Before Cedric knew it, he was practically a young adult.

Since becoming part of Spade’s Publishing, Acticom magazine’s sales had almost doubled.  Seth Spade was even able to employ another editorial assistant, and gave Cedric a pay rise for his outstanding input towards the company.  Raziya was a University graduate from Egypt who had studied overseas in Simerica for the past four years.  She had a keen interest in writing and was one of the most charismatic girls Cedirc had ever met.

It was not long until Billy took an interest in her.

The sight was sweet to begin with, but Cedric soon got irritated with watching them flirt openly by the coffee machine when they should have been focusing on getting their articles sorted for the magazine.

Still, as a team, they gelled together brilliantly.  However, Clark regularly stood over them whenever he graced them with his appearance in the office.

Resentment and jealously burnt though his veins, particularly whenever he set eyes on Cedric.  Seth, his Father, praised Cedric a lot.  Too much for Clark’s liking.

He relished every small opportunity he had to discipline Cedric; even if he was a minute late for work or a second late returning from his lunch break.  What aggravated him the  most was that Cedric would only smile and apologise without showing a hint of frustration at Clark’s blatant discriminating behaviour.

As for Cedric’s family, his older brother, Dexter, had started working part-time at the local trade store, where residents were welcome to bring in their creations to sell (ranging from mechanical objects, to the sweetest of baked goodies).

Of course, he still invented in his free time.

Dexter had also taken a keen interest in maintaining his fitness, so joined up to the local gym.

It was also a brilliant way for the outgoing young man to meet new people, such as Russian born Natalia Andreev who had moved from the big city to Honeyset Valley six years ago.

It turned out that Natalia was an Editor for ‘Fitness 1^st’, one of the best selling sports magazines in the area.

Unsurprisingly, what interested Dexter the most was that Natalia was also a part-time lingerie model, and she was not the least bit shy about her body!

It was not long until Dexter was completely smitten with her, although he had no real plans to settle down with her anytime soon.

Unfortunately, not everything was sugar coated in the Meerkato household.  A few months ago Rocio had been diagnosed with the same illness her Mother had passed away from.  Naturally Rocio was terrified, she had prayed her Mother’s leukaemia would not affect her, but fate had harshly shattered her hopes.

Thankfully, modern medicine had advanced over the past few decades, so Rocio was given medicine and treatment which her family hoped would eventually cure her.

One Friday evening, Cedric returned home from work as usual, collecting the mail before he trekked up the path and quickly shuffled into the warmth of the house.

The living room was unusually quiet.  He knew Leon was still at work, and Dexter was either at the gym or at Natalia’s house, but Rocio should have definitely been home by now, preparing dinner.  Cedric was about to walk around to the kitchen, when he heard the faint sound of voices emitting from the downstairs bedroom, where his Grandparents used to sleep.

Identifying one of the voices as his Mother’s, Cedric tapped lightly on the door.  Five seconds later, Rocio granted him permission to come in.  Subconsciously taking a deep breath, Cedric opened the door and stepped into the room.

He got the complete shock of his life when his eyes instantly focusing on the two people sat at the chess table.

Rocio stood up from her seat, a warm smile on her face as she analysed her Son’s shell-shocked expression.

“You’re a very lucky young man, Cedric.”

“To have a young lady travel this far to visit you; a lot of men would kill for such love.”

Sun Young Kim gracefully stood up from her chair, her hazelnut brown eyes affectionately staring him down.  Cedric felt his knees buckle; his mind was heavy with confusion, but yet he could not deny the intense feelings he had for a woman he had only met once before in his life.

“I suppose I’d best let Sun Young explain why she is here,” Rocio chuckled as she headed towards the door, brushing her hand against Cedric’s arm as she strolled past him with a proud smile beaming off her face.

Once the door had shut, Sun Young broke the silence that had barely had time to manifest in the room.

“I’m sorry that my arrival is unexpected, but I could wait no longer to see you again,” Sun Young revealed.

“You and me, we were destined to meet; the reason, I’m not completely sure yet, but I know it will soon come to light,” the Chinese beauty in front of him continued to speak in a gentle voice.  Cedric could still not fully comprehend what was happening.  The entire situation felt surreal- he barely knew Sun Young, yet he felt a peculiar urge to protect and love her.  Simple feelings, yet they caused so much complexity in his head.

Sun Young was stunned when Cedric, without uttering a single word, pulled her into his arms and held onto her tightly.  It was the only action he could think of doing at the time, and he was glad when she hugged him back just as hard.

The kiss that followed was just as instinctive; tender and delicate to top things off.

Later on that night, the two young adults gave into their passions and desires and did what came naturally to any living life form in existence.

Neither of them stopped to think they were moving too fast.  After just five days of staying at the Meerkato house, Sun Young had already made a solid decision.  The following morning, she phoned up her Brother, Ho Sung, and informed him that she would not be returning to China.

He was bemused by her choice, but loyal as he was; he respected her wishes and promised to ship over her belongings for her.

Sun Young was welcome into the household with open arms, especially by Rocio who enjoyed finally having the company of another girl, since her daughter, Allegra, had moved out a few years ago.  They  would often cook breakfast together, and Sun Young was even more than willing to help out with chores around the house.

The bond Rocio shared with Sun Young was a complete contrast to her relationship with Natalia.  The Russian model and publishing editor never offered to lift a finger around the house whenever she came over, even if Rocio or Leon cooked dinner.  Still, she was tolerated, just because she was Dexter’s girlfriend.

Rocio even subtly hinted that perhaps Natalia should spend some time with Sun Young, secretly hoping that Dexter’s girlfriend would learn a thing or two from the mild mannered Chinese woman.

So the next time Natalia came over, Dexter decided to put a plan in motion.

“Perhaps you two girls should go out for the day, you know, get to know each other?” Dexter suggested, whilst Leon nodded in agreement.  Sun Young had not actually been out into town yet, despite she had been in Honeyset Valley for almost two weeks.  It was an ingenious ploy, and Dexter hoped it would stop Rocio from nagging at him!

Although Sun Young was not too enthusiastic about the idea of spending a day with Natalia- a woman who had practically ignored her whenever she came over to spend a night or evening with Dexter- she refused to kick up a fuss and went along with the flow of things.

Natalia insisted on giving Sun Young a lesson in fashion, cockily announcing that her current attire was not entirely flattering.

Still, she was surprisingly kind and bought Sun Young the outfit she liked the best, and even treated her to dinner.

Even after all this, Sun Young was in two minds about Natalia.  Despite all her gracious efforts, there was still something about the Russian girl that made Sun Young feel on edge (sometimes it was just too difficult to trust a pretty face); more the reason why she knew she had to stay by Cedric’s side.

Sun Young was indeed wise to be weary of Natalia.  The young blue eyed beauty had a secret agenda, primarily involving Cedric.

It did not take Natalia too long to figure out Cedric’s password, so she had access to his computer.

‘This has been far too easy,’ Natalia thought, amused as she surfed through the files on Cedric’s computer.  Her intentions were indeed downright evil; but then again, business was business, and times were tough.

And she simply had to cheat to get what she wanted.

To begin with, Cedric only worked at Spade’s Publishing on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday evenings after school until 6pm, and every other Saturday 9am to 12pm.

Billy constantly supervised Cedric, teaching him the basics and making sure he understood the tasks he was given to do.  Cedric had quickly proved that not only he was a very skilled and capable writer but also he was swift and thorough when it came to proofreading other people’s articles, particularly at pointing out the smallest of spelling errors and punctuation.

Cedric somewhat looked up to Billy.  He was a sporty cheeky chappy who always had something to talk about.  Academically, he was not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he came up with such incredible article ideas, although a majority of them were sports related.

Not only that, he was brilliant at dealing with the boss’s stuck-up son, Clark Spade.  Clark constantly criticised Cedric’s working habits and firmly believed that his Father should have hired someone older and wiser with actual experience in the publishing industry.  He often made snide comments when he was stood by Cedric’s desk, which was next to the coffee and tea machine.

“We all have to start from somewhere,” Billy growled back as he slammed a hand firmly against his hip, “not all of us are fortunate enough to have things handed to us on a silver platter.”

Billy was not the only one who was annoyed with Clark’s mannerisms.

“Leave the kid alone,” Lacey often chipped in whenever she saw him pestering or slating Cedric.  Clark would often turn away from her and rudely stick up his nose to her ignore her.

Still, Cedric loved how close knit his small work force was, everyone always seemed to look out for each other and no one was ever left to struggle with a heavy work load.  Clark seemed to be the only bad banana in the bunch.  Cedric naively wished Clark could have been less uptight and had more faith in his fellow work colleagues.  He knew, however, that this was unlikely to happen as it was to win the lottery.

A few weeks after celebrating his sixteenth birthday, Seth sent Cedric an email summoning him to his office as soon as possible.  Cedric obediently made his way to his director’s office unable to stop his legs trembling like jelly as he drifted down the stairs.

After rapping his knuckles against the already half-opened door, Cedric peeped round and saw that Seth was sat at his desk with a hand scratching his chin whilst he glanced intently at his laptop screen.

“Come in, Cedric,” Seth invited without looking up from his laptop.

Cedric’s heart was drumming rapidly against his chest as he took a seat on the beige sofa opposite Seth’s desk.  A sickening sensation lurched through his stomach; he looked nervously at Seth with an expression of dread plaguing every inch of his face.  He was convinced Clark had managed to talk Seth round, so he was going to fire him and replace him with some swanky full-timer who was awesomely awesome at writing.

As Cedric continued to stare ahead with dread, Seth carefully shut the lid of his laptop then drummed his fingers against his chin as he glanced over at Cedric with his head slightly tilted.

“How do you feel about going to China?”

Needless to say, the question was very unexpected and Cedric was rather baffled.

“Uhh, what for?” Cedric managed to respond, his fingers nervously digging into his kneecaps.

“It’s just for a little research project,” Seth clarified, “Billy proposed the idea.  I haven’t confirmed my decision with him yet, but I think it would be a great experience for you if you went along with him and Naomi.”

“It’ll be a four day trip, company funded.  We have ties out there, so to speak…”

Cedric realised a trip like this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for most people, so he knew he could not pass up on it.  Still, he was slightly twitchy about going abroad without any of his family members.  Then again, he felt somewhat at ease when he was around Billy, and Naomi was practically the Mother Hen of the office.

“I’m in,” the words fell from Cedric’s lips and were wrapped with assertiveness.

“Brilliant,” Seth beamed as he grey eyes twinkled with pride, “I’ll let Billy and Naomi know so they can brief you, and I’ll email you over the flight details as soon as possible.”

And so a few weeks later, Cedric set off to China with Billy and Naomi to commence their research.

The project Billy had proposed was to study the history and culture behind martial arts in China for an upcoming special feature in Acticom.  After having a few hours kip, Cedric, Billy and Naomi got cracking on their research and headed straight down to the Phoenix Martial Arts Academy, where it was rumoured the greatest martial artists on Earth often came to train.

Naomi was in her element, chatting away to the locals in the impressive amount of Mandarin she knew, and snapping away with her camera whilst they demonstrated their techniques to her.

There was even enough free time for the trio to ‘practice’ on the training dummies outside in the sunshine.  Being a sporting fanatic, Billy was first in line to show off.

Despite his athletic physique, he still managed to make a complete spectacle of himself.

“Forget the trained professionals, let’s take some snaps of Billy’s elite skills,” Cedric joked.

On the third day of their trip, Billy and Naomi went to visit the local library with hope to learn more about the evolution of Chinese Martial Arts.

Cedric had been set the task of proof-reading what Billy had written so far as well as checking over the current layout of the article itself.

Once finished with job Billy had set him, Cedric decided to visit the Phoenix Martial Arts Academy since he had a few hours to kill before Billy and Naomi returned from their hunt for martial art knowledge.  As Cedric set foot outside and was about to head down the steps, towards the outdoor training garden, he heard the dull sound of something thudding against one of the training dummies.

A beautiful looking Chinese lady was stood opposite one of the wooden targets; her focus was one hundred percent on the inanimate training object as she fluently swung her arms and legs with a variety of different combinations.

Cedric was instantly infatuated by her.  He wondered how to approach her, especially since she seemed to be so engrossed in with her training.  The last thing he wanted was a round kick to the face!

Carefully shuffling over, Cedric maintained a reasonable distance from the woman waiting for the right opportunity to strike up a conversation.

Just as Cedric was about to clear his throat, the woman abruptly spun around on her heels.  She took one glimpse at him before she arched an eyebrow.

“Err, hi, I’m Cedric.”  A nervous quiver swept down Cedric’s spine after the words had unwillingly escaped from his lips as soon as the woman had turned to face him.  A delicate warm breeze swept past them as an unwanted silence started to build between them.

“You’re a Meerkato, aren’t you?” The woman eventually spoke in a honey-soaked voice.  The confidence in her voice made Cedric very much aware this woman knew her accusation was correct.

“H-how did you know?” Cedric stuttered.

“My name is Sun Young Kim,” The woman continued after brushing her fingers through her fine black hair, completely ignoring Cedric’s previous query. “Since I was a small girl, I was told to anticipate your arrival.  Please, follow me inside.”

Cedric watched completely dumbfounded as Sun started to head back up the stairs to the building behind them.  Realising he had little control over the situation, Cedric had no choice but to follow her if he wanted some answers from this ambiguous Chinese lady.

Cedric followed Sun into a spacious side room which was diml lit but filled with Chinese decorations, artifacts and books.  Bemusement flooded through Cedric’s head as Sun sat down at a chess table in the corner of the room.

“First, I need to test your abilities, to make sure you are who you say you are.  Take a seat.”

Cedric slowly nodded his head before he reached his arm out and pulled back the chair by his side of the chess table. The legs scraped gently against the wooden floor before Cedric carefully sat down and studied the hand crafted chess pieces laid out in front of him.  Was she going to test him based on this game or chess?  Or did she have another method which he was not aware of…?  Regardless, Cedric decided to play along with her little game.

“It’s been a while since I last played,” Cedric confessed as he started to debate his first move.

Sun snapped her head up; an expression of disbelief plagued her face as she watched him make his first move.

“Already I can tell you’re not a fraud.”

At the time, Cedric was not quite sure what she meant, but he decided not to let it put him off their game.  He was eager to win and he was going to play this game as if his life depended on it.

The game went on for just over two hours, and although he was out of practice and made a few significant mistakes, Cedric was the one who emerged victorious after moving his bishop and knight into a checkmate position, thus fully trapping Sun’s King.

“Impressive,” Sun complimented as she looked up from the board and locked eyes with Cedric, “I would expect nothing more from a Meerkato.”

“What is this all about?” Cedric loudly spluttered as he placed his hand down firmly on the chess table.  Disappointment lurched through Cedric’s chest as he watched Sun rise to her feet.  He felt somewhat cheated as she started to head towards the door without once looking over at him.

“The answers you seek shall be revealed in time,” Sun spoke cryptically before she tugged open the door and stepped out the room.  Cedric bit down his lower lip and tried his hardest to fight back his frustrations, and the heavy absence that now hung in his heart.

Cedric remained seated for quite some time, pondering over Sun’s words and her strange mannerisms.  He soon realised that the sun was starting to set outside, and knew that Billy and Naomi would be back at the guest house waiting for him.

“I’m back!” Cedric announced as he set foot into the dining area, the delicious aroma of fresh homemade cooking wafting up his twitching nostrils.

Moments later, Naomi emerged from the kitchen with a friendly grin on her face.

“Look what the cat finally dragged in!” She joked as she rested a hand against her hip.  Her tone, however, swiftly changed after examining the young brunette’s glistening eyes. “Is that the look of love I see manifesting in your youthful eyes?”

Cedric awkwardly raised his arm up and scratched the back of his neck, giving Naomi the answer she had already assumed and the answer he had been trying to figure out on his journey back to the guesthouse.

“I knew I was right,” Naomi chortled before she waved her hands about wildly, “did you meet a pretty Chinese girl?”

“Maybe,” Cedric shyly confessed, “but I would hardly call it falling in love.  She was a few years older than me too, and a little mysterious.”

Naomi laughed heartedly, a smile stretched across her face as she examined Cedric’s youthful face.

“Oh, you’d be surprised Cedric.  Like friendship, love can blossom at any age,” Naomi revealed in a mystifying tone, teamed with a sorrowful glimmer in her eyes.  Cedric arched an eyebrow, intrigued by the fact that Naomi obviously had a similar experience when she was younger. Judging by her lack of elaboration, it was not particular a pleasant memory.

It was then that Cedric realised then just how little he knew about her and the rest of his work colleagues, and the world he lived in.

The next morning, Cedric, Billy and Naomi packed their bags and prepared themselves for the journey back to Honey Set Valley that very afternoon.   Cedric’s mind was a flurry of thoughts and emotions, which were dancing about erratically like the freefalling cherry blossom from the trees outside.  He knew he was not quite in love, not yet.  But there had definitely been a connection between him and Sun Yung Kim, despite they had only exchanged a few brief but meaningful words.

Cedric had a slight incline he would see Sun again one day, and he looked forward to when that day would come.

Since coming back from France, Rocio and Leon were loved up more than ever.  It seemed their marriage counselling course and time away had done their relationship the world of good.

A few months later, Leon announced his decision on who he wished to become the next head of the house.  The twins were hardly surprised; their Father had always doted more on Cedric than he ever had with them.  Their only concern was Cedric’s age.  He was almost fifteen, but Leon protested that he had been roughly the same age when he had taken the legacy under his wing, and Cedric was always helping with chores around the house, so he saw no reason why Cedric would not be capable.

As time went on, the twins celebrated their eighteenth birthdays at the seafront and were ready to face the responsibilities of young adulthood.  They had made a pact never to tell anyone else about the truth behind Clayton’s disappearance (his body had yet to be found), and although they still occasionally saw Apollo at family events and celebrations, it was clear his trust in them had been severely broken.

Over the past few months Dexter had become a lot more eccentric about his inventing.  Although he still enjoyed making small model vehicles, he had now grown interested in building gadgets and decorative objects out of the scrap he had dug out in the scrap yard which had been implemented into the town almost a year ago.

Leon saw the potential his eldest son had, so bought Dexter a workbench for his eighteenth birthday present which he set up in his bedroom.

He got to work on it straight away, building all sorts of interesting gadgets and gizmos out from the scrap he found.

As for Allegra, she had formed the eco-friendly trait, realising her music had to reach out to her audience.  Her lyrics could still be catchy and edgy, but they would be laced with a subtle message about protecting the environment and not wasting natural resources so easily.

Rocio treated Allegra to a makeover for her present, and she was more than thrilled with the result.

Not long after turning eighteen, Allegra managed to grab a job at the local theatre as a runner for the acts that performed there.  She spent most her days helping bands and performers set up and test their equipment, and also fetched them drinks and food whenever they requested.  Being a pretty young girl, plenty of the male performers approached her and offered to treat her to dinner or a couple of drinks; often at the nearby bistro.

Surprisingly, she turned all these offers down, until she met Russell Rivers.  Allegra was immediately hypnotised by his bright sky blue eyes, and was captivated by his fiery auburn hair and tanned complexion.

Russell was a guitarist and singer, like herself, but was struggling to find stardom.  He was few years older than her, yet he still took a shine to her after they had gotten chatting backstage, and Allegra expressed her passion for singing and guitar playing.  Allegra knew straight from the start he was rumoured to be a bit of a flirt, yet still she was drawn to him like a month to a flame.

Russell knew she had star talent and was certain that together they had a shot at becoming rich and famous.  It seemed like only he was apparently using her, but secretly she had the same motives.  To begin with anyway.

Before they knew it, they had fallen madly in love.  Such passion and romance had been hard to deny, and because of that they were unable to stab each other in the back.  For the time being.

And of course time continued to fly by, and when Cedric was nearing his sixteenth birthday, he started searching for a part-time publishing job.

He wrote covering letters to the very few publishing companies located in and nearby Honeyset Valley.  Yet, the weeks continued to fly by and he had heard nothing back; not even so much as a phone call or a rejection letter.  Cedric had heard the difficulties his Father had faced searching for a job in publishing, so as each day passed by he was more convinced that he would never pursue a path down the career he wanted more than anything.

Fortunately, his persistence paid off.  One Tuesday afternoon, when Cedric had returned home, his received a phone call which changed his life permanently.

Spade’s Publishing was a family-run company that was privately owned and had been going strong for just over ten years.  They were responsible for releasing a bi-monthly leisure and media magazine purely for Honeyset Valley, called ‘Acticom’ which had somewhat rocketed in popularity over the last five years thanks to the quirky article writers and sheer amount of effort that went into producing each issue.

They had advertised for a part-time Editorial Assistant in the local newspaper and after Cedric had made a phone call, they had asked him for his résumé and a 500 word covering letter expressing why he wanted the job.  Cedric honestly did not think they were after a school kid, so when he answered the phone to Sam Spade – director of Spade’s Publishing- almost two months after sending out his application, and was invited to come and visit the publishing house; he could barely contain his excitement.

Cedric was eager to impress; he knew this job would be the stepping stone he needed to edge his way into the publishing industry.  Rocio was adamant he should get his haircut, but Cedric loved his overgrown stylish mop of hair too much to give into her motherly demands.  Still, he was more than happy to go out and find a suitable outfit or two for his interview, with his Father by his side of course.

“What do you think?” Cedric asked as he spun around to face his Father and folded his arms across his chest, flaunting his new formal look.

“Go knock ‘em dead!” Leon exclaimed as he rooted Cedric on.

Cedric fell in love with the classic French style building the moment he set eyes on it.  He had always been a fan of foreign architecture.

Still, as he approached the building, he could not stop himself from shaking.

To say he was slightly nervous was quite the understatement.

Cedric managed to press his trembling finger against the buzzer intercom on the front door and uttered his name after a deep, bubbly voice greeted him.

“I’ll be right down, Cedric,” The voice reassured, before the intercom cackled off.  Cedric took several long deep and calming breaths whilst he waited for the front door to open.  He hoped that they had not summoned him here just to crush and shatter his hopes and dreams.

He felt a lot calmer when the door finally creaked open, and a young tall blonde man with a freckly face, dressed smartly in a black suit and a red shirt stepped outside to invite him in.

“Hi Cedric, I’m Billy.  It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Please, step this way.  The boss man is inside.”

Cedric almost froze to the spot as he went over Billy’s words; It’s a pleasure to finally meet you…

Obviously word had spread about him around the office.  Whether good things or bad things had been said however, he obviously did not know.   But Cedric being Cedric, he feared the worst!

Cedric could not believe his eyes as he stepped into the building.  The downstairs floor looked entirely like any other normal house; it was even beautifully decorated and well-kept.  As he was given a brief tour of the lower floor, Cedric found it difficult to believe that this building was even the right place.  He had always imagined publishing companies to be huge professional buildings with floors and floors of office-like working spaces.

Billy explained that they even had access to the kitchen during their lunch hour, or if they wanted a cup of tea or coffee at any point during the day.

“This is a lot different than I expected,” Cedric admitted as he shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.  Billy just smirked and nodded his head, amused by Cedric’s timid attitude.

“Yeah, the work ethics here may seem pretty relaxed, but the old man does work us hard.  Wait here anyways; I’ll go see if Mr. Spade is ready.  Shouldn’t be too long, but take a seat just in case.”

Cedric obediently nodded and moseyed towards the leather covered seating, whilst Billy headed up the set of stairs by the entrance lobby.

As he gazed around the beautifully decorated living room he realised this place would not be such a bad place to work in at all.  He hoped that the offices upstairs had a similar character to the rest of the rooms; if that was the case he was willing to fall onto his hands and knees and beg for a job here, even as a cleaner or a cook!

“Cedric Meerkato I presume?”

Cedric instantly turned his head towards the stairway in the lobby, his heart leaping into his throat when he saw a grey haired man wearing a dark grey suit walking gracefully towards the living room archway.

Cedric quickly rose to his feet and brushed his shaking hands against his trousers before he anxiously bit on the inside of his cheeks and approached the Director of the company; Seth Spade.

“I am glad to finally meet you.  Sorry for taking so long to get back to you, but it has been a hectic couple of months,” Seth confessed as he firmly shook Cedric’s hand whilst his eyes twinkled with enthusiasm.

He then gestured towards the staircase. “Let me show you the office upstairs.”

“We haven’t had a new addition in a while,” Seth explained as he led Cedric up two flights of stairs to the very top floor.

The main office on the top floor was not as big as he had imagined, still there was another room for a few desks and old school style computers, and even a drawing table where a lady dressed head to toe in purple clothing was sat, sketching away on a giant sheet of paper.

Seth cleared his throat before he gave Cedric a rundown of the company, and the geniuses behind it.

“Spade Publishing consists of this very team of talented individuals.  As you know, I myself am the Managing Director and founder of this company.  My Son Clark, who is currently absent, is the commercial director and publishing rights manager.”

“Naomi Gunford is Our Arts Director; she’s a very talented lady, her drawing abilities are next to nothing.”

“Lacey Carpenter is the Magazines Features editor and Marketing Executive.”

“Finally, there’s Billy Ashford who you’ve already met.  He is the Publishing copy editor and proof reader; he’ll be mentoring you for the next few months.”

Cedric gazed around in awe, like a child standing in the middle of a chocolate factory.  Despite not being as glamorous as he had imagined, this place was what he could describe as the perfect working environment, or at least he believed.

Still, despite Seth had openly announced to him that Billy would be taking him under his wing, Cedric had not quite grasped that the job was his and was expecting Seth to take him aside for a one-to-one interview.

“You were the only candidate whose application purely showed true ambition and a passion for what you enjoy doing best,” Seth announced, “I realise this job means a lot to you, and I am now more than confident you’ll make a fantastic addition to my company.”

“Wait, so, you’re giving me the job?”  Cedric had to double check.  Everything seemed far too surreal to be true. He nervously laced his fingers together as he waited for Sam to respond to his question.

However, when Seth curled his lips into a welcoming smile, it was the only reassurance Cedric truthfully needed.

“Young Cedric, you are entirely what I was searching for!  New age talent.  I know you’ll help Acticom develop into a fresh and edgy magazine which teenagers and adults can both relish.  So, welcome onboard.”

Cedric was completely overcome with joy as he gazed around the room for the umpteenth time.  This was it; he had been given a life altering opportunity and was determined to seize it as firmly as he could.  The Meerkato’s were famed for their struggles and the challenged thrown at them in life, but now Cedric was certain things were about to change for the better for this generation.

Allegra could not shake off her sadness.  Almost three whole days had passed since Clayton had tried to rape her, which had been traumatising enough.  Knowing that she had left her guitar behind in his clutches had been another devastating blow.   She felt incomplete without it; not even painting could mask her grief.

Her plan to tell her parents about Clayton and her guitar had complete gone out the window when they had strolled into her room unannounced about twenty minutes ago.

“Allegra, honey?” Leon sounded as if he was searching around for her whereabouts; despite she was obviously standing across the other side of the room.

“I’m here,” Allegra announces, trying her best to hide her annoyance, as well as the solemn expression she had been wearing.  Her Mother remained stood by the foot of the bed whilst Leon made his way over to his daughter with a serious look on his face.  Allegra’s heart started to pound a lot more aggressively than usual when she realised she was not going to like the upcoming conversation.

“As you’ve probably noticed, over the past few years your Mum and I have been going through a bit of rough patch.”

Allegra arched an eyebrow, curious as to what direction this discussion was heading in.

“We’ve been talking about things over the past couple of weeks and have made a grown up decision, which we hope won’t affect you or your brothers…”

“Oh ok, so you’re getting divorced?” Allegra assumed.

“No, darling.  We’ve booked three weeks away together in France,” Rocio, who was now stood a few paces back from Leon, piped in with forced smile on her face before laughing awkwardly.  “Getting a divorce, jut why would you ever think that?”

Leon chuckled uneasily too.

“Oh, right.  I just thought… Well, never mind.  France then, ey?  Why there?” Allegra questioned after breathing a silent sigh of relief.

“We’re going to see a specialist marriage counsellor who lives out in France, Dr. Lambert.  Her program only lasts for two weeks, but we thought we might as well spend an extra week there to explore and see the sights,” Rocio revealed as she fiddled with her necklace as she studied Allegra’s currently blank expression, eagerly awaiting her response.

“That’s… great,” Allegra said in a genuine tone, the corners of her lips furling up into the faintest hint of a smile.  It was enough to reassure her parents, somehow.

Then came the next bombshell.

“We’re flying out early in the morning,” Leon explained as he rubbed his hand against the back of his neck, “I hope that’s ok.  We just think you three are old and responsible enough to look after yourselves.”

As if Allegra had any choice in the matter.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep the boys in line,” She joked as her Father gave her a loving hug.

When Leon finally broke his embrace with his daughter, he spun around and started to follow Rocio towards the door.  Before they reached the exit, they turned back around to face Allegra who was still smiling faintly.

“We’ll be leaving contact numbers on the fridge,” Leon added as he laced his fingers around Rocio’s, “Call us if you need to chat, or if there’s an emergency.”

Allegra nodded vaguely then watched sadly as her parents walked out the room still holding hands.  She wished she had been able to tell them about Clayton, but she earnestly did not want to delay their trip away to France.

She paced her room for several more minutes as the sun sunk beyond the horizon, and nightfall dominated the town outside.  Her insides felt like iron weights and her throat felt dryer than the Sahara.

Allegra jumped immediately when her phone started to vibrate harshly against her leg.  After pulling herself together she fished into her pocket and tugged out the pulsating object.

“Hello?” Allegra answered without even bothering to look at the caller I.D on the display screen.  It could have even been Satan himself, she did not care, she was just eager to hear another voice.

“Ally Pally, grab Dex and get your butt down here,” Apollo’s playful tone echoed down the line.

Allegra quickly looked down and out the window.  Apollo was stood on the patio in the garden, his phone held up to his ear as he stared directly back at her.

“Ok,” Allegra sighed, “we’ll be there in a sec.”

Several minutes later, once Allegra had gone to get Dexter, they teleported out into the garden besides the pit fire.  Apollo rolled his eyes as he walked towards his cousins, and made a sarcastic comment about them clearly being in a hurry to join him outside.

Once settled at the pit fire, Apollo updated them with the situation between his Father and their Mother.  Basically, they were no longer sleeping with each other.

Dexter was perplexed; he knew his Mum had been deeply in love with Titus and had not been genuinely happy with Leon for a long time.  He could not get his head around why she was trying to rekindle her romance with him.

At that moment, Dexter was actually glad not to have a girlfriend.  Relationships seemed far too complicated for his liking.

“Why the sudden change of heart? Mum and Uncle Titus were smitten with each other,” Allegra mentioned as she glanced over at Apollo.  The affection she had seen Titus give to Rocio was far more than she had ever seen Leon offer.

“You may have not noticed, but at Cedric’s birthday party, my Dad and Aunt Rocio barely spoke.  They decided to end things a few weeks prior to that night.  My Dad wants to focus more on Charlie; poor little chap is still struggling at school, and your Mum thought it was about time to try and work things out with Leon.”

Apollo then raised both hands up in a decisive gesture.

“So I guess that’s that.  Everything should be relatively normal for us now, or at least not as screwed up.”

“I wish that was true, Pollo,” Allegra whispered in a weak tone.  She bit down on her lower lip as Dexter and Apollo immediately snapped their hands round at the sound of her distressed voice.

Allegra rose to feet, her legs shaking violently.  It was now or never, she had to tell someone about Clayton and the photo shoot, it was eating her up inside.

As she revealed what had happened, there was little point of her looking over to see Dexter’s and Apollo’s reactions.  She could clearly hear the anger in Apollo’s breathing, and the gritty grating sound of Dexter’s grinding his teeth together.

“Where does he live, Ally?” Apollo demanded to know as he perched a hand on his hip.

“I’ll fucking kill him,” Dexter snarled as he scrunched his hands up into fists, whilst his eyebrows furrowed inwards and his eyes narrowed considerably out of frustration.  The thought of someone trying to harm his sister sickened him greatly; he wanted to see Clayton squirming in fear and discomfort for what he had done to Allegra.

“Wait.  I have an idea,” Apollo announced.

Both Dexter and Allegra listened intently as Apollo told them the plan.  Small smirks crept across their faces.

It was simple, perhaps slightly dangerous, but it would be effective if it all went smoothly.

“We’ll definitely get your guitar back, Ally,” Apollo vowed, “and we’ll sort that pervy Clayton out.”

The following afternoon, the three teenagers put their plan into action.

Allegra felt uneasy the moment she teleported back into the room.  She could smell Clayton’s musky body scent lingering in the air and it instantly made her stomach turn.

Still, relief washed over her as she glanced to her left hand side and saw her guitar still propped up where she left it.

“Perfect,” Allegra stated out loud, before she reached out and strummed her fingers against the strings.  The soothing sound rang out stridently through the spacious room.

Moments later, the door swung open.  Allegra instantly spun around at the sound of the hinges creaking in pain.  As she had predicted, Clayton was standing at the door with a snide smile on his face.

“I really didn’t think you’d return,” Clayton spoke in a low creepy tone, “But, I guess I was wrong.”

Allegra only smiled back somewhat seductively as she fluttered her eyelids.

“I couldn’t help myself… I… I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you,” Allegra purred as she continued to gaze at him with lustful eyes.  “I want you, Clayton.  I need you.”

If her words had not been enough to shock him, he definitely was surprised when she started to dash towards him.

And when her lips slammed against his, and her arms slipped around his body, he was genuinely gobsmacked.  It was like a dream come true!

“Mmm,” Clayton moaned in approval when they finally parted for air.  He ran a hand across the back of her neck, “I’m pleased you feel the same way.”

Allegra tried not to gasp in panic when Clayton’s hands suddenly moved south and tightly grabbed onto her wrists.  He started tugging her towards the bed.

That was until she sharply managed to tug her wrists out from his vice clamp grip and sharply turned her head towards where her guitar was.  This time she gasped out loud.

Apollo was in the middle of picking Allegra’s guitar up…

Clayton glared angrily at the blue haired teenager.

He then briefly turned his gaze back towards Allegra.

“Oh, so this was your little game?”

‘If only you knew the half of it,’ Allegra thought as Clayton once again looked back over at Apollo.  ‘I wonder how Dexter’s getting on?’

“Don’t mind us, Clayton,” Apollo spoke in a cocky tone, “Just claiming back what’s rightfully ours, before we send your twisted ass to prison.”

Clayton stood on the spot shaking with anger for several moments.  His breathing was erratic and Allegra started to feel somewhat intimated being stood so close to him.  She took two steps backwards, edging closer towards the door.

“Ally, check if Dex is done, I’ll…” Apollo’s speech was cut off quickly.  Clayton had charged at him and roughly grabbed him by the neck of his t-shirt.  He wasted no time swinging his fist back, before throwing it at full force into the side of Apollo’s face.

A noticeable snapping sound resounded through the room.   Apollo stumbled backwards, momentarily dazed.

His expression remained sour, even when an ear piercing scream flooded the room.

“I’m guessing that hurt you more than it hurt me?” Apollo asked rhetorically after he pressed a hand across his barely injured cheek.

Meanwhile, Clayton was swearing and whimpering in agony as he cradled his now swollen and broken hand.

“What the fuck are you?” He choked, “Jesus Christ, was like I hit a bloody brick wall!”

As he continued to sob and whine, Apollo grew frustrated.  The asshole had just punched him.  Sure he had broken his hand because of Apollo’s abnormally strong bone structure, but that had been his fault entirely!

“Oh shut up!” Apollo abruptly snapped as an enraged expression dominated his face.  He figured if Clayton was going to cry, he would certainly give him something to cry about!

Before Clayton could even react, Apollo had balled his hand up into a solid fist and threw it towards him.

Allegra flinched and shuddered violently at the cracking noise Clayton’s skull made as Apollo’s fist made contact with it.  It sounded similar to eggs breaking against a hard surface.

A peculiar gurgling sound escaped from Clayton’s drooping jaw, whilst his body swayed from side to side as he gradually lost his balance.

Then he crashed onto the ground with an almighty thud, his body convulsing for several traumatising seconds before it remained completely still.

There was a painfully long silence as Apollo and Allegra gazed at Clayton’s body; panicked thoughts racing through their heads.

Apollo finally summoned the strength to look over at his cousin.

“I think he’s dead, Ally.”

In the room next door to the studio, Dexter had been searching for any incriminating evidence on Clayton’s computer.  He knew Clayton would have been clever enough to delete anything that he knew could get him trouble, but what he had not planned on was Dexter being fluent in ways of recovering erased files and data.

He had heard the shouting and cries of pain coming from next door, but had not thought much else of it.  So long as Clayton had not been injured enough for it to look like they had deliberately set out to harm him, then Dexter knew they would be just fine.

That was until Apollo and Allegra appeared behind him suddenly.

“I’ve searched and searched, but there’s nothing on here.  He must have used a program to make doubly sure he permanently deleted anything dodgy,” Dexter groaned in aggravation.  He already had an incline that something really bad had occurred in the other room, but he refused to confront them about it.

“Clayton’s dead,” Apollo announced bluntly, immediately shattering the blissful bubble that was wrapped around Dexter.    Still, he remained quiet as he wiped his prints from the keyboard and mouse, but deep inside he could feel the rage gradually building.

Allegra and Apollo jumped as Dexter slammed his fist against the desk.  His cousin edged towards the studio door as Dexter got off from his chair and started to stomp towards Apollo.

“How could you screw up your own plan?” Dexter snapped.

Apollo raised an eyebrow.

“I didn’t do it intentionally.  Besides,” he added swiftly, “You were the one who wanted him dead.”

“If he is dead, we’re in deep shit,” Dexter said in a venomous voice, “why couldn’t you control yourself?”

“He broke his hand after hitting me,” Apollo protested in his hysterical state of desperation, “and then he wouldn’t shut up.  He was making so much noise.  I just panicked.  I didn’t mean for it to…”

Apollo took a deep breath inwards, trying his hardest to calm down.  Dexter and Allegra exchanged looks of concern; this whole thing had clearly affected Apollo a lot more than they had initially realised.  Being around him like this, it was not safe at all.

“It’s fine,” Apollo tried to reassure his cousins, “we just need to cover our tracks.  What about a fire?  We could start a fire, burn the evidence.”

Apollo was talking gibberish, even he knew that.  He just wanted to convince them that they could get away with accidentally murdering Clayton.

Unfortunately, despite realising she would be betraying him; Allegra had already made up her mind.  She could not risk tarnishing her image if she ever wanted to be a famous rock star.  It was a selfish decision but she knew that if she and Dexter left now, they could feign innocent to their involvement…

“Sorry, Pollo.  We’re out.”

Allegra walked over to Dexter’s side.  Her hand brushed briefly against his….

… and she teleported out the room with him, away from all the commotion.

Apollo had tried his best to try and help Allegra get her guitar back, and now he was well and truly stuck in deep mud, so to speak.   He should have felt irate about his cousins abandoning him, but all Apollo felt was an overwhelming wave of sadness, combined with a dash of terror.  What the hell could he do to get out of this situation?  Even if he managed to hide the body, people would soon start to question Clayton’s disappearance…

“I must say Apollo, you’ve put yourself in quite a predicament,” a well spoken voice penetrated Apollo’s fragmented thoughts.

Sat in the armchair to Apollo’s left was the same teenager who he had chased with Dexter and Allegra alongside the cliff tops almost two years ago now.

“Ok, who the hell are you?” Apollo fired his question rapidly, yet the stunned expression stricken across his face and the fear in his voice did not dissipate immediately.  The strange teenager sitting in the chair let off a very unsettling vibe.

“I believe I haven’t introduced myself properly; I am Zeus Aristotle Peterson.”

“Aristotle?  As in… Oh my God, seriously?  You must be his…”

“Son, yes.  But that is irrevelant at the moment. I think you have potential Apollo, much like Cedric, heir-to-be…”

“Cedric?” Apollo echoed as if it was a foreign word.

“Indeed, even I was surprised when I first found out,” Zeus admitted in a mysterious manner.

“Huh?  But, a decision hasn’t even been made yet…”

Zeus just smirked.

“Apollo, how about this; I’ll help you clean up this mess,” Zeus slowly started to rise to his feet, “And you do me a small favour in return?  It won’t be dangerous or malicious, just something I need your upmost assistance with.  Maybe I’ll tell you how I know about Cedric as well… What do you say?”

This was perfect.  Allegra and Dexter may have run out on him, but Apollo now knew what he was supposed to do.  Form an alliance with Zeus and learn the true art of being a Meerkato.

“My friend, we have ourselves a deal.”

~~~

A/N: Longer chapter than I anticipated, yet hopefully it was interesting end to Generation 3.  Chapter 4.1 should be up early next week.  Much love.  x

Many thanks to all those that voted.  After accumulating all the results from two seperate polls, I can now reveal that Cedric will be taking over the Meerkato Legacy as the Generation 4 Heir.

Bit of a surprise, hehe.

Well, Chapter 3.12 will be posted up tomorrow, and after that Generation 4 will begin under the reigns of young Cedric.

He hated spiders, snakes, bees, wasps and ghosts; but the one thing Cedric feared the most was growing up.

Allegra and Dexter often complained about how difficult their homework was, and they seemed more than distraught when they had an outburst of spots.  Although Cedric realised he could do little about his hormones, he knew he could expand his logic and prepare for future academic challenges.

Rocio was more than happy to sit with him and teach him how to play chess and other games involving logic; but she also made sure he experienced a proper childhood too.

For his thirteenth birthday, Rocio threw him a memorable house party with a few close friends and family members.  Titus and Allegra even jammed together, providing solid acoustic tunes throughout most of the evening.

“Go blow out your candles and make a wish, son,” Leon encouraged excitedly as he wrapped his arms tightly around Cedric.

As he rushed over to his cake, all his worries about growing up dissipated momentarily.

Excitement coarsened through his body as he entered the world of teenhood.

Shortly after his birthday, Cedric decided he wanted to work his way into the publishing industry as either a journalist or an editor.  He loved writing and knew it was a passion of his which had been influenced by Leon.  Cedric’s talents could not be denied; even Leon recognised that his Son had a natural flair when it came to writing and proof-reading.

From then on, Leon was determined to help Cedric achieve his ambitions, and even bought him a shiny new computer as a gift so he could write all he wanted in the comfort and privacy of his own bedroom.

The Meerkato’s were seemingly sailing along steadily, despite certain secrets crawling underneath the surface.  Unexpectedly, one of these secrets belonged to Allegra.

Something intriguing had happened to Allegra at Cedric’s thirteenth birthday party whilst everyone else had been busy conversing and chewing on slices of birthday cake.  Just after she had placed down her guitar for what she thought was a well deserved cake break, a tall dark haired man in his late twenties, with a handsome face, approached her and greeted her politely.

She tried not to blush as he introduced himself as Clayton and explained that he was a friend of her Father’s; they had met at Honeyset Valley’s book club.  He had been watching her play for most the evening with an enthralled expression on his face.

“You’re very talented,” Clayton spoke in a smoky smooth voice, “I could get you recognised if you’d like.”

Allegra’s eyes sparkled with interest as he continued to speak.  Turned out Clayton was a part-time freelance photographer, he claimed he had helped several other girls kick-start their modelling and singing careers by helping them build up professional portfolios, and helping them contact the right agencies.  He even boasted of having his own studio in the basement of his house.

“Wow, that’s awesome!” Allegra gasped as excitement rushed through her body from head to toe.  What luck that her Father knew someone that could help her achieve what she had always dreamt off since she was a young girl.

“Here’s my number,” Clayton explained as he handed her a business card, “call me whenever and we can arrange your photo shoot.  For you I’ll do it for free.”

Allegra gladly took the small card from his hand and scanned her eyes across the sleek design and the bold text on top which read; ‘Klooney’s Photography’.  Beaming with anticipation, she nodded her head and briefly imagined herself standing on a giant stage, dressed in leather skinny jeans and bathing in the cheers emitting from her adoring fans.

Needless to say, she phoned Clayton the very next day.  After a small discussion about what the photo shoot would entail, he enthused she should meet him at the Little Corsican Bistro at four o’clock and reminded her to bring her guitar and a few changes of clothes.

She settled on a punky rock image for her first set of clothes; black fishnet gloves, a dark green t-shirt and dark skinny jeans.  After putting on a touch of makeup and letting down her hair, she was more than ready to say her goodbyes to her family and head out the house.

Allegra was slightly nervous by the time she reached the bistro, unsure on whether it was a good idea to take advantage of Clayton’s kindness like this.  However, all her anxiety melted away when Clayton actually turned up.

They took a taxi back to his house.

Once they had arrived Clayton wasted no time, leading her down a steep set of wooden stairs into his basement studio.

Allegra was in complete awe as she gazed around the brightly lit room; her eyes eagerly roaming around each set Clayton had obviously organised and constructed himself.

“This is… incredible!” Allegra gawped before her eyes were drawn once more to the double bed, with a heart shaped head and foot board, on the set nearest to the door.

She could not help but feel uneasy about the bed being involved with her photo shoot.

‘Maybe it‘s for another client?’ Allegra thought in a petty attempt of reassurance.

“Let’s get started then!” Clayton exclaimed, clapping his hands together.  Allegra managed to push her thoughts aside as she picked up her guitar and hurried over to the urban street set in the corner of the studio.

Allegra felt alive and lavished with each and every click and flash of the camera.

After taking several pictures of Allegra rocking out, Clayton went and stood around the corner, flicking through the photographs on the display screen of his camera whilst Allegra changed into her next outfit; a silky blue dress, complete with a top hat which she had pinched from Dexter’s wardrobe.

“Very sexy!” Clayton complimented moments after he had strolled back around to corner to see how she was getting on.  “You have a divine sense of fashion.”

Allegra smirked and rolled her eyes before she cheekily raised her hands up her face and stuck out her tongue.

“Hold that pose,” Clayton ordered in a serious tone as he lifted up his camera and started to snap away once more.  He occasionally dictated how Allegra should pose, and what face she should pull.  She felt on top of the world as he uttered that she was gorgeous and naturally photogenic.

After Clayton had taken the final photo on the set with the ivy covered wall, he marched straight over to where Allegra was stood.  She thought he was going to show her all the photographs he had taken, but instead he smiled somewhat unnaturally and pointed a finger straight at her.

“You should take off your dress.”

Allegra’s heart practically skipped a beat and she stared back at him as it he was mad.

“Err,” Allegra muttered uneasily, “I didn’t think…”

“Just for some underwear shots; tasteful, of course.  I know you’re only sixteen,” Clayton clarified with a hand on his hip.

Allegra’s eyes looked beyond his shoulder, towards the remaining set; the one with the heart themed double bed.  Her own heart felt like it was sinking as she looked back at Clayton.  She did not quite feel like a glamorous star anymore.

“I don’t want you to take pictures of me like that,” Allegra admitted as she nervously bit down on her lower lip.  “I want out of this.”

Clayton tapped his fingers against his chin as he studied Allegra’s face, then tilted his head up towards the ceiling.

“It’s a shame you’re not up for it, I guess fame doesn’t mean that much to you after all.  The pictures we have so far are wonderful too; it’d be a shame to just get rid of them…   Oh well, I know a couple other girls who would kill for this opportunity, so…”

“Fine!” Allegra sighed in defeat, “I’ll do it.”

She was desperate for the recognition, so she figured perhaps it would not hurt to sell out to her morals and believes just this one time…

“I feel ridiculous,” Allegra muttered in her embarrassment as the heat from the lights above her made her increasingly aware of her exposed skin.

“You look fantastic, Allegra, stop fretting,” Clayton chuckled before asking her to stand closer to the bed.

Despite trying, Allegra could not relax at all.  There was something about Clayton which she had previously overlooked, and now it was starting to emerge.

After taking just two more photos, Clayton lowered his camera and stared openly at Allegra’s body.  She only had to briefly look at his clouded lustful eyes to realise the perverted thoughts circling through his mind.  Trying to swallow her fear was hopeless now; the realisation had hit her like a ton of bricks.  She had already played with fire, and now she was about to get burnt.

Clayton dropped his camera on the floor and rushed towards her like a wild animal.

“You’re so beautiful,” He breathed as he stretched his arms out and tried to encircle them around her skinny waist.

“What are you doing?!” Allegra shrieked as she roughly pushed him away with a horrified expression pasted on her face as her stomach churned in disgust.  Clayton, on the other hand, appeared to be rather bemused.

“Don’t tell me this isn’t what you want; I’ve seen the looks you’ve been giving me.”

“I’m only sixteen!  Even you made a point of that!”

Allegra shivered violently as he continued to gawk at her.

“I want you Allegra,” Clayton whispered in a low unnerving voice, “you’ve grown up into such a beautiful young woman.  I’ll show you what pretty young girls deserve.”

As he stepped towards her once again and placed both hands on her skinny waist, Allegra froze like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming car.

She felt sick as his hot breath panted against her neck, before his moist lips traced against the curve between her neck and shoulder.

Flinching as his teeth grinded against her collarbone, Allegra shrieked loudly and pushed Clayton away from her once more.

“Get off me!” Allegra she growled before she swung her fist back and drove it straight into his solar plexus.

The blow instantly knocked him to the floor, living him winded and dazed as his head smacked hard against the ground.  Allegra released a loud cry from the pit of her lungs as adrenalin continued to coarsen through her veins.

She then leapt straight over Clayton’s withering body and made a beeline towards the door.

Allegra grabbed the handle and tugged hard.  Nothing happened, so she tried pushing it.  The door still refused to budge and Allegra whimpered out in a mixture of fear and frustration.  The situation was turning into a nightmare before her very eyes and she prayed she was dreaming so she could wake up in the safety of her own bed.

“Going somewhere?” Clayton’s voice rang out loud and clear.  Even though she had anticipated him climbing back onto his feet, Allegra still jumped in shock.

“Did you think I was stupid enough not to lock the door?” Clayton chuckled after she had gradually turned her body around to face him.  She felt horribly self-conscious as his eyes roamed up and down her scantily clad body, hungrily gazing at her feminine curves.

“Now, be a good girl and I‘ll be gentle.”

As he started to edge towards Allegra she was rooted to the spot, her brain desperately racking for means of escape.  Where else was there to go though?  The only door was locked, and she was not to know if there were any hidden doors in the room.   There was no way out.  Allegra’s were now wide like saucers.  She wanted to just disappear into thin air…

…Of course!  There was a way out.  There had been all along.  Allegra suddenly felt stupid for not realising before.  Before Clayton could reach out to grab her, Allegra raised her hand in the air and waved him farewell.

“Have fun in jail,” Allegra trilled.

And then she teleported away right before Clayton’s startled eyes.

Allegra mentally kicked herself the moment she materialised in her bedroom.  She could not believe she had forgotten about her ability.  Then again, she rarely used it as much as Dexter or Apollo did.  She preferred a bit of normality in her life to remind her she was partly human, not just the descendant of some Chinese super life form.

Her thoughts now spinning back round to what had happened over the past hour, she giggled softly as she imagined how confused and frustrated Clayton felt, and not to mention terrified with the assumption she was going to phone her police.

As she gazed around her room she wondered whether to phone the police or to even let her parents know about Clayton’s true nature.  Then again, she had never truthfully been all that close to Leon, and she felt too ashamed for putting her personal safety on the line, just for the sake of perusing her dream to be an entertainer, to summon up the strength to tell Rocio.

Still, Allegra knew she had to tell somebody.

Her clothes had been left at his house, although if he had any sense he would have already started to dispose of them.  And her guitar…

“Shit!” Allegra cursed, her blood running cold as she cupped a hand over her mouth.

Of all things, why did she not think to grab it?  It was her prized possession, her little wooden baby.  Clayton would surely destroy it for what she did to him before escaping, regardless of whether she decided to report him to the police or not.

Clayton, however, had no plans to destroy her prized possession.  He knew things could pan it in his favour, even if Allegra got the police involved.  It had been common sense from the beginning for him to take careful steps so he did not end up with any incriminating evidence hanging off his back.

All he had to do now was to simply make the right moves now that he taken into account that she was different than any other girl he had ever groomed.

Poor Allegra was unaware just how much danger she was actually in…

~~~

A/N:  Eep, well, now it’s almost heir voting time.  Will throw the poll up tomorrow, stay tuned

Chapter 3.10

Titus had always wondered if he or Aristotle had been chosen to be heir, would have his life panned out any differently at all?

One of the things he never expected was to wake up to find Kristi dead one morning.

Kristi‘s mental health had deteriorated gradually over the past couple of years.  She would often scream and shout at Titus, or the children, or even at her own reflection, for no given reason.

Afterwards she would burst into tears and feel like a complete monster and a failure to her family.

The doctors had diagnosed her with having mild schizophrenia and had given her copious amounts of medication to try and counterbalance her outbursts.

Kristi’s bloodshot eyes focused on the drugs resting on the surface beneath the medicine cabinet after wiping the tears from her eyes.

“They can help me,” Kristi whispered as she jadedly padded over to them.

When Titus awoke just a few hours later, he was acutely aware of the empty space besides him.  This was not a surprise though; Kristi never shared a bed with him anymore, she barely slept at all.

However, as he opened the door to their en-suite bathroom, a sickening sensation lashed across his chest, instantly winding him, as if he had just been hit by a car.

Before he even inspected her body, he knew she was dead.  Her chest remained completely still, and there was cold vomit around her mouth and matted in her lank blonde hair.

Titus gazed around the room before his eyes locked onto the pills scattered underneath the medicine cabinet.  He rushed straight over to them without a moment’s hesitation.  One bottle was almost empty, the other was overturned onto its side with only a few pills scattered around the open lid.

He knew it had been sealed and full the brim before he had gone to sleep…

Titus scooped up the remaining pills into his shaking hand and held the pills in his shaking hand for just a few seconds contemplating how easy it would be to end things completely.  They were very powerful drugs.

It was the thought of his children growing up parentless that made him throw down the pills in the end and helped him summon the strength to call for an ambulance.

Soon the verdict was announced; accidental overdose.  Kristi had relied heavily on her meds, but never was fully aware of the dangers of mixing copious amounts of them.

Titus dealt with her death by focusing heavily on his guitar playing whilst also trying to be the best Father for his children.  Difficult, especially since he was still sleeping with Rocio.  Perhaps not as often as before, but he had somehow grown even more in love with her over the years.

However, they both could barely hide from the guilt, especially as Leon and the children tried to carry on like everything was normal.

The twins were now teenagers, and Dexter (the older twin) was a dashing young man who was very charismatic.

He was passionate about tinkering with all the electronic and mechanical devices around the house, trying to find ways to upgrade them.

Dexter was considering working towards joining the military as an engineer.  He spent a lot of time designing blueprints on his laptop so he could make electronic models of all sorts of vehicles.

As for Allegra, she particularly idolised the lead singer from one of her favourite childhood bands, NVM.  Bill Andromedia was a brilliant vocalist and guitar player; she was eager to be just as talented and recognised as he was someday.  Since developing a flirty nature, she knew it would be easy to sweet talk the right people to achieve this…

Much to her joy, Uncle Titus had bought her a beautiful electric guitar for her most recent birthday.  His knowledge in musical instruments (particular six strings) was vast, so he knew the sort of guitar which would best suit Allegra.

The moment she picked up the guitar and started playing, her entire family realised she had a very special talent.  Her fingers seemed to naturally run up and down the frets without a trace of hesitation, whilst her other hand strummed confidently against the strings as she sang in a wonderfully powerful voice.

Cedric, the youngest child of the family, still had not quite developed his own talents.  Despite having the same eye and hair colour as Rocio, people often complimented how much Cedric looked and acted like his Father.  He was even hydrophobic.

He was afraid of taking showers partly because he was convinced the ‘Shower Montser’ would eat him.

Dexter had to often reassure him that there was no such thing.

As for Leon, he had resumed writing and was working on a sci-fi comedy novel titled ‘Space Assassins’.

Leon knew his relationship with Rocio was still pretty rocky; he could not even remember the last time they had made love.  The only times she genuinely seemed to be her bright and bubbly self was when she was with Titus.

He tried not to believe it, but he had a horrible inkling something was going on between them.

Dexter had the same suspicion too.  Over the past couple of years he had clocked on to Titus often coming around when Leon worked night shifts.

On weekends, or during the school holidays, Allegra, Dexter and Apollo often hung out around the pit-fire at the back of the garden in the evenings.

“I think Mum is screwing Uncle Titus,” Dexter ever-so-casually announced one night whilst Apollo was in the middle of talking about organising a holiday abroad somewhere, for either next summer or the one following.

“What?” Allegra instantly spun her head around and glared at her brother.  “Mum would never… especially not with Uncle Titus!”

Truthfully, the thought had crossed her mind once or twice, but she had always looked up to and idolised her Mother ever since she was a young girl.

Apollo fell quiet for a brief moment whilst a deadly serious expression fell upon his face.

“Dex is right, Ally” he sighed as he gazed down at the crackling fire. “I’ve seen them at it…”

The fire now seemed to drown out the silence which had briefly fallen upon them.   As Allegra continued to study her brother’s facial expression, Apollo shuffled across in his chair over towards Dexter, who was watching the flames dancing in the cool summer breeze.

“But what can we do?   At the end of the day they’re adults and they should know better,” Apollo sighed to Dexter.

“Don’t you think we should say something to Dad?” Allegra chipped in.  Despite not having as strong of a bond as she would have liked with her Father, she still cared about him greatly and did not want to see him get hurt, likewise with her Mother.

Still, both boys instantly frowned at her suggestion.

“And break our family apart?  No way!” Dexter growled as he narrowed his eyes.

“To be honest, I’m pretty sure Uncle Leon already knows.  He just refuses to acknowledge it; ignorance is bliss after all.”  Apollo grinned sarcastically as he locked eyes with Allegra.

“Don’t you care about our family?” Allegra hissed, glaring over at her cousin, “things are only going to get worse the longer they’re left unsaid.”

“Whether we tell them or not is irrelevant.  There’s still bound to be some broken hearts once the truth has surfaced,” Apollo snapped back, “so why are you worrying?”

Dexter briefly shut his eyes and stood up from his chair as a small smirk stretched across his face.

“Come on guys, let’s not argue about this.  I’ll go mix us up a few drinks and we can…” his speech trailed off when he sensed the presence of an additional person.  An uneasy tingling sensation crept down his spine as he spun around to face the direction of the hedge.  His eyes instantly widened in surprise.

After noticing the freaked out expression on Dexter’s face, Apollo immediately rose to his feet and spun around to face direction his cousin was looking over at.

An unfamiliar figure was standing on the other side of the hedge; a black and grey mask concealed the top half of his face.  His eyes were dark green and his skin appeared to be a pale shade of bluish-grey, and from what Dexter could tell, he was around the same age as him.  If it was not for the wind brushing through his dark hair, and his fingernails drumming lightly against his jeans, he could have easily appeared to be frozen in time.

“Who the hell is that?” Allegra asked as she leapt up from her chair whilst Dexter and Apollo continued to stare at the figure.

The corners of his lips curled up into a mocking smile and his eyes glimmered erratically in the light of the moon.

As Dexter and Apollo approached the hedge, the masked stranger turned abruptly on his heels and started sprinting away.

The two boys exchanged looks before they nodded and rushed off after the strange teenager, who was chuckling softly under his breath, obviously enjoying the thrill of a chase.

He was fast, but somehow Dexter managed to keep up with him; just about.  As for Apollo, he lagged behind, struggling to keep up.

They continued running along the sizable plane of land, brushing past a few trees as the wind whistled against their ears, before they approached a cliff with a sizeable drop.

Dexter stopped is his tracks and watched as the grey skinned teenager effortlessly marched up to the very edge of the cliff.

Dexter’s heart continued to beat wildly against his chest; he knew they now had him cornered.  There was no way the masked teenager was going to risk scaling down the steep drop in front of him.

Dexter felt even more in control of the situation when Apollo, who had managed to catch-up with him, joined his side.

“Who are you?  Why were you at our house?”  Dexter fired both questions angrily as he rested a hand on his hip, trying to fight the frustration bubbling through his veins.

The tall teenager said nothing and continued to gaze down at them, as if they were mindless animals.

His arrogance definitely spoke in volume, especially when he flexed his arm and laughed gently as Dexter grinded his teeth together.

At that moment, Allegra emerged into the clearing with a hand perched on her hip panting gently as she regained her breath.  She had managed to follow the boys shortly after they had rushed off.

“End of the line, buddy,” Allegra stated as she shot a venomous look at the rude teenager on the edge of the cliff.

“Allegra, Apollo, Dexter,”  he announced in a deepening, soothing well-spoken tone of voice, “this will not be the last time we meet let me assure you.”

The masked teenager then lifted his hand in the air as if to wave them farewell.

Dexter growled under his breath and prepared to pounce at him the moment he tried to make his escape, but his plan was short-lived when the tall teenager vanished completely in a vibrant flash of light.

Dexter and Allegra were dumbfounded.  To their knowledge, that sort of supernatural malarkey only ever existed in books or on the television.  Apollo, on the other hand, looked far from startled.

“He’s got the gift,” he confirmed nonchalantly, “he must be a Meerkato.”

“What?” The twins gawped in unison.

Allegra hurried over to where Dexter  just as Apollo explained what he knew.

“Teleportation; my dad says it’s genetic, although there’s no certainty if all Meerkato’s can do it.”

“He managed to teach me, however.”

A bright light then emitted out from Apollo’s skin as small sparks of lightning zapped across his body and completely engulfed him, leaving behind a temporary halo of smouldering electricity where he had once stood.

Allegra and Dexter automatically spun around when they heard the cackle of electric groan out from behind them, as Apollo remerged before their very eyes.

“It’s exhausting to begin with, but it gets easier each time you do it.”

“My Dad warned me not to teleport constantly though, especially not in front of you guys.  Uncle Leon wanted to shelter you from all that.”

“But now the secret’s out, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to teach you guys,” Apollo said as he spun around to face his cousins once more.

Allegra and Dexter grinned.  They knew such a talent would be very useful.

The only thing which bothered them was that Leon had obviously not wanted them to know about the ability for a reason…

Several metres away from where they stood the masked stranger continued to watch them, his observant eyes and keen ears monitoring their conversation.

‘I didn’t bargain on them having one of my gifts…,’ He thought in mild annoyance, ‘Looks like I’ll have to reassess the situation.’

An ominous smile slipped across his face before he disappeared off into the night, in a divine storm of light and kinetic energy.

A year and a half had passed since Aristotle’s death.  The twins were now two years old; adorable, but a handful.  Rocio was thankful to have Eric around to give her a helping hand.

Mandy had unfortunately passed away almost a year after Aristotle’s body had been found.  She had never been quite the same since having her stroke, and having one of her brood die before her had only worsened the trauma.

She was happy enough to join her parents and son on the other side the day Death came for her.

Eric had never felt so empty; he had been with Mandy for almost over forty years.  Losing the love of his life as well as his first born son…  It was a hard pill to swallow.

Two days after the twins’ second birthday, the sadness and sorrow Eric felt slowly washed away as he fell willingly into the sweet embrace of death.

After this Leon grew far more isolated from his friends and family.  He completely abounded his dreams to become a comedy writer and was putting his heart and soul into following his Father’s footsteps by becoming an International Super Spy.

Without Eric or Mandy around, Rocio struggled to look after the twins when she started working at the police station part-time whilst Leon worked long hour shifts, day and night.  Needless to say, the couple started to drift apart.  Still, Rocio fell pregnant once more.  When she went into labour she desperately hoped that this baby would bring her and Leon closer together.

She gave birth to a healthy baby boy called Cedric who cried at even the smallest of sounds, much to her dismay.

Time seemed to pass by like a blur and soon the twins were children and had adopted styles and hobbies of their own.   Dexter, who had a strong fascination with cowboys, trains and planes, had a very mechanical and technical way of thinking.

He loved making interior structures for buildings and vehicles using his building blocks.  Being a perfectionist he would spend hours getting them the way he wanted!

As for Allegra, who had insisted she should have Aristotle’s old bedroom, she was very creative and was especially fond of music and arts.

She spent most of her time singing and listening to songs as she painted away on her Great Aunt Molly’s old easel.

Leon and Rocio were pleased that the twins got on so well.  Despite their different tastes, when they were together they got on like a house on fire and could natter away and play games with each other for hours.

Occasionally, Titus’s son, Apollo, would hang out with them since he was only a year younger.

The twins’ younger brother, Cedric, was almost four years younger than them so could rarely join in with their playing, but he was content whether he was alone or surrounded by his family.

Despite the rest of the family bonding well, Leon and Titus had drifted apart since Aristotle had died.  One of the petty reasons behind this being the fact that Titus had kept his teleporting ability a secret from him and Leon felt somewhat betrayed because of it, yet he could not cut Titus out from his life entirely.

Titus had been working part-time at the same bookstore for just over a decade.  He also made quite a bit of money on the side from selling his paintings and playing his guitar at particular events.

Unknown to Leon, Titus and Rocio often met up for lunch on their days off from work.  Usually Kristi would tag along, but Rocio guiltily preferred the times when her sister-in-law was not there and it was just her and Titus.

He was so friendly, gentle and spoke with such sensitivity.

Although he was still madly in love with Kristi, he had confessed to Rocio that they had not been the same, especially since the arrival of their son, Charlie, who was a few months old.  Kristi had suffered from post-natal depression after the birth of Apollo, but she had managed to overcome it with the support of Titus and the aid of anti-depressants.

Doctors had warned her that she could suffer from depression again after she had discovered she was pregnant with Charlie, but she chose to take the risk.

Unfortunately the doctor’s predictions were accurate, only Kristi suffered from the depression worse than before.  She was still currently on medication, but instead of trying to wean off it she was relying heavily on it on a day to day basis, and it had started to put a strain on her marriage with Titus.

Luckily Kristi’s brother, Martin, was able to babysit Apollo and Charlie whenever Kristi was at her worse (on the odd occasion she would spend the entire day sitting on the sofa in her underwear crying) whilst Titus was either at work, or meeting up with Rocio.

Rocio also used her time with Titus to let off steam about how inattentive Leon could be with her.  Despite his family-orientated outlook on life, he was withdrawing more and more into his work and rarely set foot outside the house on his days off.  Still, he doted completely on Cedric, but Rocio wished he would focus a bit more attention on her and the twins.

“I wish my brother could see what he was, instead of fretting over the things that are beyond his control,” Titus sighed as he strolled side by side along the sandy seafront with Rocio.  “You’re amazing, and so are your children.”

Titus stared intently into Rocio’s eyes as they came to a halt.  “Leon’s so lucky… You’re both so lucky…”

Rocio felt her heart skip a beat as he lent towards her, his hot breath tracing against her aching lips before he dove forwards and crushed his mouth against hers as fluently as the sea crashing towards the shore.  The kiss was desperate and passionate, but comforting.  It was something they had subconsciously craved for so long; neither of them wanted to let go.

Rocio was panting for breath as she slowly moved her lips away from his, although it was agonising to do so.  The feelings she had for Titus were hard to deny, but she was still in love with Leon.  Raw sobs escaped from her burning throat and tears cascaded down her cheeks.

“Rosie, what’s wrong?” Titus asked affectionately as he gazed at her in concern.

“We can’t let this happen,” Rocio managed to whisper as she pulled her arms away from him.  Then, without saying another word, she spun around and rushed off down the beach, leaving Titus standing motionlessly on the spot with his confused heart drumming against his chest.

Rocio was quieter than usual at the dinner table that night, which even Leon raised an eyebrow at.  He was about to raise a question, but Dexter interrupted by blurting out he and Allegra wanted to throw a pool party at Le Petit Shark Pool Centre for their upcoming birthday.

And what the twins requested, they often got.

Rocio sighed inwardly as she glanced over at Leon who had lifted Cedric up into the air and was dotingly spinning him about.  To the other party goers, it looked like a beautiful scene of Father-Son interaction, but Rocio knew differently… He barely touched her anymore, and even the twins were aware their Father gave their younger brother a lot more attention.

She had been very aware of how lonely she was, particularly after not seeing Titus in almost a month since their kiss on the beach, so she was unable to stop the panic coarsening through her body when Titus eventually turned up with Apollo.

As Leon continued to play with Cedric, Rocio watched discretely as Titus swum around in the pool, happily flaunting his toned physique.

Rocio shivered in anticipation when Titus climbed out from the pool and started to approach her.  By this point, Leon had gone off to the toilets to change Cedric’s diaper, so it was apparent he had been waiting for the right opportunity to speak to her.

“Rocio,” Titus said her name rhythmically, “Kristi’s going to the hospital tomorrow at 2pm for a check-up… You should come over to mine so we can talk.”

“I-,” Rocio’s voice trailed off as she looked into the hypnotising depths of his brown eyes.  “I’ll think about it.”

Somehow, despite knowing what would happen, Rocio found herself rushing over to Titus’s house the very next day shortly after 2pm.  The moment she stepped into the lobby, Titus’s arms slipped around her shoulders and she buried her head into the nook of his neck, breathing in his homely scent.

When he caught her lips with his own, nothing else seemed to matter anymore.  There was no time to worry about consequences as they stumbled upstairs and into the bedroom and eventually ended up tumbling onto the bed Titus slept in with Kristi.

And so officially began their illicit affair…

~~~~~

Chapter 3.8

Almost a week had passed, and Aristotle had not been seen by anyone.

Titus had spent the majority of his time at Leon’s house and visiting Mandy at the hospital with his family whenever he could.  After realising Aristotle had disappeared, she had a stress-related stroke.  It was not too serious, but it had left her slightly weak and reliant on others, which is why the hospital was the safest place for her until she recovered.

It was fortunate she had not come back home straight away.  The letter on the laptop had been updated just a day after she went into hospital, and now Titus, Leon and Eric knew Aristotle was not coming back.

In the letter Aristotle had revealed that the Government had contacted him and had casually stated that it was advisable he gave himself up.  Aristotle grudgingly vowed he would, on one condition.

He wanted to speak to Milly, in person.

Several hours later, and much to his surprise, Aristotle had been delivered his side of the bargain.

The Government had instructed for him to visit Milly’s old house at the far end of Honeyset Valley, where they promised she would be waiting.   The moment Aristotle had set foot into the house; she led him upstairs and outside onto the balcony where they sat down with a packet of cigarettes and an ashtray.

After an awkward silence, Milly had revealed to Aristotle that she had been hiding in China.  Apparently she had pleaded with the Government to protect her from Aristotle after he had murdered Michael, paranoid that she would be his next victim after the way she had harshly broken his trust the first time he had escaped from the science facility.

They even paid for her accommodation, much to Aristotle’s disgust.

Milly spent the first few months living a stress free existence.  She picked up the language quickly and indulged in the culture as much as she could.

Things dramatically after she met Bradford Starks.  He was a skilful martial artist who occasionally trained in China.  He was visiting Shang Simla to compete in a tournament.  Milly foolishly fell head over heels in love with him the moment he had approached her, boldly asking her out to dinner.

After a few drinks and plenty of flirty comments, Milly found herself letting go completely as she invited Bradford back to her home.

After their night of passion, Bradford left whilst she was fast asleep.  Milly never saw him again.  What was even worse, just a month later, she found out she was pregnant.

“When Duke was born, my life changed forever,” Milly had confessed to Aristotle.

Milly received a phone call from the Simville Government shortly after Duke’s eleventh birthday.

They gave her no option but to move back to Honeyset Valley immediately, vowing that if she refused to go both her and Duke would be killed.

They gave her less than an hour to prepare for the long journey back to Simerica.   And just a few hours after arriving back at her old house, Aristotle had turned up, just like the Government explained he would.

“I came back to protect my Son,” Milly made herself very clear, “not to appease you.   I don’t particularly care if you want to kill me now either, I think we both know our lives are now hanging by the thread.  Soon they’ll be here kill us.”

“They won’t gain the satisfaction of killing me,” Aristotle stated firmly.  He then momentarily brushed his fringe away from his forehead after a small breeze had swept by and disrupted it, before narrowing his dark green eyes.  “But there’s one more thing I need to know.”

As Aristotle leant forward to flick the ash off his cigarette into the ashtray, Milly stared at him intently with an eyebrow arched as if to say, ‘Well, then?’

“Why, did you agree to get involved with Project Blue XX, Milly?” Aristotle asked once he had settled back into his chair with his cigarette hanging freely between his lips.  “Why did you turn your back on your family?  And what about Aunt Tia?  Why did you lure her into all of this?”

Milly half-smiled and briefly tapped her fingers against her leg.  She had expected him to ask that eventually.

“At first I just wanted to hurt Viola, which is why I decided to talk Tia into it.  I honestly never expected her to agree, but apparently the Government offered to finance the IVF treatment she was considering,” Milly paused for a moment, considering what to say next.  “After they day you were kidnapped in the park, the guilt must have got to her.  She cut all ties with Government.  I heard she eventually managed to conceive, naturally.”

Aristotle nodded to confirm Milly’s last sentence.

“As for why I got involved… Admittedly, when the Government first offered me the opportunity to live here in this house, I couldn’t turn it down.  I was young and had always dreamt of living in such a beautiful home with everything I needed,” Milly confessed as she stood up from her chair.

“Is that the only reason?” Aristotle asked as he watched her wade towards the balcony’s railings.  She stopped by them before she gazed down at her feet and awkwardly scratched her right hand wrist.

“I wanted to show off to my family, and at the same time, see them suffer,” Milly uneasily admitted.  “I realise now what I did was wrong; it damaged so many people’s lives.  But, if I hadn’t chosen that path, Duke wouldn’t be here.”

“And now I’ve done all I can as a Mum for him,” Milly drew in a deep breath before she briefly glanced over her shoulder at Aristotle.   “All that’s left to say is… I’m sorry for toying with your life, Aristotle.”

Titus vividly remembered how Aristotle had described what happened next in the letter he left on the laptop;

‘Milly apologising was a shock to the system, but that soon became the least of my worries when she started to climb up onto the railings.  I rose to my feet as she wobbled unsteadily as she struggled to keep her balance, and then…’

‘She fell forwards.’

‘It all just happened in a split second, but the result was clearly fatal.’

‘It wasn’t a particularly pleasant sight either.’

‘By now I assume they have cleaned up the mess Milly made, and have taken Duke to live with his biological Father in Riverview.  I guess, like me, Milly didn’t want to die in the hands of the Government.’

‘And so, here I am now, writing these final words to you.  My dear family, I’m sorry for everything.  I hope you can forgive me one day.   I’ve put everyone through so much stress, particularly Mother (I visited her in the hospital when she was half-asleep, she thought I visiting her beyond the grave).’

‘I may have not gotten all the answers, but now I know enough to beg you of one simple thing, Leon.  It is your responsibility to protect our legacy, especially from the Government.  They are not to be trusted.  You must make sure this is spread from generation to generation.  Don’t shield them from the truth; the Government have something planned, and us Meerkato’s must be prepared for whatever it is.’

‘ Stay strong.  Yours faithfully, Aristotle.’

Titus sighed as he gazed around Aristotle’s personal living room.  He knew he had to reach the basement room somehow, convinced there would be a clue there which would solve everything.

He closed his eyes tightly, imagining what the basement looked like.  Aristotle’s description in the first part of the letter had been very detailed, and Titus hoped he could rely solely on that to teleport there (usually he had to know the location he wanted to teleport to, or least have been once or twice in his life).  It was a risky experiment, but Titus was willing to take the risk despite his cowardice nature.

Soon, Titus’s body started to tingle…

The next thing he knew, he was stood in a cold, damp and vile smelling room which matched exactly how Aristotle had described it.  He gazed solemnly at the room beyond the windows, his eyes feasting on the burnt out chairs and debris of ash and blistered wood.  It was hard to believe Aristotle had done such a thing, but now the evidence was right in front of him.

Titus was too frightened to turn around straight away to see what was looming behind him, but he knew something was definitely there, he could sense it.

Finally he inhaled and spun around on his heels, although he kept his eyes almost level to the floor.

“Oh, no, God no,” Titus murmured when he saw a pair of legs dangling just a few inches above the floor.

Titus could not bring himself to look upwards.  He already knew it was Aristotle.  Soon he found his eyes disobeying him, and as he tilted his head up his stomach churned violently and he gagged unwillingly at the sight of Aristotle’s pale, puffy face.  He didn’t want to know how long Aristotle’s body had been there for.

He was hesitant to go and show Leon, but he knew he had to.  Until this point, Leon had no idea that Titus had the ability to teleport but he figured it was about time his brother knew.

“I’ve found Aristotle,” Titus explained meekly after pulling Leon aside from Rocio.

“Where?” Leon asked, his eyes sparkling in hope as he gazed at his brother.

“The basement.”

His younger brother raised an eyebrow.

“How did you get in the basement?”

“Just hold onto my arm… hopefully this will work.”  Leon reluctantly grabbed onto Titus’s arm tightly as he teleported them both down to the basement room.

As they stood staring directly at Aristotle’s body, the agonising cry that instantly slipped out from Leon’s lips was the single most haunting thing Titus had ever heard.

Titus managed to calm Leon down enough so he was eventually able to help Titus untie the noose wrapped around Aristotle’s neck, so they could lower Aristotle’s cold body onto the floor.  Rigor mortis had already taken place; they were able to place one of his arms over his chest without too much trouble, but the smell was horrific.  This meant he had been hanging in the basement for over three days.

Telling Eric was the hardest part.  Titus stood back and left Leon to tell him the news.  His younger brother ended up breaking down into tears and sobbed uncontrollably as he explained to Eric what had happened to Aristotle.

As a vow they had promised not to tell anybody else where Aristotle’s body had truthfully been discovered.  They told Mandy his body had been found in one of the basement’s rooms in the police station, which was a feasible story.  Still, Mandy was naturally devastated to lose her eldest son, and with next to no explanation as to why he had killed himself.   It was something she just did not want to question though, knowing all too well it was linked to how he was treated in the science facility after he was kidnapped.

When she was dismissed from hospital, Aristotle’s body was buried in the front garden, alongside Zasaka and Chris.

The suicide of Milly was kept quiet.  She had supposedly been ‘missing’ for just over a decade and no one, apart from Aristotle, had apparently seen her when she had briefly returned to Honeyset Valley.  In contrast, Aristotle’s death was announced on the news and printed across the front page of the local newspaper, although no one, apart from Tius, Leon and Eric knew truthfully where Aristotle’s body had been discovered.

When Myra had found out about what had happened to Aristotle, she was overwhelmed with grief.  She had almost moved out of town, until she had made a surprising discovery just a few weeks after splitting up with Aristotle.  Now, as Myra cradled her one year old son in her arms, she did not regret the decision to keep her baby boy.  He had so much hair for a little one and his skin was an unusual shade of light pinkish blue…

With his dark green eyes and infectious smile, Baby Zeus reminded her so much of Aristotle.