What Will I Do Without You?

Chapter 1

Knock knock.

Dex grinned. Already knowing who it was, he stepped over to the door and opened it.

"I was wondering when you'd get here," He said, smiling.

Linh smiled back, then walked inside the Dizznee household. "Sorry I'm late, Sophie and Biana tried really hard to get me to stay, so I gave them a few more moments."

"Really? Even Sophie? And she HATES when Biana gives makeovers." Dex laughed.

Linh shrugged as she followed Dex up to his room. "I think it might have just been that she wanted all of us girls to hang out some more."

"Maybe." Dex opened his bedroom door, then closed it behind Linh in a futile attempt to keep his siblings away from them.

"So how far have you gotten?" Linh asked, walking over to Dex's working table.

He followed, while responding. "I was able to get some of the motors to work, but these ones over here didn't want to cooperate."

For the last few weeks, ever since the couple had confessed their feelings to each other and started dating, they had decided to get together and work on making new water-powered devices for the Black Swan. Dex was creating the gadgets while Linh would use her hydrokinesis to test them out. So far they'd had a little luck, figuring out how to make a water-powered engine that could potentially be a game-changer in the war with the Neverseen.

Dex glanced at Linh as she inspected the gadgets and gave a sad sigh. Because of all the current conditions, especially with Juline being a part of the Black Swan and Dex being a powerful Technopath, they couldn't be very public with their relationship. Very few select people knew about them, only Tam, the Collective, and the Dizznee family (it was a miracle the triplets hadn't said anything to anyone). If anyone knew about them, or the Neverseen got word, they could potentially use Linh as bait against Dex, thus causing Juline (Squall) to break order, which could cause the Black Swan to collapse as Juline was a vital part of their leadership. Dex hadn't even trusted Sophie or the rest of the gang with that information.

"Okay, so this one here seems to be a bit tight on the turning wheel," Linh spoke, snapping Dex out of his troublesome thoughts. "You might need to loosen that bolt up a bit, and it should work."

Dex moved over next to her, blushing when their shoulders brushed. He gently took the gadget, a time-stamp that could be used to start any kind of bomb at any time, and tinkered with it for a few seconds before handing it back to Linh.

She held up her free hand and called on any water that was in the air. After filling up the device's tubes with liquid, the wheels in the small gadget started turning and it hummed to life, showing a small clock-timer on the front.

Dex grinned. "Yes! It works! This is seriously gonna be a total game changer with the Neverseen!"

Linh smiled at his innocent joy.

"We need to take this to Forkle right away," Dex reached over for his bag and took the device from Linh, making sure to gently place it in a secure pocket. "Are you coming?"

Linh nodded. "I mean, I guess I could tag along, wouldn't hurt anything, though Tam is probably wondering where I am."

"You can call him on your Imparter and let him know." He offered.

Linh put her hand into her pocket and reached for her Imparter. "Darn, I left it at home."

Dex put his hand into his pocket and pulled out his device. "Here, you can use mine."

Linh smiled and grabbed it, then said: "Show me Tam Song."

After a moment, Tam's face was shining out of the device, staring at Linh and Dex. "Linh? What's up? Why are you in Dex's room, with Dex?"

Linh blushed. "Nothing, we're just working on the devices, that's it. I was just letting you know that-"

Suddenly Dex's room door burst open, with Juline standing in the doorway. "Sorry for interrupting, but we have an emergency. The Collective has called an emergency meeting for the entire group."

"Where?" Dex asked worriedly.

"Havenfield. I'll be there soon. You two need to leave now."

Dex nodded, then turned to Tam. "Well, you heard her. We'll see you at Havenfield."

Tam nodded, then blinked away as Linh handed Dex his imparter back. "Come on, let's go."

"I wonder what happened that they'd call an emergency meeting." Dex thought aloud as he hurried down the steps of his house.

Linh shrugged as she followed. "Maybe the Neverseen made a move?"

"Maybe." Dex turned to his Leapmaster. "Havenfield!" He shouted.

The crystals spun into place, then a beam of light appeared. Dex glanced back at Linh, took her hand, then stepped into the light.

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A/N: I know, I know, the chapter is short, but they're going to get longer as the story goes on.