Back on the island at Corny Complex, Slone hums as she adds the finishing touches to her plan for the aliens. She sounds as if she's contemplating something.

"It's a shame what I had to do to her." She mutters. "But I had no choice. She was the mole and she lied about not knowing Midas. I've said it once, I'll say it again."

She turns around.

"I.O has no room for traitorous agents and moles... isn't that right Joey."

They shuffle uncomfortably, but nod.

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. I'm glad I can trust you of all people Joey." She chuckles. "Speaking of Midas, I've heard next to nothing about him lately... same could be said for that...coward."

"Perhaps they were abducted by the aliens ma'am?" Joey suggests.

"No. As much as I hate admitting it, Midas is too smart to be abducted so easily. Jones on the other hand... well, he was easy for me to manipulate...too naive and stupid..."

She pauses, sighing in annoyance.

"Nevermind. Their safety is none of mine or I.O's concern. Not anymore. Now, Joey?"

"Ma'am?"

"Would you mind going up to ground level and fetching me the last few bombs? My guards should have finished with them by now."

"Right away ma'am."

Joey heads up to ground level and grumbles to themselves.

"Planning to blow up my people with explosives eh?" They whisper quietly. "I won't give you the chance to do it Slone."

As they exit the secret base through the barn house and go outside, they freeze up as a shotgun is loaded and pointed at their head. Looking behind the weapon they see a man with blond hair wearing a strange assortment of armour.

"Don't. Move."

Joey does as he says. Jones lowers the weapon slightly.

"Come with me. We'll take this 'conversation' away from the prying eyes of other people."

Not wanting to get themselves killed or have their identity revealed, Joey obliges and walks to where Jones is directing them to.

A small fishing hut by a lake just outside the complex is where they end up. Joey backs into a corner while Jones closes the door and faces him.

"Who are you and what do you want?"

"You 'work' with Slone, right?" Jones asks, stepping towards them.

"Y-Yes?"

"Name's John Jones by the way. Just call me Jones or Jonesy. You've probably heard her drivel on about how I 'betrayed' her."

Joey sighs, beginning to lose their patience.

"Just get to the point blond guy."

"Anyway...I know you're dirty little secret Joey."

They begin to sweat a little as Jones moves closer.

"So, if you want your secret to stay hidden from Doctor Slone, whether I decide to keep my mouth shut or not..."

He points the shotgun to their face, glaring at them.

"You'll tell me what the fuck you want with my boyfriend, and why you took him away."

"You mean the gold guy? I've seen him on the island. He was with you wasn't he?"

Jones snickers slightly, eyeing the alien in disguise.

"Very funny Joey. But that faker has already been dealt with. Now tell me where Midas is and what you want from him!!"

Joey growls, pulling out some kind of walkie talkie and yelling into it.

"Ugh! Guards! John Jones is in the Complex. Requesting backup-"

They don't even get to finish before Jones takes out a revolver and shoots the walkie talkie out his hand, destroying it in the process. The blond was fuming, heartache clear in his eyes.

"Last chance Joey!"

He grips onto the zip on the back of his head and pulls the disguise back, revealing the alien inside.

"Alright alright!! I'll talk!"

Jones lets go of them and grips on to the shotgun in his hands.

"Us Kymera want to extract his power and take it for ourselves...so we can conquer planets much easier. We know he's descended from the God of Light and Gold, King Oro, and his gift is immensely powerful."

"That's not gonna happen Joey. He wasn't given this gift, he was BORN with it. You can't extract his powers away from him. He's very resilient and strong."

"It's too late. In just a few short days they're getting ready to put him in a machine that will take his power away from him. He'll be lucky to survive it in his condition."

"Where in the Mothership are you holding him?!"

"In the prison decks with one of your copies we've experimented on for years." They stutter. "That's all I know!"

As guards surround the fishing hut Jones sighs. He opens the door and kicks Joey out, exposing them and revealing their secret identity to the I.O.

"And you guys thought I was the dumb one."

Without warning Jones shoots the shotgun at the guards, killing them or knocking them down. Then he heads into the main building in Corny Complex and goes to find Slone.

--------------

When Jones arrives in the secret base, he looks around the place.

"Okay. I gotta figure out a way to get into the Mothership. It won't be easy, so I got find some gear that'll help me." He mutters to himself. "And if I find Slone, I need to find out what happened to Marigold."

Peeking from a corner he hums to himself.

"Maybe I can find a way back to the Bridge. The weapons lab has a lot of old stuff that was too good to be released back on to the island. "

The rift butterfly sits on his head, ringing in happiness. Jones smiles, sort of understanding what it was trying to tell him.

"I know. But a rift butterfly alone can't take me back outside the Loop. What I need is a rift device. And knowing Slone, she probably has one lying around somewhere."

Creeping around the base Jones eventually finds himself wandering into a office room with files and a computer plus a few chests of drawers. He begins fishing around and finds a rift device, but not the correct one. He finds the right one in the next draw.

"There we go. What's this other one used for?"

There's a note attached to it reading;

"This device can be used against people to trap them in limbo until another person fishes them out. When used, the person shot at will leave behind a fragment of reality.

Not approved by the Imagined Order's boss for use."

"Except SHE uses it herself. Pfft. Doesn't even listen to her own rules." He scoffs.

Thinking it could be of use, Jones takes the other device with him as well. As he leaves Slone's office he begins typing in coordinates to take him to the Bridge outside the Loop.

"Well well well. Look who's still alive and kicking..?"

Jones jumps, startled by the voice. He finds Slone standing at the way he came in, arms folded and a glare on her face.

"Slone..."

"John..."

The two of them stare at each other in silence.

"I thought I told you and Midas to stay away and not bother me again." She growls in frustration. "But I see you have a death wish. So I'll make this quick."

She takes out a pulse rifle and fires 3 shots at Jones. He huffs and slides out of the way, the shots destroying parts of the wall instead.

"Hmph. Where is Midas anyway?" She questions. "I would've thought he'd be the one rescuing you from danger."

"He's currently unavailable as he's been abducted. And I'M gonna rescue him this time."

"Ha. Good luck with that coward."

"Enough Slone. Where's Marigold?!"

She smirks deviously.

"I apologize John, but she's no longer with us...on this island at least."

"You mean..."

"That's right. I did the one thing for her that you failed to do;

Send her back to her reality. And for your information, it was Reality 428-39.5 Not like you'll need it."

Tears threaten to form in his eyes. That's why she had gone missing. Slone shoved her back into her reality. But now she had intentionally told him where to find her, making a small smile curl on to his face.

"Hmph. Thanks for the information Slone. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a order to destroy from the inside."

Pulling out the rift device he activates it...

"And for YOUR information, see to it that Joey is fired. He's an alien. You always told me I was the dumb one... well, who's dumb now?"

...and teleports away. Slone gasps in horror as he disappears. Jones had taken her mode of transportation to and from the island away. Getting fed up with Jones still causing her trouble she grabs her phone and calls someone outside the Loop.

"Hello, this is Doctor Slone. Be on the lookout for John Jones. He's returning to the Bridge as we speak... and he is armed and not fooling around this time...over and out."