A/N: Hey all! Thanks for your patience (again) on updates! Life is busy per usual. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

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06 - 01 - 2089

C A D E

When I first awoke, I found myself in a medical room similar to the one Gis had been kept in. At first, I couldn't even sit up in bed without waves of dizziness washing over me. My vision would split and suddenly there were two, three, four of everything.

I tried to punch the first person who entered my room, but only managed to fall off the bed and land on my already busted up face. I blacked out immediately. When I woke next, I was tied down to the bed. Someone was dabbing an alcohol soaked piece of gauze across my face. I yelled at them, which then signaled two guards to enter the room, ready to beat me down again.

After more yelling and demanding to see Gis, I was given an injection which knocked me out again.

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The next time I come to, the restraints are off and a guard is standing by the door.

"Follow me."

I sit upright in bed, my fingers curling into fists at the resulting pain. My face and ribs throb with every heartbeat, thanks to the beating I received.

"Let's go," the man repeats, voice gruff and tone annoyed.

I take my time sitting upright and swinging my legs over the side of the bed, not wanting to repeat my earlier embarrassment. The dizziness holds back enough that I try standing. I know I'm risking another beating by taking my time.

"Where are you taking me?" I ask, tone less defiant than before.

The man doesn't bother to answer, instead crossing his arms and nodding towards the door. I stare at his face for another second, noting the heavy eyebrows and pale eyes.

Slowly, I follow the guard out of my room and into a white hallway. We walk past several doors before stopping at one labeled with a black plaque that reads:

Medical Room 5
Authorized personnel only

The guard opens a door to reveal a small room, almost identical to the one I awoke in. Gis is huddled against the headboard of the bed, holding a syringe to her neck, her body shaking. Her eyes are focused on a man standing across the room.

"Gis."

My voice pulls her attention away from the man, dark eyes full of fear and confusion lock onto me. Her eyes widen, hand lowering slightly from the weapon so close to her jugular.

I step into the room, the door shutting and locking behind me. I'm keenly aware that there are two soldiers outside the room, and many more within The Black Star's facility. My head and face throb, pulsing with pain from my earlier beating. Heart thuds, each beat faster than the first. But it all fades to background noise as I raise my hands and approach the bed.

"What's going on?" I say, my voice soft. Gis is clearly frightened, and I don't blame her. All our striving and running has only succeeded in putting us in the exact same place we started. Prisoners of those who wish to control Gis. To manipulate her.

"He-he's lying," she says, gaze flitting back and forth from me to the man.

"Calm," the man says, his hands raised. His expression is pained, and he appears to be genuinely concerned for what Gis plans to do with that syringe.

I reach the bed and hold my hand out for the sharp object, steady and slow. "It's okay. We'll figure it out together."

Gis hesitates, eyes roaming over my bruised and swollen face. "How." Barely a question, and even though I don't know what this man has tried to do to her, I can tell her mind is spinning.

I pull her hand away from her neck, gently tugging until she releases the syringe into my grip. Then I pull her close, wrapping my arms around her. She buries her face in my chest, and I can hear her mumbling.

"I don't know what to do," she whispers. "He said he's on our side. That none of this was supposed to happen."

I glance back toward the man, catching his stare. He swallows, then scrubs at his face. "My name is Alex. We haven't yet been introduced, Cade. But I'm the leader of The Black Star. And..." he hesitates, glancing from me to Gis, still curled in my arms. "I'm Nova's father." He clears his throat, "Gis, I mean."

I blink, wondering if I heard him correctly. "What?"

He nods. "I was trying to explain to Gis that I started this organization when they took her from me. This was all for her. To rescue her. Her birth name is Nova. Her mother chose that name." Alex glances at the floor, expression darkening.

"Why should we believe anything you say." My tone is fierce, mimicking my expression. "Gis was created by GIADA. She doesn't-" I cough, hating that I have to say these words out loud. "She doesn't have parents."

"You're wrong." Alex leans against the far wall, sliding down until he is sitting. He suddenly looks very weary and tired. Gis pokes her head out from my chest, eyes red. She stares at the man, eyes swirling with emotion.

"Prove it, then. Prove that you're her father. That all of this," I pause, looking around for emphasis, "is for her benefit. Because I have a hard time believing that lying and manipulating us are good for her. That having your lackeys break my nose and bust up my face is good for her."

Alex is quiet for several moments. Finally, he looks at Gis. "I'm sorry. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. I was called away due to an emergency before I could explain all this to you. You weren't supposed to be kept in the dark for so long. At first it was essential that you didn't know anything; we couldn't risk you running back to GIADA with information on us. I know who your mother is, Cade. And until you proved that you really did have Gis' best interests in mind, you couldn't know."

"Then why lie to me?" Gis asks. The fearful expression fades from her face, being replaced by the all-to-familiar face of determination. 

"You were loyal to Cade," he explained. "I couldn't trust you just yet either. All of this to say, my men never should have treated you so harshly. I've since spoken with them and made sure that won't happen again."

"All you've told us are words. Words that have no proof and mean nothing. You say you know my mother? Then you know how manipulative she is." I scowl. "How she used our relationship to hurt Gis and torture me. GIADA screws with peoples' minds and makes them crazy. You admitting your knowledge of my mother only serves to make me more wary of you."

"Perhaps." Alex shrugs. "But I chose to leave GIADA when it became clear they were willing to sacrifice their morals for the good of society. When their panic for a cure caused them to lose all sense of why they'd been founded in the first place." He pauses, staring thoughtfully at Gis. "When they decided my daughter wasn't worthy of being treated like a human."

"So you just abandoned her?" My scowl deepens, mistrust of this man growing with everything he says. Do I believe he is Gis' father? Perhaps. But does he have her best interest in mind? Very questionable.

Again, Alex turns his gaze downward and rests a hand against his head. "I'm not proud of what I did. Of what part I had in all of this." He shakes his head, then meets my gaze. "The Black Star is my attempt at rectifying my mistakes. Of stopping GIADA."

"Couldn't you have just taken Gis with you when you left?" My mind tries to imagine leaving her behind and not looking back. A sour feeling sits in the pit of my stomach, and I wipe that image from my head.

"I tried." Two words from Alex, and Gis lifts her head to meet my gaze.

I can feel Alex's stare, but resist the urge to look. I hold Gis tighter, planting a kiss on her forehead. "You should have tried harder," I say.

-

Alex took another hour to sit with us and walk through his journey towards leaving GIADA and creating The Black Star. He lost track of Gis- Nova- whatever her name is, shortly after leaving. GIADA, knowing he still had access to the facility, moved to a new location. By the time he'd rallied some help to go back for Gis, it was too late.

GIADA built up the new lab in the middle of nowhere - the freezing tundra of Alaska. They continued experimenting there, but the location was classified. And even though Alex tried to find it, he'd had no luck. So he waited for the right opportunity when GIADA would reveal something more to help him find her.

But he didn't plan on me entering the picture. I took an interest in Gis and broke her out before Alex was ready to move. When he heard the news, he rushed to have agents moved to Alaska immediately. Hence - our encounter with Enzo. Things didn't go exactly as planned, as Enzo had to maintain his undercover identity. But he pulled through in the end, and helped me break out Gis.

It all makes sense now. Their involvement in her rescue, being able to pull out all the stops to help one girl. They'd been planning it this whole time. I just forced their timeline to move faster.

After Alex explained more and could see that both Gis and I had let our guard down to some extent, he left. He promised to tell us more soon, but that he had things that needed to be done first.

I didn't hear a lock catch on the door when it shut behind him, but that didn't matter. There were still men standing right outside.

Gis pulls away, expression tired. "People are so confusing." She rubs her eyes, then tucks hair behind her ears. "I want to trust him, but every time I do it's a mistake. I trusted too many bad people."

I nod slowly. "I know, but we learn. You're learning. It doesn't happen overnight. And if it makes you feel better, I want to trust him too. Either he's a really good actor, it's he being genuine." I frown, still trying to decipher for my self which one it is.

"So my name isn't Gis." She says it like a statement, but I can hear the questioning on her voice. The wondering. "And I may have a dad." She looks past me toward the door, expression thoughtful. She bites her lip. "How do I know who I am then? I... I thought I knew."

I grasp her hand, squeezing gently. "You do know. No matter what your name is, you're still the same person. A name doesn't define you."

"So do I have to call myself Nova now?" Her dark eyes look up at me, and my heart hurts. It pinches so tightly I have to force myself to breathe.

"I love you," I whisper. "And no matter what you want to be called, I'll always love you." I lean my forehead against hers, breathing in the smell of antiseptic and her. The pain eases as I soak up this moment. All the confusion and frustration in the world won't take away from the fact that we are connected. Undeniably so.

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