Hey guys! So this is it - Exagora! I'm actually really excited for you guys to start reading this. I can't wait to see what you think of it, once we get further into it. Although this will probably end up with less chapters than Caroline has, this works out to have more in it because the chapters are much longer. This chapter was only like 1.5K words, but most of the chapters have 2K words, and I think there's a few that even have 3. That wasn't a conscious literary decision on my part, its just worked out this way so that the story flows a bit better. So, yeah, I'll shut up now and let you read this.

Caroline

I looked up from packing my bag to see my boyfriend standing in my doorway, a small smile on his mouth, even though I recognised the familiar look of grief and pain in his dark brown eyes.

"Going somewhere?" Ains asked, taking a step inside my bedroom and motioning towards the bag on my bed.

"Yeah," I replied, grabbing a couple of shirts from my drawers and shoving them into my bag. "Me and Ness are going up to my granddad's for the weekend. I don't know if you saw her after the funeral yesterday, but she was distraught, Ains. I don't care what she said. She's not coping."

"Yeah, I guessed that when she couldn't get through her piece," he replied.

I nodded, shoving my phone into my pocket and throwing my spy pod into my bag. "He's got heaps of land and a bunch of horses up there. I'm willing to bet she'll love it." I looked up at him, taking in his expression. "You should come with us."

He laughed uneasily. "Yeah, no. Horses are not my thing."

I rolled my eyes. "There's not all that's up there. Please?"

Ains stared at me for a moment and then he sighed, looking away. "Alright, fine."

"Thank you!" I cried, flinging myself towards him and hugging him tightly. I heard him laugh quietly and kiss the top of my head, muttering quietly, "This goes along completely with what Camden – "

I raised my head from his shoulder and looked up at him, brushing my hair out of my eyes and squeezing his hand. "What about Camden?"

He smiled sadly, brushing his thumb back and forth across the back of my hand. "He was forever insisting that you've got me whipped."

I didn't say anything, I just stepped back from him and sat on my bed, trying to fight the last time I'd seen Camden alive. Ains sat beside me, kissing the side of my head. "I'm going to go pack a bag, okay? See you soon."

I nodded, and he brushed his hand across my shoulder, a small show of comfort, before he got up. I stayed where I was, fighting to make my breathing return to a normal rate, before I wiped tears out of my eyes and grabbed my phone and dialled Granddad.

"Sweet Caroline," Granddad answered, calling me the same he'd been calling me for as long as I could remember. I felt myself smile, brushing a few stray tears from underneath my eyes.

"Granddad," I said. "You know how we're supposed to coming up with my friend?"

I could practically hear Granddad's smile. "You've got another companion."

"My boyfriend," I said. "Is that alright? Have you got the room?"

"I've got the room. Is this alright with your mother?" Granddad asked.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her," I replied, and Granddad laughed.

"Alright, I'll see you when you get here, Caroline," Granddad said and I hung up, shoving my phone into my pocket and zipping my bag closed.

"You ready?" Dan asked, appearing in the doorway.

"Yeah," I said, grabbing my bag and standing.

As soon as I was out of the car, I hugged Vanessa, whose face was streaked with the tracks of long-dried tears. She hugged me tight, and when she pulled back, she gave me a small, sad smile before she moved to put her bag in the back of the car. Dan practically looked scandalised as Ains stepped up, smiling his secret smile.

"Since when are you coming?" Dan asked, glowering at Ains. Ains looked taken aback as I turned on Dan. "What is your problem?"

"I don't have one," Dan replied, as if he hadn't just started being a total dickhead for no reason. Then he pointed to Ains. "My problem is that he had my girlfriend lie to me about where you were, Caroline."

"That was her choice!" I snapped. "No one forced Zoe into lying, Dan! She was trying to stop you from worrying about me!"

"You – "

I groaned. "God, I knew you were going to overreact! I wasn't even missing for twenty-four hours, it was over a week ago, and you're still going on about how they should have told you! Do you know why they didn't? Because Ains knew that you would go and beat someone up just to know what they would have told you if you'd just asked – that they were doing everything they could to get to get me back!"

"Well, maybe if I'd known you were missing, then Camden would still be alive," Dan said gruffly.

That was a low blow, even for him.

I clenched my jaw and looked away, tears welling in my eyes, but I looked back when I heard a thump, followed by Vanessa crying out, "Ains!"

Ains had Dan by his jacket up against the car, but he let go when Dan landed a punch on his jaw. I bit my lip as the two boys grappled, throwing punches back and forth, but I didn't have the confidence that they would stop if I jumped between them, so I didn't.

Apparently, Zoe didn't have that problem.

I never saw her appear, but she jumped forward, grabbing the back of Dan's shirt and all but dragging him away from Ains. Ains wiped a spot of blood from the corner of his mouth and then looked at me, breathing hard.

Zoe practically dumped Dan on the ground at her feet and turned to me, Vanessa and Ains. "You guys go. I'll spend the weekend dealing with him."

Dan glared at me, but then he reluctantly tossed me the keys and I dug into the back of the car, pulling out his bag and dumping it at Zoe's feet as Dan got to his feet. I swung myself into the driver's seat while Ains swung himself into the front passenger seat and Vanessa collapsed onto the backseat.

We were about halfway to Granddad's when I saw Vanessa's head appear between mine and Ains' seats. "Are you two alright?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Are you?"

Vanessa started to answer, but then Ains gave her a pointed look and she shook her head. "No. It was . . . it was so unfair for him to bring Camden up like that, like that possibility hasn't run through our heads a million times."

I swallowed. "He . . . He knows that I keep having nightmares about it. He knows that."

"What part?" Vanessa asked quietly.

"All of it, but . . . mainly them trying to drown me and . . ." I took a deep breath as my voice shook with emotion. "And Camden."

"Did Oscar tell you that MI9 wants to replace him?" Ains asked.

"No!" Vanessa cried, turning to face him. "Why would they want to do that? They rarely have four agent teams anyway."

"Because of me and Ains," I replied, and my voice sounded dead and blank, even to me. "KORPS wants us, so they think it's safer if they add another agent to the team. Honestly, it's a wonder they don't just send us both off to live in the Himalayas or something."

"They only want you because you're important to me," Ains said quietly. "As soon as you stop being important to me, they'll stop wanting you."

"Yeah, but that's not going to happen anytime soon, is it?" I asked, smiling despite myself. Ains smiled back gently, reaching over and taking the hand that wasn't ont he steering wheel.

"Do you know who it is yet?" Vanessa asked, scratching at her shoulder.

"No," Ains replied, twisting in his seat so that he could see her. "I'll let you know if I do, though."

Granddad was sitting on the porch swing when I pulled up in the car, and I broke out into a grin, swinging myself out of the car and running up to him, hugging him tightly. He smelled vaguely like the lavender he kept around to remind him of Grandma, and he kissed the top of my head as Ains and Vanessa climbed up the porch steps.

"I thought there was four of you coming," Granddad said, looking from Vanessa, to Ains, and then to me. "Where's your brother, Caroline?"

"It's complicated," I said. I was tempted to tell him about him starting a fight with Ains, but I wanted at least someone in my family to have a good opinion of Ains, and telling Granddad would entail telling him what the fight was about.

Granddad nodded and glanced at Ains. "Is this the boyfriend?"

Ains shook Granddad's hand with a firm grip. "Ainsworth Williamson, sir."

"Williamson?" Granddad asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is that your real last name, boy?"

"Uh . . ." Taken aback, Ains glanced from Granddad to me and then back again. He looked uncomfortable and I wanted to tell Granddad to cut it out, but I held my tongue as Ains replied, "No, sir. Mitchell is."

"Granddad, what's this about?" I asked. I was more confused than I could ever remember being, even more so than when I'd blacked out and woken up in a dark room to find a young man talking to me.

"You had better come inside," Granddad said. "There are things about this family that you don't and should know, Caroline."

He walked inside, and I tossed Ains and Vanessa a confused look before I followed, my boyfriend and my best friend not far behind me.