"He'll end up working it out himself anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if he already knew."

"What about Ollie, though?"

"Ollie is like a father to me. If you broke the law, would you tell your father?"

"Well, no."

"Exactly."

There was a moment of silence.

"How come you told me?" Joe asked eventually.

"Because I trust you, and I trust you not to blab," Skye answered.

"Thanks, I guess. How did you two find out, by the way?"

Ocean and TnTina exchanged looks, knowing he meant them.

"Well, Skye told me after I saw a Shadow file at The Authority," TnTina shrugged.

"What about you, Ocean?"

"I read it in a book," she replied.

Joe looked outraged.

"In a book?!" he shouted.

"Shush!" Skye and TnTina shushed him, then Skye continued, saying, "It was a book about mythology. I guess the guy who wrote it saw the Zero Point and thought he was dreaming or something."

"Fair enough. Out of interest, though, who gave you that book?"

"Some lady at the library," Ocean said.

"What did she look like?"

"She was black, with a large afro and quite big yellow glasses. She was also wearing a suit that looked like it was trying to be casual and smart at the same time. The thing I remember most about her though was her pink sweater that was on her arms. I couldn't tell what was arm and what was sweater, so it kinda looked like the lady's flesh was falling off of her arm. It was wierd."

"What was her name?"

"Why are you asking me this?"

"Curious."

"Can't argue with that. Well, she didn't tell me directly, but I saw a name tag in her pocket that read 'Doctor Slone'."

"Doctor Slone? Like Doctor Who?" TnTina laughed.

"I sure hope that I wasn't reading psychic paper," Ocean shook her head.

"Well, do you know what I reckon? I reckon that this Slone lady knows more than she is letting on," Ollie said.

Wait, Ollie?

They all screamed again as Ollie materialized from under Skye's bed.

"Do you know what else I reckon? I reckon that someone has been lying to me!" Ollie scolded Skye.

Everyone looked at Skye, and she tried not to make eye contact with anyone. She saw Ollie put his hands on his hips.

"I heard what you were saying about me," he said.

"I-I'm sorry. I just... well... you heard," Skye explained.

"No. Don't apologize. You're right, I have been acting like an obsessed parent. And although I am your guardian, I am also your friend. And friends keep secrets, so let's say that the five of us keep this secret between ourselves?" Ollie shrugged.

Skye and the others beamed.

"Woah! Ollie, thanks! For a moment there I thought you were going to tell me that you had set up my execution or something," Skye giggled.

"Who is this Doctor Slone character, though?" Ollie asked Ocean.

"I don't know, but she looked like she had stepped out of Back To The Future," Ocean said.

"Maybe there's something in Ghost's files?" TnTina suggested.

"Good idea!" Joe agreed.

"Well, I say we best get going," Ollie said for them all.

The others all agreed, and then they headed to where the computers with access to the files were. They walked as casual as possible to the room, and when they went inside, all of the computers were on and waiting for someone to sign in.

"Bingo," Skye whispered to Ollie.

Jules was walking away from her workshop in The Authority to where Rue had told her to help her out, until she saw that Chaos Agent's study's door was open just a crack, and it looked like it was empty.

She rolled the idea of going inside in her head. It would be a treasure trove of information for Ghost for sure, but it would certainly be risky. If Chaos Agent showed up, she would be dead before she had a chance to beg for mercy.

But, if she went in...

Jules found herself going into Chaos Agent's study against her better judgement, and found a diary open on the desk. It had a brown leather cover that looked to be pretty worn out and faded from sunlight. On a piece of paper taped to the front, the words 'Diary of Martin Clifford' had been written.

And they had been written in Chaos Agent's handwriting.

Intrigued, Jules closed the door to the study and ventured further inside, picking the diary up and looking in the back. On the same paper, also stuck on with tape, a message had been written:

This is the wrong side, primitive. I usually find that stories make more sense if you start from the beginning.

Primitive? Who write this thing? Jules thought as she turned the book to the front page.

16th September 1964

"This thing is 56 years old!" Jules muttered.

If anyone had heard, they likely would have said that she sounded excited. And she most certainly was.

Maybe I can control The Thing In The Woods? It is clear at this point that it and Hush are coordinating with one another, whether they realise it or not. Maybe if I get close to Hush, then The Thing In The Woods will work with me too?

There is a problem, though. That Wild Card has feelings for Hush too. If he gets together with her, all hope will be lost.

Luckily, I talked him into going to my science college with me, Hush and Lone Shadow. There I shall make my move. Everything I need is there; it's made for scientists, after all.

Not long now until I arrive. I am running out if time, so I must conclude now until later. I guess I will see you later, but you can't see me since you have no eyes. I'll have to work around that someday. Maybe I can give you my eyes?

Jules skimmed through the next week in the diary, which went through Martin's plan with Hush and his thoughts on his new school.

It was odd, though.

At first, the so-called "move" appeared to be a love potion for whoever this Hush girl was, but the things that Martin got for his plan suggested otherwise. Jules had been a prodigy in Science herself, and she recognised the tools and ingredients as things required to make a poison. But why would he want to do that?

And thus, Wild Card has been eliminated.

Woah, woah! Too far!

Jules backtracked a couple of pages and read what it said.

2nd October 1964

The deed is done.

I got my formula ready last night and checked it was ready using a rat I had found in my bedroom. Long story short, there is no more rat in my bedroom.

The final formula was inky and sludgy. It was bubbling until I removed it from my Bunsen burner, which goes to show that it has a boiling point that a 2,700°F roaring flame can reach. I call it "Chaos Serum", because chaotic is the best word to describe it. I just hope that there's no Chaos Serum Oxide in my room. That would make breathing incredibly difficult.

Wild Card was in the room next to mine, so I broke in late, at approximately 2:37am, and murdered him. And, I must admit that the effects of the toxin are quite peculiar.

First, Wild Card's flesh went black as the serum entered his bloodstream. He woke up and saw me standing there, and tried to scream, but instead he began to cough up more inky liquid onto the floor. It appeared to be reacting to his stomach acid, as the waterfall of serum was not stopping. He lunged at me, knowing he was dead anyway, but he just crumpled.

Then, he began to melt. Very, very slowly. His limbs all dissolved first into the inky stuff, then his torso, then his head. It was only when it bubbled in the way sludge does that I knew that I had created more of the Chaos Serum.

I quickly went back to my room and grabbed some test tubes to collect some of the stuff to see if the compound had changed at all. I won't be able to test it until I have the right equipment, but that's OK. I'll get what I need before long.

As I left the room and closed the door, I knew I had made a serious advancement in The Thing In The Woods situation.

And thus, Wild Card has been eliminated.

Jules jerked her head upwards at the sound of footsteps in the corridor. She quickly shut the diary and put it back to the correct angle on the desk, then hid in a closet to the right of the room.

She felt like someone who had just found out the plot twist of a very good book and now had to turn the lights off to go to bed. Jules supposed the reason the book was so effective was because it was not just a story; it was real.

Through the crack between the doors, Jules saw Chaos Agent enter the room.

he said, looking at the diary.

I'm dead. I'm so dead! Jules thought, still looking at Chaos Agent.

Whoever this Martin character was, he surely wasn't as bad as Chaos Agent was. Chaos Agent would kill her without a thought. His finger would already be on the trigger.

Through the crack in the door, Jules saw Chaos Agent pull a diary out of his desk drawers, this one blue in colour, and start writing in it.

Jules caught a glimpse of the front cover, which read "Diary of Chaos Agent" in the same handwriting. It took her a moment to make the connection.

And when she did make the connection, she suddenly knew exactly who Martin Clifford was. And he was in the room with her.

Skye furiously typed Doctor Slone into The Agent Files application on the computer, and a single file opened up.

"Let's see what it says!" TnTina instructed Skye.

Skye opened the file and saw that very little was written, and a single picture was attached.

"Doctor Slone is infamous among Ghost and Shadow for being a high-ranking agent of IO. A picture is attached below of what she looks like, and if you see her, then approach with caution, because she likely knows what you look like too," Skye read.

"Creepy," Joe shuddered.

Skye opened the picture attached, which showed a woman who matched Ocean's description quite well.

She had dark skin and a matching dark afro, and she was wearing a pair of huge, ugly, yellow glasses. Her tie matched her glasses, and had black polka dots and a white logo that Skye didn't recognise. She also wore the mentioned pink sweater and a watch on top. Her trousers were the sake shade as her hair, and they ended in light blue socks and brown leather shoes.

"She's pretty colourful for a secret agent," TnTina said.

"Says the person who dresses in bright red and yellow crop tops," Skye giggled.

"Don't judge me! You wear those colours too, and blue as well! Not to mention you carry around someone who can turn into literal cotton candy!"

"Hey!" Ollie frowned jokingly.

"I was joking! Never mind. I can't believe that was everything," Skye sighed.

"Maybe that's all you can access with your clearance level?" Joe wondered.

"That would make sense," Ocean agreed.

"I figured that Midas would let me in on the important things," Skye said.

"Maybe she is important. More important than we think. I would suggest that we ask Midas, but we can't do that," Ollie suggested.

"Maybe we'll find out more later?" Ocean shrugged.

"I guess you're right," Skye nodded, logging off.

They finished up and left the room, with more questions than answers. Skye just hoped that Ocean was right.

Jules managed to escape from Chaos Agent's study after he'd left. She must have been there for an hour as he wrote, so she needed the bathroom, which was convenient as she needed to call Midas anyway. She went into a stall and dialed Midas' number.

"Hello? Midas Karat speaking," he answered.

"Midas, it's me, Jules. I've found something big. Really big."

TO BE CONTINUED...

Word Count: 2510 Words