Chapter 5- Starting Over

Disclaimer: I do not own any of Orson Scott Card's characters. They belong to him and his amazing work.

A/N: Yay, another update! It's short... BUT SWEET. AT THE END. I am loving everyone's reviews, and I am sorry this isn't picking up as soon as I thought it would. Well, I am about to add in some NECESSARY drama to spice it up, and plus training will be coming in soon in the story.

YEAH

"We've sent out the lists of training captains and their squads to every soldier in the school, handpicked and approved by Ender."

"You know, this will have to start soon,"

"Yes,"

"And I mean, tomorrow soon,"

"With the transmissions we're getting from space we agree and understand, something else is coming, and coming fast."

"They must be prepared."

When Dakota and Ender got back from class, they noticed two slips of paper on the couch.

Adabel Johnson

Training Squad 1

Captain: Ender Wiggin

Position: Trainee

"What the-?" Dakota eyed the paper strangely, "Training?"

Ender picked up his paper, "Yeah,"

Andrew Wiggin

Training Squad 1

Captain

"This is like Battle School all over again, what is this for?" Dakota sat down on the couch and dropped the paper.

Ender sighed, "Dakota, there's been an attack on Earth-"

"Where?" Dakota jumped a little, hoping to dear God it wasn't near her hometown.

"In France," he paused and hung his head, "A group of launchies were killed, along with five staff members at a launch."

Dakota gasped, and it then occurred to her that Ender's eyes seemed to water up. He quickly blinked and the watery glaze was gone.

"Oh god, no," she whispered.

"There's been threat letters, too. They indicate two possibilities, land combat and space combat." His back was to her as he faced his bedroom wall, "We need to be prepared for anything. The training will start first thing tomorrow morning-"

And with that a buzzer sounded, without even answering the call, Colonel Graff's voice was heard from their desks, "Soldiers are to report to the auditorium, immediately."

Ender and Dakota looked at each other in fright, and were out the door quickly. The hall flooded with students full of anticipation and anxiousness. Ender walked beside Dakota, but knew he'd have to leave her as soon as they entered the auditorium.

But Ender had no clue what this was for, he didn't remember telling Graff to hold a meeting for the soldiers, nor had he heard it being discussed.

His heart stopped, something was definitely wrong. Why else would they be calling this emergency meeting?

It took a while to squeeze through the doors of the auditorium, but they made it in.

"Commander," a staff member grabbed Ender by the arm. He nodded and looked at Dakota, who seemed to be confused and a little scared.

"Dakota-"

"I know, go on. I'll be fine," she nodded and turned to continue on with everyone else.

Ender huffed, he wasn't worried about her. He just wanted...

Yes, he was concerned. He knew it and was afraid to admit it.

Just be careful, Ender, you never know.

Ender was just about tired of his kind constantly switching sides, he just didn't know what to think. When he could no longer see her figure, he turned and walked to the side of the podium where Graff and Major Anderson stood.

"What's wrong?" Ender demanded.

They didn't answer him, only glanced at one another then to him, concern in their eyes.

The students began to settle down, and Ender scanned the crowd vigorously for Dakota, or Bean, or Petra or Alai. He found the friendly smile of Alai, who waved, then the smirk of Bean who was next to Petra, but no Dakota.

The room went quiet, and Major Anderson stood straighter, "Soldiers, thank you for your cooperation," she said, "Now I don't want there to be any panic, but there's been a terrorist attack in the United States."

Students gasped and began to whisper, fear and anger in their eyes, "Who's the bastard that did it?" Ender recognized the shout of his friend, Dink Meeker, in the crowd.

Major Anderson shot him a glare, but it wasn't entirely a shut-up-or-else glare, there was a hint of agreement in it.

"We don't know, but we have several clues as to who it may be. A man named 'S' has been sending the I.F. threats for the past month, we assume its him, only because that's all we have to go off of. There's been an attack already, though,"

Ender once again hung his head, guilt racking his body and tears stinging his eyes.

Those children should be in a battle room right now.

"A group of launchies and five staff members in Paris were killed yesterday in a launch failure. The rocket malfunctioned and crashed," she motioned to the screen, and Ender held in a breath as he saw the launchies board the rocket, then the staff. Only it wasn't the video he had seen, it was from a farther distance. After the last staff member boarded the rocket, a figure dashed into the rocket after him. Then, the doors shut.

"Someone got in there, with good timing and stealth. He was not supposed to be there, and was not found after the crash. This explains why, he tampered with the rocket's system and sabotaged it." Major Anderson paused to take a deep breath, "Lets take a moment of silence to remember the launchies and staff that died in that crash, please,"

The place went quiet, some with heads bowed, some with tears streaming down their faces, but most were filled with rage. Ender could see it, he could feel it.

Anderson stepped down, and Graff took her spot, "Thank you," he said quietly, "Now, we received word thirty minutes ago that the United States had been attacked," he motioned to the screen and the footage changed to a news helicopter flying around one of the I.F. headquarters located in Florida. The place was smoking and burning, people ran around frantically trying to escape.

Ender froze when he saw what they were watching was live.

"Now, we don't-"

"Oh my god, look!" The news reporter exclaimed, his hand pointing towards the ground near the destroyed building. A man stood in the road, and they zoomed in. Something was in his hand, and before anyone could blink, he pressed whatever it was in his hand and the remainder of the I.F. headquarters blew into oblivion. Soldiers gasped and cried out, a lot of people stood and flipped off the camera or screamed in anger.

They shut the screen off and Graff turned to the ever-growing angry crowd. Ender noticed his breathing had picked up, and his heart pounded. They were really under attack.

Graff leaned on the podium against his hands, sighing and shaking his hand. They didn't see this coming.

"Please, settle down!" He exclaimed, the children slowly sitting down and staring at him.

"Now we need this more than ever, training. It's obvious there will be some land combat soon, and we need to be prepared. Some of you have been back to your rooms recently and saw sheets of paper in there. Those are your training squad assignments. It'll be like Battle School, kids. Each training squad has a captain, and under him are three sub-captains of their choice. It's like the commander of an army, and then the toon leaders leading a toon, got it?" He paused, "Our commander here will explain a little more,"

Ender looked up at Graff, who gestured to the podium. Looking out into the crowd of teenagers, he could feel the hatred and anger.

"Training starts tomorrow, and there's one thing I'll say. If your ass isn't in gear, you'll fall behind in a blink. Your heads need to be in it, you need to be in it. We aren't messing around, this isn't Battle School, but it'll feel like it. You're all here because you're smart, and strong, show us that you are." He stepped down and the crowd of students clapped, Graff nodded to him.

This would be one hell of a ride.

Soldiers were to immediately go back to their rooms, all classes continuing the next day.

Ender sat on the couch, Dakota on the floor across from him. Both had been trying no to freak out, or cry. The attack was so unexpected and so sudden, no one really had time to process it.

"Who are the three sub-captains?" Dakota asked, looking up at him.

Be careful, Wiggin. Maybe she just wants information, wants you to blab everything that's on your mind.

"Petra, Bean, and Alai,"

"Do you know the whole squad, then?"

"Yeah,"

Dakota waited for him to continue, but he said nothing. He could see her eyes, wide in waiting, but he wasn't going to say anything else.

"And?"

"You'll find out tomorrow like everyone else," he responded sharply.

Dakota rolled her eyes and stood, heading for her room and shutting the door. She figured Ender was just having a rough day. Maybe leaving him alone would be okay.

I mean, it has been really rough. Even I had a hard time not crying today.

Then, an idea popped into her head. Scooping up her desk, she logged in and pulled up the exercise they were supposed to practice.

Ender jumped a little when she opened the door, walking briskly to him.

"So, we're supposed to go over an exercise you missed today," Ender glared at her when she wasn't looking.

"You know those won't help a bit, right? You can't build relationships by cuddling and telling each other your fears." Ender groaned, watching as she sat in front of him.

"Whatever, I'm just supposed to practice this with you," she said, huffing when she saw him ignoring her.

Dakota reached for his face and harshly grabbed it, which sent Ender fuming in frustration. He grabbed her wrist even harder and pulled it off of his face, "Don't grab me like that,"

Dakota was frozen, in fear. His eyes bore into her own, it was like she could feel the heat of the glare. Ender tightened his hold on her wrist, Dakota wincing as he did so.

"Ender, come on, I'm sorry!" She said as she stood, he did too. He couldn't let the enemy be higher than him, that would give them the upper hand.

Enemy?

Ender shook his hand and pulled her close to him, but it wasn't in the good way. Their noses were inches apart, Ender what are you doing?

He let go of her suddenly and she backed away, shaking and a little sick. Okay, so he didn't like to be touched...

"Don't touch me, okay? Just-" he paused, "I-I,m..."

Dakota shook her head, "I'll just leave you alone," she said and quickly exited the room and was out the door.

Ender just sat there and stared at the floor, his glare still burning.

You've done it this time, she'll be holding a grudge and she'll be out for you more than ever now.

He slammed his hands on the table, keeping them there as his eyes landed on something Dakota had forgotten.

Her desk.

Bean was walking to dinner, most people were skipping it. He thought those people were crazy.

He grabbed his food and sat down at a table, scarfing his food down his throat, lately he noticed he was getting taller than ever and hungrier.

"Puberty?" He mumbled to himself, shrugged, then stood to dump his food. Suddenly, someone bumped into him, sending him falling forward.

Just before he thought he'd be landing in a face full of trash, someone caught him from behind and yanked him back up sharply. It was Dakota.

"Sorry, Bean," she was blushing and trying to wipe his shirt off.

"It's okay, no harm done," he caught her hands and grinned at her. Dakota seemed to calm down and smiled back.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, grabbing a fork and sitting down.

"Well I just finished eating, but why are you here?" He asked, Dakota could tell he was more keen on figuring out what was wrong with her, just the way he had grabbed her hands gave away that he was concerned.

She slumped over and buried her face in her arms, "You were right," her muffled voice said.

"About what?"

She looked up at him, "About Ender, he is unpredictable. It's like he's a really easy person to read, but yet, he isn't."

"Did something happen?"

"No, I just," she paused, "Er, well he snapped at me for touching him just a few minutes ago. And yesterday he did it too when I grabbed his shoulder, just to tell him something!"

Bean nodded, "So he doesn't like to be touched,"

"Apparently,"

"Well, maybe you two should just leave each other alone for a while? I mean, he had a pretty rough day today, he looked like he was dying during Anderson's speech about the launchies,"

Dakota shrugged, "It's not like I can avoid him forever; one, we have training tomorrow and he's our captain, two, we live in a room together, and three he'll be my child's father someday."

Bean began to laugh, imagining his friend holding a baby girl in pink. Dakota smiled and rolled her eyes, the sick feeling gone from earlier and her mind not reeling as much. Normally she'd be telling Jessica about this, but she found comfort in Bean.

Just as Ender had found comfort in him.

"Well then maybe you two should just start over?" Bean wiped his eyes and grew serious again, lightly smiling at her.

Dakota's eyes twinkled and she smiled at the thought, "That's a good idea, Bean. Thanks,"

Bean nodded, "And, I'm not necessarily saying this in a bad way, but I think something is really bothering Ender. Not just this whole terrorist thing, but I can see the gears grinding in his head, it's like seeing the fire he had in his eyes the day he defeated the Buggers lit again."

Dakota quirked a brow, "You think?" He shrugged and she did too, "Thanks, I'll keep a close eye on him."

Bean nodded, "That would make me feel a lot better," he smiled at her and stood up, "Well I'm off to bed, ten minutes until lights out."

Dakota stood and dumped her trash, then caught up next to Bean, he said he'd walk her to the end of the hall. She felt like a giant next to the little Bean, but the way he seemed to walk step-in-step with her in a protective, brotherly type way made her feel smaller than him.

He was the Jeremiah she had always wished she had.

Bean stopped at the end of the hall and shook her hand, "I'll see you at training tomorrow?"

"Yeah, bright and early."

"It's like Battle School all over again," he groaned and turned to walk, glancing back and waving. Dakota waved at him too, and headed back down the rest of the hallway to her room. The door opened and she could make out Ender's figure in the bed, curled up and asleep.

Grabbing her desk she had left on the table earlier, she headed straight for the shower and then changed into her pajamas. It was nearly eleven o'clock when she finished, her hair still damp and chilling her skin. Looking up, she froze when she saw Ender's figure in the doorway.

"Dakota?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry,"

"Okay,"

He sighed, "Really,"

"Okay,"

"Okay?"

"I believe you, Ender," she paused and tried to make out the features on his face, "Are you alright?"

Ender nodded, "Why?"

Dakota frowned, "I don't know, you're more on edge than ever since we met..."

"Well, a lot has happened since then," he leaned against the doorframe.

"And I'm sorry you got tossed into this program in the middle of it all." She stepped forward and sat on the small couch at the foot of her bed.

Ender shifted his weight, "You don't have to apologize for that, I agreed to it."

"Well, it's not too late to back out. I can just wait for the next year, more students will graduate and new students too,"

"No, I agreed, Dakota." He paused, "I wouldn't leave you like that, just alone and hanging there,"

There was a pang of joy in her heart suddenly.

She smiled, "Thanks,"

Ender nodded, "Dakota, I'm really sorry. Maybe I should have told you I don't like to be touched."

Dakota chuckled, "It would have been helpful,"

Ender smiled back, "Sorry,"

"I know," she stood and made her way to him, Ender straightened and stood up. Dakota stuck her hand out to him.

"I can't believe you still want to even be in the same room as me,"

He took her hand in his, but instead of shaking it, he just held it.

"Well we all gotta move on, right? And I wouldn't leave you alone and just hanging there, Ender,"

Now it was his turn to feel a pang in his heart, a pang of something he didn't know what was.

He gently let go of her hand, "So we're starting over?"

Dakota held back her gasp as she remembered it was Bean's suggestion that she make that move. But Ender had made the move.

"I guess," she smiled and grabbed the door, "Good night, Ender,"

Ender said nothing but smiled, the turned to head to his bed. The door shut and climbed onto his bed, not even under the covers.

I can't do this to her, she really does care. She's like Valentine, she moves on and forgives so easily.

Ender lay in bed, guilty for what he had done while she was at dinner. She didn't even suspect a thing when she walked in the door, Ender had played that one out well, remembering exactly how it had been when she left, and placed it in the exact same spot. That made him feel even worse, he had tricked her, she didn't deserve it.

I really want my DVD to get here soon, GAH! Well, I hope you all liked this chapter even though it was short! You'll never know what to expect of me, short or long chapters... THE WORLD MAY NEVER KNOW.

So I tried to speed it up by making the attacks happen sooner, so hopefully that was s bit of a curveball. That last scene, SWEET? Maybe! :3

I love you my launchies.

-Mrs. Frodo Baggins

Kendall

Mirabella Millstone of Bywater