"Alex…"
"Alex, wake up!"
Alex groaned slightly, the noise around him annoying his sleep. However, since the voice and the surrounding noise wouldn't stop, he slowly opened his eyes.
He stared at the faces above him and wondered why they were right in his face. He then turned to look around and noticed the blue and red lights, people in tech suits carrying weapons, the destroyed area and the night sky. Memories of what happened earlier quickly came back, allowing him to understand his situation better.
'I lost, huh?' Well, it wasn't really a surprise as he was weaker than that Max Osbourne Fellow.
"Hey, are you alright?" Ross asked again once Alex turned to them. Julia and Olivia were also staring at him, concern etched on their face.
"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine." He slowly sat up from what appeared to be an ambulance stretcher. Feeling a bit of pain coming from the back of his neck, he placed his right hand there to check. The sensation was still vivid.
"You had us worried, you know?" Olivia said, feeling guilty about the whole thing. However, the little he heard from Ross informed her of a much bigger plot. She was just a pawn to get to Alex.
Alex managed a small smile and reassured her of his well-being, "I'm fine. Don't worry too much." He also looked at Julia as she looked like she needed the same reassurance. He smiled warmly to which she responded in the same manner.
Naturally, the healers among the medics did a full body scan and checked everything that needed to be checked and found nothing wrong with him. He was simply knocked out.
Alex got up and stretched a bit. "What happened?"
"We were hoping you tell us. When I was led here by that person from The Order, you were already passed out." Ross explained and added, "Once my watch came back online, I called everyone here, including the authorities."
Alex nodded hearing his explanation. He noticed James talking to an officer. They also looked in his direction briefly before focusing on whatever they were discussing.
Thinking about how to tell them about everything he learned, his mind went back to what Ross said before.
"Wait… You mentioned The Order?"
Ross nodded and said, "Yeah, it's one of the reasons I couldn't meet up with you. The person just engaged me in conversation and said you needed to pass a test or something." Ross explained with a shrug.
'What test exactly?' He wondered. The trial Max mentioned before was to see his nature and he even mentioned he passed. So, he was confused as to what other test he was subjected to.
'Maybe the fight or when I was knocked out?' That was the most logical conclusion he came up with. But that still had a lot of holes.
Alex suddenly felt tired, everything that happened so far was too much. He just returned from the academy, and he was already plunged into something like this. He hadn't even had a day's rest.
His friends and sister watched as Alex's expression changed multiple times. They waited for him to sort out his thoughts.
However, James soon joined them after he was done with the officer.
"How you doing, kid?"
"I'm good. Do we have a problem?" He asked as he looked over to where the authorities were gathered.
"Oh no. No need to worry about them. I've handled everything, and…" James looked around the destroyed area they stood at and continued, "…the damages will be taken care of as well."
Alex nodded; grateful he didn't have to deal with them. 'Being rich and powerful sure is good.' His own thoughts amused him.
"Alex."
Suddenly, James got serious, breaking Alex out of his thoughts. He right away knew what he wanted to say. However, right now was not the place for a serious talk.
"Can we do that tomorrow? Right now, I just want to rest." He said and James nodded, "Of course. We can leave now." He gestured a distance away where a vehicle waited for them.
He guided the kids to the vehicle and once everyone was settled, the vehicle took off into the air, rapidly disappearing.
...….
The next day, high noon.
Alex, Ross, Julia and James were once again gathered in the hotel room Julia reserved for her stay on Earth.
Alex had already explained to Olivia and his family that the stalking issue was solved. Naturally, he didn't completely trust the words of that person. So, they had to see what happens going forward. Additionally, James made sure to reinforce the security detail around Alex's family, this time making them aware of them.
Now that they were gathered again, James urged Alex to go over what happened. Ross was also not left out, and while James himself was pinned by another member of The Order, his conversation resulted in nothing useful.
Ross and Alex provided a thorough explanation of what had transpired, leaving out no details. As they spoke, Julia was in a state of shock, astonished that such a powerful group existed. She looked at James, her gaze questioning why she had been unaware of any of this.
Naturally, James understood her gaze, and learning about it now wasn't too late. In fact, she had nothing to do with that knowledge even if she knew.
Once Alex and Ross finished their explanations, the room became silent. James, Julia and Ross were lost in thought, going over what they heard and making sense of everything.
'So, their ultimate goal was something this simple?' James was dumbfounded by what he heard. All this time, the actions of that group were difficult to decipher as their actions never made complete sense, and while not hostile to the empire, were not friendly either. Their ways and means were that mysterious.
Suddenly, the missing unique individuals who were taken away by them became a bit clear. They were gathering these unique individuals to see if any of them could be the key to what they desired and perhaps were not dead as they had presumed.
"So, what now?" Alex asked once a few minutes passed with no one talking. He focused on James since he was the only adult among them.
James looked at the kids for a bit before responding, "Nothing. Right now, get rest and focus on your upcoming competition. I doubt they would make any moves again anytime soon."
The trio nodded, thinking the same.