"Holy shit…" Alfie Sr. whispered as he stared at the entrance.
The Maggots turned around. The sight of him sent a wave of horror through the group.
Hannah immediately dropped into a fighting stance. "John…"
Mitch grabbed the neuro-disruptive electric baton and gripped it tightly. "How… How did you find us?!"
"Guys… I'm sorry. Please, just hear me out," John said, raising his hands.
"Back off!" Mitch swung the baton in front of him to scare John away.
"What I did was unforgivable. I know that." John glanced at Benjamin. "But just like you said, people can change. I'm one of them."
"Shut your cakehole, prick!" Benjamin shouted. "We came to rescue you, and you nearly killed us all!"
"I lost my memory… That wasn't me back there, it—"
Before John could finish, Benjamin punched him hard in the face. The impact only hurt Benjamin's own fist.
"I tried to make something good out of myself!" Benjamin yelled, punching John again. "I tried to be someone other than a fucking bully who shits on others for his own sake!"
He kept throwing punches. "And I almost did it! I almost became a different person!"
"But you pushed me all the way back down, ya minger!" Benjamin's knuckles split open, leaving streaks of blood on John's clothes.
"Fuck!" he cried out in pain.
"Be—"
"Will you just bog off?!" Benjamin roared, cutting him off.
John looked at the rest of the group. Their eyes burned with hatred and anger. Only Aya and Hannah still showed a flicker of faith.
"Look, just hear me out," John said. "Mistakes were made, and what I did is unforgivable."
He exhaled slowly. "There's this thing called Obedrex V1. It doesn't just force obedience — it wipes your entire memory to stop any mental resistance. They injected me with it."
"Mate, will you just get out of here?!" Benjamin shouted again.
"It wiped my memory! Please, believe me!" John looked directly at Hannah. "And you… you made me remember."
The Maggots fell silent for a moment, unsure whether to trust him.
"How can we believe you?" Mitch asked, still clutching the baton.
John pulled out a small vial containing a dark greenish liquid. "What I have here is Obedrex V1."
"And if you still don't believe me… we can test it on someone."
Mitch snatched the vial from John's hand and examined it. "No. We're not monsters like you!"
Benjamin, who hadn't killed an innocent person for food since meeting Hannah, also refused to consider the idea.
John then pulled out a folded sheet of paper and tossed it toward them. "Here, take a look."
Mitch read it carefully. Everything John had said was true. "Wipes memory…" he muttered.
He exhaled and passed the paper to Benjamin. "He isn't lying… He really did get his memories wiped."
"This still doesn't prove they injected you with it," Benjamin said, still resisting.
"Oh, come on! I can't rewind time and show you!" John replied.
"What do you say, hermano?" Diego asked Benjamin.
"No." Benjamin's answer was firm and final.
"Ben, we need him!" Hannah protested. "He's no threat — he's one of us!"
Benjamin stayed quiet for a long moment. "You lads do whatever you want with him. Just don't get me involved with the prick."
Before John could speak, Mitch covered his mouth. "Don't say anything or he'll really reject you."
John nodded silently.
"I don't expect a warm welcome back," John said, the atmosphere thick with awkwardness. "I don't even know most of you that well…"
"But what I do expect…" He stepped forward and pulled Hannah into a tight hug. "Is a 'missed you' from my closest friend."
Hannah chuckled, surprised by the sudden embrace, but hugged him back. "Missed you too, John. Long time no see."
"How long have you known these guys?" Hannah asked. "Before you were captured and all."
"No more than a couple of hours. I don't even know their names," John admitted.
"Well, get to know each other," Hannah said with a small smile.
A few minutes later, the group sat close together in a loose circle. Only Benjamin was absent, and Aya remained unusually silent.
"Who are you guys? I've never seen you before," John asked Mitch and Emma.
"I'm Mitchell Sunny — call me Mitch. This is Emma Jackson," Mitch introduced.
"I'm a nurse, and he's a trained assassin," Emma added.
"Nurse? That'll definitely come in handy," John said. "I'd love to know what happened while I was being tortured."
"A lot," Alfie Sr. replied. "Perfect Preparation Day started, and we would've died if Hannah hadn't saved us."
John's eyes brightened. "Oh yeah, Perfect Preparation Day. Must've been brutal, huh?"
"Yeah, obviously," Alfie Sr. said.
"Hannah was our guardian angel," Junior added with a sigh. "She saved us from death countless times. We're forever indebted to you, Hannah."
"Oh, stop it," Hannah said, chuckling softly.
"John, how do you still have powers after taking Composite X?" Hannah asked.
"I figured you'd ask that," John replied.
"Well?"
"Truth is, even I don't know. Seriously. I have no idea how I still have them. That's why they tortured me in the first place." John said.
"What do you mean?" Hannah pressed.
"Sovereign was probably going to kill me, but he became intrigued by how I still had powers. He even said Composite X wasn't a failure." John replied.
"I see."
"Earlier you told Benjamin that you guys 'needed' me. What did that mean?" John asked.
"You're strong. Far stronger than any of us," Hannah said. "In just a few weeks, you'll probably be able to kill Knox easily."
"We need your help infiltrating HEX and stealing their weapons," Diego added.
"Guys, I'm just as fucked as you are," John said. "I lied straight to Sovereign's face. If I show up at HEX, he'll kill me."
"Diego didn't use the right words. He meant sneaking in," Milo clarified.
"No. Sneaking into HEX HQ of all places is impossible," Hannah said.
"But you were the one who suggested it!" Milo protested.
"Yeah, I know. I didn't have a clear plan. That was the only idea I had at the time," Hannah admitted.
"Let's just focus on killing Knox first," Hannah continued. "He's our biggest problem right now. No matter what, he always wants to hunt me down."
"Then I suppose we won't need the baton anymore…" Mitch said, and everyone looked at John.
"What? You want me to fight Knox?" John asked, surprised.
"You're the only one capable of defeating him. So yes," Hannah replied.
John groaned, then his eyes suddenly widened. "Actually, now that I think about it… Sovereign believes I'm still hunting you."
"For who?" Emma asked.
"For Hannah. I told Sovereign I wanted to kill her. That's how I got permission to leave. Maybe I can still get inside HEX and steal some weapons for you."
"Splendid! So when are you going to do it?" Emma asked.
"I can stay for a few more hours," John said.
A few hours passed. John had gotten to know the group much better, though he never once glanced at Benjamin or Aya.
John sighed. "Well, looks like I need to go."
"Yeah. Good luck," Junior said.
He gave Hannah one final tight hug. "See you guys later!"
---
Knox smashed through the wall of Benjamin's base, only to find it completely empty.
"I thought you said they'd be here," Nixon said.
"They are supposed to be here… Weird," Knox muttered, scanning the room.
"It really is empty. Nobody's hiding," Knox confirmed.
"Shh… Do you hear that?" Nixon whispered, ears perking up.
A man stood across the base, staring at them in confusion. It was John.
"Who are you guys?" John asked.
His eyes suddenly widened in shock. "Knox?"
Knox grinned dangerously. "Surprised? I'll kill you this time, John."
"I was given orders, dammit!" John snapped.
Knox and Nixon walked closer.
"You want to kill me? Fine, go ahead. Sovereign will be pissed," John said.
Knox stopped in his tracks.
"I told you. I was given orders to kill you," John continued.
"And I was given orders to kill Hannah," Knox replied.
"It seems Sovereign had planned that moment," Nixon said. "He's making us fight each other like pets. He's playing his sick little game."
"He purposely set it up to see what would happen between you and John," Nixon added.
"Yeah, I figured. Sovereign keeps manipulating us for his own amusement," John said with a sigh.
"What are you guys trying to do anyway?" John asked.
"None of your business, John. Get out and we'll forget this ever happened," Knox warned.
"I'm just kidding. I know you're trying to kill Hannah," John said, his voice turning dark and bold.
Knox clenched his fists. "What are you gonna do about it?"
John dropped into a fighting stance. "I'll stop you both from harming anyone else ever again."