Miss Me Yet?

 I know, I know it's been two months with no updates.  Zero. Zip. Nada.  And I one billion percent hold EA personally responsible.  I have come to believe that there is absolutely an annual vendetta there.  Before you start shaking your head and calling the loony bin about conspiracy theories let me explain.

Every year.  Every August to be exact.  Every year there is a normally benign patch for the game that comes up.  I mean that happens multiple times throughout the year but the one that releases late July/early August is always NOT benign, it's malignant I swear and the basis of the vendetta.    I have no issues with any other patch throughout the year.  This one though?  This one takes out my game and leaves me wailing and gnashing my teeth. Tears may or may not be involved.  Every August EA does everything in their power to shut me down and crumble my spirit.  The validation that I know it's personal?  The fact that the patch is for Sims 4 but it also renders Sims 2 broken with the same error message.  Sims 2 doesn't get updates so why is this happening from a Sims 4 patch?  Hence, vendetta!

Anyway, this vendetta always requires hours on chat and phone with IT doing all the pointless check lists they have to follow and always ends with well you can uninstall and reinstall the game.  Great in theory but  . . . when you live in the country the powers that be don't believe you deserve good internet.  Always something like we service your zip code or not your address baloney.  Last year I spent weeks redownloading. . .both games.  I mean it worked. . .last year.

Here's comes the annual vendetta patch.  I cried wrung my hands and whined to my Simmy friends and spent hours over multiple days on with tech support.  Guess where we ended up? Yup uninstall and reinstall.  I spent weeks making that happen.  Weeks!  And. . . same error message.  How does this not work when I've invested so much?!?  I've given up that I will never finish Strangerville nor any other sim related task ever.  Ever.  But then. . . Monday morning while getting ready for work at some unholy hour in the morning when literally no one but vampires and sleepwalkers are moving around I accidently did something with my mouse and randomly hear Sims 2 music coming from my closed laptop.  I had to take a moment ya know, it'd been so long since I had heard those sweet tunes.  Sims 2 was magically working but I was off to work.  That night Sims 4 had a patch.  That took all evening to finish and no time to do squat and no confidence that it would matter.  But. . .

Took some finagling and whatnot but this patch fixed the vendetta of the last patch.  I have my game back!  Now I just need time to play.  Story of my life.  Annual EA vendetta hate crimes are now checked off for 2021.  I have some commitments that will prevent me from being able to get the next installment out for a few weeks. . . and I need to get caught up in the story since it's literally been two months!  But, October will bring the resolution to the Strangerville story line and our time with Serenity.  August 2022?  I'm waiting for you!

Into the Strangerville Lab

 

It took time to get here but that door is coming open. . . I hope.  I mean I guess the reality is that we are about to see if the mysterious key card that showed up in the mailbox actually works.  

Something happened when we, I mean I, made it through the doors. You can see it instantly - something floating in the air. I just gets creepier as you go through the door and down the stairs. Something was - still is - going on here and now it's out. Out in the air, in the community and even at MY house! It's changing the air, the plants, the people. . .

 It is literally like everything changed as I came back up those stairs.  I know the locals know more than they are sharing and I was determined to figure it out.   

 

First order of business was to swing by Erwin's shop and compare notes and experiences.  From there I was headed to 8 Bells.   Those military guys know something and I was going to find out what.  I may have neglected to document the experience but I can share it was a doozie.  I knew my person had rank and I knew that I had to play it smart.  I found my rank and knew they were lying.  The smart part not so much. . . they knew I was playing them and it turned into a knock down drag out fight but I walked way with what I needed.  I'm not sure why I need it or how it works but it supposedly scans the air and makes the particles that escaped the lab with us visible and collectible.  Here we go!

I don't know what it's done to my neighbors but it's out of control.  He almost ripped my hand off when I tried to help him snap out of it.  I mean I tried to slap him but how else do you snap someone to reality?!?  It's even invading my house now!  Everything is changing and changing fast!  I scanned everything everywhere (even the infected) and gathered a lot of spores.  

 

 

The machine basically gave me a bunch of gibberish. . . oh I'm sure it means something but I don't know at.  Check out the top there though, I tried to go exploring but something possessed me and completely messed up my awareness for a bit.  I'm better now but I don't know something is very off about this place.  I won't give up but I'm also terrified.  I took the gibberish and met with a one of the scientists that I've become 'friendly' with.  She's going to take my data and compare with what's already stored in the systems along with any other known information that may not yet be correlated. I took my fears and met with Erwin and he had some suggestions as well.  Ultimately I walked away with an incomplete haz mat suit and a spore filter to use in it.  Just a bit more time to work up my courage and I'm going back to that lab.  I'm running out of time and the situation gets more and more complex with each bit I figure out.

There's still a lot to learn here.  A lot to explore. . . more than you realize.  However, a bit back I promised to come back and address the tiny little plant under the kitchen window.  Meet Hector, he lived, he thrived, he died all under that kitchen window.

 

Until next week. . .stay safe out there~

The Plot Thickens. . .in Strangerville

Let's be honest here, I really am in over my head.  I am loving my time in Strangerville and really enjoying spending time with my new friends but I overestimated my ability to dig in and really figure things out.  I'm running out of time!  But I also don't ever want this summer to end.   Let's be honest, I didn't anticipate my social life being such a big part of the summer and neglected to account for the need to sleep.  I feel like coffee, coffee, and coffee are all that is keeping me going right now.  But. . . I'm loving every minute of it.  

Before I ever made plans to come to Strangerville for the summer, before I rented the house and found the job (hello Coffee!) I had already started digging into the secrets of Strangerville.  I found so many message boards and blogs and even legit news sites that funneled me some information.  

You don't have to give up your summer or run around to figure this out, just check out the link attached to the picture and take some time to learn about Strangerville for yourself.  Literally, I would never have made it this far without some help!

I guess I should stop whining about being so tired and really get down to business.  The military might be tight lipped even with a few drinks and a lot of flirting but I picked up just enough to be dangerous.  Link that with the bits and bobbles I was able to sneak out of the poor scientists that are struggling to even understand what happened and yeah just enough to be dangerous.  I snuck through the fence and did a bit of poking around in the crater and found a wealth of information. 

 

 With all the information I was able to find around town (never underestimate the power of books as well!) I had enough information to peak the interest of some of the more hardcore conspiracy theorists.  Trust me when I say that you will never know you know these people.  Deep in the web on some of the hacker sites you can find a lot of information and buy a lot of street cred with that information.  Please don't tell me I'm playing with fire and it's dangerous and all that other blah blah blah.  I've met people I know I can trust and I'm also running out of time.  I can't take the slow route when I've earned my way into the fast track!

I shared what I have with some of the others out there and they shared back with me.  Someone sent me a key card.  I assume it goes to that sealed door at the lab but. . . first it literally came to the house so here's hoping it's someone I actually know because otherwise maybe I need to listen to blah blah blah.  I'm confident it's legit though so don't worry.  I'd love to share more with you but I've got plans to get through that door. Don't worry, I'm not going alone but more on that later too :D

42 days to go. . .next stop what's behind this door. . .

Strangerville Summer

 

 It was late when I rolled into town but it didn't take much to get settled in.  I had so little stuff to add to such a micro tiny house!  I feel like I'll forever be tired with work hours (5am!?!) and hearing the clock ticking on my time in Strangerville.

This!  This is what I'm here for.  Crater turned military base turned Secret Lab.  Ultimately abandoned due to an unexplained explosion - that is the reason I'm here.  I mean the history alone is worthy of time and research but the explosion that caused everyone with any knowledge, really any power, to scatter and leave everything behind that is what I want to understand.  That and the unusual plants that you don't notice in the dark but area literally everywhere!  Even in my yard!

Creepy cool looking right?  The are literally everywhere and the closer you get to the crater the more prolific they get.  I haven't yet figured out if they bloom or pod or even open.  I'm not giving up as it's just the start of what is going on in this otherwise idyllic dessert town. 

For those of you questioning the plant in the corner of the house never fear, I'll explain that later. . . I promise.  I may be exploring and studying Strangerville but that doesn't mean I'm not also completely embracing life and every opportunity that comes my way! 

And in the vein of Strangerville the first order of business, after checking out the glowing plants, is to go where the locals go.  I took a few pick up shifts at 8 Bells, the local bar where the military personnel spend their off time.  I can tell you that while they like their drinks strong and their flirt game is just as strong, so are their lips.  Not one secret shared. . . but some little tips did rise to the surface.  

I also spent some time at the Strangerville Information Center which is just a fancy name for the local library.  I mean not only are books a wealth of information but the scientists all tend to gather there.  Most are still reeling from recent events at the lab and out of any where else to go.  They too are tight lipped about why they are here and what happened to cause the explosion but a few little leads might lead me somewhere.

Don't forget the Conspiracy Theorists.  You might shake your head but let me tell you I've yet to meet someone who comes across as woo woo. There's a LOT of truth there it's just a matter of piecing the right parts together. I can say that in spending time with the locals I've made some friends, had a few adventures, (living every opportunity!) and perhaps, just perhaps a reason to return after school. . . 

Speaking of friends I've been drug all over the desert for different events.  The most recent was The Spice Festival.  Not only did I completely kill all taste buds for life but that's also where I stumbled across that tiny little Cow Plant seed, you know where that small little plant came from.  I can't wait for it to grow and see what it becomes!

Before you start judging me that I'm all play and no research I assure you that is not the case.  Remember that half the battle is building trust with the locals so that I can research.  I won't lie though I feel like the summer is moving too fast and that I'm going to run out of time.  I've got 62 days to go.

Home Sweet. . .Strangerville?

 

The more I learn about the history of Strangerville the more I know that I need to go there, to study there, and learn there.  It's the perfect example of Science and History merging into something that defies explanation.  The crater drew the military for a reason. The crater drew scientists in droves as well. Nothing is resolved?Nothing!  The more I don't learn about the scientific break throughs coming from Strangerville the longer it feels like to graduation.  My family knows my plan is to spend the summer there before University in the Fall.  They aren't thrilled that I'm leaving right after graduation but  I've already found the cutest little house with a view of the crater to rent. 

I did it!  Graduation is in the rear view and a summer in Strangerville starts this weekend!  I got a part-time job at Moondoe's Coffee Shop which gives me access to the locals, time to discover my own secrets of Strangerville, and a bit of income to tide me through the summer.  Tomorrow?  The adventure begins.  I've got 75 days to figure it all out. 
 

A Message from The Almighty Ruler of Everything

So, it's obvious that it's been more than a minute since I created something with my Simmies.  Long story short the computer that housed the Apocalypse Challenge, and Janabel, died an unnatural death.  There was a lot of mourning (more than even for Janabel) and the entire challenge was lost.  New computer was procured but Sims time was not something that happened and as a real slacker I never got around to downloading my Sims games to the computer.  Fast forward about 2.5 years and the new computer started having keyboard issues.  As in I had intermittent access to the R, F, and B keys.  That was obviously an issue so hello computer warranty and yet another new computer.  Within the first couple of weeks I downloaded the Sims because well, it had been entirely too long. 

The Triumph Challenge is toast which continues to leave me mournful as they were so much fun, I mean come on the nose people the nose.  Doo Rag will always come to the front of my mind when I see an absurd Sims nose. Please feel free to visit the family again through the stories that were posted but they will not return.  There will be a new Sims 2 Apocalypse challenge in the future but I don't think I'm going to jump right back into that.  It will be too hard to separate from the glory that was Tiffani and Doo Rag and Janabel and the whole entourage of Sims.  I'm feeling out challenge ideas to get me back in the game and I think I'm going to roll with the Big Brother Challenge for Sims 4 for now. I'm working on the perfect BB house and auditioning for contestants.  Have a Sim you would like to suggest for the house?  Please send an application my way!  In the meantime, be on the lookout for some serious summer time drama to head to this space soon!

Fizzy's Big Brother House Summer 2020 Application

Sims Name:

Gender:

Age:

Aspiration:

Traits:

Current Career (they will need to take time off work to complete this challenge): 

Please provide a short reason on why this Sim is the perfect addition to the Big Brother House:

Please upload with the hashtag #FizzyBB2020

Gemini: The Crime Boss (Chapter 9)

Months have passed since our last installment and Glenna's given birth to baby number three. Another little girl named Lissa.  She was also promoted to #9. Bestselling author. Just one level to go before we unlock the the author career! Our first unlocked career of this challenge.

Ames' and Glenna's fun and social bottomed out during this pregnancy and despite my better judgement...I let them try for baby #4.

Lissa becomes toddler!

 Lissa grew into a really cute toddler and Glenna gave birth to Dominick. The first boy for the couple.

Not that they really care about the gender. They're just trying to repopulate the world and have as many children as they can to unlock careers. These two are all business!

Ames spun the want to try for a baby and Glenna couldn't say no. I'm going to have to talk to that girl because Dom's still a baby and yep...she's pregnant again with baby #5. Remember, we can't even cook food and have to live off harvestables. We can't garden either...I'm concerned about how to feed all of these kids! Luckily, the school feed them during the day but the weekends are difficult. I'm terrified that we're going to have a kid or two taken away by social services.  Somehow, we're surviving. I just don't know if this is sustainable for much longer. Especially if she keeps having more and more kids!

While waiting for baby #5, Cassie grew to teen and Dominick grew to toddler. Ames aged to elder and Glenna becomes an elder as soon as baby arrives. Anyone ready for a bombshell? I have a confession but first, you have to go back and read this chapter of my legacy. Give me guesses as to what the bombshell is and I'll reveal in the next chapter whether or not your guesses were correct. Sorry, y'all, I really did give the story a good go and it would have been far more dramatic but I still think some of you will be surprised.

http://mysimslifelegacy.blogspot.com/2017/02/scarlet-alexa-generation-8-chapter-4.html

Laurel Bloodworth: Gen 1, Chapter 1

A new legacy is underway! You can read an introduction to the Bloodworth legacy here. Can I really call it an introduction when I gave absolutely no information about my sim? I'm telling you, The Maker doesn't have it together these days!

Let me give another quick introduction. Meet Laurel Bloodworth. Since I have a new expansion pack, I decided to give her a creativity aspiration. she is a Master Actress and has the following traits: Cheerful, Music lover and Dance Machine.

Since I'm doing the extreme start with her, she has no money and an empty lot. Did I mention that it is winter? It's important that my sim earns money right away and hopefully, she finds a spouse so someone else can contribute to household funds.

Because things are so dire, I decided to send Laurel down to the club so she could use the bathroom, the mirrors to work on charisma and also look for a hunk of man candy.   The club had Marcus Flex working as a bouncer and  I thought that I would be able to flirt my way inside. Unfortunately, I misread the pie menu. It actually said FIGHT instead of FLIRT.  OI vey.

Poor Laurel got her butt kicked. I decided to leave this lot and go to a different lounge. Luckily, they had free chips, a bathroom, AND a couple of cute guys. Which she's busy chatting up.

This guy seems really interested in Laurel. He's not too bad to look at either. Despite some weird name that I can't pronounce. If she marries him, his name is definitely going to be changed. I think EA decided to choose some random letters to throw them together.

However, there's not much time for socializing. I had wasted no time with setting Laurel up with a job and she has an audition scheduled Monday at 7 p.m. After exchanging numbers with Mr. Weird Name, I took a few minutes for her to work on her acting and charisma skills in the mirror. She also grabbed a nap on the couch. Remember? No bed on her home lot.

She was rested enough to go to her first audition and got the part! I was beyond relieved because this girl has no money beyond what she earned by selling time capsules that she dug up. She needs to eat and she needs to pay her bills!

Unfortunately, the pay absolutely stinks. 400.00 is great for one day of work but she has to audition for a new part and then wait for another day of filming before she gets paid again.

This just isn't going to do. She needs a bed to sleep in and still has to purchase four more Knights of the Octagon Table to pay off her loan.

At this rate, it's not going to happen. So, with her best interests at heart, I sent her to the spice festival with the first cute guy who chatted her up, Mr. Weird Name. They hit it off, fell in love, and she proposed right then and there!

Mr. Nameless' new name is Victor LeBlanc. He wants to become a bestselling author. Which is fine with me. Authors tend to make quite a bit of money. They quickly eloped and are now living out of Orchid a Go-Go lounge. Sleeping on the couches, eating olives for breakfast and showering at the local gym.

Between his and her first paycheck, they managed to pay the mortgage on their empty lot. Thank goodness!  To celebrate, I bought them a tent...I couldn't find anything in the rules that said this was a no-no.

Let's just hope that I don't get any "oops" babies due to my risky woohoo mod. Yes, I know that's cheating but I like a challenge and actually find that it compliments the Legacy Challenge greatly. Because, otherwise, I might get my heir and never let my sims "Try for Baby" again!

Laurel is busy at work with her career and I managed to snag a couple promotions. This part of play would be fairly boring for you all to live through but I do want to share Laurel's role that won her a promotion.

and how she celebrated her promotion...

in her first cute little house! Yes, folks, they have a house and I honestly don't care that the rules say that I can't demolish this place and start over...I am not great with building and I really don't see why it's against the rule to buy a new house. I'm straight up warning you all that you will see this house be replaced at some point! For now, I am just happy that we're out of the tent!

The future is looking bright for Laurel. Let's just hope she can keep getting promotions and paying for the bills because...I suspect gen 2 might be in the works. Stay tuned to find out if our promotion celebration resulted in a baby. Cause, the maker "accidentally" chose, "try for baby!"

Bloodworth Legacy Introduction

Another legacy challenge? I know, I know... you're probably wondering why I'm starting a new Legacy when I've never finished my apocalypse challenge. Well, the answer is simple, The Maker is fickle.

So, here's the deal, if you're totally sick of legacy challenges and don't want to read mine? Okay. But, the Maker is going to do what The Maker does. That's make sim's lives as miserable as possible and the new extreme start for Seasons and Get Famous sounds like the perfect way to do that!

So...let's do this thing!

Getting Started 

Meet Laurel Bloodworth. She is a young adult that will be doing the NEW ULTRA EXTREME START FOR GET FAMOUS’S CHATEAU PEAK LOT. 

Start the game in Winter

•         Use freerealestate on cheat to get the Chateau Peak lot for “free” (make sure to choose “Bulldoze lot when choosing Chateau Peak to move into)
•         Move Sim onto the now empty Chateau Peak Lot
•         Purchase the Knight of the Octagon Table and then use the money cheat to bring the Sim’s funds to 0

 Laurel is not happy about having to say goodbye to this lovely mansion and she's a little worried that she might freeze seeing that it is winter. I guess I better change her into warm clothing since she has no money and no house. 


She will also have to buy 4 more Knights of the octogan table befor her death and deal with an embarrassed moodlet from having a "Celebrity Home" trait.

Now we're ready to move on to the next step, Succession Laws.

Gender Law

Strict Matriarchy: The Founder must be female. Only girls are eligible to be named heir. Male children cannot, under any circumstance, ever be the heir to the next generation. 

Bloodline Law

Strict Traditional : To be eligible to be named heir, a child must be naturally born from their previous-generation parents and be able to trace an unbroken bloodline back to the founder. Adopted children may never be named heir.

Heir Law

Random: The title of heir is randomly selected from the pool of all eligible children. Every time the eligible pool changes size, The heir must be re-rolled using the new pool. 

Species Law

Brood – Heirs must be carried in a pregnancy by the previous heir, regardless of the heir’s gender.

 I won't bore you all with the Gameplay Rules but you can find them here! http://www.simslegacychallenge.com/sims-4-legacy-challenge-gameplay-rules/

Ready to play! Let's hope I survive this first generation. I'm not feeling hopeful! 

Gemini: The Crime Boss (Chapter 8)

Maker's Note: Due to new expansion packs—things became a little muddled in my mind. I'm not sure how to completely tell this story. If you didn't notice, in the last chapter I went back to a more informal and more personal way of writing. Quite simply, I don't have time to write an awesome story which has resulted in me not playing.   Though I still plan to TELL the story—it'll be more informal and more from my point of view instead of Glenna's. That's okay, right? Cause I have a bombshell to drop!  Also? I took such a long break that Glenna had the baby and I forgot to write the story. So...here's to introducing Cassie Willow.

Cassie was born during a season of change. Suddenly rain began to fall from the sky—something that Glenna has only heard of in history books.  It seems that genetic codes that had once been lost to the world were rediscovered. Why they disappeared in the first place was unknown and why they suddenly reappeared was just as puzzling.

In any event, the days began to change. Suddenly, the temperatures were not constant and one blustery autumn day, little Cassie grew into the cutest toddlers ever.

Monday rolled around and Ames begrudgingly turned his money over to Anarchist—determined more than ever to be done with this mess once and for all.

Remember me mentioning the sudden arrival of seasons? Boy, the kids were sure bummed out to realize that winter in New Genesis is just winter and never Winterfest. Apparently, there's supposed to be a festive day of frivolity but with no money and the complete collapse of the goverment—Anarchist has forbidden Father Winter (who was thought to be a myth) from visiting. Sorry kids...just another reason to work harder at overthrowing the bad guys!

The kids are so heartbroken that Winterfest day arrived and they didn't get to participate. Yet, it was a "holiday" so they were not allowed to go to school. Which meant that the kids stayed at home from school with five onions and two sage leaves to last between them for the entire day. I guess in some ways they did get a gift...they didn't die of starvation on Winterfest day.

Another Monday came and went—no promotions were made and both of the Willow children grew up without a birthday party. It isn't what Glenna wanted but without electricity or the ability to bake a cake, it's not as if they could have thrown a big party anyway. Not to mention, Anarchist is draining all of their funds.

I decided that this was the perfect opportunity for Glenna and Ames to have another baby. More children mean more family members to unlock restrictions and fight anarchist. It didn't take long and another bun was in the oven.

But...another week has come and gone and these two are still on working on seven and eight of ten in their career. They better get their promotions soon because their life is ticking away and Glenna still doesn't have all the answers as to what happened to her or why she spent the last 20 years in stasis!

The Culling: The Maker's Notes (Chapter 7.5)

With the dreams of unlocking chef dashed because I thought Glenna needed only six gourmet skill points as a teen...I have had to shift my focus to unlocking the author skill so that books can be ordered from the bookshelf.

The libraries and the bookstores are gone. Only stray books can be found these days. If your Sim wants to read more than the handful of books that come with new bookshelves, they had better hope they  know a local author or write one themselves.

You may not order books from bookshelves or online, and may not visit library lots (even if visiting other lots is otherwise allowed).
Completion
The written word is indeed powerful and your prolific author has penned enough books to restock the entire region and setup an ordering service for sims to buy books from the outside world. The money earned from all this is used to rebuild the regional libraries.

The maker is not pleased at this latest development. I am beyond frustrated with myself.

Gemini: The Crime Boss (Chapter 7)

Glenna gave a low moan. She never dreamed that she would be giving birth to her first baby in the basement of a bunker—alone. 

With phone lines down, there was no time to call Ames back from work and it was entirely too dangerous for Glenna to make the trip from her bunker to her mother's campsite.

She was alone but she wasn't about to let Ames down. She grit her teeth and determined to deliver him a healthy child.  After several agonizing hours, little Harper Willow made her appearance. 

Ames and Glenna were overjoyed with the birth of their first daughter and set about caring for her to the bet of their ability. It's most important for the Willow children to help right society.

Time went on and before they knew it, Harper was a sweet toddler and Glenna was promoted to Sous Chef. Which is when she realized that there was a fatal flaw in her plans to max chef. Though she had maxed cooking skills...she had not maxed her gourmet cooking skills. Which means that she cannot complete the chef career. With a heavy heart, she broke the news to Ames and put in the paperwork to request a career change to become a writer. Though her plans had changed, she was determine to also see the library restored so that her daughter had the best chance to succeed.

Hours after this major upset, Glenna realized that she was pregnant with her second child. Ames was concerned as to whether there would be enough harvestable food for the four of them. But, he was also happy.

With Harper's birthday just around the corner and this baby due to arrive in eight more months...Glenna is hopeful that she will have advanced to the top of her career so that she can devote time to mentoring her children.

Will she successfully restore the library to it's former glory or will all of her efforts be for nought?

Gemini: The Crime Boss (Chapter 6)

Glenna stretched to relieve her aching muscles. The bed had been more uncomfortable than usual. In fact, Glenna couldn't remember feeling every spring in the mattress. It didn't help that she had been sick for the last three weeks. All day, every day.

Still, things were good. Glenna smiled as she considered how life had changed for her and Ames. They were growing closer and enjoying each other's company.  Her face flushed as she thought on how they spent their evenings together.

Still, there were plenty of challenges to overcome. Repairing the gas lines and electric grid to bring fresh food back to the region was top priority. Especially since Glenna began to suspect that their family would be growing.  If her calculations were correct and her nausea was any indication, she had seven months to make appeals, advance her career and drum up support for the food and power restoration act. Already she had made friends with several local politicians. Only two things stood in their way—Maverick Willow and a solid plan that was ready to implement.

Anarchist, under the control of Ames' brother, Maverick, kept local politicians too afraid to make changes, even if they were ready to move forward.  Ames' began to work harder than ever to take down Anarchist. Though, playing the role of bad-guy was very taxing on him, emotionally and spiritually. 

Still, there was no choice. To restore order, Maverick Willow had to be overthrown and no one could get close to do that except for Ames. He had the connections, the family name and the know-how.

Months passed, Glenna and her mother were able to grow close to one another. There was so much to make up for and still there were questions that neither of them could answer.  Such as why Mirabella Grimm showed no signs of aging, why she rescued Glenna or what her role was—if any—in the downfall of Windenburg.  Who was responsible for the culling and the rise of Gemini?

Heidi shared the fears she had after giving birth to Glenna. The dreams that had plagued her and the deep sense of loss that she had.  Was her depression a result of the traumatic birth or had Mirabella done something to her that day? Oh, how she wished she could remember!

Time marched steadily on, each day brought them closer to the birth of their first baby as well as to each other. Glenna did in fact change her name, much to the delight of her mother who was pleased that her daughter had found someone to love.  The Montgomery family was no more. But, it felt right. One thing Ames' and Glenna knew was certain, their love for one another would carry each other through any secret that they would uncover.