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Melody and Harmony had grown up together in North Carolina. Harmony was five years older than Mellie. When Mellie had married Fitzgerald, Harmie had already made union to a Wake of Charlotte. They had been unable to have children and sadly, Mr. Wake fell ill and died in 1793. In their fifteen years of marriage, Harmony Wake learned quite well what it meant to be a wife, a respected cog in the clock of the community. She knew dignity and propriety. And she possessed a knack for coolly reminding those where their truly was. She was a most cunning sort of woman. She had to be. Widowed, childless women like herself had reputations to uphold and appearances to maintain. In a way, Mellie, too, understood this "woman"s work". But where her sister had obtained an skill of offhanded dealing, Mellie lacked the finesse. "I"m so glad to see you, sister." Mellie said warmly. "How is it with Fitzgerald gone?" Harmie said bluntly. Mellie sighed. "Honestly, it"s the same. Nothing"s changed. Here, gone, it makes no difference, it would seem. Even when he"s home we"re not together. But that"s a wife"s work, I suppose." "It"s to be expected, Mellie. Men are like dogs. Loyal and dim. They lose interest fast." "You are extremely perceptive, Harmony." Mellie said with a wry chuckle. Harmony had no idea how right she was about her husband losing interest. That was the humour. Harmie pursed her lips, "I think it would be a good idea for me to extend my stay." "Oh?" Mellie asked. " To See to it that things here get taken care of. I want to make sure all is well with you and the kids in your husband"s absence." "Oh." "You need me, Mellie." Mellie"s dimples came to life on her face. An involuntary side effect of fake smiling. Olivia leaned in the doorway of an off room, hoping to go unseen. She held a letter close to her face, trying to absorb every word. Fitz"s messages that had been hidden away in the leather bound book had been the only thing holding Olivia together in his absence: The journey to bring us to a place where we can be together is sure to be a long one. Tireless and difficult. The ache that I feel for you, it never subsides even in my sleep. Do you want to hear of a dream I have had, Olivia? My eyes fell shut and I saw your beautiful, luminous face, sleeping so soundly next to me. What a child you have turned me into! I yearn for you even in my unconscious mind. I want for things I can never have. I loathe the level to which you"ve brought me! And yet, I love you for it, just the same. It"s only when I dream of you that I truly feel awake. You"ll forgive me for saying this, but I can only imagine what it would be like to touch you. Your velvety, soft, brown skin, so smooth under my fingertips. It is a thankful thing that I am a man of patience and discipline or else. . . or else I would feel the need to steal your touch, as if it belonged to me. I would never take your virtue from you, never without your permission. Do you dream of me, too, Liv? I would hope so. - FTG In the months without Fitz, Olivia had grown so tense , so on edge. The waiting was taking its toll. Then came an interruption to her reading, Sarah peeking over her shoulder, "What you lookin" at?" "Nothing." she said, stowing the clandestine letter away. "Well, the Missus is takin" her tea out on the porch with Ms. Harmony. You had better go." "Okay." she smiled, preparing to rush off. "You know," she started, "I had thought, hoped that with the Master gone I wouldn"t have to keep wasting my breath huntin" and searchin" all up and down these halls lookin" for you every second. That you"d had your go with little disappearing act and that was that. But, that just doesn"t seem to be the case." "I"m at the top of my game, Sarah. Completely focused." she lied. "Right, well focus on taking this tray on outside." Olivia grabbed it from Sarah"s hands and walked out onto the large, white back porch. Mellie had always loved entertaining guests in her husband"s absences. Showing off for the high rollers and old acquaintances . What a lovely home she had lied so hard for, suffered sleepless nights for, had kids she didn"t want for. What a lovely home it was. Platter filled with delicate cucumber sandwiches and fruit salad in hand, Olivia strided toward Mellie first, setting the tray down beside her. "None for me." Mellie said. Harmie eyed Olivia curiously. The girl warranted a bit of attention, she did. Beautiful, and Harmie in her intuition could tell. "Bring one to me." she ordered. Olivia did as she was told, nodding politely. "You"re a pretty little thing. Tell me, Mellie, how much did old Fitz pay for this here nigger?" Harmie said purposefully. She was no fool. She knew what she was doing, to undermine Olivia. She didn"t know how, but she could sense power in this slave and she felt the need to eradicate it. Mellie laughed heartily, "Oh please, Harmony for goodness sake, why talk about money? Besides, I have no idea how much runaway niggers run for these days." "Runaway, huh?" Harmie"s eyes darted over to Olivia again. "You lucky to still have your life, girl. Where I come from, overseers whip runaways to their dying breaths. You ever been slashed, girl?" Olivia said nothing. Her eyes had run blank with the memory, her screaming, her bleeding. Having to sleep on her stomach for weeks as the scars healed and the "r" branded onto her left breast. "I didn"t think so. Face like yours, too delicate to whip, I"d reckon." "Much too delicate." Mellie nodded apprehensively. She didn"t like to think of the unpleasantries of it all. It left her with a bitter taste on her tongue. Suppertime. You would never know from the dining hall just how hectic all of the action backstage truly was. An intricate and complicated dance. The residents didn"t have the stomachs for the hard labor. Instead they were served. They had prepared an amazing spread. "Ooh, Mellie. This all smells delicious." Harmie remarked. "Thank you. Sarah takes special care. Don"t you?" Mellie turned her head back in Sarah"s direction as she stood against the wall. "Yes, ma"am." Harmony simply rolled her eyes. Mellie did always have a soft spot for the coloureds. Harmie didn"t believe in soft spots, for anyone. "Auntie Harmie," Karen piped up, "how long are you staying for?" "Why? Have you grown sick of your old Auntie already?" asked playfully. Karen giggled, positively tickled, "No." Harmie took a miniscule bite of beef tenderloin and chewed it thoroughly. "Fate would have it that I would staying in town for quite some time." she said quizzically. "How long?" Karen asked. "Karen, be quiet!" Mellie said, growing flustered. It bothered her, knowing that her children were so excited to have her wicked bitch of a sister around. Still, when she didn"t answer, Mellie grew curious. "Well, how would you like it, if I stuck around for the whole summer?" "Yay!" Karen exclaimed. Mellie was much less pleased. But she didn"t show it. Woman"s work, isn"t that what they"d called it? "Didn"t you hear that, Liv?" Karen directed her attention to Olivia, her favorite playmate. "Harmony"s gonna stay the whole summer so we can all play together." Harmie, too, directed her attention to the servant girl. Harmie"s eyes narrowed, and she wasn"t so much gazing as she was glowering. Not easily fooled was Harmie, and whatever prejudices good Southern ladies guarded, Harmie knew a woman when she saw one. A woman like Liv- graceful, elegant- could so easily be spotted, even under the cover of her own darkness. "That"s enough, Karen." Mellie hissed. "But Mother-" "That"s alright," Harmie said, distracted. She watched Olivia standing against the wall, not making eye contact. "Girl, more wine." she drawled, holding her glass in the air. Olivia fixed to fill her glass, leaned in close, but not too close. Harmie only smirked as she drew her elbow back and nudged Olivia hard enough in the side to send the glass and the bottle tipping. Red wine spilled everywhere. "Oh, for God"s sake, girl. Look at what you"ve done." Mellie gasped, throwing her hands up. "My husband"s grandmother gave us this cloth. Idiot!" All of the other slaves standing by rushed to her side to try to wipe it off, but the tablecloth was ruined. Her Aunt Harmony"s actions didn"t go unnoticed, "But Mother-" Karen started. "This tablecloth is older than I am. Honestly, Fitzgerald will be so upset. . ." Mellie rambled as she frantically tried to clean up the spill. No use. "But Mother-" "Shut up, Karen! Shut up." Mellie leaned over and slapped her in the face. "Shut up!" A rouge welt burned on Karen"s white cheek, and she cupped her hand to it. Then she began to cry. "Take her upstairs, take them both." Mellie gestured to Olivia, leaving the others to clean up. When Karen reached the final step, she made a mad dash to her room, and promptly slammed the door. Olivia put little Gerry to sleep, and not five minutes later she was at back at Karen"s door. "Karen Elizabeth Grant, open this door right now." Olivia said firmly. The door opened slowly and behind it, Karen"s little face. She was still sniffling. Olivia sighed. She felt pity for the girl. Mellie shouldn"t have slapped Karen, but that was Mellie"s way. She had a knack for landing herself in a strop where no panic was necessary. Everything she ever did was in melodramatic reaction to something else. She was simple-minded, unoriginal, dull. But beautiful, misleadingly so. "No, go away." And so she left her be for the night, too exhausted to fight it. When feeling frustrated, she"d try to count the days until Fitz"s return. Two months more. Karen was five and her brother Gerry hardly three. Neither of them had come to learn how it worked then, the slaves and the whites. Olivia was her favorite to play with. She sat by her side as Olivia hung clothes on the line. Olivia taught her how to spell big words that a five year old would have no use for. "Spell precocious ." With time, Karen stammered out the words, each one that Olivia taught. "How do you know how to spell? Eunice Grobe says that niggers can"t read." "Don"t say that, Karen." Olivia scolded. "What?" "Nigger. It"s derogatory, do you remember what that means?" "A put-down!" Karen said proudly. Olivia"s head shook back and forth in disapproval,"Your mama, your daddy, folks that come in and out of your life, even some blacks might say that word, but you don"t ever have to. I didn"t go and fill your head with these big words, just for you to waste. Saying the word "nigger" makes you look stupid, Karen. Are you stupid?" "No." "I didn"t think so." Olivia said sternly. She didn"t like the idea of hate infecting a good heart and Karen had such a sweet disposition. She"d hoped to keep it that way. So she taught her things, made her privy to useful advice. And when the time came for her to grow up and make her own decisions, Olivia hoped that Karen would make the right choices with the knowledge bestowed. Preach love, not hate. Trust in the Lord. Protect your innocence, your self-worth. No crying. At night, Olivia would wait for the sound of the others" soft snoring to fill the room. In the waiting, she would close her eyes and allow her mind- her hands, too- to wander. She predicted yearning welling up inside of her, and every night, it came. Like clockwork. She stopped fighting it after long. Because when she stroked herself , she could imagine it was him touching her, making her feel this way. And it brought her as close as she could come to him, and for the minute or so that followed, it would be enough, before the longing would kick in again. And she would groan in frustration. She sat up that night and wondered where he was, whose face he was falling asleep to. But some small, resiliant part of her knew that she didn"t have to wonder. He was thinking of her. If he felt the way she did, Fitz was always thinking of Olivia. Two months more. Thanks for reading. Send me feedback or if you have questions don"t be shy, readers. I answering questions about my stories, so go for it. Hey y"all! In this chapter, things between Mellie and Harmie and Olivia remain tense, and word is received from the campaign trail. July 6, 1800- "The glow of one warm thought is to me worth more than money" - Thomas Jefferson It had been a three weeks since Hurricane Harmie had blown into town, and Mellie was set completely ablaze. Harmie had sent for her things from Charlotte and they had arrived a few days later. She settled herself into one of the many guest bedrooms on Fitz and Mellie"s floor. Seven bedrooms and four floors and Harmie had chosen to sleep in the room adjacent to her sister"s. As she watched Jimmy haul her possessions up to Harmony"s new bedroom, she pondered how typical of Harmie it was to impose herself in Mellie"s life at the Grant Estate. Sure, her arrival did bring a level of excitement to the house where it was needed, but Mellie figured it was only a matter of time before Harmie would find a way to upstage her. She could feel the pressure mounting. Mellie woke up that morning and had Kip dress her. "Kip, how many brothers or sisters do you have?" It was a loaded question, "Living, ma"am? None." "And not living?" Kip smiled as she fumbled with Mellie"s hair, brushing it with thorough strokes."None." Mellie scoffed, "You"re better off for it. Sisters bring nothing but trouble." "Oh, I"m not sure if I believe that. You and Miss Harmony seem to get along just fine." she said politely. "Shows how little you know." she mumbled, then she sighed, remembering herself, "That"s terribly rude of me, I know. I love my sister, but we are very competitive, she and I. You wouldn"t understand." / Olivia made her way upstairs into Harmie room only to find her sitting at the vanity still in her cotton robe. "Oh, goodness. I"m sorry, Miss Harmie." Olivia blushed. Harmie turned around abruptly, sighing at the sight of the young woman turning red at the door," It"s fine." "I told Marie to haul herself on in here to help you. I don"t know where that girl could be- I could help you get dressed." she suggested. "Would you, dear?" she inquired with a doe-eyed expression. She had already drawn the curtains herself, and the glow of the sun shined on her beautifully. Olivia helped Harmie decide between a lavender and a mint green dress before assisting her in putting it on. She sat her back down on the stool and did her hair as Harmie gazed on. "Such a pretty brown face. You must be married by now, am I right?" Olivia cheeks soared a new colour of pink, "No, ma"am not married." "But someone has your heart, I"m guessing?" Olivia shook her head shyly. "Men are of different breed, I can tell you that much. Better to stay away if you ask me. Oh sure, they can provide for you, put a roof of your head and little babies in your belly, but what good is it to you if they still don"t see you as an equal?" "That"s interesting, Miss Harmie." "Yes, very interesting." Harmie said, glaring at her intently. The sweet tone of her tongue didn"t match the mischievous gleam in her eyes, but Olivia was too distracted to notice. If she had, she would have been able to predict Harmony"s next statement,"Take Mr. Grant, for example." Olivia"s head shot up, to meet Harmony"s eyes in the mirror, and Harmie smirked at having her now full attention, " Marriage is hardly ever easy on anyone, but from what I can tell, my baby sister isn"t exactly doing the best of jobs." "I"m not sure I understand." "She"s negligent." she said with a wave of her hand. "Fitz is a man, and perhaps it"s none of my business, but my sister just can"t seem to satisfy. His eyes tend to wander." she suggested. "And just where would they wander to?" Olivia asked. Harmie turned around slowly to look Olivia in the eye, "To young black faces like yours. No easier way for a man to get that which wants than from his own property, right?" It was the nastiest blow she had laid since, and Olivia was really feeling the sting. But, instead of feeling angry, her face just sunk with guilt and disappointment. How foolish she was for thinking that a bunch of little love notes could serve as anything more than an invitation to be used and abused in whole new sense of the word. As Harmony sat there with that smug look on her face, Olivia sensed hat Harmie knew that she had won some small battle in the greater scheme of things. "But, if he hasn"t tried anything with you, I wouldn"t worry your little negro head about it.. And if he does, what would you be able to do to stop him?" She abruptly stood up from the vanity and left the room, but not before shooting her a look of utter disgust. Olivia made Harmie"s bed, using the soft linens to wipe away her own tears. After the room was made up, Olivia made her way down to the kitchen. The house was just starting to come alive and Karen and Gerry could be heard stomping around in their own rooms. The wood-paneled floors of the hallways were hand beautiful, soft Oriental rugs lain on top of them. Paintings of the family hung from the walls. There was one that hung on the wall of Fitz just before the staircase that Olivia particularly liked. It was a portrait of him as a younger man, wearing a navy blue suit. His curly hair had a rich, golden tint in it and his jaw was set harsh and square on his noble face. Sometimes Olivia would stop for just a moment to look at it, but she couldn"t this morning. Her insides hurt at the thought of him. / She held her head up marched into the kitchen,"Where the hell were you?" Olivia scolded. "What?" Marie said indignantly. "I told you that it was your job to deliver Miss Harmie"s wake up call and to help her dress for the day. What happened?""Liv, I"m sorry." "Don"t let it happen again. And give me that," she said, yanking the platter of biscuits from the young girl"s hands, "As it seems I"ll have to do everything myself this morning." As Olivia burst through the door to the dining room, Mellie sat at the head of the table dressed in a pastel coloured garment at the head of the table, buttering a biscuit. Karen and Gerry sat towards the other end of the long wooden table eating their grits with salt and pepper. They both giggled ceaselesslyHarmie sat at the end closest to the kids putting jam on a roll. Harrison came wordlessly to Mellie"s side and handed her an envelope, and her face lit up like the fourth of July. "It"s from Fitz. It says- it says, that the campaign is going so well, he thinks he may return as soon as the second week in August. He says he can"t wait to see us all, and he"ll be quite pleased to return so soon." she said, elated. Having her husband back meant having Harmony back out of the house. "Well, read it out, sister." Harmie said, interest, suddenly piqued. She craned her neck to look back at Olivia who was silently battling a fiery throng of mixed emotions. Mellie cleared her throat, "Dear Mrs. Grant, Happy Independence Day to all! I am happy to report that the campaign has been going exceedingly well. I"ve been able to meet people out side of our own legislature and get down to the grassroots. I ve seen Americans battling out against another even as the battle for freedom has been won. Having the opportunity to really see this fair country has been an incredible gift. But, I also miss home. I believe the best of my work has been done and I am more than ready to start making my way back to Virginia in a few short weeks. A nice fellow from Maine came up to me after a heated speech and commended me on my work so far, telling me to go forward. That level of encouragement means the world. It"s all very political and over your heads, but to make a long story short, Cyrus may have made a President of me yet. Tell the children that I miss them dearly, and that their father will be back sooner than they think. Best, Fitzgerald" "There you have it. That"s wonderful news, Mellie." Harmony said. "Isn"t it?" Mellie sighed, putting the letter to her heart. "Did you hear that? Father"s coming home soon." Mellie directed toward the children. They only giggled back. Mellie then turned to her sister, "He"s coming home." she sighed contentedly. "That"s wonderful, darling. You"d ought to get a head start on party planning." Harmie smiled. "I think you might be right." Mellie nodded, excused herself and skipped out of the room. Like a little girl. Once Mellie was safely out of the room, Harmie looked back at Olivia who looked like she was on pins and needles. "This is all just so exciting." Harmony said, dabbing the crumbs off of her mouth with her white napkin. / Here, in Virginia, in 1800, things were settling into a comfortable pattern- and America, it seemed was finding its way, finally. With traditions set and upheld, everybody had a place from the uppercrust to the negro slaves. Olivia, however, had always wondered about her place. In America, in society, in life. Where did she fit? She wasn"t content to spend the rest of her life under the fist of someone else, picking cotton, washing, folding, watching White men lie, watching black people die. It wasn"t enough. She wanted love. And the most ironic thing of it all was that Olivia fought love for years. She shut it out and shooed love away like some hideous abstraction. She hid from love and did away from it. Because love wasn"t real, and whatever shadows of love the eyes could see were illusions, right?

The car slowed down and pulled on to a shoulder. Danny was still stone-faced. "I"m sorry. I need some air, I think." he said in a whisper. The seatbelt clicked and she watched him exit the car. They didn"t have time for this. They might miss their flight. Dammit. "Danny, we so don"t have time for another breakdown right n-" He was leaned up against the trunk, head hung low with his hands jammed in his pockets. She sighed. Who"d have known it would come to this. "This thing with your dad"s really got you fucked up, huh?" He took a second to nod slowly, but he didn"t look at her. "Danny, I"m so sorry, babe. But it"s like you always say, "it is what it is.'" She chuckled then, which was nice for his ears to hear, but he couldn"t his own words being said right back to him. "It"s gonna be alright." She stepped closer to him and put her hand on his cheek. She tried to draw it away, but doing so seemed to startle him. He grabbed her hand and peeled it off his face, but didn"t let go. She stared at his gorgeous, downcast face, those handsome features and she felt something confusing move quick inside her. Why did Danny always make her feel so . . . dreamy? She wanted him to feel better, or maybe she just wanted him. He was so good looking, and so messed up. And she was pretty sure she still had a boyfriend back home. Cliff wasn"t Danny, and that made him both desirable and repulsive. He was tall and blonde and didn"t linger or fumble over his words. He was sweet and open. She kept telling herself that Danny wasn"t these things and that"s why they could never be together, but who was she kidding? Just about every morning, she would wake up sore with wanting. These dreams she kept having of Danny, Danny on top of her and Danny inside of her and every version of the fantasy left her panting and frustrated. And each time she tried to quell the aching. She"d throw the t-shirt she wore off of herself and ghost her fingers over stomach and thighs. She screw her eyes shut tight and slip one finger into her mouth and sucking on it. She"d knead her breasts like she imagined Danny would and her wet fingers would find her way down. And she would moan and cry out and hold on to the image of Danny she had in her head. She would come each morning she spent in her apartment alone. Mindy would never tell anyone that. Not her pretty boy boyfriend, not the subject of her fantasies, nobody. And now, it would seem, he was beginning to fall apart. His face took a pained shaped and he released his her hand. "Danny, you are terrifying me right now." "It was so different from how I thought it would be. He seems happy." His voiced slipped at the word. "We never-" "Let"s do an exercise. Look out to the end of the road out there and look for your life. And I want you to tell me all of the things that you would have done differently. And I"ll listen to you, but I won"t say anything and I"ll try to understand." "I can"t." "You can. I know you, Castellano. I know how you hold on to these things. I want you to feel better, please. I don"t want to see you sad. When you are, I am. It"s in the best friend contract." She turned to look out on the road like he did, waited for a while. Then slowly, he began to open up. " I would have defended him. If people in the neighborhood talked shit, I would have. I would have told him that it would have been okay. It would have been okay. When people pointed their fingers at him and all of his flaws. If he couldn"t make all of my little league games or if he couldn"t afford that ten speed bike i wanted at Christmas, or if he had to work through my high school graduation, I would have told him that it was okay to falter. That, thanks to him, I know exactly what its like to feel inadequate or lost. That as long as he was there, it would have been enough because I"d have known he cared. And it was okay, because I loved him anyway. I wouldn"t have thrown him away or replaced him because we were so poor that my mom had to . . . give up our house so I could go to college. I would have told him that I loved him anyway and looked up to him anyway because I only got one dad. I would have changed everything, and I would have been a better son if it meant that I could hang onto him. I would have begged for him to stay. Mindy"s own tears were coming now. She could have been sobbing, but she didn"t want to. It was his revelation (but also kind of her own.) Remaining quiet, perhaps, was best. "I"m just so disappointed that I don"t know what to do. I don"t want him anymore. I don"t want anybody. I can"t get my hopes up for anything anymore. I don"t have the heart for it. I think about what he did every single day. And I spend so much time thinking about what I did and how I couldn"t change his mind. But I tried. She took him in a tight embrace. Swaying on balls of her feet around and around. She threaded her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck gently and whispered "You are so loved Danny. And so invaluable. Don"t give up. Okay?" She felt him shaking and clutching her hard, and she knew that he was crying. His face was buried in her neck, and she cursed herself for relishing this rare proximity. She wished he would let go soon so that they could get into the car and make their way back home before she could slip up and kiss him. But it was already happening. She turned her head just so, so that she could graze her lips to his cheek. The kiss was chaste, barely there, and that"s where it had stopped. / The plane ride was quiet. Mindy slept on and off. First waking up with her head on the window. The second time slumped back in the seat. Third time, her head fell to Danny"s shoulder and he only woke her (very gently) when it was time to disembark. Mindy got the sense that Danny was feeling vulnerable and would continue to stay that way for the rest of the evening. They had decided to share a cab She didn"t want him to be alone and the idea flew from her mouth before she had a chance to stop it. "It"s late. You wanna come upstairs? Spend the night?" "You got any food up there?" "We"ve been over this, I zero out my fridge every night." "I"ll make us something." "Danny, it"s 2 am." The cabbie interrupted, "The meter"s still running, guys, any day now." "Okay, thank you, sir. We"re going." / Mindy moaned from deep in her throat. "I"m sorry, I know I ask you this every time you make food but what is in this?" "Its just pasta." They sat the counter in her kitchen, shoving forkfuls in their mouths. "Yeah, but like, what did you put in it to give it that heroine effect?" He waited a long time before saying, "Love," sarcastically. She kicked him in the shin teasingly. "Such a jerk. This pasta was still so good. Thanks, Danny." "Don"t mention it." She got up from the stool and walked their dishes to the sink. " Is Cliff gonna be cool with this? Me staying over?" he asked seriously. Mindy headed for the bathroom, effectively ignoring his question. "I"m gonna take a quick shower. I"ll save some hot water for you, too if you want," she called. "Sure." / Danny stood in the doorway, leaning on it watching the tv that played in her bedroom. He wasn"t wearing anything except a towel around his waist that was hanging very low. "I don"t know if it was because we were so old when it started but I just couldn"t get into that show." He walked to the living room and she heard him shuffling around changing clothes. He reemerged moments later dress in pajama pants and a gray t-shirt, "Plus it seemed like for years it was there at every turn. Graduate high school, there it is, go to a college party, what"s on the tv? It"s not sports, its that goddamn show. And now we deliver babies and what else is playing but reruns of that stupid show? It ended a decade ago, why can"t I escape it?" "Okay, first Danny, don"t "we" me in your little scenario because for the thousandth time we are not the same age. Second there"s no age limit or requirement for appreciating good television and lastly, Friends is an American artifact. The style, the music? Why am I explaining this to you, Danny, you know how important this stuff is." "Yeah, yeah." He sat up against the head board opposite her. "Look, I wanted to thank you for all those things you said to me in the desert today. It was very sweet." "I meant it. You don"t have to be afraid to tell me stuff like that. I want to hear it." He stretched across the bed and putting his hands on either side of her, he gave her a lingering kiss on her temple. He whispered another thank you and sat back. "Mmmhmm, you smell good," she cooed, turning in his arms, skirting the tip of her nose up and down his neck. Danny chuckled, drawing away. "Remind me to keep you off the Rosé." "It"s true," she insisted. Then she cocked her head to look at him. "You always smell good. Sexy." He eyed the length of her body. The t-shirt she wore was long, but as she lay out on her front, her legs seemed to stretch forever. The shirt began to ride up just at the curve of her behind. "In Harry Potter there"s this love potion that smells exactly like whatever attracts the person. And it"s the same potion, but for every witch or wizard it smells different. It"s called Amortentia." "Oh, yeah? What"s yours?" "Cinnamon sugar pretzels, department stores and whatever you"re wearing." He chuckled mirthlessly. She looked back at him from the television. "You never answered my question," he said. "About what?" "Cliff. If you"re still trying to win him over, how"s this gonna go over?" "You think he won"t be too keen on me letting strange men sleep in my bed?" "No, I don"t think so," Danny said. Mindy sighed. "That, I figure, is quite over with. I don"t know where I was hoping it was going, but it doesn"t matter now because it"s not going to happen." "Because you had a fight? One fight and you"re out? That doesn"t sound like you." "I don"t want to talk about his now," she whispered. "Why? What"s so bad that you can"t fix it? That you wouldn"t even try again? Why wouldn"t you if you cared the way I thought you did." "I don"t think I did care the way you thought I did." "Why not?" "Because you"re here!" "You"re here and not him and that"s why we"re not-" Danny couldn"t help the hurt look on his face. He started to slide himself off of the mattress, putting his feet on the plush red (blood orange?) rug. "-Don"t you get it?" He shot up from the edge of the bed and headed to the living room to gather up his things, "You want me to leave?" He yelled back to her as she sat there stunned. "No," she groaned. She was even worse at this than he was. "Me and Cliff aren"t together because I want you. Instead. I"ve always just wanted you. It didn"t make any sense to me, but then you started letting me into your life and you helped me and you taught me things and I just wanted you. It wasn"t LA that proved it or me and Cliff breaking up. I just really needed to tell you that I lo- that I wanted you. And I needed to do it in a way that wouldn"t scare you off." He gazed at her for a long time before his eyes grew misty, not with tears, but he was thinking, thinking hard. She worried that he was over thinking and somehow the moment would be lost. Mindy felt fading. "Danny, please say something." He didn"t say anything immediately after her diatribe, but he edged her over to the island in the kitchen silently. Once there, he held his hand at the bend in her neck. His thumb stroked at the pulse and it jumped at the touch. She tried to recall when was the last time she and Danny were this close, bodies pressed up against one another as he practically breathed her in, and all signs pointed to never. What could happen next crossed her mind for what was, admittedly, not the first time. Except now she wasn"t anxious, but thrilled at the prospect of it. She tried to will her lips closer to his, but he pushed back gently, a smile on his face. It felt like he was playing a game with her. "Danny." Her voice was so quiet even to her own ears, and she wondered if he heard her at all. Danny dipped down and placed a wet kiss on her neck and she shuddered. His lips made their way lower and so did his hands. He snaked both under her t-shirt, and one traveled lower to her ass. It cupped and clawed and surely drew marks. It gave him enough balance to keep himself in place. An inappropriate part of herself hissed triumphantly "I knew was checking me out" as he grabbed her. His other hand fell to her breasts, and suddenly he was everywhere at once and it just felt good. Good to be touched by the right person, by someone who knew what he was doing. He was making his own ragged noises between swift sweeps of his tongue to accompany her gasps indicating that he was focused and maybe just a bit in love. Standing ramrod straight he gave her a mind numbing kiss on the mouth, both hands finding their way to her behind this time. It was a kiss that undid. That unraveled, and she felt malleable and pliant and wanted back finally. All of the blood flowed straight downstairs, and she knew she would be so wet when he finally would touch her. His narrow hips were doing fantastic things, but friction was only friction and god, he needed to move. As if he was reading her mind, Danny sank gradually to his knees while kissing her sternum, her stomach, her hip, his hands followed and before she knew it, he was slipping off the cute lace black boy shorts she"d had the good sense to wear that night. His hands were tangled trying to make quick work of her t-shirt, and in a moment of daring (and self-consciousness) she shoved him off of her, and leaned back on the counter. "You first," she said before licking her lips. "No." "No?" "Slower. That"s how I want you." "It"s a little late for that isn"t it? We"ve been doing slow for years." She was both aroused and frustrated, a familiar feeling. But this was more petulant some somehow, being that they were so close to what she"d wanted. He smirked and slipped his hand back under her shirt to tease her breasts. He glided it down and cupped her. He put the pad of his thumb along her clit, and she failed to stifle a high-pitched yelp. "You don"t think I can go slow?" he said devilishly, he looked her in the eye while he worked her, and that just killed her as he followed the sway of her head on her neck. He was pumping fingers and adding some, killing pressure and moving so deftly in and out because she was just that wet. "Uhhnhhh, Danny." He grasped her waist and sat her on the cold surface. She fell back flush against it and her legs fell open without prompting. Danny knelt down and put his hands on her soft thighs and went to work. "Mmph," she gasped Mindy had decided a long time ago that she loved Danny"s lips, that no man with such a curmudgeonly disposition and general unpleasant way about him deserved such a mouth. All that potential, she told herself, gone to waste. And she"d never admit this strange fetish to anyone, but Danny ate enthusiastically, and that had started to appeal to her in recent week. The noises he made as he smacked at this or that were loud and a little rude, but very sexual and still very sweet. About a month ago, she"d decided that meal times were out of the question, for fear of jumping her best friend. Now, Danny was hungry and it was clear and those wet sounds were throwing her body into a frenzy not to mention how it felt. She was arching her back and sinking her nails down to Danny"s scalp and coming. She looked down and saw his head bobbing up and down and was done for. "Oh god, Danny," she croaked out once he rose to his feet again to meet her. Like a gentleman, he helped her down and held her up when her legs began to fail. There is just a moment when she looks into his eyes and forgets that he just went down on her. She sees Danny-from-before, best friend Danny, sweaty and rambling and closed off and she likes it. He"s vulnerable and still close to her somehow. He spins her around and moves her toward the bedroom where the TV is still on, playing a rerun of Friends. His dick is so hard on the curve of her ass, and she doesn"t want to seem eager, but she wants to get thrown down on her on bed and get fucked by Daniel Castellano so fucking savagely- whoa, no, calm down. It"s his penis, it"s talking to her, telling her to do dirty things that she would never do . . . Mostly never . . . Pretty much never . . . She would. She would do those things. Anything he wanted. Dammit. Plus, he"s kissing her neck and sucking her earlobe, and his hands are roaming. Enough of that. It"s her turn. She rotates and nudges him to the edge the bed before pushing him down. He slid back up against the headboard and was being so good and so patient as her brain scrambled. She reached for the bedside lamp and watched his body relax under the light. First, his shirt had to go. She crawled over him, slid his dark t-shirt up his revealing (may the heavens rejoice) his toned abs and a lovely layer of dark hair on his torso. The pajama pants had to go to and while she"s at it, the boxers too. And his reward was the final removal of the t-shirt she wore. She jutted her chest out just for show and his eyes grew wide as if he was mesmerized. "You like what you see?" "Very much." He said lustfully. She nodded slowly before leaning in to kiss him. Her hips aligned with his and she broke the kiss just to guide him over her slit once for good measure and finally inside. They both moaned and she began rolling and winding her hips like an expert. But she looked down at him swHer hair fell in a sheet down her back and as she fucked him, she rolled it with her fingers and threw it over her shoulder to keep from overheating. And he watched that curtain of hair move like water over her smooth skin. She was close and the way was looking at her made her already approaching orgasm come faster. But then Danny grabbed her hips and forced her legs further apart so he could get deeper. She cried out his name and skimmed her hands down his back as he met her thrust for thrust. He was panting with his face in the crook of her neck, whispering unintelligible things that sounded an awful lot like like love-words. He came, all hot and heavy inside of her. He rolled off of her but moments later was on his stomach, propped up by his forearms watching her breathing steady. Her eyes finally met his and she looked away abashedly. "Hi." "Hey," he croaked. "You kinda like me, don"t you, Castellano?" "You?" he whispered with mock indignation. He kissed her shoulder and breast, "never." "No, I can"t have you do that to me again. Sleep," she was starting to drift, "conserve your energy for tomorrow." It was 4:30 am and growing light outside her window. She fell asleep with him drawing circles and spirals along her back. / Mindy woke up nestled next to Danny Castellano and he was a furnace, but so cute as he slept. She decided it was good idea to come closer and fall back to sleep. / When she woke up the next time after hearing him roll out of bed and stumble into the living room. Mindy tripped in and out the bathroom sleepily. "You know you can"t make a habit of this, right?" she said, making her way to the kitchen. "Of what? Crazy sex marathons or me using your toothbrush?" "Um, no, both of those you can do. One of those, I insist you do often," she winked. "But I"m talking about the food. We don"t all have hours to spend at the gym every day. I have to watch my dainty birdlike figure." He pulled her into a passionate kiss, and she drew his pouty bottom lip between her two and sucked. "Or I could watch it for you," he whispered, moving her hair off of her neck so he could suck her pulse. Such a Danny line, and she"d be damned if she didn"t love it. "Yeah, yeah." She rolled her eyes. They sat on the living room floor and ate the chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. She had the next forkful at her mouth when she put it down suddenly and a wistful smile played on her face. "What?" he said, tickling her stomach. "Nothing," she giggled. He crawled on top of her and tickled her until she cried shakily, "Oh, Danny, please!" He slowed his hands down and started running them along her sides, thighs and under her breasts. "Tell me, Min." "Mmph." Mindy was biting her lip in anticipation. "I like your lips." "Do you?" She nodded, and he kissed her hand softly. "I like your everything. Your smile and skin, everything. It"s all beautiful." "That"s good to hear." "I mean it. You"re never anything less than And you know what else I love?" lifted up her hips so his hands could find her ass and discover that she wasn"t wearing any underwear. He smirked. "I knew you were checking me out!" He hadn"t said he loved her and she had yet to tell him the same, but Mindy wasn"t worried. They had time. And he would say it the following Thursday over the phone by accident. And then that Thursday night on purpose, over and over again. Not 24 hours before, Danny had high hopes of going home and forgetting LA and the desert. It was 9:38 am on a Saturday, and Danny wouldn"t sleep much for the rest of the weekend . . . or leave Mindy"s apartment. But that was, it seemed, more than okay.

Jack nodded understandingly, glancing back to Fitzy and watching as she made scribbled notes in her blue police notebook. "When did the violence start?" he probed again. She closed her eyes tightly, letting out a heavy sigh of frustration. She didn"t want to be there anymore. She was wondering why on earth she"d ever agreed to this stupid idea of Tony"s. But just the touch of his skin of hers was enough to keep her grounded. "He asked me to marry him. And I did. Big mistake number one. He asked me to give up my job as a chef at a local restaurant. And I did. Big mistake number two. Then one day we were arguing. He wanted to buy some expensive car, saying that he couldn"t possibly live without it. I told him that it didn"t matter." She shook her head thoughtfully. "When you"ve lost everything you own, haven"t got a cent to your name and have nearly been burned to death in your own home...well, expensive Mercedes don"t really tend to rate very highly. So he hit me." "Where?" Jack asked, his eyes beginning to fill with tears of sympathy. "How badly were you hurt?" "My cheek at first," Jazz explained, raising a hand to it almost as though it still hurt years later. "Then he really laid into me. My shoulders, my arms...anything he could reach really. It was just bruises, but...I nearly left. I very nearly walked out the door that night, but I had nothing. All the money I had was now in his bank account and I had no house and no job. I had to stay. He started hitting me more often after that. Sometimes it"d be because I disagreed with him; sometimes he was angry about work...sometimes he"d just be bored and need something to do. He didn"t even stop when I told him I was pregnant." She looked up to Tony, almost one hundred percent certain that she had heard him swear under his breath at this, threatening to rip Jacob"s "bloody arms off". Jack cleared his throat loudly at this - his slightly unsubtle way of silencing his father. As soon as Tony had muttered an apology under his breath, Jack turned back to Jazz. "What prompted you to leave him now?" "I stayed through most of the pregnancy," she continued softly. "I"d pretty much had to bring up Drew with absolutely nothing and I didn"t want to do the same thing with this one. But last night...we were arguing while I was cooking dinner. He picked up the knife I was using to prepare the vegetables and...and he tried to stab me in the stomach with it. I managed to knock him out with the chopping board and I just grabbed my handbag and bolted. He"d tried to kill the baby. Before it had just been hitting me around the head a bit. But last night, he really tried to kill my baby and I couldn"t let him do that..." She trailed off, a sudden pain shooting through her body. She let out a loud groan, leaning forward as she grasped at her stomach. She almost blacked out in agony as the pain came again, sending her crashing to the floor. Tony leapt to his feet, crouching at her side. He rubbed her arm encouragingly as he glanced back over his shoulder to Jack and Fitzy, who were now on their feet and checking Jazz over. "Her waters have broken," Jack called, grabbing Fitzy"s shoulder. "Get on the phone to the hospital; let Rachel know that we"ve got a heavily pregnant woman in labour." Tony paced the hospital corridor, his hands curled up into fists in the pockets of his shorts as he waited impatiently for news. They"d taken Jazz through to a hospital room, saying nothing more than that she was definitely in labour. He"d wanted to go with her. He"d promised to look after her and her child and he wanted to be there, but Rachel had told him that it simply wasn"t possible. He wasn"t her husband, he wasn"t the baby"s father - it was as simple as that. So he had to content himself with waiting outside, listening to Jazz"s cries of pain. "You shouldn"t be worried, you know. This is just about the most natural thing in the world." He spun to face the source of the soft, female voice, finding himself face-to-face with his daughter-in-law, Sam. She was wearing her favourite purple polo top and a pair of old, faded jeans and leaning back against the wall of the corridor, her arms folded across her chest. Even her eyes seemed to smile at him from beyond her wild, vivacious curls. He chuckled half-heartedly as he finally stopped pacing and flopped back into a nearby hospital chair. "Yeah, I know," he conceded, offering her a weak smile. "It"s just..." "You love her and you always have and you"ve missed her over the last five years?" Sam finished, giggling at the stunned look on Tony"s face. "Come on, don"t you think Jack talks to me or something? He knows you better than anyone else on this planet and he knows that you"ve been hung up on Jazz Curtis ever since she left Summer Bay." Tony found himself laughing at the look on Sam"s face. He hadn"t even begun to think about what his pining must have looked like to Jack or anyone else for that matter. He wouldn"t have been surprised if half of Summer Bay had worked out that he was still in love with Jazz. It would certainly explain why Drew talked to him a lot less these days, if anything. "Yeah," he told Sam, unable to hold back a smile. "Maybe I do." Tony had been so preoccupied with his conversation with Sam that he had been completely oblivious to the end of Jazz"s screams until the hospital room door opened and Rachel Armstrong emerged, a grin spread across her face from ear to ear. He jumped to his feet, staring at her expectantly. "Is Jazz alright?" he demanded hurriedly. "Is the baby okay?" "It was a textbook labour," Rachel told him, clapping him on the shoulder reassuringly. "It"s a beautiful baby girl. You can go in and see them if you"d like." She shot him an encouraging wink before dragging Sam away to the nurse"s counter, most likely for a gossiping session about the true nature of Tony and Jazz"s friendship. But Tony didn"t care. He entered Jazz"s room tentatively just as the last of the nurses left, smiling at the sight of her sitting up in bed. She was propped up with a large number of fluffy white pillows and wearing a horrible bleached hospital gown. Jazz offered him the brightest smile he had seen on her lips in days as she gazed down lovingly at the infant in her arms. She looked up to him as the child stirred in the baby pink blankets that she was wrapped in. "You can come over if you"d like," she told him with a tired chuckle. "She doesn"t bite." He approached the pair hesitantly, perching himself on the edge of Jazz"s hospital bed as he looked at the child in her arms. He reached out, combing at the baby girl"s fine dark hair. It was the exact same shade of dark brown as Jazz"s and Drew"s. "She"s gorgeous, Jazz," he told her with a wide grin. "She"s simply gorgeous." "Isn"t she?" Jazz replied as she looked down once again to her daughter. She stirred against Jazz"s chest, her eyes closed tightly. Jazz watched as Tony reached out to the baby again and she closed her tiny fingers around his. "I think she likes you." "I think she might," Tony agreed with a light chuckle. "Even Jack and Lucas screamed their heads off if I went anywhere near them when they were born." Jazz laughed at Tony"s comment, once again finding herself staring at her new baby daughter. "I think she needs a name," she told him quietly. "I was so busy trying to protect myself from Jacob that I completely forgot about thinking of a name." "Well, how did you choose Drew"s name?" Tony asked her, changing position so that he was now sitting cross-legged on the bed. She sighed, tightening her grip on the baby slightly as she thought of her son, whose life she had so often ruined with what he had described as her "toxic influence". "Would you believe that I drew the name Andrew out of a hat?" she replied, sighing with regret. "I stuffed up everything with Drew...I mean, not telling Peter, off-siding everyone who could have helped me, putting myself before him...then trying to rip him off...I don"t want to do that to her, Tony. I don"t want to screw up her life like I screwed up mine. Or like I tried to screw up Drew"s. I want to be a good mum this time. The one Drew should have had." Tony nodded with understanding as he continued to stare at the little girl in Jazz"s arms. "You"ll be a great mum," he assured her softly. "You made mistakes with Drew, but you must have done something right. He"s a great bloke, he"s doing great work with Noah"s Bar and his marriage with Belle is just about as stable as they come. You can"t have screwed up too badly." Jazz returned his smile as she returned to staring lovingly at her daughter. "I like the name Elsie," she told him softly. She looked up to him, staring inquiringly into his eyes. "What do you think?" He nodded, his grin broadening. "Elsie Jacinta," he agreed as he once again began to let the child told hold of his finger. "I think that"s a perfect name." "You stupid bitch!" Tony leapt off the bed in fright at the sound of shouting from the door, moving closer to Jazz"s bedside as she recoiled in fright, holding baby Elsie closer to her chest. He surveyed the man standing in the doorway critically, not even needing to ask who he was. He was wearing a neat black suit with his cropped blonde hair gelled down onto his scalp. His steely grey eyes were absolutely livid. "Jacob!" Jazz gasped, shaking her head in fright. "W...What are you doing here?" Jacob was breathing heavily. Tony was half expecting to see steam coming out of his ears as he stood in the doorway to the hospital room. "What did you tell those pigs?" Jazz"s eyes narrowed in misunderstanding as she stared at him, continuing to shake her head. "Pigs?" she queried. "The frigging cops, you stupid cow!" Jacob yelled, making a dive for her hospital bed. Tony moved in front of him, using every bit of his considerable muscle to push Jacob back. "Easy, mate," he warned him calmly. "She"s just had a baby; maybe you should give her a little space..." He stepped back, regarding Tony doubtfully. "And who exactly the hell do you think you are?" he spat cruelly. "Someone who loves your wife and daughter a heck of a lot more than you do," Tony retorted quickly. The comment was enough to infuriate Jacob as he dived for Jazz"s hospital bed once again. Once again, Tony through himself into Jacob"s path, grabbing his wrists roughly and struggling to move him as far away from Jazz as possible. In the struggle, Jacob made a swing for Tony"s face which collided, sending him crashing to the ground. Jacob straightened himself up, grinning broadly. "Stupid jerk," he mumbled as he turned back to Jazz. She looked absolutely distraught as she stared at Tony"s form as he struggled to pick himself up off the floor. "Tony!" she screamed, Elsie awaking in her arms and beginning to scream. "Tony!" Almost as though the alarm in Jazz"s voice was powering him, Tony leapt to his feet, grabbing Jacob from behind and managing to grab him in a headlock. Jacob was just about to break free when the door burst open and Jack and Fitzy entered, guns drawn. "Police!" Jack roared, silencing Jazz and Elsie instantly and causing both Tony and Jacob to freeze mid-motion. "Don"t move!" Tony laughed in relief as he relinquished his grip on Jacob, allowing his son to take over. "Perfect timing, Jack," he observed, earning a poked out tongue from Jack in response. He backed away, watching as Jack and Fitzy dragged Jacob out of Jazz"s hospital room and out towards the police car in the car park. He turned back to Jazz, offering her a weak smile of relief. "Didn"t I tell you?" he told her as he sat back on the edge of her bed. "I"d look after you." Martha was so busy scrubbing at a stain on one of the tables at Noah"s Bar that she didn"t even notice Tony Holden walk inside until he was tapping her on the shoulder to snatch her attention. She spun around, so surprised she almost attacked him. "Tony!" she gasped in relief at the sight of her one-time father-in-law. "You surprised me!" "You look like you were off on another planet," he observed, arms folded across his chest. She nodded, brushing at her hair thoughtfully as she headed back to the bar. "Yeah, I think I was," she agreed with a chuckle. "I was just thinking about dinner tonight. Michael"s offered to take me over to this beautiful picnic spot on Geoff and Annie"s farm and he"s promised me a really romantic night..." She trailed off, finally noticing the way Tony was grinning at her. "And why are you grinning like a Cheshire cat, eh, Tony?" she asked, offering him a sly smile. "I haven"t seen you so happy since you became a grandfather." He ran a hand back through his hair nervously as he leant back against the bar. "Well, Jazz had the baby a little while ago," he explained, his hands trembling slightly with excitement. Little Elsie wasn"t his, but it sure felt like it. "It"s a baby girl." "Oh my God!" Martha exclaimed, covering her mouth in surprise. "I mean, Drew said she was pregnant, but I didn"t realise she"d actually have the baby this soon..." She paused, simply shaking her head. Like Tony, she really wasn"t quite sure why the birth of Jazz"s child excited her so much. It was almost as though it was Tony"s child. "So Drew"s got a baby sister?" Tony nodded. "Yep," he continued. "Elsie Jacinta Curtis. She"s an absolute cutie. I was ducking home to grab a camera for Jazz when she asked me to find Drew for her...is he here?" Martha nodded off in the direction of the car park. "He"s helping the delivery man with some unloading," she told him, smiling. "So, I take it you and Jazz are pretty close again?" He nodded again, his smile becoming less of one of excitement and more of one of contentment. "Yeah, you could say that," he replied. "And that isn"t going to be getting back to Jack from you, is it?" "Oh, of course not!" Martha told him with a cheeky wink. "Why would I tell Jack?" "Why would you tell Jack what?" Drew demanded as he returned to the bar, arms folded across his chest as he regarded Tony in contempt. "I heard my Mum"s name. I can"t believe you"ve been so gullible as to be sucked back in by her again." Tony simply shook his head at Drew, shrugging helplessly. "She"s not sucking me in, Drew," he pointed out calmly. "Jazz has changed. She really has. You don"t understand half of what"s going on here, mate." "I understand more than you do, by the sounds of it," Drew retorted, while Martha kept switching her gaze between one and the other. "What"s going on here is that history is repeating itself. She"s gone and walked out on another marriage just because it suits her and come crawling back to us. Maybe she"s even got another inheritance she wants to rip me off for..." "Will you just shut up and listen to me for five minutes?" Tony demanded, raising his voice so much that a few people in the nearby pool room looked up. Realising that this situation was going to become very public very soon, Martha leapt forward, quickly closing the doors. She leant back against them, staring back at Tony in curiosity. "Your mother didn"t just walk out on another marriage because it suited her - she ran away because she and her baby were nearly stabbed to death by her husband." Drew"s jaw suddenly dropped open so far that Tony wouldn"t have been surprised if it hit the floor. "Stabbed?" he demanded. Tony nodded, approaching Drew slowly. "She changed all of her old ways," he explained gently. "She went to TAFE, she got herself a good job, but even Jazz Curtis can make mistakes under the influence of love. Her husband hit her and yet she stayed because she felt like she couldn"t even turn to you for help. It got so bad that last night, if she hadn"t been able to knock him out with the chopping board, she would have died. That"s why she"s here, Drew." "Oh, crap," Drew mumbled as he buried his face in his hands. He shook his head in disbelief as he began to peer through his fingers. "Where is she?" "The hospital," Tony replied. "She went into labour while she was reporting her husband to Jack. He attacked her just then too. If I hadn"t been there..." Drew"s eyes widened as he lowered his hands, staring at Tony solemnly. "Are they both okay?" "They"re both fine," Tony reassured Drew as his smile grew once again. "You"ve got a little baby sister. Her name"s Elsie Jacinta. And she"s the cutest little thing you"ve ever seen...except for maybe your Laura." He chuckled, before continuing. "She really wants to see you. And I think Elsie might want to meet you, too." Drew nodding, going to follow Tony out to his car, before pausing. "Do you reckon we could stop off at the day-care centre on the way?" he asked quietly. "I think that there"s someone Mum might want to meet too." Jazz slowly opened her eyes at the sounds of footsteps approaching her hospital room. She quickly pushed herself up in alarm, almost preparing herself to snatch Elsie from the cot next to her bed and run, only to flop back in relief at the sight of Drew standing in the doorway, cradling a little girl in his arms while Tony waited just behind his shoulder. "Drew," she whispered, a weak smile spreading across her face. "You don"t know how glad I am to see you." "I think I might," he replied, crossing the room to her slowly. Jazz watched in curiosity as Drew perched himself on the edge of her bed, craning his neck to get a good look at Elsie as she slept in her cot. "My baby sister," he gasped in awe, his eyes watering with hot tears of joy and disbelief. "Tony told me about what happened...you were so brave for fighting against that bastard..." "It wasn"t bravery," she confessed quietly in a voice that was barely audible. "It was instinct. I would have done the same thing for you, if I"d had to." She began shaking her head, tears springing up in her eyes as she reached up to run her fingers along Drew"s cheekbone. "I screwed up so badly...I still live with the guilt every day of the things I did to you. Everything that goes wrong in my life - the fire, Mum, Jacob - it"s all my punishment. The price I paid for everything I did wrong to you." Drew began shaking his head, surprised to find himself crying. He rarely cried - in fact, he hadn"t since Lucas had been killed years ago. "No," he told her, supporting Laura with one hand as he reached out to take Jazz"s hand with his other. "No. You didn"t deserve any of that." He squeezed her hand tighter, finally earning a smile from his mother. Jazz"s face suddenly lit up as she reached over, slowly and gently cradling Elsie in her arms and offering her up to Drew. "Do you want to have a hold of your baby sister?" she asked in softly, in a voice that reminded Drew more of a child than anything else. "Only if you agree to have a hold of your granddaughter," he told her with a chuckle. Carefully, Jazz and Drew swapped the babies over and Drew began to coo at Elsie. "You"re a gorgeous little thing, aren"t you?" he told Elsie, who slowly began to awake in his arms. She opened her eyes, exposing the brightest green that Drew had ever seen before in his life. "She"s got your eyes, Mum." Tony joined the group on the bed, craning his neck to get a good look at little Elsie"s eyes. "So she does," he agreed, smiling up at Jazz, only to find that she wasn"t paying any attention whatsoever. She was far too preoccupied with her little granddaughter in her arms. "You were right, Tony," she whispered, her eyes wide in awe. "I can"t have screwed up too badly after all." Drew, cradling his baby daughter in his arms, bowed slightly to kiss Jazz sweetly on the cheek. The pair shared a smile, as Drew combed his fingers back through Jazz"s fine dark hair. "I promise I"ll be back tomorrow," he told her softly. "And I"ll try to tear Belle away from the hotel protests, too. Then you can catch up with your daughter-in-law." Jazz"s smile grew as tears of joy continued to well in her eyes. She nodded tiredly. "I"d love that," she replied, before pausing momentarily. Finally, she dared to speak again. "I love you, Drew. I always have." He nodded, smiling back at his mother one last time before leaving. "I love you too, Mum." Tony watched as Drew left, grinning to himself. Beyond Jazz"s hospital room, the sun was setting, signalling the end of the day for the residents of Summer Bay. They"d all be starting to head home now. He found it increasingly difficult to restrain laughter at the thought of how different his life was now to what it had been that morning when he had wandered into the diner, tired and lonely and missing the company of those he loved. Jazz suddenly looked up to him as she set a sleeping Elsie back in her cot, her eyes glowing with the tiniest glint of hope. "You said something earlier," she began, watching as Tony snapped back to earth. He gave a mumble of interest as he sat down on the bed next to her, the pair so close now that their bodies were almost touching. "You said, and I quote, that you were "someone who loves your wife and daughter a heck of a lot more than you do"..." she paused, staring at Tony intently. "What did you mean by that?"

Evan stood in the centre of the room, the top of his right hand bloodied and one of the lockers on the bottom row now bearing the black scuff marks that indicated that the detective had brought his foot to it in anger. Alex looked his mate up and down, crossing the room to gently guide his old friend away. Surprisingly, Evan allowed Alex to lead him to the cupboard where the first-aid kit remained alone on its empty shelves. "Mate," Alex began, shaking his head for a lack of words. "Do you think Amy and Tom would want you to be acting like this?" The mention of Amy"s name seemed to make Evan even more downcast than he had been just seconds before. Alex"s expression softened further as he gently dabbed at his friend"s hand with a cloth from the first-aid kit. "I"m sorry," Evan apologised quietly, keeping his head lowered. "It"s just...I just..." He shook his head, his eyes misting over as the words refused to come. "I let this happen. I saw him pull out the gun...I let him shoot her..." Seeing Evan"s despair, Alex knew there was only one way to make him snap out of it. Swiftly and sharply, he brought his hand across Evan"s face; hard enough to leave a bright red mark but not hard enough to bruise. "This is not your bloody fault!" Alex snapped, his voice a little tougher on Evan than he really would have liked. "You couldn"t have done anything." Evan nodded, silently agreeing with Alex"s words. He couldn"t truly believe them, though. Not while he couldn"t truly tell himself that Amy would make it through. Not while everything was going on. Not while he couldn"t stop the horrible breaking of his heart in his chest. It just wasn"t fair. Tom dragged himself to his feet, trudging down the corridor to where he knew he could find a glass of water. Amy Fox was the best copper he had met in a long while - certainly in the leagues of PJ Hasham and Maggie Doyle. She embodied everything he believed in, everything he once thought he had been. She was the fighter - fighting to put her past behind her, fighting to find justice and now fighting to stay alive. The afternoon sun beyond the hospital windows showering in, casting long shadows on the floor. Tom found himself unable to quell the thoughts about what that day had done. It had already claimed one beautiful, if somewhat rebellious, life in Gina and now it threatened to take Amy as well. It was difficult to believe that one of his own officers - or to be more correct, former officers - had taken a gun to a police officer like Amy. They had often strayed down the wrong path, occasionally to places where even he couldn"t rescue them from, but they had always essentially been good kids. His kids. But Adam Cooper was different. Somehow, while others like Maggie, PJ, Dash and Nick had bloomed, Adam had disappeared into the woodwork. The forgotten son. He was the reason Adam had found this path of crime and self-destruction. The reason he had felt so threatened that he had found the need to shoot a young woman. In effect, he may as well have put the bullet in Amy himself. Suddenly, he was disturbed from his self-pity by the sight of several nurses pushing a bed along the corridor, a bed containing none other than Amy. He stopped in his tracks, the nurses stopped so that he had a chance to survey his younger colleague. Amy"s eyes were closed, her hair a mattered wreck over the pillow beneath her head. She was wearing one of those generic hospital gowns that only seemed to highlight how pale her face was. An oxygen mask had been strapped over her mouth and nose, occasionally clouding as her chest rose and fell. He reached out, taking her hand and giving it a fond squeeze. He couldn"t hold back the misty tears from his eyes. He stared at her, disbelief in his features. Amy had always carried herself with an impeccable air of strength and confidence, even if her heart was breaking deep inside - it made it impossible to ever imagine her helpless like this. And now she was. And he was to blame. Evan stepped out into the slowly disappearing sunlight of that afternoon, his gaze immediately falling upon a single blonde as she loaded up her old car with her belongings from the station. He approached her, the sound of a twig crunching beneath his feet catching her attention and causing her to spin to face him. "Jonesy," she mumbled in disbelief, having never expected to see him again before she climbed in her little car and disappeared from Mt. Thomas forever, the last three years having been little more than a painful memory. She gulped, trying to find some neutral ground. It was actually easier than she"d have thought. "How"s Amy?" He shrugged as he approached Susie, sticking his hands into the pockets of his blood-stained suit. "I don"t know," he replied, not even Susie able to deny the forlorn glint in his eyes at the mention of Amy"s name. "Tom"s with her now." "That"s where he needs to be." Susie agreed with a nod, nervously brushing hair back from her eyes and behind her ear. As she slowly lowered her hand, she found her eyes connecting with Evan"s uncomfortably. She tore her gaze away, kicking at a stone on the ground nearby with her foot. "What are you going to do now?" Evan sighed heavily, the tears still present in his eyes, as he looked around, shrugging. "I haven"t thought about it," he confessed quietly, "Amy and I have been so busy trying to clear the Boss that I guess I haven"t thought about it. I can"t leave now, anyway. Not till Amy"s right at least." Susie nodded, biting her bottom lip in silent thought. Finally, she reached out, giving him an awkward hug in farewell. After several seconds of surprise, Evan relented and wrapped his strong arms around Susie. After their friendship and disastrous romance, it seemed to be all they could manage to do. When they broke apart, she reached up, brushing the back of her hand along his cheekbone. A slight hint of a smile broke across her lips, something mirrored with far less strength in Evan"s face. "You"re a good man, Evan Jones," she told him as she turned to leave. Before she had climbed into her car, however, she decided to add something else. "Amy"s lucky to have you, you know." As Susie roared the car into life and disappeared down the street, Evan farewelled her with a stunned wave. He couldn"t believe that Susie Raynor had just said that. Did she think that he and Amy shared something, something so precious that he hadn"t even shared it with Susie? Did he even have a chance to act upon whatever was there, if Susie was right? Tom invited himself into Amy"s hospital room, each step slow and deliberate as he tried to accept the sight of her lying lifeless in a hospital bed, drip in her arm, mask over her face and machines surrounding her, their steady beeping the only sounds in her silent hospital room. He finally found his way across the cold hospital floor, taking her hand in his as he sat down in the chair at her bedside. The situation seemed awfully familiar to the bedside vigils he had maintained whenever Maggie Doyle had found herself admitted to hospital for whatever reason. Except that this situation had extra, far more sickening twists. Amy had been put into this position because he had failed one of his troops. There was still no guarantee that she was even going to survive that afternoon. And even if she did make it, there was a large chance that she wouldn"t walk again. Sophie had explained that the bullet had lodged itself dangerously close to her spinal cord. They couldn"t remove it, they couldn"t do anything. All they could do was wait and see and hope like hell that the swelling went down and nothing was damaged. The situation teetered terrifyingly close to the Jack Lawson situation years before, something that unnerved Tom greatly. He couldn"t bear to see someone else go through that same downward spiral that had led Jack to a manslaughter charge. As Amy lay in the hospital bed, her eyes closed and her chest rising and falling in time with the machines, Tom couldn"t help but wonder if she had any idea how close she had come. And how close she still was. The job came with risks, they all knew it. It was hard to forget whenever you pulled on the uniform. But they shouldn"t have come with these kinds of risks. Not the risk of being shot by a man like Adam Cooper. He rose her hand, kissing it lightly before holding it to his cheek. Amy was the sort of copper that the force was lacking these days. A brilliant investigator, a superb sympathiser and a damn good friend. She had been the only thing getting him through the cancer. And now the roles were reversed and it was his job to get her through this. Evan leant against the doorframe of the CI office, watching sadly as Joss said his final farewells. Susie would be well on the way to Melbourne now, her words still echoing around his head, distracting him from the few logical thoughts he had had about finding Adam Cooper and bringing him to justice. Now Joss was leaving and Matt and Kelly wouldn"t be too far behind him. He knew that he ought to be happy for his colleagues, especially when they were finding themselves good positions that were going to make them happy in the long run. Susie had taken a promotion to Sergeant in Fitzroy, Joss was joining the Traffic boys and Kelly and Matt found positions at the same station where they could both easily find their way to a Senior Constable promotion when they became eligible. He couldn"t help but speculate if perhaps they had intentionally taken positions together and that Kelly and David wouldn"t be together for much longer. He and Alex hadn"t even considered new jobs yet. They were too busy saving their old ones. Alex had to coordinate the removal of furniture and he couldn"t even think about where his career would go, not when he couldn"t even tell if Amy was going to make it to a new job at all. Alex enveloped Joss in a blokey hug as the young Constable took one final look around the station and disappeared, off to a new job and a new beginning. Just as Alex had invited himself into the increasingly empty CI office, the phone rang, startling Evan back to earth. He dived for the phone, bracing himself on his desk, or what would be his desk until the removalists returned for it. "Hello, Mt. Thomas CI," Evan answered, his heart giving an unpleasant pang in his chest at the sudden thought that he probably wouldn"t be saying that again. As the person on the other end of the phone spoke, Evan"s brow furrowed deeper. Eventually, he returned the phone to its cradle, sinking back into the sole chair remaining in the office, looking up to Alex in total disbelief. "That was Homicide," he explained weakly. "They were looking for Amy." "And?" Alex asked, folding his arms against his chest curiously. "They wanted me to let her know that they"d been able to find two empty positions in the third floor of Homicide," Evan continued, his eyes wide in surprise. "Apparently they"d offered her a job in a higher position, but she refused to take it unless they could find a job for me as well." Alex cocked an eyebrow, unable to hide a laugh of surprise. "Wow," he mumbled, "she settled for less for you. That"s pretty big." "Yeah," Evan agreed, nodding slowly as he climbed to shaky feet, "I"m going over to the hospital. Tell Kel and Matt I said goodbye, okay?" Alex nodded, watching as Evan disappeared out the back entrance to the car park. As soon as his mate was out of sight, he ran a hand back through his hair, turning back to the muster room where Tom"s desk was being carried out. Slowly, everyone else was finding out where their lives stood without Mt. Thomas as a part of it. Everyone else except for himself, Evan, Amy and their Boss. Evan entered Amy"s hospital room tentatively, causing Tom to jump at the sound of the door creaking open. He slowly relaxed at the sight of the detective closing the door behind him, staring at the woman lying in the bed in pure horror. Just one look at Evan"s face told Tom that he had never been able to anticipate the sight of a weakened Amy lying still in a hospital bed. "How"s she doing?" Evan finally asked, his voice catching in his throat as he spoke. Tom nodded sadly, rising to his feet as he brushed strands of brown fringe back from Amy"s forehead. "The bullet lodged itself near her spinal cord," he explained in a shaky voice, "Sophie said they couldn"t get it out without risking further damage. Bloody hell Jones, she may never walk again." Evan closed his eyes, letting his head hang back as the tears threatened to overwhelm him. The day had started out fairly normal for all of them, yet had quickly changed from normal to downright awful in less time than he cared to consider. That morning, he and Amy had been on a simple surveillance operation. Now, she could be stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. "I"m going to get something to eat before I pass out," Tom explained, clapping Evan on the shoulder as he headed for the door. "Look after her, Jones. She"s a fighter, but she needs someone here." He nodded, watching as his Boss left the room through the corner of his eye. Finally, he hesitantly dragged his gaze back to Amy, staring at her through wide eyes. The shooting played over and over in his head, much like he imagined the phone call would be doing for Tom, each feeling of terror magnified every single time. It had now become an overwhelming memory he couldn"t control. It scared him half to death, even though they were no longer being shot at by a fleeing Adam Cooper. He slowly crossed the room to her, leaning down to kiss her forehead softly, caressing her beautifully soft cheek. Something deep down inside him confirmed that Susie had been right, that there was something between him and Amy that he couldn"t afford to keep denying, especially now. Wheelchair or no wheelchair, she was still the same strong, beautiful and intelligent Amy Fox he had somehow fallen in love with. He was going to look after her, whether that was in Mt. Thomas, Melbourne or wherever the wind took their drifting lives in this age of uncertainty. Adam Cooper stood alone on one of the hills overlooking Mt. Thomas, the weight of the gun at his hip unfamiliar and unnerving. The light had all but gone, leaving a light orange glow over the small country town. It was bigger than he remembered it and darker too. But he somehow just knew that the coppers would never change. Maggie, PJ, Dash and the rest had all moved on to other things or to the great beyond, but the atmosphere still remained. As long as Tom Croydon was in charge, life in Mt. Thomas would continue to resemble a working museum. He had never intended to shoot Amy Fox. Just like he had never intended to become caught up in the world of crime. It had just been the easier option, it always had been. Keeping quiet about the car had been so much simpler at the time than going to the Boss and having to put himself through another lecture. Taking a swing at Tom had been easier than trying to answer for his actions. Shooting Amy had been the less painful option than years in prison for his involvement in everything. He sat down, letting himself lean back against a rock as he surveyed the Mt. Thomas sunset. He knew that he"d failed himself and everyone he knew. He didn"t want to know what Tom Croydon was going through right now, or Amy Fox for that matter. He"d been shot himself once, he still remembered how painful it had been. What got to him was how he had ruined the lives of not just Tom or Amy, but all of the Mt. Thomas police. Through his actions, he had directly caused the closure of the station and was forcing them away from a place where they were happy and to settle for second-best. He could still remember the intense panic that the station could be shut down; he"d had to face that before. He reached down into his pocket, drawing out his gun and a piece of paper. He looked down to the note, setting it underneath a small rock that would act as a paperweight. He then turned to his gun, closing his eyes as he took in his final moments. He wasn"t letting anyone else down ever again. A shot rang out over Mt. Thomas. Tom leant back in his chair in his office, closing his eyes as he let his mind drift away from the police station. It had been several months since Adam Cooper had set foot in the Mt. Thomas Police Station and changed the face of their team forever, before turning his gun on himself on a lonely hill in the last hours of the evening. He"d only left one thing behind that had righted all of his recent wrongs - a simple note. He cleared Tom of covering up the weapon and selling it, effectively closing Falcon-Price"s case against him. Tom had nothing to answer for. The station had been reopened, albeit downgraded to a sub-station of St. Davids, like Widgeree had been of Mt. Thomas for years. Only a handful of them had been allowed to stay on and all of them had faced a downgrade of some kind with the exception of Evan. He was the only able-bodied CI member left at the station. Tom had been almost happy to take the downgrade to Sergeant. While the position of Senior Sergeant had once brought him much pleasure and a sense of fulfilment, it had only served to become part of the noose strangling him in recent years. To be rid of the responsibility was a deep relief. He hadn"t felt so much like one of the troops in years. Alex had been returned to his position of Leading Senior Constable, happily surrendering the Acting Sergeant ranking. He had never wanted it or needed it. He preferred to be out in the field, solving crimes and getting dirty in the uniform, not sitting behind a desk filling out forms and writing rosters. With less members, he got the opportunity to spend more time out and about than he ever had. He knew that Rory always thought it was more impressive to hear about solving crimes in the community than to handle the paperwork. Evan was able to keep his rank of Senior Detective, much to Tom"s relief. CI had given Evan a new depth and ability to do his job that uniform never could. He had solid investigative skills that were becoming more and more sharp by the day. Evan had gone from a cowboy liable to lose his job at any time to the responsible young detective that the big city squads always chased. But Evan would never leave Mt. Thomas. Not when that would mean leaving Amy behind. Amy hadn"t been downgraded as such. In the aftermath of her shooting, she hadn"t been able to use her legs at all. Adam Cooper had effectively rendered her paraplegic. At first, the transition from therapy to work had been a rough one. No one could truly understand how difficult it was to see her colleagues out on the job and not be able to help them. But it was Evan"s care and love that kept her going, that gave her the inspiration to go on. And in time, they had come to find their own way of doing things that worked perfectly. She still helped out in the field when she could, manning the station when she couldn"t and always offering her usual, brilliant insight to any situation. She was a priceless member of the team. They couldn"t bear to lose her. Tom knew that Amy and Evan had become romantically involved. And at first, he had harboured some concerns. In fact, a hell of a lot of concerns. They"d never had much luck with in-office relationships in Mt. Thomas and Evan"s track record spoke for itself. But they had their own chemistry and their own connections. He"d known that whatever Amy and Evan shared was special from the moment Amy had awoken to see Evan at her bedside. He hadn"t left that hospital until the moment she did and then, they were rarely apart. Somehow, they had come to need each other as more than just the student/teacher type relationship they had originally bonded under. Their old colleagues still kept in touch from their new stations. Susie was still working away in Fitzroy, aiming for the stars in her career. And in her love life. She"d met a young man quite by accident while on the job and were now very steady in their relationship. Joss had left Traffic behind after just days and was now stationed to a suburban station, somewhere close to his mother"s house as Alex had pointed out with a laugh. And Evan had been right about Matt and Kelly and their motives in seeking a station together. It hadn"t even been three weeks after their move to Melbourne before Kelly had broken off her relationship with David to pursue one with Matt. And just weeks later, they were working together in a small country station, not unlike Mt. Thomas. Tom opened his eyes as he was brought back to earth by the sound of a phone ringing in the muster room. He watched as Alex leapt into life to answer it, nodding as the person on the other end of the line spoke. From his office, he could see Amy and Evan chatting in the CI office, perhaps over a difficult case or maybe just over their arrangements for dinner that night. He knew that they were never going to be completely rid of the people who doubted them or tried to change their way of life in Mt. Thomas. They were a unique station with a one of a kind way of running things. People would always doubt them and perhaps, someone else would one day come along and try to destroy them just like Adam Cooper had. But all Tom knew was that they would not go quietly. They would fight and fight against those who tried to rid Mt. Thomas of them until the very end.

I"m home!" Danny called as he walked inside with his new friend, Rosemund Cary. They had known each other for a week now, and were about to start dating. He was about to introduce her to everybody. "That"s great, Dad!" D.J. called from the kitchen. "Hey Dad!" He heard Stephanie and Michelle call from their room upstairs. Danny turned to Rosemund. "Usually they all come out here and try to shower me with hugs." He told her, "Though they aren"t doing that now. Of course, you obviously know that." Rosemund nodded, laughing nervously under her breath. Uncle Jesse came jogging down the stairs in the living room, holding Nicky and Alex. "Hey Danny, what"s shakin"?" Danny looked at Jesse. "Jesse, how come the girls haven"t come in here and hugged me?" "Girls," Uncle Jesse called, "Your dads home!" "We know." The three girls hollered in unison. Uncle Jesse turned to Danny, mimicking the girls, "We know." Uncle Jesse started shouting again. "Girls, you get your butts in here right now and say hello to your father!" He sat Nicky and Alex down. "God, do I sound like my dad." Stephanie and Michelle jogged downstairs and hugged Danny. D.J. came out of the kitchen and did likewise. Uncle Jesse gave himself a proud smile and went into the kitchen. Michelle looked at Rosemund. "Daddy, who is that lady standing in the doorway with you?" Danny knelt down to Michelle"s height. "Well, honey," He said, "She"s my new friend from the station. She"s the make-up artist." Suddenly the phone rang. D.J. picked it up. Rosemund looked at Danny. "Beautiful house," She commented, mainly to Danny. "I simply adore your taste in furniture." Danny put his hands in his pockets. "Well, thank you. I always have -" D.J. looked at Danny. "Dad," She said, "It"s for you." Danny took the phone from D.J. "Hello? Oh, yeah, hold on a minute." He cupped the mouthpiece. "Rosemund, it"s my boss, do you mind?" Rosemund shook her head. "Oh, no, darling. Go ahead. I"ll just get to know your beautiful daughters." Danny nodded and went upstairs with his phone call. Stephanie turned to Rosemund. "So, you"re a make-up artist. That is so cool." Rosemund pulled out a pocket mirror and started fixing her hair. "Well," She replied. "You could say that." "Rose..." Michelle began. Rosemund looked sharply at Michelle. "My name is Rosemund." Michelle rolled her eyes. "Don"t have a cow. What does a make-up artist do?" Rosemund put her mirror in her purse. "Well, sweetie..." Michelle interrupted. "My name is Michelle." Rosemund ignored her. "Make-up artist"s jobs are to make people look glamorous." Michelle"s eye widened. "So you make Daddy look more glamorous on TV?" Rosemund shook her head. "In your father"s case, we just try to make him look at least suitable." The three girls stared at each other with their mouths dropped opened. This Rosemund lady was not very polite! Suddenly Danny came in through the kitchen. "Well, I"m done." Rosemund looked confused. "I thought you just went upstairs. How did you get in the kitchen?" Danny started laughing. "Oh, that," He cradled the phone. "We sort of have two stairways. But they go to the same hallway." Rosemund flipped her shoulder length, blonde hair behind her shoulders. "Oh, how silly of me." Danny looked from Rosemund to his daughters. "I trust you girls had a very interesting conversation. "Oh, yes." D.J. stated, going back into the kitchen. "It was very interesting." She turned to Rosemund. "Well, pleased to meet you. Gotta go; bye!" "But, Aunt Becky, she was so rude!" Stephanie exclaimed, sitting on Aunt Becky"s and Uncle Jesse"s bed. "And get this; dad thinks she"s wonderful." Aunt Becky handed Alex and Nicky a cookie each. "Well, Steph, give her some time. Maybe she"s not a bad as you think." Stephanie fingered the bedspread. "Yeah, I guess so. Well, I"d better get downstairs. Thanks, Aunt Becky." "Anytime." Aunt Becky replied. "Alright Kimmy," D.J. said, sitting a party bag on Kimmy"s bed. "Here are the party supplies." It was that evening at 8:00. At Kimmy"s house, D.J. was organizing Joey"s party for the next day. "Three Stooges party plates," D.J. said, as she pulled the paper plates out from the bag and sat them on the bed. "Three Stooges paper cups, Three Stooges napkins, matching plastic silverware, three new joke books, and the receipt from the cake shop." Kimmy looked at the assortment of supplies. "This looks like what my parents give me when I eat." D.J. looked at Kimmy. "Party supplies?" Kimmy shook her head. "No; paper and plastic." D.J. put the supplies back in the bag and sat it on the floor. "O.K. Kimmy, can you take good care of it and bring it over tomorrow at 4:00?" Kimmy nodded. "Sure, no problem." D.J. grinned. "Great, now let"s finish planning this party." Steve came inside the kitchen, without knocking, the next afternoon; at 3:47 p.m. D.J. was waiting for him. "Oh great, Steve, I"m so glad you"re here!" D.J. exclaimed, embracing her boyfriend. "Now, remember your job. Get everyone in the house in the kitchen... and don"t let them leave until I make the signal." Steve looked at D.J. confused. "But D.J., what exactly is "the signal"?" D.J. thought. "I"ve got it," She said suddenly to Steve. "I"ll, like, make a thumbs-up sign." Steve nodded. "Okay," He looked at D.J. "Now, let the man do his job." Steve stood up and went into the living room, winking at D.J. D.J. grabbed the phone, ran up the kitchen stairs and went into her room. She dialed Kimmy"s phone number, praying that she would answer. Right away, Kimmy picked up. All she said was; "O.K. Deej. I"m on it." Then she hung up. D.J. looked at the phone and got ready to race down the living room stairs, to get ready for Joey"s party. "Hey, Jesse, your hair looks great today." Steve told Uncle Jesse, strolling into the living room. Uncle Jesse glanced at Steve. "Alright, what do you want, kid?" After a pause he looked back at Steve. "And whatever it is, you got it." Steve was surprised. "Oh, really? Cool. Uh, J-man, uh..." Jesse pulled off his reading glasses. "Yeah?" Steve rummaged his hands in his pockets. "Uh, I got these new cassettes from a friend for my birthday and they have some guy singing on them. I think it might be Elvis... but I"m not sure. So I figured, hey, who better to ask then the king of rock and roll?" Uncle Jesse stared at Steve hard. "Steve, Elvis has already died." "Uh, uh, I know that Jess," Steve said, "But, like, now, you"re the king of rock in roll. So I wanted to ask you." Uncle Jesse nodded. "Yes, yes. Perfectly reasonable, and you know, I think I"ll help you decipher who"s singing in that cassette. Come on, bring them on in here." Uh-oh. Steve thought. We need Jesse to go inside the kitchen, not stay in here. "Uh, you can"t Jess, because I brought my cassette player and it"s all set up on the kitchen counter." Uncle Jesse stood up and stretched. "Let"s do it." He said, with an Elvis-type voice. "Go ahead," Steve told him. "I"ll be right there." Surprise, Surprise 2. Surprise! "Hey Michelle, Stephanie." Steve greeted the girls as he walked into their room. Stephanie put down her American GirlTM catalog. "If you want food," She told him, "it"s downstairs in the kitchen." "Well, that"s it." Steve said, quickly thinking. "I thought you girls might want to share some chocolate chip cookies with me. I brought over hundreds of them." Michelle"s mouth dropped open. "You did?" Steve nodded with a big grin on his face. "You bet." Stephanie jumped out of bed. "This is great. Come on, Michelle." The girls hurried out of the room. "I"ll be there in a minute!" Steve called after them. Steve tapped on Danny bedroom door. "Come on in!" He heard from inside. Steve stuck his head in. "Uh, Mr. Tanner, could I use your help in the kitchen?" Steve asked, sounding desperate, which he was. "Sure." Danny said, going in the kitchen. "I"ll be there in a minute." Steve called after him. Knock, knock! Joey walked over to the door of his bedroom, still holding the recorded laughter tape. He opened the door. Steve was standing in the doorway, looking kind of nervous. "Hey Steve," Joey greeted him. "Come on in." Steve took a step backwards. "Oh, no, I can"t. I just was hoping... never mind. Someone with your skills and talent wouldn"t want to. Nope, never mind." "Go on," Joey encouraged. "You"re on the right track." "Well, I was hoping that you"d come down to the kitchen and do a show for us." "Who"s "us"?" Joey questioned. "Well..." Steve said. "Everybody." "Okay, I"ll be there in a minute." Joey said. "After all, it is my birthday and everything. Hey, why not?" Joey sighed. "Great." Steve said. "Uh, Joey, go down the kitchen stairs." "Sure." Joey agreed. Steve sighed with relief. Now he had to hurry into the kitchen. Steve stuck his head in D.J."s room. "All set." He announced. "Great!" D.J. exclaimed. "Now go into the kitchen and keep everyone there, under all circumstances, okay?" Steve nodded. "No problem." D.J. hurried down into the living room and hung a banner over the front doorway that read; "Happy Birthday Joey! We love you!" She took a huge amount of presents out of the closet and put them on the coffee table. She went out to Steve"s car and got out the Three Stooges birthday cake. She hung streamers all over the house. She stuck a tape in the player that had cheering, applauding, and laughing on it. She would turn it on when it was needed. She cleaned up the living room real nice, and got all the dust bunnies out from under the couch (there weren"t many). She sprayed that goofy smelling air freshener all over the house. You know, usually the smell like artificial flowers and smells weird. But sometimes you can buy the kind that smells crazy and can make your nose do something weird. "Now," D.J. said out loud. "I can signal Steve." Meanwhile, Steve raced down the kitchen stairs. It was crowded full of the Tanner family, not mentioning Uncle Jesse, Joey, with Aunt Becky feeding the twins. "Steve, where"s the cookies?" Stephanie demanded. "Yeah, you promised." Michelle pouted. Uncle Jesse came over to Steve. "Yeah, it"s about time to listen to those cassettes. Kid, there aren"t any cassettes in here." Joey held up a puppet. "Doesn"t anyone want to see some comedy?" Danny shook his head. "No wonder you said you needed my help." Before Steve could speak, the back door opened. It was Kimmy Gibbler. She had the party bag in her hand. "iHola Tanneritos!" She greeted everyone. Steve gestured for her to go around front. Kimmy nodded. "Adiós Tanneritos." She left before anyone could say anything. Then, the doorbell rang. "I"ll get it." Joey volunteered, going over to the kitchen door. "No!" Steve shouted, jumping in front of Joey. "You can"t go in there!" "I can"t?" Joey asked. "I didn"t do anything wrong." Steve was desperate. "Look, D.J. will answer, I"m sure, just don"t..." Joey pushed past him, with the rest of the family following. "...go in there." Steve finished weakly. D.J. was hanging up the streamers when Kimmy came in the front door. "Oh, great." D.J. whispered. "You"re here!" Kimmy nodded. "Well, yeah, do you really think that I"d forget?" D.J. rolled her eyes. "Not particularly. Come on, let"s finish." Just then, the doorbell rang. Kimmy and D.J. looked at each other. "Who"s that?" D.J. asked worriedly. "I don"t know," Kimmy answered back. "But whoever it is just rang the doorbell." D.J. hurriedly tip toed over to the door and opened it. It was Rosemund Cary, of all people. "Oh, hello Donna Jo," She greeted D.J loudly. Then she noticed the decorations. "Your father has worse taste then I thought." D.J. sighed angrily. "What do you want?" Rosemund smiled a sickening sweet smile. "I want to see your father." "He"s not here." Kimmy broke in. "He"s not?" Rosemund questioned sharply. Kimmy shook her head. "Nope, he"s not. He went to NASA, which is located in Hollywood, to test fly the new space shuttle model. It crashed into Snoopy, you know, the coldest planet, right after it took off. So now he lives with the Snoopy-Eskimo people." Rosemund looked at D.J. "And who"s this?" She asked. Suddenly, the rest of the household, including Jesse, Becky and the twins, burst through the kitchen door. Rosemund put on a fake, sweet, face. "Oh, hello, Daniel." She greeted him sweetly... or too sweet. She looked at Michelle. "And how"s your little Michelle Elizabeth?" Michelle put her hands on her hips. "For goodness sake Rosemund, I"m in the 2nd grade." She smiled at Danny, and then secretly gave Michelle a dirty look. Michelle stuck out her tongue. Joey looked at D.J. "Deej, is this some sort of a surprise party or something?" D.J. nodded. "Yeah, I wanted to surprise you, but... well... there"ll be other birthdays." Danny turned to Rosemund. "Uh, I have to go get cleaned up. Could you stay here and wait?" "That will be absolutely divine." Rosemund said. "Great, I"ll only be a minute. Be back in a flash." Danny said, hurrying to his bedroom. "Yeah," Uncle Jesse said, turning to Aunt Becky, "We"d better get the kids to Aunt Ida"s house before she calls us." "Jess," Aunt Becky began, "Why do we have to hurry? It"ll be fine if she calls us." "No it won"t, because then we"ll be forced into having an hour long conversation about haircutting. Now, let"s get a move on." D.J. was startled. "But Uncle Jesse," She asked, "Aunt Becky, where are you going?" Aunt Becky turned to her. "We"re going out on a date. We"ve been planning this for months." Then she turned to Uncle Jesse. "Let"s go." And they left. Joey gave D.J. a big hug. "I"m so sorry D.J., but we can"t help other people"s plans. Danny and Rosemund have a date tonight too; after all, it is Saturday. I mean, everyone has a date on Saturday." Michelle looked at Joey. "Then how come you don"t have a date tonight?" She asked innocently. Stephanie looked at Michelle and then hugged Joey. "Because dad wants him to stay here with us." She replied. Joey winked at Stephanie and went upstairs to his bedroom, leaving D.J., Steve, Kimmy, Stephanie and Michelle to deal with Rosemund. Michelle looked puzzled. "Why doesn"t Joey have a girlfriend?" She asked harmlessly. Rosemund applied lipstick to herself. "Why, isn"t it obvious? He"s such an idiot that anyone who would like him would be just ill." Everyone stared at each other with their mouths open. Finally, Steve spoke up. "Well, I guess Mr. Tanner is ill, because he"s going out with you. But if he knew what you were really like..." Rosemund just ignored him. "Well, anyone who likes The Three Stooges obviously is ignorant." "You shouldn"t be here." Michelle spoke up. "Yeah," Stephanie broke in, "If you don"t like us, then you should just leave and don"t come back." "You"re right." Rosemund agreed. "Why should I hang around people with your kind of tomfoolery and dumbness?" Everybody just stared at each other, except for Kimmy, that is. "What"s tomfoolery?" She asked. Rosemund looked at the other kids. "I have proved my point." Just then, Danny came back in, straightening his tie. "Ready to go?" He asked cheerfully. "I sure am, good-looking." Danny smiled. "Okay, I"ll start up Walt- I mean, my nice red car." Rosemund turned back to the kids. "Good-bye children." She said to them. "See," Stephanie announced. "She does think dad is handsome." Rosemund gave them a dirty look. "Actually, he needs a nose job." Kimmy nodded. "I second that." D.J. gave Kimmy a disgusted look. "If dad "needs a nose job"," D.J. started, "Then why do you go out with him?" Rosemund smiled a fake smile at D.J. "Donna Jo, children, I want you to listen to me and I want you to listen to me good. I"m rich, and your father makes a good deal of money. It would double my income." Kimmy nodded then gave a confused look. "What"s "income"?" Rosemund looked hard at her. "Look it up in the dictionary, you ignorant child." Rosemund gave them a snotty look and left the house to go join Danny. The kids stared at each other. "Daddy likes a woman like that?" Michelle exclaimed, shocked. Stephanie looked at Michelle. "Michelle, I don"t think Dad knows." Michelle looked at them. "He"ll find out." "Joey, could we talk?" Stephanie asked, going into Joey bedroom, which used to be Jesse"s room. "Sure Steph," Joey said, putting down a remote control, "What"s up?" "Uh," Stephanie began, "You know Rosemund...?" Joey nodded. "Well, not very well, but yes, I sort of do." "Well, she"s awful! She pretends to like dad, but she told us that he needed a nose job. And she said that we were trouble and dumb!" Joey looked hard at Stephanie. "Steph, is that true?" Stephanie nodded. Joey stood up and stretched. "Well, you can tell him when he gets home." Stephanie was startled. "But why can"t you?" She asked. "Because you"re the one who said she"s awful." "But," Stephanie began. Joey shook his head. "No buts." Danny came inside and shut the door. He pulled up his jacket sleeve and looked at his watch. It read 11:42. He plopped down on the couch. "Ouch," He heard Stephanie exclaim, "Dad? Is that you?" Danny quickly stood up. Stephanie was lying on the couch, dressed in her bright yellow PJ"s. "Steph, what are you doing up? It"s almost midnight!" He looked around. Michelle was lying on a recliner chair, with D.J. sitting on the floor. Stephanie got into a sitting position. "Uh, dad, before you get happy again... I have to gently break your heart... or whatever Joey says." Danny sat back down. "What is it?" Stephanie and Michelle looked at D.J. D.J. took a deep breath. "It"s Rosemund. She"s ac-." Danny interrupted. "She wonderful, isn"t she? You know, she speaks not only English, but she speaks Spanish, French, Italian, German... and some other stuff. She"s a great singer. And she"s a wonderful pianist, violinist, flutist, and can play the mandolin." Stephanie couldn"t hold it in anymore. "But she"s mean to us kids!" She exclaimed. Danny looked shocked. "What?" "Well, first of all, she thinks Kimmy"s ignorant," D.J. began. Danny looked at D.J. "Honey, who doesn"t?" He questioned. "But she"s not finished!" Stephanie exclaimed. "She says we"re all are dumb; her exact words were tomfoolery and dumbness. Tomfoolery means trouble. She said that the reason she goes out with you is because if you get married to her, her income would be doubled. And she said that you needed a nose job. She"s really mean, dad. "Well, yeah," Danny continued. "But,- did she really say I needed a nose job?" Stephanie nodded. "Oh my God!" Danny said. He stood up and looked at Michelle. "Honey, did she really do all this?" Michelle nodded. "Everyone," Danny commanded, "get on the couch." The kids piled on the couch, with Michelle on Danny"s lap. "Are you three telling the truth?" He asked. The girls nodded. "O.K, I"ll call Rosemund. You girls get upstairs. It"s way past your bedtime." Stephanie kissed Danny. "Thanks, dad," She said softly. Danny patted her shoulder. "You"re welcome, sweetheart." Danny sighed and went into the kitchen. Danny picked up the phone and dialed Rosemund"s phone number; I-M-SWEET. Rosemund picked up on the third ring. "Hello?" She answered like a Queen or something. "Rosemund?" Danny said, "This is Danny Tanner. Uh, my daughter said some very disturbing things about you. "Oh, hello sweetie." Rosemund ignored the subject. "Isn"t it rather late to be calling?" Danny tried again. "Rosemund, she said that you said that I needed a nose job." Rosemund sounded shocked. "Now, why would I say that?" "Rosemund, she also said that you said my children were dumb and had behavior problems. And the reason we were going out was because if we got married, income would be doubled." Rosemund sounded confused. "But I didn"t say such a thing. Listen Danny, your daughters don"t like me. Maybe they don"t really truly like the idea of you dating. Maybe-" Danny interrupted. "Are you implying that my children lie?" "Well, what they said is not true..." Danny was starting to get frustrated. He knew what Stephanie said was true. "Rosemund," he said firmly. "I"ll see you tomorrow. Good evening." Danny hung up. He realized that he had uncomfortable feelings about Rosemund, but hadn"t noticed until that moment. He smiled as he went into his bedroom. " Happy birthday to you, " The family sang, " Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to Joey. Happy birthday to you! " Joey blew out the candles on his cake. Everyone clapped. "You know," Joey said. "I"m really honored to be apart of this family... even if we do celebrate birthdays the day after." Uncle Jesse leaned over to Joey. "Just remember, I"m only here because of the chocolate cake." Everyone laughed. Joey started to cut the cake, while Jesse and Becky got Nicky and Alex in their high chairs. D.J., Kimmy, Steve, Danny, Stephanie and Michelle got into their chairs. Joey sighed. "I"m glad there are no more surprises for this family right now." "You wanna bet?" Michelle asked teasingly, pulling out a wrapped present from under her chair. "What"s this?" Joey asked. "Open it." Michelle said excitedly. Inside the wrapping paper was a T-shirt with different fabrics for the sleeves and collar. It was hand sewn and must have been a size XXXXXXXXXXX L. Michelle smiled. "I"ve been working on this forever! Do you like it? It"s for my sewing badge." Joey smiled. "Michelle, I love it. Thanks so much." Uncle Jesse smiled. "Joseph, why don"t you try it on? Show everyone how it fits?" Joey glared at Jesse and smiled, "Okay, okay. I"ll be right back." THE END

"Angel Boy, do you want to tell me what happened?" Tess finally asked softly. "And why you think that you "failed"?" "Don"t you know?" Andrew moved his sad green eyes to Adam. "Didn"t he tell you?" Tess nodded slowly. "Adam did tell me a little bit. But I want to hear it from you, Andrew." "Everything is my fault." Andrew sighed as Tess sat down beside him and Adam pulled up a crate to sit on. "Mr. Chandler had been explaining to Samuel and Micah about how he was not going to keep Elizabeth from seeing Samuel anymore. He was saying how he still hated Loyalists, but that he wanted his daughter to be happy. "Micah was very angry about this. He was sad too though, and I suppose I can kind of understand why he would be." Andrew continued softly. He did not meet anyone"s eyes as he spoke, but instead stared down at the quilt on the bed. "There were some harsh words between some of them and then suddenly these men came into the store. I recognized them... they were Loyalists that had come in a few days before. They had been really angry then and told Mr. Chandler to start selling tea in his store again. They threatened him that he had better have it in two days when they came back. Today was... today was two days." Andrew sighed and took a deep breath. While he paused, Adam and Tess both glanced at each other, and then waited for the story to continue. "There was no tea, of course." Andrew finally said. "You know how Mr. Chandler is. So the men started to tear apart the store. They threw things, they broke things. Then everyone rushed to stop them. I... I tried to help, but I did not do so well, you see. But everyone continued to fight. It just got worse and worse. Then I saw one of the Loyalists pull out a knife." At this point, his voice cracked but he continued on. "He started to go for Micah, but Micah was not paying attention. I... I tried to stop him, Tess... I tried..." Andrew let his voice trail off. He felt hot tears sting his eyes and he stubbornly rubbed them away. "What happened next, Andrew?" Tess prodded him gently. Andrew took a shuddering breath. "I... I tried to stop him from getting to Micah. I started to run over there, but then somebody hit me with something. I don"t know what it was even, but the next thing I knew I was laying on my back with the breath just completely knocked out of me. The other man was still going after Micah though and I tried to yell and get his attention... but I couldn"t. I could hardly breathe... or even get any sounds to come out of my mouth. But Samuel saw what was happening and he ran over there. Tess, Samuel pushed Micah out of the way and he... he was the one who got stabbed instead." "But Andrew," Adam spoke up quietly, but surely. "That is not your fault." But Andrew shook his head in protest, as a few tears slipped down his cheeks. "It is my fault." He insisted, his voice choked with emotion. "If only I could have gotten there instead. I"m an angel. They can"t kill me. If I would have been there instead of lying on the floor, then Samuel would not be dead now." As Andrew finished his sentence, the sound of someone walking across the barn floor downstairs echoed throughout the building. Hearing this, Andrew and Adam glanced curiously over at Tess, but the older angel had disappeared. A few minutes later, feet could be heard climbing the rungs of the ladder that led to the loft. After a moment, Sarah"s head came into view. "Andrew, are you up here?" She asked at first. Then she noticed the angel sitting on the bed and a look of relief washed over her. "Oh, you are here. I"m so glad. Do you mind if I come up?" She asked softly. Andrew shrugged. "I suppose not." He managed hoarsely. Quickly he wiped his hand over his face in hopes of hiding the wet streaks that had found their way onto his cheeks from his tears. The girl climbed the rest of the way into the loft and that is when she noticed Adam sitting quietly on the crate beside his friend"s bed. She gasped with surprise, then looked curiously at him. "Who are you?" She asked quietly, never taking her eyes off the stranger in front of her. "My name is Adam. I am a friend of Andrew"s." The angel of death smiled weakly. "May I ask what your name is?" "I"m Sarah Chandler. I, I live here." She nodded and stuttered shyly. Adam nodded. "I"m pleased to meet you, Sarah." At that moment Andrew inhaled deeply, then brought his tired green eyes up to look the girl in front of him."Sarah, should you not be in the house... asleep?" She sighed. "Perhaps. But my mother and father are asleep and do not know that I am out here." Andrew looked at her. "Why are you out here then?" He winced as his words came out, as they had come across more impatient than he had intended. He wasn"t angry with Sarah, but he really did not feel like talking with her at the moment. He was tired and felt so much guilt and emotion bottled up inside himself, he was afraid he could not hold it in much longer. Hearing his words, Sarah looked a bit hurt. But she tried to ignore the tone in his voice and responded to him nevertheless. "I was worried about you. When you did not come home this afternoon, I thought maybe..." She let her voice trail off. That is when she noticed his red-rimmed eyes. "Have you been crying, Andrew?" Upon hearing this, Andrew shook his head quickly. "I am alright, Sarah." But the child was not convinced. She walked past Adam and went to stand in front of Andrew where he sat on the bed. She looked closer at him and though he ducked his head, letting damp clumps of hair fall to hide his face, she still caught a glimpse of the tears that remained hidden in the corners of his eyes. "You have been crying." She acknowledged softly, barely above a whisper. Gently she reached out a finger and brushed away the tiny pool of water beneath his eyes. "Why?" Andrew glanced briefly up at her. He wanted to say something, but when he opened his mouth the words would just not come. He could feel the soft and compassionate manner in which the girl was treating him, breaking the only levy and barrier he held up against the emotions he felt inside. Helplessly, he glanced over at Adam for help. Seeing this, the angel of death cleared his throat. "I believe that Andrew is feeling badly about what happened today at your father"s store, Sarah." Adam explained quietly, never leaving his seat on the crate. "Especially about what happened to Samuel." Sarah nodded sadly and she looked over at the dark haired angel. "I still cannot believe he is dead. It seems so unreal." She voiced honestly. Then she turned back to Andrew. "But why do you cry, Andrew? You hardly knew Samuel at all." Andrew let out a shuddering sigh. He really wished that the girl would give up and leave him alone. The love and compassion he could feel coming from her was almost too much for him to handle and he was afraid that it would soon become completely overwhelming. "Andrew?" She began again. She reached up her finger once more brushed away a stray tear that had managed to escape from the heartbroken angel"s eyes. Feeling her finger gently caress his face, Andrew brought up his hand to it and grasped her smaller hand in his own. Painstakingly, he looked up at her. "Sarah... please... please don"t. I, I can"t do it." From the sidelines, Adam watched the scene in front of him. He really was not sure why he was there or what he was supposed to be doing. A part of him was saying that he should kindly send the young girl back into the house, telling her that Andrew needed space, that he would be better in the morning. But another part of him, a stronger part, said not to. He didn"t know why, but the gentle heart and spirit of this child had touched his heart and deep down he had a feeling that she was going to be able to reach Andrew on this night where he and Tess could not possibly get to. The girl was very much attracted to his friend, the angel of death observed. It was quite obvious. But he could also tell that she was somehow drawn to Andrew in an even more profound way, although she herself might not even realize why. As Adam sat there and watched, he said nothing. He wasn"t sure what to say, or even if he should. Sarah seemed to almost have Andrew under some sort of spell. The heartbroken angel was fighting his own emotions for all it was worth, not wanting to let down his barriers in front of the young girl. But he was fighting a losing battle, as far as Adam was concerned. It was obvious that he was very quickly losing ground and was grasping desperately for a way to keep his self in check. "Andrew, please talk to me." Sarah pressed on. She looked him intently in the eyes and involuntarily shivered, as she could nearly feel the pain that emancipated from them. "Ever since you first came here, you have been there for Elizabeth and me. You let me talk to you about things, and you listened to me. Let me do the same thing for you. Please." She added a bit softly. Upon hearing these words, Andrew could unwillingly feel the facade he had built up crumble completely. He did not want to, but he could hold it in no longer. The tears he had so desperately fought against began to quickly stream their way down his cheeks and quiet sobs started to emerge from him. Taken aback, Sarah watched as he lowered his head into his hands and his shoulders gently shook. Her eyes wide, she looked up and took a step towards Adam. "I, I"m sorry." She whispered to the observing angel. "I made it all worse. I didn"t mean to make him cry." "No, no, no." Adam shook his head and stood up. He walked over to Sarah and knelt down so that he would be on eye level with her. "You did absolutely nothing wrong, Sarah. Today"s events have caused Andrew a great deal of pain and he has been holding them in, locked up inside of him. That"s not always healthy. You and he may not realize it, but you did him a grand favor." "I did?" She whispered unbelievably and Adam nodded. She glanced over at Andrew who was seemingly unaware of the conversation between the other two in the room. "But now what am I supposed to do?" "Just talk to him, sweetheart. He needs someone to listen to him." Adam told her gently with a weak smile. "And then he needs someone to help him understand what he already knows in his heart; that death is not the end of life and that Samuel"s death was not his fault." Sarah looked confused. "His fault? But Adam..." Adam shook his head. "Shhh, I know, but just talk and listen to him, Sarah. I believe that in doing so; you will do him a lot of good." Accepting this, the girl nodded. She walked back over to Andrew, where he still sat on the bed, quietly letting the painful emotions escape from him. Timidly, she lowered herself down and sat beside him. She didn"t know what she could say to console him at that moment and she could not help but find it strange to see him let his barriers down so much. She wasn"t used to such displays from him, but she accepted it all the same. It was obvious that something terrible was bothering him, other than the tragedy of Samuel"s death. Not knowing what else to do, she scooted herself closer to him. She leaned over and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. Andrew felt the girl beside him and he silently returned the embrace. He wanted to say something to her, but he just didn"t know what. And even if he did know, he could not have said anything at that moment anyhow, for he was still trying to regain control over his emotions. Instead he just continued to keep his arms wrapped around the compassionate child beside him. Finally, Sarah looked up at him. "Andrew, will you please talk to me? I know something is hurting you and it would probably help if you would just talk about it." "I, I don"t know, Sarah;" The angel finally managed, as his tears began to cease. "I am not sure that I can." She shook her head and looked up at him as their embrace loosened. "You can, Andrew. I know it hurts you, but you can. You have to." Andrew sighed. "Fine. But you will hate me once you hear what I have to say..." "I won"t." She shook her head. "Just tell me, Andrew." "Alright." The angel gave in. Then, after a small pause of contemplation, he began to unravel the afternoon as he had seen it. He started his story by telling her about how he had been in the store while her father had talked with Samuel and Micah and about how angry Micah had gotten. He talked about the point at which the trouble making Loyalists from a few days before had returned to the store and how they had brought friends along with them this time. During this, the young girl sat and listened quietly the whole time. She had heard the story earlier that day from Micah and her father, but now she was listening to it from Andrew"s point of view. "Of course, your father had no tea in his store." Andrew continued quietly, his voice still thick from emotion. "The Loyalists saw this and they got very angry. So your sister was sent into the back of the store so that she would not be hurt. After that, the Loyalists just went... completely wild on the store. They threw things, smashed and tore things..." Sarah shook her head. "What happened next?" "Micah went after them. I think he was already so angry that he was glad to take it out on these men. So a fight erupted and Samuel... Samuel joined in. But he fought against the Loyalists. It was... it was incredibly heroic of him." Andrew stated slowly. "I did try and help your father, as well. But I am afraid that I was not of much use, I do not fight very well. "The fighting got worse." Andrew continued. "By this point, everyone had injuries, big and small. But they kept on going. Eventually though, one of the Loyalists pulled out this knife and I saw him do it. He was going after Micah and Micah was so busy fighting someone else, he did not even see this. I, I started to go after them, but got hit... hard by somebody and ended up on the ground. The breath got knocked out of me and for a moment I could not even breathe. I... I just knew that Micah was going to die." Sarah watched him as his words stopped and a few determined tears found their way down his cheeks. He reached up and brushed them away, then looked over at the girl beside him. "Sarah, I..." But she shook her head. "Keep going, Andrew." She whispered to him. "What happened next?" He took a deep, shuddering breath. "Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion and although I wanted to, I could not take my eyes off of Micah. I watched as the Loyalist crept closer and closer up on him and then at the very last moment... Samuel came out of nowhere and purposefully jumped in between Micah and the Loyalist. I saw the knife strike him instead, but he refused to go down. Sarah, Samuel kept fighting until it was all over. And only after it was, after all the Loyalist had gone, did he allow himself to feel the pain. He collapsed on the floor of the store and a few minutes later... he was dead." "That"s when you left the store." She said, though it was more of a statement than a question. He nodded, not able to trust his voice. Another tear slipped down his cheek as he hung his head. Sarah observed her friend for a moment, all the while contemplating what she had just been told. Finally she spoke up, her voice soft and filled with understanding. "You blame yourself, don"t you?" She whispered. "You think it is your fault that Samuel is dead." He nodded. "It is my fault." He affirmed hoarsely, not daring himself to look the girl in the eyes, which he knew were probably at that moment filled with wisdom beyond her years. Sarah glanced over at Adam, who had been silently standing in a shadowy corner, watching the scene. He nodded encouragingly at the girl, and then she looked back at Andrew. "It is not your fault, Andrew." She told him surely and with confidence. "You did not hold the knife in your hand, another man did." He finally willed himself to look up at her. "But I was supposed to save Micah. If I would have been there, then Samuel would not have." "Andrew, you were stopped!" Sarah exclaimed. "You were hurt and stopped and you tried your best. Do not blame yourself for this! It is wrong and untrue. You"re telling yourself a lie." She added, this time more softly. "Please stop believing it." "I, I can"t do that, Sarah." He shook his head and with a sigh, he let himself lean back on the bed. He stared up at the roof of the barn and rubbed his face. "Why do you even stay here with me?" "Because you are my friend, Andrew." The girl replied sincerely. "I cannot let you do this to yourself." When he did not respond, Sarah felt tears form in her own eyes. She hated to see him do this to himself and she was afraid that if she did not get through to him soon, that he would shut her out completely. "Andrew, don"t shut me out." She pleaded with him. "Let me help you, listen to what I am saying. You"re only hurting yourself; you"re not making things any better." Andrew listened to what the girl was telling him and he wanted so desperately to believe her. But he wouldn"t let himself. He could not let go of the guilt that had grabbed him the instant the young man"s last breath left his body. He, again, saw the image of the dying man on the floor and he rubbed fiercely at his eyes. But the scene would not leave his mind, no matter how hard he tried. Finally, he looked desperately up at Sarah, who still refused to leave his side. "Sarah... Samuel is dead." He choked out. She nodded and spoke gently. "I know." "Elizabeth... she is completely heartbroken." The angel continued, closing his eyes as if he was trying to shut out the world around him. "Yes, she is." Sarah confirmed. "She loved him very much." He shook his head and laid his hand over his face. "It is all my fault." "No!" Came the girl"s instant response. A tear slipped down her face, but she remained strong despite this. "Andrew, stop this! It is not your fault, it"s not." But he was too lost in his guilt to take her words to heart. "They would both be alive right now, if I had only-" His words came to an instant stop when Sarah desperately thrust her hand over the angels" mouth, in a last desperate attempt to keep him from speaking. Surprised, he looked up at her when she leaned over where he was lying. "Andrew, stop." She whispered firmly. She took her hand off his mouth and looked at him intently. "It"s all nonsense and you have to stop this. Now. You do not know that Samuel would have lived." Sarah told him. "Would-haves and should-haves will not get you anywhere. You tried to help him and that is all you could have done. You tried, but someone stopped you. You did your very best, and sometimes that is all you... or anybody can do." Tears were streaming down the girl"s cheeks by now, but she refused to let it stop her. "No one blames you, Andrew, no one. My father only spoke of how heroically you all fought to defend his store. Never did he or anyone else blame you for Samuel"s death. Never. The only one who is doing that is you. Please believe me." "I want to." He replied softly, looking her in the eye. "Then do it." She told him. "If not for yourself, then for me. I hate to see you do this to yourself. Andrew, do you believe in God and in Heaven and things like that?" The angel smiled weakly and nodded. "Yes, I do, Sarah." He admitted quietly. "Then you know that Samuel is in Heaven. He"s alright now." The girl continued. "But you"re not alright. Stop blaming yourself. It is not your fault. You did everything you could and everyone knows that; everyone except for you." She wiped her hand across her face where her crying had left wet streaks. "You have to believe that." She added hoarsely. Seeing the tears on her face, he reached up and with his thumbs he gently brushed them away from under her eyes. "You"re crying." He observed softly. She nodded, as the tears began to fall faster. "You"re hurting yourself and it hurts me to watch you to. You"re the best friend I"ve ever had and you"re going to lose yourself, I don"t want that to happen. Andrew, I love you. And God loves you too. I know He can"t be mad at you; He doesn"t like to see you sad. Me either." The angel listened to the girl"s words and could not help but be in awe at the message she gave him. How ironic was it that the words she was telling him were ones that should be his own? And yet, while he hated that she had to do that for him, he could not help but feel like truth had been completely dawned on him at that moment. It was as if, all of a sudden, he knew she was right and that she was telling the truth. He believed her that he was not at fault for Samuel"s death and was suddenly overwhelmed with relief. "Sarah..." Andrew started slowly, unsure of what to say. "I, I"m sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. Y-you"re right. You are." She looked at him. "You... you believe me?" She asked him, barely above a whisper. He nodded. "Yes, Sarah, I do. I believe you. I know that you"re right. I won"t blame myself for this anymore. I know you"re speaking the truth. I guess it just took me a while to get it." He admitted.

"I don"t know," Gary said, standing up, "Maybe it"ll come later." "Yeah, maybe." She sighed, standing up also. Then she added softly, "I hope so." A/N Well, that"s it for Chapter 3. So, what"d ya think? Suggestions, comments, anything else? Just let me know! snipsa: Thank you so much for reviewing (this and "It"s All New"). And I"m glad you like Kimmy. It"s always nice when people single out a certain line they liked. It"s nice to know a line or piece of dialog you worked so hard to come up with didn"t go un-noticed. Thanks! Oh, I also want to say thanks for giving me that idea about a sequel to "It"s All New". I never thought about that! It"s a wonderful idea and I"m very eager to finish this one so that I can set to work on that sequel! Hopefully within the up-coming weeks, we"ll see it here... Must... continue to... type... So many ideas... so little... time Oh, and by the way, you were right. The episode I was speaking of was about the clairvoyant girl, Nikki, in #81; "Gifted". poe1911: I"m glad you liked chapter 3. Things might be coming along a bit more slowly now though, because I"m still trying to work out "a few bugs". And thanks also for reviewing "It"s All New". I know that just because a story doesn"t get a review doesn"t mean readers don"t like it, but I think I had felt a bit insecure about that one, so I wasn"t sure what to think. Thanks so much!) A/N Okay, I"ve talked long enough; on with the story! 4. Our Very First Day Later that morning, Stephanie was showing Arianna around the school. As Arianna pretended to be interested, she noticed all the looks she was getting and she thought she knew what everyone was thinking; A newcomer; in the middle of a school year? Arianna agreed with the silent thoughts. As she followed Stephanie out of the gym, she sighed. Why her? Meanwhile, back at the Tanner home, Gary was searching everywhere possible for the Paper. It just had to be there somewhere! Gary had asked Joey after breakfast if he had seen an orange cat. Joey had said in reply; "You mean like Garfield? Yeah, I saw an orange cat. Danny shooed him off the front porch earlier this morning." "Was there a paper?" Gary had asked. "You mean a newspaper? No, I didn"t see a paper." Joey had shrugged. Finally, after hours of desperate searching, Gary recovered the tattered Paper from the kitchen garbage can. Relieved, it didn"t matter much to the man that there was smashed banana on one of the pages or that someone beside himself had had to put it there; as a matter of fact, that didn"t even come to mind. It didn"t take Gary long to read the headline Hit-and-Run Kills 1 before he slipped into his leather jacket and took off down the street. If he didn"t get to Shackmoore Road fast, then there would be one less San Francisco citizen. "Hey, Tanner," A boy called out during lunch, "Who"s your friend?" "This is Arianna Hobson," Stephanie introduced the two, "She and her dad are staying with us for a while. They"re from Chicago. Arianna, this is Eric Kienstar." Then she whispered in the girl"s ear, "He"s one of the most hottest and popular boys in school." Arianna wrinkled her nose at the thought. She wasn"t much into boys, yet. Most of the ones she had met were gross and mean. But, she smiled warmly at the boy anyway. Eric then sat down across from them at the table and began to unwrap his turkey sandwich. "So how old are you, Arianna?" He asked the girl politely. "Eleven." Arianna replied, shyly. It made her feel self-conscious to have the supposedly most popular boy at school wanting to talk to her. He nodded, "I"m twelve. Which one of you is older?" He nodded his head towards the two girls. "She is;" Stephanie flashed the boy a smile, "By six months. I turned eleven last month." Eric nodded. "So how long are you going to be around?" He asked Arianna, curiously. The girl shrugged, "I don"t know, yet. But, as long as I"m here, I have to go to school here." "Great!" Eric exclaimed, smiling, "I hope that means I"ll see you tomorrow." Arianna nodded, "Yeah, I guess it does." "Good," He said, standing up with his lunch tray, "Then I"ll see you tomorrow then." She smiled slightly and nodded, "Tomorrow." Eric then flashed her one more smile and went in search of his friends. Arianna watched him go in a bit of awe. That, she could have sworn, was the first boy she had ever met who wasn"t gross or rude or anything else like that to her. Well, unless you count Gary, and in this case, she wasn"t including her father. Arianna turned her attention away from Eric and looked at Stephanie, "So, what"s our next class?" Abruptly and without saying a word, Stephanie stood up and began to storm out of the cafeteria. "Stephanie? Steph," Arianna called after her. When the girl left the room, Arianna"s shoulders slumped and she said quietly, "What"d I say?" As his daughter was experiencing some of life"s early lessons, Gary was racing against the clock, trying to find Shackmoore Road. He only had ten to fifteen minutes left. Finally he spotted a man who was just about to cross the street. He was doing it perfectly safe - or he would be, that is - if weren"t for the drunk driver who would run the red light. As he ran to stop the man, Gary was stunned to see that the man was none other than Danny Tanner! Danny was just as stunned and because of that, he stopped stepping off the sidewalk just as a red sports car whizzed past. Sub-consciously, it reminded Gary of the car Chuck had a few years back. "Danny, what are you doing here?" Gary exclaimed, while seeing that the article was gone. "You know, I was just about to ask you the same thing," Danny replied, "If you hadn"t come along when you did, that red car would"ve killed me! You saved my life, Gary!" "Well, it w-was just a right place, r-right time kinda thing." Gary quoted one of his favorite clichés. "Wow, Gary," Danny was still in awe, "You"ve saved five members of our family in only three days. You"re pretty good at this." "W-Well, why don"t we g-go on back to the h-house." Gary suggested nervously. He didn"t like where this conversation was going. "Oh, I can"t," Danny shook his head, "I"ve got some things I need to pick up at the store. But, I"ll see you later. Thanks again." He nearly gave Gary a big hug, but instead, resided to a handshake. After that, Danny walked across the street and disappeared into the crowds of people. Checking the Paper again, Gary was relieved to see that there was only one more article to take care of; a convenient store robbery. Though nobody was injured, Gary felt that he should at least try to prevent it. But, that was two hours away. So, he took his time and walked slowly toward the store, peering into store windows as he went. Arianna felt terrible. She didn"t know why, but it seemed that Stephanie was angry with her. What had she done? She didn"t mean to do anything. After all, they were friends - weren"t they? Later that day, Arianna finally had the chance to talk to Stephanie again. They were walking together on their way home. Neither one of them had said a word to each other since lunch. That was really starting to bother Arianna. Finally, she couldn"t hold it in anymore; "Stephanie, are you mad at me?" Arianna asked, softly, looking the girl in the eye. Stephanie didn"t say anything for a moment, then stopped and faced Arianna. "Well, what do you think?" "I, I think y-you are," Arianna said, looking down at her shoes for a moment, "A-And I don"t k-know why. Why are you mad at me, Steph?" Stephanie gave an exasperated sigh, "All school year I"ve been trying to get Eric Keinstar to notice me. He hasn"t given me a second glance. Then you come along and on your very first day, he introduces himself to you and then he says he hopes to see you tomorrow! How do you do it?" "I, I don"t know," Arianna shrugged, "I didn"t do anything. I don"t even like boys, if it"s any consolation." "Oh, yeah? Well, it"s not. Now, that Eric likes you, he won"t even remember my name!" And with that, she stormed down the street. Arianna"s shoulders drooped. She hadn"t tried to do anything; nothing at all. Now, Stephanie hated her. Arianna felt terrible. Slowly, she started for the Tanner home. Gary glanced down at the Paper. Yep, the robbery story was still there... unfortunately. He looked ahead of him at the store and began to walk towards it. Maybe, he could get the guy at the counter to- Suddenly, he stopped. No; it couldn"t be - could it? Yes, it was. He shook his head as he watched D.J. Tanner and Kimmy Gibbler walk into the store. How accident prone was this family, anyway? He quickened his pace and began to run towards the building. In the distance, he could see two rough looking teenage boys heading towards the store; that just made him run faster. Running into the store, out of breath, Gary quickly began to tell the manager that; "Listen, if you don"t close this store down, two kids are gonna come in here and rob you of everything you"ve got in here!" Then he pointed out the window at the approaching would-be-robbers. "Those two!" Whether it was just a precaution or whether he believed Gary or not, the man at the register began to lock the doors of the store. He had a panicked look on his face as he turned off the bright lights. That"s when D.J. and Kimmy noticed Gary in the store. "Mr. Hobson," D.J. exclaimed, "What are you doing here?" "I was, I was - listen; forget about that, would ya? Here, quick," He led the two girls behind a shelf full of potato chips, "I want you two girls to stay right here - no matter what happens. Don"t come out until I tell you, you understand?" The girls nodded and Gary ran back up to the counter at the front of the store. There were no other customers in the room - just the man at the register, who was hiding behind the counter. After making sure there was no one else in the store, Gary made his way back to D.J. and Kimmy. The girls were still crouched down where he had left them. He had only crouched down himself, beside them, when he heard someone banging on the locked doors of the store. He could hear to voices speaking to one another, very loudly, outside; "Open it up, Jason!" The first voice exclaimed. "I can"t, Pete!" The second voice said, with a twinge of tension in it, "I, I think they"re closed." "What? They can"t be!" The first replied angrily, "Here; let me try." "Ya see? It"s locked. And look; there"s nobody in there." "Yeah, well, I need that money! There"s gotta be a way..." Pete mussed. "There"s not, Pete," Jason urged the other teen, "C"mon, let"s go before we get caught." That was the last thing Gary heard the boys say, for they left the store. Arianna stared blankly at the math sheet for her homework. She should have been able to do the problems. They were easy. But, her mind wasn"t on fractions. As she sat at the kitchen table, she thought about Stephanie. "Do you need some help, Arianna?" Arianna looked up. Joey was standing behind her; a concerned look on his face. Silently, she shook her head "no". "Well, you"ve been sitting her for fifteen minutes and you haven"t even made a mark on your math sheet," Joey pulled out a chair and sat down, "Is something bothering you?" He asked gently. Arianna didn"t say anything for a moment. Then she said; "It"s Stephanie; she"s mad at me." "Any idea why?" The girl nodded, "At lunch today, a boy came and sat at our table. Stephanie says he"s the most popular guy in school. Anyway, now Stephanie"s mad at me because, well, I guess he sort of likes me or something. But I didn"t do anything! I don"t even like boys, yet!" She wrinkled her nose as if to prove her point. "Well, have you tried talking to her about it?" Joey asked. Arianna shrugged, "I tried to talk to her on the way home from school, but she wouldn"t listen." "Well, why don"t we go talk to her?" Joey stood up, "You can"t get any homework done like this, anyway." Upstairs, Joey knocked on Stephanie"s door, and then poked his head in, "Steph, can we talk?" She shrugged, "I guess so." Joey led a reluctant Arianna into the room and they sat down on Michelle"s bed. Stephanie looked as if she knew what was coming. "Stephanie," Joey started, "Arianna told me what was going on between you two." Neither girl said anything. "Look, you aren"t going to let a boy come between your friendship, are you?" Joey continued, "That"s not right. You girls need to talk this out... and listen to each other." "I guess you"re right, Joey." Stephanie sighed. "Good," Joey replied, "Now, Stephanie; we know your side of this, let"s let Arianna do some talking. Arianna..." "Oh, well, um..." Arianna began, "Listen, Steph, I, I didn"t do anything for Eric to like me, or anything. And I"m sorry if he does - I"m sorry for you and him because I"m just not into boys right now. I don"t care who they are and, and I hope you can understand that. I, I mean, I won"t be here forever. I"ll be gone in a few days. Eric will probably forget about me by then anyway." When she finished, she took a deep breath. Stephanie grinned, "You"re right, Arianna. I guess I never really stopped to think... or listen to what you had to say. I"m sorry I was so mean to you and, and I hope we can put this behind us and be friends again. What do you say? Friends?" She held out her hand. Arianna grinned and shook the other girls hand firmly, "Friends." "I still can"t believe it, Mr. Hobson," D.J. exclaimed enthusiastically, as she, Kimmy, and Gary walked in the Tanners" front door, "You were incredible!" "Yeah, Mr. H," Kimmy nodded and thumped Gary on the back, "How"d you know what those dudes were planning anyway? Are you a cop?" Gary gave the teenage girls a small, smile, "No, I"m not a cop. Now, um," He glanced at the clock, "Don"t you two have homework to do?" Kimmy shook her head, "Nah; Mr. Harrell wasn"t there today. We had a sub. And she didn"t give us any. So, now we get to hang out with you, Mr. H. Isn"t that great?" "Y-Yeah," He replied, "Um, great. Uh, listen, girls; I have some things I need to do. I, I"m going up to my room right now, but I"ll see you later, o-okay?" Soon he was up in his room. He couldn"t for the life of him, figure out what was with that girl; Kimmy Gibbler. She"s awful strange, he thought. When Danny walked in the door later, he was immediately bombarded with the latest news of Gary Hobson. He had saved a store from being robbed. And what"s more; he knew it was going to happen before it happened. That"s when Danny told them about how Gary had saved him. This made everybody even more amazed. As everybody chattered excitedly at the table about the rescues, Arianna glanced over at her father. He looked nervous and a bit worn out and she smiled at him. Later that night, Danny was at the table, talking to Joey. Joey was amazed at Gary"s actions. "Gary Hobson is awful strange, isn"t he?" Danny noted after a few minutes. Joey didn"t look so sure, "Stranger than Kimmy?" He asked. Later that night, Danny knocked softly on D.J."s bedroom door. He stuck his head in, "Deej, can I talk to you?" "Sure, dad," She replied, laying down the book she was reading, "What"s up?" "I wanted to ask you about earlier..." He began, "About Gary." "Wasn"t he incredible, dad?" She asked, still in awe, "I mean; it was just like one of those old John Wayne movies! You know, where he rides in just in time, scares off the bad guys, and saves everybody? How does he do it?" "Well, that"s what I wanted to talk to you about," He said, sitting down ion the desk chair, "Tell me again, without Kimmy"s interpretation of some hot, good-looking hero riding in, about what happened at the store." Danny"s hook his head as he thought about Kimmy"s tale. "Well, Kimmy and I had just stopped at the Gas "n Go to grab a soda," The teenage girl began, "I got Coca-Cola by the way. Kimmy got root beer and orange, so she could mix them together..." Danny motioned for D.J. to get back on topic. "Oh, right," She shook her head, "Anyway, we hear this voice yell, "the store"s gonna be robbed, lock the doors!', so we turn around and it"s Mr. Hobson! It was him! And the guy at the counter was locking up." "Yeah? Then what happened?" "Well, then the next thing we know, Mr. Hobson leads us behind a shelf of Doritos and tells us to stay put. And there were guys trying to rob the store, dad, I heard them. But, they couldn"t get in. They thought the store was closed. Mr. Hobson saved us, dad," D.J. assured him, "I don"t know how, but he did!" "Yeah, well -" Danny was interrupted, when Stephanie poked her head in the door. "G"night, Deej; g"night, dad," Stephanie said, and then started to turn away. "Hey, hey, Steph, come in here." Danny beckoned. A guilty expression came over the girl"s face as Danny pulled her closer, "Dad, it wasn"t me," She said, "Michelle chopped your tie in half. I just told her to. I didn"t think she would actually do it." "Wait a minute," Danny interrupted, "You what? Stephanie just gave a small smile, realizing she just gave everything away. "Never mind the tie right now," Danny just shook his head, "I just wanted to ask you something." Stephanie and D.J. looked at him expectantly. "Don"t you two think Gary Hobson is kind of strange?" He asked them. The girls then questioned him as if to prove a point; "Stranger that Kimmy?" A/N Well, that"s for now! Don"t go away - we"ll be right back when " Stranger than Kimmy " returns after this (few days) break! snipsa: Thanks! It"s wonderful to know you like my story. I don"t know, yet, how much longer it will be. Probably only 1 or 2 chapters left! A/N Okay, sorry this next chapter took SO long! My computer wasn"t working and I had some problems, but I promise; I will NEVER leave a story unfinished. You have my word. 5. Unplanned and Unwanted Events As Gary lay in bed that night, he couldn"t sleep. There were too many things bothering him; the Paper for one thing. This family got into so much trouble! He had already saved half of them! They suspected something, he knew it. So how would he keep the Paper a secret? Finally, after what seemed like hours of tossing and turning, Gary drifted off into sleep. The next morning, everything was the same story. Only this time Gary was up and at the front door at 6:30 AM. No Paper. Aggg! Gary was ready to pull out his hair. Where on earth was that cat? He hadn"t seen hide or tail of him for quite some time. That"s when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He turned around to see Stephanie and Arianna coming down, both taking the stairs two at a time. "Good morning, daddy," Arianna greeted her father with a smile. The smile quickly faded though when she realized that Gary was not smiling. "Uh, Steph," She turned to the other girl, "I think I hear your dad in the kitchen. Maybe you should go see if he needs any help." Stephanie shrugged, "Okay." Leaving her backpack by the front door, she left for the kitchen. "The Paper didn"t come, did it, daddy?" Arianna asked softly, letting her backpack slide to the floor as she sat down beside Gary. "No, it didn"t, Arianna," He replied, "I just don"t get it," He then looked her in the eye, "Arianna, honey, what do you know about this?" "N-nothing, daddy," Arianna replied, looking at her father strangely, "I don"t know where it"s at." "Arianna, you are the only other person here who knows about the Paper," Gary reminded her, growing more sure of his theory, "You"re the only other person here who knows when it comes; 6:30 AM. You"re the only other person here who would take it." "But, daddy," Arianna cried, "I didn"t take it! I, I didn"t! You have to believe me!" "Arianna, I thought you knew better than to take the Paper without permission," Gary said, shaking his head as he stood up, "And I know you know better than to lie to me. Now, where is the Paper, Arianna?" Arianna"s eyes filled with tears. She hadn"t taken it! She couldn"t have - she wouldn"t have! And what hurt the most weren"t Gary"s accusations, but the fact that he didn"t believe her. She had told him the truth, yet he didn"t believe her. "Daddy, I didn"t take it!" She wiped the tears off her face, "I, I didn"t!" And with that she ran out the front door. Gary felt terrible. His daughter was usually very honest; especially with him. And now, he didn"t know why he hadn"t believed her when she said she hadn"t taken the Paper. She had never taken it before, why should she start now? Feeling awful, Gary walked into the kitchen. Outside Arianna still crying slightly as she walked down the sidewalk. How could her father accuse her of stealing the Paper like he did? And he didn"t believe her; that was even worse! "Hey, little girl; you okay?" Arianna turned around. There was a man leaning against the STOP sign. Arianna gasped as she recognized him as the cabbie from before. Cautiously, she took a step back. "Hey, don"t be worried about me," The man said with a smile that didn"t quite meet his eyes. He took a step towards the girl, "I ain"t gonna hurt ya." Turning quickly, Arianna made a break for the house. She hadn"t got very far, before she felt a strong hand grab her by her upper left arm. She cried out in pain, as the man grabbed her.

the back of his mind all along. Finally, Andrew decided, he had been doing something right in this assignment. "It is true, Micah." Elizabeth spoke up for the first time since the two young men had arrived. "And I am very sorry, for I know that your feelings are hurt. But I need you to understand that I am not doing this because I dislike you. I love you." She added quietly. "Yet this is how you show your love?" Micah was quick to respond and it was obvious he was covering his hurt with anger. "Your reasoning sounds rather improper, to say the least." "I know that this does not make any sense to you." Elizabeth replied. "But Micah, I am not ready to turn my life over to one man just yet. Samuel is a Loyalist and I know that that alone is a good enough reason for you and my father to dislike him, but it is not for me." She took a deep breath. "I want to know Samuel. I want to do so without having to hide it from anybody." The room came to an awkward silence at that moment. And it was only then that anyone seemed to realize that thunder had begun to roll outside and the tin roof above was now being hit by steadily falling rain. "So what am I to do now?" Micah finally questioned quietly. "Shall I just walk home now, as if the young woman I love did not just leave me for a Loyalist? Shall I just pretend that I never knew you?" "I hope not." Elizabeth replied softly. She glanced at John and Samuel, who had remained silent during this exchange. "Because I am not forgetting you, Micah. I just need some time and some room to breathe for a while. I do not know what will come of this, but Samuel is quite prepared for that." She sighed sadly. "I only wish that you could understand." "So do I." Micah replied, shaking his head. "I do not think I will ever fully understand, but I want you to understand something. Elizabeth, I do love you and because of this, I want you to be happy. Even if it means that in the end... I must lose you. Though I sincerely hope is does not come to that." Tears welled up in Elizabeth"s eyes and she did not say anything as Micah now turned to Samuel. "Take care of her." He stated, trying to hide his anger with the other man. "And, trust me, if I find you have not, I will come find you and personally see that you are quite sorry that you ever laid eyes on her or me." Samuel nodded slowly. "I will take care of her, Micah. You know I would never let anything happen to her. I love her too." "Aye, well, I am doing my best to forget that." Micah replied. "Though it is not easy, especially since you are a Loyalist. Does it not bother you that this young lady"s Father is one of the most strongest-willed Patriots this town has? Why do you not despise me?" "We have different political views." Samuel shook his head. "But I will not allow this alone to run the rest of my life. I do not agree with you or Mr. Chandler, but I can accept you both as human beings with your own opinions. Can you not do the same for me?" "No, I cannot." Micah stated angrily. "I will not accept anyone who supports the king. Not now, not ever." "Is this truly how you feel?" Samuel questioned softly. Suddenly the front door to the store banged open and in came the men that Andrew recognized from two days before. Standing in the opening were the Loyalists who had threatened John and demanded he have tea for sale when they returned. And this time they had apparently brought extra friends along with them. Alarmed, Andrew did a quick glance around the store and noticed that, just as John had said, there was no tea being sold. "What can I do for you gentlemen?" John asked loudly, though he already knew what they wanted. "You know exactly why we"re here, Chandler." The ringleader, Lars, replied as he slowly pulled out a wicked looking knife. "We came in here and told you to start selling tea and that we would be back in two days." "It"s been two days." A young man, Thomas Goodson. He took off his hat and shook some rain from it, then pushed it back on his head. "And I don"t see any tea." "Leave my store." John ordered the men. It was obvious to anyone watching that the shopkeeper was doing his best to keep his temper under control. "I will not sell something that your king taxes unjustly." "You are disloyal. A worthless nobody who is foolish enough to try and resist the authority of the British Empire." Lars told him. "And since you seem to refuse to change your ways, then we"ll try and make ourselves more... persuasive." The man nodded in the direction of the goods and immediately the small group of Loyalists scattered about inside the building. Andrew watched in bewilderment as the men began to throw things off the shelves and tear the store apart. He could hardly believe it. He knew that they had strong opinions about the king, but he hadn"t been completely aware of how strongly they felt. Micah had not had a very good day. A fellow Patriot, John of all men, had accepted a Loyalist and was allowing him court his daughter. Micah"s girl! Because of all this, he was just itching to crack Samuel"s head. But because of Elizabeth, he wouldn"t. Now seeing this Loyalist incursion was ironically just the thing he needed at that moment. He was angry and these Loyalists were about to find out. The next thing Andrew knew, Micah was rushing past him in an attempt to stop the attack that was taking place. He leaped onto one of the men and thrust his knee into his chest, riding the unfortunate fellow to the ground. Then he whirled and engaged another. He was startled when he heard a grunt and crash behind him. He turned and saw Samuel rushing by with a Loyalist firmly locked against his shoulder. Now this was surprising to Micah; he had expected this Loyalist who stole his girl to hang him out to dry. But he was here, fighting his own kind. This made Micah frown with puzzlement as he fought. He didn"t know what Samuel was trying to pull, but he would be ready for it. The chaos began to grow; over the shouts of the men, Andrew heard John order his daughter to go into the back of the store. She did as she was told and then John pushed past Andrew, joining in on the fight that was taking place. Again, I did have assistance in writing this fight scene. If I hadn"t, it wouldn"t have been half as exciting. Or realistic for that matter. So thanks and enjoy everyone! Chapter Twenty-Four As a thunderstorm began to rage outside, Andrew took in the scene without a clue of what to do to help. What could he do? Even if it did deem appropriate of him to join in the fight with the other men, he doubted that he would be much good at all. He was pretty sure that he would just end up getting in the way and getting clobbered in the process of doing no good whatsoever. Wait a minute; he was an angel. He couldn"t fight people! But he had to help his assignment. While he tried to reason out this very confusing ordeal, John landed beside him in a heap. "Andrew, what are you doing? Get off your rear and help!" With that John waded back into the fray. Andrew was still very confused, but he decided to listen to John. He tried to form his hand into the basic shape of a fist and then charged toward Thomas. Andrew arrived just in time for his nose to meet his opponent"s much more nicely formed fist. He was halted with a squelch and fell over backward to the floor in a sitting position. Andrew held his nose and wondered in a daze how so much blood could come from so small an opening. While this was happening, John had tackled Lars and gotten in close enough to prevent Lars from using his knife. Now they were on the floor fighting for control of the weapon. As Micah and Samuel were fighting on opposite sides of the store, Micah yelled across the room: "Samuel, what are you doing?" "Trying to help!" Samuel called back, never taking his eyes off the man he fought. "Why? We"re enemies! Oh, I see; organize a fight with other Loyalists and prove your worth to John the Patriot!" At this point, Samuel got angry. He made his way across the room until he was fighting beside Micah. He yelled anyway. "Would you just stop? Not everything revolves around politics! This is a fight, not ideology! You"re my friends, and you are in trouble. And in case you have not noticed, we are the only thing standing between these scumbags and Elizabeth!" As if to accentuate the point, two Loyalists made a run for the back of the store. With a joint howl of rage, both Samuel and Micah bulled through everyone and everything in the way and caught up to the men threatening the young woman they both loved. Samuel sacked one from behind and Micah jumped high in the air and landed on the other"s shoulders. Standing back up, the two men each shared a weak grin and ran back into the fray. Maybe Samuel"s right. Maybe there is something more to all of this, Micah thoughts began. But these new thoughts were soon interrupted by the fight that continued on. Andrew knew he was an angel and couldn"t be killed, but he could not help but fear for the lives of his friends. He had found a frying pan and was casting about with it wildly, trying to be useful but not really accomplishing much. Out of pure luck he succeeded in whacking one Loyalist over the head, who in turn crumpled with a loud bong. I think I"m getting the hang of this! Andrew thought to himself and swung some more. Samuel and Micah were back to back in the middle of the store, beset by three Loyalists. Thomas picked up an ax handle from a rack and ran at the two from their blind side. Seeing this, the angel stood and rushed him, shouting a warning at Micah and Samuel. The attacker turned and swung his make-shift weapon at Andrew in a wide arc. Andrew dodged but the tip of the handle caught his right knee, smashing it into his other knee. He fell with a yelp and dropped the pan, again on the floor. Micah and Samuel were doing very well; they had fought enough to go on the offensive, one Loyalist was on the ground, and Samuel was working on another. John wasn"t doing as good. Lars kicked him off and he hit his head as he landed. He wasn"t moving. The Loyalist stood and brought his knife to bear. Micah saw this and attacked the ringleader. He punched him hard in the side and Lars doubled over. There was a loud crash and Andrew saw that Samuel had thrown his opponent bodily through the display window. He then jumped on another. Andrew crawled over to John and shook him, trying to wake him up. His eyelids began to flutter just as Micah yelled for help. The young man was already cut on his hands and forearms from warding off the knife wielding assailant. Samuel saw this and let his man go and ran for the knife. Andrew was directly behind him and struggled to stand up and charge him. He knew he could get there first and had the perfect angle. He wobbled to his feet and went for Lars" back. Before he got there, another Loyalist came from his right. Andrew moved as fast as he could, trying to get to Lars, who had his knife raised for a fatal blow. But he wasn"t fast enough. The other Loyalist delivered a brutal kick to Andrew"s ribs which drove the wind completely out of him and made his chest crunch inward. He thought of this while he sailed backward and landed beside John, hitting the wood floor hard. John then rose up on one elbow and hurled an empty bucket at Andrew"s attacker, knocking him off his feet. Andrew then watched in horror as Lars" knife came down right towards Micah. Just then, Samuel dove in front of Micah and plowed into Lars. As the knife came down on Samuel, he just grunted. After they both landed, he delivered a savage elbow to Lars" face, laying him out. "Samuel, are you alright?" Asked Micah, helping him up. "Fine, it"s just a scratch." Said Samuel as he pulled his coat closer around himself. "Look out!" John yelled as another foe approached them from behind. With that, the fight resumed. Andrew kicked himself for not getting there first, but was relieved that at least Samuel wasn"t hurt too badly. Just how badly he himself was hurt though finally dawned on him and he lay back with a moan. But the fight continued on around him and John was able to get back up help defend his store. The storekeeper pulled himself to his feet and grabbed an ax handle, advancing on the similarly armed Loyalist, Thomas. They met with a crack, trying to hit each other with their staves. John was older, stronger, and had more experience than his opponent, but his opponent was younger, with more energy and stamina. While they battled back and forth, Micah and Samuel were jointly able to finish off the last of the others. Andrew crawled over to Thomas and pulled his feet out from under him. He went down with a yell and John quickly jumped forward. "Get out of my store." John snarled breathlessly, with his stave a few inches from the other man"s throat. Thomas gulped and stood slowly. He and the other able Loyalists roused as many friends as they could and carried the rest out. They limped through the door, which was by now hanging halfway off its hinges, and out into the storm, disappearing into the gloom. John, Micah, Samuel, and Andrew walked to the middle of the store and surveyed to wreckage: furniture was broken, produce was squashed and smeared everywhere, racks were emptied, and shelves were cleared and overturned. After seeing the carnage, they looked at each other. They did not look much better. But they were alive, and Elizabeth was still fine. Samuel grinned weakly at Micah and Micah couldn"t help but return the gesture. Then Samuel started coughing. When he brought his hand down from his mouth, it was covered with blood. Shocked, Micah gasped. Where had all that blood come from? Now that he looked harder, he thought he saw blood dripping from the bottom of his jacket. "Samuel, are you all right?" Asked Micah, alarmed. "It"s nothing..." The young Loyalist gasped. "It"s... just a scra...." Before he could finish, he dropped to the floor, face down. Startled by this, everyone, including Elizabeth who had ran from her hiding place, knelt down beside him. John rolled him over and as he did, the younger man"s coat opened. Elizabeth gasped with horror and her father pulled her in close, shielding her face. Samuel"s shirt was soaked with blood from a large stab wound on the right side of his chest. "Someone fetch the doctor! Now!" Screamed Elizabeth, who had torn her face from her father"s protective coverage. Andrew jumped up immediately and started for the door. John looked at the wounds Samuel had sustained and wondered how he had kept fighting. He sadly shook his head. "Andrew, stop." John said softly, yet reluctantly. It was obvious he did not like to admit what would come next "Elizabeth... it"s no use." Hearing this, Andrew stopped and the small group crowded around the wounded young man in the middle of the shop floor. Elizabeth sat closest. "Samuel!" She exclaimed her voice cracking as she spoke. She took one of his limp hands in her own and squeezed it lovingly. "Samuel, please, can you hear me?" "Are you sure I should not go for the doctor." Andrew asked as he began to turn towards the door again. "No, lad." John said softly as he grabbed Andrew by the arm. "No. There will be nothing he can do." Andrew"s eyes widened in horror. "You mean..." John nodded and held his finger up to his lips to silence the rest of the angel"s question. "Yes. Now not another word about it. It will do no good" Andrew just nodded numbly and watched as John went to Samuel"s other side and the young Loyalist moaned again. "Elizabeth," Samuel began slowly, each word a job of its own as it became more difficult for him to breathe. "I, I love you." Through tears, she nodded. "I love you too, Samuel. Hold on. Please hold on." He shook his head. "I can"t." He said softly. "It is my time to go. I know, for I can see an angel here with me now and I am not afraid. But Elizabeth, you must... must promise me something." She nodded, unable to speak, and he continued. "You must promise me that you will live a happy life. Marry and have a family, for I know that when you do you will cherish them." He took a deep gasping breath. "Micah is a fine man, Lizzie. I know that, that he loves you and he will care for you, perhaps even better than I would have liked to myself." Finally, the dying young man glanced up at Micah, who was kneeling by Elizabeth side. "Micah, you are a fine man. Know that... that I always admired your strength and, and your loyalty for what you believed in." "You"re a good man too, Samuel Carroll." Micah said quietly, looking the other man in the eye. "Know that." Samuel just nodded and took staggering breath. Then, heaving a sigh, the last breath slipped from his body. Upon this, Elizabeth burst into tears while John and Micah tried unsuccessfully to console her. Throughout all of this, Andrew had not been able to say anything. He could only stand to the side and watch in horror at the scene unfolding before him. It was horrible. So horrible, in fact, that he could scarcely believe it was happening. But it was, and Andrew knew that when he saw the Angel of Death, Adam, appear by Samuel"s side what the young man"s fate would be. "Adam, no. You can"t!" Andrew protested as the other angel appeared in angelic form beside the wounded man. Andrew had not ever spent great lengths of time at once with this Angel of Death, but he met him quite a few times before and recognized him right away. Thunder rumbled outside as Adam shook his head sadly."I have no choice, Andrew. You know that. It is his time now." Andrew shook his head fiercely. "No!" "I"m sorry, Andrew." Adam responded softly. "But it is time to take him Home." And that is when Andrew watched as the last breath left Samuel"s body and as Elizabeth began to weep bitterly. That is when it hit him: a key to his assignment was... was dead. And it was his entire fault. Everything was ruined because of him... just like the nightmare he had had. The guilt he was hit with at that moment was overpowering and suddenly the store was much too small. Quickly, Andrew turned around and rushed out of the building. It was down pouring outside, but this did not stop the distressed angel. He ran across the nearly empty street and into the forest on the other side. He could feel the rain penetrating his skin and mingling with the tears that were now on his face. He did not even know exactly what he was running from. He just knew he had to get away; away from John, Elizabeth, and Micah. He had to get away from the now dead young man on the floor of the store. He ran further and further into the trees until his legs could carry him no more. Finally, gasping for breath, he collapsed onto the muddy ground beneath a large tree. The backs of his calves ached from running and he was by now soaked straight to the skin, but he did not even notice. He could only think of one thing. Every time he closed his eyes he would see it again. Samuel jumping in front of Micah and taking the knife instead. It had been his fault. He should have been there instead. And now that Samuel was gone... his assignment was incomplete. He, the one assigned to fix a problem, had only succeeded in making everything worse. He had just ruined everything, just as he had feared in his nightmare. He shook his head, trying to erase the image of Samuel collapsing onto the floor, blood spread across the man"s shirt. But the image would not leave his mind. It stayed there, looming in front of his eyes no matter what he did. With a shuddering breath, he reached up and pushed his dripping hair out of his face and rubbed his eyes. But the image remained. And it continued to haunt him, as he knelt in the mud and as the rain continued to come down around him. First, I"d like to thank Jenni-OnThisSide, Garjzlavarden, and Yva J. for continuing to review this story. The response I got from the last chapter really encouraged me to continue, as it was much stronger than I had originally anticipated. So thank you!! Secondly, I would like to dedicate this chapter to Yva J: Founder of the Advocacy of Adam Appreciators. ;-) I love the way you roll!! Chapter Twenty-Five A few hours later, it was dark outside and the rain was coming down just as hard, if not harder. The thunder continued to rumble and the lightening could be seen flashing outside the windows of the Chandler home. Tess watched as the Chandler family sat silently together in their parlor. There was hardly a word between anybody. Elizabeth simply stared straight ahead into the fire. There was no emotion on her face, yet it was obvious that she had been crying from her red-rimmed eyes. John sat quietly, smoking his pipe. He looked like he was deeply lost in thought and no one even tried to make conversation. From the kitchen doorway, Tess sighed as she watched the sad scene in front of her. She shook her head as she thought about the afternoon"s events. Everything had been running smoothly at the house that afternoon. It had been raining heavily outside, but there was plenty of housework to do inside the house. But then the front door had opened and the John entered with both Elizabeth and Micah with him. All three of them were dripping wet, and Elizabeth appeared to be in a daze. It was there that they had learned of the earlier happenings. John told all of them about the attack and fight with the store and how Samuel had fought to defend them. Even though he was a Loyalist and they were not. And then he told them about the way one of the men had gone after Micah, only to be interceded by Samuel who took the knife himself. He had told them about the way the young man had died on the store floor.

"All blown up during your little "vacation.' So in a way, not only have you knocked me up, but now I have to decide whether or not to let the little monster gestate until it"s old enough to build itself robotic limbs and come after me and killing it, and it"s all thanks to you." "I don"t think our kid is gonna behave like your brother, Doc." "Oh, really." "I mean, the boys aren"t exactly what I"d call violent..." "Oh my God. The boys. What are we going to tell them? What if they run away again? What if they end up-" The Doctor clutched at his chest. "Brock, I"m seeing spots. Help me to the couch." Brock rolled his eyes. The Doc could be such a drama queen. The problem was, he pulled this shit so often that it was hard to tell when he was faking. Sometimes, it seemed like the Doc might not even know whether or not he was faking. Telling the Kids: "So are you and dad, like, uhm. So I guess we"re a real family now?" "Look, boys, we were always a real family. And I promise we won"t love the new baby any more than you two." "Aw, c"mon." Hank rolled his eyes. "We know that. It"s just kinda weird, I mean," "-having it this late," Dean continued, seriously. "Me and Hank have been talking about it, and with all of pop"s medical conditions, you have to be prepared for the possibility that something might go wrong." "You mean, besides the fact that I"m a dude and your dad"s a dude and doesn"t really have any lady parts to speak of-" "He"s already given birth once before," Dean continued, as if men ending up pregnant were an everyday occurrence. "And that process was terribly traumatic. I mean, couldn"t the two of you just altered the formula from our old "birthday presents" or adopted?" "Yeah. We coulda had a little Deanette or something." "Or a little Henrietta." "Pfft, nuh uh. A girl me would still be too macho. It"d have to be a girl you." Dean rolled his eyes. "Anyway. What we"re saying is that this old-fashioned method, while nostalgic-" Brock could barely believe his ears. Only in this family. "Boys, ah, be as it may, this wasn"t exactly planned..." "So it was a love child," "Hank, I"m not even sure that means what you think it means." Dean cleared his throat dramatically, pointing his finger in the air in a way that made him look more like his dad than ever. "What my dear brother is trying to infer is that you and our pop were... consensually affectionate, in the manner of grown-ups, and failed to utilize proper protection?" "Oh, I s-wait, NO! It was a weird chemical compound that did this! In no way did your dad and I do the na-" he caught the confused expressions on the boy"s faces, "-er, make... ah... have sex," he finished lamely. "What can I say to make you boys understand that?" Hank and Dean both exchanged a skeptical look. "...a lotta stuff happened after you left, Brock." "We"re not just little kids anymore." "We know about the birds and the bees." "And about birds and birds, too." "And birds and eggs." "And birds and-what? Oh, right. Poor Uncle Hatred." Dean shook his head. "Boys! Please! It"s really not what you-your father and I still like women. We really do. We prefer women and on toppa that we are not attracted to one another at all." Hank and Dean shared another look of collusion. "Riiight." Hank said patronizingly. "And some guys like both ladies and dudes. And that"s okay too. Isn"t that right, Dean?" "It is? Since whe-" "I said, isn"t that right, Dean?" "Uhm, is this a tri-I mean, yes. We would not think less of you either way! If you were. Which you aren"t. But if you ever changed your mind, which you won"t, but if for some reason, say we were in an alternate universe or something and it was a different you and a different pop, then the different me and the different Hank would still... uhm..." Dean trailed off awkwardly. The younger twin was beet red by this point-his face practically matched his hair. "Well, thanks, boys. I really feel, uh. Like we got accomplished here today. Now if you excuse me, I gotta go... be... somewhere that isn"t here. "Cause otherwise, I might do somethin" I really regret." "Oh-okay, Brock. Have a nice... time." "Yeah. And, uh, congratulations?" Brock grunted. Violent Hormone-Induced Moodswings: Brock jumped out of the helicopter, landed on the agent that had just double-crossed him, and twisted his neck all the way around until he heard a satisfying snap. He then stole the guy"s parachute, strapped it on, and pulled the rip cord. When he landed, he discarded the chute and went for his knife. The target was waiting for him. Bad move. The guy shoulda ran while he still had the chance. "Hey, buddy, you like pies?" "Vy no, I detest zem!" "Well, too bad, "cuz I am gonna make mince meat outta you!" Seeing his advantage, Brock leapt, when-his watch beeped. Brock dodged out of the way of his opponent"s counter-strike, and tapped the "answer" button before going in for another stab. "Kinda busy here, Doc." "So? I wouldn"t have called you if it wasn"t important." "Fine. Go ahead then." "Where"s the peanut butter?" "For the love a"-are you kidding me?" "Obviously you"ve never been pregnant. I have a craving, Brock. I wouldn"t expect a man like you to understand." "Fine. Whatever. Didja check the back of the fridge? "Cuz that"s where it is." "What? No it isn"t." "Look again, Doc. It should be behind the ketchup, mustard and pickles." "But the ketchup and mustard are old." The target halted abruptly, obviously frustrated that his opponent wasn"t giving him his full attention. "Vat is zis? If you are not going to take zis zeriously-" One swift cut and the target was on his knees, blood rupturing from a major vein in his throat. Brock turned his back on the guy. "I know, but last night was hamburger night, remember? So all that stuff"s been moved to the front of the fridge." Within the borders set by the communicator watch, the Doc rolled his eyes. "Well, that"s just stupid." The target staggered to his knees and burbled, "Samsonnnn!" Brock stuck out his arm and clocked the guy in the chin, not bothering to check if he even went down. (He did.) To the watch, "you don"t like it, you make dinner from now on." "Well, there"s no need to be snippy about it." The target began crawling towards Brock, still spurting blood everywhere. Man, some guys just didn"t know when to quit! It was starting to look like he would have to make good on that mince meat deal. In the meantime, Brock landed a quick kick to the guy"s face. "Doc, I"m-I"m on a mission. I gotta go." "Oh, excuse me, James Blond. I"ll let you get back to your big important spy work. I have a lot of pretty important stuff to do myself, you know." "Yeah. Sure you do." "What, you don"t believe me?" "No, I just don"t care. Goodbye, Doc." Brock squatted behind a handy chunk of ice, and motioned for his fellow S.P.H.I.N.X. members to follow suit. "Now, here"s the plan. Me an" Shore Leave are gonna," His watch beeped. "Brooock?" Brock"s team members covered their mouths, snickering or looking away, trying not to laugh. "Oh my God, what?" "Can you pick up some ice cream on the way home?" "We have ice cream." "No, what we have is that non-dairy low-fat sugar-free crap Dean keeps on insisting on buying. I need the real stuff. Please." "I... look, I don"t think I"m gonna have time before I get home tonight. Can"t you just get one of the boys ta do it?" "You don"t love me!" Now some of the guys were really laughing. Or looking genuinely concerned (which was worse.) "What the-Doc, what the hell?" "Admit it! You hate me! You"ve just stayed all these years for the kids. And once they"re all grown up, you"re going to abandon me just like everyone else!" "Doc, I am not alone right now. All a" my team can hear-" "So what? Let them! It"s not like everyone doesn"t already know. Who cares about stupid old Rusty Venture, he"s just a joke and a has-been, never mind the fact that he"s carrying your-" Brock put the watch on mute and gave the group a simmering glare. The Doc didn"t seem to notice from the look of things-he was still ranting away on his end. "I, ah, need to take ten, everybody." In a walking crouch, he retreated to a distance some ways away from the others, and took the watch off mute. "Look. I"m sorry, I"m gonna be home real late tonight, but you know what, you do me and the baby a favour and calm down and I"ll bring you back a buncha fresh bodies, all right?" Great, now the Doc was sniffling. "You mean dead people?" Brock clapped a hand over his eyes. Some people complained about getting their baby mamas pickles to go with their ice-cream. "Yeah, Doc. Lots and lotsa dead people, just for you." The Doc seemed to be perked up by this, the tone of his voice changing from morose to slightly greedy. "How many dead people?" Brock rolled his eyes. "I dunno, Doc, how many do ya need for whatever it is you"re plannin" to do?" "Two or three dozen should do the trick." "Okay, fine. Thirty-six dead guys, comin" up." "Oh, and Brock?" "Yeah." "If it"s not too much trouble, can you put them on ice or something so they don"t go off? It"s just that I"m used to them being here already, but what with the travel time from... well, wherever you are..." Brock looked around the Alaskan tundra, putting up his arm to conceal the communicator from a fresh gust of wind-borne hail. "You know, I don"t think that"s gonna be a problem." He hung up and shuffled back over to his team. This was going to be a challenging mission and they couldn"t afford any more distractions. It was time to psych "em up. "All right, men, here"s the deal. We-" The communicator went off, cutting Brock"s pre-game pep-talk mid-stream. Christ, this had to stop happening! Ignoring the knowing looks from his coworkers, Brock spoke softly but firmly into the speaker on his watch. "Look, Doc, I am literally in the middle of a major sting operation. I"m talkin" like, ten of us versus about a hundred E.C."s." "What, so they"re aliens? Why can"t they just phone home and fuck off already? Why the hell do they need S.P.H.I.N.X. to go in and beat them up if all they want is to glow at people and get little boys to feed them Skittles?" "Enemy combatants, Doc. I"ve heard you use the phrase yourself, so don"t pretend you don"t know what it means." "Well, can"t someone else do it?" "...what?" "I mean, do they really need you there? I should think I need you more right now. Besides, it"s not like a gigantic top-secret-but-totally-visible-from-Google-Maps base is going to go anywhere anytime soon." "Doc, did you put a tracer on me?" "...noooo. What gave you that idea? Anyway, this entire renegade spy thing is... well, it"s been done, hasn"t it? Besides, I need you with me so that I can leave the compound without fearing for my life. We get into enough crazy shit on our own, don"t we? So what the hell are you hanging out with those losers for?" "These "losers" as you call them have been the ones actually keeping you and the boys safe for the past ten months." "Yes, because squatting on my property while allowing us to be terrorized, tortured, kidnapped, stripped naked, sedated-" "Look, I gotta go. Can we pick this up when I get home?" "But it"s a freaking suicide mission! I am looking at at least five hundred slightly radioactive bad-guy bio-signatures, and you"re lying about how big that team is; there are only four of you." "I thought you said you didn"t put a trace on me." "...I, uh, well, technically it"s a function of the watch-" "One that you will show me how to turn off so that future missions are not compromised, or it"s staying off next time. Are we clear?" "Oh, right. So I get to sit here and worry while you"re out having the time of your life. That seems fair." "Doc-" "Fine! I hope you get blown to bits." The transmission winked out. There were a few titters from the rest of the men. Brock looked up, "okay, what? Anyone got anythin" to say, they better do it right now." Mile High was making the "whipped" hand motion. Shore Leave provided sound effects. Giving Things Up: "Brock, I need you to come upstairs." Brock laid his head down on the pillow. He looked guiltily from the pissed-off looking broad he"d picked up on his last trip into town to the communicator watch perched on his night-stand. "It"s just my boss. He"s a little Howard Hughes," "Who?" Oh, man. High school girls. Seriously. "Ya know that episode of the Simpsons where Mr. Burns starts a casino and suddenly he"s wearin" Kleenex boxes on his feet and tries ta get Smithers to go into a little model airplane he built?" "But this place isn"t a casino." Why did the young, hot ones have to be so dumb? It wasn"t this way with older chicks. By around thirty or so it always evened out. Maybe unattractive broads just had to start learning shit faster because guys weren"t falling over themselves to do everything for "em in hopes of getting laid. Britney (she claimed that was her real name) giggled. "Well, hurry back." She arched her spine and grabbed a fistful of eighteen-year-old breast, thumbing one perfect rosy pink nipple suggestively. "You want me to stay in the mood, don"t you?" Oh, hell yes. Brock pulled her in for a kiss, which turned into her sitting in his lap, and she was so fucking fit, and squirming her way out of her panties- "Broocck? You there?" And then, darkly, "or are you with one of your hussies?" "What the hell?" Britney rolled back onto the bed and brought the watch to her face. "Excuse me, grandpa, but I am not-" "Good lord, how old are you? No, wait, on second thought, I don"t want to know. That way if the courts get involved I can legitimately say I knew nothing about it. Brock, this really won"t take half a minute. Please come upstairs." The transmission winked out. Grumbling, Brock made his way up the stairs clad only in a pair of boxers. "Okay, so what the hell is so fucking important that you had to bother me on my night off? When I have company?" "Here, just... take these." "What, your diet pills?" Rusty declined to comment. "Also, check the bathroom cabinet to make sure I don"t have any more stashed away. I think there are a few dozen hidden in old prescription bottles pretending to be penicillin or thorazine." "And you couldn"t throw this stuff away yourself because..." "I"m weak, all right? "No withdrawal symptoms" my ass. But it"s bad for the baby. So." There was an awkward pause. "And what"s gonna stop you from buyin" more or even synthesizing some?" "Plain ol" willpower, I suppose. And you, I hope. So go on, get back to little Miss Sweet Sixteen before Hank or Dean beat you to finding out whether she"s got a date for the prom." "She"s eighteen, Doc." "Oh, really? Well, if she"s not a minor then I"m the Queen of Spain. Goodnight." The Doc was such a weird guy. Even after two decades of rooming in the same house, the man still managed to surprise Brock with how single-minded and obtuse he could sometimes be. It was like a weird sort of innocence borne of never having been innocent, and then grasping onto whatever hokey social standards or sense of structure floating about during his horrific childhood that he could. He would do stuff that was wrong-legally, morally, spiritually unethical in every way, and wouldn"t see it as being a problem. But there were all these weird Leave-It-To-Beaver stereotypes and catch phrases that he believed in like he was the high priest of his own 1950"s TV-dad religion and Brock and the boys were his acolytes or something. Mentally, Brock composed a list of Rusty"s Commandments, such as they were: 1)Thou Shalt wear Polyester and shun all Wrinkles;2)Thou Shalt take speed and call them "diet pills";3)Father Knoweth Best;4)A Super-scientist is not an Evil Scientist, yea, even should they buildeth death rays and killer robots with which to slayeth their many foes, such creations shalt be named something else, and this will make them Good and not Evil;5)Science is the One and Only religion, through which all Supernatural Phenomena may one day be explained. And now, of course: 6)Thou Shalt Not do anything Bad For The Baby. The Swede supposed it was good, in a way. He could only imagine what the Doc might"ve been like if he actually tried to be a bad person. Brock chucked the bottle of pills in the corner of his room and got back on top of Britney. He"d check the bathroom cabinet later. Listening To Your Physician: "Okay, sho do you want the good news or the bad news?" Billy lisped enthusiastically, tapping the rod from the ultrasound machine against the flat of his hand. "I"m lying here with conductive gel on my stomach, obviously I"m here to learn what"s been going on in the World Series," Doctor Venture snapped peevishly. "Oh, really? Well, in that case-" "He"s bein" sarcastic, Billy. Ol" T.S. here loathes organized sports just as much as the next former Dungeons & Dragons fanatic. Except for when there"s ladies, but then he"s not exactly keepin" score, if you know what I mean?" "Oh, hah hah. That"s right; make fun of the guy with ten inches of steel up his butt by bringing up his sordid past involving many hot, sweaty nights filled with tabletop gaming. As if this weren"t embarrassing enough." "Well, I don"t know quite how to say this, but the guy with ten inches of steel up his butt appears to have rolled himself a pair of twins." "What?" "Twin girls, actually. Kind of genetically improbable, given that both of the genetic donors were male. Perhaps it is a side-effect of the drug to which you were both exposed. I am uncertain as I have never seen a case like this before. However, I suggest you invest in a lot of pink furniture." Rusty let his head fall back on the operating table. "Aw, hell." He"d been starting to see this new baby as a second chance to raise a super-scientist who would restore the family name, now that he"d had his test-run with both Hank and Dean. But he didn"t know the first thing about girls. The prospect terrified him. You couldn"t raise girl adventurers, could you? "I don"t suppose there"s something I could take to make them develop boy parts and not be so useless?" Horrified gasps filled the room, but Brock just clapped a hand to his forehead like he saw this one coming. "Oh, don"t act so politically correct-what the hell am I supposed to do with girls? They just absorb all your cash and go off and get married. I can"t even train them in the family business, their female minds wouldn"t be able to handle the strenuous rigors of super-science!" "Pop, you know that isn"t strictly true," Dean said tentatively. Up until now, the boys had been pretty quiet. "Dr. Quymn, for instance-" "What, so I"m going to raise my kids to go off into the jungle and try to find flowers that cure cancer? Come on, what"s the use in that?" "Uh, cancer is pretty serious," Hank said bluntly, while Dean began to stammer ineffectively about an article he"d read recently regarding something called "the women"s lib movement" which seemed fairly improbable, but was starting to gain steam. "Oh. My. God. I thought as ex-TV stars we were living in the past. And what a great opportunity, to perform a sacred trust for someone I greatly admired as a child. But I always forget-my hero is an ass." "You"ve said that before, Billy." "AIDS kills a whole lot of people every year," Hank continued stubbornly. "Like, lots and lots. In Africa and stuff." Brock looked like he was about to hit something. "Boys, not now!" "Billy, you know it"s just how he is. He doesn"t really mean anythin" by it-" "Yes, but now he"s an even bigger ass. I can"t believe I agreed to be his obstetrician! You, Doctor Venture, are a sexist prick." "Big words from someone who"s never even seen a grown woman naked." "Oh, that is it! I wash my hands of you. You can just find someone else to help you through this, because I quit. Officially. Good day, Doctor Venture." "Billy, don"t be like that." White flashed his old college buddy an embarrassed grimace. "You just sit tight, Rust. I"ll go an" talk some sense inta him." "What? What the hell did I say?" "Uh, Doc... just... don"t worry about it. We"ll figure somethin" out. And you two. Out. We need... we need a minute here." The boys slumped out of the lab under protest. "Girls, Brock. This has to be a nightmare. Or punishment for something we"ve done." "I dunno, Doc. If I believed in karma, I"d say we were gettin" off pretty easy. Besides, Dean is pretty girly already, so we could always... get him to help out." "The learning beds aren"t even programmed to educate females. My father in all his wisdom never planned for that contingency." "Well, the material was gettin" a little outta date, you gotta admit." "It was good enough for me, that means it was good enough for the boys." "Yeah, about that-" "I"ll have to draw up a whole new curriculum unless we want them to behave inappropriately. Women belong in the domestic sphere, Brock. What am I supposed to do, read the entire contents of the Joy of Cooking and Miss Manners aloud and hope that does the trick?" Brock had a horrible image of two little girls, half Samson and half Venture, made up like a pair of miniature Stepford wives in training, wandering about the compound with glassy-eyed expressions, offering the likes of General Manhowers vein-clogging party favours right out of the September 1968 issue of House and Home. "Maybe now isn"t the time to discuss this," Brock offered lamely.

But remembering was tough, and sometimes a bit of revelry was required to get his spirits up so he could get back on track. Tonight for instance he was rather pleased with himself; he"d discovered a real pair of beauties. Tai-ish twins! Tai was a poor country right now and a lot of the refugees who came here were getting into prostitution. He supposed he should feel guilty about it, but, he told himself, it wasn"t as if they didn"t have a choice--En"s government provided support and education for refugees, and some provinces in Kei were beginning to implement similar programs. In order to get from any of the main ports into the green-pillar district in Kankyuu, they must have passed by at least five different refugee camps where they would have been accepted. He knew this for a fact--he"d seen to their implementation personally. He wasn"t just rationalizing things because they were incredibly endowed. Really. Here there should probably be some explanation: Tai being a cold country meant that many of its women were notably... larger. For insulation against the weather, obviously. Now Naotaka enjoyed a slender woman as much as the next man, but there was something intriguing about a pair of... well, big-breasted twins with accents right out of the heart of Bun province. They acted tough, too, refreshingly unlike the demure kaikyaku geishas he normally preferred. Every once in a while, he thought, a man liked a bit of change--oh, he bet they were suguus in bed!!! The song was coming to an end and he could hear the men around him begin to salivate. Soon, claims would be made. Intent on not spoiling his chance, he beckoned the mistress of the house over, whispered that he"d like the two new girls sent to his private room, money being no object. (In truth, he knew money was an object, but if he ran dry he was more or less certain Itan or someone could bail him out.) The woman raised an eyebrow; obviously she"d already had several offers that evening because she seemed reluctant. This was irritating, but Naotaka just smiled at her and pushed some coin towards the old matron, winking conspiratorially, "up front?" The man known in this place only as Mr. Houkan lay back on his bed in lazy anticipation. He"d been chasing the white dragon a bit more--and then he"d stopped, because he was beginning to think his toes looked like Enki and were going to run away from him. He could feel his hinman mentally protesting against his elevated heights of intoxication and laughed silently, that"s why you"re here! He wondered absently if the shirei living in him ever felt anything vicariously through these experiences. If he weren"t dangerously inebriated, that thought alone would probably kill his erection right then and there--fortunately Shoryuu wasn"t in any state to care. He was waiting currently for the girls to arrive. Of course, he wouldn"t force himself on them, especially if they were new. He hoped they were new! He had the entire evening planned out. First, they"d drink a bit, and exchange stories of their homeland. He"d spent considerable time there smoothing out trade regulations and other petty matters of security having to do with border-crossing and the like, of course, he"d amend the truth a little in order to protect his identity, but that was no problem. Naotaka spent less time being a King at court and more time being a jack of all trades--sailor, soldier, wanton, spy--these were really all one and the same when it came to watching over a kingdom as large as En had come to be. "Don"t worry, it"s better like this," he"d told the sobbing child, as they overlooked a patch of ground which had then been a small part of a much larger wasteland. "This means we can do things our way." But letting his little partner close his eyes meant keeping his wide open, and sometimes Shoryuu didn"t like the things he had to see, over and over. So occasionally it was nice to turn his mind off such things and indulge his mind in a night of decadence... The ladies arrived. Suppressing for the time-being his baser instincts, he immediately offered to have them sit, which surprised them. A few shouts and slamming doors could be heard coming from downstairs. This upset the twins, so Naotaka poked his head out the sliding door to see what was happening; his mind clearing as he allowed the hinman to push some of his drunkeness aside in case he had to come to somebody"s rescue. Fortunately, it just seemed like a group of women were in the process of expelling some underaged kid. "Hah! Come back when you"re older!" he called out, closing the door and making a face. He explained the situation, and his guests from Tai laughed. They were even more pleased when he pulled out a very expensive bottle of plum wine (he"d been saving the good stuff for them, choosing to get toasted on the cheap stuff himself). Obviously they hadn"t been treated in this way in a while. He was midway through one of his charming anecdotes about how he"d once beaten Gyousou in a duel when suddenly a pint-sized blur came bolting through the door followed by two frazzled-looking ladies of ill repute. "I"m very sorry Mr. Houkan, we were unable to stop him!" One woman bowed, while the other gripped the struggling boy by the shoulders. He wasn"t very interesting looking. To the casual observer, half the kids in En were like this--peasants in pale blue or brown, foul-mouthed, maybe a little dirty. But then their eyes met. "Gotcha," the boy mouthed. And Shoryuu realized he was in more than a little bit of trouble. Enki sat straddling one of the stone lions lining the wall that looked out over En"s green fields. The sea of clouds was quite thin today and he could look down on the world beneath with little difficulty. Man was he bored. Where was Shoryuu when you needed a laugh, anyway? He shifted off the lion and swung his legs over the crumbling railing that enclosed the outskirts of the balcony on this particular floor of Gen-ei palace. He was sure if the any of his three advisors saw him sitting casually like this they"d have a fit, but it would be more out of propriety than anything--it wasn"t as if when he fell he couldn"t just call upon his shirei or even transform and fly. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the three ministers closing in on him. He groaned inwardly but tried to maintain his normal air of childish innocence as they approached. He could sense however that the act was getting old. "It seems the Taiho is once again condescending to spend careful time in consideration of the ground, which is most magnanimous of him," Syukou began. A sense of deja-vu swept over the small kirin, but he pushed it down. He had a similar memory to this but there were unpleasant associations and he didn"t want to think about it. "Let me guess, this is about the celebration." "Celebration?" The deceptively youthful being rose and flipped onto his hands, walking the length of the railing with his face turned away from the three advisors. He could hear Itan make a small, frustrated exclamation, but he pretended not to. "This year"s the big one. The halfway mark. You want me to make sure he shows up, right?" A perfectly executed backflip and he was now standing behind the Taishi, Taihou, and Taifu, who had to turn around to face him. Itan was already red by now although he"d long learned to keep smiling through his rages. "There are rituals that must be performed to thank merciful Tentei for our good fortunes." Syukou decided to intervene at this point (he always was the pleasant one)--"given his majesty"s track record when it comes to, ah, performing rituals--" "--like attending Syouzan!!!" "...like, attending his formal coronation on Mt. Hou.--" Syukou repeated, looking off into the distance as if he were the one to blame, so very magnanimously embarrassed on the behalf of his majesty. "--which took him fourteen years, yeah, yeah, you know--that was only because this place was pretty trashed. Seriously, we thought it was gonna fall apart or somethin". You guys do realize that sometimes it"s better to hang around and do your job than run off and perform some stupid ritual?" Even Seisyou, who normally was the most easy-going (and therefore closest to Shoryuu of the three) seemed upset at Enki"s lack of concern. "It is your job as Saiho to ensure that our highness performs his duties properly!" He waved his dark thin arms about. "After all these years I am constantly hearing how much better he is, how he"s settled down, but it"s all lies!" Rokuta sighed. What was he, Shoryuu"s nanny? He looked down at the ground, blond hair momentarily obscuring the three ministers" view. So En-ou had a thing for-- for whores. He was immortal and couldn"t get diseases, and women didn"t get pregnant in this world (people came from trees and only if Tentei willed it so), so it wasn"t like he was going to get into any real trouble--but was it really the kirin"s job to go and find him? He supposed he could send Itan like in the old days, but Enki wasn"t a child any more (that excuse had run out by the time he"d hit the two-century mark) and was expected more than ever to take responsibility for Shoryuu"s actions. For some odd reason, the idea of the approaching ritual made Enki suddenly feel kind of apprehensive. Maybe Shoryuu was missing this week because of the celebration. It was nothing short of daunting, breaking the five-hundred year mark. It meant that from here on in, historically speaking, it would be easier and easier for his King to lose his way. Rokuta knew deep in his heart that if such a thing were to happen, Shoryuu would rather abdicate than see him die. But then the old pirate would surely perish! Rokuta didn"t know what he would do with himself if Shoryuu died. He wasn"t certain he would be able to handle it. The man was the father he"d never had, after his real one had abandoned him in the mountains to perish during a war that had torn apart their small village. Shoryuu was an older brother who he could joke around with and tell anything to. He was a best friend he could trust, no matter what, to do the right thing and help shoulder the burden of running this ever expanding chunk of the world to which the fate of his well-being was inexorably tied. So what if Naotaka had interesting tastes, Rokuta thought rebelliously. It was just part of who he was. So why did he feel so jealous when the older man came back to the palace after disappearing for weeks at a time, reeking of strange women, wine, and cheap perfume? Ever since he"d started spending more time in Hourai looking for Taiki, Rokuta had noticed that Shoryuu"s dabblings were starting to irritate him more and more. Suddenly the young boy felt too hot in his clothes, in this weather. If he were younger, this might have been a time when he would fling off the white and blue full-length kimono of a Taiho and shed his human form, using the awe his true self inspired to end any semblance of remonstrative "discussion" on the part of the three advisors. But Rokuta fancied himself at least incrementally more mature than before, and had resolved to cut the anal retentive trio some measure of slack. He raised his head and smiled mischeviously. "Don"t worry, Tyototsu, Suikyou, Mubou," he spoke, watching as a trembling Itan twitched and went from red to purple, while the other two just stood there politely. "Just give me a time and place and I"ll see to it that he"s there." Of course, he never promised the three ministers how he"d get Shoryuu there. "O--Otou-san!" The child belted out in heavily accented Japanese, seeming to lose all control of his emotions as he turned on the waterworks. All four prostitutes seemed to understand this simple piece of kaikyaku vocabulary and began to recoil from Shoryuu instinctively. "..Why did you leave mama, father?" Rokuta continued in a mixture of the language of this world and the other one, imitating flawlessly the broken peasant dialect of many refugees in En (which was different than the formal languages spoken or written in all the courts). "We"ve been so poor and lonely since you left! Little Naoko has stopped eating, and the doctors say she don"t have long to live! And mama"s been sick! Father, please come home, we ain"t got nothin" to eat! And who"re these strange ladies you"re with? D"you work for them now? D"you have money for rice? Father!?!" Shoryuu blinked. He couldn"t believe the little shit was doing this to him. Other half or not, he was going to kill Enki like the brat had just killed his chances with all these fine ladies, and then he was going to skin Rokuta in his kirin form and fashion the pelt into a hat. Lunging forward with sluggish reflexes, he fully intended to give the kid a good smack--when suddenly the Tai-ish twins appeared before him, resolutely blocking his way. Apparently they had understood every word. Despite Bun being a central Tai province mostly esconced by a ring of mountains located at the heart of the mainland far from the coast, it would seem that by some fluke of fate they were also kaikyaku. In any other situation, he"d have to laugh at the irony. Six people in a room and four were from Hourai. What were the odds? "Mr. Houkan, is this your child?" One of them asked, aghast. He noted with some trepidation that tears were streaming down her face. "Cheating on your wife we can understand, but to starve children--!" The hell he had a wife! Being a full immortal, Shoryuu couldn"t get married even if he wanted to. (Not that he was sure he could stick to one woman given the chance but hey, it was the principle of the thing). Once again Enki had to rub this restriction on his sex life in his face. And now he wasn"t going to get any tonight because of him. How charming. "I"m going to kill you, you spoiled little monster!" He said, pushing the girls away with ease. Instead of darting out of the way, however, Enki did the impossible and allowed himself to be caught, squirming in Shoryuu"s grasp as if he were really indeed helpless and didn"t have lightning-quick reflexes and a team of bloodthirsty youma at his beck and call. "Ah, daddy, don"t hit me!" he squealed, obviously getting into the part of the bereaved and neglected child. He turned his best innocent and doe-eyed look up at the painted whores, who pulled him away and wrapped their arms around him, makeup running as they alternately glared at Shoryuu and cooed and tut-tutted over the beautiful child repeatedly. Eventually Shoryuu managed to calm them and get the girls to leave although he was sure that for a while at least they"d be listening at the door to make sure he didn"t kill his "son". It was only once they were gone of course that the excitement pumping through his veins (a friend of his had commented once after a particularly rough sparring session that this feeling was caused by some liquid called "adrenalin") began to taper out and he was left feeling only tired. Wordlessly, he turned his back on the kirin, kicked off his sandals and climbed into bed. Rokuta rocked back and forth on his heels, looking a little sheepish now. Things were quiet for a bit. Shoryuu was done with yelling. His temples throbbed. Immortal or not, hinman-inhabited or not, drink and drugs still largely affected him. Also the chagrin he felt at causing a scene like that gave him an odd feeling of regret --even under a false identity, it hurt to think there were citizens out there that would think badly of him. In hindsight, Enki"s prank had been pretty hilarious-- he just wished Rokuta had played it on somebody else. Of course, it didn"t help that he"d reacted like a jerk and yelled at the little guy. Naotaka groaned inwardly. While his body might not age like a normal person"s he was fairly certain his spirit still did, and suddenly he felt pretty tired and disgusted with himself. Maybe that"s why Enki had done it--the kirin had been complaining more ardently than usual about this sort of thing, maybe this was a wake-up call. An uncomfortable silence filled the room, backset with the occasional whispering from worried prostitutes. Shoryuu knew that eventually they would go away, but until then they wouldn"t be able to discuss anything important without leaving. And his limbs felt too much like had been secretly weighted down with rocks while his bones were replaced with jelly to even consider arranging for a different room that night. He supposed he could just have Enki take him home--but he wasn"t sure if they were on speaking terms. As if on cue, Rokuta shuffled his feet and drew a bit closer. "That sorta got outta hand," he chuckled softly. He flicked the older fellow in the forehead and leaned forward, whispering. "Couldn"t ya just get some concubines or something?" Shoryuu made an exaggerated point of yawning, acting like he hadn"t noticed his small partner was still there. To be honest, he"d considered doing such a thing in the beginning, but after looking through what remained of the records in the library at Gen-ei palace, he"d decided that would be somewhat dangerous, not to mention no fun at all. Granting immortality to a group of lovers who knew one another and would spend their time struggling for power? And his attention as the means to such ends? No, he may have his fun with women from time to time, but the only person he wanted by his side at the palace was Enki. Of course, that wasn"t something he"d ever say out loud. It just wasn"t manly. Instead, he lifted the covers in invitation. "You getting in?" Enki blinked and somewhat awkwardly settled in, kicking off his shoes and lying down rigidly. He used to do this all the time when he"d been younger and had bad dreams (or sometimes he"d just pretend he"d had a bad dream because he felt lonely) but he was pretty sure they hadn"t shared a bed since he was, well, 30. Feeling a muscular arm snake around him and pull him close was a little strange, but not unpleasant. Unconsciously he found himself nuzzling the man. "This is just my stupid kirin instincts you know," just in case you thought it was something else. "It must be frustrating being unable to contain your joy just from being close to me," the older man observed smugly, grinning in the dark. Enki snuggled closer. "I can feel you laughing at me. Quit it." He gave in to the urge and snuggled closer, wincing once he realized he"d accidentally kneed the older man in the groin. "Ah!" Shoryuu"s hand fled downwards to massage his wounded little sea warriors. "You little brat!" Those bony little knees were sharp. "At least I"m not a dirty old man like you, Naotaka!" Enki sniffed. "I knew you liked this kind of thing but two ladies--fat ladies--at once? Shoryuu, they looked related." Enki seemed to be thinking something over. "Aw, man, tell me they weren"t related?" "Shhh... I"m "Mr. Houkou" here!" He thought for a moment. "Or.. "Houkan", maybe." He waved a hand lazily, it looked purple against the blackness of the room. "I forget." "That"s a dumb name." "Oho? I"d like to see you come up with better... baka..." "Aha... stop tickling me!" And so it went for quite some while. "You know Enki... those were Tai-ish twins." "Mmm-nh." "Twins. From Tai." "Neh?" Little hands wrapped around his neck, and padded upwards, finding Shoryuu"s mouth. "Shaddup. Sleep now." "They called me "young master" because I was in my prime, you know." "Ah hah?" "My sexual prime, Enki?" "Fu fu fu fu fu!" Rokuta laughed, slinging a leg over the other man"s torso. "I wouldn"t expect a kirin like you to understand, but men my age have needs, you know." "Party tomorrow." This took Shoryuu by surprise. "What?" "Noon." The blond boy sighed, his turban long ago unfurled in a series of tickle-fights. "Throne room. Ceremony. Thing." "Is that why you came here?" The child-like being grunted in affirmation. Shoryuu stroked the boy"s hair absent mindedly. Enki, are you really over half a thousand years old? Being a kirin really did take the phrase "young for your age" to an extreme. "You going to transform in your sleep and cover me in horse hair like you used to?" "Can"t concentrate when I"m asleep." Shoryuu nodded and waited until Enki lost consciousness. There was no point in getting his limbs crushed by the weight of a fully matured kirin. That morning, they awoke to the sound of a crashing tea set and the scream of a surprised member of the housekeeping staff. High-tailing it out of there, Naotaka cursed himself for not posting a shirei as a guard by the door. He"d have to keep himself out of that part of the capital for the next 30--no, better make it 50 years or so, until the rumors died down that Mr. Houkan had been Found in Bed with a Horse. A/N: So, please review. Was it in character? I tried to make it mostly friendship-centred and only midly slashy, because, well, Enki"s 1) a kirin (there"s that pesky law) and 2) he"s never going to age, not unless Shoryuu dies, right? It just felt much more plausible and in-character this way. By the by, do you guys prefer 1)Shoryuu 2)Shouryuu or 3)Syouryuu spelling-wise? Please let me know! Thanks.

Ren ad Larry went to church to get married, nobody was there but Larry couldn"t do it. "I can"t" he said and left. "Larry! You asked me to marry you!" Ren screamed. "Ren, I can"t do it, I want everyone to be there, your family and mine, and I want you to wear a white dress, I want a real wedding" He said, Ren smiled. "You are right, sorry I overreacted and screamed" She said as she kissed him deeply. 3 years later 23 yrs old Ren was still engaged to Larry but she hasn"t spoken to her parents in 3 years ever since they got into that fight. Ren was sitting on couch remembering to good times she had with her family. ~~Flashback~~ 5 yrs old Ren Stevens was playing with her parents, her parents were teaching her how to ride a Bike, 4 yr old Louis was near them, when Ren fell off and begin crying. "It"s ok sweetie" Eileen said. "I have a wound" Ren said, Steve kissed it. "Does this feel better?" He asked, "Yes" "Don"t cry sis" Louis said, Ren smiled at him. It was a Christmas and ren was having time of her life with her Family ~~Flashback Off~~ Tears appeared in Ren"s eyes and she begins crying. Larry came in and sat next to Ren. "Honey, What"s wrong?" He asked her. "I miss my family and my parents I haven"t spoken to them in 3 years" Ren said sobbing. "How about we go visit your parents tomorrow, so you can talk to them" Larry said. "Ok" She said. "Don"t cry, everything will be fine" Larry said as he kissed her. Meanwhile 22-year-old Louis Stevens is quietly sitting on couch rembering his family and how much he misses them; Tawny comes out and sees him. Tawny and Louis are engaged for a month and Tawny is 5 months pregnant. Tawny comes and sits next to Louis. "Louis, Baby are you ok?" Tawny said. "Not really" He said "What"s wrong? You been like this for a while" She said. "I miss my family, I haven"t spoken to them in 3 years" Louis said sadly. "How about, we go visit them tomorrow?" Tawny asked. "Ok" Louis said. "You always think of something that"s what I love about you" Louis said as he kissed his fiancée. Next day I It was about noon when doorbell at Stevens rang, Steve opened it. "Louis? Tawny?" He said surprised. He noticed that Tawny was pregnant but didn"t say anything. "Dad! I missed you," He said as he hugged him. "I missed you too," He said. "Come in" He said, they came in and sat on couch in living room. "Eileen, Mary we have guests" Steve said, they came in the living room. "Tawny! Louis! It"s so nice to see you," she said as she hugged them. "You too Mom I missed you" " I missed you too, I am sorry I didn"t tell you Mary for 2 years" She said. "It"s ok. I forgive you" Louis said, his parents smiled. "Tawny and I have some news, but we are not sure how"ll you"ll take it" Louis said. "Just tell us and we"ll see" Steve said. "We are engaged" Tawny said. "That"s great!" His parents said. "Ok, you took news better than when ren told you she was" Louis said. "Ok, we overreacted, we wish we could tell her we are sorry" They said. "I wonder if they ever married" Tawny said. "I don"t know, Maybe, Maybe not" Louis said. "So Tawny I see you are pregnant, Gongraltions, so you know if it "s a girl or boy?" Eileen asked. "My doctor says it"s a girl but who knows?" She said, at that time doorbell rang "I"ll get it" Tawny said as she got up and answered the door she saw Ren and Larry "Ren! Larry so nice to see you" Tawny said. "You too, I see you are pregnant gongraltions" they said. "Thanks" she replied, "Come in" they came in living room and she hugged everyone and sat down. "Mom, I am so sorry about fight we had 3 years ago, Larry and I didn"t get married, he couldn"t he wanted all family be there His and Mine so we are still engaged" Ren said. "We are engaged too" Louis said. "That"s great bro! When"s wedding?" "Don"t know yet," They said. "I haven"t seen Twitty forever and I want him to be my best man, I don"t even know where he lives" Louis said. At that time Louis"s cell phone rang, he picked it up. "Hello?" He said. "Hey Lou, bro it"s twitty" "Hey! What"s up?" Louis asked. "Nothing you?" "Well, I am engaged to Tawny and getting married soon and I want you be my best Man" Louis said. "Ok, cool I"ll be there you can count on me" Twitty said. "Thanks" louis said. After a while talking everyone leaves and go back home. weeks later. It"s June 20,2005 the day of Tawny"s and Louis"s wedding. Ren had helped Tawny with the wedding plans and everything. Tawny and Ren are in girl"s dressing room, Tawny is in her wedding dress. "I look fat" Tawny said. "You look fine, you should be happy on your wedding day not stressed" Ren said. "You are right, I just won"t think about it" Tawny said. "Yes, just don"t think about it" Meanwhile Louis and Twitty are in room "I can"t believe that you are getting married already, time flies by so fast" Twitty said. Yea, I can"t believe it also but I am happy, I am also going to be a dad in couple of months" "Yea, last thing I remember was graduation," Twitty said. "Yea, Time flies by fast sometimes" Louis said. "Yea" Twitty replied. "I never thought that Ren and Larry would ever date, I thought they would stay enemies forever" Twitty said. "Me too, I was shocked," Louis said. "Yea first they are enemies and now they engaged" Twitty said. "Yea, but they do make a cute couple," Louis said. "Yes, very I am glad they stopped being enemies if they didn"t, somebody would have ended up hurt" Twitty said. Yea" "Anyways, I am happy for him we did become Best friends with him back in 9th grade" Twitty said. "Yes, and I am glad" Louis said. "He changed a lot, he is not as mean as we thought" Twitty said. "I know, he is actually very sweet" "Yea" Twitty replied. "I can"t wait to marry Tawny" "Well, you will soon" Twitty said, a minister came in "It"s time son," He said. "Ok" He said as he left. Wedding song played as Louis stood waiting for Tawny as everyone stood up as she came out with her dad. Louis smiled up at her, she smiled back. Finally they turned together smiling. "We gather together for the wedding of Louis Stevens and Tawny Dean," The minister said. "Do you, Tawny Dean take Louis to be your husband?" He asked "I do," she said. "Do you Louis Stevens take tawny to be your wife?" "I do" Then he said to repeat the promises {not sure how goes, sorry} "I know pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride," He said as Louis kissed Tawny "Everyone Mr&Mrs. Stevens" He said as everyone clapped Larry"s POV I was 15 and in 10th grade, I looked at Ren Stevens "Dang she is so pretty!" I said to myself. "No I can"t possible like her she been my enemy for like ever" I said to myself. But I had liked Ren ever since she started dating Bobby Deaver. "I can"t believe that jerk cheated on such pretty girl like Ren," I said to myself. "I wish I could tell Ren how I really feel about her but can"t she probably doesn"t like me anyways" He said to himself as he closed his locker Louis POV I am finally a Freshman I was at my locker thinking if I should ask Tawny out, I had always liked her. Tawny and I go out back in 7th grade but it didn"t work out so we broke up but I still liked even after we broke up I miss her, but I was in 7th grade back then and not ready for a relationship. I am ready now I am going go ask her" I said to myself as I closed my locker. I passed Larry Beale and saw him looking at Ren I smiled; I knew that Larry had always liked ren that"s why he was always competing with her. "Hey Larry what"s up?" I asked, I think he was surprised I actually talked to him. "Nothing much" he said. "Ok, well take care" I said and left I think he was really shocked. I came up to Tawny who was talking to Ren. I guess she saw me because she said "Hey Louis!" she said. "Hey, I need ask you something important" I said. "Sure go ahead," She said. "Will you go out with me?" I asked her, I think she was shocked the way she was looking at me. "Louis, I thought you weren"t ready for relationship that"s what you said when we went out in 7th grade" She told me. "Tawny, yea true I wasn"t ready back then but I am now I am in 9th grade and ready for a relationship, I always loved you and always will! You are very beautiful!! I still loved after we broke up I Love you with all my heart Tawny Dean!!" I told her, I saw Tawny smile and Larry, Booby, Mandy, Ren look at me shocked. "Louis that"s the sweetest thing you ever said to me and yes I will go out with you I love you Louis Anthony Stevens!! I always did and always will," She said as she began kissing me. I was so happy this is going be the best school year ever!! I told myself. Ren was looking at Louis and Tawny in shock, then she looked at Larry he gave her a shy smile. "We need to talk" Ren said, before he had chance to answer she grabbed his arm and went into hallway. "We need to stop before someone ends up hurt," Ren said. "Stop what?" Larry asked confused. "Our feud we had been competing since we were 3 we should stop before one of us gets hurt" Ren said. "I agree, friends?" Larry asked. Ren smiled "Friends" She said as they shock hands. "Larry can I ask you something?" Ren asked. "Sure" He said. "Will you go out with me?" She asked, Larry was shocked. "Since when you like me?" Larry asked. "I liked you ever since I broke up with Bobby 2 years ago, anytime you pass by I have butterflies in my stomach and my heart begins to beat faster, you are very cute so will you?" Ren asked, Larry smiled. "Ren to tell you the truth I had always liked you ever since you started dating Booby I was jealous I would love to go out wit you!" Larry said. Ren smiled as she took his hand, he smiled back. Ren was a cheerleading squad captain. Principal Wexler came out and saw Ren and Larry laughing. "Ren I need you for a min" He said. "Ok I"ll be there in a min sir" She said. "All right" He said. "Ren do you want go out after school?" Larry asked. "I have cheerleading Practice," She said. " Oh I forgot" He said disappointed. Ren saw it. "Let"s go see movie after practice it ends at 4:30pm" Ren said. "Ok" Larry said. "Ren!" Principal Wexler said. "Coming!" she said. "Talk to you later" she said as she left. Bobby came up to Larry with Mandy. "Larry Beale" He said. Larry turned and saw Bobby. "What do you want Deaver?" Larry asked. Instead Bobby hit him, Larry got up "What was that for Bobby Deaver?" Larry asked. " I was just making sure you wouldn"t hurt Ren" Bobby said. "Look who"s talking? You are the one who hurt ren by letting her kiss you! Good thing Louis caught you! I would never do anything like that to Ren but I guess you did because you didn"t really love Ren and a jerk!" Larry said. At that time principal Wexler and ren came out and saw Bobby hit Larry hard. "You are coming with me Mr.Deaver" Principal Wexler said and they left. "Larry!" Ren said as she came up and helped him up. "Are you ok?" She asked. "Yea I think so," He said. Later It was second period, which was health before class started Ren and Larry were talking and laughing. When very angry Bobby and Mandy approached them, Bobby hit Larry. "It"s all your fault!" he said as he hit him in stomach. Mandy almost hit Ren but Larry stood up in pain and stood between Ren and Mandy. "Leave my girlfriend alone!" he said. "Move it Loser!" she said. "No!" he screamed. "I said Move now!" Mandy screamed. "Make me!" He screamed. "Ohhh" Everyone said who was watching which was all health class including Louis, Tawny, Allison, Twitty, Tom. "Move or." Mandy began. "Or what?" Larry asked. Louis couldn"t take it anymore. "Mandy leave my sister and her boyfriend alone!" Louis said. Everyone was shocked including Ren and Larry. "You are 9th grader I am not scared of you" Mandy said. "I am not scared of you or your boyfriend" Louis said. "Bobby, Larry didn"t even do anything," Louis said. "Yes he did! He got suspended me for a week!" Bobby said. "Oh please Deaver he did not!" Twitty said. "Yea you are the one who hit him so it"s your fault" Allison said. "Well if he didn"t call we jerk it would have never happen," Bobby said. "You are a Jerk!" All of them said in unison. Bobby stormed off angrily, everyone laughed. "You are going to pay Beale!" Mandy screamed. "I am not scared not even little Mandy" He said as she left. Bell rang and everyone sat tot heir seats. After Mr. Jackson took attendance he explained the project and partners are: Ren, Louis and Allison first group, 2nd Twitty, Tawny&Larry, 3rd Bobby, Mandy&Mary, 4th Mike, Jessica, Kevin and 5th Jane, Grace, Beverley. "Now you can begin working" he said. "Ren when"s cheerleading try-outs?" Allison asked. "Next Friday at 3:40pm in gym" Ren said. "Can you help me I really want to make it?" She said. "Sure, meet me in gym toom after school" Ren said. "Ok thanks" Allison said. Ren looked at Louis who was working. "Hey Louis thanks" Ren said. "For what?" He asked. "For getting rid of Bobby and his girlfriend," Ren said. "No Problem Ren, Bobby is a jerk so is his girlfriend" Ren laughed. "I can"t believe he let Mandy kiss Him! How can anyone do such thing to pretty lady like you, when I caught him I was so mad I wanted kill him right there!" Louis said. Ren smiled. "Louis, that"s the sweetest thing you ever said to me thank you, you are great brother" Ren said. "No problem Ren you are great sister too! Do you think we can be friends now?" Louis asked. "Of course!" Ren said. "Ohh that"s so sweet!!" Allison said. "Ha ha" they said. All of them burst out laughing, everyone looked at hem. "Opps" Ren said. "Ms, Stevens, Mr.Stevens and Ms.Brown is there a problem?" Mr, Jackson asked. "No Sir" They said embarrassed. "Then get back to work" He said. "Yes sir" they said and started working. Meanwhile Mandy and Bobby are in hallway laughing, "I can believe we are skipping" Mandy said. "I hate health anyways," Bobby said. "Me too!" Mandy said. They saw Principal Wexler coming so they hide and he passed them without noticing them. The sneak into summer catch movie they come back at lunchtime. "Where have they been?" Ren asked. " I don"t care if they get caught it"s their problem" Larry said. "Yea" Ren said. "I "ll be right back Baby I have to go to restroom," Ren said. "Ok" He said as she gave him on cheek and left. Louis came to Larry and sat down across him. "Hey what"s up?" Louis asked. "Nothing much" Larry said. "Where"s Ren?" Louis asked. "Restroom" Larry said. "Louis, I wanted thank you for today and apologize how I have treated you in past I am sorry" Larry said. "It"s Ok Larry I forgive you friends?" Louis said. "Friends" Larry said as they shocked hands. Tawny came and sat next to Louis. "Hey guys what"s going on?" She asked. "Well Larry and I are Friends" Louis said. "That"s great! Do you think we can be friends too?" Tawny asked Larry. "Of course you are Louis girlfriend all Louis and Ren"s friends are also mine" Larry said. Tawny smiled he smiled back. "You know Larry, you and Ren make a cute couple," Tawny said. "Thanks, so do you and Louis" Larry said. Ren came back followed by Allison and Twitty and sat next to Larry. "Hey Bro" Ren said. "Hey sis" Louis said. "Sis?" Tawny asked. "Me and Ren are friends now" Louis said. "Oh that"s so cool" Tawny said. "You are very nice Ren" Tawny said. "Thanks" Ren said. "Unlike Larry I am nice" Ren said. "Hey!"Larry said. "I was joking as all of them laughed loudly. Ruby"s POV I watched Ren sitting with Larry, Louis, Allison, and Tawny& Twitty. I guess Ren decided end her feud with Larry and become friends with Larry or maybe more that a friend as I watched Ren and Larry flirting with each other. Ren used to be my best friend before I did something horrible last year I betrayed Ren. Ren told me a secret that she had a huge crush on Larry and I told practically whole school but somehow Larry didn"t find out. When Ren found out that I told whole school she got all mad I remember as it was yest this is what she said: " Ruby! How could you do this? I trusted you!! I thought you were my best friend!" She said. "I am," I said. "You wouldn"t tell the whole school this secret I told I will never trust you ever again how could do this to me!" she said with tears in her eyes. "Ren I am really sorry it just slipped out!" Ruby said. "Well next time keeps your big mouth shut before anyone else gets hurt! She screamed. "Ren please forgive me you"re my best friend" I told her. "Not anymore!" She screamed, I was stunned. "You don"t mean that" I told her. "Yes I do after what you did to me," She said as she slammed her locker and started leaving. "Ren please don"t leave we can work this out!" I cried. "Watch me and no we can"t I will never forgive for this you betrayed me!" she screamed and left and that was last time she talked to me. That happened during our freshmen year. Even that year I tried get her back I called her if she picked phone and found it was I she would hang up and in hallways when I tried talking to her she would ignore me, so soon I gave up. I have a new best Friend Now Amelia but I still miss Ren she was like my Best Friend forever now she"s not even my friend she hates me but I guess I deserve it. She looks happy now and I am glad I turned back to my friends try forget Ren was really good friends with Tawny and Allison and Larry was really good friends with Louis and Twitty. It was nice Saturday afternoon Larry was home alone in his room. He looks at picture of his mom and begins crying "Why her?" he asked himself. Larry dials Ren"s number. "Hello?" She said. "Ren can you please come over I need you," he said crying. "Larry, I"ll be right there," She said as she hangs up. "Mom, Dad I am going over Larry"s house" Ren said. "Ok honey have fun," they said as she run out of door almost knocking Donnie down" What"s her hurry?" He thought to himself. Soon Ren arrives to Larry"s house and rings the doorbell, Larry answers and she sees that"s he"s crying "Come here Honey" She said as they sit down on couch. "What"s wrong?" She asked. "I miss my mom she died couple moths ago" Larry said. "Oh my god I am so sorry when did it happen?" She asked him. "A month after I started dating you" He said. How?" She asked. "Cancer" he said. "I am so sorry! Don"t worry I am here for you" he said as she hugged him. Then she leaned and kissed him for first time since they started dating. After she pulled away. "Do you feel better?" She asked. "A little" He said. "Thank you so much for everything en you are wonderful Girlfriend you are not only my girlfriend but also my best friend!" Larry said as he kissed her. "Larry I feel the same and I Love you!" She said as she kissed him back. Ren and Larry had great relationship and they never fought not even once. Louis had straight A"s and he and tawny had great relationship also. 5 years later 20 years old Ren Stevens was sitting in her house when Ren"s Longtime Boyfriend Larry came in. "Hey Sweetie" He said. "Hey" she said as she kissed him. Ren and Larry were in their 3rd year of college. Ren had become a singer during end of her sophomore year in high school so she really didn"t get go to regular school ad hardly saw her family but the summer before she was going go to college she decided to take break because she wanted finish college and her agent let her and now she got spend more time with Larry and go to college. But Ren was going go record her new album starting next month but next month summer vacation would begin. Larry was a high school History Teacher. "Ren I need to ask you something" Larry said. "Ok go ahead" She said. Larry bent on his knees, holding something. "Ren I been in love with you for a long time and I Love you very much, we been dating for 5 years and you are not my girlfriend but also my best friend, I was so happy when you asked me out back in 10th grade, I can"t live without you! You are the best thing that happened to me! Will you marry me Ren Christy Stevens?" he asked as he opened a box with very beautiful ring inside "Yes Larry I will marry you Larry" Ren said happily. He smiled and put a ring on her middle finger. "I feel the same way about you I Love you Lawernce Anthony Beale!" Ren said as she kissed him. "Now all we have to do is tell our family" Larry said. "How about tomorrow it"s Saturday" Ren said. "Ok" he said, Larry and Ren lived in San Diego, California, which was 5 hours away. 19 years old Louis and Tawny are sitting in their house talking. "Louis I am so glad we are dating" Tawny said. "Yeah me too" Louis replied. "Hey baby you want go surprise my parents tomorrow?" Louis asked. "Sure" Tawny said. Tawny and Louis only live 20 min away. "I can"t believe we dated for 5 years and didn"t break up this time we didn"t even get into one fight," Louis said. "I know" Tawny said as she kissed Louis. "I am glad we didn"t" Tawny said. "Tawny, you are the best thing that have ever happened to me! I feel in love with you first time I saw you in 7th grade, I am glad we became best friends later on and I am also glad we dated back in 7th grade I was sad we broke up later but good thing I had nerve to ask you out in 9th grade, you are very beautiful and you are not only my girlfriend but also my best friend! I will always love you no matter what happens you will always be in my heart! I love you with all my heart Tawny Danielle dean!" Louis said, she smiled at her boyfriend. "Louis that"s the sweetest thing you ever said I feel the same way about you I love you Louis Anthony Stevens" she said as she kissed him.

She asked him, Matt was shocked. "Yes" he said, "Good" she said as she hit in eye one more time. 2 weeks later Annie got worse she was abusing him more and more. He was in park when she hit him hard in eye then stomach. "if you tell anyone I am going to kill you I swear you got it?" She asked him. "Yes" he said his voice shaky, she left. Matt ran home, he came in living room as he sat down and stared at blank TV screen "what did I ever do to her to deserve this? Why me?" he asked himself as he put his head in his arms and began crying softly. Couple minutes later Eric came in and saw Matt"s head in his arms and he could hear that he was crying. "Matt are you all right?" Eric asked. Matt lifted his head and Eric gasped when he saw his eye it was half closed and he saw that he had been crying. "What happened to your eye?" He asked him. "I was playing basketball with friend and he hit me by accident" he lied. "I"ll go get you ice" Eric said and left. Mary came in laughing with Wilson, when she saw Matt. "What"s wrong?" she asked him as she sat next to him. "Nothing I am fine" He lied. "You don"t look fine and you look like you been crying" Mary said, Matt didn"t reply. "What"s the matter bro?" she asked him just as Eric came in with ice. "I miss mom" he said sadly. "I know I miss her too" she said as she hugged her brother. "Everything will be fine," She said. "How can you say that Mary? Our mom is dead! My life will never be the same!" matt screamed as he stormed off living room and they heard him slam the door. Mary sighed. Eric got up and left the room. "He is taking pretty hard," Mary told Wilson. "Yeah poor Matt" Mary said. Eric knocked on Matt"s door "Go away!" he screamed. "It" s me dad can we talk about it?' He asked. "I don"t want talk about it just leave me alone!" he screamed, Eric sighed as he began heading to his room. "What is screaming about?" Lucy asked, Eric told her and left. Next day at school Matt is talking to Mary "I am sorry screamed yesterday" he said. "It"s ok" I understand," She said as she hugged him, Annie saw it "Matthew we need to talk" he turned and saw Annie "ok see you later Mary" he said as he left with Annie. "Who was that?" she asked angrily. "That"s my sister," He said. "Why haven"t you called me in 2 weeks?" She asked him. " I was really busy" he said nervously. "Doing what?" she asked. "I had allot of homework and projects," Matt said. "That"s no Excuse not to call me!" she screamed. "I am serious I am not lying" Matt said. "I don"t care if you are busy or not you still have to call me!" she screamed. "No I don"t if I am your boyfriend doesn"t mean I have to do everything you tell me to!" Matt screamed then he saw Annie"s angry face. "Matthew Ryan Camden!" she screamed, he swallowed hard. "How dare you talk to me like that you are going to pay!" She said as she hit him in other eye." please don"t hurt me!" he said with tears. "That"s what you get for screaming at me!" she said as she slammed him with his face right in wall, she beats him badly and then leaves, leaving him on ground unconious. Couple minutes later Michael tower comes and when he sees him he almost passes out he rushes to him "matt?" He said, he doesn"t answer "Matt!' he said, he still doesn"t answer so he dials 911. At that time Mary appears and sees Matt "oh my god Matt!" she said as she rushes to him."Oh my god he is not breathing!" she said as she started doing mouth-to-mouth respiration he finally breathes but still uncinouis. Michael hands up "ambulance is on its way" He said. "What happened?" She asked him "I don"t know I was going home and I saw Matt so I called 911" Michael said. Soon 911 came and took Matt to intensive Care. "I hope he will be ok" Mary said. "I am sure he will" Michael said. "I don"t know what I will do if he won"t! I already lost my mom 2 months ago" Mary said with tears. "What happened?" He asked her. "She died in Car accident," Mary said. "Oh I am very sorry" Michael said as he looked in Mary"s eyes, she looked into his suddenly he leaned and kissed Mary but she pulled away "what"s wrong?" He asked her. "I have boyfriend," She said. "Oh sorry" he said. "We can be friends, good friends," Mary said. "Ok" Mike said. " I am going to hospital to see how Matt is but I don"t have a ride" Mary said. "I"ll give you a ride," Mike said. "Ok" She said Just as Lucy came "Mary where"s matt?" She asked, Mary told her as she began crying. "Come on Mike will give us ride to hospital" Mary said. "Ok" Lucy said. They arrived at Hospital 20 min later, Simon; Ruthie &Twins were there already. "Dad!" Lucy said as she run to him crying. Mary sat next to him "How"s Matt?" She asked him. "We don"t know yet," Eric said. "You did make him breathe that"s good" Eric said. "Yeah but Michael is the one who saw him and called 911" Mary said. "Thank you" Eric said, Mike smiled. "Who do you think beat him up that badly?" Mary asked Mike. "I have no idea but if I find out who that person is really going to get it" He said. Eric was becoming Impatient with Doctor. Hank was their doctor and they all trusted him. ' I just hope he is Ok" Mike said as he sat down next to Mary. "I hope so too" Mary said with tears in her eyes, Michael hugged her. Wilson appeared "Mary?" He said, She saw Wilson and ran to him. "Wilson!" she said as she hugged him, Wilson saw tears in her eyes. "How"s Matt?" He asked. "How did you know?" Mary asked. "Your Dad told me so how is he?" He asked. "We don"t know yet I just ok he is Ok!" Mary said with tears. "I am sure he will be" Wilson said as he began kissing her. They were kissing for a while when Michael saw them Kissing he turned away and said:" I"ll be right back Mr. Camden" He told Eric. "Where are you going?" He asked. "Restroom" Michael said. "Ok" Eric said. With that Michael stormed off almost pushing Mary down "oh sorry Mary" He said while heading to restroom. "What"s wrong with him?" Wilson asked. "I have no idea," Mary said. "Who is he anyway?" Wilson asked. "Friend he one who saw Matt and called 911" Mary said. "How old is he?" "17. Why? "We are really good friends," Mary said. "I"ll go see what"s Wrong," Mary said, "Ok " Wilson said. Mary ran after Michael "Mike wait!" She said, Michael turned and saw Mary. "Mary what are you doing here?" Michael asked her, "I want to see what"s Wrong," She told him. "Nothing is wrong I"m fine," Michael said. Suddenly he Remembered his mom who died in plane crash last year, he stopped. "Michael?" Mary Said. Michael didn"t answer he just stood there staring in space, his back was faced to Mary he didn"t want Mary to know that he is crying. "Michael are you ok?"Mary asked Him but he didn"t answer. Then suddenly he started running back to the waiting room, Mary looked after him confused, and she sighed and went into restroom. Michael ran Until he bumped into Eric, "Sorry Mr. Camden" he said. Eric saw that Michael had been Crying, "What"s the matter?" Eric asked, "Nothing I"m fine" Michael said, "You don"t Look fine," Eric said. " I am fine really" Michael said, "You don"t look fine to me, you Look like you been crying for a while" Eric said. " I think I love Mary. I don"t why, but I got these feelings for her. Deep feelings for her That is real. Will you not tell her if she asks what"s wrong with me? Please? " " I"ll try but I"m really surprised that you love my daughter that much." "You"re wondering why I"ve been thinking of this past hour. I was actually thinking of Mary." Michael said. Eric was surprised; he never knew that Michael liked His older Daughter than much! He never imagined that Michael would ever love Mary! " Well, Michael, that"s very surprising, and very shocking. Anyway, maybe I could someday Accept that lovely thought. Right now, I"m just curious why you love her now and tell me The whole story! " " Mr. Camden I know this is a big favor to ask of you, but I really need you to keep this From Mary. " Then in an instant, Mary came up and heard Michael say her name. "Tell Me about what? " " Uh, Mary, Michael has something he wants to tell you. Michael, would you like to tell Her? Now? " " I guess. Mary, I have allotted of complicated feelings for you. But just hear me out before You get the wrong idea. I love you and I want to be with you. Always." " Michael, I don"t think we should get into this here. Dad, could you give us some Privacy? " " Sure honey." Mary was actually shocked about Michael"s feelings for her. She didn"t Know what to think! She was completely confused! Suddenly, Wilson was walking Toward them, and saw Mary talking to Michael. " Hey, I was looking for you two. Where"d you go? " Wilson was interested in their conversation, but didn"t bother to ask About it. " We just wanted to talk about something," Mary said."Oh ok" Wilson said, "Come on let"s go see if they"re any news about Matt" Wilson told Mary. "Ok, let"s go!" Mary said and left with Wilson, leaving Michael alone. Michael was mumbling to Himself, "I love you, Mary," and he left the waiting room. He was relieved that he was Trying to keep that secret and try not to tell Mary about it. On the other hand, he was still guilty about not telling her. He should"ve told her already! But no, he had to wimp out. Meanwhile in a waiting room the Camden family is waiting For Hank. "Dad what"s taking him so long?" Lucy asked." I don"t Know honey" her dad Answered her, "Do you think Matt is okay?" Lucy asked him, "I don"t know but I hope So!" Eric said. "I will kill the person if I find out who did this to my brother!" Mary told Wilson. "Baby, Calm down, I am sure Matt will be ok" Wilson told her and started Kissing her Michael saw them and he was even more shocked than before. Wilson and Mary was kissing for 30 minutes. Everyone watched them shocked, because they never Seen them kiss that long before. 10 minutes later Hank Came out and saw that Camdens Were sitting in waiting room and looking worried, Mary and Wilson were kissing, Billy Was on Lucy"s lap while she cried in Eric"s lap, twins in Eric"s arms, Michael looking at Mary and Wilson with tears in his eyes, Ruthie crying along with Simon. "Eric" Hank Said, Eric turned and saw Hank; he got up giving twins to Michael. "Can you watch Sam? And Dave for a while?" He asked him "sure thing" he said taking them and sitting down. Mary and Wilson stopped kissing and everyone looked toward Hank and Eric interested. " How is my son?" Eric asked Hank. "Matt is still unconscious, he also lost allot of Blood" Hank told him, suddenly out of nowhere Julie appeared "Julie?" Eric and Hank Said at once. "Eric, Hank!" she said. "What are you doing here little Sis?" Eric asked her, "I heard about Matt, how is he?" she asked him, Hank told her. "Do you think he"ll be? Ok?" Julie asked Hank kissing him, "We hope so?" he said. "Where"s Annie?" Julie Asked, hank was wondering the same thing he didn"t see Annie anywhere! "I am sorry I Didn"t tell that I just didn"t want to talk about it but Annie died 2 months ago!" Eric said. Hank and Julie were shocked. "We are sorry Eric," they said, "It"s ok" he replied them. "How did she die?' they asked him. "She got in terrible Car accident when she was Driving home she went through windshield and died instantly!" Eric said. "How are the Kids taking it?" Julie asked. "Actually they are ok by now, but Matt still misses her allot He is taking it pretty hard, he said he still have nightmares about her" Eric told her, "Poor Matt" Julie said. "Yeah I know" Eric said. Everyone heard what Eric said. "I feel sorry For Matt he is taking it pretty hard" Mary told Wilson, "I am sure he"ll get better soon," He said. "I hope so," Mary said. 9 hours later, Julie went home." Hank came out and saw Mary sleeping on Wilson"s lap, Twins sleeping on Michael"s lap, Billy on Lucy"s and Michael fell asleep on Lucy"s shoulders Lucy on Mary"s Shoulder and Eric is leaning Against Michael"s shoulder. Hank laughed he looked at his watch and saw that it was 1:00a.m. " No wonder" He says and leaves. At 4:00 am Matt finally wakes up, "Where Are I am?" he asked himself weakly. It"s kind of dark in room and quiet he gets scared And calls his dad, "Daddy!" he screamed, first he got no answer. "Daddy where are you?" He asked he was now crying. "Daddy!" he says that couple more times before Eric comes In along with others and hank. "It"s ok Matt I am here," he said to him hugging him. 2-Days later Matt comes back home its Sunday. But doctor said he should stay home for couple Days. On Monday in school Annie is looking for Matt but she couldn"t find him anywhere so She decides to ask Mary. "Hi Mary, Where"s Matt?" she asks her, She tells her. "Oh my God" she says. "Why?" Mary asks, he"s my boyfriend" Annie says, "You Are? I didn"t Know he had a girlfriend!" Mary says. "I"ll tell him to call you ok?"Mary said. "Ok bye Mary" she said "Yeah bye Annie, see ya!" Mary said. Meanwhile Matt is at home Sleeping he is having nightmare about his mom again! "No mom come back!" he says, Eric comes in "Matt" he says, Matt wakes up and sees his dad sitting beside him, "It"s ok Matt I am here" he tells him, "But I still miss her" Matt tells him, "Yeah I know" Eric says Hugging him. After school Mary came in Matt"s room "Hi Matt" she said, "Oh hey Mary" He replied her." So how are you?" she asked him, Matt didn"t answer he looked at the Floor. There were a moment of silence, finally Mary spoke: "You miss mom don"t you?" Mary asked him, Matt nodded sadly. "I had another nightmare about her today" he Said."Oh yeah I bumped into your girlfriend Annie Jackson today I told he you"d call Her" Mary told Matt. Fear came back to Matt "Oh no not her!" Matt said to himself his Face going pale. Wilson came in and saw Mary and Matt and he saw that his face was Pale. "Matt?" Wilson said but he didn"t answer. "Matt what"s the matter?" Mary asks Him, but he still doesn"t answer. Mary and Wilson looked at each other exchanging Worried glances. "Matt please answer us!" They said at once, "Huh What?" he said finally. "Matthew what"s wrong?" Mary asked him."What makes you think that something is? Wrong?" Matt asked her. "Matthew your face was pale and you didn"t answer me when I Called your name like 5 times, Wilson called your name too! "Now tell us what"s wrong!" Mary told him, "You want to know what"s wrong fine I"ll tell you!" Matt practically Screamed. "My girlfriend Annie been abusing me ever since mom died! And she is the One who beat me up! I didn"t tell anyone because she said if I tell anyone she"d kill me There happy?" Matt said his face flushing with anger, Wilson and Mary never seen Matt That angry before! Wilson and Mary were shocked at what Matt just told them; there was Silence for 10 minutes. "We are sorry Matt we didn"t know" they finally said, "It"s all Right" he said, "Please don"t tell anyone" he said, "She"ll kill me if she finds out that I told You!" Matt told them, "We won"t tell," they said, "do you promise?" he asked them, "We Promise" they told him, he smiled at them they smiled back at him. Mary and Wilson Came up to him and hugged him; it was 3:05 p.m. 20 minutes Mary fell asleep on Matt And Wilson fell asleep on other side of Matt"s bed he had queen size bed, all of them Were sleeping soon. It was 3:25 p.m. 4 hours later Lucy came up to Eric "Dad where is Mary?" she asked him. " I don"t Know why?" he asked her, "Because I haven"t seen her For 4 hours!" Lucy said. "What time is it?" Eric asked her, Lucy looked at her watch. "7:25p.m Dad." Lucy said. "I am going go check on Matt" he said, "I "ll come with you" Lucy told Eric, "ok come on!" he said. When they came in they saw that all of them were Sleeping. 3 weeks later Matt came back to school, Michael Tower came up to him "Hey Matt how are you feeling?" He asked him. "Ok Thanks" He said smiling up at him. Annie came up to him "Matt I need talk to you in private" She said. "Can it wait? I am talking to my friend here," He told her. "No it can"t" She said as she grabbed his arm but he broke free "no Anne not now can you see I am busy can"t we talk after school? Is it that important" Matt asked her standing up for himself for first time. "Fine meet me here after school" she said as she gave him a kiss on a cheek. "Ok Honey" he said and returned the kiss, she left. "Is that your girlfriend?" Michael asked him. "Yeah" Matt said. "She looks nice" Michael said "That"s what you think!" Matt said to himself. "Yeah" Matt said. Mary came up to them "Hey Matt, Mike" She said as she put arm around Matt. "Hey" they said, Michael looked at Mary. "Look Guys I have to go talk to you later" He said. "Ok" they said as Michael left. " So Matt how you feeling?" She asked him "Better thanks" He said. "No Problem!" She said. Bell rang, " well we better be going" Mary said "yeah see you later " Matt said "Ok" she said as she gave him kiss on a cheek, he smiled she smiled back at him and left. Annie saw the whole thing she came and grabbed His arm "Matthew!" She said. "What do you want Anne?" he asked her. "Why didn"t you call me for past 3 weeks?" She asked him angrily. "Why do I have to call you all the time?" He asked her crossing his arms. "Because you are my boyfriend Duh!" She said as she came closer to him but to her surprise he didn"t back away. "Doesn"t mean I have to call you all the time or do what you say!" he said angrily. "Yes it does!" She screamed. "Anne do you even know what boyfriend and girlfriend is?" He asked her. "Yes" She answered. "no I don"t think you do! Girlfriend doesn"t take advantage of boyfriend if she really loves him! She also doesn"t tell him what to do and doesn"t abuse him also did u see what you did to me 3 weeks ago I ended up in hospital what kind of girlfriend are you Annie I think you don"t care or love me at all that"s it we through! I can"t take it anymore!" Matt said angrily and he almost left but she grabbed his arm "Matthew Ryan Camden!" She said angrily. "What?" he said. She didn"t answer she just hit him hard in eye that he feel on ground. Anne looked and saw tears in his eyes "See what I mean" He said. "You are not breaking up with me!" she said. "Yes I am goodbye Annie!" he said as warning bell rang he got up and left leaving Annie all alone she left but what she didn"t know was that Michael Tower saw everything! He was shocked at what he just Saw. After school He came up to Matt "hey I need talk to you in private" He said. "Ok" Matt said. They went behind school. "Matt I know your secret" Mike said. "What secret?" He asked him confused. "I know that your girlfriend is abusing you" He said, Matt looked down at his feet. "How do you know?" He asked him not facing him. "I overheard you and Annie talking and I saw her hitting you" He said, Matt sat down on ground "Matt?" Michael said as he said as he sat next to him. Matt buried his face in his arms. "I don"t know what I ever did to her to deserve this," he told him. "Matt, it"s not your fault" Mike said. "Well it doesn"t matter because I broke up with her but I am afraid that now she"ll hurt me even more now" Matt said. "Don"t worry I"m here I won"t let her hurt you I promise" He said Matt lifted his head and wiped his tears away "Thanks" He said then he heard "Matt!" He heard his sister call."Uh oh I am supposto drive home," Matt said. He came out and saw Mary "Matthew we been looking for you!" she screamed Matt backed away in horror with tears.. "Matt I am sorry! I didn"t mean to scream," she said as she came up to him and hugged him while he cried. The siblings watched them "Lucy what"s wrong with Matt?" Ruthie asked, "I don"t know Ruthie" Lucy said watching Matt and Mary. That night Matt was having a nightmare "no please leave me alone!" Eric came in "Matt wake up" He said he did "You were having a nightmare" Eric said. "Right" Matt said. "Are you ok?" Eric asked him. "Yeah I"m fine" Matt lied. "Ok good night" He said and left. Matt sat on his bed "Why me?" he asked himself. "What did I do to deserve all of this?" he asked as he wiped his tear away and went back to sleep. Next day at school Matt was talking to Marry when his ex-girlfriend she appeared really angry as she headed towards him "Uh Oh" he said to Mary "Don"t worry she"s not your girlfriend anymore" she told him putting arm around him. "Yeah but I am afraid she"ll hurt me more because I broke up with her" Matt said. "I won"t let her," Mary said. Annie came up to them "Matthew I need talk to you" She said. "First of all I don"t and second you are not my girlfriend anymore" He said. "I need talk to you now!" she screamed. "Leave my brother alone!" Mary said. "Make me!" Annie said. "Anne, Matt told me what you been doing and I am not going to let you hurt him anymore and if you do I am telling a principal or teacher so leave now!" Mary said. "Fine! But this conversation is not over! You are going to pay Camden!" She told Matt as she angrily looked at him and left. "Thanks Mare" He told her. "No problem bro!" She said. "That"s what friends are for" She said he smiled. She left leaving Matt all alone that"s when Annie grabs him. "What are you doing?" he asked her. "When I said you are going to pay and it"s now!" She said, Matt swallowed hard. "What did I do to you to deserve this?" he asked, "You broke up with me," She said. "Anne Elisabeth Jackson!" He screamed. "What?" she said. "You abused me before I broke up with you, you have been doing this since my mom died" He said. There was a moment of silence.

The next morning, I woke up to the smell of scrambled eggs, cooking in the pan, along with bacon and toast. It"d been a while since Blair had done anything like that, but I didn"t comment, not wanting to provoke another argument, and just quietly thanked him for the food. He didn"t eat anything, just gave me mine, went to his room, grabbed his backpack and left, telling me he"d be at the university all day and had stuff to do afterwards, so I wasn"t to wait up. I didn"t realise until he had left that he"d carefully kept the bruised side of his face away from my sight, and that there was a stitch in his split lip. He must have fixed it up on his own, in silence - I know I would have heard him otherwise. I should"ve guessed he wouldn"t ask me, but I should have offered to at least check it this morning. Dammit. Doing it himself must have hurt like a bitch. He"s so goddamned stubborn. When I turned up at the station, people asked me where Sandburg was. Not just one person, but people. Every single fucking person in the entire fucking building asked me where the kid was. When Rafe asked me, I finally snapped, yelled at him, and at people in general, and really made sure that everyone kept the hell outta my way. Even Simon left me alone - I guess he figured he"d leave me to stew and get myself over it. Or, as he muttered to himself, give me time to get out of my "hissy fit". If I hadn"t have been so pissed off at the world, I would have laughed. That night, late enough that even the dogs on the street had stopped their barking, I heard a shuffle at the door, the key turning in the lock, and the thud of a backpack being softly placed on the floor. There were the familiar sounds of Blair collapsing into bed after a late night, and I was finally able to slide into sleep. When I awoke it was, for the second morning in a row, to the smell of frying bacon. Once I had woken up enough to appreciate why I had bacon for breakfast, I was suddenly a hell of a lot less hungry. By the time I had meandered downstairs, the plates were being slid onto the table, and Blair cautiously smiled at me. I forced a grin back at him, and a cheery "good morning" as I sat down to eat. The relief on his face was almost painful. The cheek where I had hit him was already turning purple, and there was swelling, but not enough that I should be majorly concerned about. If it got any worse, I would take a closer look, but it wasn"t really that bad. Still, it tore at me every time I had to look at him and saw it marring his face. Fucking guilt trips. Before we left the loft I hauled the pile of case folders I had brought home into my arms. They were all files on a family of dopers we thought were in on a murder, and they were damned heavy, as well as obscuring all view of the ground beneath my feet. As I picked up the keys to the truck, and turned away, my foot caught in something, and I was falling to the ground, the files going everywhere in an explosion of paperwork. Avoiding serious harm, I clambered to my feet, checking my limbs for damage. There was none, barely a bruise, but the shock and adrenaline was already flooding though my system. When I looked for what had tripped me, all I saw was Sandburg"s tattered old backpack, one strap still stuck out and the contents spilling out the top where it was been knocked over. Spinning around, I glared at the kid, who had frozen by the kitchen table at the sight of me tumbling to the ground. He flinched, and seemed to be jolted back into motion again. "Shit!" It was the first emotion I"d got out of him since I"d hit him, and I couldn"t even tell what it was, it just seemed an explosive burst of shock, frustration, and fear. Before I could stop myself, I was yelling at him, shouting like a drill sergeant, about what a dumb place to put his backpack, and then he was on the floor, frantically trying to pick up the papers and put them back in some sort of order. I helped, but every time our hands got near each other he would jerk back, and he refused to make eye contact. There was a silent ride to the station, and a silent ride up the elevator. Today, few people spoke to me, and even to Sandburg, though he received several smiles, which he returned. No one seemed to notice just how badly his hands were shaking. When he got called into Simon"s office, I stood up to go with him, but Simon shook his head at me. "Not you, just Sandburg. Don"t eavesdrop, either." Blair stood up and walked through the bullpen, without exchanging a glance with me, or with anyone else. Even Rafe"s bright grin did nothing the lift the dejection that seemed to hang around the kid. He looked smaller somehow, his body hunched in the way of convicted criminals, when they know the sentence is coming, but they haven"t yet heard how bad it will be. A reassuring grin and a pat on the arm from Rhonda helped him to pull his head up, his hair swinging back to reveal the bruise on his cheek. I hadn"t noticed, until then, how hard he had worked to keep it hidden from everyone in the bullpen. No one bar Rhonda saw it now, and when she reached up to touch it he turned his head away, saying it was nothing. She nodded, and watched him as he entered Simon"s office, then turned to stare unerringly at my guilty face. I bent my head back to my paperwork, already feeling the red tide over my cheeks. But just because I wasn"t looking didn"t mean I couldn"t hear. Simon seemed calm, relaxed, but worried. He was sat on his desk, far more informal than usual - I could hear his leg swinging slightly against the side of it. When Blair walked in, the swinging stopped, but the relaxed attitude remained. Blair on the other hand was far more nervous; I could hear him wringing his hands and swallowing convulsively. His steps were short and slow, with none of his usual bounce. "Sir?" "Sit, Blair. And drop the sir. For this meeting, I"m Simon, ok?" "OK." A sigh, from Simon. "What"s going on, Blair? You have injuries I know you didn"t get here at work, Jim spent all of yesterday acting like a bear with a sore head, and today you"re... you"re goddamned quiet! What the hell happened? And don"t bother lying to me." I could almost hear Blair flinch back as Simon"s voice rose, and it was all I could do to stop from running in there and throwing myself on their mercy. There was silence for a moment as Blair gathered himself; I heard several deep breaths and hoped they weren"t the start of a panic attack. "Me and Jim... we had an argument. It was my fault, Simon, I started it and wouldn"t let it drop. I got mad, and ran into my room, fell over and hit the desk, and needed patching up. Jim"s just mad because he blames himself. You know what he"s like." I didn"t need to see it to know it had happened - a shared look, a roll of eyes; it was the two of them sharing their knowledge of me. It"s one of Sandburg"s tactics to get people to believe him. People with things in common trust each other more. It works, too. "I"m just being quiet because I"ve got a headache, and my lip makes talking sore. It"s nothing to worry about, honest." I could almost hear the honesty radiating from his words. Sandburg"s a professional at this; he doesn"t even have to try, and boy was he trying. "You"re sure nothing"s wrong?" Sandburg must have nodded, because Simon continued. "Alright then, you can go. But Blair... if anything happens, you need someone to talk to or a place to stay, just call me, ok?" Maybe Sandburg"s not as good as I thought he was. Or maybe Simon"s better than I knew he could be. "Thanks for the offer, Simon. If I need to take it up, I will." Blair left Simon"s office with a thoughtful expression on his face. He never caught me watching him, and was soon sat back down at his desk, still sorting out the files that had gone flying that morning. = - / _ = - / _= - / _= - / Once we got home that evening, Blair disappeared off to his room... taking his backpack with him. He didn"t come out until I put dinner onto the table and called for him. We sat in silence for several minutes, Blair staring at his food as he ate. When I finally broke the silence, he jumped, and his head shot up to stare at me with those wide blue eyes. I think he"d forgotten I was even there. "So, how"s Cassie?" Cassie was one of his students, and she"d been having problems with a boyfriend. Like most of Blair"s female students, Blair was her first port of call when she needed to talk. "She"s ok." His head was back down, staring at his food as he moved it listlessly around his plate. "She split up with Kurt yesterday." "Is that good?" "I guess. She cried, though." Blair dropped his fork, and it hit his plate with a jarring clatter. "I"m not hungry, Jim. Sorry." I shook my head. "Don"t worry about it. I"ll wash up. Go on, I"m sure you"ve got marking to do or something." He nodded in a peculiarly marionette fashion, jerked his chair away from the table, and went to his room. Once again, the door was shut firmly. Sighing, I threw the remainder of our dinners away and went to wash up. I could deal with Sandburg in the morning. = - / _ = - / _= - / _= - / It turned out, though, that I couldn"t. When I got up, he had already left for the university. I read his short note - he had a class, apparently - with mixed feelings. On one hand, he was avoiding me, but on the other, he"d left a note for me, so it couldn"t be all that bad. I went to work without a second thought. I couldn"t do anything, so why worry? = - / _ = - / _= - / _= - / At work, people kept asking me, "Where"s Sandburg?" "What did you do with the short one?" "Where"s the cheery half?" Eventually, it pissed me off enough that I snapped at Megan. She scowled at me and marched off. Oops. Mind you, you would have thought they"d get the idea about asking, by now. When Simon hauled me into his office ten minutes later, I snapped at him too, until he told me to shut the hell up and sit down. I sat. When Simon uses That Voice and tells you to jump, you just ask, "how high, sir?" There was a moment of silence as he settled himself behind his desk, holding a cigar in one hand. "Jim, what have you done to the kid?" When I started to speak, he held up a hand to stop me. "Don"t give me any bull, either. I don"t get it outta you, I"ll make Sandburg tell me, and the state he"s in at the moment, if glare at him he"ll break." Again, the silence, before I spoke. "I hit him. That"s what the bruise is, on his cheek. And it split his lip." Simon whistled. I got the impression it was for my benefit - he had already known, and just needed my confirmation. "Shit, Jim. Why"d you do it? He"s acting like a kicked puppy, and it"s making everyone miserable." "Jeez, if I"d known that, I"d never have done it." The sarcasm seemed feeble, even to me. "I don"t know, we were having an argument and it just... got to me." "It "got to you"? And that made you hit him?" Simon was disbelieving. He put the cigar down and clasped his hands. "Jim, Sandburg is precious to everyone in this building. We don"t want to know he"s been hurt, and by you. If anyone - particularly Megan or Joel - finds out about this, you"re a dead man. You know that, right?" I nodded. Oh, boy, did I know. "Ok then. So, go fix it." When I didn"t move, Simon waved his hands at me. "Go on, out. And I don"t want to see you back here without Sandburg, is that understood?" "Sir." I left the bullpen in a hurry, and pretended not to hear the sighs of relief and Joel"s comment - "If Sandburg"s not back tomorrow - how he should be - we"re gonna give Jim hell, right?" The little chorus of "right" from everyone in the bullpen sped me on my way. By the time I got to Rainier, I had a little speech all ready and waiting. Once I was standing outside the door to Blair"s office... my pretty speech had gone clear out of my head. Taking a deep breath - Blair says it"s good for my blood pressure - I knocked on the door. There was a thud, and some muffled curse words, then a shout. "Give me a minute!" Some more muffled curse words, then the door was unlocked and slowly slid open as papers blocking it were forced to slide out of the way. Sandburg"s head peered round the door, and once he saw me his eyes, at first bright and curious, flicked nervously away to focus on the floor. "Jim. Listen, I"m uh... I"m completely swamped, man, so -", he gave a nervous laugh, which grated on me in it"s wrongness. It was too forced, too careful, too harsh. Not Blair. My stomach turned over as I realised this was exactly what I had done to him. I had turned him from a brave, quick thinking, weird scholar into this nervous recluse, with one single movement. "No, Sandburg." I stepped forwards, pushing the kid backwards without even touching him - it was scary how smartly he moved out of the way once I approached. I wanted to back away, take the frightened look from his eyes, but Simon"s words drove me on. "Please. We need to talk." He turned away, staring at the floor, at the piles of papers scattered there. I could hear his breathing, harsh in the silence, then suddenly he turned back, his eyes wild. "What, Jim? What do we need to talk about? You got pissy, I argued, you hit me. That"s all there is to it." He stared up at me, angry wide blue eyes burning into me. I felt my own gaze flick across to his cheek, down to his split lip and back to his eyes in a second. He gave an elegant sneer. "So, hitting me is alright, you just don"t like leaving bruises?" I stepped forwards, and his flinch backwards told me that his bravado was entirely faked. An obfuscation. "I"m sorry. I"m so, so sorry." This time, when I stepped forwards he didn"t move, just looked at me with accusing, pained eyes. "I don"t care if you"re sorry or not. Everyone always says they"re sorry." Something unidentifiable flickered across his face now. "I don"t even want you to promise it won"t happen again." He snorted. "Everyone always says that, too." A new emotion entered his eyes. "I just want to remind you what I do for you. How much I help you. Remind you that I keep you grounded." Ice trickled down my spine. I knew exactly how much control Blair had over me; just how much the loss of his aid would mean to me. "So, before something like this happens again, just think - if I leave, you will never be able to find me. You"ll never be able to properly tune your senses, not well enough to chase me across the world. And without me, eventually you"ll drop into a zone so deep you"ll never emerge." His eyes were so hard, so fierce, that I could barely recognise my friend. The breath was tight in my chest as I looked at him and his final sentence sunk in. "And if it becomes necessary, I will send you into that zone myself." Minor warning - mentions of domestic abuse, and insufficient disapproval. = - / _ = - / _= - / _= - / _= - / _= - / _= - / _= - / _= - / _= - / _= - / _= - / _= - / _= - / _ When the world returned from the abyss where Blair"s words had taken me, I was alone in his office. After a few minutes of faded colours, the world returned in full bloom, the cool air from an open window making my skin prickle. It hadn"t been open before - Blair had obviously left it open to bring me slowly out of my zone. Just another reminder of what he does for me. My knees ached - I had fallen to the floor at some point, and had knocked them on the hard wood. I used the table to haul myself upright, feeling twice my age. I staggered to the door, as my legs slowly came back to life. Pulling it open, I peered down the corridor. No one. No students, no teachers. No Sandburg. Not that I was expecting him to be there. = - / _ = - / _= - / _= - / Back at the loft, I collapsed onto the couch. Something was up with Sandburg, and it wasn"t just what I"d done, I was sure of that. At least, I hadn"t been the original cause. I had seen something in his eyes that went deeper than the fear of me hitting him again. As if that wasn"t bad enough. I let my head drop down onto the back of the chair. The sun was going down, sending a shaft of light through the window. Dust motes caught in the light danced in the air, swirling and eddying and moving... = - / _ = - / _= - / _= - / I blinked as the sound of a door shutting drew me from my zone. Dammit! Not only was today a bad day for zones, but Blair wasn"t exactly being helpful. That was perfectly understandable, but still. Stiffened muscles complained as I hauled myself upright. The dust motes that had so distracted me previously were now telling me that Sandburg had just entered his room, but I ignored that for the time being and immersed myself in cooking. Homemade lasagne for two - with a side dish of grovelling, hopefully Sandburg would forgive me. Forty minutes later, I shoved the meal in the oven and wiped my hands on my apron. Ok, the guy in an apron thing, cliché or what, but I hate knowing there"s flour or sauce or whatever on my clothes. I can see it. Shoving various bowls and implements into the sink to soak, I took off the apron - complete with a splodge of cheese sauce - and placed it over the back of a chair. After I had spent several minutes trying to get it flat, I realised I was procrastinating and pointedly scrumpled it up and threw it on the table. Outside Sandburg"s door, I waited for a few seconds, calming myself much as I had done outside his office. I knocked twice, gently, before slowly pushing the door open. There was an open bag on the floor - my stomach lurched as my first thought was that Blair was leaving. I scanned the room in an instant, checking for more signs of departure, but there were none, and my gaze finally settled on the man himself. He was sat on the end of his futon, with a handful of photographs. He seemed to be immersed in them, but something about his body language told me he had heard me knock and enter. Inside the suitcase, among the debris, was a small box, one lone photograph still in the bottom. It was of Naomi and a handsome man, with a small, blue eyed, curly haired boy between them. There was a small red sweet in the boy"s hand, and another in his mouth. He was holding it in his teeth and showing it to the camera with a broad grin. In the picture, Blair could have been no more than six years old, but the energy was the same as the bouncy, enthusiastic man I usually knew. "There were three." "What?" Sandburg"s voice startled me out of my reverie. "There were three men that hit Naomi. There were two others that only hit me." He still hadn"t looked up from the photographs in his hand. "Sandburg... Blair..." "Each time, when whoever it was hit her, we would just leave, like that. She always told me, that however often they say they"re sorry and however often they say they won"t do it again, they"re not sorry enough to stop." A sigh, and he let the pictures drop to the ground one by one. Big blue eyes looked up at me, pleading and hard all at the same time. "I can"t leave you, Jim. I had to make you sorry enough to never do it again. Please understand." I nodded mutely, then slowly sat down beside him. His head was hanging again, and he was staring at the pictures where they lay on the floor. Several of them had landed the wrong way up, and I could see the names and dates scrawled on the back. Some didn"t have names, others didn"t even have dates. "I made lasagne." Blair snorted softly. "Guess that"s as close to an apology as I"m gonna get." "I"d apologise, but you know me and words." I slid one arm round his shoulders, holding him close to my side. "Words is your bit." He snorted again. "Apparently so is grammar." "You know, that snorting thing really isn"t attractive." This time, he laughed properly. It was only a short bark, but it was there. He sobered again. "Jim... seriously..." "Yeah, I know. I won"t. Ever. You scared me a little, you know that? What with leaving me in your office and all that." "Hey, man, I left the window open! I knew it"d bring you out of it eventually." Blair tried to pull away, affronted, but I kept my arm around him. "I didn"t mean it like that. I just..." Shaking my head as the words eluded me, I squeezed him tightly to my side before letting go and abruptly standing. "I just didn"t realise how much you mean to me. Not the sentinel thing, well that too, but with everything." "Yeah?" I held out a hand and hauled him to his feet. "Now come on, you can help me make salad." "You seriously made lasagne?" "Yup." I sniffed deeply. "But if we don"t hurry up it"s going to be takeaway anyway." Blair dashed through the door before I could. "I can make the salad if you can do the table." "I don"t like how you make salad. You cut the lettuce wrong." "Tell me, man, tell me you did not just comment on how I cut lettuce." Blair brandished a cucumber at me. "Hey, if you"d do it right..." A tomato hit me in the forehead. "I refuse to have a food fight." I sniffed. "It"s very childish." I caught the next tomato neatly in my mouth. Blair pulled a face. "You cheat." I held it between my teeth and bit into it. The juice I had so carefully aimed at him instead went all over my cheek. He laughed now, properly. "Serves you right." There"s a pip on my eyelash. Eew. = - / _ = - / _= - / _= - / ~Finis

on the chair - and Claudia frowned. "Nigel? Wake up, Nigel, its lunch time." Still, he didn"t move, and Claudia began to get worried. Shaking Nigel"s shoulder, Claudia muttered, "Come on, Nigel! Wake up! Come on!" When he still did nothing, Claudia stepped back. "Nigel, get up! Don"t make me get Sydney in here!" She pushed his shoulder hard, but all that happened was that Nigel fell off the chair and landed in a crumpled heap on the floor. Claudia scowled at him to hide her panic, and stepped smartly out of the room. "Sydney! Come here! Something"s wrong with Nigel! Sydney!" A few minutes later, Claudia marched into the office, dragging Sydney behind her. "He won"t wake up, Sydney! I shook him, but he still wouldn"t! Do something!" Sydney knelt down beside Nigel as Claudia fidgeted beside them. Sydney called quietly, "Nigel. Come on, Nige", wake up. I know staying unconscious seems nice at the moment, but you have to wake up." She rubbed his collarbones gently, and Nigel"s eyelids flickered. "Wha... Sydney...? That you?" Nigel muttered the words, and blinked at her slowly, trying to focus through his reading glasses. "Yep. I think you passed out. C"mon, let"s get you home. I"ll pick you up, and we"ll go to my car, and I"ll drive you home, and put you to bed. Ok? Ok. Now, come on, stand up for me." She put an arm round Nigel"s waist, and helped him to his feet. Nigel groaned, and, with Sydney supporting him, lurched out of the office. = = = = = = = = Sydney pulled up outside Nigel"s apartment and slid out of the car. Helping him out of the car, she took his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the front door. "Well done, Nige". Come on, now, up the stairs. Well done." She gently lay Nigel down on his bed, then pulled the blanket up over his legs. "I"ll stay here for now, until you wake up." Moving the only chair from its position behind the desk, Sydney sat on it and pulled a book on Egyptian Mythology from a shelf, and started to read. As she turned the page for the second chapter, a letter fell out - Nigel had obviously been using it as a bookmark. Sydney picked it up, and frowned when she saw that it was from a major British museum. Feeling slightly guilty at nosing through Nigel"s things, she started to read it. It was dated as being posted three days ago, from England, so it must have arrived with that morning"s post. "Dear Mr Bailey," she read, "We are delighted to offer you the position of museum translator. We have been following your work, and you seem to be perfect for the job. We know of your current job at Trinity College with Miss Sydney Fox, and would offer you a higher salary and much more rewarding work. "You would be in charge of commissioning people to find relics, and also be the person responsible for translating any ancient texts or scrolls we may need. "We hope you will seriously consider our offer, and we would appreciate it if you contact us as soon as possible with your response. Thank you." Sydney"s eyes filled with tears, and she put a hand to her mouth. Nigel couldn"t go back to England! She couldn"t manage without him! But he should go; it would be much safer than joining her on the hunts... and after the way she had been treating him recently, she wouldn"t be surprised if he did accept the job. "I"m sorry, Nigel... you have absolutely no idea how sorry I am..." Sydney sniffed away a tear, and scrubbed at her face, then pushed the letter back in its place in the book and put the book back on the shelf. She stood up and pulled the curtains closed so Nigel could sleep peacefully, and so she could sit and be ashamed of herself in the dark, where no one could see her cry. = = = = = = = = = = Nigel opened his eyes to darkness, which slowly formed itself into the familiar shapes of his bedroom. He was warm, and his stomach didn"t hurt quite so much, though he still had a headache. Sitting up slowly, Nigel took off his reading glasses and placed them on the table. He tried to remember how he had got home, but all that came up was a vague memory of marking essays, a dark blank, then Sydney"s voice and a car ride. Well, Sydney was involved, so it couldn"t be that bad. He stretched, then jumped as a voice interrupted his thoughts. "Hey, Nigel. Nice to see you awake. You had Claudia and me worried, earlier." "Sydney?! I thought you were at the college... I thought you were mad at me..." "I"m not mad at you, Nigel. I was mad at an irritating freshman kid again. Are you feeling better?" "Yes, thanks. What"re you doing here?" "You fainted in the office. I brought you back here until you woke up. Listen, Nigel... I"m sorry for being so grouchy... If there"s any way I can make it up to you..." "What? No, no, it"s not you, I hadn"t noticed anything." "Nigel..." "I said, I hadn"t noticed anything. Now can we leave it as that?" "Ok, Nigel. I"ll leave it as that. But you are staying in bed until you are thoroughly better. Or else there will be trouble!" "Yes, Syd. I"ll stay in bed. Don"t you have to be at work? Or is the day over now?" "No, it"s not over. I just wanted to hang around until you wake up. I should actually be going back now. There"s aspirin and water on the table, and a cheese sandwich. Actually, I have a question for you." Sydney tried to make herself ask about the letter, but found that for once her voice had given up on her. She couldn"t bring herself to admit that she had been reading his private letters. So, instead, she went a safe question. "Why on earth do you have marmite in your cupboard? I mean, you can"t seriously eat that stuff, can you?" "Oh, very funny. I love it, actually. It"s wonderful stuff. Thank you for the sandwich, Syd. I think I"m gonna go back to sleep now. See you tomorrow or whenever..." Nigel pulled the blanket back up to his chin, rolled over, and a few minutes later, as Sydney watched, his light breathing showed that he was fast asleep again. "Goodnight, Nigel." Sydney smiled at him, and gently smoothed his hair away from his face. "Sweet dreams." = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = End of chapter 1! Please review! (I say that a lot). Kazuki. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Yo! I"m back. With the next chapter. Which people actually want to happen! Surprisingly. Eight people reviewed the first chapter! That is so cool! I had a geography project to complete over the weekend. Got given it Friday first lesson to hand in on third lesson Monday. I have typed twelve pages. My hands are incredibly sore, and I"m still posting this. I just hope you lot out there appreciate this! And on with the fic! = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Nigel pushed open the office door with a sigh. It had happened again. Claudia and Sydney had tidied his stuff. "Sydney! Why do you do this every time I"m not here?" "Do what, Nigel?" Sydney gave him a sweet smile, pretending she had no idea of what he was talking about. "You know what I mean." Nigel gave her a mock glare, and sat down at his desk. He reached for a pile of books and purposely placed them, one by one, all over the table. Sydney stuck her tongue out at him, and Nigel grinned back. "Go on, Nigel. Get to work, like a good little slave boy." Now it was Sydney"s turn to grin, and Nigel"s turn to pull a face. "And if you feel at all ill, tell me or Claudia or go to medical. * Do not sit there and suffer!" "Ok, Syd. I"m fine. I"m teaching TL first. They"re usually nice and quiet." Sydney nodded. "Ok, Nigel. I"ll see you at lunch time." She smiled at him and left, shutting the door behind her. A few minutes later, Claudia bounced through the door, and squealed, "Nigel! Oh, you"re back! Hello! Are you ok now? Cause you were, like, totally out of it on Monday." "I"m fine, thank you, Claudia. Now, I have to go and find TL"s classroom. See you later." Claudia grinned at him happily, and blew him a kiss. "See you, Nigel." Nigel blushed, and walked quickly out of the office, trying to hide his burning cheeks by looking at the floor and letting his hair fall down over his eyes. = = = = = = = Three days later- Nigel stared down at the letter in his hand. He was tempted... it was a good offer, a nice quiet job, peaceful, in his home country... but he couldn"t leave Sydney. But... he was always in trouble on the hunts, holding her back... He loved working with her and Claudia, but if all he was good for were the translations, then they could get anyone to do that. After a few minutes of struggle with himself, Nigel made his decision and picked up the phone, trying to convince himself that he was doing the right thing. = = = = = = = Two days later- Claudia sat down at her desk, and frowned when she saw a letter in front of her. It was addressed, simply, "Claudia", in Nigel"s neat, small handwriting. Slowly, she slit it open, dreading what she would find. The words were tidy, like Nigel"s writing always was, but they started to swim in front of her eyes as tears gathered. "Dear Claudia, "I wanted to tell you this in a letter so you couldn"t try and persuade me not to go. I"m quitting this job, to go to England. I"ve... got a position as a translator at Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford. "The reason I"m going is... well, the reason I"m going is that I don"t want to die in some place, miles away from home, with only Sydney there to know I"m gone. I want to die peacefully, in my own bed, when I"m old. "I can"t keep up with her, and if I can"t keep up I"m just holding her back. I love hunting for relics, but I"m too clumsy and... and basically I"m just a liability. I add nothing to the hunts, bar a bit of translations that Syd could get anyone to do, and she could really do them herself. She only lets me do them so I can feel like I"m needed. Which I don"t think I am, despite her best efforts to tell me otherwise. "I"m sorry, Claudia. I hope you"ll forgive me. Please tell Sydney, and try to stay out of the way of the aftermath. It wasn"t your fault, or Syd"s. Goodbye, Claudia. I"m going to miss you both." The letter was ended with Nigel"s flourishing signature. Claudia slumped back in her chair, and, in a small, very unhappy tone, called, "Sydney..." Professor Fox immediately peered round the door, worried at Claudia"s tone. "Yes, Claudia? Is something wrong?" "Yes. Nigel"s quit. He"s going to England, to work there. He left me a letter, and he says that it wasn"t my fault, or yours. He"s gone, Sydney. I can"t believe it!" Sydney stared at Claudia in horror as the news sank in. She had found that letter, but never thought that Nigel would seriously consider it. And she could have stopped him, tried to persuade him to stay at Trinity College... And now he was gone to England, and he probably wouldn"t appreciate her going after him. "Oh, Nigel..." = = = = = = = = At the airport, Nigel climbed out of the taxi, paid the driver, and made his way to gate three where he had to get on the plane. He passed his hand luggage through the x-ray machines, checking the things himself as they passed through. He looked for a small obsidian statue of Bastet (the Egyptian cat goddess), his laptop, a notebook with several pages of writing in it, and his favourite, rather battered, book, a copy of Daniel Jackson"s "History of Egypt". They were all there, and Nigel smiled at the blonde, female attendant as she passed him the bag. She smiled back, and Nigel"s cheeks turned slightly red as her fingers brushed his. At least in England he would be away from the American girls, who were so obvious about their intentions that only an idiot could ignore their approaches. He showed his passport to the male assistant and was shown to his seat. It was by the window, which he was glad about, but a few minutes after he sat down, a middle age woman, overweight and with far too much hand luggage, sat down in the seat next to him. Immediately, Nigel was overwhelmed with the stench of her perfume, but still managed to help her into her seatbelt, which she seemed to have rather a lot of trouble with. It wasn"t quite long enough. As the plane slowly taxied down the long runway, Nigel sighed. There went America. There went his adventures for the last few years. And there went Sydney and Claudia, the two most wonderful women in his life. He shook his head. He couldn"t think about that, or he"d end up taking the first flight back to America. He had to look ahead, look to England. But oh, boy, was it gonna be hard. *Medical- medical room. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Well? How was it? Please tell me in a review! I need the ego boost! (I have a cold. Colds can be held off by reviews.) Along with the geography project on farming, I had a history story to write, a newspaper report to write, a diagram of the digestive system to label, and a load of philosophical questions for RE. I gotta go do that now. Please review! Kazuki. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = I think this is the end. Please review and tell me what you think! Thanks to everyone who has done so far! Oh, and for anyone who wondered about if I got the homework done, I did. Enjoy the fic! = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = One week, four days later- Nigel buried his head in his hands. He was tired, his eyes hurt from too much work in not enough light, and the library mistress was glaring at him. He had absolutely no idea of what he had done wrong; there were only about four books on his desk, he was being very quiet, and had put away all of the books he had already used. He stood up to check out the final two books he needed - it was almost closing time, and he couldn"t be bothered to wait for the librarian to throw him out. When he made it to the bus stop, Nigel sighed, and sat down on the bench. He pulled out his mobile phone and speed dialled number three - the Ancient Studies office at Trinity College. No one answered, and after a few rings the recorded message played. "I"m sorry, but neither Professor Sydney Fox nor Nigel Bailey can come to the phone right now, but if you leave your name and number they will try and get back to you." It was Claudia"s voice, and he twitched slightly as he heard his name spoken as though he still worked there. Taking a deep breath, Nigel spoke into the phone, "Hey, Claudia, Sydney. I just... rang to see how you were getting along. And I feel a bit homesick. Silly, really, considering I am home. Have you filled my place yet? Because... never mind. Listen; don"t blame yourself for not stopping me from leaving, Syd. I know you found the letter. I... well; I"m glad you did, really. It stopped a bit of the shock. It"s not really as rewarding here as they make it out to be. I want to come back, Syd. Let me come back? Please?" Nigel sniffed back a sob. He couldn"t cry. That would just be pathetic. The phone beeped again to say it had finished recording and a second message came on. "If you want to re record your message, please press one. If you want to delete your message, press two." Nigel sighed, and pressed the number two on the keypad. He didn"t want Sydney and Claudia to hear that message. There was a squeal of brakes, and the bus pulled to a halt beside him, the doors hissing open. Nigel turned the phone off and tucked it back in his pocket and climbed on board, slinging his backpack onto his shoulder, trying to ignore the feeling that in the last few days he had made an enormous mistake. = = = = = = = = = Ancient Studies office- Sydney raced into her office, just in time to hear a message be deleted from the phone. Cursing, she pressed redial, but the phone at the other end had been turned off. She slumped back into Claudia"s chair, annoyed. Claudia was off with flu, which she had caught from Nigel, and the replacement should have arrived half an hour ago. Gazing around the office Sydney suddenly realised just how empty the room was without Claudia and Nigel there, bantering and laughing. "Oh, Nigel. I wish you would come back... for all I know that could have been you on the phone there, and I could have just missed my only chance of talking with you. Please come back, Nigel." = = = = = = = = = Pitt Rivers Museum, a few hours later- Nigel screwed up the piece of paper and threw it in the direction of the bin. It fell right into the basket - quite a good shot, considering it was taken over his shoulder about three metres away. Mind you, he had had quite a bit of practice over the last few hours. Sighing, he put down his pen, and muttered aloud, "Why can"t I write this stupid letter? All I need to say is that I made a bad choice, and I want to come back to Trinity. That"s all. Simple. Shut up Nigel, start the letter. Ten minutes after that, Nigel ended his letter with a pleased flourish. Sealing and addressing the envelope, he stood up and made his way to the museum post box. Only seconds after he had posted the letter, a thought struck him. "Why can"t I just go and turn up? They can always tell me to go away, and I think I might have left something there anyway... lets see, I think my hat has gone missing, I had better go there and see if I can find it.' Satisfied that he had a watertight explanation of why he was back in his old office, Nigel grabbed his laptop bag off the floor and his jacket off the chair, then marched out the door, determined to not come back until he had at least apologised to Sydney and Claudia. = = = = = = = = = Ancient Studies office a day later- Sydney glared at Claudia. "Send the next one in!" Claudia nodded and poked her head round the door to the waiting room. At her call, a solidly built young man walked through the door and took the seat in front of Sydney. "Hi there. I"m Tommy. I have an A-level in religion, one in history, another in ancient history, focussing on the third and fourth dynasties of ancient Egypt." Sydney nodded. "Nice array of qualifications, Tommy. Where have you worked before?" "Uh... I worked with a Californian professor of Archaeology for three years, then with the Royal Nevada University for another two years." "How many languages can you speak?" "Uh... Old and Middle Gaelic, ancient and modern Egyptian, and a little Spanish." "Thanks. I"ll ring you if I need you for a second interview." They shook hands, and the brief interview was over. Claudia led Tommy out of the office as Sydney slumped back into her chair, fed up. When the younger woman returned, Sydney spoke in a quiet, sad voice. "Claudia, I don"t think anyone here is as good as Nigel was. Most of the men are only here because... well, because they like the looks of us, and want to be famous. The women only want to be up there on the podium, and only have a basic study of anything we need. How on earth are we going to find anyone to replace him? Maybe I could just go and beg him to come back. That might work." Claudia joined her, flopping down in the interview chair. "No, Syd, I don"t think it would. And you know that. If Nigel wants it back, he"ll want to come of his own accord, not because you asked him to." "Stop out-thinking me. It"s depressing." Claudia laughed, and Sydney sat up straighter in the chair. "Call the next one in, would you? The sooner we carry on, the sooner we can get this over and done with." Claudia nodded, and peered round the door. "Next!" Then she frowned, and walked round the corner, out of Sydney"s hearing. A few minutes later, she returned, and let the applicant into the office. Sydney jumped to her feet, crying, "Nigel! You"re back! Didn"t you like it there? Are you just here for a visit? Are you going to stay?" Claudia slipped away, realising that the two Relic hunters might like a few minutes to themselves. Nigel took a step back. When Sydney finally stopped talking, he stared at her for a few moments, then sat down and buried his head in his hands. "Nigel? What"s wrong?" Sydney knelt down beside him and put a hand over his shoulders. "Are you hurt?" "No, no, nothing like that. It"s... it"s just that I missed you so goddamned much that I"m back here, begging for my job back. I loved it there, at first. So quiet and sedate, and plenty of books... but them I hear two people arguing, and it reminds me of Claudia, and then I see a girl in a martial artist"s kit, and that"s you, Syd, and I had to come back. Have you filled my job yet?" "Nigel, there"s no one here with even half as much experience as you. I need you back, or I"ll never get any work done. Plus, me and Claudia miss you." "You do?" "Nigel! Of course we miss you! You"re intelligent, you have a sense of humour, you don"t mind getting thrown about... If you"re sure about coming back, you have the job right here, right now. You do want to come back, don"t you?" "Yes." "Then you"re hired. Glad to have you back, Nigel." Sydney turned Nigel to face her, and slowly pulled him into an embrace. She mumbled into his shoulder, "I missed you, too." = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = The end.

That immediately banished any and all drowsiness, and she leaped to her feet, sending a roll of records cascading down. She hadn"t meant to fall asleep, but she"d pulled several nights without it, and despite being a Denizen, she did have to sleep sometime... not to mention, there had been so much work... She grabbed the quill pen that was the Sixth Key off the desk and dashed to the window, heartbeat so frantic she could hear it thrumming in her ears. The second she saw the view, she nearly fainted. It was snowing, drifts already forming, and little piles beginning to amass on the windowsill. Saturday slammed it open and in a half-wrathful, half-panicking gesture, swept the snow off the sill. She gave a little angry squeal and then, because she knew she had to investigate at the bottom floor and it was much easier than walking down the hundred flights of stairs or even using an elevator, she jumped straight down and out of the window. Landing jarred her a little, and she gritted her teeth, but the pain passed quickly, and as far as she could tell, she wasn"t injured. It was a perk of being a Denizen, being able to jump so far as to kill anything else, without mortal injury or even broken bones. Even if she had broken anything, the Key she held in a death grip would have easily set it right, good as new. She paused to fix a stray strand of hair. Still vain, I see, said the snow. "Oh, shut up!" snapped Saturday. "I don"t need this right now." She held the nib of the Key against her throat and ordered it, "Key, amplify my voice, please. DENIZENS OF THE UPPER HOUSE!" There was no answer except a squat, waddling snowman from which the head of some star cataloguer Saturday may have seem once or twice poked out. "Yes, Majesty!" He took another step, and the snow fell off, all around him. "You called?" "Where is everyone?" "Day off, Majesty." "I DIDN"T GIVE ANYONE A DAY OFF!" she spat. "Um, Majesty, someone asked you about two hundred years ago when their next day off was, and you said, "When it stops raining.'" "They remembered?" she scowled. "You- what"s your name?" "Pravuil, Majesty." "Okay, Pravuil- what are you doing here if everyone"s having a day off?" "Playing in the snow, Majesty." "What a ridiculous notion," Saturday sniffed. "Playing." Try it sometime. All that grump is going to give you an ulcer someday. What a shame. "Will you SHUT UP?" she yelled. "I didn"t say anything," Pravuil replied, confused. "Not you!" "Then who?" She bit her lip. Upper House Denizens were not supposed to know where she had hidden the Will- the rain- or who it could talk to- her and the Rightful Heir. Separating the Will into the individual raindrops both killed its mortifyingly annoying chatter and any chance someone undesirable would find it- namely, anyone other than one of the Trustees, including this Pravuil character, who she concluded had slightly below-average intelligence. "Um, Majesty, who were you talking to?" Pravuil repeated. Saturday had no response, so she took one of Sunday"s favorite one-liners, which he constantly threw at her when she asked him what in the House he did all day. "My actions are too lofty for one such as yourself to ascertain." "Oh." Pravuil seemed slightly disappointed. What, did he really think I"d just outright tell him everything? "Anyway," she sighed, "do you know how this snow got here?" Don"t you believe in miracles? The Will asked. Saturday kicked a snow drift in response. That won"t work, Trustee. Now that it"s snowing, I"m EVERYWHERE. "Oh, goody. How did this happen?" she seethed. There was a chance- slim though it was- that the Will could escape if enough snow was gathered in one place. Even if she melted the snow, the Will could easily collect itself in the resulting puddles. Unless she could make the rain fall up and then down again, perhaps simultaneously in some sort of circuit, until she could get this sorted out... "Oh! You mean how it started snowing?" Pravuil asked, interrupting her train of thought. "Yes! What else would I be talking about?" "Well, a star died last night. It was pretty spec-" Saturday groaned and muttered something akin to "Stupid ordinary-grade Denizens" under her breath. Then, louder, she snapped, "I couldn"t care less about some star that blew up last night! I want to know why it"s snowing and not raining!" I like snow. It"s quite nice, said the Will. "AAARGH!" She kicked another snow drift, but tripped and landed face-first in a large pile, the white, feathery stuff tickling her cheeks and nose. Clumsy much? Saturday sneezed and stood up. "Pravuil! If you know ANYTHING about this at all, I"m ordering you to spill it now!" He winced. Definitely knows something, Saturday decided. "Ah, Majesty, it goes like this..." *** THE PREVIOUS NIGHT *** "What a beautiful death," Pravuil sighed. "Of all the stars I"ve seen..." He grinned. "There is, of course, a more beautiful one." He looked up. Somewhere above him, his Most Venerable Mistress was running the House, keeping the Universe perfectly catalogued and recorded. She even- bless her- lent a helping hand to fix it for the better, helping the poor mortals and other inhabitants realize their true potentials. It was quite rude of everyone else to call this "interfering.' She was "intermediating" to make them see what the Architect truly had planned for them. Yes, his mistress had to be the best thing to ever deem stepping foot in the House. "Pravuil? Pravuil? You"re hopeless," said his boss Aylin. "Quit daydreaming and get back to cataloguing!" Pravuil groaned. Aylin didn"t like him. She called him a "near-mortal emotional wreck,' a "useless idiot with his head in the nova clouds,' and a "lovesick excuse for a sentient organism.' Pravuil was certain she got the last line from a book or play, because he doubted Aylin knew what love was. Come to think of it, he didn"t quite know either. He complied, however, and turned back to cataloguing. Then a thought struck him as he remembered a particular star that came several hundred years ago, on this same night. "Aren"t the mortals celebrating Christmas this time of year?" he asked. "Yes, they are," Aylin scoffed. "The Far Reaches has some sort of Santa character they send out yearly. It makes for hectic records. Luckily, it has nothing to do with stars, but I pity the poor fools stuck in the Denizen-Mortal Relations Department." "I didn"t think Grim Tuesday was the kind of person who"d give millions of mortal children presents," Pravuil said. "The Architect instated Santa centuries ago, as part of the festivities. She was quite fond of Christmas, from what I understand. Anyway, if the Grim were to get rid of him, he"d have terrible sorcerous complications and retributions." "Why doesn"t Santa visit the Trustees?" "How should I know?" "Well, maybe Her Excellency Superior Saturday would like a present," Pravuil suggested. "Don"t be ridiculous!" Aylin snorted. "Denizens have no need of such things as "presents.' What would you get her anyway?" "I don"t know," Pravuil admitted. The rain splashed against his umbrella, and he was reminded both how jealous he was of the higher-ups in the tower who got actual roofs and walls, and how much he hated the constant deluge. He wasn"t alone. He was certain he"d heard Saturday on the phone complaining to Duchess Wednesday of the Border Sea, her best friend in the Universe, about it. He hadn"t meant to eavesdrop, but he had just been walking past and "overheard" their conversation, and then conveniently slowed to a stop in a suitable hiding place. Duchess Wednesday expressed her concerns for "how the rain is affecting your temperament, m"dear," and then some sort of meeting to discuss somebody"s Will, but by then Aylin had grabbed Pravuil"s ears and yanked him away from the telephone booth, dragging him all the way back to his desk. But he knew all he needed. Saturday loathed the rain. Now, trying to come up with a present, the memory of hearing her confess it sprang to the forefront of his mind. Pravuil jumped to his feet. "Aylin!" Her scowl, which was near-permanent, deepened. "What, Pravuil?" "Could you take me to the Weather Machine?" Aylin looked like she"d rather hug one of the Old One"s insane, giggling mechanical puppet-torturers than go ANYWHERE with Pravuil. "But... it"s broken." "I know." "It"s been broken for nigh on four thousand years," Aylin added. "I know." "You STILL want to go?" "Yup! Um, it"s quiet, so I thought I could concentrate better and catch up on some work." "Work here." "But I really think I"d do better there." "Whatever." Aylin shrugged and turned back to her work. "Will you show me?" "Get there yourself." "Rude," he muttered. Aylin looked up. "What was that?" "Nothing." Pravuil kept quiet and finished recording some details about the birth of a large star that he felt was exceptionally "special,' another concept he didn"t quite understand but felt was nice. Once his shift ended, he grabbed his umbrella and ran off. It took him fifteen tries to find a Denizen who knew how to get to the Weather Machine, and several hours to actually reach it. It was, it turned out, at the top of the tower, above Saturday"s private chambers. He had run into Noon, who always scared him, but he babbled some excuse about needing a telescope to check a particular star, acting much stupider than he really was. Thus, he reached the Weather Machine without incident. "Crap," he said, the second he saw it. For one thing, it was huge. It completely dwarfed him. He immediately wondered why in the House he thought he could fix it. Sitting down, with his back against it, he sighed and closed his eyes. When he opened them, a bespectacled Denizen with far too many moving tattoos was staring at him. "AAH!" screamed Pravuil. "AAH!" screamed the Denizen. "What are you doing here?" asked Pravuil. "What are you doing here?" asked the Denizen. "You first." "No, you." "NO, you first." "No, I insist. Really. You go first." "You go first or... or... or I"ll blast you!" Pravuil threatened, waving his umbrella menacingly. "No, you won"t," sighed the Denizen, adjusting his spectacles. "The name"s Scamandros. I have a final tomorrow, and I couldn"t concentrate with all the noise, so I thought I"d come up here, since only her Majesty comes up here, and even she rarely deems to check on this." "I"m Pravuil. I thought I"d fix the Weather Machine," he replied. "Why?" "As a present," Pravuil grinned, but it was gone as soon as he looked at it again. "Unfortunately, I have no idea what to do." "Did you try kicking it?" suggested Scamandros sagely. "No." "Well, kick it." Pravuil nodded, drew back his foot, and kicked it. A metallic thrum reverberated around him as he clutched his foot. "Oow oww owww," he moaned. "Is it fixed?" Scamandros peered at it. "Um, my observations say no." "Perfect!" Pravuil threw his hands up into the air. "I give up!" "But you"ve barely tried anything," Scamandros protested. "I"m a Denizen. We don"t try. We don"t act special. We don"t get presents. We don"t do anything but work. We don"t even love." "Maybe we don"t do those things, but that doesn"t mean it"s because we"re Denizens. We could learn, Pravuil. Learn to try, or give presents, or even love." "That sounds nice, though," Pravuil grumped, "and the House isn"t nice." "Let me take a look," Scamandros said gently, probably sensing how upset and disappointed Pravuil was. "But you have a final to study for!" Pravuil said. "I would feel terrible getting in the way." "Oh, don"t worry. It"s my pleasure," Scamandros waved off. "I guess you could say I"m trying to prove a point." "What point?" "That Denizens can be nice, and they can try." Scamandros opened his umbrella and tapped the Weather Machine, still talking. "Just because everyone you know is a scumbag doesn"t mean the whole House is. You mentioned a present. Who"s the lucky lady?" Pravuil blushed. "How did you know?" "Who else would it be for? You"re out of the ordinary, Pravuil, and that"s a good thing. If she doesn"t realize it..." "She doesn"t exactly know I exist," Pravuil admitted. "I guess you could call me a secret admirer." "Ah." Scamandros was now beginning a complicated spell. "This isn"t broken, Pravuil. It"s been sabotaged and then fixed with the Seventh Key just enough to allow only the rain- I suppose Lord Sunday has decided he"d like the Upper House permanently wet. It makes me wonder who broke it, but... Anyway, the rain is fixed. I can"t stop it. But I CAN change its form for a little bit- freeze it as it falls, and make snow. Temporarily, of course." "Anything. She hates the rain. I heard her say it," Pravuil divulged. "I used to like a girl," Scamandros said, drawing with some sort of strange orange ink on the Weather Machine. "Who?" "Oh, she drowned," Scamandros said matter-of-factly. "She was a Navigator-Sorcerer, and things... didn"t work out for her ship. Tell me the name of yours. I might know her." "Well, you know of her, that"s for sure. It"s... well... I like Saturday." Scamandros dropped to the floor. Pravuil thought it was because he needed to draw something on the bottom of the Machine, but realized he was laughing. "What"s so funny?" "Oh, Pravuil... why her? She"s a touchy, cantankerous, wouldn"t-give-you-the-time-of-day sort of superior Denizen. You deserve better." "I do?" "Of course. Like I said, you"re a special guy, Pravuil. And not to speak ill of Her Majesty, but, quite frankly, anyone"d deserve better." Scamandros finished the writing with a low, sweeping flourish, and the words began to swim and crawl over the surface of the Machine. "There. Snow. It should start any second now. She"ll have a surprise tomorrow." "Oh, I"ve had a surprise, all right," Saturday hissed. You don"t like it? Pity. "If you escape..." Saturday said through gritted teeth. "I"m not going anywhere!" Pravuil exclaimed. "Not- oh, forget it. Twenty-four hours, you said it"d last?" "Yes. Does it make you feel happy?" Saturday hadn"t felt happy in millennia, and a little white fluff on the ground with the Will in it wasn"t going to foot the bill. But she could use loyalty like Pravuil"s, even if she did have to make an example of him so that others wouldn"t decide to mess or tinker with the Machine. "Indeed. It"s quite nice. Unfortunately," she began, ready to lie through her teeth, "Lord Sunday has expressly ordered me not to change the weather whatsoever. I"m afraid the punishment is a transfer to the Coal Cellar." Wow. What an obvious lie. "But-but-but" Pravuil stuttered. For the first time in... well, ever... Saturday almost felt sorry for someone. Almost. Not quite enough to stop her from sending him to the Lower House, though. She did, however, reach into her pocket and pull out a long, clearly transdimensional pouch. "Here. You"ll find several useful items in here, as well as a button. Push it if you need to tell me anything important- IMPORTANT, mind you. I don"t want to hear anything about stars or coal or whatever. Now, I suggest you get in an elevator. Um, now." She waved. "Now," she repeated, when he didn"t move. He was crying. She could tell. "Pravuil..." she sighed. "Okay, how about this... if you see the Rightful Heir and can prove yourself a worthy servant, I"ll let you back." "That"s not a real hope!" protested Pravuil. That"s not a very real hope, though I loathe to admit it, protested the Will. "But it"s a hope," Saturday said, a bit too cheerily. "I will prove myself!" Pravuil declared. "I will be your finest servant!" Then he handed her his umbrella and began to shuffle away. What devoted love. Either he"s blind or willing to look past all your faults, the Will said. "Mortal inventions have no place in the house," Saturday retorted. "Love included. You told me that yourself." Ah, my friend, you are both my first creation and my first failure, the Will lamented. I may have accidentally screwed your life. "Now you notice?" Saturday said, kicking the snow yet again for good measure, even though she knew it didn"t do anything. Who do you love? "Myself. No one else will do." Are you too good for them? "No, they"re too good for me," Saturday answered. Do you love anyone? "Why ask again? I told you, it"s a mortal invention. Scamandros was right when he said that anyone"d deserve better. Speaking of Scamandros, he"ll have a surprise tomorrow as well." So you"re going to fail him? "Shut up." In several hours, I"ll melt. Scamandros planned the spell well. You"ll get rain after half of me assimilates in the Machine, so I won"t escape. "Good for me," Saturday grumped. Something wrong? "Everything," she sighed. Build a snowman, dear. It"ll cheer you up. "As if." Stop being so moody! It"s Christmas! "I know." No, seriously. Stop being so moody. You"re being both pathetic and annoying. Is it the snow, the coming rain, or are you always like this? "I don"t know," she said wearily. Something in her pocket vibrated. Saturday pulled it out, groaned, and pressed a button. "Yes, Pravuil?" "Look, Mistress, I"ve already arrived!" "Wonderful." "Oh, and Merry Christmas!" He hung up. Several hours, and I"ll be gone... "Good riddance." What, are you done kicking me? "It doesn"t do anything." You used to love snow. "Snow was always more of Friday"s thing. I love umbrellas." But not the rain. "Not the rain," Saturday agreed. So now that you know I can"t escape, enjoy the snow while it lasts. How many years has it been since you"ve built a snowman? "Since before the Architect left." Too long, then, the Will concluded. Well, what are you waiting for? "I don"t build snowmen. I"m a Denizen." That"s no excuse. You are what you make yourself. "Or what others make you," she retorted. You ARE a product of mine, the Will admitted. "Of course. Thanks for screwing me up." You"re welcome. Now, are you going to build that snowman or not? A grin crept across Saturday"s face. Ah, see, you"re still in there. "Who?" she asked, already starting to clump together fistfuls of snow. The Saturday I knew. "She never left," the Trustee said. "It"s not me who"s changed, Will." No, you have changed, more than you realize. But perhaps not as much as me. "Not as much as you," Saturday agreed. When Saturday awoke, the rain was back, and she was soaked through. The remnants of her snowman, already nearly melted, were littered around her, not even recognizable. I fell asleep AGAIN? She stood and stretched. There was a strange stiffness in her limbs that she felt didn"t belong. Denizens did not usually get stiff. I bet it"s because being around the Will is too stressful to handle, she thought with an ounce of humor. The Will was silent, hopefully too broken to continue badgering her. Awake, I see? Saturday groaned. She could barely hear it, but it was still there. "Yup." Oh, grumpy. Not a morning person, I see. Neither am I. I always said Saturdays were perfect for sleeping in and staying up late. "I only have to put up with you for several more minutes, maybe even less," Saturday said. You sound happy about it. Too happy. "Don"t be... I"m not happy anymore. Just... relieved." Well, let me say this now, because I may never say this again. "It"s not like I can stop you," Saturday mumbled. I heard that! "You were MEANT to!" Anyway... Merry Christmas, dear. And for the first time in millennia, Saturday said, "You too. Merry Christmas." Better tell the other Trustees for me, hmm? Do you all still go over to Wednesday"s for Christmas dinner? "Yes, we do. Sure, I"ll tell them." Down in the dumps again? There IS a guy, isn"t there? "What? No! At least, not romantically. I hate him." See? I know you. Mother knows best. "You"re not my mother. You"re the Architect"s Will." True, but I am the Will of HIS mother." "You"re not suggesting-" You would have been such a cute couple! "You"re the one who came and wrecked it." Oh, whatever. Its voice was getting much fainter. Today I"ve seen you as you used to be, and for that reason, I feel slightly compelled to show you some mercy. I warn you, Saturday, I will be fulfilled. "Not on my watch." You don"t own a watch. "You know that"s not what I meant!" I know why you"ve hesitated to fulfill me. Why do you fear death? "I don"t fear death!" There was no response. Angrily, Saturday repeated, "I don"t fear death! I don"t, I don"t, I don"t!" She knew the Will was gone, but she continued anyway. "I am not afraid, and I will not die." "Of course," said a voice behind her. "Today is about life, not death, and freedom, not fear." Saturday turned. "Lord Sunday? Why are you down here?" "It"s Christmas. Mother always loved it, so I thought I might as well celebrate it at least once since She"s left." He held out a bouquet. "Here. These are for you. I"ve asked the Sower to pick a Christmas tree for you too, and the Reaper will deliver it later. Now, if you"ll excuse me..." He gestured to several bouquets in a cart behind him. "I have to deliver these." "Is that a bunch of veggies I see there?" He nodded. "For Wednesday. I figured she"d like it better than flowers. Are we going to see her at Christmas dinner tonight?" "Yes, I"ll probably be there." He grinned. "See you tonight, then." "Yes. Um, merry Christmas." He winked. "You too. Merry Christmas, Saturday." "It will be," she said. "I promise." "Good. I hope so." And despite the deplorable rain, which was fraying on her nerves by the end of the day, several kitchen mishaps at Wednesday"s, and Thursday breaking all the bottles of cider, it was.

Joy Rides In which Phosphora, Viridi, and Pit take out the Lightning Chariot with some disastrous results. Starring: Phosphora (main); Pit; Viridi; Pegasi of the Lightning Chariot Palutena: Actually, they"re unicorns. They fly, but they have no wings. And they have giant horns. Hard to miss them. Narrator: I"m sorry. As I was saying... Joy Rides In which Phosphora, Viridi, and Pit take out the Lightning Chariot with some disastrous results. Starring: Phosphora (main); Pit; Viridi; UNICORNS of the Lightning Chariot Palutena: Thank you. That"s much better. Viridi: Will you shut up for once, Palutena? I swear, it"s just blab, blab, blab with you all day. Do you have to be such an insufferable know-it-all? Palutena: Funny, you talk a lot too when I"m not around. Especially if it"s about me or Pit... Viridi: What are you implying? Narrator: AHEM! Will both of you put a sock in it and allow me to tell the story? Both: Sorry. Proceed. "Who"s a cute unicorn? You are, oh yes! You are," said Phosphora. She affectionately rubbed Phos" snout. Since the pantheon"s interim relocation to a large mansion in the human realm, Phosphora was performing the active duty of stable boy (or stable mistress, as she often corrected), caring for the Lightning Chariot and the magnificent beasts that pulled it. It made sense too- lightning goddess, Lightning Chariot. Phos was her favorite. She called him "Halfie,' since his name was half of hers. Lux snorted. "I love you too," Phosphora reassured after patting her nose. "I-" But whatever she was about to say was lost as the stable door was angrily thrown open and a blonde, short girl stomped to Phosphora"s side. This was none other than Viridi, goddess of nature and Phosphora"s "boss." She was, for lack of a better term, a dwarf among the pantheon. Even Pit was taller. Heck, most centurions were taller! "What"s wrong?" Phosphora asked. Viridi in a bad mood was nothing new, but Phosphora had learned how to properly appease her mistress without physical injury to herself. This was step one. "I"m bored," Viridi pouted. "Would you like a ride?" Phosphora asked, gesturing to the Chariot. Commencing step two: tie in nature. "We could fly over some national parks or something." Viridi"s mood brightened. "How about the Amazon rainforest?" "Whatever you want." Viridi"s good mood soured again. "Palutena won"t approve." Final step: insult Palutena. This step was the most crucial, and if done correctly could easily steer Viridi towards the right attitude. "Oh, come on! Since when was she queen of the gods? Anyway, she wouldn"t notice. She wouldn"t see us even if we flew right in front of her nose. Plus... I built a cloaking device, see?" With a flourish, Phosphora pointed to a large red button with a lightning image and the words "invisibility cloak" on the Chariot"s "dashboard." "Ooooh," Viridi admired. "What"s it do?" Phosphora tried to hide her annoyance. Wasn"t it obvious what a cloaking device did? Repressing a million things she could have said (and wanted to), Phosphora replied, "It turns you invisible." Viridi broke into a wide grin. "What are we waiting for?" Three-step success. "Hop in," Phosphora said after she hooked up the chariot to Phos and Lux. Viridi clambered in and smiled, looking forward to it, as the stable door opened again. "Phosphora, the electricity"s out and Palutena wants to know if you can fix- what are you doing?" Pit, long an object of Viridi"s affection, stared at them, bewilderment on his face. Then, slowly, he began to back away. "Get him before he squeals!" Viridi shrieked. "I"m on it." With a lazy flick of her wrist, Phosphora sent bolts of lightning in front of him, so close she scorched a couple of feathers on Pit"s wings and made his hair stand on edge. "What do we do with him?" "Bring him along, I suppose." Viridi didn"t seem too upset at the prospect. "So, like, kidnap him?" Phosphora asked. "What else do you want to do?" Viridi challenged. "Tie him up and wrap tinsel around his head so he can"t communicate with Palutena?" "No, I suppose not. I"d electrocute him. Get in," Phosphora ordered. "I"m kidnapping you. Do it." Pit obliged, eyes wide. Because of her electric charge, a simple glancing touch from Phosphora could prove fatal- he remembered their brawl on Thundercloud Temple all too well. Thus, it was best to do as she said. His silence was, of course, only temporary. Pit never shut up for long. Phosphora guided the unicorns out of the stable then happily hopped in, crying, "On, Phos! On, Lux!""On, Dasher and Prancer!" Pit joined in, a goofy smile on his face. "On Blixen and Vixien and-" "Shut up!" Viridi snarled. "This isn"t Santa"s sleigh." "Sorry." Pit shrugged. "Put this hat on." Viridi handed him one made of tinsel and tinfoil. "Why? Afraid aliens will read my mind?" Pit asked as he complied. Again, Phosphora was nearby, so conformity was recommended. "More like Palutena," Viridi snorted. "Her telepathy can"t go through steel or tinfoil." Phosphora coaxed the unicorns out of the stable and into the sky. Once she was at a steady speed and a decent altitude, she punched the cloak button. "Where to?" "Amazon rainforest. Then maybe we could tour the Appalachian Mountains once we"re done," Viridi answered. "That"s so far, though," Pit pointed out. "You"re a real genius," Viridi replied, and rolled her eyes. "With the speed of this thing, we"ll be back by bed time," Phosphora retorted. Above them, a cloudless nighttime sky speckled with bright stars provided a picturesque backdrop. The ground below looked fluid and restless, they were moving so fast. Pit was looking a bit green. Phosphora laughed at his discomfort as they flew. Going at the speed of light, the Chariot"s velocity was only a fraction faster than Phosphora"s normal death-defying flight speeds; she was at perfect ease. Mistress Viridi, on the other hand, looked to be faring only slightly better than Pit, a bit rattled by the Chariot"s fast motion. Within two minutes, the long, rolling landscapes changed to blue, wrinkled waves that was the sea. Pit threw up. "I"m fine!" he called. "Like we were worried," Viridi shot back, and rolled her eyes. The landscape changed yet again, a blur of green that represented the treetops below them. Phosphora squinted. "Does that look like a storm cloud to you?" "Yes! Turn! Turn!" Pit screamed. "We"re going too fast. We"ll have to fly through it." "What, afraid of getting wet?" Viridi teased. "Well, I was just thinking... if this thing goes as fast as lightning, nothing can hit us, right?" "Right," Phosphora replied with a tone of satisfaction in her voice. "Can lightning hit us? You know, since it"s the same speed?" Phosphora hadn"t thought of that. Maybe she should"ve at least tried to turn. She opened her mouth to say as much when there was a bright flash and the world spun. Suddenly down was up and Phosphora was falling, falling... She started to scream, then stopped in annoyance. I can fly, nimbus. No need to panic. Then she was gliding on the wind, going far slower than she was capable of, scanning the sky for any sign of Pit or Viridi. Maybe they were still on the chariot. But where was that? The cloaking was still activated, so they were invisible. Great. "Pit! Viridi! Pit! VIRIDI!" No answer. Then, "Phos! Lux! Halfie! Luxie!" She felt waves of relief as she heard, "They went to visit Dasher, Prancer, Blixen, and Vixen." Pit came into view, his wings glowing green with the activated power of flight. He was holding a very cross Viridi. "Phosphora!" he called. "Where are you? I heard you-" "I"m right here!" she shouted, flying right next to him. "Where"s the Chariot?" he asked. "Umm..." "You lost the Chariot?" Viridi snarled. Their speed was much slower now- still fast, but nowhere near as fast as lightning. Phosphora had to slow down so that she wouldn"t leave Pit and Viridi behind. "Yes..." Phosphora admitted, and groaned. "So, we"re near the Amazon. We"re not lost, just stuck." "The horses..." Viridi seethed. "It doesn"t matter where we are if we don"t have the horses!" "They"ll find their way home. They"re smart." Phosphora pointed to a clearing, a potential landing spot. "How"s about we land there?" "Great!" Pit grinned. "So, it"s like camping, right?" "Not exactly," Viridi said with half a smile on her face. "This is way closer to natural inhabitation then camping." "What?" "It"s like we"re part of nature since we have no shelter or food," Phosphora explained as they touched on the ground- Phosphora gracefully and Viridi in a tangle on top of Pit. Blushing and carefully extricating herself, Virdi surveyed the clearing. "At least it"s nature," she sniffed. "We could enjoy ourselves. Possibly." "Let me take the hat off!" Pit begged. "Lady Palutena can extract us. She"ll miss me at bed time too when she won"t get to read me the bedtime story, and we were just starting on Homer since we finished Aesop- what?" Phosphora and Viridi clutched their sides laughing. "Nothing. It"s just... bed time stories? Really?" "I have trouble sleeping," Pit replied defensively, "and Lady Palutena doesn"t want her best commander all beat up and tired, so... yeah. About that hat..." "It stays on," Viridi snorted. "We can"t ask Palutena to get us. She"ll know we snuck out." "You snuck out," Pit corrected. "I was kidnapped. Besides, she"ll find out soon enough. She sent me to get Phosphora to fix the electricity. Lady Palutena will definitely wonder what"s taking us so long." Phosphora groaned and sat on a log. "Things can"t get-" "DON"T YOU DARE!" Virdi shrieked. "-worse," Phosphora finished. As if on cue, it started to rain. "Thank you, O brilliant commander," Viridi complained. "Don"t you know that saying"s completely jinxed?" They ran under a tree and sat there, soaked and miserable. Phosphora cursed their bad luck but admitted it wasn"t too bad hanging out with Viridi and Pit. While they waited out the storm, Virdi had vines grow to form a sort of rain-proof dome, and Pit told stories about his comical attempts at learning to fly before Palutena deemed it impossible and the first couple of centuries working as her receptionist before being promoted. Viridi interrupted often with condescending or sarcastic remarks, but the steady drizzle of rain and the moon"s soft glow lulled Phosphora into a sort of dazed state. She wasn"t sure when she fell asleep- one moment Pit was recounting a lengthy story on how he and Palutena had attempted to cook lasagna and ended up setting the kitchen on fire, and the next she was sprawled on her back, looking up at a blue sky rimmed with tropical trees. By now, not only Palutena but the entire household must know that Pit, Viridi, and Phosphora were gone. Beside her, Viridi awoke yawning, noticed Phosphora was awake, then roughly shook Pit so he"d be the same. "WAKE UP!" In the process, she accidentally knocked his hat off. "Get it!" Viridi shouted, but at that moment, an abnormally strong gust of wind pushed against Phosphora, and she flew back several feet, momentarily breathless. Then the wind picked up the hat, driving it into the air, where it was incinerated by a random fireball. "What the-?" Phosphora mumbled. "That was my Power of Wind and Power of Random Fireball," answered a familiar voice. "Now that Pit"s removed that ridiculous hat, I can see him clearly- and through him, you! So, then... WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH PIT AND THE LIGHTNING CHARIOT? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? WHO JUST RANDOMLY TAKES A CHARIOT AND RUNS OFF?" "Good morning, Palutena," Viridi replied darkly. "DON"T YOU "GOOD MORNING" ME!" Phosphora could feel all the anger boiling to a dangerous heat almost as if it was giving off a temperature. Palutena continued, "Why on EARTH are you in the Amazon? Really? The Amazon?" "Extract us, please!" Pit called. "Or even just me. You can leave them behind." "Hey!" Viridi shouted. "What"s your problem?" "A very tempting prospect. Unfortunately, something"s interfering with the extraction." "What is it? I"ll shoot it, I"ll melee it, I"ll blast it into the next dimension!" Pit jumped up and down. "Tell me tell me tell me TELL MEEEEEE!" "Calm down, Mr. Enthusiasm. I can"t see it. Not even with my All-Seeing Eye of Palutena." "Wow. You really need to get that fixed," Pit remarked. "I know. I"ve got an appointment with Occulo already." "Occulo?" "God of both physical vision and divine sight. He doesn"t live with us since HIS home is still intact. The lucky. Anyway, I think I can extract you if you get out of the jungle." Phosphora sighed and started trudging through the vines, shrubbery, and curtailing trees. Viridi followed, with Pit in constant chatter with Palutena. "I hear rushing water, Lady Palutena!" "Very perceptive, Pit! It"s probably a river." "Who would"ve thought?" muttered Viridi, words dripping with sarcasm. Indeed, they reached the river"s banks a few minutes later. "Be careful, Pit! Those are piranhas in there!" "Oh, big deal," Phosphora shrugged, and walked straight into the river. It crackled, and steam rose from the waters. "Water transmits electricity- boom! Dead piranhas all along the river." "Yeah- piranhas and everything else!" Viridi reprimanded. "Be careful, or you"re going to kill everything!" "Yeah, yeah, whatever. It"s no skin off my back." Phosphora looked down, noticing she was waist-deep in water, and then gave a little gasp. "What is it?" "I broke a nail!" Phosphora moaned. "It"s tragic!" "For sure. It"d be a shame if something happened to your hair. Now that would be the start of Armageddon itself." "I"d die before then," Phosphora replied. "Of course you would." Palutena"s voice seemed tinged with amusement, and Phosphora thought she might have heard the goddess laugh, but she wasn"t sure. "Anyway, Pit, seeing as the river will now shock you to death, you can"t cross it anyway." "Want a bridge?" Viridi asked. "I don"t see how you can get a bridge here, of all places," Pit shrugged. "Do you want a bridge or not?" Viridi repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Well, yeah. Of course." "Consider it done." Viridi strode to the nearest clump of trees with sizable trunks and shouted, "Children!" The trees shuddered in response. "I have need of you!" she continued. "The noble, if somewhat callous, Pit and your Beautiful Amazing Mistress need a bridge to cross the great water flowing past your roots. Any sacrifice will be greatly honored." She waited. A tree shuddered again, then fell across the river in a near-perfect perpendicular- a traversable bridge. "Thank you." Viridi patted its trunk, almost as if consoling it. Then she turned to Pit. "See, Pit? Bridge." Pit shook his head. "Beautiful Amazing Mistress? Noble but callous?" "She was complimenting you. Seriously, though? Beautiful Amazing Mistress?" "No doy." Viridi gestured to the bridge. "Well? Is His Royal Highness going to cross?" "Excuuuse me, princess," Pit replied as he gingerly tested the bridge"s weight, found it solid, and then crossed. "That"s Beautiful, Amazing Princess to you!" Virdi snapped as she followed suit. "And what, do you wear a green hat or something?" "How far are we to the edge of the forest, Lady Palutena?" Pit asked as the three continued walking. By now, all of them were in an irritable mood. "Maybe ten miles, give or take. I can"t exactly tell for sure... the force is still in the way." "But... that"s... sooooo... far," Phosphora complained. She was dragging her feet now, her energy seemingly gone. Perhaps she expended too much power into cooking the river. "Hold on... something"s interfering... watch... giant... EEEWW." Palutena"s telepathy was getting fractured, but she was clearly grossed out. "What is it?""Look... you. Use the..." "Oh, shut it, you meganerd," Viridi sighed. "Must you completely break down the fourth wall?" Despite her words, she still turned to look behind her anyway. "So what force?""Forces... nature," Palutena tried to say, sounding very frustrated that she wasn"t getting through. "To kill that." "Oh, right," Viridi breathed. "That." Phosphora whirled around and nearly screamed. Despite being a commander of the Forces of Nature, she still was not used to certain natural things. Like cockroaches. Or giant spiders. Especially giant spiders. So she did not like being face-to-face with a giant tarantula, one with yard-long fangs and eight large, yellow eyes easily the size of her head. Behind her, Pit shouted, "GRROOSSSS!" "That"s... interrupting... signal," Palutena"s voice said, coming out crackled and in poor quality, as if they were listening to a phonograph. "... that.... I extract only if..." "I"m on it!" Pit proclaimed, dashing forward, but Viridi grabbed his arm. Whereas the look on Pit"s face was of deep disgust, Viridi"s was completely enthralled and enraptured. "What?" Pit demanded, rummaging in his pocket for the chance that maybe he had stored a spare palm in it- fisticuffing is not much fun. "He"s beautiful," Viridi sighed. "More beautiful than Queen Gohma!" Phosphora rolled her eyes. "Nevertheless, it"s kill that thing or walk ten miles, maybe more." "Easy- we"re walking!" Viridi declared. "He"s not hurting anyone." The tarantula swept a hairy leg at her and nearly beheaded the petite goddess. "Correction- he"s as good as dead!" Viridi made a fist as emphasis. "Sure thing," Phosphora said. "Shall I roast it?" Suddenly energy seemed to flow into her again, as if the loom of battle overhead was enough of a boost to recharge her batteries. "To nothing but ashes." "YEEEAH!" Pit agreed. "Ashes!" A pause. "So, um, what do I do?" "Charging electricity to maximum," Phosphora announced. "One shot should be enough to finish off this baby, but if I miss... it won"t be good." "So then don"t miss." Viridi retorted. "Could you contain him, please?" "Ooh! Ooh! Let me!" Pit begged, brandishing the palm he"d found. It made his hand glow an eerie green, and he was dying to try it out. "Pit, don"t... way," Palutena instructed. "Let... and... handle this." Viridi thrust her arms forward. "Children! Contain my rebellious pet!" Trees bent over like a cage, and vines snaked around the spider"s legs, tethering it to the ground. It thrashed and severed a couple, but new vines were there to take their fallen siblings" places almost instantaneously. The overgrown arachnid was immobilized. "Phosphora Power!" Phosphora shouted. "Ya"ll better duck!" A glowing, crackling sphere surrounded her raised hand, and with a powerful dash, Phosphora threw it at the tarantula. Its eight eyes widened in fear and then dimmed as it was cooked in its exoskeleton. "All right!" Viridi cheered. "We showed him! A shame, though. He was such a gorgeous child..." "I didn"t do anything," Pit pouted. "It"s all right, Pit," Palutena comforted, voice coming through clearly now. "I"ll get to extracting you right away. You hungry?" "You bet!" "Good! I got steak ready for tonight." "Yeah! Steak!" Pit whooped. Phosphora laughed. "Great. Good for him. Mistress Viridi, what do we have for dinner?" "Only the finest harvest of brussel sprouts in five centuries!" Viridi replied proudly, as the blue light of extraction whirled around them. "I must have really hit the jackpot with that new fertilizer... everything"s been tasting better!" Phosphora"s smile slipped, and suddenly she wished she was back in the jungle. At least there was a chance of finding real food there. Not even battle-hardened, electrically-lethal commanders eat brussel sprouts. Narrator: And that"s that. The end. QED. El fine. Whatever else. Phosphora: Lame ending. You made me eat brussel sprouts. Narrator: I only implied it, and it was the writer and Viridi who made you eat it. Don"t shoot the messenger. Viridi: What, you hate brussel sprouts? Treason! Pit: Not to gloat or anything, but my steak was pretty delicious. Palutena: Of course it was! I cooked it. Dinner aside, I want to know how a giant spider got in the Amazon. Phosphora: This is a poorly-written fanfiction. Anything can happen. For all you know, Pit and I could- Pit: DON"T EVEN GO THERE! Palutena: So we"ve completely demolished the fourth wall, is that it? Pit: The what? Palutena: HOW DID IT GET THERE, PEOPLE? Hades: Actually, the spider and the lightning that hit the Chariot are compliments of yours truly. Phosphora: I will kill you. Just you wait. Palutena: Get in line; it currently has a millennium"s waiting time and stretches across three dimensions. Hades: I do love me a large amount of enemies. They say you"ve never lived until you"ve made lots of enemies and fallen in love. I"ve still got a ways to go on the second. Phosphora: Fall in love, huh? Maybe, just maybe, since Pit and I are in a fanfiction, we could- Palutena: Do not say another word. Do not go there. For you, there is no "there" and there never will be a "there." "There" does not exist. It is a place of horror and misery. So do not go there. Hades: Why? Are you jealous? Is there a "there" for Pit and you? Palutena: *blushes* Viridi: Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have our answer. Hades: What about you? Viridi: *blushes* Phosphora: Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have our answer. Viridi: Who"s on YOUR waiting list, Phosphora? Phosphora: To kill? No one. Why?

The Atlas remained blank. "What?" said Art. "It"s never done that before. Here, hand it to me." He repeated the question, and still it remained blank. "Huh. I"m going to try asking it something else. Mary, you there?" Nothing. "Why are you blank, Atlas?" At this point, the page seemed obstinate. Though the book opened, no words were penned. As Art was in the midst of repeating the question, a large blotch of ink formed in the middle of the page, then formed coherent words. What do you define as a soul? "I swear, it"s getting cheeky," Art muttered. "It"s never been like this before. Who cares how I define a soul? I want to know if the Copy has one or not!" It does. Arthur swallowed. "And... is it my mother"s soul?" He touched the cover as he posed the question, his hand accidentally bumping Art"s before gripping the leather. It is not. "So, it"s an entirely different creature with my mother"s memories that has a likeness of her?" It has no memories anymore. But it did. And it can have them again, if it so chooses. To answer your question, yes, it is an entirely different creature. "You can create sentient life?" The question was directed to the Young One, not the Atlas. "I can, young sir," he said, and made to bow, his face reflecting that of a magician. He fingered a mustache before his features melted back to his own. "It is not easy. It is a Resurrection of sorts. I take a Soul from the Star and convince it that it is another Soul. Or, I can kill someone, catch their Soul before it goes to the Star, and stick it in the body of my choice." He smirked. "Do you like my handiwork, boy? I could teach you. You two clearly have an aptitude for it. What a marvelous Soul Split, Art and Arthur, most magnificent!" "Quit with the flattery," the Copy said. "It won"t work." "What won"t work?" Art asked, interest piqued. "Let me... let me see the Atlas for a moment," the Copy begged. "I want to ask it a question." "Nice try," Arthur said. "I"ll ask for you. Go ahead; what is it?" The Not-Emily leaned back and bit her lip. "That"s what I thought," Art said. "Please," she asked meekly. "No." "Please?" "No." She slouched against the wall and threw her hands into the air. "You"re both terrible sons." "Is that supposed to be a guilt trip?" "Perhaps." She suddenly jumped up and stood, coming towards them as far the chains around her wrists would allow. "I demand you let me go! I have a Soul!" "So we"ve heard," the Young One muttered. "Dearie, that argument is getting old." He stood as well. "We deserve a trial, don"t you think? Before December kills us, don"t you want to know what I did to irritate her so badly?" "Kill somebody?" Arthur crossed his arms. "Or several?" "Quite the opposite, my boy. I brought someone to life." The Young One"s face morphed to that of a young, black-haired boy that showed some resemblance to him and December, cheeks round and eyes wide. "My brother, Michael. He was, of course, not a biological brother in the traditional sense, nor is December my biological sister. We were of the same mold, with rather obvious variations, and the first of our kind. So as Saturday was the first Denizen, and Sunday the first son, we were the first Ascendants." He paused a little. "Did you know the Architect always wanted a girl? Hence, December. Older than Sunday, that one." "We didn"t know," Art said, voice clipped. "And we don"t really care." "Continue," Arthur said. "Please." "Michael was a gorgeous little boy, having the form of perhaps a nine-year-old, ten at most. There was a little accident, and to make a long story short, Michael died." "What kind of accident?" Arthur inquired. "Michael was what you mortals call hemophilic. Not exactly sure why," the Young One shrugged. "December and I aren"t. Maybe She messed up the mold when She made it younger. Oh well. He bled to death, and December was heart-broken. "She wanted to resurrect him, begged the Architect to allow it and stalling his trip to the Afterlife- selfish of her, I know. December- Diana, really- had such an attachment to him it was pathetic. So did I. I didn"t care that the Architect forbade it. I brought him back." "Why would she be upset?" Art asked, interested despite himself. "Oh, she wasn"t." The Young One shrugged. "She was overjoyed. She hugged me, hugged him, declared nothing would ever happen to him, and lah-di-dah. Take a guess what happened next." "The Architect found out?" the Not-Emily ventured. "Yup!" He sounded almost gleeful about it. "She handed December a knife and ordered her, in no uncertain terms, to kill Michael and then me." "She didn"t," Arthur breathed. "She groveled at the Architect"s feet. December was crying and screaming and wailing, and poor Michael had no idea what was going on but was getting rather frightened. He tried to run away, but I stopped him. I thought this madness would end, you see." The Young One took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "The Architect refused to let it go. Apparently, it was against the rules, and if She let us break the rule this time, it"d be broken again. So She took the knife from December and killed him right in front of us. Then She turned to kill me, no doubt figuring out who performed the Resurrection in the first place." Arthur could imagine the scene from now on, and the Young One"s lips parted in a grimace as the memory washed over him. "And she said-" "I said I did it," December said, stepping in. "Drat your timing," the Young One snapped. "Acolytes are watching, remember? This is something worth reporting." She clicked her tongue. "I said I Resurrected Michael and asked the Architect to banish the Young One, not kill him." "Lo and behold, She actually agreed," the Young One said. "It"s because Mary argued for you. Mary was Her favorite," December said tersely. "You have no idea what punishments I went through because of that. And even that- even that I would forgive- if it wasn"t for the fact that I had to watch Michael die three times." "But he only died twice," Arthur said. "He brought him back a second time," December corrected, jabbing a finger at the Young One. "And he blamed it on me again, then dragged both of us down to the Architect and..." She trailed off. "That time, She wouldn"t take no for an answer," the Young One finished. "December killed Michael." December was trembling slightly. "It was your fault." "It was." He smiled again. "Do you really know why I did it the second time?" "Spite." "No, Diana, dear, no!" he laughed. "Not spite! I did it because I could. Because I loved feeling Souls in my hands, bringing them back or banishing them to the beyond. I did it because I wanted to, not for Michael. I blamed you because, honestly, what better scapegoat was there? I contemplated Mary, but as you said, she was Her favorite. It never would have flown. If I hadn"t blamed you, I would probably be dead." "And the world would be better off for it," December spat. "Why don"t you ask Mary why she stood up for me, hmm? Even the second time?" "I know why!" "Ask anyway." "Can I see the Atlas?" December sighed, holding out her hands as if she fully expected Arthur to give it to her. Art nodded and handed her the book. December took a deep breath and whispered, "Why did you stand up for Dante?" Because I loved him. December read it aloud and then glared at him. "See? Mystery solved." "Thank you, dear sister. You are most gullible." With a snap of his fingers, his chains fell away. December didn"t move, as if she knew the chains were flimsy the whole time but had nothing else to bind him with (which was rather the truth). Rather, a rapier appeared in the hand that wasn"t clutching the Atlas. Dante stepped forward, and December raised the rapier to strike, but before she could, he reached out and touched the Atlas. "Want to know a secret?" he whispered. "By giving her the Atlas, you gave it to me. We... are... one." He tugged the Atlas away and kicked December in the gut, then touched the Not-Emily"s chains and let them melt away. "Dearest sister, someone has not been studying their Soul Splits like they should." "You mean..." Arthur began, but Art lunged at the Young One, trying to tackle him to the ground. The Young One dodged and tried to land an upper-cut, but December sprang into action with the rapier, slashing downwards and striking his wrist. He yelped and nearly dropped the Atlas. "That was not very fair!" he seethed. "Neither was your taking the Atlas!" December shouted back. Art swept his leg, and the Young One tripped. Art took his chance to pounce and pin him to the ground, but before Arthur could grab the book, Dante shouted, "Creation of mine! The Atlas!" "Arthur!" December threw the rapier at him as Art and the Young One wrestled on the floor. Through some miracle, or perhaps some memory of his divinity, Arthur managed to catch it hilt-first and not get impaled on its end. With a well-executed pivot, he turned and nearly slammed it into the Not-Emily, but froze cold. The look of dismay on her face... That"s what she looked like when the Nothing got her, flashed through his mind, and by the time he regained control of his nerves, she had snatched the book up, the helpless look transforming into a triumphant smirk. "Oh, you poor mama"s boy. Your mummy"s dead. You"ve got to learn that." The Copy waved the book tauntingly, took one look at the Young One and saw he was indisposed, and ran for it. "You won"t get far!" December cried. "I have Acolytes stationed nearby!" She ripped the rapier from Arthur"s hand and tore after her, but August slammed her body into the senior Month"s, and they both tumbled to the ground. The Young One, seeing that the Copy was gone, relaxed and allowed Art to subdue him. The plan is in motion. "Go home." Art, Arthur, and Saturday"s jaws dropped. "Why?" Art demanded. "You"re getting in my way!" December retorted. Arthur hung his head. It was true. If it hadn"t been for his momentary lapse of judgment, if he hadn"t frozen, they would still have the Atlas. December was further irritated, he could tell, because she felt it was partially her fault. She had no idea that Soul Splits and magic worked that way, especially permission to use the Atlas, and neither did Art and Arthur, but he had a feeling that this fact did little to ease the turmoil in her mind. "Fine," Saturday said, rather quickly. "I don"t want to be here." "The exit"s that way," December said, pointing to the fountain. "It should drop you off near your apartment. If it doesn"t, my apologies, but I"m done interfering. Done. Get a taxi or a plane or whatever. It"s not my problem anymore." "Understood." Saturday picked up an umbrella hanging on a rack, asked December if she could have it ("Just take it and go!"), then jumped into the fountain. With a splash and a sparkle of light, she was gone. "You should follow," December said to Art and Arthur. "You"re better protected in the House anyway." "You come too," Arthur said. "No. I have work to do. Hundreds of Acolytes and the Young One"s Army"s souls to pass on, not to mention the daily influx of mortals from the Realms..." She made a face. "I shouldn"t even waste time arguing with you. Go. Come back and visit, if you like." "Really?" Art asked. "No!" "We are not going." Arthur stamped his foot. Art, feeling rather childish, did as well. It did accentuate their point nicely, though. When December picked them up and carried them over to the fountain, Art wriggled out of her grasp and sputtered, "Never have I been so insulted! Carried like a little kid!" "If you get in yourself," she said sweetly, "I won"t have to push you." "I"m going, I"m going," Art muttered. "But I"ll be back. I can get to December"s Star from Elysium." "Yes, I"m aware." She pressed her lips together. "I"ll bring an army." "That"s precisely what we do not want!" December exclaimed. "Denizens dying for us? I think not!" "Think about this rationally!" Art shot back. "If all the Months die, who moves Souls on to the Afterlife? I"m not doing this for you. I"m doing this for the world." "You have a god complex," she sighed. Art laughed. "Was that pun intended?" "No." "Yeah, joking"s not for you." He shrugged, and with a Schwarzenegger accent, growled, "I"ll be back." Arthur chuckled, but December clearly didn"t get the reference. Art took that as his cue to dive into the fountain"s waters. After he was gone, Arthur turned and extended his hand. "Thanks," he said, "for everything. She has a Soul, December. So don"t kill her. That"s all I ask of you." "I will take your words into consideration," she said. Her words were obviously intended more to make him go away than offer him consolation. "Goodbye, Arthur Penhaligon." "Bye, December," he said, and jumped in himself. This time, when he found himself in the limbo of the Star, he was not confused so much as enjoying the feeling of being weightless, and when Mary appeared next to him, he smiled. Her grim look snatched it away. "I"m sorry I let the Atlas get taken," he said. "It"s not like you haven"t done it before," she said, and waved a hand dismissively. Arthur reddened. It was true. He"d lost it to Monday"s Fetchers, and then unwittingly given it to Dame Primus, unaware of her plans for it. "I guess I"m not very responsible with something so powerful," Arthur admitted. "That much," said Mary, "is obvious. I cannot think, however, of a single person more responsible, or who could have done a better job." "That"s a lie." "Most definitely. I can think of a hundred better Heirs or Architects off the top of my head," she said, and reddened. "Arthur, I"m going to stop talking to you from now on. I"m starting to remember, and that means I might do something stupid to you." "Like what?" "Like manipulate you, or use you as my pawn to do what I want. Which, I"m not entirely sure what I want, since I technically already got it... It"s very hard for me, Arty. You have to understand. Part of me feels like it died and went on without me." "I-" Arthur began. Mary put a hand over his mouth to shush him, and he closed his eyes. When he opened him, he was lying on the front steps of his house- not the House, but his actual, Earth house. He would have laughed, he was so relieved and scared at the same time, if Michaeli hadn"t found him trying to sneak in past curfew. "ARTHUR!" she shrieked. "Oh my gosh. Are you alive?" When he blinked in response, she went from concerned to furious. "Where were you? Dad"s been worried sick, and Mom"s gone too, and he"s had the police running in circles looking for the both of you!" "Sorry," he mumbled as she picked him up and started to carry him up to his room. "Where were you?" "Out," she said, and Arthur substituted in the word "Boyfriend.' "Where?" "Just... out," she said. A date, no doubt. Michaeli lay him down on his bed, kissed his forehead, then exited his room, shouting, "DAD! I"VE FOUND ARTHUR! HE WAS, LIKE, ON THE PORCH LOOKING DEAD!" "So that"s the situation?" September asked. "Yes," December said. Their method of communication, the reflections in pools of water, was nowhere near as convenient as Dante"s mirrors, but it worked. Somewhat. "I understand. Where"s August now?" "I haven"t the slightest idea. Once she bowled into me, she ran off. I tried sensing her Soul and spying through the pools, but nothing worked." "I see..." September bit his lip as Suzy, April, March, and Scamandros continued playing chess in teams, oblivious to his conversation. He stole a quick glance, saw that they were occupied, and turned back to December. "You do realize what our only option is?" "I forbid it." She glared at him through the liquid. "Don"t even contemplate it." "I already have." "I forbid it," she repeated. "I can"t- I can"t lose you too." "You"re assuming I"ll lose?" He placed a hand on his heart. "You have wounded me, December. I am the smarter of us two. If one of us is to survive, it shall be me. I can"t let August tarnish her name and title like this. Please. Allow it." "I refuse." December glanced down, breaking his gaze. "I will not permit you to do such a thing." "You truly try, don"t you? But sometimes, trying"s not enough." September smiled. "What is that supposed to mean?" "Nothing." He swept his hand into the puddle, causing ripples, and her reflection disappeared, replaced by his own. "It means nothing at all." "I got your message," August said. "How"d you find me when the Soul Witch couldn"t?" "You"re my sister. We are of the same mold," September said. "I reached out for what was closest to me, in more ways than one." "Oh, please." She rolled her eyes. "When did you join the Young One?" "After Columbus failed." She scowled. "Rejoining December was unthinkable." "Why do you hate her so much?" "I don"t hate her, September, not the way Columbus does. I simply think bigger than that backwards old bat," she replied. "I refuse to be inhibited by rules that are no longer being enforced, and I cannot follow a murderer." "You know Michael was not her fault." "She should grow a backbone." "Your tongue should get a leash." September raised his hand, and a curved sabre"s hilt appeared between his fingers. He twirled it once, examined the blade, and faced August. "I don"t need to spell out the rules, do I?" "Not at all," August answered, holding an identical weapon. "I managed to convince the Young One"s lapdog to go through with this gamble. That shows how much I still love you, brother. It was no easy feat. Does December know you"re here?" "No, but she"ll probably guess." August smirked. "She will soon." "I suppose." He took a deep breath. "The winner gets the Atlas and keeps their honor." "This is about honor too?" August heaved an overly dramatic sigh. "And here I was, thinking it was all over a little book." "I"m your brother, August. I can"t let you tarnish your title this way. I can"t see you do this to yourself." "So you"ll put an end to my misery?" She licked her lips. "Okey-doke, Archimedes. Let"s settle things the old way; a fight to the death!" "I could not have said it better myself, Academia," September replied, and simultaneously, both leaped at the other, weapons clashing in the strident screech that so marred battle and weapons alike, a screech that soon would color one"s memory of when they killed the other. "I asked you to watch him. That was your only responsibility!" Sunday shouted. "Was it that hard?" "Well, he must have been invisible," Tuesday said. "That, or he walked through walls. I"m telling you, he didn"t leave the closet the usual way." Friday pursed her lips and made a little moaning sound. Sunday turned. "What?" "Could you keep it down? You"re giving me a headache." "I"ll talk at whatever volume I want," Sunday snapped. "Can I watch television?" "No!" He turned back to Tuesday. "As I was saying-" The doorbell rang. Wednesday shouted from the kitchen that she would get it, and Sunday shook his head, took a moment to recall what he"d been going to say, and then finished, "You are a pathetic excuse for a Denizen if he could slip pa-" Wednesday shrieked loudly. He couldn"t tell if it was the happy kind of shriek women gave when they were excruciatingly pleased, or if it was the kind of shriek they gave out before they had panic attacks. Sometimes, the two were interchangeable noises and emotions. "WHAT IS IT?" Sunday demanded, barging out of Tuesday"s room. "Wednesday, I am trying to reprimand Tuesday!" Wednesday didn"t respond and instead raised one slender, pale arm, and pointed to the figure in the doorway. "Hey," Saturday said. "Didya miss me?" It took Sunday a moment to realize what he was seeing. Saturday. Standing there, alive and well, her skin pale and radiant, her eyes shining, her lips curled into the rare genuine smile, she seemed almost like an angel come down from the heavens- well, to Sunday, anyway. Without realizing what he was doing, his mortal side swooped in, he was sprinting, and he scooped her into his arms. "Put me down," she said, a little softly. Then, louder, "I said, put me down, you green-haired freak!" "Look who"s talking, Sapphire Head," he retorted, dropping her. She scrambled to her feet and scowled, ready to fire back another insult, no doubt, but instead broke into laughter. "Wow, you guys haven"t changed." Her gaze swept over the apartment, taking in Wednesday"s shocked face, Friday"s "o" of a mouth, Tuesday"s slacked jaw, and Monday"s composed, almost apathetic look. "Where"s Thursday?" "Army," Friday said, regaining control of her facial muscles. "So he was accepted," she said, nodding. "I told him he had nothing to worry about, the bugger." "He wasn"t pleased," Wednesday said. "It was kind of a bad timing." "Everything that happens to us is bad timing," Saturday said. "Nessie, you all right? You"re staring at me like I"m some kind of ghost." There was a silence, and she laughed again. "You," said Tuesday, "are rather mean to us." "I"m aware, dear Grim, I am aware," she said between chuckles. "Oh, dear. Well, I have good news, and I have bad news. The good news is, the Months are probably never going to bother us again. The bad news is, I can"t say the same about the Young One, but I doubt he"ll really care about us now."

The sight that greeted them was so terrifying that Medusa desperately wishing brain bleach had been invented. All four of the- again, music and musicians are not exactly the correct words- were dressed in skin-tight clothing that were reminiscent of the 1970s disco era. Gaudy colors flashed across the walls, bouncing off the disco ball hanging in the middle of the ceiling. Hades in disco garb... not a pretty sight. The Lord of the Underworld was slapping piano keys seemingly randomly. Next to him, Magnus pummeled the drums so hard it was a wonder there were no holes in them yet. Surprisingly, despite the fact that he was constantly on fire, Pyrrhon was neither melting the guitar he was shoddily strumming nor setting it on fire. As for Pit... Palutena hoped to never see him dressed like that again and made a mental note to ban 1970s dance clothes as part of the angel dress code. "YO heart so heavy YA SIIIIINK like STOOOONNEE," Pit "sang,' very off-key. "YUR my litl" birdie that"s NEVA FLOOOWNNN! "Cuz yur my bad BAD ANGELLLLLL!" He started to sing a trill, but stopped, eyes wide, as Palutena"s hand covered his mouth. His brown eyes looked into her green ones and he knew that she was angry beyond words. Whatever she said next, it wouldn"t be good. Magnus, Hades, and Pyrrhon stopped playing and grew tense. The silence was awkward and stiff, broken only by Palutena"s sigh. "Get changed," she ordered, and moved her hand. "Are you mad?" Pit"s voice was small. "No, Pit. I"m just disappointed." He nodded, seeming almost ready to cry (Disappointed! That"s always worse than mad!) and dashed upstairs. "Way to be a spoil sport," Hades complained, throwing his arms into the air. "What happened here?" Viridi asked. "First practice of the Kool Flamz," Pyrrhon answered. "Our music touches the soul!" "It does a lot more than touch," Palutena muttered. "I"d like to see you write better music!" Magnus growled. "We will!" Medusa growled. "Let"s go, girls." In perfect synchronization, all three pivoted and stormed off, noses in the air. Five minutes later, Medusa surveyed the assembled girl deities who had decided to help her in her quest to make good music: Phosphora, Viridi, Palutena, and Gaol. "First things first," Medusa said. "We need a band name." "Electrolytes!" shouted Phosphora. "No." "AC/DC?" "Taken." "Flower Fun?" Viridi suggested. "Pansie Party?" "No and definitely not." "Goddess Girls?" Palutena thought aloud. "Aren"t those books for like, fifth graders?" Gaol replied. "How about "Cursed Armor?'" "No," Medusa shot it down. "What, are you trying to shove the fact that it was cursed down my throat? I wanted to make sure you"d follow me." "I would"ve then. Not now." Things were about to get ugly, so naturally, Palutena stepped in as peace-maker. "Guys, that"s in the past. Don"t forget that Medusa and I have lots of bad blood between us too, and we"re sort of getting along. The point is, we"re stuck living in this mansion, so we have to live with each other too. Now... band names." "Gorgon Girls," Medusa mumbled. "Not bad," Phosphora acknowledged. "I like it." "It"s fine," Viridi dismissed. "Better than "Cursed Armor,'" Gaol admitted. "Hold on, no way!" Palutena protested. "I know I said we have to get along, but as goddess of light you seriously can"t expect me to-" "Shut up, you"re outvoted," Medusa snapped. Thus, after numerous attempts at seeing what instruments each member could play the best, Gorgon Girls was born. Medusa: Plays piano and keyboard like a boss. Gaol: Surprisingly, she is Magnus"s superior when it comes to playing the drums. Viridi: If it"s acoustic, she"s a natural. Her voice isn"t bad, but is too high to be anything but a back-up singer. Phosphora: Does it really surprise you that she can play the electric guitar and bass? Palutena: She"s got a voice like a goddess. Heh heh. She sings well. Lead singer. "Next, we have to pick the type of music we play," Medusa continued. It was her band. Somehow, she had become the unspoken leader- much to Palutena"s chagrin- and she loved it. "Country," Gaol named absentmindedly. "My boyfriend stole my tractor!" Viridi bawled. "Ummm... the next part"s not for kids... aha! WATTERRRR!" "Country"s lame," Phosphora said. "Not enough electric parts. Rock or metal?" "WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!" Viridi sang. "YEEAHH!" She proceeded to flick her tongue like a rockstar and played air guitar. "Pop?" Phosphora named the next genre that came to mind. "I LOVE you, baby!" Viridi shrieked, dancing. "Who gave her sugar?" Gaol demanded. "How about alternative rock?" Palutena asked. "You know, like Of Monsters and Men?" "My songs make no sense, I must have written them in my sleep! My head somehow has a pet dragonfly and you have bones that sink!"*** Viridi sang with a slight accent. "There"s nothing else," Medusa sighed. "So, who"ll be our song writer?" "I"ll do it," Palutena volunteered. She spent the next couple of minutes scribbling out her masterpiece lyrics. Once they were completed, Gaol, Medusa, Phosphora, and Viridi wrote the accompanying instrumental parts. They were up until two in the morning, and even then they finished so quickly only because they had some divine inspiration, yet they had completed their magnum opus, a single called "Angel in Disguise.' Then they wrote an official challenge to Kool Flamz, and delivered it via Viridi. She returned with the message that they did not appreciate being woken and that that they gladly accepted. All that remained was to find a judge. *** Viridi is parodying "Dirty Paws" and "Your Bones" by Of Monsters and Men. You probably know that, but it"s worth a mention. Dark Pit, unlike most people at two in the morning, was wide awake. He was a night-owl. At the moment, he was mashing a button on an x-box controller with his thumb while on the screen, his in-game avatar performed a melee combo. Just as he was about to beat the Giant Ugly Boss With an Extremely Long Name that Spouts Evil, the door burst open and Medusa yanked the controller out of his hand. "What?" Dark Pit tried grabbing the controller, but Medusa drew her hand back. On screen, the Giant Ugly Boss With an Extremely Long Name that Spouts Evil chomped the hero, and the screen went dark, proclaiming the words "I"m Finished!' "We need a judge," Medusa replied. "Tomorrow, we need a judge to tell us whether Kool Flamz or Gorgon Girls is the better band." Dark Pit leaned back and yawned. "Why should I?" "What, you want something out of it?" Gaol asked, voice clipped. "Shouldn"t you be in bed, anyway?" "Who"re you, my mother? Go bother your own kid." Dark Pit retorted. Gaol"s face turned red and she stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. "What"s her problem?" he muttered darkly. "That was... insensitive," Palutena answered. "What, I thought it was Magnus"s kid, not hers!" he defended. "I have theories," Palutena said slowly. "I think they"re married." "Steering back to the original subject," Medusa broke in. "I"ll pay you 10,000 hearts." "Can you convert that to dollars?" Dark Pit asked, perking up and sounding, at the least, mildly interested. The next day, both bands soundproofed their practice areas, Kool Flamz in the basement and Gorgon Girls in the attic. Each was desperate to best the other, going to extreme lengths. Hades denied Pit a bathroom break until it was evident Pit couldn"t hold it a moment longer and the floodgates were about to burst. Medusa would not allow Viridi to water her plants, no matter how much the goddess screamed, wailed, and protested that they were "starving, the poor babies." Palutena rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Medusa, we"ve been up for a bit. We got maybe two, three hours" sleep, tops. Could we rest a bit?" "No!" Medusa snapped. So it was that six o"clock rolled around and the bands met in the living room for the battle. Both were irritable, sleepy, and loathing the other. Like Gorgon Girls, Kool Flamz had not had much sleep after the challenge as well. Their bad mood increased as Dark Pit was first ten, then twenty minutes late. Half an hour passed and he was yet to be seen. CHOOSE! If Dark Pit doesn"t show up, go to Ending One. If Dark Pit does show up, keep on reading. Finally, forty-five minutes late, Dark Pit appeared. "You"re late, Pittoey!" Pit accused. "I fell asleep," Dark Pit replied nonchalantly. "Unlike you idiots. All of you look the complete opposite of Rip van Winkle." He very deliberately avoided eye contact with Gaol as he spoke. "Just start the competition, please!" Hades snarled. "Yeah, yeah. I was getting there. Kool Flamz, you"re first." Dark Pit sat down on a leather arm chair and pointed to a buzzer. "If your music makes my ears bleed, I"ll press it and you"ll automatically forfeit to the other team- er, band." "Okey-dokey," Pyrrhon said. "Then please," Dark Pit yawned, "serenade me." "One, two, ah one, two, three, four!" Magnus counted them off, and then they began playing. Unlike the day before, the sounds they made didn"t make people wish to be deaf but still wasn"t exactly music. Pit stepped up to the microphone and started singing Kool Flamz"s only single- "My Bad BAD Angel.' My Bad BAD Angel By the Kool Flamz We were living in a once upon a time, A world so fake it was a crime. Your smile, a beacon, a shining light- Was nothing more than plague and blight. Chorus- Your heart"s so heavy you sink like stones! You"re a little birdie that"s never flown! You"re the chilling heat and freezing fire, My once coveted desire- My bad, BAD angel... A liar to me. My eyes were opened, I saw you true. Broke was the pane of lies I saw you through. Deceit and lies were your threads; With them you entangled me in a web. Chorus Bridge- Whatcha gonna do now that I see you, A knight in rusted armor on a donkey, not a horse? Whatcha gonna do now that I know you, Your heart sour like the Borsch? Pit concluded with a loud, "YEAHH!" and a fist-pump. The audience clapped tentatively and rather unenthusiastically. "At least I didn"t buzz you," Dark Pit shrugged, though Medusa noticed his hand was dangerously close. ""Sour like the Borsch?'" Phosphora repeated. "Isn"t Borsch a Russian soup?" Gaol wondered aloud. "Yes, it is," Viridi answered. "It"s also the only word we could put in there that rhymed with "horse,'" Hades added. "We did think of "Norse,' but we didn"t want to be rascist." "Whatever," Dark Pit sniffed. "Gorgon Girls, you"re up." As they walked to the stage, Medusa thought she saw Gaol blush as Magnus gave her the thumbs-up sign. What was THAT about? Could Palutena be right? Could they be married? "One, two, one, two, three, four!" Gaol cheered as she counted them off. Angel in Disguise By the Gorgon Girls -Introduction- Palutena felt butterflies as Medusa began playing the introduction on the piano. The music, in contrast to Kool Flamz, was soft and lilting in nature, so it was important to set just the right tone when singing the lyrics. She caught Pit"s eye. He smiled. Palutena felt her cheeks warm and, ignoring dirty looks from both Viridi and Phosphora, began to sing. We wandered onto the scene of the crime, At the end of our blissful once upon a time. The light of hope died in the dark, The world below scarred with ugly marks. -Phosphora and Viridi made their entrance, playing softly, and Gaol entered with just a couple of cymbals- Chorus- Hold on, here he comes, the angel in disguise, Ready to go the length to claim the prize. Beat the villain, save the girl, But how was he to know? He"s just an angel in disguise, and- Well, it"s not enough, guys. So there we were, words on our lips, Both of us untouched by Time"s kiss. So much to say, so much to do; It"s a shame our fantasies never came true. -Chorus- Bridge- Let"s pretend, just for a moment, that it came true. Let"s pretend, for a moment, just us two. Let"s pretend that we can fly away. Let"s pretend we can see the dawn of our new day. -Chorus- -Just Palutena and Medusa"s keyboard- So there we were, words on our lips, Never to share that forbidden kiss. Too little to say, too much to do; It"s a shame our fantasies Never came true. Palutena gave a weak smile as she let the last note fade. Was it too obvious what the song was about? She hoped not. Kool Flamz was about as enthralled with clapping as the Gorgon Girls were, though Palutena thought for sure that her band had given the better performance. Hades blew his nose on a kerchief. "That piano solo... tugs at your heart strings," he said, then tossed the kerchief over his shoulder. "Only for a moment, though." "My opinion"s different," Dark Pit said, "and it"s MY opinion that matters." He stood. "After much thought-" "What, two seconds" worth?" Viridi interrupted. "Ahem!" Once he was certain everyone was paying attention to him, Dark Pit continued, "After much thought, I have decided who has defeated the other in Battle of the Bands. The winner is..." CHOOSE! If Kool Flamz won, go to Ending Two. If Gorgon Girls won, go to Ending Three. If Dark Pit wins, go to Ending Four. ENDING ONE- Pittoo is a No-Show Unable to wait any longer, Viridi scampered to Dark Pit"s room to drag him downstairs by force if necessary but returned empty-handed. "He"s not home," she scowled. "The traitor!" Medusa growled. "I paid him the ten dollars in advance!" "If he"s not home," Pit said, "then where is he?" Dark Pit grinned to himself. Ah, yes, this wasn"t bad. His wings hidden in a hoodie (which was very uncomfortable; he had no clue how Maximum Ride and her flock managed), he had managed to land himself tickets to REAL music- a Nintendo symphonic suite. No way was he going to listen to a bunch of lameos pretending to play music when he had already bought the tickets. The ten dollars advance from Medusa wasn"t bad either- he"d bought a large amount of candy with it and was pigging out. He got back to Palutena"s mansion way past dinner. He expected her to be absolutely enraged and ready to throttle him- she was a bit controllive, after all- but he was a little surprised to find Medusa, Gaol, Phosphora, Viridi, Magnus, Pyrrhon, Hades, and Pit in line as well. "You forgot something," Medusa said softly and darkly. "Oh, that. Right. Well, after yesterday"s racket, I decided I like my ears still on my head. I"m not going to listen to you fools fail." "But I paid you!" Medusa protested. "Yeah, to judge. And I did. I judged that Darke is the winner." "Who"s Darke?" Gaol asked. She was eyeing him with distaste. He expected that. But she was an overly-sensitive idiot anyway. How else would Medusa have convinced her to switch to the Underworld Army and put on a piece of cursed armor anyway? "You"re looking at him," Dark Pit replied smugly. "I even got myself a record label. I"m just that awesome." Then he walked past their open, gaping mouths to finally beat the Giant Ugly Boss With an Extremely Long Name that Spouts Evil. Ending Two- Kool Flamz Takes the Cake "... Kool Flamz," Dark Pit finished. The boy band erupted into loud cheers and whoops. "Hold on!" Palutena protested. "We were better! Anyone can hardly stand that music!" "True," Dark Pit agreed. "They"re terrible. They made me want to rip my ears off." "Then how did they win?" Viridi demanded. "Maybe I just don"t like you," Dark Pit retorted. He made sure to match gazes with Gaol as he said this. "Or maybe they paid me a ton more than ten dollars." He held up a crisp fifty dollar bill. The looks on the Gorgon Girls" faces were murderous. It would have been wise to exit the scene. So Dark Pit began to do so. "Anyway," he said as he backed towards the window, wings fanning out behind him, "I"m the real talent here. I"ve even got a record label." He grinned at them, just because he knew it"d raise their hackles, and jumped backwards through the window. Shattered glass flew everywhere, even cutting a long, jagged streak on his cheek, but he didn"t care. He was up and out of there. "He"s getting away!" shrieked Phosphora. Palutena raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?" She smirked. Gaol snickered. "He doesn"t have the power of flight anymore. Now that Pandora"s got her body back, he can"t fly. He"ll sink like a stone. He"ll probably need an ambulance, though. That"s a pretty big fall." "Already called one," Pyrrhon announced. "Pyrrhon is always taking the initiative!" "Whatever," Pit dismissed. "But, Lady Palutena, his wings-" "Won"t be noticed," she reassured him. "I"ll activate my Power of Filtering Perception. They"ll still be there, but will just be overlooked." "Like a Perception Filter in Doctor Who!" Pit understood. "Nerd," Viridi scoffed. "Nothing wrong with Doctor Who," Palutena defended. "Wait a minute..." Pit turned to Gaol. "Did you say that he"ll sink like a stone?" "I did, yes. Why? Can you think of a more apt analogy?" Pit grinned. "Yo heart so heavy ya SIIIIINNNNKKK like STOOONNNEEEEEE! Yur my- ah!" He dodged an attack aimed at him. "Do not sing another word," Phosphora growled, "or I"m having barbecued angel wings for breakfast tomorrow." Ending Three- Gorgon Girls Stone the Competition "... Gorgon Girls," Dark Pit finished. The girl group burst into whoops and hugged each other, with the exception of Phosphora- no one likes being electrocuted, no matter how happy they are. Even Medusa and Palutena hugged, though the snakes protested. "Why are they hugging?" Pit whispered to Magnus. "It"s a girl thing," he replied as Gaol flung herself into his arms. He didn"t seem to mind. "Hold on!" Hades cried. "Pittoo, we bribed you!" "Oh, yeah, that." Dark Pit shrugged. "Bribes don"t always work. Besides," he added smugly, "I know what real talent is. They"re it. You"re not." "And how would you know?" Magnus growled, no longer hugging Gaol, though he did secretly give her a thumbs-up. Medusa wanted to gag. "Because. I"ve already got a record label as Darke, the mysterious pianist and soloist." Dark Pit grinned. "Do you want a signed album?" "I will snap your thin neck!" Hades snarled, and jumped for Dark Pit. Pittoo dashed to the side to avoid him but landed on his butt. Hades turned and ran towards him, but was blown backwards as Palutena activated her power of wind. Viridi and Phosphora moved in front of him protectively. Pyrrhon and Pit didn"t seem to mind, though. Pyrrhon engaged in battle with Phosphora while Pit attempted to pin Viridi to the wall long enough to tie her down. Magnus and Gaol watched the scene and made no move to either join or leave their fellow pantheon members. Eventually, Gaol turned and helped Dark Pit up while Magnus went to aide Pit just so it looked like he was doing something. "I can get up on my own," Dark Pit complained as she hoisted him to his feet. "I know. Let me dote a little on you, okay?" Gaol sighed. "You and Pit are the youngest people here and, believe it or not, a lot of the pantheon is concerned for your well-being. Palutena shows it very clearly when it comes to Pit, but she cares for you too, and I also wouldn"t like to see you get hurt. Be careful, okay?" Dark Pit nodded, then added, "I"m sorry for what I said earlier." "No problem," Gaol replied. "Now, um..." She surveyed the scene in the living room. "This looks like a full-out brawl." "Uh-huh," Dark Pit agreed. "Say, how about I show you the agency instead of us hanging around here with these losers?" "It"d be my pleasure." With one last look back, Gaol and Dark Pit exited the scene. Medusa cried for help, but either Gaol didn"t hear her... or ignored her. Ending Four- Darke Steps Into the Light "..." Medusa frowned. "Oi! Dark Pit! Who won?" Dark Pit grinned. "Me." "You!" Pyrrhon began to clap, then stopped. "Hey! Wait a minute- you? How did you win? You didn"t even perform!" "My bad," Dark Pit shrugged. "Darke has whupped up a new single just for you lackluster pinheads. I call it, "Second is the Best.' Wanna hear it?" He sat down at the piano and began to play. Second is the Best By Darke Mirror of Truth or Pane of Lies... Doesn"t matter, its name is a disguise. Cracked glass and falling feathers, No one knows whether Chorus: First is the worst and Second is the best. Originals are over-rated. I am fading out of obscurity, Can angels put up with scrutiny? I think not! Level-headed, in the game, Pittoo is not my name! I"m dark, sweetheart, a dark dark pit; Careful you don"t fall in the abyss. Chorus x2 Dark Pit finished with a flair, enjoying the stunned looks on everyone"s faces. Pit"s was beet red. "Those were the stupidest lyrics I ever heard," Palutena said, "but your music... beautiful." Everyone else nodded in agreement, except for Pit. "You"re sooo bad!" he shouted. "Right, guys? Right?" "Angels shouldn"t be jealous, Pit," Palutena reprimanded. "I"m not jealous!" Pit exclaimed. "Of course you are," Dark Pit retorted smugly. "Everyone knows that first is the worst and second is the best." "Where"s the me with treasure?" Pit asked. "Um, what?" Viridi frowned. "You know, the third one with the treasure chest!" "I think he"s referring to the rhyme," Magnus clarified. "You know, "First is the worst, second is the best, third is the one with the treasure chest.'" "There is no third you," Palutena said. "My goodness, Pit, just two of you is bad enough." "In my opinion, just one is terrible," Medusa quipped. "Hear, hear," agreed Hades.

"What boyfriend? I"m painfully single." "Would you possibly be interested in-" Matt interrupted and said, "Chris, will you give us a moment alone?" "Sure. I"m actually going to catch a taxi back to the hotel. I have some work that I need to do." "OK. I"ll call you later." Chris got up and left and Matt lowered his voice. "Ashlie, have you ever had an assistant?" "Can"t say I have." "They"re not all they"re cracked up to be." Ashlie laughed and said, "He seems to be ready and willing to do anything for you." "You don"t have to be nice. It"s called ass kissing." "You said it, not me." Matt looked into her eyes and asked, "Why do you want to get into politics?" "It intrigues and challenges me. Plus, I love to argue." "Can I be honest with you?" "Sure." "Don"t take this as mindless flirtation, but you"re too beautiful to be involved with politics. You"ll get eaten alive." "I think I can handle it. I"ve had to prove myself and fight my whole life. I"m tougher than a lot of people give me credit for. Besides, I"m sure you say this to every poor little grad school girl you meet." "Believe what you want to believe, Ashlie. Just be careful." Ashlie got up from the table and said, "I have to be up early for class tomorrow. Thanks for the advice, Mr. Santos." "Don"t call me that." "I"m sorry. Congressman Santos." "Don"t call me that either. I prefer Matt." "OK...Matt." "Can I ask you a question?" "I guess." "How old are you?" "I turn 23 on Saturday." "23. That"s such a great age." "So I hear." "I leave for DC tomorrow night. I have some things to tend to in the morning, but my afternoon is free. Would you maybe want to meet for coffee or drinks tomorrow afternoon?" "Why are you doing this? I"m not stupid, you know." "You don"t have to. I"m not forcing you to do anything, Ashlie. Do you still have my business card?" "Yes. Why?" "Let me have it for a second." Ashlie went into her wallet and pulled out the card. Matt took it and wrote a phone number on the back. "This is my cell number. If you change your mind, call me."Ashlie took the card and put it back in her wallet. "I"m sorry," she said, "That was really rude of me to be so abrasive. I guess that the whole politician stereotype just scares me. I"m already reluctant to so much as talk to men." "And why"s that?" "I"ll tell you tomorrow." They stood up and Ashlie said, "I have to get my things from the back." "I"ll wait outside." "OK." Ashlie quickly hurried to the back, grabbed her work bag, and met Matt at the front entrance of the restaurant. "Did you drive?" Ashlie asked. "No. My car is still at my house...well, if my wife has her way, it won"t be my house much longer. But I came over in a town car earlier. I was just planning on catching a cab." "No, I"ll drive you back. Where are you staying?" "I wouldn"t want to be a burden to you. I have no problem with-" "Matt, where are you staying?" "The St. Regis." "Come on. My car is over there." They walked to Ashlie"s Mini Cooper and Matt laughed. "This has got to be the girliest car I"ve ever seen." Ashlie glared at him and he quickly replied, "But I"m sure it"s a great car." They got in and Ashlie began driving toward the St. Regis. Neither one of them said anything for a bit, and then Ashlie spoke up. "I think you would be a great candidate for President." "Honestly, I wouldn"t mind giving it a try. But with the divorce and everything, I"m starting to rule it out. People don"t really accept bachelors as potential Presidents." "Then you"ll just have to find a suitable wife to be your First Lady before the primaries, I suppose." Matt laughed and replied, "That"s probably very unlikely. But I like your optimism." "Thanks. At least someone appreciates it." "So, what do you plan on doing after you get your Master"s?" "Ultimately, I"d like to move to DC and work on Capitol Hill...doing anything. I"ll even teach if I have to. I just love the vibe of DC." "I consider it more of my home than Houston now. Of course, my kids are here, but DC has been my escape lately. No one ever told me that a divorce could be this hard." "Yeah, they tend to be. My brother just went through one. But he did it because his wife cheated on him. He"s still madly in love with her, so it"s extremely painful for him." "You know what? It"s not even that I"m still in love with Helen. It"s my kids that I"m worried about. Every kid wants to see their parents together, but whenever Helen and I are together, it"s nothing but negative energy. And now she"s desperately trying to prove that I"ve been cheating on her, but I never have. Ever. This whole thing is just taxing. I wish it was overwith and that the kids didn"t have to be in the middle of it all." Ashlie couldn"t believe that this man she had met less than 12 hours before was opening up to her. Matt Santos, nonetheless, she thought to herself. Before they knew it, Ashlie had pulled up in front of the St. Regis. "This hotel is gorgeous. I"ve always wanted to explore it." "Well hopefully you can tomorrow...that is, if you still want to meet up." "I think I can pencil you into my schedule." Matt smiled and said, "Have a good night, Ashlie." "You too. I"ll see you tomorrow." As Matt got out of her car, he waved a final goodbye before he shut the door. Ashlie watched him as he walked into the hotel, completely confused about the entire situation. When she got back to her apartment, she logged onto her computer and went onto a blogging site she frequented often. After contemplating for a few moments, she typed out her innermost thoughts. Presidents have groupies. Vice-Presidents, even. Women would give their right arm to spend a night with a man who holds more power than anyone in the world...and I find it boggling and strange. There are girls I study with who say that they would sleep with President Bartlet...just to say that they did so. President Bartlet! As for me, I"ve always stood behind the underdog. The ones who don"t spend much time in the spotlight...which is why I"ve always taken such an interest in members of Congress and the Senate. I"ve always liked Matt Santos. Even before I moved to Houston to finish out my degree, I was a huge fan of his. I admire his unwavering stance on certain issues, and his fight for the Patients" Bill of Rights. A lot of people dismiss him as just another handsome face in the crowd, but I consider him the Kennedy of our generation. And tonight, I gave him a ride to the hotel he"s staying in. I"m still in utter disbelief over this fact, the fact that today I met this man whom I look up to so much. I hate to sound like a teenybopper, but he"s even more handsome in person than he is...than he is whenever I catch him on CSPAN or MSNBC. He"s very intelligent, witty...and there are so many other adjectives I can write, but my mind is a warbled mess right now. Matt is just fascinating. Someone I could talk to about everything for hours upon end. It"s too bad that there are no men my age like him. Wow...here I am rambling about a man I met just today. Well, not just any man...Matt Santos. Former mayor of Houston...Congressman...the rumored favorite to possibly run for President in "06. A man whose cell phone number rests comfortably in my wallet. It"s up to me. Should I call him and set up our...well, I wouldn"t call it a date...let"s just say a friendly afternoon of drinks and discussion? Or is this a passing thing? Will he even remember poor little Ashlie Anderson tomorrow? I"m probably just another fish in his ocean. Ashlie read over the entry, made sure it was a private one, and posted it so that only she could go back and read it. Then she got ready for bed. Meanwhile, Matt sat at a bar in the hotel with Chris. "I"m thinking about going back to Sambuca tomorrow to find that girl." "What girl?" Matt asked. "The one who was our server tonight- Ansley, right?" "Ashlie. Her name was Ashlie." "Wow, you certainly paid attention." "So why are you going back to find her? We"re leaving tomorrow." "I want to at least get her number...so that I can get in touch with her the next time we"re here." Matt contemplated for a moment and then said, "She has a boyfriend. She was just playing around with you." Chris looked incredibly disappointed. "Oh. Then why didn"t she say so? She didn"t have to lie." "Chris, she"s gorgeous. Did you honestly think she was single?" "A guy can have hope. Do you want another vodka tonic? It"s on me." "No, I"m exhausted. I probably won"t see you until tomorrow night. Helen and I are meeting with the lawyer all of tomorrow morning and my afternoon is packed." "OK. I"ll be in touch. Goodnight, Matt." "Goodnight." As Matt made his way up to his room, he thought about what he just did. Why did I lie to Chris about Ashlie? Ashlie would be more likely to be interested in him anyway. When he got to his room, he tried to think of everything else possible that he could- but no matter what he did, he saw Ashlie"s face. I just need to forget it. It"s just a side effect of the divorce. I haven"t been single in almost 15 years and Ashlie just happens to an attractive woman. I"ll call Chris in the morning and tell him the truth. Or would he? :AUTHOR"S NOTE: I realize that in the last chapter, I said that Ashlie is turning 23. She"s actually turning 22 instead. Thanks for reading: The streets were exceptionally quiet, which was rare for a Wednesday afternoon in downtown Houston- the clicking of Ashlie"s heeled boots was the loudest sound coming from any direction. She walked into the lobby of the St. Regis and looked around. "The Remington Bar," she murmured to herself, "He said to meet him at the Remington Bar." Ashlie wondered if she would regret calling Matt earlier in the day. After taking a deep breath, she walked towards the bar. A cocktail server stopped her as soon as she came in. "Excuse me, but by any chance is your name Ashlie Anderson?" "Um..yes, that"s me." "Congressman Santos is in the private area in the back. He told me to direct you that way when you came in." "OK. Thanks." Ashlie walked in the direction where the server had pointed her and approached Matt. "Congressman?" He looked up from the newspaper he was reading and smiled. "I didn"t think you would show up." "And why"s that?" "Because you sounded a little apprehensive on the phone." "I never go back on my promises." "Well, have a seat." Ashlie took off her coat and sat next to Matt. "Do you want a drink?" he asked. "Sure." Matt beckoned for the cocktail server to come over. "What can I get you?" she asked. Ashlie said, "A cosmo, please." "May I see your ID?" Ashlie fished her driver"s license out of her wallet and gave it to the server. She handed it back and asked, "Congressman, would you like anything else right now?" "No, I"m good." As the server walked away, Ashlie said, "I hate being carded." "I would take it as a compliment." "Can I ask you a question?" "Hmm...sure- as long as I can ask you one in return." "Fair enough. How old are you?" Matt replied, "41." "Wow. You"re a very handsome 41." "Thanks. OK...so now do I want to ask the elusive Ashlie?" "What makes you think I"m elusive?" "I can just tell. You probably drive men nuts." "Only certain ones. I try not to." "OK, I"ve got a question for you. Where do you see yourself in five years?" "Well...in five years, I definitely want to be a mom. And I want to be married to a decent and respectable man who treats me like gold. And as for my career, hopefully I"ll be doing something I truly love." The server brought Ashlie her drink and set it on the table. Matt asked, "Are you sure you"re 21?" Ashlie took a sip of her drink and replied, "Last time I checked. Why?" "Most women your age have no idea what they want in life. Wait a second...you"re six months away from your Master"s. How is that possible?" "I skipped most of high school. I got my Bachelor"s degree when I was 18." Matt laughed and said, "18? That"s incredible. That"s when most kids graduate from high school. Wow." "I guess. Damn, this is a good cosmo." "I take it you don"t drink often?" "Oh believe me, I do. I"m just used to going to hole in the wall places with my best friend. $2 margaritas and 50 cent drafts. In fact, the reason why I was late yesterday was because I was hung over and I overslept." "Ah, so the whiz kid is really a party girl at heart." "There"s a lot of layers to me...it"s just up to certain people to unearth them." Matt watched as Ashlie finished her drink. He didn"t want too admit it, but he was transfixed by her- even though he barely knew her. She was the ideal of what any man would want- intelligence, wit, and beauty. He moved a little bit closer to her and asked, "So, are you a natural born Texan?" "No way. I"ve only been here for three years. I was born and raised in New Hampshire- right outside of Nashua. It"s where they do the New Hampshire presidential primaries. I"ll never forget when President Bartlet came to my high school. It made my life." "So what made you interested in politics?" "I had a fabulous government teacher in high school. He really changed my academic life. And my dad is city commissioner of my hometown...so I"ve been interested in politics for as long as I can remember." The conversation bounced from topic to topic for almost two hours. Matt and Ashlie talked like they had known each other for years. Finally, Matt realized what time it was and had to leave. "I"d love to stay here, but my flight leaves in three hours and I haven"t packed yet. Plus, I want to see my kids before I go." "What are their names?" "Peter and Miranda." "It sounds like you love them to death." "I do. Very much so." Ashlie desperately wanted to ask him what the root of his divorce was, but she kept to herself. "Yeah, I should get going to. I have a lot of homework that I need to take care of." "I"ll walk you to your car." Matt helped Ashlie put her coat on and they left the hotel. Ashlie said, "I bet it"s freezing in DC, huh?" "Yeah, it"s getting there. But you"re a New Hampshire girl- you"ll hold your own if you ever move there." Suddenly, a little boy and girl ran up to Matt and almost tackled him. "Hey!" he said, "What are you guys doing here?" "We came to see you before you left, Daddy." Ashlie felt completely awkward as Helen walked up behind the kids. She glared suspiciously at Ashlie and then talked to Matt. "We thought we"d come here and save you the trip." "Well, I"m glad you did." Helen extended her hand to Ashlie and said, "I believe we haven"t met. I"m Helen Santos." "Hi. I"m Ashlie." Matt said, "Take the kids inside the lobby- it"s warmer in there. I"ll be just a minute." Helen put her arms around the kids and said, "Nice meeting you, Ashlie." "Same here." After they went inside, Matt let out a weary sigh. "Sorry about that," he said. "It"s OK. You go ahead and go in. My car"s not too far away." "You"re not upset, are you?" "Why would I be?" "I don"t know. You seem bothered." "Matt, why would I be upset? I"ve known you for a day. I"m gonna go now....I don"t want your wife to think I"m the reason you"re getting divorced." Ashlie started to walk away, but Matt stopped her. "Don"t leave like this. I know we just met yesterday, but...but I want to see you again. I"ll be back after Thanksgiving...maybe even before then. I"d like to take you to dinner." Ashlie said, "Can I see your cell phone for a moment?" Matt reached in his pocket and handed it to her. She typed in her number and saved it as "Ash." "Give me a call tomorrow to let me know you made it back safe to DC." "I will. Don"t let any other divorced politicians take you out for drinks." "I"ll try not to." Matt gave Ashlie a hug and kissed her cheek. "Bye, Ashlie." "Matt." He watched as she walked to her car and drove off. As Peter and Miranda watched TV in another part of the room, Matt packed his suitcase as Helen talked to him. "Why didn"t you just stay at the house, Matt? I thought we were past all of this pettiness." "I just needed to be on my own." "It"s because of that girl, isn"t it?" "What girl?" "The one you were walking with earlier. Ashlie, right? I"m amazed by you, Matt. We"re not even officially divorced yet and you"re already on dates with younger women." "It wasn"t a date, Helen. She"s a grad student at the university and we were just discussing politics..and Bartlet"s re-election." "I"m sure you were. How old is she? 19? 20?" "Why are we having this discussion? I don"t want to talk about this with you. It"s my private life." "I know it"s your private life, but we"re still married. What if one of my friends saw you out with her?" "Since when have I cared about other peoples" opinions, Helen?" "You"re a public figure. People are going to talk if they see you...a handsome politician in the midst of a divorce with a barely legal girl? I bet that"ll get you some votes next term." Matt stood up and moved his suitcases into the other room. "Chris is going to be here any minute. I need to get going." He said goodbye to Peter and Miranda and as he was doing so, his cell phone rang. "Hello? OK, I"ll be down in just a minute." Matt approached Helen and said, "That was Chris. I...I should be back in town sometime at the end of next week." Helen was still bitter with jealousy from seeing Matt with Ashlie. She silently went in the other room and left with the kids. Matt gathered his luggage and met Chris downstairs. Chris said, "I tried calling you earlier, but your cell was off all afternoon. Were there meetings that I didn"t know about?" "No. I was, um, having drinks with a friend of mine." "Oh. Hey, I was thinking about maybe stopping by Sambuca later in the week to see that girl...Ashlie. Do you think I should or is it pointless?" "She doesn"t seem like she"s interested in dating anyone- school is her focus. Besides, she"s young." "You"re right. So anyway, you were invited to Bartlet Inauguration Ball in January. The invitation came today. Do you think you"ll want to go?" "I"ll think about it." "You have a week to decide." "Yeah, yeah. I know." Matt didn"t want to admit it- especially to himself, but he couldn"t stop thinking about his afternoon with Ashlie. He thought to himself, Ashlie probably has a lot of men after her anyway. She would only be interested in someone her own age- why would she ever show interest in me? I"m almost twice her age and I have kids...she wouldn"t want baggage like that. present day... "...and I automatically assumed that she would never want anything to do with me." As Matt finished talking, Ashlie zoned in and out of reality. I"m sitting across from Stone Phillips, being interviewed on Dateline with my husband. My husband who might become President of the United States. President. Of the United States. She was jolted out of her inner thoughts when Matt shook her hand. "Did you hear the question?" he asked. "No, I"m sorry. I have a lot on my mind." The director stopped and said, "We can take a break and pick up in ten minutes. Stone has to shoot a quick promo for the Nightly News, anyway." "OK. Thanks." Matt and Ashlie got up and went back to the green room with Josh and Lou. Lou said, "If you guys keep taking breaks, you"ll both miss your flights later." "I"m sorry," Ashlie said, "I was just a little...overwhelmed by everything. It"s been a while since I really thought about the beginning of our relationship and everything else." "Can you two give us a few minutes?" Matt asked. Josh replied, "Sure. We"ll be outside." "Thanks." Matt opened the door for Lou and Josh and then closed it behind them. "This is not the Ashlie Chantel Anderson-Santos that I fell so hard for. I have never known you to be silent and not focused. What"s going on in that mind of yours?" "I don"t know. I guess I"ve never really sat down and processed all of this. It"s been such a whirlwind with the different cities and people along the campaign trail...you might be used to this, being a politician and all, but me...in the three years I"ve known you, I"ve transformed from a struggling student to a candidate"s wife. It"s unreal...and I love every moment of it. And I"m so proud of you...I don"t know why I"m deciding to let this all out now, but..." Matt pulled Ashlie into his arms and embraced her, kissing the top of her head. "You know that you can talk to me anytime you want to, sweetheart." "I know, but lately it"s been so hard because you"ve got your own agenda and I have mine. It"s selfish of me to burden you with my problems in the midst of the most important and crucial time of your career." "Let me ask you something...about two and a half years ago, we spent the Fourth of July in Cape Cod...it was some random special occasion. Remember what it was?" "Of course I do. It was only our wedding." "OK. I promised in front of all those people, and in front of God, that I would always be there for you. No matter what. Ashlie, I would give up this whole campaign if you asked me to. So please don"t think that I can"t and won"t make time for you. You"re my wife. Screw everyone else." "Don"t say that too loud. Lou and Josh might hear you and have their feelings hurt." "They"ll recover. Now let"s go back out there and rock that interview." "OK." Matt held Ashlie"s face in his hands and delicately kissed her three times on the lips. "I love you, kid." "And I love you more." They left the green room, where a P.A. was waiting to escort them back to the set. After they got settled in, Stone Phillips joined them.

"What"s two?" The tone in Morgan"s voice changed as he said, "They win." Alicia"s stomach dropped and she sat on the couch besides Merrill. She reached for his hand, but he didn"t respond. "What do you think about the idea that they don"t like places near water, and we might be safe from them near a lake or something?" Morgan replied, "Sounds made up" Alicia looked at him and said, "I don"t care what your stupid book says. That sounds good to me." "Don"t call my book stupid." Graham said, We can choose to believe it and pack up and leave. Or we can stay here. Board up this house. Hide inside our home and wait it out. Either way, at least we"ll be together. All those in favor of the lake, raise your hand." Alicia and Graham raised their hands. "All those in favor of home, raise your hand." Bo, Merrill, and Morgan raised their hands. Graham said, "It"s a tie- I count as two parents." "Bullshit!" exclaimed Morgan. Alicia reached in her pocket and pulled out a nickel. She looked Morgan dead in the eye. "Heads or tails?" "Tails." She flipped it and it landed on tails. "Looks like we"re staying home." Graham silently sat on the couch by Bo. "We need to board up every window and door in this house." Alicia closed her eyes and said a silent prayer. "God, please protect us and give us strength to make it through this.' Merrill stood up and went to get boards. Alicia moved next to Bo and stroked her hair. "Aunt Ali, I"m scared." "It"s OK to be scared. I am too, baby. I am too." Chapter 7 * * * * * * * * * * Alicia stood behind Merrill and Graham as they boarded up the windows. "Can I help?" she asked. "No," Graham said, "but you and Merrill need to get whatever you need out of the garage house- in case they get in there." Alicia looked at Merrill, who said, "You heard him. Let"s go." They left the house and Alicia grasped Merrill"s hand tightly as they quickly walked across the backyard. "Merrill?" "Yeah?" "I"m sorry." He didn"t say anything as he let go of her hand and went up the stairs in front of her. She followed behind and as they packed their things, no words were exchanged. Alicia finished before Merrill did, so she waited for him outside and lit a cigarette. He came out a few minutes later and she handed him the cigarette. "Wanna finish this for me?" He took it from her, took two drags, and then threw it on the ground. "Come on, Ali. We don"t have all day." Alicia was becoming angrier each time that Merrill spoke to her. She tried her best to keep up with him as they walked across the backyard, but he purposely walked in front of her. Finally, she caught up with him and grabbed his arm. "OK, I get it!" she said, "You"re pissed because the marriage thing didn"t work out today. And I don"t know if you"ve been awake lately, but the world could very well end in the next 24 hours. Have you processed that yet? THE WORLD COULD BE ENDING! I don"t need a ring or a legal document to know in my heart that I love you! And if this could be my last hours here on Earth, I want to spend them with you- married or not married." Alicia left him standing there as she went into the house. He looked down on the ground and saw one of Morgan"s baseballs lying there. He picked it up, extended his arm back, and threw it at far as he could into the corn. "End of the world my ass,' he thought to himself as he picked up his things and went into the house. "Uncle Merrill, come here!" Morgan yelled, "We"re in the closet!" Merrill put his things down in the kitchen and went to the closet, where Alicia, Morgan, and Bo were watching the TV. Morgan and Bo were sharing the chair, while Alicia was sitting on the floor next to them. Graham appeared at the door as well and they all listened to the TV. "Tel Aviv joins Nairobi, Lagos and Jerusalem as the latest to confirm the appearance of lights. There are lights in the skies over an estimated two hundred and seventy four cities. That total could be as high as four hundred within the hour." Alicia covered her mouth with her hand and gasped, "Oh my God. They"re everywhere." Bo climbed off of the chair and curled into a ball in Alicia"s lap. Morgan said, "They think these look like stages immediately proceeding an attack maneuver." Merrill replied, "It"s like War of the Worlds." "They think it might happen all at once." The news anchor on TV said, "Hundreds of thousands have flocked to synagogues, churches and temples. Ground forces are being assembled in countries throughout the globe.." Graham said, "I"m going to get back to the windows." Merrill, Alicia, Bo, and Morgan stayed in the closet. Merrill kneeled behind the kids. "Are you guys OK?" "Some guy had a sign that said it was the end of the world. Nothing really bad is going to happen, is it Uncle Merrill?" "Don"t worry." Under his breath, Morgan mumbled, "I wish that you were our dad instead." Alicia replied, "Morgan." Merrill stared at him and asked, "What did you say?" Morgan didn"t reply. "I don"t want to ever, ever hear you say that again. Ever. You understand?" He nodded his head, but it was obvious that he didn"t mean it. Merrill left and helped Graham board the windows, while Alicia watched TV with the kids. About 45 minutes or so later, Graham appeared at the closet door. "Everyone come in the family room, please." Alicia turned off the TV and left the closet with the kids. Everyone was too scared to even sit. "We"ll have to board up the bedroom doors," Graham said. Morgan asked, "Where are we going to sleep?" "In here." "What about Isabelle?" "We"ll keep her in the garage, after dinner." Merrill said, "I"ll make sandwiches." Bo tugged at his leg. "I want spaghetti." "We should eat fast, Bo." Graham counteracted his brother"s decision. "Spaghetti sounds great. What do you want, Morgan?" Morgan paused for a moment and then asked, "Anything?" Graham nodded. "French toast... and mashed potatoes." "Now we"re talking. How about you, Merrill?" Merrill looked at Alicia, and then at Graham. "Chicken teriyaki." "Alicia?" "A bowl of Rice Krispies with sugar- with french fries on the side." "Good choice..I"m going to have a cheeseburger with bacon. Extra bacon." They all helped with dinner, and then sat down at the table to eat. However, reality hit them when they realized they couldn"t avoid their fear- the windows of the dining room where boarded up. The food sat untouched in the middle of the table. Everyone was too scared to eat. "What"s the matter with everyone?" Graham asked, "Eat." A few moments of awkward silence passed before Morgan said, "I"m scared." "Me too," replied Bo. "Me three," Alicia added. Graham shot her an evil look, as if she were adding fuel to the fire. "Alicia, you"re supposed to comfort the kids, not scare them more." "I can"t help but be scared, Graham. Sorry if it offends you." Merrill added, "Sorry seems to be your key word today." "What"s that supposed to mean?" "You can"t fix everything with that one little word." "Wait! Where did this come from? All I said was that I was scared, and both of you go off on me? This is ridiculous." "No, I think you"re the one being ridiculous." "You know what I think, Merrill? I think that you can be the most selfish son of a bitch I know when you want to." "Good, I"m glad you think that, because you know what? Sometimes you can be a stuck-up brat. You think that you"re the only one who suffered a loss because of the accident." Alicia lost all of her composure. She didn"t care about the kids or Graham being there, and she struck Merrill across the face with the palm of her hand. "How dare you say that? You weren"t even there when it happened- you were out of town, remember? I"m going to take the accident hard for the rest of my life! My older sister, my pillar of strenght, pushed me out of the way when she saw that truck coming. I heard her hip bone shatter when the truck hit her. I felt the baby stop moving and kicking as I was on the ground bleeding. Not only did I lose my sister, but I lost my daughter as well- so sorry if I can"t get over it fast enough for you, Merrill!" Merrill felt as if all the blood had been drained from his body. He had never wanted to learn the sex of their baby, out of grief and sorrow. "We..we..were going to have a daughter? A little girl?" Alicia attempted to get up and leave the room. Merrill grabbed her arm and said, "Where are you going? You can"t go anywhere!" Morgan said, "Uncle Merrill, you"re hurting her!" "Stay out of this, Morgan!" Bo was crying and whimpering. "Stop crying!" Graham exclaimed. "Don"t yell at her!" Morgan snapped back. "Fine, if you all don"t want to eat, then I"m going to have some of everything." Graham began putting a pile of each dish on his plate. Alicia had left the room and was sitting in the family room, on the couch. Everything suddenly came down on her. The threat of the attack, thinking about the accident, and the fight with Merrill got the best of her, and she broke down crying. It was almost as bad, if not worse, than when she had become upset earlier at the sight of the accident. Merrill heard her and came into the room. He sat beside her as she cried, but she flinched and pushed him away. "Stay away from me," she sobbed, "I hate you." "You don"t mean that." "I mean the same way I used to say I loved you." This hurt Merrill more than words could say. He bit his lip to avoid from crying as he talked. "I"m so sorry," he whispered as he looked into her eyes, "for everything. I"m sorry for not being there the night of the accident. I"m sorry for not playing to the best of my abilities in the minor leagues. I"m sorry for not trying to understand you. And I"m sorry for not giving you the life you deserve." By the time he said "deserve,' he was uncontrollably crying. They embraced and sobbed so hard that it was hard for them to catch their breath. They rocked each other back and forth, apologizing over and over again. It was the first time they had ever let out pent-up emotions together. Finally, they let each other go and Merrill gave Alicia a kiss. "I love you..and I know that you love me. So no matter how mad you ever get at me, I want you to promise me that you"ll never, ever, use the word hate again like you did a minute ago." "I won"t..I love you too, Merrill." He took her in his arms again and said, "It"s OK to be scared. Don"t tell Graham or the kids, but I am too. I.." They could hear the static coming from the baby monitor in the other room. They got up and went into the dining room immediately. Graham, who was already up, walked past them and went to the closet. He turned on the TV, only to be met with an emergency broadcast symbol. He looked at his family with a slight glimpse of fear in his eyes. "It"s happening," he whispered. Chapter 8 Alicia was so terrified, she felt like she was either going to pass out or vomit. "Do you think they have weapons?" she asked Morgan. "No. Like I said, they"ll probably use hand-to-hand combat..or they"ll read our minds." "We forgot our hats," Bo said. Alicia asked, "What hats?" "So that the aliens can"t read our minds." Alicia took deep breath after deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Merrill looked back at her for a second while he and Graham boarded up the windows. "You OK?" he asked her. Alicia shook her head no and gave him a half-hearted smile. Morgan and Bo stood on both sides of Alicia, and she had her arms draped around them. Graham looked at them and then started talking as he hammered. "Did I ever tell you what everyone said when you were born, Bo?" Bo shook her head. "You came out of your mama and you didn"t even cry. You just opened your eyes and looked around at everybody. Your eyes were so big and gorgeous, the ladies in the room gasped. They literally gasped. Then they go, "She"s like an angel.' They said, "We"ve never seen a baby so beautiful.'" Graham stopped hammering and picked up Bo, while Merrill kept working. "And you know what else happened? When they put you on the table to clean you up, you looked at me and smiled. They say babies that young can"t smile..you smiled." Alicia and Merrill looked at each other, wishing that they could"ve experienced that moment with the daughter they never even got to hold. "Let"s go down now," Graham said. They headed down the stairs and stood in the hallway by the front door. The sound of a dog frantically barking filled the air. "We forgot about Isabelle," Alicia said. The barking became more frenzied, and then it stopped. The only thing audible in the air was the emergency broadcast noise. Merrill took Alicia by her waist and pulled her into his arms, wrapping them completely around her shaking body. "Should we turn off the lights?" he asked. "They already know we"re here," Graham replied. Suddenly, they heard something walking on the front porch in heavy steps. Alicia closed her eyes and began saying the Lord"s Prayer to herself. She held on to Merrill for dear life. There was scratching and creaking at the front door. Morgan looked at Graham with watery eyes. "Dad.." "Do you know what happened when you were born, Morgan? You came out and your mama kept bleeding. The doctors rushed you out of the room before I could even see you." There was a loud thump above them, and all five of them looked up. "They"re on the roof," Merrill said. Alicia couldn"t even concentrate on listening to Graham. She looked up at Merrill, who looked at her. He kissed her forehead. Then they heard glass shatter. "They"re in the house." Noises came from everywhere upstairs and then Merrill came to a realization that made his heart stop. "The attic door." Graham looked at Alicia and said, "Stay with the kids." He and Merrill sprinted up the stairs and Alicia took Morgan and Bo in her arms. "We"ll be fine," Alicia said, "We"ll get through this." She was saying it more for herself than for the kids. Time seemed to melt into an eternity as Alicia listened to Merrill and Graham struggle to keep the invaders from coming in. "Look," Morgan said, pointing to the door. A set of long fingers were reaching underneath the front door, and were the same color as the hardwood. "MERRILL!! GRAHAM!!" she screamed. They ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. They put the furniture against the doors; anything to keep from them from coming in. "This is going to do nothing," said Merrill. Graham replied, "We have to go to the basement." "There"s no way out of there. Should we make a run for it out the back door?" "They"re right outside the door." Suddenly, they heard creaking coming from the attic trapdoor. "They"re coming," Merrill whispered. "Into the basement," Graham said, "now." They filed into the basement and stood in the center of the room. "We need something to wedge against the doorknob," Graham said as he got to the bottom step. Merrill frantically looked through the various items on the shelves, trying to find anything that would stop them from coming in. "They"ll read our minds without our helmets!" Morgan cried. "You"re scaring your sister," Graham said. "I"m already scared," Bo replied, clinging to Alicia"s leg. Graham"s eyes were widening with fear as he said, "Merrill.." "I"m looking." Morgan put his arm around Alicia and whispered, "They"ll know our secret thoughts.." "Merrill!" "Got it!" Merrill found a digging pick on a top shelf and grabbed it. As he swung it off the shelf, it clipped the lightbulb, which shattered and left the room in complete darkness. Alicia cried out, "Merrill, where are you?" "Over here!" In the process of walking to find Merrill, Alicia lost her flip-flop because Morgan had been standing on the front of it. Before she knew it, she felt a numbing but sharp pain on the sole of her right foot. "Shit!" she cried. "What is it?" "I sliced my foot on the glass." "Don"t move!" Graham yelled, "Merrill, help me with the door!" Morgan turned the flashlight on and pointed it at Alicia"s foot. There was a deep, vertical slit that was oozing a profuse amount of blood. "Uncle Merrill, she"s bleeding really bad." Merrill and Graham were busy holding the door, with the aide of the pick. Whatever was behind the door was pulling and tugging at the doorknob. Finally, it lessened. Merrill ran to Morgan. "Give me this flashlight and go find another one." He took the flashlight and dashed to Alicia. "Let me see your foot, baby." Alicia hopped to a corner of the garage and sat down with Merrill. She showed him and he sighed heavily. "Damn it. That"s gonna need stitches- and we"re not getting out of here anytime soon." Graham said, "There are towels over here. Wrap her foot in them..at least it"ll suppress the bleeding." He tossed Merrill the towels, who wrapped Alicia"s foot in them. Then he looked at her and tried to calm her down with a little humor. "I told you not to wear those stupid shoes all the time. Anything you wear on your feet that"s less than $10 is inexcusable." She let out a small laugh, which was a relief to her. Merrill put the flashlight on its end so it was facing up, and put his arm around Alicia. "What"s happening out there?" he asked. Graham replied, "I can"t even imagine." A loud banging noise startled everyone. Merrill and Morgan aimed their flashlights at the door. It was shaking and the doorknob was rattling. "They"re just making noises," said Graham, "They"re not trying to get in." "Why are they doing that?" asked Alicia. "They"re distracting us." "From what?" Morgan added, "The book said they"re probably very good problem solvers." "Morgan, if I hear one more thing about that book.." Graham extended his hand and said, "Morgan, give me your flashlight." Morgan obeyed his father and handed it to him. "Is there an air vent in here?" Merrill stood up and helped Graham investigate. "I feel air." "So do I." "It"s getting stronger over here." "I"m close." Their flashlights met in the same place- where Morgan was leaning against, an air vent. "What?" asked Morgan. Alicia saw the fingers before Graham and Merrill did. She scrambled toward him and screamed, "MORGAN!!" During the next 60 seconds, it was a frenzy of screams and panic as they freed Morgan from the creature"s grip. Alicia grabbed a flashlight and aimed it at the vent. She saw Merrill, who had piled about three 25-pound bags of dog food against the vent. He slid down out of exhaustion and rested against the bags. A can of soup rolled near his feet, and he placed it on top just for reassurance. Alicia"s foot was stinging and throbbing unbearably, but she limped over to his side and he put his arm around her. "Are you OK, baby?" "Yeah. Bo, where are you, sweetie?" Bo ran over to the couple and sat in Merrill"s lap. She had the other flashlight in her hand and aimed it across the room. The light revealed a discolored and suffocating Morgan, who was gasping for air as he rested on Graham"s legs and chest. "We don"t have his medicine," Graham said. Alicia, Merrill, and Bo huddled together as they watched in horror. "Don"t be scared, Morgan. We"ll slow it down together. Feel my chest. Feel it going in and out. Breathe like me. Breathe like me. Stay with me. Stay with me. I know it hurts. Be strong, baby... It"ll pass." Graham then closed his eyes and talked his thoughts out loud. "Don"t do this to me again. Not again." He looked at Merrill and Alicia helplessly. Then he closed his eyes again and his face turned hard. "I hate you..I hate you." Those words cut at Alicia"s heart like a knife. This was the same man who had help bring her closer to God..saying that he hated his own creator. She closed her eyes as tears seeped through her eyelids. She felt a drop of warm liquid on her shoulder and looked above her shoulder. Tears were slowly running down Merrill"s face as well. His eyes were closed and he was saying something to himself. Suddenly, Morgan started to breathe easier. "There we go... We don"t have to be scared at all... We know it"ll pass. We believe it... Don"t be afraid, Morgan. Feel my chest... Breathe with me. Together... The air is going in our lungs... Together... We"re the same. We"re the same." About five minutes of silence passed, and then Merrill spoke. "We should save the flashlights." Graham nodded, and with that, the flashlights went off. * * * * * * * * Both Merrill and Alicia couldn"t sleep. Bo drifted off first, and they picked her up and placed her on a blanket. Then they curled up together in front of the dog food bags. "How"s your foot?" he whispered. "It hurts like hell..and it"s still bleeding a little." Merrill traced Alicia"s lips with his fingers. "Why are you doing that?" asked Alicia. "So I know where to kiss you." Alicia suddenly felt the inviting sensation of Merrill"s lips on hers. They kissed until their lips were swollen. Then Merrill ran his fingers along her neck and the top of her chest. "We made it through the worst part," he said, "Now we just have to wait it out until morning..or until we get signal on the radio over there." "I really thought..I really thought that Morgan was going to die." "I didn"t. I had faith that he wouldn"t." "I wish your brother would think the same." "Don"t even joke about that. I can"t believe those words came out of his mouth." "You know what? Let"s not think about anything that happened tonight. The non-wedding, the fight.." "You smacking the hell out of me. I had no clue you were capable of hitting that hard." "I was pissed." "I know. But like you said, let"s forget about everything that happened

"RUN PROFESSOR" john said as he run out of the train car. "GEEEET HIM!" the conductor yelled. john and the professor got into the front of the fucking train. "john...i have to tell you something" the professor said. "whant is that prof?" john marston said. "i have never smoked before." the prof said. he was sad and strarted to cry. "oh yeah? want to now? john said? "yes i like mairjaioiana" the prof said. john took a lot of weed and put it intoi the train where the fire and shit goes and shoved the professors head in there too. he got so high. but it was too late. the conductor made it to the train. "ITS THE END OF THE FUCKING LINE FOR YOU JOHN MARSTON YOU BITCH ASS!" the counductor said. he was mad. "JOHN MY HEAD IS STUCK IN THE TRAIN" professor said. he was crying again but he was also high. john masrson flipped off the conductor and shot him. he took a dynamito stick and threw it at the other people they died. he took the steering wheel of hte train and drove off the tracks back on to the road. "JOHN MY HEAD IS STUCK IN THE TRAIN" professor said. he was crying again but he was also high. "HAHAHA YOU TRAINHEAD BITCH" john said as he kicked the professor"s ass with his boot. he kicked him again just for fun. and again but that was too many times because now the professor was stuck inside the train! "" the professor screamed as flames engulfed him and john laughed. "how are you going to do crack now, you fag?" john said. he threw a grenade into the train and destroyed whatever was left of the prof. he finally made it to mexico. the parking was really bad though, john parked the train in the parking lot next to a lot of donkeys and shit. liertal shit because it was mexico and it smelled really bad. john went into the bar. he shot a nearby donkey and it pissed off the mexicans. "HEY ASSHOLES, I WANT A FUCKING TACO" john said. "you shouldn"t say that homes.' Landon Ricketts said. "sup landon" john marston said. he hugged lando cuz he was cool. "what"s kicking my man?" Landon Rixetx said. "not much bro, i killed a bunch of gay people on the train and drove it here because i want a fucking taco or burrito.' john amrston said. "yeah?" "yeah." "cool" "but you gotta watch it arounjd these people. tacos are sacred to them. there is a taco mine out side of town, let"s go." landon rickets said. "ok!" john marston said as he smiled big! they went outside and john whistled and his ferrari came to him like his horse does in the fucking video game if you whistle. "HOW THE FUCK YOU GET THAT SHIT? lando said, he was confused and interested and a little aroused. he had visible wood. "well it"s a long fucking story." john said ===========================================FLASHBACK===================================== john marston was wallking a lot in the desert. he had been there for week without food or water or anything. "UUUUUHHHHH FUCK" john marshmstoon staid. he looked in a cave and found... A FUCKIN CAR "OH YEAH" Jon Marson said. he got in the car and crashed into a cave rock thing. shit.' john marston says. then the cave started to rumble. "OH YEAH" the kool aid man said as he burst through the wall. "what the fuck are you doing here" jom marston said. "you stole my fucking catchprhase so im gonna kick your ass you white trahs mother fucker" the kool aid man said. he was mad. "fuck you, cool aid is crap!" john marston said as he went into dead i mode and shot the kool aid man. the cool aid man was bleeding kool aid all over the floor " """" "AHAHAHAHAHA" JOGHN MARSTON laughed. john then drank what was left of the kool aid man. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the kool aid man screamed as john marston drank what was his life essence. there was no way he"d make it into the afterlife now. his soul was the kool aide. "yum, i fucking love kool aide" john marston said. he got into his ferrari and drove out to thee dessert. "WOW! THAT"S COOL" landon ricket said. then they falled into the ground and were surrouned by taco meat. Chapter 2 John Marston the Fucking Man a/n: Fuck off haters. And fuck jessica. bitch John marston was trapped 400 feet below ground in the mexian dessert and taco meat was about to comsome him. Lando and John were surrounded by taco meat. "where the fuck did all this tacko meat come frum?" john said. he was really scared and crying. "IDFK!" landon said. he was sad and scared too. john started shooting at the taco Meat with his gun. it did not a thing. John started to whip the taco meat with his Lasso. "WAH-ROOOO" the taco meat cried. it backed off a bit. "it"s workin jon!" landon said as tears strreamed down his old ass fucking face. "YEAH"! jhon said as he kept whipping the taco meat like he was indiana jones. but this Only made the taco meat more mad! more taco meat flooded into the mine shaft and started to drown landon and john! "glub glub ga blug" john and landon said as they drowned. THEN a miracled happened. "ey mayne, there"s tacos down here" desantoo said. "wait" jon said. "this is gay." "yeah, you"re right." lando said. They left through a door that said exit as deansanta fell in to the pit and started eating all the taco meet. "That sure was gay john." lander said. He was still sweating "Yeauhp it shur wuz" Jon (A/n: NOT JOHN FROM GARFEILD LOLOLOLOLOL) said like a western cowboy, which he was. "Wanna play some basketball?" "Fux" Which means yes in cowboy western talk, which he spoke. "ho shit bitch" he said twice as he looked up at the sky over amradildo. "whut is it bro?" Lando saidi. "LOOK AT THAT SHIT!" He looked at that shit, and saw the sky over armadildo had turned black and firey. FUcking shit was going down. fire was falling on the entire DED READ REMPTEDITION map. they could tell. "IS THAT A GIANT CRAB MONSTER?" John said. "YES . it is." he said to himself. "SHOOT THAT FUCKER BEFORE IT KILLS US ALLLLLLLL." the giant crab monster, whos name is GARBENOV, began to fucking walk towards them. "USE YOUR REVOLVENER! JOOOHHHNNNN!" Landon said as he was almost crupped by the crab. John whipped out not his dick but his other trusted hot hard weapon. His gun. it was pretty cool "REVOLVERRERERER GROOOO!" He said as he shot a million bullets into the crab"s fucking face. it was dead immediately, but it crushed irishes house. "heheheheh" john and landon said. "now we have a new misterry. who the FUCK put a giant crab in the map of RED DED READEM "I don"t know landon." john said pissed offedly. "but I do know I"m gonna shoot that fucker in the testicles." RED DEAD BUT WITH A GOOD ENDING CHAPTER iii The day the world faded away a/n: i have nothing to say to you mother fuckers. rate and review please! "Man John, who the fuck makes a giant crab monster?" Joh nsmarston said, standing next to a horse"s ass. "it wasn"t made john." lander rickety rickets said. "It was fused." "fused! what the shit are you on, fucking old man! FUCK!" john marston said as he shot the horse. "somebody fused that crab thing with something else...something liek...bigness. I don"t think the fusing will starp here." "shit." then that goverment guy came up behind JOHN MARSTON. "hey fuckface" the governing dude said. "what do you want, you pile of std"s" john siad "it seems to me john that you still Owe me some shit." he said, rolling out a sheet of paper that rolled all the way to fucking mexico or some shit, it was that fucking long. "what the fucking fucking FUCK do I owe you! you made me come to america to kill guys." "and you done did that shit. but I aint done with this bitch. you gotta..." John gasped, cried, and shat his pants at the same time when he heard him say. "go back and finish high school" "" the goverment guy snapped his fingers, and john was back in high school! "what THE fuck?" John said in his desk. he had his geeky clothes again. "langueange, mister marton, don"t fuck with me. i"m the shit around here." the teacher, Mrs. Manly said. she looked like a dude. jerrn loked around the klass. he saw bonnie, his wife, professor, landon, mexican dude desanto or whatever the fuck his name was, jack was there too. "pa, what"re all of yew new guys doing here?" jack said in his fucking shitty FUCKING voice. john mareston stared at his son, got up, and beat the pissing fuck out of him. "don"t fucking dont talk to your father that way" the class cheered. "that shit was pretty tits." john said to .heh "settle down you dumb fucks." mrs. manly said. "open your teckst buks to page 31834758092734985172586 where we will begin learing about fusing" "who! didn"t lander tell me to fucking learn this shit? FUSING?" john thought and said. "shut the fuck up john marston." john tried to listen to mrs. manly talk about fusing, but it was facking borning. "this is gay, I"m gonna go play hooky and play cod, he said, making sure to shoot irish in the dick on his way out. john set up his new XBOX 360 and put in MW3 it was pretty fucking sweet. he lit a joint (which makes playing better) and started playing. the room was so full of smoke he could almsot see the screen on his sick flatscreen set up. "this game is pretty tits." landon and the government guy walked through the door. "jern, I had to make sure you were not skipping and playing hooky, but looky looky what we fooky fooky have here." the goverment said. "john. you were supposed to learn about FUSING. you fuck" landnad said. "hey fuck you guys, I"m having fun.!" he pulled revolvernator out and hsot landon and missed, and then he shot the goverment in the arm. he exploded with darkness. "what the fuck was that shit. "john marston. i think he was a fusing too." landon started crying. "I"m so sorry! i"m gay. i shuld have hulped you and trested YOU!UUU!" "nah it"s cool man." indy said. "shit man, you gotta fucking kill me or something. if that goverment guy was a fusing, who else could be one?" "I aint gonna kill your bitch ass. we gotta find out who the fuck is behind all this. their testicles have a name that"s on one or two of my bulltest." marston said like a badass. "fuck yeh we does." they walked out of the house. "but first you gotta have thanksgiving dinner with your family." "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" chapter 4 of red dead redemption but with a Good Ending the chapter title is John Marston Has Thanksgiving Dinner With His Family John Marston wanted to shoot his whole fucking family, especially the bitch ass son that he hoped his wife cheated on him to make. "hey pop" jack said in his shit voice. "when"s supper?" john backhanded the shit out of him. "don"t fucking say supper in this fucking house you shit." jack ran away crying. in front of john was now the government guy. the other dude with the glasses (I aint give a shit what his name is) with the government guy was there also. "fuck john that"s some pretty shitty shit you"re putting your son through." "fuck off." "hey shithead. if you don"t have dinner right now for thanksgiving with your family and let us film it, you"re still in debt to us." "hey wait just a fucking second weren"t you the guy I shot?" john woke up, and jack was sitting over him. "musta been some fucking dream you had pop. ready for thanksgiving dinner?" "fuck off." but he went to dinner anywas. they had tacos made out of turkey or some western shit. "so john" his bitch wife said. "do you like the fucking food." "no. it sucks." john said. "can I go play xbox?" "hey pop. I read a cool book today." "books are gay son." "this book was about fusing." "SHIT." John said as he crapped himself from surprise, and shot his guns into the ground in surprise as well. "well what the fuck did it say?" "it said fusing was created by a professor." "SHIT. I BETTER FUCKING KILL THE PROFESSOR AGAIN AND IRISH because fuck him." "but it wasn"t the professor pop." "stop fucking calling me pop or I"ll pop you in the face with a shotgun." jhroarn said with a pissed off face. "well it was the fucking dark wizard." "the dark wizard? fuck you jack. this is stupid." john flipped the table over so it and all the food landed on his wife. "dinner is fucking served." John said. "dad I gotta come with you so you can become john marston and stop the fusing." "ok." they got in john"s ferrari and drove away. they went to that purple suit guy with the lotions. he was jacking off with a cactus. "are you the dark wizard?" john said. "zeribity! I am not dear jhon mnarsta." "the fuck you saying." "what did you come here for sere." "I what to know what the fusing is." the dude got this look on his face, like he had to take a dump, which reminded john he needed to change his pants. he took them and his underpants off and threw them on the purple suit guy. "shit now I don"t have pants." john said. "I could sure use a dark wizard to wish for some more pants right now." "Pop i got a confession." john reached for his gun, but he pulled his pants off so he couldn"t grab it. he got his shotgun off his back and reloaded it like cool style. "the fuck did I tell you?" "fuck you john marston. I"m the dark wizard." he blasted john with energy but john just shot him in the fucking face. he missed tho and jack ran away. "shit. is he the dark wizard?" john got back in his ferarri and got some new pants from target. landon was there looking at porn. "hey john did you figure out who"s behind the fusing?" "no but I think my son jack might be involved. want to go find out?" "I think we should go get stoned and play some xbox first." "cool" they got really high and played xbox right in target. the sales dude came up and told them to quit but john kicked his ass and then shot it. "this isn"t going anywhere. we gotta go to the jack and figure out what the hell is going on." they went back to john marston"s house. on the door there was a note written in blood that said "fuck you pop. I stole your wife away and now i"m keeping her in the tower. if you want to find out why the fusing is happening come to the tower on fourth street.' "shit we better go there." they drove the ferrari up a ramp and it jumped it all the way to the tower. Read Ded Reademption Chapter 5 John"s Choice john was flying to the tower on fourth street when his iphone rang. it was jack. "jack you wanna explain why you stole my fucking wife and are a dark wizard?" "I lied pop, it"s the only way I could get you to go to the tower." "that"s some shit, jack. some rough shit." jarn mohnstoarn was about to shoot jack through his phone but then he couldn"t do that because it would break his boss phone and not his son. "how"d you do all that dark negergy shit then. FUCK" John screamed "it was just a trick. You were high as fuck, pop. I wasn"t even doing magic. but you gotta stop the fusing." "alright I guess" he hung up the phone (which had a cool cow pattern shell on it because it"s a western) "who was that?" landon said. they were still flying through the air at the tower. "my son. he was lying about stealing what the fuck is her name." "the bitch?" "yeah" "so what now" landon said as he lit a joint. "I aint know. I guess this tower will have the key to the fusing." "well aint that a fuck shit of damn." he high fived langdron for making cool swears. they landed on top of the tower. it was purple. there was a parking lot on top of it. "shit." "what is it?" the parking lot said it can only hold one person. "well aint that a bitch." "yeah it is" "what should we do?" "hang on I got an idgea." jam said. he activted the ferrari"s SPLIT function and turned it into TWO FERRARIS. "DUDE." landon said as he nearly creamed himself from how badass that was. they climbed thru the security hatch and a fat guy was in there. he had a pink haircut. "hello welcome to the dark tower of fusing." "this is the place where they do the fusing!" landon whispered as he screamed. john shot the pink haired guy. "Fuck him." he said. "Yes." Landon said. they walked into the elevator that had a cow in it, which they shot and made burgers of on the way down ot the basement, where the fusing was being created. it was dark and green glowy shit was everywhere. like thecnology too. "this place is pretty gay." landon said. they heard clapping. all of a sudden the enemy guy was standing in front of them. "who the fuck are you?" john said. "my name...is HAVEEAIR ESKUWAYLA!" "you bitch. I knew it was you." "i wasn"t alone...there is many people who is causing fusing. i"m just the guy who watches over the tower. we are all part of the Fourteen Angry Good Guys On Texas States" "so if I kill this tower, there"s no more fusing?" john said! "no. this is only one. there are many more like this. and 13 other guys like me. and if you destroy me and this tower bad shit goes down for you. you have to make a terrible choice." "but also...you"re part of htis? so I could say you"re behind this?" "FUCK. john don"t you see? if you destroy this tower...you"ll lose your ferrari." "!" John s-creamed (scream and jizzed himself in fear). "so what"ll it be john? kill me and this tower and lose your ferrari or walk away." "this seems tricky!" landon said as he licked his lips furiously. "fuck all, this ain"t hard. I"m hard." john said as he whomped his gun into his hand, and shot haveairs balls off. he shot the glowing fuck an assload of times before running back to hte elevator with landon. he put dynamite at his feet and exploded them to the top of the elevator. they each got in a ferrari and flew back to jarn house to play xbox. then they made fun of jack for his wii. but back at the twoer, that was now destroyed, one last fusing happened at the tower that was now destroyed because haveair activated it before he was dead in the tower that was destroyed. a big fucking mutant fish seal whale lion dragon monster half made of fucking pizza climbed out of the tower that was now destroyed. it had haviars face. red dead but wif good ending chapter 6 "john marstons back bitches" John was playing some titanfall and cod and gta v with his buddy ol pal landon rickety. "jon these gosh dang god damn fucked up bitch as video games are pissing me teh hell off, im from a different time motherfucker." landon said when he lost lol. "that"s just cuz dads a shitty teacher at video games mr landon rickety rickster." john mashtons son jack mars said, "FUCK YOU JACK" john said as he threw a brick at john"s dumbass face. he blocked it because he was such a bitch he already ran out of the house and into town to cry to the wimpazoids at the fair arcade where losers go to fucking suck. "bitch ass." john said. "Kill that bitch john. he aint worth it." landon said. "I would but my wife would have my balls. ho shit speaking of balls theres a motherfucker out there whose testicels i have to shoot." "oh yeh the dudes who are doing the fusing. you still gonna shoot them all in their testicles?" "yes" john said as he shooted a big bong hit into his mouth "well who should we get next" "fuck if i kno. havier said they r all in texas states so like here in texas, mexico, texico, new texas, ok, new mexico, texaco etc" "gotcha" landon siad. "you wanna go now then?" "nah well go when my fucking bitch gets home and bitches at me for not doing chores." "ok" they got high and played sick ass games like watch dogs until johns wife came home, carrying jack like a baby because fuck if i understand women. "aright lets go" john said, shooting the door open before hopping into his ferreri. but there was a problem. there was a big fucking thing in the way! "what the fuck is that shit bitch in my fucking way damn." so John saw the fucking mutant seal whale dragon lion mutant fish half made of fucking of a tower and havier eskwueala. "Ahh boyo this is one fucking shit ass day." Marston said and hoped his loser ass son wouldnt call him ever today because he sucked. John had to destroy the thing which I ugess is one of the 14 towers. but maybe the bad guys were lying about the towers who knows? I sure as fuck dont lol. Just wait and see and you will understand ;) John used his big revolver that shoots rockets and blue up the pizza part, which spreaad over all of armadilpa and so no one was hungry anymore because they had pizza now forever and ever. part landod on landin and he got really hurt. "LANDONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN" john screamed as tears exploded out of his eyeballs. "Im fucking okay john shit I"d think you fucking want to suck my dick or have a romantic dinner with the way your bitching now." landon said as he ate his way out. "oh so you ok?" "yeah I just need some rest. Im gonna go rent a hotel like holiday inn or something and go sleep for a bit. You take out those towers good ya?" "yah home." john gave landon a cool handshake and said catch ya later ay and left landon to leave. then john noticed that the monster dude was really fuckin slow so he just left his wife and son jack to deal with it lol. he found the hotel landon was staying at and was gonna sneaky suprise him at the pool when landon whent for a dip. but someone much scarier showd up. it was fucking bonnie mcfarlan. "john. we need to talk." "wut" "i know where the next tower is, but your not going to like it." "why. fucking why" john was ready to smack her he was so mad that his friend time was getting cut off "its the fat tower john." john marston trembled in his boots so scardedly he fell out of his boots. he fell into the pool and the water came up all around him and every thing began to go dark

"Do you have an understanding of your life? Does not he? ! ! I put some pain in your life son, in some fucking pain. I want to fuck the shit out of you and your boy did not do anything since the first day of trouble. Do you understand it? Do you understand the langauge of shit that I speak? I want to fuck you! Finnish to break my belt, I whip out your fucking shit! Put whipped cream on your back, I whip out your shit! Are you all right? Are you crying? So you need to fucking shit works. To kill you, I kill the dust you"re fucking your fucking homo trying to crush your body into dust. 100 seconds worth the pain I will give to you 100 fucking faggots." patrtick screamed loud and loudly at them. bently wnet into his shell because he was really scared. so was sly. like if you were there and someone scary like patrick was yelling at you would you be scared? i fucking know i would. sly kicked bently who was in his shell over to patrick and hit him in the fuckin foot. "OW FUCK." he said. he fell back because sly just lunched bently at his foot and it hurt him a lot. he fell out the window and fell a lot and landed on the grass hard. 100 fire ants, 100 bees, 100 giraffes and 100 wolfs all attacked him! and they all had 100% rabies. "AH NO PLEASE I DON"T FUCKING WANTED TO DIE THIS WAY." Patrick screemed as the rabie animals ripped him to shred. there was blood and shit and a blody carc-ass all over the floor and the ground. patrick was fuckiond dead. "i"m happy patrick"s dead." bently said. he came out of his shell. "yeah me too." sly said. "and me." murry said. "SHUT THE FUCK UP MURRY." sly said. he had a really fucking devious look on his face. "guys i think we should be criminals. it is our calling in our lives to steal shit and bad!" sly said. by bad sly meant bad in a cool way not bad like in the way that they"d fucking suck or some shit. "yeah that sounds like fun. a lot of run fun really." bentley said. flashbork over. "FUCK" murry yelled suddently "DAMN IT SHIT WHAT THE FUCK" sly said. he was really scared because they were all chille before. "sorry that story made me pissed. I have to hang out with you assholes now cuz of that shit." "the doors fucking right there pal, go the fuck out if you"re gonna be a lil" bitch. we gonna call you lil" bitch from now on capeesh?" sly said like a new york bostin guy. "fune fickers shit the feck outta heeyeeh" murry said. "Ojay." sly said. "WHANT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY!?" MURRY SAID. "I said ojay it"s better than okay." sly said. "Okay." "NO! YOU FUCKING SHIT! IT"S OJAY!" sly said. "AAAAAAAAAAARHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH H!NNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Murry said. Murrys eys turned blood red. He grabbed the game disk and ran out smashing out a window. "good fucking riddance." sly said. "shit sly you think he"s gonna try anad kill us?" "over my dead ass he is. FUCK HIM." "remember the time we tried to steal shit the first time?" "you mean the time we robbed the poop festival?" sly said. (a/n remember to do this story it funny) "no the time we were first like fucking criminals or shit." bentles said. "oh" "do you want to do a flashback of that?" "fuck bently what are we gonna do flashbacks 100 times or something?" "100 times?" "yeah" "I don"t know that seems like a lot of flashbacks" "I know that"s why I said it. it"s a big number." "100 times seems like a lot" "it is" "maybe we shouldn"t do flashbacks 100 times" "maybe we shouldn"t." "I think we shouldn"t do flashbacks 100 times" "ok" "yeah" "so what do you want to talk about?" "remember the time we tried to steal shit the first time?" "you mean the time we robbed the poop festival?" sly said. "no the time we were first like fucking criminals or shit." bentles said. "oh" "do you want to do a flashback of that?" "fine whatever" "biddly doo biddly doo biddly doo" flashback sounds said. 100 times. sly did a triple helix back fucking flump and landed on his ass. he still sucked at theifing shit so he fucked it up really badly. he talked on his fucking dial up shitty walkie fucking reh-SEE-verr because fuck it was the olden times or some gay as fucking fucking fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck shit damn ass drumpin flump. "shit" sly said into the walkie "sly what the shit are you fucked up and high? are you smoking crack? are you fucked up 100 ways from tomorrow?" bently said. "no bently I just forgot what we"re stealing and where we are and when we are." "it is night time and you are stealing from this video game museum. we be robbing nintendo, microsott, sonny, all that shit." bentarly said literally. "oh" "so maybe you should go steal this video games or something 100 times." "I gotta take a dump first." sly said. he went to go poop in a toilette before he would need a moist towelett to clean his pants. fucking carmelita was hanging around the front of the bathrooms. "who the fuck are you some kind of pervert?" sly said quietly but and to himself so she wouldn"t hear him but she did. she got really scared and ran away. sly went to the toilet and sat down and did number 2 100 times. he got up and washed his hands 100 times. then he saw a see ling skware move. he saw cankaleamgia hanging around up there. "fuck you are a pervert you fucking pervert. maybe you should be a cop instead of a pervert." sly said. "fuck that"s a good idear." carmeiliat says as she jumps away. "shit" sly said as he rememerd what he did. "i took a shit." sly ran to the video games and stole some of them. he made sure to only get cool games. there was a geekazoid loser with a glow stick uniform doing sekuritee. sly punched him in the dick and ran away. "ahhh fucker." the guy said. the guy"s name was a big fucking surprise, it was barack obama back when he was a nerd. flashback over. "fuck that was obama." sly said. "I fucking punched obama in the dick." "cool" "yeah" "maybe we should go do something" "maybe we should" "let"s get ice cream and then go to the shopping mall to by supplys sly." "ok" they got in the van. they went to the mall. they got ice cream. it was good. "sly this ice cream is scrimply tastey i do say so myself as i am bently." bently said. "bently shut the fuck up and enjoy the ice cream because it is fucking good." sly said. "what kind of flayvor did you get?" betnyl siad. "100% chocklate." sly said. he wasn"t kidding like it was no joke. even the Sp ne was made out of chocolate! "nice." bently said. he liked the spoon or spune or Sp ne "what did you get." sly said. "dubble bannana 100 budge fudge." betnly said with a big smile on his fucking face. "i like ice cream" sly said licking his chops. "yum yum yum" "Indeed it is very yummy" bentradely said. "yum!" sly said. he ate the ice cream. "did you know that ice cream is really really good?" bently said. "yeah." sly said. "it is." bently said. "i know, you didn"t need to fucking tlel me that ice cream"s good becuz is fucking is ok?" saly said. "i know, but i just like it alot." bently said. "i know me too." sly said. "i know how you feel about ice cream because i feel the same way," bently said "we feel good about our ice cream." sly said. "yes indeeder we do." bently said. "we feel really fucking good aobut it." sly said. "yes because ice cream is really good." bently said. " i bet murry wishes he could stuff his fat fucking face with this ice cream?" bent;ly said. "whos murry?" sly said. "you know the fat gay retarded hippo that follows us around." bently said. "oh you mean lil" bitch. fuck him, he"s not good enough for ice cream because ice cream is good." sly said. "indeeder that it is sly." "yeah" sly said. "ice cream is yummly." bently said. "but murry is a fagtard and a redneck motherfucking piece of shit." sly said. "i agree with you on that one." bently said. "but you also agree with me about ice cream." "yeah i do sly." bently said. "i bet ice cream gives murry gas." sly said. "yeah" bently said. they laughed at sly"s funny joke. "oh my head hurts. i ate my ice cream 100 times too fast and now i have BREAIN FREEEZE!" sly siad. "AH ME TOO IT UFCKING HURTS. IT HURTS! AHHH" bently said. they screamed until the pain went away and it hurt a lot. have you ever gotten brain freeze before? i get it a lot when i eat ice cream and i do the same thing sly and bently do, i scream for my cream, my ice cream! they finished their ice cream. they were happy because it was good ice cream and not bad ice cream. "fuck we gotta buy supply but we spended too much money on ice cream!" bently said. "you know what that means!" sly said. "WE GOTTA STEAL!" sly and bently said at the same time. "STEAL SOME SHIT" sly said. "SHIT WE GONNA STEAL." bently said. everyone looked at them funny. "whant supllies do we neeeeed?!" sly said. "we need some grappelling hooks and some wire. 100 times what we use unusally." bently said. "how much would that cost if we didn"t eat the iced creamiscles?" sly said. "about 100 dollars." bently said. "nice!" sly said. "but that ice cream was really good." bently said. "worth the money i know, we must"ve spent 100 dollars on ice cream." sly said. "right?" bently said. "shit was so cash." sly said. "cash with some ass." bently said very slowly. "ass." sly said. "cash." bently said. "ass cash ash ass cash" sly said. "cash ass ash cash ass." bently said. "ASS CASH!" they saided at the saime time. "100" sly said. "ok time to steal." bently said. they went to the thieving goods store at the mall. seriously those exist, google it dude. "ok bently i got a pro thieving idea that"s ultra fucking devious and theivoes. 100 % fucking devious." sly said. "ok you got this shit sly" bently said. "i got this because ima spicey meat-a-ball!" sly said in a cool voice. he went into the store which was called THIEVES R US they had a lot of theifing stuff in there. sly went up to the place where the grapplinger hooks and wire were and just put a shit ton in his bag. then something bad happned. "WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" a mall cop said. "oh shitting fuck nuggets" sly said. they ran away, they came back to the mall once the mall copz were gone. they went to get 100 times more ice cream adnd then they went to the shopping mall to buy supplyes for sly. "Hey SLY?" bently said. "Yes?" sly said. "Do you want to want to make some fucking ice cheddar cheese nachos cream burritos?" bently said. "Yes?" sly said. "LET"S MAKE THAT FUCKING ICE cheddar cheese nachos cream burritos!" bently said. "Yeseser." sly said. they went into home and into their place to the kictchen. they put ice cheddar cheese nachos cream burritos into a ice cheddar cheese nachos cream burritos container. they made it and squeezed it from a icing tube it into a bowel. they ate it with licking it. it was tasting goodlicious. "MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" sly said. "THIS ICE cheddar cheese nachos cream burritos IS FUCKING GOOD! WE FUCING ATE IT IT!" bently said. they had like 100 cheddar cheese nachos cream burritos. then they got bored. "fuck now what" sly siad. "fucking bored now" "fuck so am i" "fuuuuuuuuuuckles." "shit bricks, let"s go rob some shiz with these surplies, or try to mess with cazremeltiua ;)" sly said making funny face. "fuck okay just don"t whip your dick out and try to have sex with her or perhaps she"ll pull the legal lever to making hunting coopers legalized." "aiight. fuck." sly siad mad because that was his plorn. "Will you quit saying fuck?" "FUCK! Fuck." bently said."...fuck..." "sly stepped on his foot...hard. "FUCK! Fuck." bently said. "STOP SAYING FUCK!" SLy said. "it"s totes my thing tos ay fuck plus you said it like 100 times" "FUCK YOU!" bently said in a plerb accent. sly promptly carefully reached into bently"s shell carefully and grabbed his tiny turtle balls. "OOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" "Look Buffalo Bitchcake, if you say the word "fuck" one more time i will crush these puny blueberries you call racoon testicles and you can"t have sexual intercouse with penlpe or even masturbate good. you said it 100 times okay" "I"m sorry..." bently said as tears coursed down his face and hit his balls 100 times. The tears started to burn, causing steam to rise. "Oh God!" bently screamed as sly began to twist his steaming nuts. "Now lets" find carmelia." sly began to leave. "Um Sly." "What?" "Could you let go of my balls, please?" "oops, sorry buddy." sly let go. Sly and Bently climbed into the shiny smooth Cooper van. "Sly. My balls are killing me." bently said as he massaged his area. "Sorry. You shoulda stopped saying the f word. you said it like a hundred times." sly said. "fuck." "I guess. It"s just..." bently stopped talking. "It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just...It"s just.. my balls hurt really really really bad." bently said 100 times. "Just stop swearing." sly said, combing his stupid fucking haircut so carmfarmbelarmblita would think he was legit. it like an affrooo. "OK." benly said. "i"m gonna fucking murder you and everyone else if you ever fucking do that again you motherfucker. I"ll build a goddamn nuke to kill ever living beeng. so go fuck yourself and never touch my sack again fucker, I will fucking end you and everything you hold dear." "ok" sly said."You wanna grab something to eat." "k." "tly said."where the FUCK do you want to eat?" "How about Mickey dees, Ba-ba-bah-ba-ba. I"m lovin" it." bento struck sylverster (that"s his full fucking name alright? don"t fukin pretend it"s not scrub, it fucking is, it"s fucking slyvester okay.) with a frying pan. "DON"T YOU EVER SAY THAT AGAIN! YOU HEAR ME!" BENT-LY SCREAMED. "get bent" sly said. "hehehe" "hahahaha" "hahahaha" "good one" "I kno. let"s go to Quizno"s insted." sly said. "Sounds good to me." They pulled into the Quizno"s/" "Yeah, I"d like one hundred Quiznos, a hundred cups of coffe, exrta syrup and sugar. 100 peeses of sugar and syrup." Sly said to the waiter. "I WANT NOTHING! Bently screamed. The waiter flipped off benlty and ran away. "That waiter looks familar ;and fucking shit. FUCK." "Go to hell, you coconut sodomizing BITCH." Sly yelled at the waiter. "WAIT!...IT IS MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YYY!" "Guys?" Murry said. He ran over, flipped the table over and tackled Bently. "WWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHYY YYYYYYY?!" Murry said. He began jump on bently"s gut 100 times. "NNNOOOOO! Murry You suck! HA HAHA hA hA hA HA ha HAHA HAHA hA hA hA HA ha HAHA HAHA hA hA hA HA ha HA!" Bentley said as he tried to laugh to ease the pain but it turned his tears to blood and jizz. Sly came to the rescue just in time with a fork and lodged it deep into murry"s back, like fuck it was so deep you"d be really surprised and all grossed out and shit if you saw it, for fucking realsies. "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWOWOWOWOWOW! murry screeched 100 times. "Cat got your tongue?" Sly said as pulled murrys tongue our and he dumped 100 hot sauces on murry"s tongue. "ENOUGH!" Murry overpowered sly and pushed him into some old people. they died. they were patrick"s parents and they were really happy to be dead because they hoped they could go to hell to be with their son patrick in hell. "First, I Will Be serving some apetizers!" Murry said as he punched Sly in the face,"Then the first course" Another punch."Then the second." Yet another punch."Then the third!" Sly was now currently a bloody racoon. He tried to crawl away. But murry grabbed his nuts. "Murry got your balls?" Murry said as he dragged sly"s sac over to the grill stove. "For 100 time"s sake, Murry." sly begged. "PLEASE DON"T! "Maybe you should"ve thought about wearing pants." murry said. but then something wierd happnd. penelope showed up. "holy shit." sly said. "what" penpy said. "you never fucking show up you shitty fucking nerd." bently said. "if penpy saiz one fucking word." murry said. "one more and I"ll rip sly"s balls off." "fuck." sly said. "don"t fucking say shit penpie. OKAY? I kno you"re a chick so chick"s like to fuckin talk all the god dam time but SHIT this once, my balls are on the fucking line, or should I say in a fat gay hippo"s strongly grap!" "CRAP!" bently said. he knew pembly couldn"t fucking do it. she was a woman after all. "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE MOTHERFUCKERS" carmelita said. she wuz disguyzed as a chair. "ho shit hehehehe" sly said, obvosly checking her ass out 100 times. "hehehehe" "FUCK YOU CARMELITA. I FUCKING NEW U WER THERE OKAY?" murry said, throwing 100 tiles from the grownd at her. "i"m sick of your ficking bullshnit cunting shit fuck fuck fucking fuckery where you fucking come in fucking shit up and shit, fuck you, fuck you, and fuck YOU." murry started punching carmelita 100 times and sly was too scared to do nothin. she was nearly dead when she fell over. "oh fuck carmelita may be dead." penplo said. sly started crying more because murry was sure to rip off his balls now. "oh shit hehehe" murry said. "now I get to rippy rippy." "or do you?" someone misterious said from the fromt of kwissnose. it was...DEMETRI!? "Demeatree?!" sly said. "dametri? fuck demetri, you"re gay you fuck fucking 100 times fucking cunt!" murry said. he went outside. he picked up a car he threw it at demetri. demetri was dead! "No!" sly said. "i"ll save you bently" pepy said. "pepsi no!" bently said. murry thought she was a drink so he drunk her. "no she dead no." bently said 100 times. "lol." sly said out loud laughing. then murry grabbesd sly"s fucking balls harder. carmeliat got really sad. "i don"t want sly balls die." she jumped at fuckin murry but sumthin fuckin weird fucking happnd. "I don"t feel good." carmelita said then melted. a death ray laser from outside had crashed into her and she died! "NO FUCK HOLY SHIT WHAT THE FUCKING NO NO NONOONONONO" sly said. "she"s dead sly, ok she"s dead. deal with it." bently said, taking his glasses off and breaking them to sho how for real he is. "no fucker you fucker..." sly said, cursing murry to death 100 times in his souls. "ha ha fucking ha." murry said, as his mech suit (which look like a gundam mixed with a school bus so it was super fucking legit). he got in his mech suit that ripped the roof off (remember to fix the other part A/N) and flew away. "meet me at london at big ben the big clock tower if you want to end this." murry left, and his ship was flying away with gayness. "fuck sly, good thing I built you a giant mech suit just in case this happened." he pushed a baton and then a giant mech suit shaped like sly but like a transformer, like the new movie transformers, not the old transformers, the new movie ones okay? but anyways sly got in and bently strapped himself to it, they flew away, burning up quiznos and penelpys and carmolitas bodays. "we cremate them" bently said as he cry. "yeah bently we did, we did good. now we kill the fucker once and for all." "sly I got something to say." "ok" "if we don"t make it i have a solution. we gotta fucking do it. just say cheese when we"re done." "ok sure bently whatever." sly was actually pretty bored now. they flew to big ben and murry was flying. "HEY FUCKO" murry said loudly and oncely. "what is it why did you keel them." sly said. "fuck you." "man I could be palying video games " sly said, firing a hundred rockets at muhwey. "uhhh" murry said taking a dump in his robot. "haha now I will win." sly said he was reading macks ihm may gah zeen. but murry was ready. he fired a murry laser from the canon and shoted sly. "AHHH NO" bently said as he died when the leg part he was strapped to fell off and blew up forever. "ahh damn." sly said. he wanted to cry another tear, but no more tears would come anymore forever. "100 times damn you sly cooper." murry said, firing more rockerts. sly started to fell to the ground. "man this is my fucked up life." sly think. "I fucked up everything, and everyone I love is dead, how will I go now that I crash into this burning robot suit to the ground by big ben, I hope I don"t fall on any bad tooth british faggots. fuck the british." "hey" bently"s ghost said. "say cheese" "bently! why you here you like the force or something?" "no this just a hologramp." bentrometer said. he wasn"t really a ghost i lied okay. "what do I dooo everything so shitty and I"m dyin." "fuck sly this is what you gotta do. say fucking cheese. then it will activate the back up platn. then you can defeat murry. then after he"s dead push the bright fucking button with a dick on it." "ok" sly said. "cheese" "and sly" "yeah?" "fucking rape him for me, okay?" bently said as he flew away into the internet. sly pushed a new button and THEN SHIT WENT DOWN. new legs came out of the robot like ketulu, and then robot tentacles turned into regular robot arms. a fuckton of missles hit murry"s robot and he crashed to the ground. sly flew the robot down behond murrey"s which was all on fours. "hey fucker, this is for killing patrick." sly said as he activated rape mode and his robot raped murry"s robat. "ahh OOH nOOO" murry said as his robot exploded and he fell out. a bunch of gay british people found him and raped him too and he died. "now what. oh yeah that button" sly said. he pushed the dick button and time exploded. "FUCK TIME IS GOING AWAYYYY" he woke up on da balcony. carmelita walked out. to be continued in thieves in time.

"i don"t know" john masrson said. "well i won"t get one then" the profressor said. "but im not saying you shouldnt just get one and maybe a taco too. they have lots of tacos in mexico and i"m not just talking about the meat." john marston said with a winkyface like this ;) "you mean like vagina" the profressor said. "yeah lol" john marston said. "no shit sherlock" the professor said "well lets fucking go!" john marston said. "wait" the professor said as he did crack and then they left to go on the train. "two tickets to mexico motherfucker" john said as he gave money to the gay conductor. "thankssssss" the conductor said with a lisp because he was gay. john got on the train and threw the conductor under the train. the train ran him over and john masrton shot him a lot juist to make sure he was dead. "by joaf, why ddi you kill that man?" the prof prof said. "BECAUSE HE WAS GAY!" jon marston said. "HAHAHAHA NICE HE WAS" the professor said as he rolled on teh floor laughing is his motherfucking ass off. they got on the train and went to mexico "so how many tacos and burritos are in mexioc?" the professore asked? "LOTs. more than you can eat. the amount of tacos stretches out to the sun, you could build a house out of tacos. the mexicans aren"t good for anytyhing except making tacos, it"s true they just won"t admdit it. " john explained. "cool" the prof said. "yeah..." john said as he lit up a cigerrrette. "im sorry sir, no smoking on this train" the new conductor said. "FUCK OFF CHUMPWEED" John said as he blew smoke in the professor"s face. "AHAHAHAHAHA" the professor coughed. "I SAID NO FUCKING SMOKING ON THIS TRAIN" THE COUNDCTER SAID. HE WAS GETTIN PISSED! "FUCK YOU ASSHOLE LICKER!" John said. he took a huge hit off his cigeretttae and lit a joint at the same time. he held his breath for a LONG TIME and breathed out a shit load of smoke and soon no one could see shit in the train because there was so much fucking smoke. "COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH" everyone said. "RUN PROFESSOR" john said as he run out of the train car. "GEEEET HIM!" the conductor yelled. john and the professor got into the front of the fucking train. "john...i have to tell you something" the professor said. "whant is that prof?" john marston said. "i have never smoked before." the prof said. he was sad and strarted to cry. "oh yeah? want to now? john said? "yes i like mairjaioiana" the prof said. john took a lot of weed and put it intoi the train where the fire and shit goes and shoved the professors head in there too. he got so high. but it was too late. the conductor made it to the train. "ITS THE END OF THE FUCKING LINE FOR YOU JOHN MARSTON YOU BITCH ASS!" the counductor said. he was mad. "JOHN MY HEAD IS STUCK IN THE TRAIN" professor said. he was crying again but he was also high. john masrson flipped off the conductor and shot him. he took a dynamito stick and threw it at the other people they died. he took the steering wheel of hte train and drove off the tracks back on to the road. "JOHN MY HEAD IS STUCK IN THE TRAIN" professor said. he was crying again but he was also high. "HAHAHA YOU TRAINHEAD BITCH" john said as he kicked the professor"s ass with his boot. he kicked him again just for fun. and again but that was too many times because now the professor was stuck inside the train! "" the professor screamed as flames engulfed him and john laughed. "how are you going to do crack now, you fag?" john said. he threw a grenade into the train and destroyed whatever was left of the prof. he finally made it to mexico. the parking was really bad though, john parked the train in the parking lot next to a lot of donkeys and shit. liertal shit because it was mexico and it smelled really bad. john went into the bar. he shot a nearby donkey and it pissed off the mexicans. "HEY ASSHOLES, I WANT A FUCKING TACO" john said. "you shouldn"t say that homes.' Landon Ricketts said. "sup landon" john marston said. he hugged lando cuz he was cool. "what"s kicking my man?" Landon Rixetx said. "not much bro, i killed a bunch of gay people on the train and drove it here because i want a fucking taco or burrito.' john amrston said. "yeah?" "yeah." "cool" "but you gotta watch it arounjd these people. tacos are sacred to them. there is a taco mine out side of town, let"s go." landon rickets said. "ok!" john marston said as he smiled big! they went outside and john whistled and his ferrari came to him like his horse does in the fucking video game if you whistle. "HOW THE FUCK YOU GET THAT SHIT? lando said, he was confused and interested and a little aroused. he had visible wood. "well it"s a long fucking story." john said ===========================================FLASHBACK===================================== john marston was wallking a lot in the desert. he had been there for week without food or water or anything. "UUUUUHHHHH FUCK" john marshmstoon staid. he looked in a cave and found... A FUCKIN CAR "OH YEAH" Jon Marson said. he got in the car and crashed into a cave rock thing. shit.' john marston says. then the cave started to rumble. "OH YEAH" the kool aid man said as he burst through the wall. "what the fuck are you doing here" jom marston said. "you stole my fucking catchprhase so im gonna kick your ass you white trahs mother fucker" the kool aid man said. he was mad. "fuck you, cool aid is crap!" john marston said as he went into dead i mode and shot the kool aid man. the cool aid man was bleeding kool aid all over the floor " """" "AHAHAHAHAHA" JOGHN MARSTON laughed. john then drank what was left of the kool aid man. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the kool aid man screamed as john marston drank what was his life essence. there was no way he"d make it into the afterlife now. his soul was the kool aide. "yum, i fucking love kool aide" john marston said. he got into his ferrari and drove out to thee dessert. "WOW! THAT"S COOL" landon ricket said. then they falled into the ground and were surrouned by taco meat. Chapter 2 John Marston the Fucking Man a/n: Fuck off haters. And fuck jessica. bitch John marston was trapped 400 feet below ground in the mexian dessert and taco meat was about to comsome him. Lando and John were surrounded by taco meat. "where the fuck did all this tacko meat come frum?" john said. he was really scared and crying. "IDFK!" landon said. he was sad and scared too. john started shooting at the taco Meat with his gun. it did not a thing. John started to whip the taco meat with his Lasso. "WAH-ROOOO" the taco meat cried. it backed off a bit. "it"s workin jon!" landon said as tears strreamed down his old ass fucking face. "YEAH"! jhon said as he kept whipping the taco meat like he was indiana jones. but this Only made the taco meat more mad! more taco meat flooded into the mine shaft and started to drown landon and john! "glub glub ga blug" john and landon said as they drowned. THEN a miracled happened. "ey mayne, there"s tacos down here" desantoo said. "wait" jon said. "this is gay." "yeah, you"re right." lando said. They left through a door that said exit as deansanta fell in to the pit and started eating all the taco meet. "That sure was gay john." lander said. He was still sweating "Yeauhp it shur wuz" Jon (A/n: NOT JOHN FROM GARFEILD LOLOLOLOLOL) said like a western cowboy, which he was. "Wanna play some basketball?" "Fux" Which means yes in cowboy western talk, which he spoke. "ho shit bitch" he said twice as he looked up at the sky over amradildo. "whut is it bro?" Lando saidi. "LOOK AT THAT SHIT!" He looked at that shit, and saw the sky over armadildo had turned black and firey. FUcking shit was going down. fire was falling on the entire DED READ REMPTEDITION map. they could tell. "IS THAT A GIANT CRAB MONSTER?" John said. "YES . it is." he said to himself. "SHOOT THAT FUCKER BEFORE IT KILLS US ALLLLLLLL." the giant crab monster, whos name is GARBENOV, began to fucking walk towards them. "USE YOUR REVOLVENER! JOOOHHHNNNN!" Landon said as he was almost crupped by the crab. John whipped out not his dick but his other trusted hot hard weapon. His gun. it was pretty cool "REVOLVERRERERER GROOOO!" He said as he shot a million bullets into the crab"s fucking face. it was dead immediately, but it crushed irishes house. "heheheheh" john and landon said. "now we have a new misterry. who the FUCK put a giant crab in the map of RED DED READEM "I don"t know landon." john said pissed offedly. "but I do know I"m gonna shoot that fucker in the testicles." RED DEAD BUT WITH A GOOD ENDING CHAPTER iii The day the world faded away a/n: i have nothing to say to you mother fuckers. rate and review please! "Man John, who the fuck makes a giant crab monster?" Joh nsmarston said, standing next to a horse"s ass. "it wasn"t made john." lander rickety rickets said. "It was fused." "fused! what the shit are you on, fucking old man! FUCK!" john marston said as he shot the horse. "somebody fused that crab thing with something else...something liek...bigness. I don"t think the fusing will starp here." "shit." then that goverment guy came up behind JOHN MARSTON. "hey fuckface" the governing dude said. "what do you want, you pile of std"s" john siad "it seems to me john that you still Owe me some shit." he said, rolling out a sheet of paper that rolled all the way to fucking mexico or some shit, it was that fucking long. "what the fucking fucking FUCK do I owe you! you made me come to america to kill guys." "and you done did that shit. but I aint done with this bitch. you gotta..." John gasped, cried, and shat his pants at the same time when he heard him say. "go back and finish high school" "" the goverment guy snapped his fingers, and john was back in high school! "what THE fuck?" John said in his desk. he had his geeky clothes again. "langueange, mister marton, don"t fuck with me. i"m the shit around here." the teacher, Mrs. Manly said. she looked like a dude. jerrn loked around the klass. he saw bonnie, his wife, professor, landon, mexican dude desanto or whatever the fuck his name was, jack was there too. "pa, what"re all of yew new guys doing here?" jack said in his fucking shitty FUCKING voice. john mareston stared at his son, got up, and beat the pissing fuck out of him. "don"t fucking dont talk to your father that way" the class cheered. "that shit was pretty tits." john said to .heh "settle down you dumb fucks." mrs. manly said. "open your teckst buks to page 31834758092734985172586 where we will begin learing about fusing" "who! didn"t lander tell me to fucking learn this shit? FUSING?" john thought and said. "shut the fuck up john marston." john tried to listen to mrs. manly talk about fusing, but it was facking borning. "this is gay, I"m gonna go play hooky and play cod, he said, making sure to shoot irish in the dick on his way out. john set up his new XBOX 360 and put in MW3 it was pretty fucking sweet. he lit a joint (which makes playing better) and started playing. the room was so full of smoke he could almsot see the screen on his sick flatscreen set up. "this game is pretty tits." landon and the government guy walked through the door. "jern, I had to make sure you were not skipping and playing hooky, but looky looky what we fooky fooky have here." the goverment said. "john. you were supposed to learn about FUSING. you fuck" landnad said. "hey fuck you guys, I"m having fun.!" he pulled revolvernator out and hsot landon and missed, and then he shot the goverment in the arm. he exploded with darkness. "what the fuck was that shit. "john marston. i think he was a fusing too." landon started crying. "I"m so sorry! i"m gay. i shuld have hulped you and trested YOU!UUU!" "nah it"s cool man." indy said. "shit man, you gotta fucking kill me or something. if that goverment guy was a fusing, who else could be one?" "I aint gonna kill your bitch ass. we gotta find out who the fuck is behind all this. their testicles have a name that"s on one or two of my bulltest." marston said like a badass. "fuck yeh we does." they walked out of the house. "but first you gotta have thanksgiving dinner with your family." "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" chapter 4 of red dead redemption but with a Good Ending the chapter title is John Marston Has Thanksgiving Dinner With His Family John Marston wanted to shoot his whole fucking family, especially the bitch ass son that he hoped his wife cheated on him to make. "hey pop" jack said in his shit voice. "when"s supper?" john backhanded the shit out of him. "don"t fucking say supper in this fucking house you shit." jack ran away crying. in front of john was now the government guy. the other dude with the glasses (I aint give a shit what his name is) with the government guy was there also. "fuck john that"s some pretty shitty shit you"re putting your son through." "fuck off." "hey shithead. if you don"t have dinner right now for thanksgiving with your family and let us film it, you"re still in debt to us." "hey wait just a fucking second weren"t you the guy I shot?" john woke up, and jack was sitting over him. "musta been some fucking dream you had pop. ready for thanksgiving dinner?" "fuck off." but he went to dinner anywas. they had tacos made out of turkey or some western shit. "so john" his bitch wife said. "do you like the fucking food." "no. it sucks." john said. "can I go play xbox?" "hey pop. I read a cool book today." "books are gay son." "this book was about fusing." "SHIT." John said as he crapped himself from surprise, and shot his guns into the ground in surprise as well. "well what the fuck did it say?" "it said fusing was created by a professor." "SHIT. I BETTER FUCKING KILL THE PROFESSOR AGAIN AND IRISH because fuck him." "but it wasn"t the professor pop." "stop fucking calling me pop or I"ll pop you in the face with a shotgun." jhroarn said with a pissed off face. "well it was the fucking dark wizard." "the dark wizard? fuck you jack. this is stupid." john flipped the table over so it and all the food landed on his wife. "dinner is fucking served." John said. "dad I gotta come with you so you can become john marston and stop the fusing." "ok." they got in john"s ferrari and drove away. they went to that purple suit guy with the lotions. he was jacking off with a cactus. "are you the dark wizard?" john said. "zeribity! I am not dear jhon mnarsta." "the fuck you saying." "what did you come here for sere." "I what to know what the fusing is." the dude got this look on his face, like he had to take a dump, which reminded john he needed to change his pants. he took them and his underpants off and threw them on the purple suit guy. "shit now I don"t have pants." john said. "I could sure use a dark wizard to wish for some more pants right now." "Pop i got a confession." john reached for his gun, but he pulled his pants off so he couldn"t grab it. he got his shotgun off his back and reloaded it like cool style. "the fuck did I tell you?" "fuck you john marston. I"m the dark wizard." he blasted john with energy but john just shot him in the fucking face. he missed tho and jack ran away. "shit. is he the dark wizard?" john got back in his ferarri and got some new pants from target. landon was there looking at porn. "hey john did you figure out who"s behind the fusing?" "no but I think my son jack might be involved. want to go find out?" "I think we should go get stoned and play some xbox first." "cool" they got really high and played xbox right in target. the sales dude came up and told them to quit but john kicked his ass and then shot it. "this isn"t going anywhere. we gotta go to the jack and figure out what the hell is going on." they went back to john marston"s house. on the door there was a note written in blood that said "fuck you pop. I stole your wife away and now i"m keeping her in the tower. if you want to find out why the fusing is happening come to the tower on fourth street.' "shit we better go there." they drove the ferrari up a ramp and it jumped it all the way to the tower. Read Ded Reademption Chapter 5 John"s Choice john was flying to the tower on fourth street when his iphone rang. it was jack. "jack you wanna explain why you stole my fucking wife and are a dark wizard?" "I lied pop, it"s the only way I could get you to go to the tower." "that"s some shit, jack. some rough shit." jarn mohnstoarn was about to shoot jack through his phone but then he couldn"t do that because it would break his boss phone and not his son. "how"d you do all that dark negergy shit then. FUCK" John screamed "it was just a trick. You were high as fuck, pop. I wasn"t even doing magic. but you gotta stop the fusing." "alright I guess" he hung up the phone (which had a cool cow pattern shell on it because it"s a western) "who was that?" landon said. they were still flying through the air at the tower. "my son. he was lying about stealing what the fuck is her name." "the bitch?" "yeah" "so what now" landon said as he lit a joint. "I aint know. I guess this tower will have the key to the fusing." "well aint that a fuck shit of damn." he high fived langdron for making cool swears. they landed on top of the tower. it was purple. there was a parking lot on top of it. "shit." "what is it?" the parking lot said it can only hold one person. "well aint that a bitch." "yeah it is" "what should we do?" "hang on I got an idgea." jam said. he activted the ferrari"s SPLIT function and turned it into TWO FERRARIS. "DUDE." landon said as he nearly creamed himself from how badass that was. they climbed thru the security hatch and a fat guy was in there. he had a pink haircut. "hello welcome to the dark tower of fusing." "this is the place where they do the fusing!" landon whispered as he screamed. john shot the pink haired guy. "Fuck him." he said. "Yes." Landon said. they walked into the elevator that had a cow in it, which they shot and made burgers of on the way down ot the basement, where the fusing was being created. it was dark and green glowy shit was everywhere. like thecnology too. "this place is pretty gay." landon said. they heard clapping. all of a sudden the enemy guy was standing in front of them. "who the fuck are you?" john said. "my name...is HAVEEAIR ESKUWAYLA!" "you bitch. I knew it was you." "i wasn"t alone...there is many people who is causing fusing. i"m just the guy who watches over the tower. we are all part of the Fourteen Angry Good Guys On Texas States" "so if I kill this tower, there"s no more fusing?" john said! "no. this is only one. there are many more like this. and 13 other guys like me. and if you destroy me and this tower bad shit goes down for you. you have to make a terrible choice." "but also...you"re part of htis? so I could say you"re behind this?" "FUCK. john don"t you see? if you destroy this tower...you"ll lose your ferrari." "!" John s-creamed (scream and jizzed himself in fear). "so what"ll it be john? kill me and this tower and lose your ferrari or walk away." "this seems tricky!" landon said as he licked his lips furiously. "fuck all, this ain"t hard. I"m hard." john said as he whomped his gun into his hand, and shot haveairs balls off. he shot the glowing fuck an assload of times before running back to hte elevator with landon. he put dynamite at his feet and exploded them to the top of the elevator. they each got in a ferrari and flew back to jarn house to play xbox. then they made fun of jack for his wii. but back at the twoer, that was now destroyed, one last fusing happened at the tower that was now destroyed because haveair activated it before he was dead in the tower that was destroyed. a big fucking mutant fish seal whale lion dragon monster half made of fucking pizza climbed out of the tower that was now destroyed. it had haviars face. red dead but wif good ending chapter 6 "john marstons back bitches" John was playing some titanfall and cod and gta v with his buddy ol pal landon rickety. "jon these gosh dang god damn fucked up bitch as video games are pissing me teh hell off, im from a different time motherfucker." landon said when he lost lol. "that"s just cuz dads a shitty teacher at video games mr landon rickety rickster." john mashtons son jack mars said, "FUCK YOU JACK" john said as he threw a brick at john"s dumbass face. he blocked it because he was such a bitch he already ran out of the house and into town to cry to the wimpazoids at the fair arcade where losers go to fucking suck. "bitch ass." john said. "Kill that bitch john. he aint worth it." landon said. "I would but my wife would have my balls. ho shit speaking of balls theres a motherfucker out there whose testicels i have to shoot." "oh yeh the dudes who are doing the fusing. you still gonna shoot them all in their testicles?" "yes" john said as he shooted a big bong hit into his mouth "well who should we get next" "fuck if i kno. havier said they r all in texas states so like here in texas, mexico, texico, new texas, ok, new mexico, texaco etc" "gotcha" landon siad. "you wanna go now then?" "nah well go when my fucking bitch gets home and bitches at me for not doing chores." "ok" they got high and played sick ass games like watch dogs until johns wife came home, carrying jack like a baby because fuck if i understand women. "aright lets go" john said, shooting the door open before hopping into his ferreri.

sweet god. I am so fucked." Sly said as he put his head in his arms and started to softly cry. "Indeed you are. But let"s go play some more video games and forget about it." Bentley said to cheer sly up. "Ok." Sly turned to Xbox 360 on and popped in Ninja Gaiden®. "I might as well actually try this time." sly said. the second after he finished the sentence, his video game character died, "WHAT! NOOO!" Sly yelled."NOOO! NOOO!" Nooo!" Sly"s fur started to grow out. His teeth grew out. His once brown eyes were now blood red. The tranformation. was complete. Sly hopped up on the couch and howled to the moon as Murry choked on another donut. Sly ran outside and ran away. "murry...we are screwed." bentley said. Please review, I know it"s gory but i wanna know what you...peoples think. A/n: Ok, so far no one"s reviewed this shit, so WHAT THE FUCK!?! Just review it, if you hate it, I won"t hate you back. Chapter 2:742617000027 "We are?" murry said to bentley. "damn straight we are, don"t you understand?" bentley repled."Sly can"t be controlled, he"s evil now." "FYI, I don"t understand what you"re talking about." murry replied. "Forget it murry, you"re too retarded to understand," bentley sighed."The only solution is to kill that werewolf that bit sly on the wrist," bentley went into the closet and pulled out a shotgun."Lock and loaded." "Yes." murry said in agreement. they quickly ran outside. It was a pieceful moring in Paris. The sun was just rising.Some people were starting to walk around. "Hallo Piere, eet eez a goood morning, naw?" one of the french people said. "Oui, eet eez." the other french guy said. Seconds later, Sly came running out of the shadows and pounced the frecnh guy. Sly took his claws and dug into the french guy"s chest, ripping out his vital organs in a bloody shower.to sly it felt good as he ripped out the french guys heart.The other french guy was stunned, "OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" he yelled. he was too frightened to run away. he started to run around in circles.It was an easy target for Sly. He charged at the french guy and ripped out his face. he took his other claw and thrust in through the frech guy"s chest.By now the police started to pull up.Carmelita and some officers stepped out of their vehicles.Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox watched as sly began to rip up some more innocent civilains. "That wolf matches the description of the werewolf that"s been killing random people perfectly." she said to the other cops. "yeah, let"s kill "em." the dopey officer replied.a couple of officers ran up to sly only to get his claw go through both of them, instantly killing them. The dopey officer ran towards sly. sly swiped the officer down. the officer landed on his gut. sly thrusted his claws onto the officer"s spine and pulled down. he ripped it out and the officer was finally dead. All of Carmelita"s backup were killed. She quickly ran into the police car and sped off. Sly ran in another direction, looking for more people to kill.the dopey officer"s funeral would have to wait. Murry and bentley dashed into the cemetery. "Why"re we here?" murry asked. "this is the most logical place for the wolf to be,considering he likes digging up dead people." bentley explained. almost like the wolf read his mind, it jumped out of the shadows. bentley cocked his shotgun and aimed at the wolf. he fired and BOOM! the wolf was finally dead. "Well that was easy enough, now all we gotta do is find Sly."bently said. "Yes..." murry said. "LETS GGGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Bentley said.He could see Sly sprawled on the ground in the distance. "Sly is over there!" "as well as a mysterious grave with creepy writting on it." "Yes..." murry said. murry and bently ran over there and read the grave. "CONSUME THE BLUE FLAME" "TO SURVIE THE BEAST"S GAME" "wow..." murry said. "sly is cured...or is he?" Bentley said as sly woke up. "uhhhh...where am I...what is this place..." sly said groggy. "great. you wanderd here when you were a werewolf, and it looks like your cured." bently said as the ground began to rumble. "why is the ground rumbling?" murry asked. "ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMBBBBBBBBIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!" Sly said as the zombies began to rise out of there graves. They pointed at sly and bently and murry. "Zombie...brainss...mission..."one of the Zombies said. "Run!' bently said as he ran, and they ran away. as far as they could. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! a/n: Chapter 3: Rest In Peace, Murray As Sly, murry, and bently ran through the graveyard to the van, more zombies arose, Murray tapped Bently on the shoulder. "Ah!" Bently said as he accidentally fired the gun. it hit its accidental target as it hit murry square in the chest. horrified, murry fell to the ground as blood poured out of his chest wound. "W-what have I done..." bentley said softly. "Come on!!!" Sly yelled as he ran up to the van. "It"s okay bentley, i forgive you.." murry said as he died. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" bentley yelled to the sky. sly started the van as bentley dragged murray"s body in. the van drove off. suprisingly, murry sat up. "The fuck?" sly said to bentley. "Uh...I...am..a..ZOMBIE!!!" murry said.bentley opened the van doors and zombie murry fell out. SLy backed up and ran him over 3 three time to make sure he was dead,spewing blood out of his zombie body. more zombies started to fill the streets. "What"d you do bentley? you really fucked everything up...again." sly said to bently. "well, last time I checked, I didnt go on a morning stroll and come back a day later as a werewolf!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" bentley retorted. "fuck OFF." sly said. he looked out the window to see more zombies killing people, mostly eating their brains. "we need to get outta here, those zombies are gonna kill us next if we don"t watch it." "first thing"s first, we need to get some stuff from the safehouse, mostly weapons." bentley explained. "Right." sly said as they pulled up at the safe house. the zombie horde hadn"t made it there yet so there weren"t any zombies to be seen. sly and bentley ran inside. "Okay bentley, where"s this weapons stash you got?" sly asked as he picked up his cane. "It should be..here." bentley said as he opened a closet door.It was filled with grenades,guns,rocket launchers,mase,chainsaws, blades, pepper spray, etc. "we need to get these in the van, fast." bentley said urgently. sly picked up one of the machine guns. "I need a weapon." sly said in his best Master Chief from Halo® impersonation. "Halo sucks." "FUCK YOU ASSHOLE!!!!" sly screamed. they piled up the weapons in a cardboard box and ran outside. the zombies were waiting for them. "shit." bentley said. he fired a few rounds of machine gunfire at the zombies. sly threw the box inside the van.bentley ran in too as they sped off. A/N:To the one guy that reviewed this, it"s going to get more gory. You are truly a saint for reviewing it. Chapter 4:56-War Of The Eyeless? "Bentley give ME answers about THE REAL problem, the ZOMBIES!" Sly said. "LET me finish the co co 1st." bently. "okay" "there done." Bently said."Ok, here"s the deal, I looked up stuff like this on my computer and this is what i found out. What is currently happening is called the Living Dead Awakening. After I killed the werewolf or BEAST known to everyone as saten, the blue flame was unleashed upon the world and now the dead have arisen around the world." "Really?"Sly said."By the beast you mean you killed Satan? "Damn real." Bentley said."Satan is no more now. That means Hell is gone and the dead have no place to go.That explains the zombies.I guess murry was bound for hell..." "Nice." "hey look a hitch hiker," sly said. he pulled over.It was carmelita.she was shooting zombies. :( uh oh. "That"s no hitch hiker, that"s a bitch-hiker!" bently said. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Sly said. He was laughing. "yes." sly said as he drave away. zombies started to creep up on carmelita. "Maybe we should pick her up."Sly suggested. "Okay sly, we will just because you think about her at night." "SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!!" the van veered over to carmelita. "hey carmelita. you tired of fighting zombies?" sly asked. "what do you want ringtail?" she said as she obliterated another zombie. "you can come with us, but you can"t arrest us." "sorry but you ARE under arrest." carmelita said as she aimed at sly. "NO we are not" Sly said. "I"m getting into the car." Carmelita said as she got into the car. Sly closed the door. They drove for 12 miles. "I need a fix of caffene." Bentley said. "There is a STARBUCKS®. STARBUCKS® has good caffenated drinks." SLY said. "MMMMMMMMMMMMMM." Carmelita said as they parked in the 100 ft. parking lot outside of STARBUCKS®. "Look at those prices: $6.51 for a small? ARHGHHG!!" Sly shrieked. Sly and Bentley walked over to the STARBUCKS® while Carmelita stayed inside the Cooper van.The STARBUCKS® shop was empty. Blood was spattered all over the walls. "Jeez, those zombies really fucked everything up." sly said as he looked at all the dead STARBUCKS® patrons" bodies. Bentley kneeled down and had a lick of the blood. "This is fresh, those zombies must left a while ago." bentley said. he picked up a sack of coffee beans."let"s get outta here sly." "Aren"t you going to pay for that?" a voice said.it was an employee. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" the voice had suprised sly. "Calm down." employee said."I"m just a STARBUCKS® employee and I can"t let you steal my coffee." "Sorry pal, but that is my job. I"m a thief." sly said.he and bentley started to leave. "I"m not going to stop you." employee said. seconds after he finished that sentence, a zombie tore out the employee"s liver. he fell to the floor, heavily bleeding. more zombies came into the STARBUCKS®. "RUN AWAY!!!!" sly screamed. he and bentley ran out of the STARBUCKS®. the zombies followed. A/N:To the one guy that reviewed this, it"s going to get more gory. Chapter 5:Encounter With Evil Zombie Murray Death Dooms Sly and Bentley ran to the car away from the STARBUCKS®. They didn"t notice the Pink Goo that slowly moved towards them... "START THE CARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!" BENTLEY said as he closed the door, smashing a zombie head and a zombie arm and a zombie foot and a zombie leg and a zombie eye and a zombie hands and 5 toes and a zombie neck. "OOOOOOOWWWWW!!!!!" Sly said. "YOU CLOSED THE DOOR ON MY TOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU MOTHERFUCKING BITCH!!!!OW!" "Sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!" Bentley said as he yanked SLy"s bloody feet out of the door. "PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL !!!!!!!!!!!" Sly said. Carmelita drove away. "That was close call with the zombies and all." "You are damn right it was." Sly said as he put a BAND-AID® on his wound. "Do you have a KLEENEX® for my running nose?" Bently said to CarmelitaSly. "No I do not have a KLEENEX® for my running nose?" All of a sudden, the Pink Goo spread over the dashboard. "What"s going on?" bently asked. "I don"t know, but I don"t think its friendly." carmelita said. after she said it, the Goo spread over the rest of the van. A door burst open. "Murray?" "Murray, I I"m sorry I killed you, I am sorry." Murray took out a vaccum and sucked out all of the goo. He threw it into the air, even though he was a zombie. "murry, KILL!" muury said as he began to punch the van. "murry,dont KILL!" S. Cooper said. "What is wrong with you?" "GGGGRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"Murray said as he tipped the van over and over. Sly woke up and noticed he had lost a lot of blood. "What happened?" Sly asked. "Question mark." Carmelita said. "You fell asleep and kept saying ? over and over, like an ultimate amount of ?. Questions and questions." "You might want to stich up those wounds on your feet." Carmelita said. "Good idea. "Sly said as he sewed up his wounds with BAND-AIDS? "Where did Murry ggggggggggooooooo!!!!" It hurt him a lot to put the BAND-AIDS? on his feet. "The Pink Goo sucked him up, he"s gone forever until we can kill it, the Pink GOO." Bently said. "Just what is the Pink GOO?" Sly said. "It"s nothing...and everything else." "What the fuck? That didn"t answer anything, you fucking bastard." "Some things... we just are never meant to learn... its...to evil." Carmelita said. "THAT DOES NOT ANSWER ANYTHING!!!" Lsy said. "Yes...and no...and yes." Bently siad. "THAT DOES NOT ANSWER ANYTHING!!!" Lsy said. "We need to go to the government. They will give us weapons and hints to kill every single zombie in EXISTENCE." "No, that is a gay plan. I say we nuke "em all back to HELL," Bentley said/ "Yea!" "No!" "LET US AGREE ON SOMETHING!" "We need to kill the Ultimate Zombie, who lurks in the zombie pit, in the center of the world. "Yea!" "Yea!" "Yea!" "LET US GGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!" They said at the same time.Murray then burst through the walls. "Murry!" "I thought you were dead?" "I am hard to kill." "Replace "hard" with "fat" and you"re telling the truth now." Bentley said. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Sly said. He was laughing."No, hard would refer to his penis when I am around." "zing" Bentley said. "You may think this all is funny but it isn"t...funny...at...all. Uh...I...am..a..ZOMBIE!!!" murry said. :b" "No shit sherlock." "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Sly said. He was laughing. Carmelita was confused. "What did you say??????" Carmelita said. Those were her last words. Murray grabbed her and dragged her out of the van. Sly and Bentley waited in horror. Less than too minutes later The Zombie murry returned alone. When Sly and bently ran off to check on the situation, all they could find of Carmelita were bits of organs, a skull that looked half-devoured, and puddles of something sly and bently preferred not to identify. "That bastrad! HE KILLLLLLLLLED HHHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" "Sly, calm down, we can just kill murry again." bently "I shall do that myself." Sly said as he ran back and picked up the team van and dropped his cane. He shook the team van until murray fell out. "Murry this is the last stand. SURRENDER!" Bentley said "He"s mine!" Sly grrred. "Sly don"t-" "He"s mine!" Sly repeated, stalking towards the murry. Murry charged. Sly sidestepped and darted out a foot, sending his enemy tumbling onto the rocky pavement. Murry rolled over and kept rolling, bowling over the master thief. He tried to follow it up with a blow to the head, but Sly dodged it in time. A sharp kick bought the Sly some space, and a two-handed smash into Murray"s grin sent the hippo flying. Sly advanced as murry got up on one knee and spat. "Here I thought you raccoons were so peace loving," The murray laughed. "Peace loving," Sly said. "Not weak" Murry suddenly vaulted forward. Sly sidestepped again, this time grabbin on to the Muray"s back as he flew by. He hurled his enemy through the air toward Bentley. The turtle flipped onto his back and caught the flying zombie with a smack from his wheelchair hydros. This sent Murry hurling back towards sly. Sly lept into the air until he was slightly higher than the speeding Murray. Then he brought both fists down n a devastating double blow. Murray dropped like a fat kid and smashed into the ground. Before the zombie could rise again, Sly was there pinning him to the ground with one knee while he twisted murray"s decaying arm behind him. "You broke my heart when you killed her." Sly said. "Why don"t I return the favor." "I HATE YOU!!!" Murry shrieked. Sly picked up his cane and lodged it into Murray"s skull. The warm blood gushed onto Sly"s boots as he stared at what once was his friend. Tears began to well up in his eyes. "Sly, it...it"s over. He"s gone..." Bentley said, weakly. "Yeah...I know..." "Well Sly." Bentley said as he patted his best friend"s back." There"s a future and we"re both going to be in it. We"re gonna stop this zombie problem, one or another..." "Yeah..." Sly said, wiping a tear off as he looked into the horizon."We will...we will..." the end look for the new Sly Cooper horror story, Sly Cooper The Sweet Smell Of Putrid Blood Mold 5.5 or 5+1/2 A/N: Since I am godly. I will post every single aspect of my work. Bitch. Murray growled as he rocked the team van. He enjoyed this kind of work. His boss enjoyed it too. He was a strong ...thing... and he told murry what to do. He liked murray, but hit him a lot.All these thoughts drifted through murays head as he kept rocking them back and forth. Eventualy the blue one fellout and Murray pounded him.He threw him back into the van and ran away. THere would be another time. Someday. Some planet. "I need to kill the orange one. Bitch." Murry thought as he ripped the door off. He saw Carmelita inside. She didn"t notice him cause she was watching TV, "GAH!!!! MURRY IS KILLING OF YOU!!!" he said. "Ok. Sure." Carm obviously wasn"t listening. "OK? OK?" murry said. "OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!!OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!!OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!!OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!!OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!!OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!!OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!!OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!!OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!!OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!!OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OK!!! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" murry screamed. he was mad. carm was not listening to his threats, he then proceeded to rip her to shreds. "DON"T!!!!" she screamed but it was too late. She was now little pieces of Inspector Carmeliat Fox. The End

The princess smiled, and gracefully put her hand together. "Okay. I"ll marry him." She said. Dan, or Prince Joseph was looking at her without interest. And disgust, realizing this girl will only love him because of wealth. Dan"s face after hearing about the gems was quite priceless, according to Ian. Then another scene. This time, Prince Joseph was strolling around the village once more. Hoping to see Dana again. Then he saw her. "Come with me." Prince Joseph said. ""I"ll show you something." "Wherever shall we go?" Dana said. "You"ll see." The prince said. And he, Dan, held Natalie"s arms and led her towards a fine place. The place was perfect for picnic. The two of them talked and talked and basically being lovey-dovey, as what Amy likes to call it. They ate and laughed. Apparently, someone was watching them. It was the princess. Then she alerted the guards, or her servants. Or actually, it was her assasins (they had a lot of assasins in their kingdom) She told them to search for the girl and kill her, if possible. They agreed. The next day, they started looking for the girl. The next day, while Dana was picking apples in her backyard, the assassins started their assault. They grabbed her and covered her mouth before any villagers could notice. Then they carried her someplace, as she kicked and fought her way out of the men"s grip. "What are you doing? Let me go." She screamed. They dropped her on the place where she and Prince Joseph (she still didn"t know it was the Prince) had a picnic. She looked up to see her kidnappers, they were all wearing black all over, like ninjas. Then she saw a girl, a pretty girl. It was Princess Joanna. The princess asked her some questions, then saying that she"s only luring the prince and whatnot. That she"s only acting it nice with Prince Joseph so that she can marry him and have all the palace"s fortune. Dana, however had no clue what she was talking about. She didn"t even know why she"s spouting about a Prince. What prince? She never met any prince. She kept denying. Eventually, the Princess got bored, and she ordered the assassins to kill her. They obeyed. But before the Assasin could hit the girl with his sword, Prince Joseph came out. Or more accurately, a boy dressed in simple clothes with a hood on. "Henry." Dana said. "Henry? That"s what you call him? Pathetic." The princess said. Prince Joseph kept on fighting the enemy"s until they were all wiped out. Apparently, King Joseph was trained in fighting, and Dan sure knows how to play it out. "Henry, thanks for saving me." Dana said, walking over to him. The princess had enough of it. She pulled out the hood and told her about his true identity. "Is that true?" Dana said. "Is that all true?" The princess rolled her eyes. "I"ll finish this myself. I can"t have anyone steal my gems." She grabbed the sword and almost hit Dana with it. Almost, if Prince Joseph hadn"t noticed it. He grabbed Dana"s arms and ran. "I"ll explain later." They took off, leaving the princess behind. Angered. Next Scene. Prince Joseph and Dana were panting, hiding behind some huge rock. Prince Joseph explained everything. About his marriage arrangement to Princess he didn"t like it. That he was tired of living in the palace, and so he went out occasionally. Then he saw her, and later on, when they were together, he felt something. "Look." Prince Joseph said. Dan looked at Natalie with those jade eyes. She always hated this scene. She doesn"t like looking at Dan face to face, and so close. She doesn"t want to see him staring at her and making her blush. But she can"t afford to look away now, and so she looked at him. And she can"t deny it that Dan looks so handsome when he"s looking at her like that. But she never told Dan about it, she never would! "I"m tired of it all. I just want to live a normal life." Prince Joseph continued. Natalie almost forgot her lines. She stuttered at first, then regained her composure. "You- you can"t." She said, looking away. "I can, If I want to." He said. He reached for her hand. Touched it gently, and put it to his lips. Even if this is just a play, Natalie can"t help but blush, but she tried to hide it, of course. "I want to be with you, Dana." Prince Joseph said. "From the moment I"ve known your name, there"s not a time everyday that it hasn"t ringed in my ears. I kept thinking about you, and. And. "And what?" Dana said. "That. That maybe this is what they call l-lo-Love." "I feel the same way, your highness." Dana said. "And- and don"t think that I only do because you"re the ruler of this kingdom." "I know. I believe in you." The prince said. "Princess Joannna, she only loves my fortune, not me." Dana didn"t answer. Prince Joseph held her hand tighter, making Natalie purse her lips. "You are the most -" Starting from the lines about the love, Dan was already fighting hard to say it. He knows this is just a play, and everything in it is just purely lines that isn"t really true. But what if it is? "The most be-" He cursed himself for stuttering. "Beautiful girl I"ve ever seen." He heard shouts from the audience, it was probably Amy"s. "I knew it!" it said. Dan made a mental note. "Deal with Amy later." "I don"t know, Prince Joseph." Dana said. "What if you"ll get in trouble." "Dana." This time, Dan touched her face. He hesitated at first, he could just disobey the script on him holding her face, and instead just look at her. But.. he didn"t know why he did it. When his hands touched Natalie, Natalie flinched. "Crap," She thought. "Daniel idiot. Now I really can"t look at you face to face right now." But she did. "Dana." Prince Joseph said. "I. lo-" Dan doesn"t want to say it. He hated himself for having second thoughts about it. This is just a play, he thought, this is not real. Why can"t he just say it? Does some part of him think its real? "I lov-" Then the lights turned off and everything went dark. Done. Tell me what you think about it. Reviews :)) A/N: Hey there! I decided to update, since I wasn"t too busy. This fic"s almost over. The next chapter may be the last one. And thanks for the reviews :). You do all like cliffhangers. Or do you hate it? Anyways. Please read this chapter and enjoy. Review. P.S, For the anon who asked if Natalie and Dan would kiss, hmmm, I dont think Dan and Natalie would in this fic. Hehe. Sorry, if ever. Detention Room "I"m done with this. I"m tired of hearing all the noise outside." Madison was saying. "Me too. Let"s get this started with. I want to escape now." Her sister, Reagan, agreed. "Okay. Okay." Ned said. "So when I push this button and this little light here goes red, it mean it"s safe to go out." "We know we know." Madison said, annoyed. "Ready?" Ted said. They pushed the button. They should"ve waited for the light on the device to turn red, but instead, all the light in the whole building went off. "What the?" Ted said. Everywhere, it was dark. The four of them couldn"t see anything. Reagan screamed. Not a terrified scream, but an angered scream. "You two always mess things up. You"re little device? It. Doesn"t. Work. And I thought everything will go well." "Shut it Ballet Bulldog." Ted said. "It does work alright, but the problem is. What was the problem Ned?" "I don"t know, I guess we brought the wrong one. Remember last week we made two of these. They look the same. We experimented on the other one, fiddled with it, and we didn"t know what it does." "Well we do now." Madison said. "God, I can"t believe I trusted you guys." "Well, we"re sorry okay." Ned and Ted both said. There was silence. Then Ned spoke up. "So, does anybody have a light or anything?" "Oh yeah." Reagan said. She fiddled with her bag, feeling it"s contents since she couldn"t see anything. "Aha!" She said. She was holding a little flashlight in her hands. She flicked it on, giving the room a little illumination. "Hey, our plan didn"t fail you know." Ted said. "It"s all dark here. Why don"t we just get out. The cameras can"t see us, right?" The four looked at each other, or looked at where they think their companions are. They stopped for moment, thinking how then never thought about just going out with their current situation. "Reagan, turn the light off." Madison said. She did. And they felt their way out of the room. Dan wasn"t sure what to feel when the lights turned off. Was it relief that he never get to finish what he was about to say? Or was it the opposite. Either way, it was now chaos here. People were standing up, and trying to get out of the stadium. Dan couldn"t see it, of course, but he could hear the noise. Then he thought. "Natalie, wheres Natalie?" He waved his hands in front of him as you would do when you"re walking and the place is very dark. "Natalie?" He called out. Then someone grabbed his arms. Tightly. It was Natalie. "Here." She said. Dan sighed. "Don"t just grab my hands Cob-." Dan didn"t get to finish it. Someone ran in front of them and he hit Natalie, disrupting her balance and down she fell. With Dan, "cause she was still holding him. "See?" Dan said. "If you hadn"t held me. You would"ve fallen by yourself. And I wouldn"t be sitting with my butt aching on the floor." "Shut up, Daniel." Natalie said. She said, She was quivering. Dan wanted to argue more, but there"s something about Natalie this time that told him he shouldn"t. There seem to be something wrong with the way she was talking, Dan thought. Was she... crying? Then they heard a loud sound from beside them. It was a prop, maybe, that fell down with all the chaos around. And Natalie was startled again, since the sound was very close to her, and she ran her arms around Dan, hugging him tightly. Dan was surprised at what she did. "Ahhh. Cobra. Too tight." Dan said. He was glad it was dark. He wasn"t sure if he was blushing or not. But if he is, then it"s better that Natalie didn"t see it. Natalie was shaking. Wow, Dan thought. He never thought Natalie has this side on her. Maybe she"s like any other girl too, she gets scared too, and she depends on whoever"s with her when she"s frightened. Dan was perplexed by the thought, but it didn"t seem wrong. It seemed...cute? "Ahh. Cobra?" Dan said. "You do realize you"re hugging me ri-" "I know." Natalie said. "And shut up." Dan was surprised at first, but then he smiled. But Natalie didn"t see it. "Dan?" Natalie said. "Yeah?" "Next time." Natalie said. "What?" Dan asked. "Next time you should hug the girl first." Natalie said. Dan didn"t reply, but Natalie could feel him chuckling. "You know, in the play, you can"t look at me straight in the eye. But here, backstage, without the lights, you suddenly hug-." Natalie held him tighter, cutting his air. He didn"t finish his sentence. Natalie was quiet. Dan thought she may be embarrassed about it. But she shouldn"t be, Dan thought. She shouldn"t be. "Aggggghhh." Amy wasn"t quite sure where to be annoyed. The fact that the lights turned off or the fact that he didn"t get to hear his little brother say "I love you" to a girl. "What happened?" Hamilton asked. "Why did it suddenly turn off." "Electrical problems, maybe." Sinead said. "We need to get out of here." Ian grabbed a flashlight from his bag. "Here. But we need to find Dan and Natalie first." "Of course." Amy agreed. She grabbed the flashlight from Ian"s hand and walked towards the stage, or where she thinks the stage is. The three of them followed suit. Ian catched up to walk beside Amy. "Natalie must be frightened right now." Ian said. "What? You"re sister? Afraid of the dark? I don"t think so." Amy said. "Agreed." Hamilton said and Sinead said. "Well, she isn"t afraid of going into dark places but. Maybe, just maybe, she may be afraid if the light suddenly turns off." "What"s the difference?" Amy asked. "Well, I might have scared her when we were little." "Really now?" Amy said. "Yeah. She was in her room playing. She was still five then. And I turned off the lights and I walked around her room making creepy noises. She cried, but I just laughed, It went on for about 5 minutes and then I turned on the lights to see her hugging a big stuffed toy beside her, and her eyes were puffy from crying. When I saw her like that, I was ashamed of myself. She may be a little brat, but I felt bad with what I did to her then." "Awwww." Amy said. "Good brother. I mean bad brother, but feeling conscience for what he did." "Does that mean you"ll like me now." Ian said teasingly. "No." Amy said, then she laughed. "Well I for one would really hope that Natalie is hugging my little brother right now." She cotinued "Me too, Ames." Sinead agreed from behind. "That would be really cute." "I doubt that. Natalie and Dan hate each oth-" Hamilton was saying, but he stopped when he saw the scene. Amy illuminated a corner, and Natalie was in fact hugging Dan. But it wasn"t a romantic hug, of course. It was more of like "protect me" hug. "Sometimes, doubting is wrong." Sinead said to Hamilton. "Owkay. Wasn"t expecting that." Hamilton said. "Me too." Ian agreed. "I was hoping that." Amy said. "Shut up you guys." Dan said. "What are you talking about?" "Nothing, brother dear." Amy said. "Just discussing how surprised I am to see you two. In that... state." "She hugged me. The Cobra hugged me. I never thought she"s be scared." Dan said. Natalie pinched him in the back. "Ouch." Dan said. It took a little time for Natalie to release Dan. Maybe she was wiping her tears away first? "I"ll kill you, Ian." Natalie said, looking at his brother. "Let"s settle that when we get home." Ian said. "In the meantime, I want to see you hug my brother again. Go on. You two look perfectly cute. I would take a picture." "No way I"m hugging him again." Natalie said. "No way I"m letting her hug me again." Dan said. "Lies. Such sweet lies." Amy said. "I swear I"m going to kill you too Amy." Dan said. "Oh look." Amy said, looking at Ian, Sinead, and Hamilton. "The two already proposed a plan to kill their own siblings. How sweet." Then suddenly, the lights turned back on. Four people were running towards them. They knew those people. And those people weren"t supposed to be here. "Aren"t you in detention?" Sinead said, talking to her brothers. "Well, yeah. We managed to get out." Ned said, then he grinned at his sister. "Is the play over?" Madison said. "It wasn"t over, but it was interrupted." Hamilton said. "The lights suddenly turned off." Ian said. The four stifled a bit, teensy bit. But the others probably noticed it. "Well, the lights went out in the detention room too. And so, here we are." Ted said, grinning like his brother. "That"s good then." Sinead said. "But you still didn"t see the play. But at least now you"re out of detention." The four of them sighed. They already agreed that no one should know about it. That they were the one"s behind the electric problem. Or should they say, Device Malfunction. "When we get home, tell me what happened to your little invention and why it interrupted a beautiful play, ok?" Sinead said, directing the question to his brothers. Ted and Ned looked at each other. "We can never escape our sister." Ted said. "Never." Ned agreed. ""Cause she"s amazing." Hamilton suddenly spurted out. Everyone looked at him, including Sinead. "What did you just say about our sister?" Ned said. "She"s amazing. Hehe. Yeah. Amazing. At getting you two in trouble. Yeah. That"s it. Hehe." Hamilton said, trying his best lie. Then he looked at Sinead, who smiled before she turned away. After the play, or more precisely, after the disruption on the play, when the lights were turned on and all activities in the building resumed, there was a sorry speech. The operators said they weren"t expecting the problem, and that they are trying to find out whatever happened. The play resumed. All that was left after all was a wedding. Royal Wedding between Dan and Natalie, or Prince Joseph and Dana. It took a lot of time to convince the King. Especially the part where Princess Joanna tried to kill Dana. But eventually, it all turned out well. The curtains closed as Prince Joseph and Natalie were about to kiss. There were applause from the crowd. The play sure was fantastic. Their efforts didn"t go to waste. When the curtain was completely closed, Dan pushed away Natlie, who was leaning close to him as a "kiss" act. "Get away from me Cobra, if you lean in more closer, I might die." She slapped Dan"s hand away from her shoulder. She ignored what he said. "Finally, the nightmare"s over." He said. "Yeah." Natalie agreed. "Good work everyone. Nice job!" Mrs. Bills called out. "I have a surprise for you the next time we have our class." Some cheers from the actors. Natalie and Dan looked at each other. They smiled, and quickly turned away. After awhile, they changed to their normal clothes. The stage was now taken by a band playing loud songs while students crowded the hall. The Cahills meet up in the corner, away from the dancing students. "So, I guess we should enjoy the festival now?" Amy said. "Yeah." Sinead agreed." "Where do you guys wanna go?" Amy asked. Then Ian grabbed her hand. "Milady and I would like to go somewhere." Ian said. "What?" Amy said, trying to remove her hand from Ian"s. Dan was pushing her away from the group. "Go with him. We know you want to." Dan said. Happy to get revenge at his sister with all this love crap. "Yeah, Amy. Come on" Ian said. Then he ran off, Amy trudging behind. "Well that was fast." Hamilton said. "Sooo. How bout you?" Sinead said, looking at Hamilton. "Weeeell. I don"t know. It isn"t fun walking around alone." Hamilton said. "Go with Sophie then." Sinead said. "I prefer you go with me." Hamilton said. "Oh yeah. I have something to ask you. About math again. And a little word play." "Don"t fool me again Ham." Sinead said. "Oh come on. Please?" Hamilton said. Sinead sighed. "Fine. But this better be good." "Of course." Hamilton said, and off they went. "Well that was fast too." Dan said, looking at Natalie. "Weeeell, I guess I"ll go around. Take some break and think about how ridiculous I"ve been in front of that stage today." "I guess I will too." Natalie said. "You don"t want to go with me like the others?" Dan asked. "Definitely not." Natalie said. Dan pursed his lips, shrugged his shoulders, and went off. Natalie to the other side. "Sooo. We"re the only ones left here?" Ted said. "Yeah." Reagan agreed. "Four of us, again." "Hey, let"s enjoy the time. Imagine, right now, we should be in detention, but see? Were out. Let"s do what we can." Ned said. "Agreed, but we"re not going with you two nerds." Madison said. She and her sister walked off. "It was fun being in detention with you guys!" Ned called out. "Let"s see each other in detention again." Madison and Reagan stopped walking, they turned around and stuck their tongue out. Ned waved his hands at them. "Dude? You sure about that?" Ted asked his brother. "With the detention thing? Not quite, but with the "together" part..." Ned said. "Yeah. I agree." Ted said. "Where do you think the others went by the way?" Ned said. "I don"t know. They all went away in pairs. Except for Natalie and Dan. Our sister"s with Ham." Ted said. Ned was silent. Then Ted spoke. "Do you think we should find them? And Amy and Ian too." "No." Ned said. "Let"s just leave them be." He looked at his brother. "We"ll only be causing trouble, and we don"t want another trouble do we?" "Yeah." Ted agreed. "But how do you say let"s find Reagan and Madison? It"s no fun walking around, just the two of us." "Okay, then." Ned said. Done. What do you think will happen? Keep watch for the last chapter. What"s your favorite part in this story? Do tell. Reviews :) A/N: Hey guys! Finally reached the last chapter of this fic. Here it is, please read and review. And enjoy too. :) Sinead and Hamilton was sitting on the bench. At this time, they should be walking around enjoying the place, but instead they were solving math equations. "So what"s this about now?" Sinead asked. "Here." Hamilton said, handing out a paper with a complicated math problem written on it. "Solve this." "Owwwkay." Sinead said. "I"ll try." It took some time before Sinead answered the problem. The whole time, Hamilton was just watching her, trying not to laugh. "Done." Sinead said. "Wow." Hamilton said. "Already? That"s my girl." "You"re girl?" Sinead asked. "Nothing." Hamilton said. "So... the word play part?" Sinead asked. "Oh yeah." Hamilton said. "Here." It was another paper, and some words were written on it: A round object used in transportation Comes after Tea (Stay) (In) : Inside the parenthesis is the antonym of the answer. "Dry up" minus "er" Third musical syllable. "Answer that." Hamilton said. "Hmmm. Let"s see." Sinead said, grabbing the paper. "A round object used in transportation? That"s easy... Wheel?" She turned to see Hamilton, who shrugged his shoulders. "Comes after Tea?" Sinead said. "I don"t know. Conversations? Can I skip that?" "Yeah." Hamilton said. "Inside the parenthesis is the antonym of the answer... So "Go" for stay and "Out" for in?" She was now talking to herself. "Dry up minus er. There"s no er in dry up." She continued. "I"ll skip that." "Third musical syllable." Sinead said. "Do re mi... Mi?"

Sasayan reached out his hand and grabbed the phone from Natsume. He puts it in his ear and what he heard was the voice of a man. Sasayan tries to figure things out. Judging from the look of Natsume, she doesn"t seem to know this man. This wasn"t the first time Natsume"s ignored a phone call either. She"d done it a few times in this day alone. His eyes landed on the flyers and noticed that her number was on it. Like looking for a lost dog. "If seen, please contact *her phone number here*". Those words were written in the flyer. Sasayan gave Natsume a look of disapproval. "Hello? Is this really that flyer girl"s number? I saw you putting one near my class and wow, you"re cute!" The boy on the phone said. "You know, I"ve noticed you since the first day of school but I never got to know your name-" Sasayan was listening to the continuous rambling on the phone. "Hey stop it, dude. The number was there for contact if you"ve seen the person on the flyer." The boy on the phone replied. Sasayan was starting to get ticked off. "If you want to tell how you feel about someone-" Sasayan got cut off. The boy on the phone was starting to get really annoying. "You have no idea how lame you sound right now." Sasayan said. Natsume was looking at him weirdly but he ignores it. The boy on the phone doesn"t back down. "I"m just tying to tell you that"s not how things wor-" Sasayan sighed. "Yes!" Sasayan yelled. "Yes, I am! So stop calling this number again for this kind of talk alright?" The boy on the phone scoffed and hang up first. Sasayan handed Natsume"s phone awkwardly. He couldn"t seem to look at her directly. "What did you say to him?" Natsume asks. "Nothing much." Sasayan said. "You sounded angry..." "No. That"s just how I talk." "Are you seriously kidding me right now?" "Natsume, I seriously wish you"d just continue scolding me right now. Like what was it? You won"t invite me to your date with Haru or something?" Natsume rolls her eyes again. Sasayan smiles triumphantly. "As I said, when Haru gets back, we will have a celebration with Mitty and Ooshima and Iyo and even Kenji! Yes! Even that guy I despise so much and not you! There will be no Sasayan in the-" Natsume gets cut off again. A classmate of theirs was leaning her head out the window, looking down to where the both of them are standing. "Natsume-san! There you are. Mr. Hashima says you need to pass your 3-day late assignment already or he"s going to fail you!" "Crap!" Natsume says. She hands out all the remaining flyers in her hands to Sasayan. "Why are you doing this to me?" Sasayan could only say. "Redemption!" She says and she leaves him there, running as fast as she could to who knows where. Probably Mitty, she"s going to need help for her assignment. Yes, most probably Mitty. Sasayan sighed. How did he manage to fall with this kind of girl? A/N: Oh would you look at that! Another chapter! I"m just here trying to savor the last few moments of freedom before school will probably swallow me for the following weeks. So here"s another one. I hope you enjoy it and don"t forget to leave any reviews. 24 Sasayan usually sees a lot of strange things as he walks on their school"s hallways. One time, he witnessed a girl slapping her boyfriend across the face, and then apologizing for it afterwards, touching the boy"s face gently. He also saw a teacher once, giggling sweetly while looking at their phone. He bumped into a student once who was apparently practicing trying to walk backwards. On that morning, he didn"t need to see who it actually was. A familiar brown-haired girl was keeping her eyes on one of the bulletin boards. Apparently, Natsume still wasn"t over with the flyers. "Are you out there, hungry and alone? Are you hurt and alone?" Natsume was talking to the picture of Haru posted on the board. "He"s really not a lost dog, Natsume-san." Sasayan says. Though he worries his words doesn"t have any effect on her. "Why are you so concerned about Yoshida-kun? Though I guess I am a bit worried too." He continues to say after Natsume hasn"t replied. "Because Mitty is pretending like she doesn"t care." Natsume replies sadly. Sasayan can see from her eyes that she was really serious about this. Of course she is. He remembered once when he had a little fight with her, she was talking about female camaraderie. She was doing her job to support Mizutani here. "If it"s something I can do, shouldn"t I do something? Even though Mitty doesn"t tell me anything. Even though we"re friends. And Haru-kun as well. If he"s having trouble he could at least come and ask me for some advice. What do those two see me as? Argh, when I think about it, tears come into my eyes..." What about me, then? Am I your friend or not? Sasayan was thinking, but Natsume was always like this. Sometimes, he really does ask himself why he likes a girl who doesn"t even consider him that much. "It"s okay Natsume-san. He"ll come back soon." Sasayan says instead. From behind him, Sasayan can hear laughter from some familiar boys. He looks back to see that he knew them from his middle school. "Sorry, I sound like I"m whining." Natsume says from his side, but Sasayan was not looking at her. He was looking at his middle school friend. "So after sticking this flyers, today"s melon bread-" Natsume wasn"t able to finish her sentence because Sasayan spoke. "Sorry, I thought I just saw my friend. Natsume, go on home without me." He says, and then he walks off without looking back at Natsume. At that gesture, Natsume was surprised. "What?" She shrieked. "What am I gonna do with this "Special-limited one per person" melon bread?!" "I"m really sorry." Sasayan says as he continues to walk. "I"ll pass today." For the longest time, Natsume"s eyes were not focused on Haru"s flyer but on the figure of Sasayan walking away from him. She was stomping her feet and yelling at him. She was definitely angry. "You were the one who wanted to eat it!" But Natsume"s words were useless. Sasayan was gone. Sasayan didn"t want to pass up a moment with Natsume, of course. But the thing with Shinjou has bothered him since the school festival. And he didn"t even expect Natsume would notice it. He tried to keep it all to himself because it was entirely his problem, after all. He didn"t want to bother anyone else. Was there really a problem, even? Perhaps he was just thinking of it too much. When he looks at Shinjou now, he seemed really happy. It seems like nothing has happened. It seemed like Sasayan didn"t have a fuss with him back in the days. Perhaps that"s what irked him the most: the fact that he"s still letting a thing from the past affect him while Shinjou is off laughing. Perhaps he should try to laugh, too. When Sasayan left Natsume after saying he thought he saw a friend, he wasn"t actually planning on following anyone. He didn"t really have plans. He just wanted to escape as soon as possible. And so he found himself just walking to who knows where? He regretted leaving almost instantly, he was kind of hungry. The thought of melon bread sure is appealing, but he"s not sure what will happen to him if he suddenly show up in front of Natsume after rejecting her. Rejecting her, now that was a funny thought. He managed to smile. As he was walking down a few flight of stairs, he noticed a familiar figure sitting at the bottom step. He doesn"t need to look at the face to know that it was Haru. His stance as he sat, his black hair that sprung out everywhere, it all spoke too much of who he is. "What are you doing over there, Yoshida? Actually... where have you been all this time?" He says. Yoshida looks at him but he doesn"t look surprised. It"s like he was expecting that he"d meet up suddenly with someone he knows. Haru explains his situation and Sasayan listens. While they were talking, Sasayan wonders if he should share his problems. "It"s always about his friends, his friends! Then what am I to him?" Natsume was walking home alone, furious at a certain guy. "What"s so great about having boy friends?" She grumbles. She kicks little stones as she walks. She was thinking about the complexity of Sasayan: how he doesn"t seem to act the way Natsume would think he would. If she thinks about it, it"s ridiculous how she is upset with how unpredictable Sasayan is. Also when she does, she sees his face, remembers how he talks to other people, how he mingles with his pals in baseball. She doesn"t want to think about it, but he doesn"t really act as if he confessed his feelings to her. Not that she"s complaining, but she thinks this is another reason why he couldn"t understand boys at all. "Well, that"s fine by me! Wasn"t I the one who wanted him to stop?! That Sasayan-kun... Hmph, when I go back, I"ll just share the melon bread with Haru-kun!" At the thought of Haru, she stops on her heels. She looks up at the clouds and starts to get sad. "Haru-kun, can"t you come home soon?" She was practically talking to no one. She fishes the melon bread coupon from her back and looks at it in dismay. She doesn"t particularly like melon breads. Sasayan was the one who wanted to eat it. Sasayan! And he wasn"t even there. Natsume was so upset. She was also upset why she was upset about it. "Well, I"ll have to eat myself. Mitty won"t come even if I ask her, too. And screw Sasayan! He"s probably laughing with his "boy friends" right now. Why am I always talking to myself?" She says, walking towards the path that leads to the store which sells the "Special-limited one per person" melon bread. When she enters the store, she was surprised to see that it wasn"t crowded. She was expecting a lot of people, but it seems like she was wrong. The place wasn"t bad. It was warm and they sold a lot of bread other than melon. It made her happy. Despite being alone, she was smiling as she was looking at the rows of food. But no, she came to the shop to purchase the melon bread. She hands the coupon to the cashier. She puts the other coupon back because she wasn"t supposed to be alone. Sasayan was still with Haru as they were walking home. He managed to tell Haru about Shinjou. He hasn"t really forgotten about being bothered about it though. Sometimes, it sucks to be a person who, as Natsume might call it, "Mr. Popular". Sometimes he wished he wasn"t as talkative to people. As they were walking, Haru randomly blurts out words Sasayan least expected to hear from him. Iyo"s observation can"t be helped, but he forgot about Yoshida at all. He wouldn"t have thought he would suddenly ask him if he likes Natsume. He didn"t know what to feel: attacked or annoyed or what. "Don"t ever repeat such weird things again." Sasayan says. "Well, she doesn"t trust guys at all so it would be hard." Haru says. "You seem to get her a lot." "That"s because I talk to her the most." "You should be that way with Mizutani-san." "You understand her, right?" Haru says and this time looks at Sasayan. "That"s why you like her, right?" Sasayan turns away. He can tell he was going red right now and it"s not really helping that Haru has to see him this way. Understand her? He was thinking about it. Does he really understand Natsume at all? Perhaps he does. After all, he was probably the first guy who confessed to her and got to keep her as a friend for the longest time. Perhaps he was doing a great job. Natsume still hasn"t cut him off, although she has been continuously threatening him, though. "Oh right, next break, come with me to see Shinjou." Sasayan says. "Why are you changing the subject?" Haru replies. "I"m not." Sasayan says. As they reached the intersection, Sasayan has never felt so relieved. They would part ways then. Haru waved goodbye before saying "Tell me about you and Natsume,okay?" Sasayan doesn"t answer but he waves back. So he was alone again. All the talk about Natsume made him think of her. She must be really angry at him right now. He was thinking she was probably talking to herself right now and cursing at him or whatever. The thought made him laugh. He realizes he laughed twice without reasons on that day. No, it was her fault. He was still walking when he passed by the store where he once told Natsume to accept the coupons for a melon bread. He realized it too late but he wasn"t expecting Natsume to be there. What was she thinking? Was she that upset? But there she was. The two of them awkwardly looked at each other through the wall of glass. Natsume was holding her melon break to her mouth. She hasn"t taken a bite yet. Sasayan was just looking at her. He wasn"t even offering up a shy smile or something. Natsume turns away first and takes a huge bite from her food. She doesn"t look at him after that. Sasayan feels his stomach make a noise. Haru could have hit him up with some food or something. He goes inside the shop, trailing his eyes to where Natsume was sitting. She wasn"t looking at him, but he knows she knows they"ll see eye to eye later. He sits in front of her and she doesn"t say anything. She continues to eat her bread as if there wasn"t anyone with her. She doesn"t even look at him. "Natsume, I"m sorry." Sasayan says. "Was your friend fun to be with?" Natsume says sarcastically. "Oh Sasayan-kun, this melon bread is too delicious. Too bad I throw your coupon away." "I knew you"d be upset but I don"t think you"d throw away precious stuff like that." Sasayan replies. "You don"t know me." Natsume says. She was talking and crumbds were falling from her mouth. "Of course I know you, that was why I stated liking-" "Shut uuuuuuuuuuup!" Natsume says. "I should go." "Hey!" Sasayan says. He almost holds her hand but he was quick to stop himself. "I was just joking. I"ll stop. Okay, I"ll stop." Natsume doesn"t talk to him. "Should I go?" Sasayan says. Natsume doesn"t reply. Sasayan stands up and Natsume doesn"t stop him. So he goes to the counter. "Did she really throw a coupon a while ago?" Sasayan asks the counter. Natsume can hear this from where she was sitting. She quckly turned around to give the cashier a death glare. "I think she put one back in her bag-" "Seriously!" Natsume says. "Why is no one on my side!" "I"m on your side, Natsume-san. I"m always on your side. Well, apart from when we"re fighting over ridiculous matter. That"s why you should give me that coupon. So I can order one now and you won"t have to be eating alone." "Oooooh. You"re so sly." Natsume says. " .HA. You think that works on me? Don"t even try, Sasayan-kun." "I"m not." Sasayan says. "But seriously, I"ve gotten hungry. I was talking to-" Sasayan stopped himself. He should probably tell her about Haru. But on second thought... "Talking to your precious boy friends?" Natsume says. "Yes. Talking to my friends. Not let me eat. Please." He says. "If you want, sir. I can give one free bread for you-" The cashier says. "What? Did you fall for this guy"s words?" Natsume was yelling at the cashier. She was glad there wasn"t anyone around at that time. Sasayan wasn"t kidding when he said she"d be eating "alone". "No, really ma"am. There"s a free taste corner here." The woman replies. Natsume was embarrassed. She goes back to sitting. A few seconds later, she talks. "Here!" She holds out her hand, the coupon wedged between her fingers. Sasayan takes it but Natsume wasn"t looking. After a while, both of them were sitting face to face with each other. "This melon bread is great." Sasayan says. "It is." Natsume says, but there"s no emotion in her tone. "But listen to me, Natsume-san. I"m really selfish right now. I really am. You might even hate me afterwards when you find out." Sasayan says. "Oh boy, can I possibly imagine?" Natsume says. Sasayan laughs lightly. "No, really. But does this count a date?" "I"m leaving." Natsume says. As she stands up, Sasayan grabs her hand, but quickly let"s go. At least he made Natsume stop. "I"m sorry." Sasayan says. "But I can"t let you go. I mean, while I"m still here." He says. Natsume sighs. "If we weren"t friends, I"d cut you off a long time ago." "Yes, I know." Sasayan says. "Thanks for not doing it. Really." Sasayan says. "Also, Natsume-san, there are crumbs on your mouth." Sasayan watches as she frantically wipes her face. He laughs for the third time because of her that day. This wasn"t really bad, he thinks to himself. He felt guilty because Natsume had been so worried about Yoshida and Sasayan didn"t tell her that he was back. If he did, Natsume would leave this instant and drag him along to meet Haru. Or worse, she could call him and invite him over. Anyways, his date will be ruined. Natsume will never consider this as one, but Sasayan could. Besides, she"ll find out about Haru eventually anyway. For now, he just wants to forget about Shinjou and look at Natsume. A/N: Aaaggh. Feeling kind of not busy today. Decided to post another one. Since this week would be one hell of an exam week, and from then on I"d be deprived of their cuteness. This chappy"s kind of short, but I hope it can still live up to that Sasanatsu feels. Now. Need to study. R/R :) 4 "Gaaaaaaaah." The whole room was filled with an agonizing scream of defeat from a girl named Natsume. It"s been their fifth game and Natsume was already tired of losing. "Haru kun." She said. "Are you really not cheating?" They"ve been playing cards, and throughout their rounds, she had always lost. Haru had won all of them. She looked at her fellow players. "Mitty." She cried, pleading to let her win even just once, or at least let her not be in the last place. She turned to Sasayan. "Sasayan-kun." She said, looking at him as if he did something unforgivable. Sasayan raised his eyebrows. "What did I do?" "I can"t stand losing to a boy, especially to Sasayan-kun." "Ah." Sasayan felt insulted. "What about Haru?" "I can accept that Haru can beat me, but not Sasayan-kun." "What about another round then?" Sasayan said, smirking. "You beat me, well, I treat you something. If I win, you stop that... thing." "Hmmm." Natsume thought about it. "Ah." Haru raised his hand. "We"re playing too. You guys shouldn"t have any bets that involve only you two." "Haru." Mitty said, her voice as serious as her face. Her hand was on his shoulder. "Let them be." Haru looked at her back and thought for a while. He concluded Shizuku just don"t want to be involved with some kind of wager. She didn"t even agree to play with them in the first place. But Natsume insisted. Oh, Shizuku. "Yo, manager." Sasayan said as soon as Micchan stepped inside. Micchan waved his hands. "Playing cards, eh?" He said. "Who"s losing?" Natsume"s face turned red as soon as everyone turned their eyes on her. "One round." Natsume screamed. "Just give me one chance. Sasayan-kun, no cheating." "I-I"m not..." But Natsume didn"t let him continue. So they started their game. The manager was watching them as they played. He was done cleaning the counter and Natsume still hasn"t made her turn yet. She noticed Micchan look at her, he came closer. He peeked at her cards and reached out his hand. He took one and threw it on the table. "Let me help you with this." He said. He turned to her. "You don"t want to lose again." Natsume was supposed to feel embarrassed about it, and her face didn"t fail to show it. Sasayan can"t help but watch her in that state. He didn"t know why the way Natsume looked at Micchan bothered him. "Ah. It"s my turn then." Sasayan said. He threw a card. "An ACE?" Natsume screamed. "Baka baka Sasayan-kun. You should"ve told me you"ve had that." "If I did, then I"d lose." Sasayan said. Natsume stayed quiet. It was then Shizuku"s turn, and then Haru"s, and then it was back to Natsume"s. She was scanning her cards carefully but Micchan had already picked one. When he threw out one, Sasayan gasped. "Waah." He couldn"t help himself. "Seriously?" And for the first time ever, Natsume had a chance. Even Shizuku and Haru were surprised. Sasayan continued to scan his cards. His face was almost beading with sweat. "Gaaah. I give up." He admitted. "You win, this time." He looked at Natsume. Then he looked at the manager, "But I guess without the manager, you wouldn"t have done that." Natsume stuck her tongue out to him. "Sasayan-kun jealous." Then he looked at Mitty and Haru. "I won." She screamed in glee. "Congratulations." Micchan said. She turned to him and she receded from jumping up and down on her seat. "Ah, no. It"s.. Thank you, actually." Natsume said. "You cheated." Sasayan interrupted. "It wasn"t against the rule to have someone help you." Natsume said. She turned to Mitty. "Right?" Maybe Shizuku was just too tired to argue, so she just agreed to Natsume. "Congratulations, Natsume-san." Haru said. "Another round?" She was quick to say no. "Ha-ha-ha." Natsume laughed. "Sasayan-kun. Now you treat me." "You had someone help you." "Yeah. But I won!" "Should I treat the manager, too?" Sasayan said. "Hahahaha." Haru laughed. "Sasayan"s such a kid." "Go take her out on a date." "Not a date!" The two of them said in unison. They looked at each other after they said it. Sasayan looked down, but Natsume continued to speak. "Sasayan"s just jealous." "I"m not jealous." Sasayan said quietly. "What should I be jealous about?"

"Oh," Tina said. "Do you like Chianti?" "Chianti," Evey repeated, trying not to laugh. "No, there"s this winery out in California my dad"s got stock in...We"ve got cases of the stuff at home. It"s pretty good." Tina nodded, not having a comeback to that, because her father probably didn"t own stock in anything, and had probably never seen any wine besides the cheap chianti bottles they put on tables in Italian restaurants to hold candles. "Me and Pitts are working on a hi-fi system. It shouldn"t be that hard to, uh, to put together," Meeks said, trying to impress Gloria and Tina again, but it looked like it was going nowhere fast- apparently they were"t the types that liked boys in glasses with high test scores and bright futures. "Yeah. Uh, I might be going to Yale," Pitts began. "But, I, I might not," He finished lamely. "Don"t you guys miss having girls around here?" Gloria asked, taking a long drag from her cigarette, clearly a girl who"d been around the block before a few times and who was beginning to wonder what sort of nest of nerds she"d walked into. " Yeah," Meeks and Pitts said at the same time, nodding like dummies. Neil wrapped his arm around Evey a little tighter and Evey turned to covertly kiss his ear, blowing softly into it to make him shudder a little. "That"s part of what this club is about," Charlie said. "Regaining the calming influence of women in our turbulent lives. In fact, I"d like to announce I published an article in the school paper, in the name of the Dead Poets." "What?" Cameron asked, horrified. " Demanding girls be admitted to Welton," Charlie summarized, looking pleased with himself. "You didn"t," Pitts said, just as mortified as Cameron. "So we can all stop beating off," Charlie whispered to Meeks. Evey rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Charlie, are you nuts?" she asked. Charlie ignored her, still pleased as punch at the impression he"d made. " How did you do that?" Neil asked, interested and concerned at the same time. "I"m one of the proofers. I slipped the article in," Charlie said with a shrug. "Look, uh, it"s, it"s over now," Meeks said, shaking his head. The gaity of earlier had gone. "Why? Nobody knows who we are," defended Charlie. "Charlie, this is absurd," Evey said. "I don"t care what you think about co-education, I"m all for it, but this-this is the wrong way to do it. I"ll see you guys," she said, disgusted, picking up her coat and leaving the cave. Neil gave Charlie a scathing look and dashed out after Evey. "Evey! Evey, wait up!" "Neil, I can"t believe you are letting them waste their time with those girls!" Evey said once they were far enough away from the cave that the ongoing argument would drown out their own. "They"re old enough to make their own decisions on how to be stupid!" Neil said. "They"re not aware of the fact that those are the kind of girls who eat poor guys like Meeks and spit them out in the trash as broken men!" Evey said. "And I like your friends, Neil! I like them a lot! They"re smart and funny guys who happen to live with a bunch of men all the time and don"t know the ways of women, which I know (from personal use) can be terrible things. And I don"t want to see them get hurt by callous bitches like Gloria and Tina who wear enough make-up to send a whore packing and who don"t know Shakespeare from shit! They are so much better than that!" "Evey, wait," Neil plead. "No, Neil, forget it. I"m going home. I"ll see you at practice when you"ve all sobered up." And she was gone, pedaling into the autumn mist. The poem used in this chapter (aside from Byron and Yeats) is my own; I won a poetry slam with it my Junior Year of High school. Ironically, that is the final copy, so any editing would be to Evey"s discredit. I decided I needed to include this episode after watching DPS again, and suddenly Evey was really pissed off. I have no idea why. So- DRAMA for our dramatic teenagers. Who knew? Reviews, please? passes hat Act Four, Scene One: A cold reception Evey didn"t greet him when practice started. She didn"t step in to save him when Veronica, the girl playing Hermia, started flirting with him again, and she didn"t even respond to him when he asked her from the wings again to listen to him. In fact, it wasn"t until the end of practice that he even got her attention, shouting, "TITANIA!" from the stage in his best Oberon-esque voice. The whole auditorium turned to look at him. Evey was the last to turn, looking coldly at him. Neil swallowed, and began his speech, cobbled together from The Two Gentlemen of Verona, which she"d recommended to him for its brilliant comedy. "Not for the world would I leave her aside why, man, she is mine own, my best belovèd!" he declared, pointing to her from the stage. "And I as rich in having such a jewel As twenty seas, if all their sand were pearl, The water nectar and the rocks pure gold." He dropped his arm, staring at her, hoping, praying that this would work. "Forgive me that I do not dream on thee," he begged, "because thou see"st me dote upon another. For love, thou know"st, is full of jealousy. Forgive me, tender valentine, if sorrow, Be a sufficient ransom for offence, I tender it here; I do as truly suffer Silence as e"er I did commit." The whole room was silent, and then, out of nowhere, Miss Pevensie was clapping, walking down to where Evey was standing and whispering in her ear. Evey was crying now, and she nodded, furiously, blinking back tears and running down the aisle to hug him, and suddenly, everyone else was clapping. "You butchered that," she said through the tears. "I know," Neil said. "I"m glad you noticed." "When did you do that?" Evey asked, looking at him desperately. "In between worrying about you and worrying about Charlie getting expelled," Neil said. "I had a lot of sorrows to muddle over." Evey gave a very wet laugh and fished a handkerchief from her pocket, blowing her nose. "I"m sure you did, you priceless fool." With the rest of the cast in on the relationship (there were a few who after two weeks had still been in the dark about it) Neil and Evey felt a little bit more free to indulge in the public displays of affection some of the other members of the cast felt no shame in partaking in. "A merrier hour was never wasted there," Neil said aloud to Evey - they were lounging on a stack of cushions backstage, waiting for practice to start; Miss Penvensie had delayed it an hour because her archery team had practice, too. "But, room, fairy! here comes Oberon." He sat up, looking down at her, still lying on the cushions. "And here my mistress. Would that he were gone!" Evey read in a high, singsong voice, handing him back the script so he could take Oberon"s lines. "Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania," Neil said, pitching his voice into a lower octave, the effect comic, but enough to maintain the mood. "What, jealous Oberon! Fairies, skip hence: I have forsworn his bed and company," Evey declared regally. "You wouldn"t do that to me, would you?" Neil asked. "Forswear my bed and company?" He asked, putting his nose in her face and tickling her side, making her giggle and writhe away. "I"ve already done that, and it wasn"t very much fun. And besides, I"ve never seen your bed, Neil, now come on, play Oberon. You"re stately and ...pissed off that I"m not sleeping with you." Evey explained. "Damn straight," Neil said, sitting back up, book in hand. "Tarry, rash wanton: am not I thy lord?" "Then I must be thy lady," Evey said, langorously seductive. "But I know when thou hast stolen away from fairy land, and in the shape of Corin sat all day, playing on pipes of corn and versing love to amorous Phillida," she accused. Neil had the sense to look appalled at her suggestions. "Why art thou here," she asked, suspicious, sitting up proudly. "Come from the farthest Steppe of India? But that, forsooth, the bouncing Amazon, your buskin"d mistress and your warrior love, to Theseus must be wedded, and you come to give their bed joy and prosperity," She said unsympathetically, almost threatening him with this knowledge. "Oh, lady, you have me wrong," Neil said, leaning into her, whispering. "How canst thou thus for shame, Titania, Glance at my credit with Hippolyta, Knowing I know thy love to Theseus? Wait," He said, breaking character, "You"re sleeping with Theseus and I"m sleeping with Hippolyta? Who came up with this arrangement?" "Shakespeare did," Evey said, hitting him over the head with her script. "It"s funny. But rest easy, the guy who"s playing Theseus is gay, so I don"t think you have a lot to worry about there." "Really?" Neil asked, curious and confused at the same time. The fellow had given him an off look once or twice during the last few weeks of rehearsal, but he hadn"t thought anything about it. At Welton, such things were swept under doormats and generally denied, though there were a few who chose to partake. "Yeah," Evey said, not concerned. "Really nice guy, Spencer, he"s done a few things here before. Really good actor, too. He would have gotten Oberon, but Greg"s taller and Oberon needs to be tall. Now come on. Keep going. Chastise me," she said in a winsome voice. Neil rolled his eyes and kept going. "Didst thou not lead him through the glimmering night from Perigenia, whom he ravished?And make him with fair Aegle break his faith, with Ariadne and Antiopa? Wow, Titania"s really making him sleep around," Neil said. "I"m not sure I want you playing this part." "I"m not sure I want your comments every five seconds, Neil! These are the forgeries of jealousy," Evey went on. "And never, since the middle summer"s spring, met we on hill, in dale, forest or mead, by paved fountain or by rushy brook, or in the beached margent of the sea, to dance our ringlets to the whistling wind," she looked at him suggestively, arching an eyebrow, "But with thy brawls thou hast disturb"d our sport." "I"d disturb all your sports if it meant I got to have you in the end," Neil said, kissing her again. It was a long kiss, with a little tongue- he was getting better at it, with a lot of help from Evelyn. "Mr. Perry, I"ll pretend I didn"t see that," Miss Pevensie said pertly. Apparently she was back from her archery practice. "I need my actors now, and not in dishabille, if you please." Evey got up quickly from the couch and went to her court of fairies, who immediately began whispering and stealing glances at Neil, who blushed a little and went back to his script as Miss Pevensie clapped her hands for Hippolyta and Theseus to began the opening scene. "views, pleases? They make my muse Neil happy. Act Four, Scene Three- The Villian Enters. "Neil, be sure to give this to Mr. Nolan," Miss Pevensie said before leaving. "It"s next week"s tech schedule." "Is it tech week already?" Neil asked, looking at the envelope in his hands. "Yes," said the director, a little harried herself. "That"s why there"s some schedule changes. We"re opening on Saturday night and I think we might go a little later than planned. I just want him to know." "I"ll see he gets it," Neil said, nodding and making for the door, turning his collar up against the cold as he pedaled back to Welton, a light snow falling. "Miss Pevensie thought you should have the schedule for next week, since it"s later than agreed upon," Neil said, handing Mr. Nolan the sealed envelope, proudly bearing the Henley Hall seal in the corner. Mr. Nolan slit the envelope, glancing over the timetable and thinking to himself. "This is very late for you to be staying out with just the bicycle, Neil," he said. "Ten o"clock, ten o"clock, midnight - we can"t have the caretaker stay up that late to watch for you." "I have to go to rehearsal," Neil said. "They"re counting on me to be there all five hours!" Mr. Nolan considered this and said, "Could we count on your honor as a student that you"d be home by twelve? No shenanigans, no...hooliganism?" "Yes, sir!" Neil defended. Mr. Nolan nodded, decidedly. "It"s settled then. On your honor as a student. You"ll be wanting the schedule back, I assume," he said, handing the paper back to Neil. "Thank you, Mr. Nolan, sir," Neil said, taking the steps two at a time back up to his room. What he found there wasn"t quite to his liking. His father was sitting at his desk, looking grim. "Father?" Neil asked, wondering what had brought him here. And suddenly, it was all clear. "Wait a minute," he began, "Before you say anything, please let me ex-" But Mr. Perry wasn"t listening to excuses and explanations. He was a man on a mission, and he"d say what he came to say. "Don"t you dare talk back to me! It"s bad enough that you"ve wasted your time with this... this absurd acting business. But you deliberately deceived me! How, how, how did you expect to get away with this? Answer me. Who put you up to it? Was it this new man? This, uh, Mr. Keating?" "No," defended Neil. "No, nobody-- I thought I"d surprise you. I"ve gotten all As in every class..." But his father wasn"t finished. "Did you think I wasn"t going to find out? "Oh, my niece is in a play with your son," says Mrs. Marks. "No, no, no," I say, "you must be mistaken. My son"s not in a play." You made me a liar of me, Neil!" He took a breath and composed himself. When he spoke again, his voice was cold, deadly. "Now, tomorrow you go to them and you tell them that you"re quitting." "I can"t just drop out, Dad! I have the main part. The performance is next Saturday! That"s not enough time for Laurence Oliver to learn the part, let alone-" " I don"t care if the world comes to an end next Saturday. You are through with that play. Is that clear? Is that clear?" He repeated loudly, looking at his son coldly. "Yes, sir," Neil repeated lifelessly. Mr. Perry turned to leave and then turned back. "I made a great many sacrifices to get you here, Neil, and you will not let me down." He said it more like a threat than a benevolent gift, and Neil responded with a servile, obedient, "No, sir." He stood in the doorway and watched his father leave. There was a hurricane swelling up inside his mouth, an earthquake starting where his heart should be, pounding in his temples, rushing to overwhelm his brain. A car was starting up outside, pulling out of the driveway. His father was leaving him here, abandoning him like he always did. It was too much! Neil pulled his coat back on and bolted for the stairs, the surge of passion overwhelming him. He wanted to kick, scream, shout back, as though he were five again and consumed with a desire for his own way. He"d never felt this way before, felt this overwhelming desire to do what he wanted and flaunt it in the face of his father, and he wanted to tell someone who would listen. Oh, any boy in this hallway would listen, would nod and smile and say "Yeah, I understand. I"ve been there. I know." But they didn"t know - None of them knew! - what it was like to fight back. And he only knew one person who did, who threw caution to the wind and paddled their own canoe against the current and sailed their ship against great odds. He grabbed a bicycle and began pedaling for Henley Hall, his breath heavy, heart heaving in his chest as though it were being tossed between waves on a stormy night at sea. There was a burn in his legs he could not ignore, but it made him feel safe, made him feel alive! Legs pounding, he got off the bike, leaning it haphazardly against the tree, running under the trees to the dormitories on the far side of the main building. She"d be on the top floor, he thought, and if he didn"t find her window, he"d shout until she came to him. "EVEY! EVEY LANGFORD! EVEY!" Three weeks of rehearsals had sharpened his voice- he could throw it to the top of the Welton clock tower if he wanted to and it would still come back to him, booming and full of power. "EVELYN LANGFORD!" Lights were beginning to go on in the dormitories, windows thrown open, questions asked. "Who"s there?" "A boy. He wants to see Evey." "Evey? Always knew she was loose." "I"ve seen him before, he"s in the play." "He"s cute!" "Neil?" called a voice that he knew. Miss Pevensie was leaning out her window on the end of the top floor, looking down, concern on her face. "Neil, what are you doing here?" "I need to talk to Evey!" Neil shouted. Miss Pevensie thought for a moment. "Here, come up the fire escape. We"ll talk for a moment." Neil nodded, dashing over to the fire escape stairs and running up to the top floor- Miss Pevensie had opened the fire escape door and let him onto the landing and into the bright hallway. It was full of curious girls, wondering what sort of extraordinary hero had been let into their virgin temple at ten o clock on a Friday night. "In here," Miss Pevensie said, shooing the girls along and letting Neil into her room. "Evey"s just got in the shower, Neil. We"ll wait for her here. What"s this about?" Miss Pevensie asked. "I just wanted to talk to her about something," Neil said, sitting down in the tiny sitting room. "It couldn"t have waited?" Miss Pevensie asked kindly. Neil shook his head, and she nodded. "That kind of something. Well. I was just making some tea," she offered. "Would you like some?" "No, thanks," said Neil, glancing around the room. There was a fireplace with a mantle cluttered with knickknacks and photographs, some of Miss Pevensie and a young man, and others of just Miss Pevensie herself. There was one, however, a little bigger than all the others. A black-and-white group shot of four children, it was placed in front of all the others, its frame a little bit more ornate. One of the children, Neil could tell, was a much younger version of Miss Pevensie. "I see you"ve found my siblings," she said, coming back with her teacup. She set it down on the table between them and took the picture off the mantle. "That"s my brother Peter, the oldest, and my brother Edmund, and my little sister Lucy," she said, pointing them out to Neil. "Why don"t you have any other pictures of them?" Neil asked. "They died in a train crash when I was nineteen," Miss Pevensie said, "Along with my parents. My brother, Peter, was just about to finish university. A Cambridge man," she added, which impressed Neil. "Edmund was going to be joining him there in the fall. They would have fit in with you at Welton. Especially Peter- he was the type. Ambitious, proud, a good sportsman. He captained the fencing team for two years. You remind me a lot of him," she said, passing her thumb over the picture"s playfully parted hair as if she meant to smooth it to perfection. "But he was also very unaware of his limits sometimes. It made him a good leader, if a little foolhardy. If he hadn"t died young I expect he would have worked himself to death, trying to do everything he didn"t have time for. You"d do well to learn from him, Neil," she said. "...Don"t ride on trains?" Neil asked. Miss Pevensie laughed. "No. Understand that you can"t be everything for everyone, and that sometimes, living a little for yourself is appropriate," Miss Pevensie said with a sad smile. "Well, I expect Evey"s done with her shower. I"ll go and find her so we don"t raise a riot." Neil nodded, sitting back in the chair and then leaning forward again, picking up the picture. It had been taken in front of a small suburban house that had obviously seen the ravages of the last world war- there was little left of the front garden and the paint had smoke damage and shrapnel spotting on it. But they were all smiling- Peter, the eldest, with his arm around his sister and his brother, Miss Pevensie"s hand resting on her younger sister"s shoulder. Neil wished for a moment that he"d had siblings, staring at the picture. Peter and Edmund had the same expressions in some of the pictures Mr. Keating had shown them - full of life and promise, unaware of the fact that they would soon be gone from this life. They both seemed to be saying, "Take chances! Have adventures! Go out and slay your dragons head-on! Carpe Diem! Make your life extraordinary!" as though they themselves had actually done these things themselves. "Neil, what the hell are you doing here?" Evey asked, coming in, her hair still wrapped in a towel turban, wearing a bathrobe and, it seemed, not much else. Neil put the picture back down on the table. "They said you were shouting for me. What"s gotten into you?" "I"m sorry!" Neil said. "It was just my father, and the play, and the Dead Poets is under attack. I wanted to tell someone, and all I could think about was you!" Evey wrapped her bathrobe tighter around herself and glanced towards the door, opened and policed from prying eyes and ears by Miss Pevensie. "What about your father, Neil?" she asked, trying to calm herself. Now was the time to let it all come tumbling out - and tumble out it did."He came to the school because he"d found out about my being in the play, and told me he didn"t want to waste my time with it. He called it absurd. He called Shakespeare absurd!" Neil ranted on. "He"s never wanted me to do what I wanted to do. He just wants me to be like him, a suit man with a nine to five job, with a house and a dog and a white picket fence, and a wife and a son that I can boss around and control just like he"s controlled me!"

The count of Tripoli let out a dry laugh. "Can"t a man secret himself away in his own apartment without being attacked?" He asked, looking at Audemande with amusement. The young woman stepped back and slipped the knife back into its hanging sheath, ashamed. "Forgive me, my lord, you startled me," she said. "Startled you? And you come at me with a knife? What a little Amazon! You challenge clerks, tell stories of great battles as though you had lived them, and threaten Princes by knife point. I suppose you handle a sword and ride into battle as well, lady Audemande?" "No, my lord. A sword takes strength, a knife only a quick hand." "And did they teach you that in Vinceaux?" Tiberias asked, amused. "I did not know that until I left Vinceaux, and had been on the pilgrim road for several weeks." Audemande explained by way of apology. "I had not known the ways of men before that." "I see. Well, little Aude, why are you here? It is not generally the business of young women to be in a man"s chambers. Especially when that man is old and powerful, and those women are young and unmarried," Tiberias said suggestively, looking at her as though he were a lion and she only a cub in need of teaching. Aude blushed; she wouldn"t ever dream of doing that with Lord Tiberias. "Sybilla sends this note to you, and wishes you would attend it with all speed." She held out the scroll. "Mmm," Tiberias said, taking the scroll and unrolling it to read the message. "The lady Sybilla tells me you are a student of the written word," he said, holding up the note. "You didn"t read this, did you?" "I would not be so bold as to open a private note, my lord," Audemande said quietly. The Count of Tripoli grunted in acknowledgement and turned his eyes back to the note. "She writes to tell me she"d like to find you a tutor, so you may continue your studies and become her reader. Has she spoken of this plan to you?" "No, my lord, nothing of it!" Aude defended. " She mentioned that she thought I had a good voice, but...nothing else," she finished lamely. "Mmm, well, that may be so, by I doubt there are many teachers in the city who would share her...rather unorthodox views on the education of women. You may tell her that I make no promises, but I shall look into it for her." Aude nodded and dropped a curtsey. "My lord," she said, turning towards the door. "And Aude?" Tiberias said, before she had quite gone through the door. "My lord?" Aude asked, turning back around. "If you continue to go around threatening men at knifepoint I fear your father"s efforts to get your married here will be for naught," the Prince of Galilee said with a faint smile. Aude blushed again and left, hurrying back to Sybilla"s chambers. I"ve noticed there are a few of you who put this story on your favorites list or your alerts list and haven"t reviewed. PLEASE DO. I"d love to hear what you have to say - and it doesn"t have to be very detailed, either. Just your favorite part so far, or maybe what you"d like to see in the future. And this will be a long haul - the printed draft is clocking 91 pages right now... Song of a Peacebringer, Chapter Thirty: Permission Aude followed the servant assigned to escort her, keeping her curiosity in check as she was led into a part of the harem she had never entered, winding through many corridors until Aude was quite sure they were on the other side of the citadel, where the male half of business was conducted, out of sight from the women of the Court. The servant lead her into what was evidently an entertainer"s booth, of sorts, a heavier screen walling off a sizable corner of the courtyard so that musicians, or poets, could perform unseen by their noble audience. The garden beyond was apparently empty, but soon there were footsteps outside, and the sound of men"s voices, deep in conversations Aude only partially understood. Some of them, she gathered, were discussing the treaty with Tripolis. "...young upstart pup who doesn"t know his manners. At least Raymond would listen." "A pity he didn"t learn from his uncle. They say he is very ill, or he would attend himself." "Allah have mercy on him, if that young man"s his heir." "Allah have mercy on us," the second man said before passing out of earshot. Aude smiled to herself. Yes, that was most certainly Remy they were talking about. Suddenly there was a rustle behind Aude, and she turned quickly to see Khazuran easing herself into the entertainer"s booth, a strange instrument in her arms wrapped in cloth. "Where have you been?" Aude asked quietly, wondering if the men outside might be able to hear her. "I"ve been wondering where you"ve been all morning!" "Forgive me, Aude, but I had urgent business," Khazuran said shortly, settling down and arranging her skirts so she could unwrap the instrument and tune its strings. Shaped like half of a great pear, with a neck protruding from one end, the flat surface was inlaid with beautiful tracery in an ivory colored wood, standing out against the honeyed grain of the instrument"s body. Clearly this was a prince"s instrument. "And what is that?" Aude asked, watching Khazuran experimentally pluck the strings, adjusting the tone with the pegs protruding from the end of neck. "It is called an oud. Once, long ago, when I was a little girl, it was determined I should learn to play an instrument, and this was the one chosen for me. I will accompany your recitation." "I"ve never recited with music before!" Aude said, trying to keep her voice as low as possible so the men outside would not hear. "You are the Little Dove of Jerusalem, Audemande, who roosts in royal palaces and sings for kings! You can do this as certainly as you can do anything else. Forget I am even here," Khazuran said, smiling. "A traveler from a distant landcame out of the desert to the king"s right handAnd set before the king a tale of woeOf troubles encountered long agoThat same tale I will now begin-it pertains Khusrow and his bride Shirin," Aude improvised, pausing for breath while Khazuran gave a few artfully chosen notes on the oud. "Khusrow Pariz was an ancient lord,a king of Persia and the Golden Horde.One day he rode to the royal woodand came upon a maiden, fair and good..." Of all the tales told in Ferdowsi"s Book of Kings, Khusrow and Shirin was one of the shorter ones, but that only meant the tale took the better part of an hour to tell in full, how Khusrow saw Shirin while hunting and fell in love, and then sent his huntsman Shapour into the woods to woo her, bidding him to nail his portrait to a tree so that when she came by, she instantly fell in love with his image. She refused to sleep with the King unless he married her, and so Khusrow, enchanted and befuddled with the idea that any woman would refuse him, went off to Constantinople and married the daughter of a Byzantine king, Maryam of the Silver Veil, before returning and finding Shirin once more. Finally he married her, and they were very happy until his death. "When the distant traveler finished thisthe king wished on him unending bliss.For sharing such story with young and oldthe monarch gave the man a pen of goldThat copies of the tale could then repeatand every word he wrote sound just as sweet.And thus my story ends - I wish for yougreat happiness and health in all you do," Aude finished, letting Khazuran add her cascade of music at the end and taking a much needed sip from a water goblet nearby from which she had been taking small sips for the whole performance. No sound came from the other side of the screen, as if the audience were considering how to respond or weighing the consequences of such an action very, very carefully. They had finished their meal some time previously, and had been listening exclusively to her for the last ten minutes of the poem. Then, slowly, came the sound of two hands clapping slowly and deliberately, followed quickly by other hands joining in. When the sound ceased, an older man"s voice said, clearly and distinctly, "Leave us." There was a patter of shoes for a time, a mass of people leaving the courtyard garden, and then the older man spoke again. "The men I choose for councilors," he said, almost as if reflecting on something. "And now I have heard your Singing Dove, Nasir." "Indeed, my lord," Nasir said, choosing his own words carefully. "Pray come out from behind your screen, Lady," the voice commanded. Aude looked around for Rayhana, wondering what bit of etiquette she was breaching now. Was it a test? Were they trying to see if she had learned anything in harem? But there was no one there to censure her. Khazuran, it seemed, was baldly urging her to obey, shoving the air with her hands as she could somehow move Aude likewise. "It is all right, Audemande," Nasir encouraged. "You may come out." "I have no veil, my lords," Aude warned. "We permit you," the older man said. "It is not the custom of your people to appear before men veiled." Aude considered that, standing up and composing herself, twitching her skirt back and brushing a few wayward strands of hair behind her ears. Then she stepped out from behind the screen, and realized who it was her audience had been. Audemande had only seen Saladin once before, and then only from a long ways off - at the Castle of Kerak, the battle-that-could-have-been that cost Baldwin his life, she had seen him on the field below the battlements, conversing with her king. Everything she knew about him came from William, Baldwin, and Raymond. That he was strong, wise, cunning, and a brilliant military and political strategist had always been mentioned. But Aude had never been accustomed to thinking of the venerable man as old. Nearly sixty, she remembered, and still the leader of so much of the world. The sultan"s face was drawn in sharp lines, with high cheek-bones in sharp relief against his skin. There were plenty of wrinkles in his expression, but not deep furrows. Everything about him suggested thinness, a life dedicated to simplicity and denial, uncomplicated by rich food or leisure time. Respectfully, Aude averted her eyes, suddenly feeling very exposed without a veil to hide her face. "My lord," she said, sinking low to the ground. "So this is Nasir"s Singing Dove," the Sultan remarked, looking over Audemande with a philosopher"s piercing gaze, as if trying to see some flaw in the argument as to why she was here. "Yes, my lord," Aude said, unsure what else she was permitted to say in this great man"s presence. "And Baldwin"s Little Dove before that," Salah al-Din added, his gaze still piercing, still judging her ruthlessly. "Yes, my lord," Aude repeated. "Do you know who I am, Aude-the-Dove?" he asked calmly, his eyes never leaving her face. "You are Salah-al-din, Sultan of Syria and Egypt, Defender of the Faith, Leader of the Armies of God, and my lord"s king," Aude said simply. "You taught her well, Nasir," the sultan said, smiling just a little. "She came to me well taught, my lord; it was not all my doing," Nasir amended. Saladin nodded, musing over all of this. "And you bring her before my court singing of Khusrow and Shirin. I think, Nasir, that you have something to tell me," he suggested. "Perhaps, my lord," Nasir said ambiguously, shrugging his shoulders a little. Aude didn"t quite know what to make of this exchange between the two men. Obviously one was leading and the other deferring to the leader, but she felt quite distinctly as though she were an art piece they were talking about, an object that they assumed could not answer. It was unnerving, being talked about in this way. Aude felt very small. "Perhaps?" the Sultan laughed. "You were always a very bad liar, Nasir, even when you were a child, unless you had put it down on paper first. This is not a question of perhaps. This," he pointed one long thin finger at Aude, "is a question of permission." He paused, dropping his arm down and sitting up a little straighter. His very posture seemed kingly, even in his plain dark robes. Some men needed rich garments to make them look the part of kings - obviously the Sultan wasn"t one of them. "You remember, I think, how the story of Khusrow Parviz ends. I know I do," the sultan said, a note of warning in his voice. Aude knew the ending of the story, and she knew, now, why it was Nasir was so specific that she recite it. Khusrow was a Persian king, a Muslim, and his beloved Shirin had been a Christian. The parallel was simple enough. "I have no other wives, and no son to turn against me and steal my widow," Nasir said with a smile. "Ah, yes, but your family will want you to take another wife. Like Shirin she will always be a polluted bowl, unworthy to hold your blood, a source of enmity in your house. She will never be good enough for them." He paused for a moment, collecting more thoughts. Then he turned to Audemande. "I knew your former master, insofar as a man can know his enemy. He was a just man, and given to good judgment among his men, and true to his God. And I knew a little of you, before you ensnared my general and came to my city. I knew you were not a woman as other women among your people are, that you were skilled with words, and gave men council and were judged to be immodest. But I do not always take the judgments of other men on their own. Sometimes I must judge for myself." He rose from his cushions, straightening his robes and turning to Nasir. "I find that now, in my old age, I grow tired of war and hate," he remarked offhandedly, with the air of one addressing the state of the weather. "If you wanted my consent, you have it," he said finally with an enigmatic smile, inclining his head a little towards Audemande in farewell. Aude sank into her deepest curtsey, her eyes lowered to the floor as he swept out of the room, djellebah billowing out behind him. "You planned that on purpose," Aude accused once the king was out of earshot, rising from her curtsey to look at Nasir. "Khazuran came to me very early this morning to tell me of your doubts, and now I have allayed them," Nasir said triumphantly, taking Aude"s hand and bringing it to his lips to kiss it gently. The physical contact took Aude by surprise, and her breath left her own lips in a surprised sigh. "You have the permission of a king now," Aude said, her voice a little lower in pitch than it normally was. "Will you come to me with hunting dogs and brocade tents to take me back to Isfahan and enthrone me in a palace?" "Would you mind that so very much?" Nasir asked, smiling at her in his teasing manner. "Your poet"s heart knows you would not. But I will not steal you away from anyone. I have one more permission to ask." The journey back to Tripolis was a joyful one, as joyful as a week-long ride across the desert can be when the wind blows fiercely and the sand finds its way into your clothing and hair and the crescents under your nails. For the past six years Aude had lived in the world"s holiest places and watched as the world - Jew, Christian, and Muslim - came to her city seeking their God. She had visited many of the same sites, but never as a pilgrim. Now she was making her own pilgrimage to beg a boon not from God, but from her protector. Words danced in her head as the desert stretched out on either side of their path, filling the void in her mind left by the shifting sands. Sometimes, at night when they made camp, Nasir would entertain the men as they sat around their fires, telling fantastic tales from the Shah-nameh, about kings and demons from the very furthest annals of history. One night he even told the tale of Scheherazade, his eyes sparkling in the firelight as he looked at Aude, making the Little Dove"s heart restless with his gaze. When they finally arrived at Tripolis, it was nightfall, the thin sliver of moon that remained in the sky casting a dim glow over the gently lapping waves at the edge of the sea - the city"s gates were closed, opened by a watchman when they announced their business and the watchman determined that ten horsemen, their leader, and a lady with her servant were no real threat to the city. But the Castle of Tripolis was locked and barred, and no one, least of all a night watchman, would let them in. "Tell my lord Raymond the Lady Audemande has come back from Jerusalem," Aude shouted up again, parleying now with yet another guard who didn"t seem to know who she was. Provincial fool, Aude cursed to herself, craning her neck to try and make out some sort of face high up on the battlements, swathed in the light from the torch he carried. "My lady, that"s impossible," The guard shouted back. "Impossible, you impertinent dog?" Aude snapped, letting the men behind her chuckle a little bit and whisper amongst themselves in Arabic. "Impossible to take him a message? Have you no feet to take it yourself, and no tongue with which to convey it?" "No, my lady," The guard stammered. " It"s just that... we"ve got orders..." "Orders? Orders by whom? I dare you to ask any servant in that house to identify me! I am the Lady Audemande of Arcenet, and I demand to be admitted to my house!" Aude shouted, her voice causing her horse to shift underneath her uncomfortably. "Aude, perhaps it would be better if we found an inn for the night," Nasir said quietly over her shoulder. "It would save us the trouble. You are tired, and need rest." "I am not so poor a host that we will stay in an inn because the castle will not admit us," Aude said resolutely. "A quick death to the man who stands in your way," Nasir said admiringly, backing his horse away. But there seemed to be some sort of progress on the battlement - the guard had stepped away from the wall, the circle of his torch leaving the crennelled wall and moving inward. "Oy, you there! You! With the basket! Come up "ere! No, I don"t wanna hurt you..." Apparently he was calling down to the courtyard for a servant. Another figure joined him in the circle of the torch, shorter and slimmer, a young woman. The guard whispered something in the woman"s ear. "That is the Lady Audemande," she said quietly, and even from this far down, Aude strained to recognize Mirrum"s voice. The guard"s shoulders slumped, and he began shouting for the gate to open. Aude glanced triumphantly at Nasir and directed her horse inside the castle gate as it swung inwards, soldiers running to collect their horses as they dismounted. "Mirrum," Aude said, catching the servant a little off-guard as she descended the steps from the battlement. "God will reward you for your good deed this night." The little ghostly Saxon woman nodded, a very thin trace of a smile on her face. "Forgive me, lady, but I must go," she said, glancing towards the upper windows of the castle as if evil eyes were watching her, ready to smite her down if she did not complete her task. "Mirrum, what is the matter here?" Audemande asked. "Why could Tiberias not be called?" "The Count is...my lord is...not doing well." Mirrum said quietly, averting her gaze down to the floor. Aude"s heart fell, and she ordered the maidservant to direct her to the Count"s bedchamber, wondering what she would find there. The count"s haggard face brightened when Aude came into his sickroom, and he just barely lifted his arms off the bedsheet, beckoning her in for an embrace. "Daughter I never had, come here and give your father a kiss," Raymond commanded, his voice unusually soft. Where had the tireless voice that commanded armies and silenced the Haut Cour gone? As she leaned over the bed to take him in her arms, she could hear his breathing in her ear, rough and ragged. "I thought you had left me for good," he accused quietly into their embrace. "You won"t get rid of me that easily, Tiberias," Aude shot back. "I"m not going to let you leave my sight again," the Count decreed. "Sit here and keep an old man..." He stopped mid sentence, coughing viciously. "Keep an old man company," he finished. "This pleurisy doesn"t leave much time for... entertainment. Perhaps you can tell me one of your stories... while we wait." He looked around Aude"s shoulder, catching a glimpse of Nasir at the edge of the room, holding back from what was obviously a very personal scene. "You brought a friend," He observed, smiling a little bit more. "Or something more than a friend, I think." "Oh, Tiberias," the Arab general said, moving to Aude"s side and clasping Raymond"s hand in a gesture of friendship. "Never mind the story," Raymond amended, gazing up at Nasir and Aude. "We"ll take care of this business - " he gestured feebly with his hand, pointing between the two poets, "--now." "Business?" Aude asked softly. "It"s why you"re here, isn"t it?" Raymond asked. "Someone help me up," He asked, fumbling with the bedclothes and struggling to sit up straighter, propping his back against the carved head-board. Aude"s heart broke as she saw how much weight he had lost. I can count my bones, so depleted am I, she thought to herself, quoting the Psalm. "Lord Nasir Imad al Din Aluh al Kitab al Isfahani," he coughed after finishing the name, "I give you permission to marry Audemande of Vinceaux and Jerusalem, Lady of Arcenet, who could have been my daughter."

"With your company," William said. "Aside from Sybilla, Tiberias and myself, he hardly sees a soul. He may be a king, Audemande, but he is also still a man, and a very young man who needs the company of other young people. Now come - let us liven up his day with a little Catullus." Baldwin"s quarters were dark and the windows hung with gauzy white drapes - The light sometimes hurt his eyes, the Doctor explained. The King was sitting at his desk, perusing several important looking papers with official looking seals on their ends, large fanciful wax impressions over long bits of string. "Your majesty," William said, bowing low. "Your humble servant and physician is here to ask you how you feel today?" "The same as ever, William," Baldwin said, not looking up. "My head hurts, my hand stings, my whole body"s falling to pieces and no one will be here to pick them up when they do finally hit the ground." William coughed discreetly and Baldwin looked up, pausing when he saw Aude. "You"ve brought a friend with you, William. Your student --Sybilla"s little bird. Audemande, correct? Why"s she come here?" "The little bird came to sing, your majesty," Aude said with a tight and meager smile. Baldwin laughed and sat back in his chair, pulling it away from his desk. "Very well then, little bird, sing for the King of Jerusalem. What is your song this afternoon? Not more romances, I hope." Aude thought she saw him wink at her, and she held back a wider smile - he had been listening again the other day. "Aude has prepared a poem from Catullus"s writings, my lord," William said with a slightly testy tone; he did not really approve of Aude"s outside writings, as frivolous as they were. "Ah, Catullus. And how do you find him, Aude?" Baldwin asked, tipping his head to the side, waiting for her answer. Aude looked at William, who nodded for her to go on. "I found him crass, my lord," she said truthfully. "His mind and heart are very fickle." "Yes, that is Catullus," Baldwin admitted. "Very well, continue." Aude glanced down at her paper and cleared her throat, trying to find that voice she used when she was reciting her own poetry. "Is it you, my friend of friends, who come,Dearer to me than a million others,Veranius, home to your hearth and home,The aged mother, the loving brothers?You have come home! O joy - it is well.I shall see you safe, I shall hear you tell(you best know how) of Hiberian races,And the deeds they do, and the storied places.And drawing your neck..." Aude stopped, embarrassed by the next few lines."And drawing your neck in my own for a while,I shall kiss the face and the eyes that smile.Oh! Hearts that are happy are over the rest,Is any so happy as I, or so blest?" It was a poor choice of poems to recite to a man who had few companions, but the king seemed pleased by it. Baldwin clapped his hands together lightly, nodding. "That was well phrased, Aude. You"ve had a good teacher. William, will you stay for chess?" "Alas, my lord, but my manuscript calls me," the older man said, bowing. "But Aude will stay with you, if it is company you desire," He added, glancing at his student, as if to tell her that her mind was already made up on the matter. "You will stay?" Baldwin asked, looking at Aude. The young woman nodded, trying not to be afraid. "Very well then, until tomorrow, William," Baldwin said. "I"ve something else to discuss with you." William nodded, and bowed out, leaving Aude in the dark room with only the King for company, the servants at the fringes of the room, silent and statuesque. "You don"t play, do you?" the young king asked, pointing to the chess set. Aude shook her head. "I do not have the head for it," she admitted sheepishly. "That"s unfortunate," Baldwin sighed. "I was rather hoping for a game today. No matter - we"ll talk then. Sybilla tells me that your lessons go well with the Archbishop of Tyre," Baldwin said simply. "I see that he enjoys them. Is he treating you well? You do not find his instruction too harsh?" "No, my lord, not at all. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn." "Ah, that is good," Baldwin said. "I, too, loved to learn once. Such stories he would show me - Aesop, Ovid, Virgil and Homer. I enjoyed them so." "He often says you had a quick mind, my lord," Aude put in. Baldwin chuckled. "That"s about the only thing that"s quick about me nowadays. This disease has slowed me down considerably. But that is why I must have quick eyes and ears like yours and Sybilla"s around my court, to hear new stories and bring them to my chambers. Have you any new romances today, little Aude? Gossip I should hear? Whispers of what new low levels my vassals are reaching?" "Nothing, sire," Aude said. "I am sorry," she added. She didn"t know anything important enough to be worth the king"s hearing, surely... "You"re not sorry," Baldwin accused. "You"re too meek and too afraid of me to report anything that might anger me. I"ve been caged long enough to know when the birds are not singing because they are afraid the lion will eat them, Audemande." He laughed at Aude"s abjectly surprised look. "And your innocence won"t fool me - Tiberias told me when you first came here how you yelled so ferociously at his clerk it nearly made his ears bleed. Now come, tell me everything." Aude was taken aback - he"d heard of her from Tiberias? She wondered how many people knew about that unfortunate clerk and when she"d live it down. "I...would not know where to begin, my lord," Aude said. "Of all the little birds I know, Audemande of Vinceaux, you"re the only one who doesn"t seem to particularly enjoy singing," the king observed frankly. "I"ll tell Sybilla to start calling you something else. The hawk"s a bird that does not sing. But I think you are no hawk - when you cry it is not bitter. No, more peaceful, softer, like...a dove. The Little Dove - that"s what I"ll call you from now on. Begin with..." he thought about this for a moment. "Begin with what you do. What dusty book does William have your head shoved inside?" Baldwin asked mirthfully. "The Bible. We have just finished Psalms," Aude said. "The Psalms," Baldwin repeated fondly. "Do you have a favorite?" "No, my lord," Aude said. "Do you, my lord?" she asked tentatively. "The fifty-fifth," Baldwin replied without hesitation. "Do you know it?" He asked kindly. "Not by heart, my lord, but if you began it, I might remember," Aude offered. "Listen to my prayer, O God," Baldwin began, "do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger. My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest- I would flee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm." Confuse the wicked, O Lord, confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city. Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it. Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets. If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him." Baldwin"s voice was gentle, and pleasant to listen to; Aude could imagine him speaking to a great multitude and having all of them listen in awe. But here he paused, and sighed, continuing on with a little more hope in his voice. "But it is you, a man like myself, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God." He turned his face towards Aude"s, and she could imagine him smiling. "There is more, but I generally stop there. It describes my plight exactly, no?" he said. "I see violence and strife in my city, and destructive forces at work within it. Even within my own house," he added bitterly. Aude looked at her lap in shame. "No, not you, dear girl. My sister"s husband, for a start." "He says he goes to Nazareth to pray, but when he comes home, he gives his armor to his squires to clean, and I hear them complaining of the blood they must wash off," Aude put in. Baldwin turned to look at her, interest glittering in his blue eyes. "Now that is what I wish to hear, little dove. Pray continue and delight an infirm young man with sordid details of the court life." She found she had more to talk about than she thought she did - she talked of the other ladies, and who liked whom, the price of grain from Egypt and the state of the livestock, things she"d heard from travelers at the king"s table and from the other ladies themselves. And Baldwin listened, intently, interrupting seldom and saying little. But his questions were discerning, well thought out, intentioned to find the most information in the fewest words. She hardly noticed the time after that, and it was only when Sybilla"s servant came to summon her back to her mistress that she realized she had been talking for nearly two hours. "Go to dinner, little dove. Even birds must eat their meals," Baldwin said, shooing her along. "Shall I...come back tomorrow, my lord?" Aude asked tentatively. "No, I"ll call for you when I wish to speak with you again. In the meantime, you will continue your poetry." Baldwin said. "I will wish to hear more of it when we meet again. It amuses me." "Anything my king wishes is his," Aude said, curtseying and leaving. She found at dinner she had nothing more to discuss with anyone, and ate her meal in nearly perfect silence. "He made good progress in his studies and as time passed he grew up full of hope and developed his natural abilities. He was a good-looking child for his age and more skilled than men who were older than himself in controlling horses and in riding them at a gallop. He had an excellent memory and he loved listening to stories. He was inclined to be thrifty, but he always remembered the good things that people had done for him, and the bad things as well. He was very like his father; not only did they look alike, but they were of similar build. They walked in the same kind of way and their speech patterns were similar. He had a quick understanding, but he had a stammer. Like his father he had a passion for hearing about history, and he paid attention to the good advice he was given." William of Tyre on the young Baldwin IV, from his Chronicle. Quoted in Bernard Hamilton, p.43 Okay, so I"ve gotten to the point where I"ve started keeping a Works Consulted page for this story. I am that hard core, people. And let me tell you, there"s already eight things on it. I"m also considering a pilgrimage to the Holy Land (tentatively for two years down the road) to see some major religious sites in Jerusalem as well as perhaps seeing the Fortress of Tiberias, and parts of Egypt. HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE? Review, please. Share in my excitement. Song of a Peacebringer - Seven - Appointed "So," Sybilla began after dinner. The servants were going around lighting the candles, and the Princess had just returned from her brother"s rooms. "William of Tyre took you to see my brother. And what did you think of the King of Jerusalem, Audemande? Did he frighten you?" she asked frankly. "I had seen him before, my lady," Aude confessed. Sybilla looked at her with a fixed intensity, silently telling her to go on and explain. "When you were in Bethlehem, those months ago, I wandered into his garden where he was playing chess with Count Tiberias. We spoke of poetry," Aude added, as if this might soften the news. "You"ve not done it again, have you? Invaded his personal garden?" Sybilla asked sharply. "No, my lady, not at all. It was a mistake, and one I will not make again," the younger woman apologized. Sybilla sighed. "My brother has few luxuries in this life, and his privacy is only one. I will not have him being disturbed at odd hours by my wandering lady-in-waiting," she pronounced. Aude noticed that the Princess was strangely protective on the subject of her brother - her normally smiling face was drawn into a thin, tightlipped line, the expression she wore when she was cross. "Has he asked to speak with you again?" "He said that he would call for me, if he had need. He said he wished to hear more poems, that they amused him," Aude recounted. Sybilla"s face softened."Did he, now? That"s good." Sybilla rose from her seat and went over to the window, looking out on the courtyard. "He"s only a year younger than me, you know. Twenty-one," she said pensively. "And you are only five years younger than him. Were it not for his sickness, he would be married by now, have a wife and children he could look after. Alas that he has none of that. Forgive me for my shortness, Aude. I am the only thing that he has left, and the only one who will protect him." "Protect him from me, my lady?" "From everyone who might hurt him, Aude, in body or in soul. I do not think you, little bird, are capable of hurting anyone." "I am grateful for my lady"s trust in me," Aude said mournfully, thinking of times when she had hurt, and deeply, too. "But you have Baldwin"s trust as well," Sybilla said. "He would not have asked me to bring you to him after dinner tomorrow otherwise." Aude couldn"t help but let her mouth drop open. Through all that, Sybilla had known all the while that Baldwin wanted to see her? "He has asked for me?" "He talked of little else for the anticipation," Sybilla assured her with a smile. "It will mean very much to him, Aude. Now, to bed with you. We cannot have the little bird tired for tomorrow"s recitation." "Aude, the little dove! You"ve returned to me," Baldwin said. "Little dove?" Sybilla asked, sitting down near her brother and straightening her dress. "That"s a name I haven"t heard before." "Unlike the rest of your birds, Sybilla, this one does not like to sing," Baldwin explained. "And she is peaceful, like the dove. So that is her name now." "Well, she"ll have to learn to like singing if she wishes to stay in my good graces," Sybilla said, looking at Aude with an almost threatening glace. Baldwin, however, didn"t notice. He patted a cushion and beckoned Aude closer. "Come, sit here, on this cushion near me, and tell me a new story." "I have not had time since yesterday to compose one, my lord," Aude apologized. "What, you are not God, that poems simply spring into being at your command?" Baldwin asked with a little jesting sarcasm. "You may read, then. Are you familiar with Ovid?" Sybilla glanced anxiously at Aude, who paused and then smiled. "I have heard of him, my lord, and read a little bit, but I shall try, for you. Please pardon any mistakes that I will make." A servant brought over the book, and Aude stroked the cover, remembering how nearly a year before she"d stumbled through the complex maze of Latin. Now she saw the words and knew exactly what they meant. "All were awestruck nor did they approve of such words,Before everyone Lelex, experienced in mind and age,So said: "The power of the sky is great and has no end,And whatever the gods have wished is accomplished,So that you may doubt less, an oak treeNext to a linden tree on Phrygian hills is surrounded by a modest wall;I myself saw the place; for Pittheus sent me intoPelopeian fields that are ruled by his parent.By no means far from here is a swamp, once habitable land,Now waves, frequented by seagulls and water fowl;Jupiter came here in mortal disguise, andWith his parent came Mercury the caduceus bearer after his wings hadbeen set aside They approached a thousand homes, seeking a place for rest,But locks closed a thousand homes; however one house received them,Small indeed, covered with straw and reeds from the marsh, But the pious old woman Baucis and Philemon of equal ageHave been joined in youthful years in that house..." It was very dark when Aude finally finished reading, a much more polished rendering than the first time she"d seen the story. "Faith follows wishes: they were the guardians of the temple,as long as life was given; weakened by years and old-agewhen by chance they were standing before the sacred steps anddiscussing the place"s downfall, Baucis saw that Philemon was in leaf,old Philemon saw that Baucis was in leaf.And now while the top grew over twin countenanceswhile it is permitted, they returned mutual words and said "farewell,o companion" at once, likewise bark covered concealed mouths:and turned the two to trees." "Ovid"s no small feat of translation," Baldwin said, impressed. "William"s done a good job with you, Aude. I can see the time was not wasted." "I pray that the day will never pass where I waste my lord"s time," Aude said sincerely. "I did not say that reading Ovid was a good use of my time," Baldwin said blatantly, and Aude could not help but laugh, knowing that he meant it as a joke. Baldwin tipped his head again, gazing at her studiously. "You have a pretty laugh, Aude of Vinceaux." "Thank you, my lord," Aude said, looking away shyly. The next day she returned to read more of the Ovid, and the day after that the same. On the fourth day Baldwin gestured to the great-leatherbound Bible and asked her to read from that, and when she was ready to leave entrusted her with a slim volume of poems he wanted her to translate and read next time to discuss with him. On some days he had something in mind, and on others, bade her read or recite whatever came to her mind. It became a game to find a story he hadn"t heard before - Sybilla took her out into the Patriarch"s quarter of the city and, both of them heavily and simply veiled, browsed with her the dim bookshops for new stories, two of Tiberias" men standing behind them for protection. A routine began to fall into place, to listen to anything and everything Baldwin might wish to hear if stories were thin on the ground. She went to the Haut Cour and watched Tiberias, sitting near the clerks and listening to the news -- and the soldiers around her. It was amazing what men would say when they thought no one was listening, and Aude learned plenty. Baldwin grew to depend on her to fill in any gaps in Tiberias" memories of the day"s events, especially if one needed to remember exactly what was said. Tiberias couldn"t hold on to details like how a particular threat or promise had been phrased, but Aude could, and she spent many hours with the two men picking over a sentence for vague intentions and hidden meanings. Even Guy, who tried to notice the King as little as possible, commented that the sovereign seemed more productive, even a little more happy, as the months rolled on. "Well, if Guy has noticed, there must be a change," Baldwin laughed when Aude told him. "How long do you think it will take William to get you through the rest of your Latin lessons?" he asked, changing the subject. " Another several months, my lord. Not until this coming Easter. He"ll be in Tyre after the new year, and is returning when the Pentecost is complete. He says that I am far enough along to manage on my own, and now only need the practice of translating to understand fully." "Oh, that"s time enough," Baldwin nodded, sitting back in his chair. "Sybilla and I," He looked at his sister for support, "Have devised a plan. I"d like to give you an official position - the Court Poet. There would be no change of duties, only that perhaps in the evening, when it is cooler, you could come, with Sybilla, and tell the both of us your little poems. You would compose more, but in my name, with me as your patron." Aude stared at him, taken aback. "I"m told it"s done in Europe," Baldwin said, his eyes searching her face. "Of course, if you do not wish for the attention-" "Your majesty overwhelms me with his generosity," Aude began, but Baldwin silenced her. "Ah, now, it comes with a price," Baldwin said, holding up a finger. "In return for this service, I would reward you with a small dowry...a piece of land should suffice. Perhaps there"s land near Ibelin that I can gift," he thought aloud, looking at his sister. "You are, after a fashion, a ward of Jerusalem, my ward, and thus I am beholden to give something for your marriage." "It is too much for such a little thing!" Aude said quickly. "Knights, lords even, are given land for service in battle, and for honor rendered! I can do no such thing!" "It is your service that you offer me, is it not?" Baldwin pointed out. "You cannot serve me on a battlefield, but in my own house, you are a necessity. You, little Poitevin bird, will keep your king from going mad," he said with a laugh, leaning forward in his chair and fixing her with his blue eyes. Audemande looked at Sybilla, who merely smiled and gave an elegant little shrug; she"d have to decide this one on her own. "Every day?" Aude repeated after a silence. Baldwin eased himself up in his chair. "Every day, even Sundays," he assured her. "Though not before church, of course." One got used to the stillness of Baldwin"s face, Aude reflected, after talking with him. There were ways he showed a person how he was feeling- the mask did not hide everything about him. But still, it was so foreign, and so...strange.

And she was gone, pedaling into the autumn mist. The poem used in this chapter (aside from Byron and Yeats) is my own; I won a poetry slam with it my Junior Year of High school. Ironically, that is the final copy, so any editing would be to Evey"s discredit. I decided I needed to include this episode after watching DPS again, and suddenly Evey was really pissed off. I have no idea why. So- DRAMA for our dramatic teenagers. Who knew? Reviews, please? passes hat Act Four, Scene One: A cold reception Evey didn"t greet him when practice started. She didn"t step in to save him when Veronica, the girl playing Hermia, started flirting with him again, and she didn"t even respond to him when he asked her from the wings again to listen to him. In fact, it wasn"t until the end of practice that he even got her attention, shouting, "TITANIA!" from the stage in his best Oberon-esque voice. The whole auditorium turned to look at him. Evey was the last to turn, looking coldly at him. Neil swallowed, and began his speech, cobbled together from The Two Gentlemen of Verona, which she"d recommended to him for its brilliant comedy. "Not for the world would I leave her aside why, man, she is mine own, my best belovèd!" he declared, pointing to her from the stage. "And I as rich in having such a jewel As twenty seas, if all their sand were pearl, The water nectar and the rocks pure gold." He dropped his arm, staring at her, hoping, praying that this would work. "Forgive me that I do not dream on thee," he begged, "because thou see"st me dote upon another. For love, thou know"st, is full of jealousy. Forgive me, tender valentine, if sorrow, Be a sufficient ransom for offence, I tender it here; I do as truly suffer Silence as e"er I did commit." The whole room was silent, and then, out of nowhere, Miss Pevensie was clapping, walking down to where Evey was standing and whispering in her ear. Evey was crying now, and she nodded, furiously, blinking back tears and running down the aisle to hug him, and suddenly, everyone else was clapping. "You butchered that," she said through the tears. "I know," Neil said. "I"m glad you noticed." "When did you do that?" Evey asked, looking at him desperately. "In between worrying about you and worrying about Charlie getting expelled," Neil said. "I had a lot of sorrows to muddle over." Evey gave a very wet laugh and fished a handkerchief from her pocket, blowing her nose. "I"m sure you did, you priceless fool." With the rest of the cast in on the relationship (there were a few who after two weeks had still been in the dark about it) Neil and Evey felt a little bit more free to indulge in the public displays of affection some of the other members of the cast felt no shame in partaking in. "A merrier hour was never wasted there," Neil said aloud to Evey - they were lounging on a stack of cushions backstage, waiting for practice to start; Miss Penvensie had delayed it an hour because her archery team had practice, too. "But, room, fairy! here comes Oberon." He sat up, looking down at her, still lying on the cushions. "And here my mistress. Would that he were gone!" Evey read in a high, singsong voice, handing him back the script so he could take Oberon"s lines. "Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania," Neil said, pitching his voice into a lower octave, the effect comic, but enough to maintain the mood. "What, jealous Oberon! Fairies, skip hence: I have forsworn his bed and company," Evey declared regally. "You wouldn"t do that to me, would you?" Neil asked. "Forswear my bed and company?" He asked, putting his nose in her face and tickling her side, making her giggle and writhe away. "I"ve already done that, and it wasn"t very much fun. And besides, I"ve never seen your bed, Neil, now come on, play Oberon. You"re stately and ...pissed off that I"m not sleeping with you." Evey explained. "Damn straight," Neil said, sitting back up, book in hand. "Tarry, rash wanton: am not I thy lord?" "Then I must be thy lady," Evey said, langorously seductive. "But I know when thou hast stolen away from fairy land, and in the shape of Corin sat all day, playing on pipes of corn and versing love to amorous Phillida," she accused. Neil had the sense to look appalled at her suggestions. "Why art thou here," she asked, suspicious, sitting up proudly. "Come from the farthest Steppe of India? But that, forsooth, the bouncing Amazon, your buskin"d mistress and your warrior love, to Theseus must be wedded, and you come to give their bed joy and prosperity," She said unsympathetically, almost threatening him with this knowledge. "Oh, lady, you have me wrong," Neil said, leaning into her, whispering. "How canst thou thus for shame, Titania, Glance at my credit with Hippolyta, Knowing I know thy love to Theseus? Wait," He said, breaking character, "You"re sleeping with Theseus and I"m sleeping with Hippolyta? Who came up with this arrangement?" "Shakespeare did," Evey said, hitting him over the head with her script. "It"s funny. But rest easy, the guy who"s playing Theseus is gay, so I don"t think you have a lot to worry about there." "Really?" Neil asked, curious and confused at the same time. The fellow had given him an off look once or twice during the last few weeks of rehearsal, but he hadn"t thought anything about it. At Welton, such things were swept under doormats and generally denied, though there were a few who chose to partake. "Yeah," Evey said, not concerned. "Really nice guy, Spencer, he"s done a few things here before. Really good actor, too. He would have gotten Oberon, but Greg"s taller and Oberon needs to be tall. Now come on. Keep going. Chastise me," she said in a winsome voice. Neil rolled his eyes and kept going. "Didst thou not lead him through the glimmering night from Perigenia, whom he ravished?And make him with fair Aegle break his faith, with Ariadne and Antiopa? Wow, Titania"s really making him sleep around," Neil said. "I"m not sure I want you playing this part." "I"m not sure I want your comments every five seconds, Neil! These are the forgeries of jealousy," Evey went on. "And never, since the middle summer"s spring, met we on hill, in dale, forest or mead, by paved fountain or by rushy brook, or in the beached margent of the sea, to dance our ringlets to the whistling wind," she looked at him suggestively, arching an eyebrow, "But with thy brawls thou hast disturb"d our sport." "I"d disturb all your sports if it meant I got to have you in the end," Neil said, kissing her again. It was a long kiss, with a little tongue- he was getting better at it, with a lot of help from Evelyn. "Mr. Perry, I"ll pretend I didn"t see that," Miss Pevensie said pertly. Apparently she was back from her archery practice. "I need my actors now, and not in dishabille, if you please." Evey got up quickly from the couch and went to her court of fairies, who immediately began whispering and stealing glances at Neil, who blushed a little and went back to his script as Miss Pevensie clapped her hands for Hippolyta and Theseus to began the opening scene. "views, pleases? They make my muse Neil happy. Act Four, Scene Three- The Villian Enters. "Neil, be sure to give this to Mr. Nolan," Miss Pevensie said before leaving. "It"s next week"s tech schedule." "Is it tech week already?" Neil asked, looking at the envelope in his hands. "Yes," said the director, a little harried herself. "That"s why there"s some schedule changes. We"re opening on Saturday night and I think we might go a little later than planned. I just want him to know." "I"ll see he gets it," Neil said, nodding and making for the door, turning his collar up against the cold as he pedaled back to Welton, a light snow falling. "Miss Pevensie thought you should have the schedule for next week, since it"s later than agreed upon," Neil said, handing Mr. Nolan the sealed envelope, proudly bearing the Henley Hall seal in the corner. Mr. Nolan slit the envelope, glancing over the timetable and thinking to himself. "This is very late for you to be staying out with just the bicycle, Neil," he said. "Ten o"clock, ten o"clock, midnight - we can"t have the caretaker stay up that late to watch for you." "I have to go to rehearsal," Neil said. "They"re counting on me to be there all five hours!" Mr. Nolan considered this and said, "Could we count on your honor as a student that you"d be home by twelve? No shenanigans, no...hooliganism?" "Yes, sir!" Neil defended. Mr. Nolan nodded, decidedly. "It"s settled then. On your honor as a student. You"ll be wanting the schedule back, I assume," he said, handing the paper back to Neil. "Thank you, Mr. Nolan, sir," Neil said, taking the steps two at a time back up to his room. What he found there wasn"t quite to his liking. His father was sitting at his desk, looking grim. "Father?" Neil asked, wondering what had brought him here. And suddenly, it was all clear. "Wait a minute," he began, "Before you say anything, please let me ex-" But Mr. Perry wasn"t listening to excuses and explanations. He was a man on a mission, and he"d say what he came to say. "Don"t you dare talk back to me! It"s bad enough that you"ve wasted your time with this... this absurd acting business. But you deliberately deceived me! How, how, how did you expect to get away with this? Answer me. Who put you up to it? Was it this new man? This, uh, Mr. Keating?" "No," defended Neil. "No, nobody-- I thought I"d surprise you. I"ve gotten all As in every class..." But his father wasn"t finished. "Did you think I wasn"t going to find out? "Oh, my niece is in a play with your son," says Mrs. Marks. "No, no, no," I say, "you must be mistaken. My son"s not in a play." You made me a liar of me, Neil!" He took a breath and composed himself. When he spoke again, his voice was cold, deadly. "Now, tomorrow you go to them and you tell them that you"re quitting." "I can"t just drop out, Dad! I have the main part. The performance is next Saturday! That"s not enough time for Laurence Oliver to learn the part, let alone-" " I don"t care if the world comes to an end next Saturday. You are through with that play. Is that clear? Is that clear?" He repeated loudly, looking at his son coldly. "Yes, sir," Neil repeated lifelessly. Mr. Perry turned to leave and then turned back. "I made a great many sacrifices to get you here, Neil, and you will not let me down." He said it more like a threat than a benevolent gift, and Neil responded with a servile, obedient, "No, sir." He stood in the doorway and watched his father leave. There was a hurricane swelling up inside his mouth, an earthquake starting where his heart should be, pounding in his temples, rushing to overwhelm his brain. A car was starting up outside, pulling out of the driveway. His father was leaving him here, abandoning him like he always did. It was too much! Neil pulled his coat back on and bolted for the stairs, the surge of passion overwhelming him. He wanted to kick, scream, shout back, as though he were five again and consumed with a desire for his own way. He"d never felt this way before, felt this overwhelming desire to do what he wanted and flaunt it in the face of his father, and he wanted to tell someone who would listen. Oh, any boy in this hallway would listen, would nod and smile and say "Yeah, I understand. I"ve been there. I know." But they didn"t know - None of them knew! - what it was like to fight back. And he only knew one person who did, who threw caution to the wind and paddled their own canoe against the current and sailed their ship against great odds. He grabbed a bicycle and began pedaling for Henley Hall, his breath heavy, heart heaving in his chest as though it were being tossed between waves on a stormy night at sea. There was a burn in his legs he could not ignore, but it made him feel safe, made him feel alive! Legs pounding, he got off the bike, leaning it haphazardly against the tree, running under the trees to the dormitories on the far side of the main building. She"d be on the top floor, he thought, and if he didn"t find her window, he"d shout until she came to him. "EVEY! EVEY LANGFORD! EVEY!" Three weeks of rehearsals had sharpened his voice- he could throw it to the top of the Welton clock tower if he wanted to and it would still come back to him, booming and full of power. "EVELYN LANGFORD!" Lights were beginning to go on in the dormitories, windows thrown open, questions asked. "Who"s there?" "A boy. He wants to see Evey." "Evey? Always knew she was loose." "I"ve seen him before, he"s in the play." "He"s cute!" "Neil?" called a voice that he knew. Miss Pevensie was leaning out her window on the end of the top floor, looking down, concern on her face. "Neil, what are you doing here?" "I need to talk to Evey!" Neil shouted. Miss Pevensie thought for a moment. "Here, come up the fire escape. We"ll talk for a moment." Neil nodded, dashing over to the fire escape stairs and running up to the top floor- Miss Pevensie had opened the fire escape door and let him onto the landing and into the bright hallway. It was full of curious girls, wondering what sort of extraordinary hero had been let into their virgin temple at ten o clock on a Friday night. "In here," Miss Pevensie said, shooing the girls along and letting Neil into her room. "Evey"s just got in the shower, Neil. We"ll wait for her here. What"s this about?" Miss Pevensie asked. "I just wanted to talk to her about something," Neil said, sitting down in the tiny sitting room. "It couldn"t have waited?" Miss Pevensie asked kindly. Neil shook his head, and she nodded. "That kind of something. Well. I was just making some tea," she offered. "Would you like some?" "No, thanks," said Neil, glancing around the room. There was a fireplace with a mantle cluttered with knickknacks and photographs, some of Miss Pevensie and a young man, and others of just Miss Pevensie herself. There was one, however, a little bigger than all the others. A black-and-white group shot of four children, it was placed in front of all the others, its frame a little bit more ornate. One of the children, Neil could tell, was a much younger version of Miss Pevensie. "I see you"ve found my siblings," she said, coming back with her teacup. She set it down on the table between them and took the picture off the mantle. "That"s my brother Peter, the oldest, and my brother Edmund, and my little sister Lucy," she said, pointing them out to Neil. "Why don"t you have any other pictures of them?" Neil asked. "They died in a train crash when I was nineteen," Miss Pevensie said, "Along with my parents. My brother, Peter, was just about to finish university. A Cambridge man," she added, which impressed Neil. "Edmund was going to be joining him there in the fall. They would have fit in with you at Welton. Especially Peter- he was the type. Ambitious, proud, a good sportsman. He captained the fencing team for two years. You remind me a lot of him," she said, passing her thumb over the picture"s playfully parted hair as if she meant to smooth it to perfection. "But he was also very unaware of his limits sometimes. It made him a good leader, if a little foolhardy. If he hadn"t died young I expect he would have worked himself to death, trying to do everything he didn"t have time for. You"d do well to learn from him, Neil," she said. "...Don"t ride on trains?" Neil asked. Miss Pevensie laughed. "No. Understand that you can"t be everything for everyone, and that sometimes, living a little for yourself is appropriate," Miss Pevensie said with a sad smile. "Well, I expect Evey"s done with her shower. I"ll go and find her so we don"t raise a riot." Neil nodded, sitting back in the chair and then leaning forward again, picking up the picture. It had been taken in front of a small suburban house that had obviously seen the ravages of the last world war- there was little left of the front garden and the paint had smoke damage and shrapnel spotting on it. But they were all smiling- Peter, the eldest, with his arm around his sister and his brother, Miss Pevensie"s hand resting on her younger sister"s shoulder. Neil wished for a moment that he"d had siblings, staring at the picture. Peter and Edmund had the same expressions in some of the pictures Mr. Keating had shown them - full of life and promise, unaware of the fact that they would soon be gone from this life. They both seemed to be saying, "Take chances! Have adventures! Go out and slay your dragons head-on! Carpe Diem! Make your life extraordinary!" as though they themselves had actually done these things themselves. "Neil, what the hell are you doing here?" Evey asked, coming in, her hair still wrapped in a towel turban, wearing a bathrobe and, it seemed, not much else. Neil put the picture back down on the table. "They said you were shouting for me. What"s gotten into you?" "I"m sorry!" Neil said. "It was just my father, and the play, and the Dead Poets is under attack. I wanted to tell someone, and all I could think about was you!" Evey wrapped her bathrobe tighter around herself and glanced towards the door, opened and policed from prying eyes and ears by Miss Pevensie. "What about your father, Neil?" she asked, trying to calm herself. Now was the time to let it all come tumbling out - and tumble out it did."He came to the school because he"d found out about my being in the play, and told me he didn"t want to waste my time with it. He called it absurd. He called Shakespeare absurd!" Neil ranted on. "He"s never wanted me to do what I wanted to do. He just wants me to be like him, a suit man with a nine to five job, with a house and a dog and a white picket fence, and a wife and a son that I can boss around and control just like he"s controlled me!" He was crying now, shouting and crying jibberish, the tears and the sobbing too much for real words to convey. Evey took his head and held it against her shoulder; her bathrobe smelled of sweat and soap and slightly wet cloth, and if he hadn"t been so distraught he might have laughed and joked about how close they were, but he wasn"t thinking about that. He was thinking about how much of his world would collapse right then and there if she hadn"t been there to hold him and she hadn"t been there to say what she was saying. "It"s all right. We"ll be fine. You don"t have to do it if you don"t want to. He can"t make you ruin your life, Neil. He can"t make you. I won"t let him." She stroked his hair and let him cry until her bathrobe was too wet to be of any consolation anymore and he was quite out of tears. "I"m not going to let you ruin your dream, Neil," Evey said. "We"ll get through this together. Okay?" she asked, raising his head off of her chest for a moment. Neil nodded. "Miss Pevensie was right, I guess. I am trying to be everything for everyone," he said, brushing his hair back from his eyes and putting on a brave face again. Evey looked at the coffee table and smiled. "She knows a person back to front before they"ve even said anything. She"s shown you the Terrible Three, hasn"t she? I"ve seen it, too." Neil wiped his eyes on a handkerchief he extracted from his pocket and tried to compose himself while Evey studied the picture. Welton men didn"t show their emotions. Welton men didn"t cry, especially in front of women. They were strong, composed, commanding. Welton men took on the world! "She showed this to me freshman year," Evey said reminiscently. "Told me about her sister, Lucy, when I came in here babbling and crying like a baby about how no one liked me and I didn"t have any friends and I wanted to go home." "You cried?" Neil asked, allowing himself a laugh as he tried not to cry again. "I did," Evey assured him. "And she told me about Lucy"s first year at school, and how she had the heart of a lion through all of it, and I needed one of those to get me through, too. I had a hard time believing a little girl like that was the bravest person she knew, but it tided me over. And obviously I made it through." She set down the picture and looked at Neil. "And we"ll get through this crap with your father come hell or high water. We"ll do it together. Do you hear me? Together. None of this Welton stiff upper lip, man on his own in the world nonsense. We"re a team now." "I really don"t have a choice in this, do I?" Neil asked. "No," Evey assured him. "No, you don"t. you gave up your right to a choice when you came over to my school shouting my name to the entire dormitory and dragged me in head first." "I see," Neil said, laughing and tearing again a little. "So you"ll be all right?" Evey asked again. "You can get yourself home in one piece, no...bike accidents, no suicide attempts?" "I"ll be fine, Evey." Neil said. "See, you say that and I"m unsure," Evey said, and Neil shook his head, laughing again. "I"ll be fine, Evey, really," he said again. "Good, because I think Headmistress will be here soon and it"s curtains on the whole shenanigans if she finds out you were here," Evey said. "You"ll have to go out the way you came," Miss Pevensie said, having shooed the rest of her charges to bed. "You"ll be all right, Neil?"

"How did you see me?" Aude asked directly from the top of the stairs, leaning over the balustrade a little to project her voice out to the General. The question needed no real introduction, and she gave none. All she wanted was an answer. "Ah, so you were behind the screen!" Nasir exclaimed, turning his horse about to speak with her. "You mean you didn"t know I was there?" Aude realized. The General laughed, smiling at her as he explained himself. "I had an idea Khazuran would try something like that, and the latticework is something I am familiar with. The best way to reveal a man"s secrets is to make him think you already know them - is that not right? Obviously it works with women, too. Oh, come," he said conciliatorily, drawing his horse nearer to the stairs. "You must remember that Khazuran was a member of my household for many years. I know her tricks exceedingly well. I taught her some of them," he added. "Did you mean what you said?" Aude asked, pushing to the quick of the matter. Nasir"s smile curled mischievously - he meant to make her work for her answer. "I said a great many things I did not mean, my lady. Pray elaborate." "About my... price," Audemande offered, eyes narrowed, just a little annoyed with the General. Nasir"s smile softened. " I would not lie about you, Lady Dove," he assured her. "Go inside - I have left something with Khazuran for you. Until we next meet, Lady," He said, bowing a little as he turned his horse about and spurred through the castle gates, his train following behind him with fluttering banners. Aude watched them leave and then ran back inside, her curiosity overcoming any desire to behave in a ladylike manner. It was early - there was no one to see and no one to chide. This is too important to bear waiting over. "My lady, has he gone already?" Khazuran asked, watching bemusedly as her mistress barreled into the room, braid swinging wildly. "His note! Khazuran, his note! Give it to me, quickly!" Aude exclaimed, snatching the folded paper from her tutor"s hands and opening it so quickly she tore a corner. "My Lady, My Dove, Audemande - You may consider it gross impropriety, my lady, but I must speak of this to you, this fire that has consumed my heart. If it offends you, Lady Dove, then I have done you but a little harm and I am no longer there to press you. But if the feeling is returned, as I hope to heaven it is, send me some token of it so I do not fade away for waiting. I have written of you, dreamed of you - your very voice haunts my every sleeping moment, and all my waking thought. Where there are books, poetry, gardens even, I hear your laughter and it enchants my soul. You who have given me so much poetry, take some now for yourself and know that it was not some long dead beauty from the pages of the past who inspired these lines, but you." Beneath there was a poem, copied out in the same beautiful script. Aude could read it now, and the words made her weak. Come to me, o merchant of my desires, sell to me the secrets of my soul. I have given you my self of selves, I have sold myself to you for laughter and smiles, More precious to me than gold, for without them I am truly poor. My heart is like a book -- you have read it openly and you too have written upon it the sign that it is yours Though the pen was not in your hand, and you did not know you wrote. I will build you a bower of stars and summer winds In the valley of the pale moonlight There, o star of my heart, o best of my beloved, I will gather your charms to myself, clasping you to me. We shall be one flesh, you and I, and only God will part us. Audemande sat back in her chair, the paper heavy in her hands. She could hear his voice saying the words, as if from a distance, and then nearer, as though he were sitting beside her. Where her heart had dropped out last night had not filled in, a great void in her chest with no one to fill it. No one except the man who had made it so. It was infinite, the amount of love she could hold for Nasir. He knew her better than she knew herself -- a heart like a book, what an image that conjured! He knew she loved her books dearly. Suddenly it was all so clear to her, the feelings of the past few days, how she had yearend for his company and how her heart leapt when he said her name and told Remy she was beyond price, beyond buying. And he felt the same way! Merchant of my desires...What have I to sell you? All I have to sell you have given to me! It was the beginning of a poem, and she knew, now, that she must write it down. God would not give her more time, would not allow his gift to her to be wasted any longer. It would be the first poem she had written in months, and it would be for him. Drawing out a clean sheet of paper and sharpening her reed-pen, Aude set it down on the right-hand margin and gently stroked the page, forming the first letters of her answering poem back to Nasir, her Arabic clear and concise. "You come with an empty bowl, asking me to fill it With answers, begging me to feed your hungry heart. With what will I feed you? All I have is yours! All I have to sell you, you have given to me -- It is I who stand in your debt. See the words on this page, It is you who have put them there; you have honeyed my tongue. Prince of Poets! Parades come forth from the gates of a city The conquerors decked in red and in rich jewels ride in the streets. You are the conqueror, I am the city -- With your arrows of fine words you have brought down my walls. Come and take what is yours, what is rightfully due. Within the week a reply came back - a few words, dashed out on paper in a hand that did not have time for beautiful words or elegant calligraphy. "Come to Jerusalem, my Scheherazade. Let us tell stories together, you and I, where no others can see us. I find myself in need of consolation." "Tiberias, I need to go to Jerusalem," Aude announced, entering the Count"s study with purpose and resolve, unstoppable, Nasir"s latest note clenched tight in her fist. "Why, Audemande? Have you some pressing business of the state in the city?" Raymond asked, not a little amused. "Yes," Aude said sincerely. Tiberias gave her a skeptical look. "And no," she admitted, a little bit of her initial bravado gone. Raymond of Tripolis laughed. "Is that fear I see from Audemande the Boldly Tongued? I know a pair of love-lost eyes when I see them, even if a pair hasn"t been directed my way for a goodly number of years. This is about Nasir, isn"t it?" He asked. Audemande couldn"t help but look away, her cheeks coloring a little. The Count chuckled. "Who could refuse you, asking so sweetly with eyes so brazen?" he mused rhetorically, stroking his ward"s cheek. "Oh, Audemande, your husband will be an unlucky man. He"ll have to answer to this face. Remy leaves in a week for more negotiations. It appears the Sultan was not overly satisfied with Nasir"s agreed terms. You"ll go with him, if that is your wish." Aude threw her arms around Raymond"s shoulders, smiling wider than she remembered smiling in a long time. "Oh, Tiberias, thank you! God will reward you," she said happily, pressing her cheek against Raymond"s, feeling the stubble on her skin and the gaunt, stretched flesh beneath it. She kissed him with a daughter"s kiss and left, gathering up her skirts to make the fastest time back to her room and pack. Raymond watched her go, fingering the carving on the arm of his chair and studying the back of his hand - mottled, thin, the veins thick stripes of purple feeding back into his arm. "Ah, if he loves me enough he"ll reward me by making you happy and Eschiva safe when I am gone," the older man murmured to the empty room, his voice no more than a brief flutter through the curtains. The beginning of one good thing, the end of another. Such is life, I suppose. Now, I know this chapter is short, but it"s finals week here and I"m a little swamped. I"m moving out of the dorms next Friday, and the next chapter (which takes place in Jerusalem) is NOWHERE near being done, so you"ll have to wait a while for another update. Mea Culpa. In other news, how cute are they? *points to Aude and Nasir* This chapter is so sappy I ought to be hung. Song of a Peacebringer, Chapter Twenty-Eight - O Jerusalem! "I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD." Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that is built as a city that is compact together." - Psalm 122:1-3 The minute Aude"s horse set foot inside the walls of Jerusalem the Little Dove knew she was not returning home. In fact, she realized, she was not returning anywhere, for this was no longer the city she knew. She was a foreigner in a foreign land. The streets had not changed, and the people who filled them were still remarkably the same; in fact, little had changed at all except the pennants flying over the ramparts, and the soldiers stationed at the gates of the Citadel wore different liveries, red and green instead of gold and blue, the elegant script replacing the five golden crosses. But still something was different, in the air or the dust of the streets or the rush of people moving to the market, something so small it just escaped the usual forms of detection, and Aude could not identify with certainty what it was. And of course, the other difference was Remy, riding ahead of her in his new surcoat with the Tripoli arms on it, the sigil that Aude did not remember Tiberias ever wearing. His duty had always been to Jerusalem, and he had always worn Jerusalem"s arms. Now such shows were meaningless. Jerusalem the Kingdom was no more. And certainly they were getting looks from some of the guards in the street, but Remy had a pass with him, signed in Nasir"s own hand, and the spear banners of Remy"s men were creamy white - flags of truce instead of war. The heat under her veil was stifling, the cloth Khazuran had draped over her nose and mouth heavy and modest - so that no light will pass through, her tutor had explained. "It is the mark of a lady to be veiled so. You must not speak when you are dressed so. Your rank does not permit you - your modesty does not permit it, either." "It is shameful for men to hear my voice, Khazuran? That seems a little extreme," Aude had remarked in camp that morning as her tutor helped her dress. "That is the custom. A woman"s voice is for her husband"s delight alone, or her father"s delight, if she has no husband. The veil is a privilege, Audemande," Khazuran said again, slapping her student"s hand as she tried to move the face-covering a little bit. "It is a mark of royalty and rank. They will know you by it, and respect you in higher degrees." So she had worn the heavy cloth, happy when it blotted some of the sun and pleased when the covering over her mouth protected her from a mouthful of windblown sand. But to not speak? To not be heard at all? Audemande was not accustomed to silencing her tongue. Scaffolding and dozens of workmen surrounded what had once been the Citadel of David, the center of power and royal life for the Holy City. It appeared Saladin was putting his own touches into the city"s rebuilding - carvings and Qu"ranic verses to adorn the facades and the walls of the once-mighty palace, crosses taken down and replaced with other less Christian symbols. Remy spurred his horse boldly on ahead of her, directing the train into the courtyard of the Citadel and waiting (rather pompously, Aude observed silently from inside her swaths of veil) until the man who appeared to be Saladin"s Chamberlain or steward came out, bowing and glancing at the leading Remy for some kind of explanation. Remy held out the pass. "We are here as guests of the lord Imad al Din," Remy announced to the chamberlain, who looked back at him uncomprehendingly. "My lord, I do not speak franj," the man replied, frowning sadly and bowing again. Remy scowled, angry at not having been immediately understood, and repeated himself, louder and more slowly, as if he were speaking to an especially petulant child. The chamberlain gave the same answer, which only annoyed Remy even more. "These people! Audemande, tell this man that we"re here to see Lord Nasir," the young lord demanded, turning his horse to face the Little Dove, who backed her own horse away a step, unsure of what to do. Her protector demanded she speak, the veil (and the territory"s custom) demanded she remain silent. Khazuran stepped in before Aude had a chance to commit a serious breach of protocol, translating quietly for the Chamberlain, her unveiled face a sign she was a servant, and no noblewoman. Her voice was too soft for Aude to hear properly, but she thought she heard several apologies in the midst of the explanation. Finally she turned around, business completed. "My lord Chamberlain bids us welcome in the name of the Lord Imad, and bids us come with him, that we may be shown the guest quarters. Our luggage will follow," she added, as Remy glanced at the pack horses near the end of the rather short train, the look on his face suggesting he was almost perfectly certain the Saracens would rob them blind if the packages were not watched. He left his fears aside for a moment to help Audemande from her horse, escorting her up the steps into the cool shade of the arched stone hallways, out of the heavy sunlight of midday outside. "What was that about, Audemande? Why did you not speak?" Remy asked quietly as they followed the chamberlain. "I looked like a fool!" "They do things differently here. It is considered a sign of modesty for women to remain silent in public. I would not like to be seen as an immoral woman, Remy," Aude said sharply but quietly. She didn"t wait for him to say more after that, silently turning and following the chamberlain down the hall, feeling pleasantly invisible behind her veil, a ghost lesser mortals were not permitted to see. Aude had always speculated that wearing such a garment would be restricting, but somehow, oddly, it made her feel...alluring, as if every person they passed in the corridor was silently wondering what face hid underneath the stranger"s garb. This was a part of the palace she had not often wandered, and the ornament and decoration were all new to her eyes. Remy, of course, out in front of the train, was paying little attention to the artistry. They stopped at another door where the passageway split in two, and the chamberlain asked Remy to remain where he was while he took Aude to the women"s quarters, the harem part of the household. OF course everything needed to be translated over for Remy, who again looked belligerent at the idea that he should be separated from the woman he had been told to protect. "Tell them you"ll be just as safe with me!" He demanded. "Who knows what they"ll do to you if I leave you here?" he muttered. "Uncle will never forgive me," he added, a little too dramatically, as if he were a lover in a girlish poem, the kind of story that involves a kidnapped maiden and a rakish hero. Well, this was no poem, and Aude was decided, firmly and forever, that Remy, for all he wanted to be, would never be a hero in anyone"s poem, least of all hers. Tired of his complaining and tired also of remaining silent to it, she spoke. "Remy, it is tradition," Aude declared with finality. "Tiberias will forgive you; it is something he understands and which you, unfortunately, do not." She gave a curt nod to the chamberlain, asking him in that terse gesture to move onwards, and left Remy in the hall with the rest of his retinue, confused and alone. The doors beyond were guarded from the inside by tall, heavily veiled female servants, though when they opened the doors Aude saw such defenses were quite thick enough to stand on their own against outsiders. The chamberlain left Aude and Khazuran at the entryway with a silent bow, clapping his hands for the grooms carrying their luggage to leave it by the door. Khazuran marched straight inside, unhindered by the curiosity which held Audemande in check behind her, cautiously proceeding forward into the silent, still air of the harem. It was not what Audemande had expected, to say the least. The picture painted by fantastically dreaming minds (male minds, of course, who had never seen a harem and were never likely to) of languid maidens lying about on cushions and delicate tendrils of smoke curling seductively up from unseen censers. Certainly it was not a scene of wild debauchery either - in fact, the only word Aude could summon to describe it was serene. Uncluttered, quiet, calm space, far removed from the tense, martial, male dominated sphere outside the heavy doors. Maidservants came to take Audemande"s veil and cloak, while others, taking their quietly ordered direction from Khazuran, picked up the chests and luggage to move them to the room that had obviously been set aside for the Little Dove. In another corridor Audemande could hear children playing, their mothers gossiping underneath the laughter and shrieking of the children. In her study, her library, in the backrooms of law courts children were always far away, a distant thought for a far distant future. "When will I see my lord, then?" Aude asked, looking around at the room she was now standing and remembering the guards at the door. Here was not a place where she could wander at will. Nasir would have to come to her. And even then, would he be able to see her? She was not of his family, and would probably be required to sit in his presence with Remy, to fulfill the need for a male family member in the room. And how can two lovers meet when one who would have them apart is at the meeting? "Patience, saddiya. He will come," Khazuran assured her, beginning to unpack, trying to find clean clothes so she and Aude might change out of their dusty traveling things. Suddenly there was a ruckus outside the door to their room, which swung open violently to admit a very noble looking woman, tall and with paler skin than Aude was accustomed to seeing among the Muslims. Clearly this was a noblewoman - her complexion had never ventured out into the sun, had never tilled a field or walked beside a plow. But her beauty was overwhelmed at the moment by her monumental anger, anger that had persuaded her to nearly break down the door. "How dare you bring an unwashed heathen into my house!" the woman shouted in a nobly accented Arabic. "How dare you, Khazuran Bint Walu! You had no right!" Khazuran knelt quickly, her forehead touching the floor. Bint Walu...daughter of nothing? That is a cold thing indeed to say to an orphan, even if she is only your servant. "Forgive me, Saddiya Rayhana, I did only as I was bid. They did not know from whence she came. My Lord Nasir bid that they direct her here." Rayhana? That was a name Audemande did not know. And Khazuran used the honorific saddiya with her. This was a woman of considerable rank. The woman glanced at Aude, eyes very nearly flaming. Aude stared straight back, unwilling to admit that she was the unwashed heathen to whom the woman referred. There was something familiar about her face that Aude couldn"t place, as if she had seen it before. "Make certain that she bathes before she is allowed into the rest of the house," the woman said, turning to leave. "Thank you for your hospitality," Aude said to her retreating back. The woman turned around, still seething, and gave a curt nod of acknowledgement. Clearly she hadn"t expected Audemande to have understood her. When she had gone Aude turned to Khazuran with amazement. "Who was that?" she asked, unable to think in anything but French. "That was Nasir"s sister, Rayhana. Apparently he has not told his family about you yet," Khazuran surmised, speaking still in her native tongue. His sister? If that"s what she thinks of me I have a long way to go yet with his family. "You must go bathe, my lady, or she will very likely kill you. It is insult enough that she must house a non-believer at her brother"s wishes." "I would have done that already if she had not admonished me so," Aude defended. "I"m not so barbaric that I"ll refuse a bath." Presently they were joined by what seemed like a small army of maidservants, all trying to usher Aude off to the baths without actually touching her. Apparently unwashed meant possibly carrying the plague and several different types of flesh-eating fleas" here, but Aude was a guest, and as guest, she would do as she was bid, even if that meant being treated a bit like a leper. Audemande was fully expecting to be plunged, perhaps even half-drowned, in a large bucket of ice-water and have that called her bath. She remembered a similar experience after a journey quite longer than the one she had just taken when she had first arrived in Jerusalem. Evidently, however, the Muslim custom was much different from the Frankish one in this regard. First she was stripped of every stitch of clothing she was wearing, showered thoroughly with cold water and then ushered into a little room where she wilted for a quarter of an hour in a cloud of near- blistering steam. after she was done sweating out whatever impurities had been on her skin before, she was rinsed again and given a robe, sitting and waiting patiently while her hair was unbraided, washed, rubbed with rose oil, and braided once more. It was more bath than Aude had ever had in her life, and evidently it wasn"t over.

they call us by number and never by name we"re all of us different and all of us same with a roll of the dice we have entered the game a game that will tease us, and torture, and maim. we"re living to fight and we"re fighting to die we"re waiting to laugh and we"re hoping to cry a voice inside asking, a thousand times, why? if this is called living, then living"s a lie." The cave was stunned. Gloria and Tina looked like they come to the wrong place, and Neil wanted to pull Evey down and kiss her senseless for showing the other girls what for without resorting to violence. Evey sat down, shoving the paper back in her pocket. "It"s still a work in progress," she said, trying to break the silence. "It"s not very good right now, but it"ll get better. Who"s next?" "Well, I compose poetry, too," Charlie said, trying to win back the confidence of his lady friends, who Neil could see (because his eyes weren"t blinded by the mere presence of women) were not the sort of girls Welton men are expected to marry. Lipstick too bright, clothes off the rack at Sears, perfume bought at a drugstore and not the scent counter at Nieman Marcus. Charlie leaned over to Tina, reciting, in a way that made it sound to the untrained ear as if he were making it up, "Shall I compare thee to a summer"s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate." "That"s so sweet," Tina said, clearly not understanding any of it. "I made that up just for you," Charlie assured her. The rest of the group sniggered when Tina said, naively, "You did?" Cameron shook his head and Charlie, undaunted, moved next to Gloria. "I"ll write one for you too, Gloria," He said, thinking for a moment and then moving into one of his tried and true favorites. "She walks in beauty like the night..." he paused, as if trying to think of the next line. Evey shook her head and buried her face in Neil"s shoulder, trying not to laugh. "She walks in beauty like the night, Of cloudless climes and starry skies. All that"s best, dark and bright, Meet in her aspect and her eyes." "That"s beautiful," Gloria said, just as impressed as Tina. "There"s plenty more where that came from," Charlie assured her. "You know, Charlie, I swear I"ve heard that second one before somewhere," Evey said. "Maybe you said something like it to Christine once," she said. "But I don"t know. You hear a lot of things like that nowadays." This was threatening to turn into a catfight even if the majority of the assembled weren"t actually women, and it was making that majority, who didn"t deal with catfights very often, very nervous. "I think we should move on to the real poetry now," Pitts said, glancing at Meeks and then at Cameron, who was still disgusted at the whole turn of events. "How about I go?" he said, opening up the book to a random page and scanning the poem he found there. "Here"s a good one," he said, a little bit too enthusiastically, standing up gingerly with the flashlight in hand and book in the other. "I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree," he began, "And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made; Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee, and live alone in the bee-loud glade." Gloria yawned, and interrupted Pitts, asking "Is this all you do? Sit around and read poetry?" Pitts stopped and sat down, his rendering of "Innisfree" muffled instantly by the suggestion that their lady friend might be bored. "And what kind of poem is that, anyway?" Tina asking, pulling a bottle of liquor out of her purse. "Who wants to live alone on an island?" "That"s Yeats," Evey said protectively, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "So?" Tina asked, unscrewing the top of the bottle. "He doesn"t know how to live, if you ask me. Go ahead, pass it around," she said, giving the bottle to Neil. Neil glanced at Cameron, who shook his head imperceiveably, and then took a swig anyway, smiling and passing the bottle to Evey. Evey held the bottle up to the light, glanced at the label, and passed it to Cameron. "I"m not much of a whiskey drinker," she said, smiling thinly at Tina. "Wine"s more my thing," she said. "Oh," Tina said. "Do you like Chianti?" "Chianti," Evey repeated, trying not to laugh. "No, there"s this winery out in California my dad"s got stock in...We"ve got cases of the stuff at home. It"s pretty good." Tina nodded, not having a comeback to that, because her father probably didn"t own stock in anything, and had probably never seen any wine besides the cheap chianti bottles they put on tables in Italian restaurants to hold candles. "Me and Pitts are working on a hi-fi system. It shouldn"t be that hard to, uh, to put together," Meeks said, trying to impress Gloria and Tina again, but it looked like it was going nowhere fast- apparently they were"t the types that liked boys in glasses with high test scores and bright futures. "Yeah. Uh, I might be going to Yale," Pitts began. "But, I, I might not," He finished lamely. "Don"t you guys miss having girls around here?" Gloria asked, taking a long drag from her cigarette, clearly a girl who"d been around the block before a few times and who was beginning to wonder what sort of nest of nerds she"d walked into. " Yeah," Meeks and Pitts said at the same time, nodding like dummies. Neil wrapped his arm around Evey a little tighter and Evey turned to covertly kiss his ear, blowing softly into it to make him shudder a little. "That"s part of what this club is about," Charlie said. "Regaining the calming influence of women in our turbulent lives. In fact, I"d like to announce I published an article in the school paper, in the name of the Dead Poets." "What?" Cameron asked, horrified. " Demanding girls be admitted to Welton," Charlie summarized, looking pleased with himself. "You didn"t," Pitts said, just as mortified as Cameron. "So we can all stop beating off," Charlie whispered to Meeks. Evey rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Charlie, are you nuts?" she asked. Charlie ignored her, still pleased as punch at the impression he"d made. " How did you do that?" Neil asked, interested and concerned at the same time. "I"m one of the proofers. I slipped the article in," Charlie said with a shrug. "Look, uh, it"s, it"s over now," Meeks said, shaking his head. The gaity of earlier had gone. "Why? Nobody knows who we are," defended Charlie. "Charlie, this is absurd," Evey said. "I don"t care what you think about co-education, I"m all for it, but this-this is the wrong way to do it. I"ll see you guys," she said, disgusted, picking up her coat and leaving the cave. Neil gave Charlie a scathing look and dashed out after Evey. "Evey! Evey, wait up!" "Neil, I can"t believe you are letting them waste their time with those girls!" Evey said once they were far enough away from the cave that the ongoing argument would drown out their own. "They"re old enough to make their own decisions on how to be stupid!" Neil said. "They"re not aware of the fact that those are the kind of girls who eat poor guys like Meeks and spit them out in the trash as broken men!" Evey said. "And I like your friends, Neil! I like them a lot! They"re smart and funny guys who happen to live with a bunch of men all the time and don"t know the ways of women, which I know (from personal use) can be terrible things. And I don"t want to see them get hurt by callous bitches like Gloria and Tina who wear enough make-up to send a whore packing and who don"t know Shakespeare from shit! They are so much better than that!" "Evey, wait," Neil plead. "No, Neil, forget it. I"m going home. I"ll see you at practice when you"ve all sobered up." And she was gone, pedaling into the autumn mist. The poem used in this chapter (aside from Byron and Yeats) is my own; I won a poetry slam with it my Junior Year of High school. Ironically, that is the final copy, so any editing would be to Evey"s discredit. I decided I needed to include this episode after watching DPS again, and suddenly Evey was really pissed off. I have no idea why. So- DRAMA for our dramatic teenagers. Who knew? Reviews, please? passes hat Act Four, Scene One: A cold reception Evey didn"t greet him when practice started. She didn"t step in to save him when Veronica, the girl playing Hermia, started flirting with him again, and she didn"t even respond to him when he asked her from the wings again to listen to him. In fact, it wasn"t until the end of practice that he even got her attention, shouting, "TITANIA!" from the stage in his best Oberon-esque voice. The whole auditorium turned to look at him. Evey was the last to turn, looking coldly at him. Neil swallowed, and began his speech, cobbled together from The Two Gentlemen of Verona, which she"d recommended to him for its brilliant comedy. "Not for the world would I leave her aside why, man, she is mine own, my best belovèd!" he declared, pointing to her from the stage. "And I as rich in having such a jewel As twenty seas, if all their sand were pearl, The water nectar and the rocks pure gold." He dropped his arm, staring at her, hoping, praying that this would work. "Forgive me that I do not dream on thee," he begged, "because thou see"st me dote upon another. For love, thou know"st, is full of jealousy. Forgive me, tender valentine, if sorrow, Be a sufficient ransom for offence, I tender it here; I do as truly suffer Silence as e"er I did commit." The whole room was silent, and then, out of nowhere, Miss Pevensie was clapping, walking down to where Evey was standing and whispering in her ear. Evey was crying now, and she nodded, furiously, blinking back tears and running down the aisle to hug him, and suddenly, everyone else was clapping. "You butchered that," she said through the tears. "I know," Neil said. "I"m glad you noticed." "When did you do that?" Evey asked, looking at him desperately. "In between worrying about you and worrying about Charlie getting expelled," Neil said. "I had a lot of sorrows to muddle over." Evey gave a very wet laugh and fished a handkerchief from her pocket, blowing her nose. "I"m sure you did, you priceless fool." With the rest of the cast in on the relationship (there were a few who after two weeks had still been in the dark about it) Neil and Evey felt a little bit more free to indulge in the public displays of affection some of the other members of the cast felt no shame in partaking in. "A merrier hour was never wasted there," Neil said aloud to Evey - they were lounging on a stack of cushions backstage, waiting for practice to start; Miss Penvensie had delayed it an hour because her archery team had practice, too. "But, room, fairy! here comes Oberon." He sat up, looking down at her, still lying on the cushions. "And here my mistress. Would that he were gone!" Evey read in a high, singsong voice, handing him back the script so he could take Oberon"s lines. "Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania," Neil said, pitching his voice into a lower octave, the effect comic, but enough to maintain the mood. "What, jealous Oberon! Fairies, skip hence: I have forsworn his bed and company," Evey declared regally. "You wouldn"t do that to me, would you?" Neil asked. "Forswear my bed and company?" He asked, putting his nose in her face and tickling her side, making her giggle and writhe away. "I"ve already done that, and it wasn"t very much fun. And besides, I"ve never seen your bed, Neil, now come on, play Oberon. You"re stately and ...pissed off that I"m not sleeping with you." Evey explained. "Damn straight," Neil said, sitting back up, book in hand. "Tarry, rash wanton: am not I thy lord?" "Then I must be thy lady," Evey said, langorously seductive. "But I know when thou hast stolen away from fairy land, and in the shape of Corin sat all day, playing on pipes of corn and versing love to amorous Phillida," she accused. Neil had the sense to look appalled at her suggestions. "Why art thou here," she asked, suspicious, sitting up proudly. "Come from the farthest Steppe of India? But that, forsooth, the bouncing Amazon, your buskin"d mistress and your warrior love, to Theseus must be wedded, and you come to give their bed joy and prosperity," She said unsympathetically, almost threatening him with this knowledge. "Oh, lady, you have me wrong," Neil said, leaning into her, whispering. "How canst thou thus for shame, Titania, Glance at my credit with Hippolyta, Knowing I know thy love to Theseus? Wait," He said, breaking character, "You"re sleeping with Theseus and I"m sleeping with Hippolyta? Who came up with this arrangement?" "Shakespeare did," Evey said, hitting him over the head with her script. "It"s funny. But rest easy, the guy who"s playing Theseus is gay, so I don"t think you have a lot to worry about there." "Really?" Neil asked, curious and confused at the same time. The fellow had given him an off look once or twice during the last few weeks of rehearsal, but he hadn"t thought anything about it. At Welton, such things were swept under doormats and generally denied, though there were a few who chose to partake. "Yeah," Evey said, not concerned. "Really nice guy, Spencer, he"s done a few things here before. Really good actor, too. He would have gotten Oberon, but Greg"s taller and Oberon needs to be tall. Now come on. Keep going. Chastise me," she said in a winsome voice. Neil rolled his eyes and kept going. "Didst thou not lead him through the glimmering night from Perigenia, whom he ravished?And make him with fair Aegle break his faith, with Ariadne and Antiopa? Wow, Titania"s really making him sleep around," Neil said. "I"m not sure I want you playing this part." "I"m not sure I want your comments every five seconds, Neil! These are the forgeries of jealousy," Evey went on. "And never, since the middle summer"s spring, met we on hill, in dale, forest or mead, by paved fountain or by rushy brook, or in the beached margent of the sea, to dance our ringlets to the whistling wind," she looked at him suggestively, arching an eyebrow, "But with thy brawls thou hast disturb"d our sport." "I"d disturb all your sports if it meant I got to have you in the end," Neil said, kissing her again. It was a long kiss, with a little tongue- he was getting better at it, with a lot of help from Evelyn. "Mr. Perry, I"ll pretend I didn"t see that," Miss Pevensie said pertly. Apparently she was back from her archery practice. "I need my actors now, and not in dishabille, if you please." Evey got up quickly from the couch and went to her court of fairies, who immediately began whispering and stealing glances at Neil, who blushed a little and went back to his script as Miss Pevensie clapped her hands for Hippolyta and Theseus to began the opening scene. "views, pleases? They make my muse Neil happy. Act Four, Scene Three- The Villian Enters. "Neil, be sure to give this to Mr. Nolan," Miss Pevensie said before leaving. "It"s next week"s tech schedule." "Is it tech week already?" Neil asked, looking at the envelope in his hands. "Yes," said the director, a little harried herself. "That"s why there"s some schedule changes. We"re opening on Saturday night and I think we might go a little later than planned. I just want him to know." "I"ll see he gets it," Neil said, nodding and making for the door, turning his collar up against the cold as he pedaled back to Welton, a light snow falling. "Miss Pevensie thought you should have the schedule for next week, since it"s later than agreed upon," Neil said, handing Mr. Nolan the sealed envelope, proudly bearing the Henley Hall seal in the corner. Mr. Nolan slit the envelope, glancing over the timetable and thinking to himself. "This is very late for you to be staying out with just the bicycle, Neil," he said. "Ten o"clock, ten o"clock, midnight - we can"t have the caretaker stay up that late to watch for you." "I have to go to rehearsal," Neil said. "They"re counting on me to be there all five hours!" Mr. Nolan considered this and said, "Could we count on your honor as a student that you"d be home by twelve? No shenanigans, no...hooliganism?" "Yes, sir!" Neil defended. Mr. Nolan nodded, decidedly. "It"s settled then. On your honor as a student. You"ll be wanting the schedule back, I assume," he said, handing the paper back to Neil. "Thank you, Mr. Nolan, sir," Neil said, taking the steps two at a time back up to his room. What he found there wasn"t quite to his liking. His father was sitting at his desk, looking grim. "Father?" Neil asked, wondering what had brought him here. And suddenly, it was all clear. "Wait a minute," he began, "Before you say anything, please let me ex-" But Mr. Perry wasn"t listening to excuses and explanations. He was a man on a mission, and he"d say what he came to say. "Don"t you dare talk back to me! It"s bad enough that you"ve wasted your time with this... this absurd acting business. But you deliberately deceived me! How, how, how did you expect to get away with this? Answer me. Who put you up to it? Was it this new man? This, uh, Mr. Keating?" "No," defended Neil. "No, nobody-- I thought I"d surprise you. I"ve gotten all As in every class..." But his father wasn"t finished. "Did you think I wasn"t going to find out? "Oh, my niece is in a play with your son," says Mrs. Marks. "No, no, no," I say, "you must be mistaken. My son"s not in a play." You made me a liar of me, Neil!" He took a breath and composed himself. When he spoke again, his voice was cold, deadly. "Now, tomorrow you go to them and you tell them that you"re quitting." "I can"t just drop out, Dad! I have the main part. The performance is next Saturday! That"s not enough time for Laurence Oliver to learn the part, let alone-" " I don"t care if the world comes to an end next Saturday. You are through with that play. Is that clear? Is that clear?" He repeated loudly, looking at his son coldly. "Yes, sir," Neil repeated lifelessly. Mr. Perry turned to leave and then turned back. "I made a great many sacrifices to get you here, Neil, and you will not let me down." He said it more like a threat than a benevolent gift, and Neil responded with a servile, obedient, "No, sir." He stood in the doorway and watched his father leave. There was a hurricane swelling up inside his mouth, an earthquake starting where his heart should be, pounding in his temples, rushing to overwhelm his brain. A car was starting up outside, pulling out of the driveway. His father was leaving him here, abandoning him like he always did. It was too much! Neil pulled his coat back on and bolted for the stairs, the surge of passion overwhelming him. He wanted to kick, scream, shout back, as though he were five again and consumed with a desire for his own way. He"d never felt this way before, felt this overwhelming desire to do what he wanted and flaunt it in the face of his father, and he wanted to tell someone who would listen. Oh, any boy in this hallway would listen, would nod and smile and say "Yeah, I understand. I"ve been there. I know." But they didn"t know - None of them knew! - what it was like to fight back. And he only knew one person who did, who threw caution to the wind and paddled their own canoe against the current and sailed their ship against great odds. He grabbed a bicycle and began pedaling for Henley Hall, his breath heavy, heart heaving in his chest as though it were being tossed between waves on a stormy night at sea. There was a burn in his legs he could not ignore, but it made him feel safe, made him feel alive! Legs pounding, he got off the bike, leaning it haphazardly against the tree, running under the trees to the dormitories on the far side of the main building. She"d be on the top floor, he thought, and if he didn"t find her window, he"d shout until she came to him. "EVEY! EVEY LANGFORD! EVEY!" Three weeks of rehearsals had sharpened his voice- he could throw it to the top of the Welton clock tower if he wanted to and it would still come back to him, booming and full of power. "EVELYN LANGFORD!" Lights were beginning to go on in the dormitories, windows thrown open, questions asked. "Who"s there?" "A boy. He wants to see Evey." "Evey? Always knew she was loose." "I"ve seen him before, he"s in the play." "He"s cute!" "Neil?" called a voice that he knew. Miss Pevensie was leaning out her window on the end of the top floor, looking down, concern on her face. "Neil, what are you doing here?" "I need to talk to Evey!" Neil shouted. Miss Pevensie thought for a moment. "Here, come up the fire escape. We"ll talk for a moment." Neil nodded, dashing over to the fire escape stairs and running up to the top floor- Miss Pevensie had opened the fire escape door and let him onto the landing and into the bright hallway. It was full of curious girls, wondering what sort of extraordinary hero had been let into their virgin temple at ten o clock on a Friday night. "In here," Miss Pevensie said, shooing the girls along and letting Neil into her room. "Evey"s just got in the shower, Neil. We"ll wait for her here. What"s this about?" Miss Pevensie asked. "I just wanted to talk to her about something," Neil said, sitting down in the tiny sitting room. "It couldn"t have waited?" Miss Pevensie asked kindly. Neil shook his head, and she nodded. "That kind of something. Well. I was just making some tea," she offered. "Would you like some?"

"No apology needed," Tommy said, equally at home in his role as the implacable head of a respectable firm. She shook his hand like a man would, with a firm grip. An iron fist in a velvet glove sprang to Tommy"s mind, though her gloves were ivory-tanned kidskin. "My office is just this way." He held out an arm to escort her back to his little glass-walled cell, and, leaving the staff of Shelby Brothers Limited staring slackly at the vision that had just sat down across from their leader"s desk, closed the door behind him, smiled briefly at the rest of the room and pulled the shades. "You might have introduced yourself the other day," Tommy said, sitting down at his own desk and shuffling aside the morning"s paper along with any other pleasantries. She didn"t seem the type to need them. "I wouldn"t have wanted to put you out," Theodora said pleasantly. "I understand you"re a man who doesn"t like surprises, Mr. Shelby. It wouldn"t do, to be introduced to a peer in the street." Her smile curled a little devilishly. "Have you heard a lot about me, then?" Tommy asked, studying this woman and wondering in which of her posh schools she"d learned the art of doing business as he was accustomed to doing it. "I make it a point to know all my neighbors, Mr. Shelby. My landlord, Mr. Wecklin, was most informative. And when so many of our clients at the House make a point of mentioning you, it was only fair that I return the compliment of a call from such a ...respected name." Damn the woman. She had heard a lot about him, to make that comment about surprises, when she"d been trying to surprise him since she walked in the door. "I am glad I am found so," Tommy said, neither confirming nor denying the exact nature of the"respect" given him by the rest of the neighborhood. "Though, I must confess, I was amazed to hear from our residents that a man of your stature has such interest in our little organization." "No more than anyone else on the street, I would think." "But no one else on the street has had a man sitting across the street every day watching our residents and asking questions," Theodora said, her voice sweet and meaning anything but sweetness. Tommy was suddenly strongly and unpleasantly reminded of Aunt Pol. "You insinuated you had something to talk over with me." All business, then. Well, if that was the way she wanted to play. "I"m interested in making a donation to your work." She smiled. "Really? Do tell. What sort of donation? Mischief? Mayhem? Rocks through windows? The harassment of our residents?" So she does know us. He had joked with Finn about getting trouble from the Settlement House, but Tommy was beginning to get the idea he may have underestimated the spinsters, or at least, this one. Well, if she could play dirty, then so could he. "Fifty pounds," he said promptly. That, at least, stopped her, though she was equally good at hiding her surprise. "Most generous of you. I should not have thought philanthropy was in your line." "Oh, we always like to give back to the neighborhood, Miss Carteret, as it"s been so good to us and our business. Though usually, with a donation of that size, we look for...goods and services in kind. A mention of our name here and there." His gaze seized hers and the two of them sat for a moment in silent conversation. If we give you this money, you will dance to the tune we give you. "For such a generous offering, we would be glad to give you a tour of the House, Mr. Shelby." I know what you want, and I will give you the endorsement of respectability if you are seen to endorse us. "Most kind. We like to see where our money goes. Shall we come by on Friday?" I"m afraid Friday would be terribly inconvenient, with the free clinic meeting then. Saturday, perhaps, but no sooner." She rose from the chair without more comment, and gathered up her handbag. "Well, this has been a most wonderful first meeting, Mr. Shelby, but I really must be getting back to the House. Lots to do." Tommy rose and opened the door, clearing his throat at the rather poor imitation of work everyone had sprang back to. The gaze of everyone in the office was pointedly focused on the task at hand, even if money was not moving and pens did not dispense ink, every person oddly silent and straining to hear their lord and master. "My staff and I shall look forward to seeing you on Saturday, then," Miss Carteret said with a smile, holding out a hand again. "We will be very pleased to see the place," Tommy said, for the benefit of the rest of the room. Business concluded, Theodora turned to the rest of the room, smiled politely and nodded to everyone"s silent study of her, and stepped back out into the street, begging the pardon of Aunt Polly, who was just coming in. Tommy, however, had not really seen any of the business at the door. He was too busy considering Theodora"s last words, the way that she had nimbly stepped around his own invitation and replaced it with one of her own. She"d be ready by Thursday, if he said he"d be there Friday, and she"d stay ready if he decided to be late and hold out until Sunday. That last look of hers had been in deadly earnest, the eyes and smile that coldly and ever so seriously said If you think you can run me, Thomas Shelby, you"re wrong. "That woman," Aunt Pol observed knowledgeably, watching Miss Carteret stroll calmly down the lane, "will be trouble." And don"t I know it, Tommy observed to himself. Let me begin by saying that I"m not really sure what I"m doing here. (But do any of us really know what we"re doing, honestly?) I can"t find a history of Birmingham at six different libraries, ditto a good book on organized crime in England, ditto information on urban dwellings in the 20th century West Midlands, ditto a dozen other topics I will need to make this a well-informed story. And I"ve never been to Birmingham, so Mea culpa to the good citizens of that city. But after watching season one of Peaky Blinders, I had this sudden image of this upper-class woman who wanted to try and figure Tommy out, who was just as determined and just as stubborn and who knew a thing or two about having feelings and experiences that you don"t talk about, and then I had to find a way to get her into Small Heath, where she clearly didn"t belong and suddenly, Jane Addams and Hull House surfaced, and Small Heath Settlement House, the perfect way to put a strange fish in stranger water, appeared. So here we are, testing the waters on a story I"m not even sure will work. There"s a two year gap between season one and season two. Say that this happens then. If you enjoyed Theo and Tommy"s little tete-a-tete, feel free to say so in the comments and we"ll see what we can do. Finn inspected the clean-collared, starch-stiffened version of himself in the pier-glass near the kitchen and grimaced. "What are we doing all this for, anyway?" he asked, making a half-hearted gesture to the rest of the room, which was filled with the rest of his family, lounging about the sitting room in similar states of dress, Tommy and Arthur"s shirtfronts impressively white, Aunt Polly"s hat sporting a particularly ostentatious feather and Esme"s little beaded reticule clattering with self-importance as she straightened the children"s collars. "Because Tommy likes to give a nice first impression," Arthur drawled, only half-serious, from the love-seat, exchanging a knowledgeable glance with John, who also grinned, and then busied himself with helping Esme break up a bit of horseplay between two of his offspring, who were perilously close to disrupting their fine Sunday attire. Tommy frowned briefly at both of his brothers and the minor scuffle, and strode over to the glass, standing behind Finn. The boy was getting tall - tall enough to see himself and his brother in the little slip of mirror. When he spoke, it was for Finn"s ears alone, the soft, serious voice that Tommy only used when he was in deadly earnest. "Because her brothers were officers with batsmen and china cups and tailored uniforms, and your brothers fought in the dirt of Flanders - like real men. Her people sent gifts we couldn"t use and empty promises that wouldn"t feed us and got rich off of the suffering of our lot, and now they want to use that wealth to help us. We need to show her we don"t need her kind of help at all." Finn"s eyes were glazed with an emotion he couldn"t name, but he didn"t show the recognition Tommy was seeking to explain. He turned his brother away from the mirror and laid his hands on the youngest Shelby"s shoulders, locking his brother"s gaze in his own. "She"ll look at you and she"ll see Small Heath mud, Finn, even if you"ve got none on you. She thinks she"s better than us," Tommy said strongly, "And I want to prove her wrong." Overcome, Finn nodded vigorously, and turned quickly away so that his brother would not see the quiver in his cheek. But Tommy saw everything, and he allowed himself a private smile before turning on the rest of his family and declaring "Right, we"re off, then!" and leading the charge out the door. Didn"t they make a sight, driving (in two cars, Tommy"s and John"s, else they wouldn"t have fit) down to King Street on a Saturday morning in their Sunday clothes. Small Heath knew the Shelby family to be smart dressers, but Sunday suits on Saturday morning beggared belief. Especially when both cars parked a respectful distance down the street from the Small Heath Settlement House, and walked to the door. Usually, when paying a call, there would be the social niceties like ringing a bell or, as was more usually the case in Small Health, knocking on the door and waiting for an answer on the stoop. But there was no such luck here - the door was already wide open to all comers, with a nicely lettered sign tacked to the door asking for all deliveries to be brought around the back. Arthur, who had lead the group out of the cars, pulled up short, glancing around at the rest of them with momentary confusion, and had to be prompted by Aunt Poll to actually head inside the building before their little parade turned into an unsightly, confused mess on the front steps. The Shelbys were never confused or caught out - the Shelbys always had a plan, and it never involved milling on doorsteps like sheep without a shepherd. The storefront was unrecognizable from the inside. The walls having been given what must have been their first new coat of paint in decades (a nice slate blue, bright but hard-wearing), and the front room was filled with light from the large front window. The counter had been re-stained and waxed to a tremendous shine, and the shelves behind it, once built for dry goods and cans, now held a wide variety of baby goods - bottles, blankets, booties, and several stacks of pamphlets whose titles were not immediately visible. Along another wall of shelves a large variety of books peeked out into the room, several volumes sporting gilt letters along their spines. There was a hum of voices from a back room, and before any of the Shelbys could even think about going to investigate, a young woman emerged from the open doorway, all pleasant smiles. "You must be Mr. Shelby," she said, shaking hands with Tommy, who by now had moved to the front of the group. "I"m Lydia Pritchard, one of the teachers here. Theo said we"d be expecting you this morning. We"re so pleased that you"ve come to see our work." It was not the welcome Tommy was expecting. At the very least he"d expected the short, irate woman from two weeks ago to chivvy them about, or for Miss Carteret herself to be waiting out front, ready to meet them in the road. The pause at the steps, the uncertain emptiness of the front room, and then, like a bolt out of the blue, Lydia Pritchard"s open, helpful smile and enthusiastic handshake, however, were not anticipated. They were treating him like...well, like... Damn that woman again. She"d put out the outrageously cheerful Lydia to treat him like the well-heeled businessman he attempted to be, in the hopes that she"d trip him up or catch him out. Just like her own calculated appearance in the offices of Shelby Brothers Limited, she wanted to test him, judge him, and see how he"d react. "Theo is upstairs in her office, if you"ll wait one moment," Lydia was saying. "If you"ll wait here I can go fe- "No need to fetch me, Lydia, I"m here. I heard them come in." The group turned as one to the tall, aristocratic figure of Theodora Carteret in the doorway, smiling enigmatically. "Mr. Shelby," she said, holding her hand out for another handshake, firm and fair. "And this must be your family," she said, turning to the assembled multitude with a pleased smile. Well, no time to brood now. Introductions were in order and he would not disappoint. "Miss Carteret, allow me to introduce my aunt, Polly Gray." There was another firm handshake for Polly, returned by an equally firm, searching look for Miss Carteret. "My older brother, Arthur Shelby." Arthur received a handshake as well, he who was so used to beautiful women wrapping themselves around the promise of power with groveling and simpering looks momentarily surprised by the woman"s businesslike demeanor and absolutely no interest in catering to any of his whims. "My younger brother, John Shelby, and his wife, Esme, and his children. This is Jack, and Mabel, and Jasper, and the youngest is Martha." The children, well-behaved more on account of the shock and strangeness of being in a new place than anything else, studied Theo with childish calculation, wondering, as their parents did, if this strange woman was friend or foe. Martha, only two, hid behind her stepmother"s skirts and would not budge, but Jack (or John, Junior, when his father was very proud of him) teetered for a moment, and then, in parody of his adult minders, stuck out his hand to be shaken, his face grave. Theo"s face broke into an unpredicted smile and she shook hands with all the gravitas afforded to his uncles. Inspired by their elder brother"s example, Mabel and Jasper both stuck their hands out as well, though Jasper, at four, put his hand out palm up as though expecting a sweet, which detracted a little bit from the mock solemnity. "A very great pleasure to meet you all," Theodora said, her voice oddly genuine. She paused, and then bent down. "Master Jasper, I think you will find something has fallen out of your pocket," she whispered, glancing tellingly at the floor, where one of Jasper"s handkerchiefs, wrapped around a stub of obviously old toffee (judging by the bits of lint and debris attached) had landed as he had pulled his hand out of his pocket. Jasper swiped the handkerchief and its contents off the floor and shoved the whole mess back in his pocket, glancing first at Theo and then at his stepmother, who was glaring at him for doing something so undignified. "And this is my youngest brother, Finn," Tommy finished, trying to move past the undeniable humanity of a four-year old filching sweets. Perhaps it had been a mistake to bring them. "I think we"ve met before," Theodora said, shaking hands with Finn as she had the others. Finn looked a little ashamed, and he colored behind his collar. Good manners prevented Miss Carteret from making any comment, and she breezed on, cool as anything. "Well, we"re so delighted you all could join us today. Shall we?" She ushered them into the back room - a classroom, albeit a very empty one, save for four or five exceptionally small students and their teacher at the front. "This is our nursery school class," Theodora Carteret explained, "All three through five year olds who don"t yet go to the council school, to get them out of their mothers" way for three or four hours a day. They get breakfast here, and playtime, and we begin their reading lessons with them. There"s a lot of wonderful research being done now about how children who are read to from an early age..." And thus began the Shelby family"s lessons on the program of good works at Small Heath Settlement. Tommy had not been an earnest student during his school days, short though they had been. Teachers routinely complained that he was a bright spark, knew his times tables and his grammar and could recite and copy with the best, that he would make a fine clerk someday if he could but settle down, stop running wild with those hooligan Gypsy uncles of his, and actually come to school. It was not that Thomas Shelby didn"t want to learn, only that the topics covered in the local council school did not pique his interest. And why should they, when he could learn all he wanted about biology and physiology by watching his uncles exercise and care for their horses, physics in the weights and pulleys of the dockyards and mathematics problems by the score in the columns and grubby papers of the family betting books? School may have held very little to interest Thomas Shelby as a child, but Small Heath Settlement House, itself one very large, very comprehensive school, held much to interest him now. They were his streets and his people - what should they want for? Apparently, quite a lot. There was the nursery school class and the free milk program, meant to salve the lot of Small Heath"s overburdened mothers, the play groups that would keep their older brothers off the streets, the sewing and cooking circles that would help their older sisters gain employment as cooks and maids or erase deficiencies in their future careers as mothers, the study groups for all children that would fill in the gaps that their council school education left out and their parents could not help with, the reading circles for their fathers and much-older brothers where the social and political topics of the day would be discussed, and the free clinic that would put some distance between the nightmarish outbreaks of diphtheria, typhoid, and that awful "flu. All this from a storefront on King Street, staffed by ten or so women who"d never even played on streets like this and had never known what it was like not to be able to feed your children because milk was too expensive, rationing was in high favor, and Dad (and Dad"s pay envelope) was away at the war. It was astounding. Oh, patronizing, perhaps, for Aunt Polly, who hated to be found wrong in anything she did and who took all of the polite programs of the House as a criticism of her own housekeeping, and painfully domestic for Arthur and John, who spent much of the tour with their daydreams alternating between their pints in the Garrison, the promise of what was for dinner that evening, and (for Arthur) about the fine legs of Miss Carteret. But astounding, absolutely astounding, for Tommy. Here was another person who dared to dream big. And even if he hated to think that his people needed the kind of charity on offer, and Miss Carteret"s officer-class background galled him, the sheer scope of it all was bloody impressive. They ended their tour in the back room, a kind of canteen with long tables and benches where the nursery school breakfast could be served and the reading groups could meet and have tea. The kitchen at the end of the room was pressed into service for the Shelby family tea as a kind of cap to the end of the tour, and everyone settled in with their rummage sale teacups to take a load off their feet and process what they had just seen. Lydia Prichard joined them, as well as several of the other teachers and residents, coming in from their afternoon rounds of the neighborhood, jolly and welcoming and eager, so eager to meet their guests and thank them for coming. Polly, in particular, was in a bad mood, and her eyes kept darting to the end of the room, where her nephew was standing observing the proceedings with his calm, practiced gaze. She"ll have a lot to say when we get home, for she won"t speak here. Let her wait with it. "So." Theo Carteret emerged at his elbow with two cups of strong, murky tea, demanding his attention in her single syllable. "Do we pass your muster, Mr. Shelby?" "It is all very impressive," Tommy admitted, taking a cup from her with no intention of consuming it yet. "But..." Miss Carteret let the single syllable out to taunt him and took a sip of her tea while she waited for his reply. "My aunt was not pleased about some of the items offered by your clinic." A stack of pamphlets by Marie Stopes, somewhat hidden and never alluded to on tour, another pamphlet containing contents well known to veterans of the army"s campaign against VDs, and the box of prophylactics that went with them. "Only for married women, and only when they ask," she said promptly, knowing exactly what he referred to. "And some of our ex-soldiers, when identified by the clinic." Her voice told him this was not a battle Polly"s opinions would win. Tommy went on. "The reading room contained several books of a...reactionary nature." A quick review of the shelves revealed Marx, Engels, and the works of several Fabians that no self-respecting bookstore would stock. Freddie Thorne would be in heaven. "Meant only for healthy public discussion of the issues. Records will be kept of who takes the books out, if the relevant authorities want to know." Theo studied him for a moment, and added judiciously, "The working classes in this country have a right to participate in their political processes and know how they work." Another sip, another calm, daring glance, another battle he would not win.

Which waves in every raven tress Or softly lightens o"er her face, Where thoughts serenely sweet express How pure, how dear their dwelling-place. And on that cheek and o"er that brow So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent,- A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent," finished Charlie with a little mysterious flourish. The cave was filled with clapping. "I can tell you for a fact her heart is not at all innocent," said Evey matter of factly, taking the volume from Charlie, her breath recovered. She pulled a black beret from her coat pocket and pulled in onto her head, beat-style. "I know she reads novels before she goes to bed at night." "Trashy novels?" Charlie asked, hopeful. "The very trashiest," Evey assured him. "Bodice-rippers." There was a collective sound of appreciation and Evey flipped through the book. "Oh, here"s a good one," she said, standing up carefully and looking around the boys, taking a deep, exhilarating breath and beginning. "I taste a liquor never brewed,From tankards scooped in pearl;Not all the vats upon the RhineYield such an alcohol! Inebriate of air am I,And debauchee of dew,Reeling, through endless summer days,From inns of molten blue. When landlords turn the drunken beeOut of the foxglove"s door,When butterflies renounce their drams,I shall but drink the more!" It was more of a performance than a recitation- she raised her voice and gestured wildly, taking the occasional drunken step this way and that, her eyes flinging exuberance around the cave. "Till seraphs swing their snowy hats,And saints to windows run,To see the little tipplerLeaning against the sun!" She set the volume down and smiled triumphantly. "Let it never be said women writers refused to raise hell. Emily Dickinson, gentlemen, the one and only." There were cat-calls, and Evey sat down, pleased with herself. Even Cameron was impressed, any futher cynical comments stilled on his lips. "How"d I do?" she asked Neil when the meeting was over and the boys began wandering home. "I wouldn"t quite call this a second date," Neil said. "I mean, there were lots of other guys there, and it"s not quite a date when you have to share..." "You just want to see me again," Evey accused, and Neil shrugged. "Would it be a crime?" he asked, watching her retrieve her bicycle. "Never," Evey said, kissing him quickly on the cheek. "We have visiting hours at Henley on Sunday afternoons after church," she said, pedaling off over the snow before Neil could get another word in edgewise. I love surprising Neil. He"s so fun to be spontaneous with. And ooOOoh, visiting hours. Perhaps someone will pay a visit? Act Two, Scene Two- A Meeting. Neil had survived the initial meeting with Dr. Hager about driving him over to Henley on Sunday; he"d even survived the inquest that followed. What he was concerned about surviving now was the front hall, which was a much more daunting prospect than the other two because in about five seconds it was going to be filled with teenage girls. He and Dr. Hager were sitting out in front of Henley in the school car, waiting for chapel to adjourn so that Neil and Hager could go inside and announce that Neil was here for his appointment with Miss Langford. Appointment. That was the word they used. Like Neil was going to a doctor"s office or a visit to the dentist. "There"s the bell," Dr. Hager said, watching the doors of the church. Neil sat forward in his seat a little and watched the girls file out of church, appropriately hated and gloved, eyes downcast, pleasantly chatty as their Sunday shoes shuffled through the leafy path from the chapel to the front doors of Henley Hall. When the last of the girls had gone inside, Dr. Hager got out of the car, walking Neil to the door. There was a receptionist waiting to welcome them there- Neil had to sign a visitor log and then was escorted down the hall, much to the surprise and interest of the other girls still on the ground floor of the Henley building. They were probably wondering why none of them had had callers, and the word was soon passed along that Evey Langford had a visitor in the parlor downstairs. Henley did things the old way, and that involved keeping all male visitors, including family members, confined to the visiting parlor on the ground floor, under the watchful eyes of the girl"s floor matron, the resident teacher in their residence. Evey arrived with a tall dark haired woman in tow, who introduced herself in a soft British voice as Miss Pevensie, confided to both of them that she would be as intrusive as a mouse, and sat down in the corner with her gradebook and did not look their way after that. "I didn"t think you"d come," Evey said as a maid brought in tea, another old fashioned tradition Henley kept up. "I didn"t think you"d come down when they told you I was here," Neil answered back. "You look really nice," he said, gesturing to the skirt and sweater set she was wearing. "So do you," Evey said. There was an awkward silence, and finally Evey said "Did you see that we"re putting on a play in a few months?" "I saw the poster in the hall. A Midsummer Night"s Dream," Neil said. "I think you should try out for it," Evey confided. "I know there"s an actor in you somewhere. And Miss Pevensie"s our director. Miss Pevensie, wouldn"t Neil do well in "Midsummer"? As Lysander, perhaps, or...Oberon!" "Oberon"s a big part, Evey. Could you handle it, Neil?" the teacher asked, looking at Neil. "I"ve never really tried acting before, but I"ve always wanted to," Neil assured her. "Let"s hear you read a little, then," Miss Pevensie said, giving him the copy she had been marking. "Here," she said, opening the book. "Start there." She sat down next to Evey and said, "Whenever you"re ready, Neil." Neil took a deep breath, trying not to let the words swim on the page. Oberon was speaking here, quarreling with Titania and instructing Puck. "Well, go thy way: thou shalt not from this grove Till I torment thee for this injury." He shook his fist at her imaginary retreating back, and Evey giggled. Neil tried to forget her. "My gentle Puck, come hither." He gestured for the fairy sprite, and leaned down to talk to him, trying to invoke the modern aspects of the piece the way Professor Keating had shown them. "Thou rememberestSince once I sat upon a promontory,And heard a mermaid on a dolphin"s backUttering such dulcet and harmonious breathThat the rude sea grew civil at her songAnd certain stars shot madly from their spheres,To hear ...the sea-maid"s music." Neil finished quietly, putting the book down. Miss Pevensie was looking at him with a thoughtful quality in her eyes. "Read for Puck next time, Mr. Perry. I think it would suit you better," she said, going back to her grading. "Do you want the-" Neil held the book out. Miss Pevensie looked at it and shook her head. "You and Evey will want to practice now, I expect? The tryouts are this week," Miss Pevensie said with a smile. Neil went and sat down next to Evey with the book spread out between them. "I"m going to read for Titania," Evey said. "I think it"d be fun to play her." "And have to kiss a donkey? Charlie"s not going to like hearing about this," Neil said. Evey gave him a playful shove. "It also means I"d be your enemy," she said suggestively, pinching his leg. "You"d be far too good as Puck to be anyone else." Yes, my dear readers, you read that right. Pevensie. That"s Susan teaching at Henley Hall- she"ll come up more later. I had a great idea and couldn"t put it down with her. Reviews, pleases? They make Neil very happy. Muses eat reviews like hungry reviewers eat cookies. Act Three, Scene One: Trumpets and Alarums For those of you who aren"t familiar with Shakespeare, Act Three is where the major problem is introduced. Romeo and Juliet get married, Macbeth kills Duncan, Caesar is stabbed. Now I"m introducing the major problem in Neil"s story; I"ll leave it up to you to decide what, or who, that is. Neil arrived home that night full of ideas and bubbling over with excitement, nearly busting the door off its hinges and startling Todd out of his desk chair. " I"ve found it!" he proclaimed, tossing his coat over his chair and the book he"d just checked out from the campus library on his bed. Todd was confused. " Found what?" He asked. "What I want to do! Right now. What is really inside of me. And it"s all Evey"s fault, so you can blame her later when I explode from happiness." He handed Todd the poster he"d stolen from the bulletin board near the front entrance of Henley Hall, nearly hopping up and down with excitement. "A Midsummer Night"s Dream." Todd read aloud. "So what is it?" Neil took the paper and slapped Todd upside the head with it. "A play, dummy." "I know that," Todd said defensively. "But what"s it got to do with you?" "They"re putting it on at Henley Hall. See, open try-outs," Neil pointed to the bottom of the poster. Todd was still perfectly clueless. " So?" he asked, very confused about what this had to do with anything. "So I"m gonna act!" Neil exclaimed. "And Evey"s going to help me! It couldn"t be easier. Ever since I can remember I"ve wanted to try it. Last summer I even tried to go to summer stock auditions but of course my father wouldn"t let me." "And now he will?" asked Todd, still confused. "Hell, no, but that"s not the point. The point is for the first time in my whole goddamned life, I know what I want, and for the first time I"m gonna do it whether my father wants me to or not! I"m going to do this play, I"m going to get my girl, I"m going to do what I want with my life! Carpe diem, goddamn it! The king doth keep his revels here tonight!" he quoted to the room, fists raised as if in victory. Todd shook his head and went back to work as Neil dove into his play, happily humming to himself. Scene Two: The Forest of Athens "Are you ready, Puck?" Evey asked, waltzing out of the audition to where Neil was waiting in the hall, script in hand, marked and ready to do battle. "I don"t know, Titiana. Do you think I"m ready?" Neil consulted. "I think you were born ready," Evey said, kissing him on the nose. "Now go knock her socks off," she said, pushing him inside. Neil went inside the lighted theatre, handing his forms to the girl sitting next to Miss Pevensie and traipsing up onto the stage. There were a few of the stage lights on, and the effect was blinding. "And who will you be reading for, Mister...Perry?" the assistant asked. "I"ll be reading for Puck," Neil said, somewhat unsure of himself now. "If you could start at "Through the forest have I gone," on line 67 of Act two, scene one," Miss Pevensie said. He started speaking, and after that he heard no more. Scene Three: Another part of the Forest Neil stood waiting in the hall as the classrooms emptied out for Henley"s last period of the day. He was skipping study period, but he didn"t care about the demerits- he lived or died by the piece of paper that Miss Pevensie would be putting up shortly. "Is it here yet?" Evey asked, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it tightly. "Not yet," Neil said, glancing around the hallway. They weren"t the only ones waiting for the magical piece of paper; several other girls were hanging around the hallway as their comrades in learning swept on upstairs, ready to dive into another night of homework. Miss Pevensie was just emerging from her classroom, her heels clicking down the hallway as she carried her books, as well as a large sheet of paper, to the bulletin board. The waiting students held back until she was done pinning it up, and then surged towards the paper. There were shouts and cries of joy, sighs and sounds of sadness. Neil waited impatiently until at least one girl moved, then elbowed his way to the front. "Puck!" He cried out. "I"m PUCK! And...and you"re Titania, Evey!" Evey looked surprised, but it was shortlived. When he was out of the crowd he hugged her tightly, then pulled back to look at her. Before he could say "Well done!" she was kissing him, full on the lips, in front of everyone, most of whom were too preoccupied (or too polite?) to notice. "Oh, give me my sin again," she said when he had pulled away, and bent their heads together a second time. Neil was breathless, the first real kiss he"d ever really...what was the line? It was from Romeo and Juliet, he knew, he"d read it as a freshman, just a silly boy... "You kiss by the book," he said finally. "Is there any other way?" Evey asked mischievously. "I"d better stop, otherwise I"ll get demerits for public indecency." "I didn"t think you worried about things like that," Neil accused. "I do now," Evey said. "If I get kicked out of the play, that means I get to spend less time with you. First practice is tomorrow, Robin Goodfellow." Scene Four- A Merry Interlude. "So, do you woo any women in your role as Puck?" Charlie asked as they sat in the common room, lounging on a study break. "No, Puck"s more the narrator of the play. He instigates a lot of people falling in love, including Titania with the donkey-headed Bottom. He"s a troublemaker," Neil said, flipping through his script with fascination. "Not unlike yourself, Mr. Perry," Charlie said, imitating Mr. Nolan. "And you get to hang out with Eee- vee," he said the name in a singsong voice, getting a punch in the shoulder from Neil. "Hey, I"m only saying. It"s a theater, man; There"s lots of dark corners for getting comfy in." There"s one more scene in act three, and then we"ll move on to Act Four! I didn"t want to lift too much text from the movie (which we get a lot of in the next scene) so that"s why there are some abbreviated episodes in this act, like the scene with Neil and Todd stealing homework and Neil coming back to the dorm announcing his victory. Act Three, scene Five- a deserted cave. "I still can"t believe you brought that ugly lamp home," Evey was saying as the gentlemen settled themselves into the old Indian cave, waiting for Charlie to finally decide to show up. "Why on earth did you have that in the scene shop?" Pitts asked, disgusted that something with that much bad taste had ever entered the doors of the sainted Henley Hall. "I think we did a production of "You Can"t Take it With You,' or something like that. It was before my time, anyway," Evey said, "And I decided it was time for it to go." "And I liked it," Neil defended. "Well, are we going to start this shindig? Knox is over at the Danburry"s probably getting sloshed and God only knows where Charlie is." "All right by me," Meeks said. "I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately," They all recited, Evey trying to mouth along with Neil, not remembering the words. "I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life. To put to rout all that was not life." Outside, there was the sound of giggles- very feminine giggles. "You didn"t... invite anyone else, did you?" Neil asked Evey. Evey shook her head. "I haven"t even told anyone about it." "Oh, my God!" said Cameron in disgust, alarmed that their male sphere was being invaded once again. "Is this it?" A female voice asked outside. "Yeah, this is it. Go ahead, go on in." It was Charlie. "It"s my cave. Watch your step." " We"re not gonna slip, are we?" Another voice, also female, asked. "Uh-oh." It was the first girl again. Cameron and Pitts, who were carrying the flashlights, shined them over the entranceway, temporarily blinding the first girl who stumbled over the rocks to the cave. She was followed closely behind by another, a very blonde sort. " Hi," the first one said. There was a scramble among the boys to stand up, Pitts hitting his head on the ceiling in the process. Evey contained a laugh at their efforts to impress girls who were clearly townies and watched them all awkwardly introduce themselves. Charlie came scrambling in behind them, beret cocked and ready for poetry. "Hi, you guys. Meet, uh, Gloria and-" he turned to look at the blonde, who looked offended he hadn"t remembered her name. "Tina," she supplied, miffed. "Tina," Charlie repeated, looking around the cave with a mischievous smile. "This is the pledge class of the Dead Poets Society." "Hello. How do you do?" The boys said. Gloria and Tina seemed confused by these boys, who were probably another species compared to the ones they knew- boys who wore shirts with collars and ties and greeted women by standing up and saying "How do you do?' instead of "Hey, baby." "Evelyn," Evey said, holding her hand out to shake. "Nice to meet you," She said, smiling and shaking both girls" hands; the handshakes were limp and the hands clammy. "Guys, move. Move," Charlie urged. "Come on, folks. It"s Friday night. Let"s get on with the meeting. Hurriedly everyone, Evey not included, rushed to stand up and proffer his seat, full of "excuse me"s and "sorry"s. "So, Charlie, did you ever get a chance to call Christine?" Evey asked when Tina and Gloria had sat down. The rest of the boys looked at Charlie, noticing that Evey wasn"t looking very kindly on the new intruders. "No," Charlie said blithely. "No, I didn"t. she didn"t seem too interested in me anyway," He said. "Unlike these two...goddesses," He elaborated, making both girls giggle. "So, do you go to Ridgeway?" Gloria asked, glancing at Evey. "I"ve never seen you there before." "I go to Henley Hall," Evey said with just a little bit of acid in her voice, scooting a little closer to Neil and taking his hand in her own as if to say, "This is my man, you meek, pathetic little thing, and don"t try anything on him or I"ll claw your eyes out.' Neil, noticing this, thought it was rather funny and wrapped his arm around Evey"s shoulders and whispered in her ear as Charlie started speaking, "I think you can put the claws away now." "Guys, I have an announcement to make," Charlie was saying, "In keeping with the spirit of passionate experimentation of the Dead Poets, I"m giving up the name Charlie Dalton. From now on, call me Nuwanda. " Nuwanda?" repeated Pitts, not believing his ears. "Where the hell did that come from, Charlie?" Neil asked. "Who knows, with Charlie," Evey said, a lot of acid still in her voice. Tina took out a tube of very red lipstick and opened it, meaning to brighten the already dazzlingly bright lips. Charlie, however, intercepted it and drew a set of fierce looking arrows on his cheeks, making a barbaric sort of face and then, sitting down, asked, "Well, we gonna have a meeting or what?" "Yeah," said the blonde. "If you don"t have a meeting, how do we know whether we want to join or not?" "Join?" Neil asked, surprised, a sentiment that was echoed by many of the other boys. Charlie looked affronted. "Well, Evey"s a member," Charlie said. "Why should Tina and Gloria be any different?" "Because..." Neil tried to think of a good reason. "Yeah, why should we be different?" Gloria asked, chewing her gum rather loudly. "Well, I"m only a member because I write poetry," Evey explained, not really putting it past these girls to actually write anything worth wasting the paper on. "You are?" Neil asked, quite sure there were a few other reasons why Evey was here and no other women were. "Yes," said Todd, speaking up for the first time in a long time and playing along with her lie. "Good poetry, too." "I don"t believe her," Tina said. "Read some." "Yeah," chimed in Gloria. "Read some." "Well, I"ve got something I"m working on now," Evey said. "Very in tune with the idea of the Dead Poets Society, and sucking the marrow out of life. It"s called "Lie.'" She stood up and took a few sheets of paper out of her pocket, covered in scribbles and crossouts, shuffling them into the right order and then clearing her throat. "We"re living to fight and we"re fighting to die there"s death on my conscience and blood in my eye the breath of existence is only a sigh if this is called living, then living"s a lie." She picked up tempo, her voice on the edge of shouting, despairing for the whole human race as she ranted on. "we"re packing up courage and putting on fears our bread has been buttered by blood and by tears our gods have all left us and lonliness leers- in this we"ll continue for ten thousand years. we"re living to fight and we"re fighting to die we"re building a fortress that"s ten miles high in case of disaster, our people will fly if this is called living, then living"s a lie. they call us by number and never by name we"re all of us different and all of us same with a roll of the dice we have entered the game a game that will tease us, and torture, and maim. we"re living to fight and we"re fighting to die we"re waiting to laugh and we"re hoping to cry a voice inside asking, a thousand times, why? if this is called living, then living"s a lie." The cave was stunned. Gloria and Tina looked like they come to the wrong place, and Neil wanted to pull Evey down and kiss her senseless for showing the other girls what for without resorting to violence. Evey sat down, shoving the paper back in her pocket. "It"s still a work in progress," she said, trying to break the silence. "It"s not very good right now, but it"ll get better. Who"s next?"

Who"s Henry? Tommy hadn"t read anything in Burke"s Peerage about a Henry. There had been a brother, he thought, but not named Henry. Cousin, perhaps? Fiancé? Beaton"s helpful face faded a little. "He might be at his lessons now, Miss. Mrs. Frances hates for him to be disturbed." A child, then. Her child? The prospect was suddenly and strangely interesting to him. Perhaps Theodora Carteret"s past isn"t quite as clean as she"d like. Theo nodded, some of the joy gone from her own face as well. "Yes, I expect she does." But just as she said this, a door opened at the far end of the house, admitting one small, curly-haired boy in a sailor suit and his nursemaid, elegantly clad in black. The child ran into the grassy lawn and, seeing the three of them, pointed and waved. Theodora raised her arm and waved back, her smile radiant as the boy ran as fast as his little legs could carry him, colliding with the woman and nearly knocking her backwards. "Oh, Henry!" Miss Carteret swept the little boy up in her arms and peppered him with theatrical sounding kisses, making him laugh. "How is my big baby boy today?" "Fine," came the squeaking little reply. "Nurse said we could have jam roly-poly for pudding tonight." "Oh, roly-poly! My favorite. Can I come too, do you think?" Her eyes were wide and joyful. "No, Auntie Theo!" Henry said, laughing. "Why not?" Theodora asked with mock indignation. "Because you"ll eat it all!" Henry exclaimed, laughing at his own joke. The whole scene was fascinating to Tommy. Here was a woman he had never seen before - not the schoolmistress, who was kind on principle, and certainly not the stern directress who spoke sternly and was no one"s fool. This was a different woman entirely, a creature who loved, unashamedly. "Now that would be very bad of me, wouldn"t it?" Theodora acknowledged with a smile. She glanced, for a moment, over her shoulder, and the look in her eyes when her gaze met Tommy"s told him she had nearly forgotten he was there. Now that"s a telling thing. In fact, Tommy had practically forgotten he was standing there, so amazed was he by such an open display of affection from the woman that he had never, until this morning, seen without her guard up. "Henry, would you like to meet someone?" she asked, turning and walking ever so slightly towards Tommy, waiting on the lawn. At the promise of a new acquaintance, Henry buried his face in her shoulder and shook his head vigorously. "No!" he exclaimed, most of the sound getting lost in Theo"s shirt. "Oh, but I think you will like him," Theodora promised. "This is my friend Mr. Shelby. Can you not say hello?" She bounced the boy expertly on her hip, as if trying to coax a different answer out. Are we friends? Tommy wanted to ask. Is that the word for what we are? Henry"s eyes darted out of Theodora"s collar for a moment. "H"lo," he managed, mostly, again, to her shirt-front. "Oh, come now, that won"t do at all!" But Henry refused to budge. Theodora considered a moment and tried another line of attack. "Can I let you in on a secret? Mr. Shelby and you have something in common. You are both exceptionally fond of motorcars." Henry unburied his face to look, disbelievingly, at his aunt. "And Mr. Shelby owns three," Theodora revealed, enunciating the three for maximum effect in a whispering tone. "Real ones?" Henry looked amazed, and his aunt nodded with all the gravitas she could muster. "So will you go and say hello properly?" She asked, bending down so she could return him to the ground. Armed with this new enticement to make friends, Henry extricated himself from his aunt"s embrace, turned to look at Tommy and said, with the same gravitas he heard from adults in every lisping syllable, "Very pleased to meet you." "Very pleased to meet you, Henry," Tommy said, politer than his usual children"s greetings. But continued conversation seemed doomed to failure, for at that same moment, another door was opening, and another person - blonde and slim and immaculately dressed - joined the little group on the terrace. She was young, perhaps a few years younger than Miss Carteret, and, at least to Tommy"s eyes, not half as worth paying attention to. Had Arthur been present, or John, there would have been whistles, glances of easy appreciation. But all Tommy saw was a woman as easily ignored as other women - except, perhaps, by Theodora, who stood up a little straighter and clenched her fists a little tighter. "Oh, hello, Frances," she said, her voice conversational and pleasant while every fiber of her body seemed intent on some form of bodily harm. No love lost here, then. "Theo." The blonde"s voice was resonant, pretty - an ornamental thing. On closer inspection, Frances seemed like the kind of woman who was regularly kept (primarily by men of this class) for their ornamental value - perfectly manicured hands, shoes that looked like they had never seen a gravel road, a perfect coiffure and a blank expression to match. Tommy guessed she didn"t regularly shout above a classroom full of eight-year olds or console grieving mothers. In fact, he was willing to bet a lot of money that this Frances didn"t do anything at all. "We weren"t expecting you. Henry, I think that"s enough fresh air for today. You should go back to lessons now." "Shan"t!" The little boy declared, and Frances" face lit up in momentary surprise that she should be so rebuked. This was clearly a woman who was used to having everyone see her side. "Want to stay with Aunt Theo!" Theodora took firm charge of the situation before Frances could get another word in. "Henry, you should listen to your mother. Or there will be no pudding for dinner. Now, give us a kiss and go back to Nurse." Henry looked torn, but he did as he was told, kissing Theodora"s cheek and returning inside to the waiting hand of his nursemaid. "You will spoil that boy, Theo. It"s not good for him," Frances declared. "What, laughing with him? I"ve not spoiled his dinner, Frances. It was just a bit of fun." "I hardly think -" "No, Frances," Theodora spat, "That"s just your problem. You don"t think." The stern headmistress had returned, and for another moment, Tommy quite fancied they had forgotten him again, giving him the perfect opportunity to compare the two women as they stood, toe to toe, gazes locked. On the one hand, Frances, golden and glimmering and immaculate, not a hair out of place, more like a diminutive china shepherdess than a real woman, and on the other, Theodora, towering like an Amazon, dark and dangerous and strong. If he was a betting man, (and he liked to admit he was) his money would be on Theodora, in a heartbeat. Frances looked like she might put on a good show for the first few lengths, but Theodora was ready for a longer run. Frances managed her scowl into a thin line. "I think it would be best if you and your friend didn"t stay for dinner, Theo. It upsets Cook, when there"s more than what I"ve planned for." The Amazon sneered. "Oh, please don"t trouble yourself, Frances, I wouldn"t dream of upsetting your dinner plans." And, just like that, the meeting was closed. Theodora Carteret turned and stalked away from the house, Tommy following in silent pursuit. Looking back, he could see Frances was still on the terrace, arms folded, watching them go as if she were concerned they"d sneak back when she wasn"t looking. There was a long silence as they walked away from the house, keeping company with the wind as they made their way back through the spruce plot, the needles high above their heads giving everything a gray-blue glow. "So," Theodora said with an air of finality. "Now you"ve met my family." "I see why you don"t go home often." It was an honest observation on Tommy"s part, and genuinely meant, though of course he delivered it with the same cutting coldness with which he addressed everything. Theodora smiled in silent agreement. "You know, I envy you, Mr. Shelby." Her words took Tommy by surprise. "Really," he replied with an even tone. "Your family understands you," Theodora said, her own voice bitter with some long-remembered hurt. "And what they don"t understand they let you keep." It was an odd phrase, and Tommy remained silent, taking it in. Does this have something to do with pity? He wondered to himself. "All the country houses in the world can"t make up for that." Fair enough. But there were still unanswered questions fluttering around the house and the people he"d met there, questions he felt he needed answers to if he was to continue an association with this woman who seemed to dance further and further out of his understanding of her the more he learned about her and her past. "Where does Frances fit?" he asked, trying to make conversation and, with the lightest of touches, pry a little bit more of useful information out of the woman herself. "Frances is my sister-in-law. She was married to my brother, Michael. Henry is their son." Not your cleverly disguised bastard, then. Well, at least that"s something. "Doesn"t seem it, though, does it, from the way she acts with him?" Theodora was saying, guessing his thoughts. "She"s not made of mothering material. I don"t know why Michael married her, but I suppose there were stupider women in the world for him to chose. It was very quick, their engagement. They met once or twice and then suddenly they were engaged! Very fashionable to have a quick engagement with him going off to war. Frances is very keen on fashion," she added, as though she could not find anything more despicable. Tommy, remembering when Ada had been that type of girl, silently agreed. "But you seem to have escaped all that." Tommy realized she was talking about him. "John caught it bad enough for all of us," he admitted, though he wasn"t sure why he would. "One of us had to be sensible, and it wasn"t going to be Arthur." Theodora nodded wisely. "He doesn"t strike me as the sensible type." "Do I?" The minute he had asked the question he regretted it, both because it made him seem vulnerable and because (and perhaps this was more frightening) because there was a part of him that really wanted, yearned, even, to know what she thought. Has my mask fooled you, Theodora Carteret? He earnestly wanted to know. She stopped and studied him for a while. It was obvious that she was trying to decide what he had meant by the question, and whether she should give him the answer he wanted (What answer did he want? He wasn"t even sure himself.) or the answer she believed in. "I cannot think of a better word for you, Mr. Shelby," she decided, and, watching her smile, Tommy was not entirely sure if she meant it. "It is one of the things I admire about you." First envy, and now admiration. Tommy wasn"t sure what to do with that. In fact, he was realizing that he wasn"t sure what to do with a lot of what Theodora Carteret was telling him, and the only thing he was sure of was that not knowing was making him very uncomfortable, a feeling that he hoped he could still keep to himself. "Admiration"s a cheap thing," he admitted stiffly. She is the enemy, something inside his head began repeating, she is the enemy and you must be on your guard with her and her great houses and her footmen and fine manners. She does not know anything about you and she cannot be allowed to know. "Is it?" she asked. "Admiration"s...waving flags on street corners and free drinks in pubs," Tommy said dismissively, staring off into the thickening trunks of the spruces, digging in his pocket for a cigarette and his lighter. The air smelled strange here. Admiration"s for the boys who come home clean and neat and say the right things. Admiration"s what they give you when they can"t be bothered to give anything else. Admiration gets you nothing. His thumb snapped ungracefully at the mechanism of his lighter, trying to get the flame to catch. "The thing that bothers me most about Frances," she began again, "is that she will always see the War as two things. My brother in his dress uniform, twirling her about a ballroom, and the telegram we got when he died, calling him a hero. She never saw anything else but that. You"re right. Admiration is a cheap thing." Now, see, she means that, something inside his mind registered. And maybe that also has something to do with pity. "We should be getting back,"she said, checking her wristwatch and the set of the sun, lower now in the afternoon sky. "Can"t let them wonder where we"ve been." Is she laughing at me or testing me? Tommy wondered. They walked for a while back towards the picnickers - from the sound of it, another football game was in progress. "You should stay back a while," Tommy offered, scanning the trees for watching eyes. Had it not been thus leaving Lizzy Starke"s lodgings, looking to make sure no shadow threw out a person who might see, might know? "No," Theodora said. "We"ve done nothing wrong. If we hide it, they"ll think we care." "I don"t if you don"t," Tommy said, thinking, all the while, of what she had said earlier about what other people thought of him. I will not prove her right, he declared to himself. They returned from the woods casually, two people who happened to be enjoying the same space at the same time. Everyone"s eyes were on the football game, and no one noticed. Tommy returned to the edge of the forest and began another cigarette, and Theodora slipped in among her ladies and cheered, loudly, at the next goal, making the others wonder if they simply hadn"t been hearing her before. The rest of the afternoon progressed smoothly enough, and as the sun sank and sank, and the children"s whining grew louder, and some of the smaller children started drifting off to sleep, their mothers began the long and thankless task of packing their picnic things and loading the bus, recalling the children from the shade of the river or the football pitch, demanding that they find their toys and retrieve any lost clothes. Eventually the bus was full, the lawn had been gone over with a fine toothed comb, and the children, sunburnt and satiated with a day out -of-doors, practically lay in their seats, some of them sleeping in the most impossible positions. Theodora returned to Tommy"s car after getting one final headcount, and they returned to the road in silence as the sun continued sinking, turning gold and red over the tops of the fields. By the time they entered the city limits, it was getting quite dark out. There was a small knot of concerned looking fathers waiting on the steps of the Settlement House, their cigarettes glowing against the coming night. As Tommy pulled the car to the kerb, he could just see another car, parked across the street. John. So he survived a day without them, Tommy thought to himself. One by one the children were unloaded from the bus, the mothers thanking Theodora and bullying their children into sleepily doing the same before heading home. Esme, one of the last off, looked surprised when she saw John and the car, but said nothing, a silent gaze passing between the brothers as Esme loaded the kids in. It was hard to tell what expression was on John"s face, but it felt a lot like disapproval. So he"s been listening to Polly, then. A woman cleared her throat on the sidewalk behind him, and Tommy turned to see Theodora Carteret, waiting patiently for his attention. "Thank you, Mr. Shelby, for a very enjoyable afternoon. Your offer to drive was most appreciated." "Happy to be of service," Tommy said. "Will you...would you come up for a drink?" Theo asked, her voice halfway between business and hospitality. "The least I can do for services rendered." Tommy considered thoughtfully for a moment, watching John"s taillights disappear. "What will we be drinking?" "Scotch," Theodora said promptly. Tommy considered it, the offer and the empty street and the Settlement House, quieting as the teachers bundled themselves into their rooms or off to their lodgings. He nodded once, and followed her upstairs. Theodora Carteret"s office seemed different in the dark. Different, perhaps, because of the light, or perhaps because he was here alone. She had pulled the bottle from a cabinet behind her desk and then disappeared upstairs, looking for glasses. Tommy took the opportunity to examine her desk. Papers everywhere, folder upon folder of reports, technical manuals, statistics. Buried underneath all that, the usual paraphernalia - penholder, blotter, the in and out trays that the folders had overrun. And then there were the two picture frames - the only such frames in the room. One was obviously of Theodora, in her VAD uniform, standing behind a man who looked extraordinarily like her, except, of course, that he had captain"s pips on his shoulders - the brother, Michael, obviously. They looked happy together, content in their place. Born to rule and sacrifice, isn"t that what they always said? The other was of a single man, also smiling at the camera with captain"s pips on his coat. He had the kind of eyes that women love to lose themselves in - a poet"s eyes. There was a small noise at the door - Theodora with the glasses. He didn"t bother to hide that he"d been poking around - he almost thought she"d meant to leave him so he could do just that, prove that she had nothing to hide. She laid the glasses down and poured a liberal dram in each, raising her glass to Tommy in a silent toast before drinking. The label on the bottle was a name Tommy had never heard of before, the liquor itself exquisite. Wouldn"t like to think what this costs. He passed it around his mouth once before swallowing, and then turned his attention back to the desk. "Your brother?" he asked. Theodora nodded. "And..." Tommy pointed to the other picture, with his half-drunk glass. "That"s David," Theodora said quietly. "Captain David Bailey-Smythe." He considered the picture again. "Good looking bloke." She looked like she was ready to respond, but her mouth stayed firmly shut. Tommy took another sip of his whisky. "You"re wondering why I left," she asked, moving past the picture with obvious discomfort. "Why anyone in their right mind would give up all of that... for this." She gestured around to the dim office and the desk piled high with paperwork. "It had crossed my mind." "Your family knows what you do, Mr. Shelby. They know, and they approve of it." Not always, he had to admit. "I would have thought they"d love it. Helping all the poor little people and all that." She considered him and his faint sarcasm with a long, wry look. "Wiping noses and teaching times tables isn"t romantic enough for them. My father wants a heroic child he can parade around at social functions. My family would much prefer I were helping orphans in Belgium or... organizing silly little garden parties to raise money for...farm implements for France. Useful help isn"t in fashion." She gave another attempt at a smile. "They"re still disappointed that I came back and Michael didn"t. He was at Lys," she added. "A volunteer, too - 1914. Another seven stupid months and he"d have made it." Tommy"s eyes returned to his glass while he said nothing. There was a lot of that where the officer corps was concerned. What was it about the upper classes and their public school educations that made them so good at getting shot? Maybe it was that they"d never had to keep their heads down before they"d come into the trenches. But us, now...we were good at cowering, he thought triumphantly. But Lys was 1918, and if Michael Carteret had volunteered at the beginning of the war, then maybe he had known a thing or two about keeping his head down. Always more questions with this woman. Tommy felt the burn of the whisky in his throat and eyed the bottle again, considering the gilded label. Strong stuff. He"d have to be careful, or he"d say something he"d regret later. "Thanks for the drink," he said, tossing back the rest of his glass as if it were the cheapest bottle on the Garrison shelf. "It"s good stuff, that." "You can thank my father for it," Theodora said crisply, standing as he stood, her own glass still in hand. "Just about the only thing he"s given me since I started this project, as it happens." She considered the bottle for a moment, lips pursed in the slightest of frowns. "Will you be at the meeting at Cheltenham, next month?" she asked, as if this question were the most logical thing in the world to ask after a conversation like theirs. "I like to go to the local meetings, when it"s convenient," Tommy replied coolly, wondering what she meant by such a question, since she was no devotee of the turf, and certainly not fond (whatever else she might say) about his business on it. "You may just meet him, then," she said with a smile. "He likes to go to the races, when he"s home." Tommy nodded, considering the meeting finished. Theodora, recognizing his silence for what it was, set her glass down and escorted him downstairs, thanking him again, at the door, for driving her. As he drove home, thoughts of what Polly would say fresh in his mind, Tommy realized that even after the trip today, after seeing her house and her family, even after the drink and the long conversation that had gone with it, Theodora Carteret had left him, once again, with more questions than answers.

"To hear a story, my lady, both fantastic and true, and full of none of your overused conceits," the tutor said decidedly, smiling with a mischief seldom seen by Audemande in anyone but Sybilla. She disappeared down the darkened passage, and Audemande followed, curious and skeptical at the same time. The passage was thin, Aude"s dress catching at the walls and picking up some of the dust and cobwebs accumulated there from years of disuse. No one has seen this passageway since the city was taken from the Muslims in the last century, Aude reveled, following Khazuran further along the passage, where it widened and a little light was showing through the wall in curious patterns. Here where the light was the passageway widened, giving way to an alcove nestled behind the latticework- a secret listening post. Such things had been commonplace in the Citadel of David in Jerusalem, but Aude had never imagined they had such things here in Tripoli as well. "Khazuran, this is Remy"s apartment!" Aude said, glancing through the latticework into the sitting room, decorated for a man of war, with Remy"s Antiochean surcoat and arms hung prominently in the corner. "And this is a place where he cannot hear you," the tutor whispered. "Remain silent, and hear what you can. I promise it will be well worth the effort." Aude watched, part in horror and part in fascination, as servants began arranging what looked to be a private meal, laying out tables, rearranging bolsters and setting out the trays and plates of food, some twenty different dishes at the most. The two men entered the room talking quietly, an overflow of their conversation from the diplomatic negotiations, she thought. But when they came close enough to be heard, they were talking not of land or water rights, but of her. Strange, Aude thought, craning closer to the lattice to hear. "You take a keen interest in the Lady Audemande, my lord," young Raymond was observing to his guest. Or perhaps it was accusing - the tone was hard to tell. "We have a common occupation," Nasir said with a simple shrug. "And she always made me welcome when I was in Jerusalem." "That is a great skill of hers, hospitality. But she has a great many skills besides that..." Remy trailed off, sitting down and selectively picking out bits and pieces for his meal. "I was sorry, my lord, that I could not be in negotiations with you today. Still, the day was not wasted. I was out in the city, surveying for Uncle and supervising the collection of rents. I saw a woman being sold in the market place today by a Muslim trader," the young Antiochean began delicately, taking a sip of his wine. "A woman much like Audemande, in fact. Or so the trader said. Skilled in both the writing and speaking of Arabic, Persian, and Hebrew, with a great knowledge of poetry, able to recite at the clap of a hand. The bidding went remarkably high, I thought," he reflected, watching his companion for his reaction to this news. "And how much was paid for her, this woman who was Lady Audemande and yet not her?" "Ten-thousand dinars. Personally, I thought it too much for a woman," the Frankish knight said with a shrug, popping a stuffed date in his mouth with relish. "Too much?" Nasir scoffed. "I would have paid five times as much," he assured the host. Remy"s eyes widened in shock. "Five times as much for Audemande?" He clarified with incredulity. I would like to think I"m worth a little more than ten thousand dinars, Audemande thought to herself behind the screen, watching both men with care. Nasir smiled, chewing carefully and wiping his hand on a napkin. "No, for the slave-girl. One could not put a price on Lady Audemande. She is a woman beyond price." Aude felt her heart drop out of her chest, as if a great weight had been displaced. Suddenly everything seemed cold except her skin, radiating a blushing heat even from behind the latticework partition where she could not be seen. "And besides," Nasir was saying, "it is illegal among your people to buy and sell those among you who are Christian, is it not?" Remy nodded, vaguely annoyed that he should be reminded so. He chuckled, almost nervously, and took another bite of his lamb. "Oh, yes, of course. And what does one do with a woman like that, anyway?" he mused, chewing thoughtfully. "What would you do?" Nasir inquired, sitting back on his bolster to watch the younger Frankish knight. Remy shrugged broadly, considering the spread before him as he composed his answer. "What I would do with any woman -- take her to my bed, if she was handsome, and refrain from purchasing her in the first place if she was plain." Nasir gave a short burst of derisive laughter, and Remy, incensed, sat up, brow furrowed and lips set in a petulant frown. "Would you do differently?" he asked with annoyance, watching his guest through angry eyes. "The real pleasure in owning such a woman -- if, indeed, such a woman can be owned at all," Nasir began, sitting up leisurely, "is watching her learn more, and matching your wit with hers. To be challenged thus by a woman is exhilarating. Her knowledge is her greatest treasure." Remy snorted dismissively. "What need does a woman have for knowledge? Poetry, writing, religion -- it is a man"s world, all of it." Nasir licked his lips, smiling only slightly as he watched his host. "The Bedouin, the wandering nomads of the desert, have a saying among their people. Below the navel, a woman belongs to her husband, and above, to her lover. The man who owns the whole of such a woman, then, is in my mind a very rich man." "A woman"s head is above her navel, and with her head comes her mouth. If owning the whole woman means owning every plaintive plea for more attention and senseless girlish comment, I"ll leave that to another man and remain poor," Remy said with a smile. Nasir smiled back, a thin, agreeable smile that Audemande knew hid a mind begging to disagree. "Probably better for you then that the Lady Audemande doesn"t care for you, then," Nasir added blandly, dipping his fingers back into the nearest dish. It was clear to Audemande, veteran of court life and dealings with crafty barons, that Nasir was hiding his true feelings. But Remy, unschooled in subtlety, saw nothing. "The lady Audemande doesn"t not like me," Remy countered quickly, his face the perfect picture of a stung bull. "She just... needs to be shown reason. She"ll come to me with time. I know these things. Women are not hard to understand." "Of course," Nasir said, again agreeably, rising from his seat and moving towards the latticework, studying it with a seldom seen intensity. Aude instinctively moved away, suddenly very afraid. Can he see me? she wondered, wishing there were more space in the passageway so she might move farther away, back into the shadows. Why did I have to move so close? "Women are never difficult to understand." Nasir repeated, staring at the wall as if inspecting the latticework. He was smiling, and then, without warning, he winked, turning away from the lattice and returning to his meal, his back to the wall and the latticework. Audemande shuffled as quietly as she could back down the passage, going back to her own room with much to consider. When the dinner had ended, the hour would be too late to find the envoy and ask him about his intentions - the matter would have to wait until tomorrow, when he was saying his goodbyes. He could not avoid her then: decorum would not allow it. Aude would get the truth from him, whatever it took. The question left her awake for much of the night, tossing and turning in anticipation. The sun was barely past the horizon when Aude pattered outside to the courtyard, still in her house slippers, to see Nasir off. The rest of the household was still mostly asleep, and the envoy was trying to travel as far as he could in a single day"s space. It was a long way home to Jerusalem. "How did you see me?" Aude asked directly from the top of the stairs, leaning over the balustrade a little to project her voice out to the General. The question needed no real introduction, and she gave none. All she wanted was an answer. "Ah, so you were behind the screen!" Nasir exclaimed, turning his horse about to speak with her. "You mean you didn"t know I was there?" Aude realized. The General laughed, smiling at her as he explained himself. "I had an idea Khazuran would try something like that, and the latticework is something I am familiar with. The best way to reveal a man"s secrets is to make him think you already know them - is that not right? Obviously it works with women, too. Oh, come," he said conciliatorily, drawing his horse nearer to the stairs. "You must remember that Khazuran was a member of my household for many years. I know her tricks exceedingly well. I taught her some of them," he added. "Did you mean what you said?" Aude asked, pushing to the quick of the matter. Nasir"s smile curled mischievously - he meant to make her work for her answer. "I said a great many things I did not mean, my lady. Pray elaborate." "About my... price," Audemande offered, eyes narrowed, just a little annoyed with the General. Nasir"s smile softened. " I would not lie about you, Lady Dove," he assured her. "Go inside - I have left something with Khazuran for you. Until we next meet, Lady," He said, bowing a little as he turned his horse about and spurred through the castle gates, his train following behind him with fluttering banners. Aude watched them leave and then ran back inside, her curiosity overcoming any desire to behave in a ladylike manner. It was early - there was no one to see and no one to chide. This is too important to bear waiting over. "My lady, has he gone already?" Khazuran asked, watching bemusedly as her mistress barreled into the room, braid swinging wildly. "His note! Khazuran, his note! Give it to me, quickly!" Aude exclaimed, snatching the folded paper from her tutor"s hands and opening it so quickly she tore a corner. "My Lady, My Dove, Audemande - You may consider it gross impropriety, my lady, but I must speak of this to you, this fire that has consumed my heart. If it offends you, Lady Dove, then I have done you but a little harm and I am no longer there to press you. But if the feeling is returned, as I hope to heaven it is, send me some token of it so I do not fade away for waiting. I have written of you, dreamed of you - your very voice haunts my every sleeping moment, and all my waking thought. Where there are books, poetry, gardens even, I hear your laughter and it enchants my soul. You who have given me so much poetry, take some now for yourself and know that it was not some long dead beauty from the pages of the past who inspired these lines, but you." Beneath there was a poem, copied out in the same beautiful script. Aude could read it now, and the words made her weak. Come to me, o merchant of my desires, sell to me the secrets of my soul. I have given you my self of selves, I have sold myself to you for laughter and smiles, More precious to me than gold, for without them I am truly poor. My heart is like a book -- you have read it openly and you too have written upon it the sign that it is yours Though the pen was not in your hand, and you did not know you wrote. I will build you a bower of stars and summer winds In the valley of the pale moonlight There, o star of my heart, o best of my beloved, I will gather your charms to myself, clasping you to me. We shall be one flesh, you and I, and only God will part us. Audemande sat back in her chair, the paper heavy in her hands. She could hear his voice saying the words, as if from a distance, and then nearer, as though he were sitting beside her. Where her heart had dropped out last night had not filled in, a great void in her chest with no one to fill it. No one except the man who had made it so. It was infinite, the amount of love she could hold for Nasir. He knew her better than she knew herself -- a heart like a book, what an image that conjured! He knew she loved her books dearly. Suddenly it was all so clear to her, the feelings of the past few days, how she had yearend for his company and how her heart leapt when he said her name and told Remy she was beyond price, beyond buying. And he felt the same way! Merchant of my desires...What have I to sell you? All I have to sell you have given to me! It was the beginning of a poem, and she knew, now, that she must write it down. God would not give her more time, would not allow his gift to her to be wasted any longer. It would be the first poem she had written in months, and it would be for him. Drawing out a clean sheet of paper and sharpening her reed-pen, Aude set it down on the right-hand margin and gently stroked the page, forming the first letters of her answering poem back to Nasir, her Arabic clear and concise. "You come with an empty bowl, asking me to fill it With answers, begging me to feed your hungry heart. With what will I feed you? All I have is yours! All I have to sell you, you have given to me -- It is I who stand in your debt. See the words on this page, It is you who have put them there; you have honeyed my tongue. Prince of Poets! Parades come forth from the gates of a city The conquerors decked in red and in rich jewels ride in the streets. You are the conqueror, I am the city -- With your arrows of fine words you have brought down my walls. Come and take what is yours, what is rightfully due. Within the week a reply came back - a few words, dashed out on paper in a hand that did not have time for beautiful words or elegant calligraphy. "Come to Jerusalem, my Scheherazade. Let us tell stories together, you and I, where no others can see us. I find myself in need of consolation." "Tiberias, I need to go to Jerusalem," Aude announced, entering the Count"s study with purpose and resolve, unstoppable, Nasir"s latest note clenched tight in her fist. "Why, Audemande? Have you some pressing business of the state in the city?" Raymond asked, not a little amused. "Yes," Aude said sincerely. Tiberias gave her a skeptical look. "And no," she admitted, a little bit of her initial bravado gone. Raymond of Tripolis laughed. "Is that fear I see from Audemande the Boldly Tongued? I know a pair of love-lost eyes when I see them, even if a pair hasn"t been directed my way for a goodly number of years. This is about Nasir, isn"t it?" He asked. Audemande couldn"t help but look away, her cheeks coloring a little. The Count chuckled. "Who could refuse you, asking so sweetly with eyes so brazen?" he mused rhetorically, stroking his ward"s cheek. "Oh, Audemande, your husband will be an unlucky man. He"ll have to answer to this face. Remy leaves in a week for more negotiations. It appears the Sultan was not overly satisfied with Nasir"s agreed terms. You"ll go with him, if that is your wish." Aude threw her arms around Raymond"s shoulders, smiling wider than she remembered smiling in a long time. "Oh, Tiberias, thank you! God will reward you," she said happily, pressing her cheek against Raymond"s, feeling the stubble on her skin and the gaunt, stretched flesh beneath it. She kissed him with a daughter"s kiss and left, gathering up her skirts to make the fastest time back to her room and pack. Raymond watched her go, fingering the carving on the arm of his chair and studying the back of his hand - mottled, thin, the veins thick stripes of purple feeding back into his arm. "Ah, if he loves me enough he"ll reward me by making you happy and Eschiva safe when I am gone," the older man murmured to the empty room, his voice no more than a brief flutter through the curtains. The beginning of one good thing, the end of another. Such is life, I suppose. Now, I know this chapter is short, but it"s finals week here and I"m a little swamped. I"m moving out of the dorms next Friday, and the next chapter (which takes place in Jerusalem) is NOWHERE near being done, so you"ll have to wait a while for another update. Mea Culpa. In other news, how cute are they? *points to Aude and Nasir* This chapter is so sappy I ought to be hung. Song of a Peacebringer, Chapter Twenty-Eight - O Jerusalem! "I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD." Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that is built as a city that is compact together." - Psalm 122:1-3 The minute Aude"s horse set foot inside the walls of Jerusalem the Little Dove knew she was not returning home. In fact, she realized, she was not returning anywhere, for this was no longer the city she knew. She was a foreigner in a foreign land. The streets had not changed, and the people who filled them were still remarkably the same; in fact, little had changed at all except the pennants flying over the ramparts, and the soldiers stationed at the gates of the Citadel wore different liveries, red and green instead of gold and blue, the elegant script replacing the five golden crosses. But still something was different, in the air or the dust of the streets or the rush of people moving to the market, something so small it just escaped the usual forms of detection, and Aude could not identify with certainty what it was. And of course, the other difference was Remy, riding ahead of her in his new surcoat with the Tripoli arms on it, the sigil that Aude did not remember Tiberias ever wearing. His duty had always been to Jerusalem, and he had always worn Jerusalem"s arms. Now such shows were meaningless. Jerusalem the Kingdom was no more. And certainly they were getting looks from some of the guards in the street, but Remy had a pass with him, signed in Nasir"s own hand, and the spear banners of Remy"s men were creamy white - flags of truce instead of war. The heat under her veil was stifling, the cloth Khazuran had draped over her nose and mouth heavy and modest - so that no light will pass through, her tutor had explained. "It is the mark of a lady to be veiled so. You must not speak when you are dressed so. Your rank does not permit you - your modesty does not permit it, either." "It is shameful for men to hear my voice, Khazuran? That seems a little extreme," Aude had remarked in camp that morning as her tutor helped her dress. "That is the custom. A woman"s voice is for her husband"s delight alone, or her father"s delight, if she has no husband. The veil is a privilege, Audemande," Khazuran said again, slapping her student"s hand as she tried to move the face-covering a little bit. "It is a mark of royalty and rank. They will know you by it, and respect you in higher degrees." So she had worn the heavy cloth, happy when it blotted some of the sun and pleased when the covering over her mouth protected her from a mouthful of windblown sand. But to not speak? To not be heard at all? Audemande was not accustomed to silencing her tongue. Scaffolding and dozens of workmen surrounded what had once been the Citadel of David, the center of power and royal life for the Holy City. It appeared Saladin was putting his own touches into the city"s rebuilding - carvings and Qu"ranic verses to adorn the facades and the walls of the once-mighty palace, crosses taken down and replaced with other less Christian symbols. Remy spurred his horse boldly on ahead of her, directing the train into the courtyard of the Citadel and waiting (rather pompously, Aude observed silently from inside her swaths of veil) until the man who appeared to be Saladin"s Chamberlain or steward came out, bowing and glancing at the leading Remy for some kind of explanation. Remy held out the pass. "We are here as guests of the lord Imad al Din," Remy announced to the chamberlain, who looked back at him uncomprehendingly. "My lord, I do not speak franj," the man replied, frowning sadly and bowing again. Remy scowled, angry at not having been immediately understood, and repeated himself, louder and more slowly, as if he were speaking to an especially petulant child. The chamberlain gave the same answer, which only annoyed Remy even more. "These people! Audemande, tell this man that we"re here to see Lord Nasir," the young lord demanded, turning his horse to face the Little Dove, who backed her own horse away a step, unsure of what to do. Her protector demanded she speak, the veil (and the territory"s custom) demanded she remain silent. Khazuran stepped in before Aude had a chance to commit a serious breach of protocol, translating quietly for the Chamberlain, her unveiled face a sign she was a servant, and no noblewoman. Her voice was too soft for Aude to hear properly, but she thought she heard several apologies in the midst of the explanation. Finally she turned around, business completed. "My lord Chamberlain bids us welcome in the name of the Lord Imad, and bids us come with him, that we may be shown the guest quarters. Our luggage will follow," she added, as Remy glanced at the pack horses near the end of the rather short train, the look on his face suggesting he was almost perfectly certain the Saracens would rob them blind if the packages were not watched. He left his fears aside for a moment to help Audemande from her horse, escorting her up the steps into the cool shade of the arched stone hallways, out of the heavy sunlight of midday outside.

Reviews, please? passes hat Act Four, Scene One: A cold reception Evey didn"t greet him when practice started. She didn"t step in to save him when Veronica, the girl playing Hermia, started flirting with him again, and she didn"t even respond to him when he asked her from the wings again to listen to him. In fact, it wasn"t until the end of practice that he even got her attention, shouting, "TITANIA!" from the stage in his best Oberon-esque voice. The whole auditorium turned to look at him. Evey was the last to turn, looking coldly at him. Neil swallowed, and began his speech, cobbled together from The Two Gentlemen of Verona, which she"d recommended to him for its brilliant comedy. "Not for the world would I leave her aside why, man, she is mine own, my best belovèd!" he declared, pointing to her from the stage. "And I as rich in having such a jewel As twenty seas, if all their sand were pearl, The water nectar and the rocks pure gold." He dropped his arm, staring at her, hoping, praying that this would work. "Forgive me that I do not dream on thee," he begged, "because thou see"st me dote upon another. For love, thou know"st, is full of jealousy. Forgive me, tender valentine, if sorrow, Be a sufficient ransom for offence, I tender it here; I do as truly suffer Silence as e"er I did commit." The whole room was silent, and then, out of nowhere, Miss Pevensie was clapping, walking down to where Evey was standing and whispering in her ear. Evey was crying now, and she nodded, furiously, blinking back tears and running down the aisle to hug him, and suddenly, everyone else was clapping. "You butchered that," she said through the tears. "I know," Neil said. "I"m glad you noticed." "When did you do that?" Evey asked, looking at him desperately. "In between worrying about you and worrying about Charlie getting expelled," Neil said. "I had a lot of sorrows to muddle over." Evey gave a very wet laugh and fished a handkerchief from her pocket, blowing her nose. "I"m sure you did, you priceless fool." With the rest of the cast in on the relationship (there were a few who after two weeks had still been in the dark about it) Neil and Evey felt a little bit more free to indulge in the public displays of affection some of the other members of the cast felt no shame in partaking in. "A merrier hour was never wasted there," Neil said aloud to Evey - they were lounging on a stack of cushions backstage, waiting for practice to start; Miss Penvensie had delayed it an hour because her archery team had practice, too. "But, room, fairy! here comes Oberon." He sat up, looking down at her, still lying on the cushions. "And here my mistress. Would that he were gone!" Evey read in a high, singsong voice, handing him back the script so he could take Oberon"s lines. "Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania," Neil said, pitching his voice into a lower octave, the effect comic, but enough to maintain the mood. "What, jealous Oberon! Fairies, skip hence: I have forsworn his bed and company," Evey declared regally. "You wouldn"t do that to me, would you?" Neil asked. "Forswear my bed and company?" He asked, putting his nose in her face and tickling her side, making her giggle and writhe away. "I"ve already done that, and it wasn"t very much fun. And besides, I"ve never seen your bed, Neil, now come on, play Oberon. You"re stately and ...pissed off that I"m not sleeping with you." Evey explained. "Damn straight," Neil said, sitting back up, book in hand. "Tarry, rash wanton: am not I thy lord?" "Then I must be thy lady," Evey said, langorously seductive. "But I know when thou hast stolen away from fairy land, and in the shape of Corin sat all day, playing on pipes of corn and versing love to amorous Phillida," she accused. Neil had the sense to look appalled at her suggestions. "Why art thou here," she asked, suspicious, sitting up proudly. "Come from the farthest Steppe of India? But that, forsooth, the bouncing Amazon, your buskin"d mistress and your warrior love, to Theseus must be wedded, and you come to give their bed joy and prosperity," She said unsympathetically, almost threatening him with this knowledge. "Oh, lady, you have me wrong," Neil said, leaning into her, whispering. "How canst thou thus for shame, Titania, Glance at my credit with Hippolyta, Knowing I know thy love to Theseus? Wait," He said, breaking character, "You"re sleeping with Theseus and I"m sleeping with Hippolyta? Who came up with this arrangement?" "Shakespeare did," Evey said, hitting him over the head with her script. "It"s funny. But rest easy, the guy who"s playing Theseus is gay, so I don"t think you have a lot to worry about there." "Really?" Neil asked, curious and confused at the same time. The fellow had given him an off look once or twice during the last few weeks of rehearsal, but he hadn"t thought anything about it. At Welton, such things were swept under doormats and generally denied, though there were a few who chose to partake. "Yeah," Evey said, not concerned. "Really nice guy, Spencer, he"s done a few things here before. Really good actor, too. He would have gotten Oberon, but Greg"s taller and Oberon needs to be tall. Now come on. Keep going. Chastise me," she said in a winsome voice. Neil rolled his eyes and kept going. "Didst thou not lead him through the glimmering night from Perigenia, whom he ravished?And make him with fair Aegle break his faith, with Ariadne and Antiopa? Wow, Titania"s really making him sleep around," Neil said. "I"m not sure I want you playing this part." "I"m not sure I want your comments every five seconds, Neil! These are the forgeries of jealousy," Evey went on. "And never, since the middle summer"s spring, met we on hill, in dale, forest or mead, by paved fountain or by rushy brook, or in the beached margent of the sea, to dance our ringlets to the whistling wind," she looked at him suggestively, arching an eyebrow, "But with thy brawls thou hast disturb"d our sport." "I"d disturb all your sports if it meant I got to have you in the end," Neil said, kissing her again. It was a long kiss, with a little tongue- he was getting better at it, with a lot of help from Evelyn. "Mr. Perry, I"ll pretend I didn"t see that," Miss Pevensie said pertly. Apparently she was back from her archery practice. "I need my actors now, and not in dishabille, if you please." Evey got up quickly from the couch and went to her court of fairies, who immediately began whispering and stealing glances at Neil, who blushed a little and went back to his script as Miss Pevensie clapped her hands for Hippolyta and Theseus to began the opening scene. "views, pleases? They make my muse Neil happy. Act Four, Scene Three- The Villian Enters. "Neil, be sure to give this to Mr. Nolan," Miss Pevensie said before leaving. "It"s next week"s tech schedule." "Is it tech week already?" Neil asked, looking at the envelope in his hands. "Yes," said the director, a little harried herself. "That"s why there"s some schedule changes. We"re opening on Saturday night and I think we might go a little later than planned. I just want him to know." "I"ll see he gets it," Neil said, nodding and making for the door, turning his collar up against the cold as he pedaled back to Welton, a light snow falling. "Miss Pevensie thought you should have the schedule for next week, since it"s later than agreed upon," Neil said, handing Mr. Nolan the sealed envelope, proudly bearing the Henley Hall seal in the corner. Mr. Nolan slit the envelope, glancing over the timetable and thinking to himself. "This is very late for you to be staying out with just the bicycle, Neil," he said. "Ten o"clock, ten o"clock, midnight - we can"t have the caretaker stay up that late to watch for you." "I have to go to rehearsal," Neil said. "They"re counting on me to be there all five hours!" Mr. Nolan considered this and said, "Could we count on your honor as a student that you"d be home by twelve? No shenanigans, no...hooliganism?" "Yes, sir!" Neil defended. Mr. Nolan nodded, decidedly. "It"s settled then. On your honor as a student. You"ll be wanting the schedule back, I assume," he said, handing the paper back to Neil. "Thank you, Mr. Nolan, sir," Neil said, taking the steps two at a time back up to his room. What he found there wasn"t quite to his liking. His father was sitting at his desk, looking grim. "Father?" Neil asked, wondering what had brought him here. And suddenly, it was all clear. "Wait a minute," he began, "Before you say anything, please let me ex-" But Mr. Perry wasn"t listening to excuses and explanations. He was a man on a mission, and he"d say what he came to say. "Don"t you dare talk back to me! It"s bad enough that you"ve wasted your time with this... this absurd acting business. But you deliberately deceived me! How, how, how did you expect to get away with this? Answer me. Who put you up to it? Was it this new man? This, uh, Mr. Keating?" "No," defended Neil. "No, nobody-- I thought I"d surprise you. I"ve gotten all As in every class..." But his father wasn"t finished. "Did you think I wasn"t going to find out? "Oh, my niece is in a play with your son," says Mrs. Marks. "No, no, no," I say, "you must be mistaken. My son"s not in a play." You made me a liar of me, Neil!" He took a breath and composed himself. When he spoke again, his voice was cold, deadly. "Now, tomorrow you go to them and you tell them that you"re quitting." "I can"t just drop out, Dad! I have the main part. The performance is next Saturday! That"s not enough time for Laurence Oliver to learn the part, let alone-" " I don"t care if the world comes to an end next Saturday. You are through with that play. Is that clear? Is that clear?" He repeated loudly, looking at his son coldly. "Yes, sir," Neil repeated lifelessly. Mr. Perry turned to leave and then turned back. "I made a great many sacrifices to get you here, Neil, and you will not let me down." He said it more like a threat than a benevolent gift, and Neil responded with a servile, obedient, "No, sir." He stood in the doorway and watched his father leave. There was a hurricane swelling up inside his mouth, an earthquake starting where his heart should be, pounding in his temples, rushing to overwhelm his brain. A car was starting up outside, pulling out of the driveway. His father was leaving him here, abandoning him like he always did. It was too much! Neil pulled his coat back on and bolted for the stairs, the surge of passion overwhelming him. He wanted to kick, scream, shout back, as though he were five again and consumed with a desire for his own way. He"d never felt this way before, felt this overwhelming desire to do what he wanted and flaunt it in the face of his father, and he wanted to tell someone who would listen. Oh, any boy in this hallway would listen, would nod and smile and say "Yeah, I understand. I"ve been there. I know." But they didn"t know - None of them knew! - what it was like to fight back. And he only knew one person who did, who threw caution to the wind and paddled their own canoe against the current and sailed their ship against great odds. He grabbed a bicycle and began pedaling for Henley Hall, his breath heavy, heart heaving in his chest as though it were being tossed between waves on a stormy night at sea. There was a burn in his legs he could not ignore, but it made him feel safe, made him feel alive! Legs pounding, he got off the bike, leaning it haphazardly against the tree, running under the trees to the dormitories on the far side of the main building. She"d be on the top floor, he thought, and if he didn"t find her window, he"d shout until she came to him. "EVEY! EVEY LANGFORD! EVEY!" Three weeks of rehearsals had sharpened his voice- he could throw it to the top of the Welton clock tower if he wanted to and it would still come back to him, booming and full of power. "EVELYN LANGFORD!" Lights were beginning to go on in the dormitories, windows thrown open, questions asked. "Who"s there?" "A boy. He wants to see Evey." "Evey? Always knew she was loose." "I"ve seen him before, he"s in the play." "He"s cute!" "Neil?" called a voice that he knew. Miss Pevensie was leaning out her window on the end of the top floor, looking down, concern on her face. "Neil, what are you doing here?" "I need to talk to Evey!" Neil shouted. Miss Pevensie thought for a moment. "Here, come up the fire escape. We"ll talk for a moment." Neil nodded, dashing over to the fire escape stairs and running up to the top floor- Miss Pevensie had opened the fire escape door and let him onto the landing and into the bright hallway. It was full of curious girls, wondering what sort of extraordinary hero had been let into their virgin temple at ten o clock on a Friday night. "In here," Miss Pevensie said, shooing the girls along and letting Neil into her room. "Evey"s just got in the shower, Neil. We"ll wait for her here. What"s this about?" Miss Pevensie asked. "I just wanted to talk to her about something," Neil said, sitting down in the tiny sitting room. "It couldn"t have waited?" Miss Pevensie asked kindly. Neil shook his head, and she nodded. "That kind of something. Well. I was just making some tea," she offered. "Would you like some?" "No, thanks," said Neil, glancing around the room. There was a fireplace with a mantle cluttered with knickknacks and photographs, some of Miss Pevensie and a young man, and others of just Miss Pevensie herself. There was one, however, a little bigger than all the others. A black-and-white group shot of four children, it was placed in front of all the others, its frame a little bit more ornate. One of the children, Neil could tell, was a much younger version of Miss Pevensie. "I see you"ve found my siblings," she said, coming back with her teacup. She set it down on the table between them and took the picture off the mantle. "That"s my brother Peter, the oldest, and my brother Edmund, and my little sister Lucy," she said, pointing them out to Neil. "Why don"t you have any other pictures of them?" Neil asked. "They died in a train crash when I was nineteen," Miss Pevensie said, "Along with my parents. My brother, Peter, was just about to finish university. A Cambridge man," she added, which impressed Neil. "Edmund was going to be joining him there in the fall. They would have fit in with you at Welton. Especially Peter- he was the type. Ambitious, proud, a good sportsman. He captained the fencing team for two years. You remind me a lot of him," she said, passing her thumb over the picture"s playfully parted hair as if she meant to smooth it to perfection. "But he was also very unaware of his limits sometimes. It made him a good leader, if a little foolhardy. If he hadn"t died young I expect he would have worked himself to death, trying to do everything he didn"t have time for. You"d do well to learn from him, Neil," she said. "...Don"t ride on trains?" Neil asked. Miss Pevensie laughed. "No. Understand that you can"t be everything for everyone, and that sometimes, living a little for yourself is appropriate," Miss Pevensie said with a sad smile. "Well, I expect Evey"s done with her shower. I"ll go and find her so we don"t raise a riot." Neil nodded, sitting back in the chair and then leaning forward again, picking up the picture. It had been taken in front of a small suburban house that had obviously seen the ravages of the last world war- there was little left of the front garden and the paint had smoke damage and shrapnel spotting on it. But they were all smiling- Peter, the eldest, with his arm around his sister and his brother, Miss Pevensie"s hand resting on her younger sister"s shoulder. Neil wished for a moment that he"d had siblings, staring at the picture. Peter and Edmund had the same expressions in some of the pictures Mr. Keating had shown them - full of life and promise, unaware of the fact that they would soon be gone from this life. They both seemed to be saying, "Take chances! Have adventures! Go out and slay your dragons head-on! Carpe Diem! Make your life extraordinary!" as though they themselves had actually done these things themselves. "Neil, what the hell are you doing here?" Evey asked, coming in, her hair still wrapped in a towel turban, wearing a bathrobe and, it seemed, not much else. Neil put the picture back down on the table. "They said you were shouting for me. What"s gotten into you?" "I"m sorry!" Neil said. "It was just my father, and the play, and the Dead Poets is under attack. I wanted to tell someone, and all I could think about was you!" Evey wrapped her bathrobe tighter around herself and glanced towards the door, opened and policed from prying eyes and ears by Miss Pevensie. "What about your father, Neil?" she asked, trying to calm herself. Now was the time to let it all come tumbling out - and tumble out it did."He came to the school because he"d found out about my being in the play, and told me he didn"t want to waste my time with it. He called it absurd. He called Shakespeare absurd!" Neil ranted on. "He"s never wanted me to do what I wanted to do. He just wants me to be like him, a suit man with a nine to five job, with a house and a dog and a white picket fence, and a wife and a son that I can boss around and control just like he"s controlled me!" He was crying now, shouting and crying jibberish, the tears and the sobbing too much for real words to convey. Evey took his head and held it against her shoulder; her bathrobe smelled of sweat and soap and slightly wet cloth, and if he hadn"t been so distraught he might have laughed and joked about how close they were, but he wasn"t thinking about that. He was thinking about how much of his world would collapse right then and there if she hadn"t been there to hold him and she hadn"t been there to say what she was saying. "It"s all right. We"ll be fine. You don"t have to do it if you don"t want to. He can"t make you ruin your life, Neil. He can"t make you. I won"t let him." She stroked his hair and let him cry until her bathrobe was too wet to be of any consolation anymore and he was quite out of tears. "I"m not going to let you ruin your dream, Neil," Evey said. "We"ll get through this together. Okay?" she asked, raising his head off of her chest for a moment. Neil nodded. "Miss Pevensie was right, I guess. I am trying to be everything for everyone," he said, brushing his hair back from his eyes and putting on a brave face again. Evey looked at the coffee table and smiled. "She knows a person back to front before they"ve even said anything. She"s shown you the Terrible Three, hasn"t she? I"ve seen it, too." Neil wiped his eyes on a handkerchief he extracted from his pocket and tried to compose himself while Evey studied the picture. Welton men didn"t show their emotions. Welton men didn"t cry, especially in front of women. They were strong, composed, commanding. Welton men took on the world! "She showed this to me freshman year," Evey said reminiscently. "Told me about her sister, Lucy, when I came in here babbling and crying like a baby about how no one liked me and I didn"t have any friends and I wanted to go home." "You cried?" Neil asked, allowing himself a laugh as he tried not to cry again. "I did," Evey assured him. "And she told me about Lucy"s first year at school, and how she had the heart of a lion through all of it, and I needed one of those to get me through, too. I had a hard time believing a little girl like that was the bravest person she knew, but it tided me over. And obviously I made it through." She set down the picture and looked at Neil. "And we"ll get through this crap with your father come hell or high water. We"ll do it together. Do you hear me? Together. None of this Welton stiff upper lip, man on his own in the world nonsense. We"re a team now." "I really don"t have a choice in this, do I?" Neil asked. "No," Evey assured him. "No, you don"t. you gave up your right to a choice when you came over to my school shouting my name to the entire dormitory and dragged me in head first." "I see," Neil said, laughing and tearing again a little. "So you"ll be all right?" Evey asked again. "You can get yourself home in one piece, no...bike accidents, no suicide attempts?" "I"ll be fine, Evey." Neil said. "See, you say that and I"m unsure," Evey said, and Neil shook his head, laughing again. "I"ll be fine, Evey, really," he said again. "Good, because I think Headmistress will be here soon and it"s curtains on the whole shenanigans if she finds out you were here," Evey said. "You"ll have to go out the way you came," Miss Pevensie said, having shooed the rest of her charges to bed. "You"ll be all right, Neil?" "Yes," Neil said for the umpteenth time. "Courage," Miss Pevensie said, her eyes bright with some sort of forgotten fire as she showed him the door. "The boundless wave will roll you shoreward soon." If you can tell me what poet and what poem Miss Pevensie"s last line is from, you"ll get lots of props from me. Hint- He"s famous enough that you"d know his name if you"ve taken an English class covering the 19th century. There"s also a very small reference to a favorite poem of mine by a woman named Sarah K. Bolton, called "Paddle Your Own Canoe." It"s very much in keeping with the Dead Poet"s, so you might want to look it up.

"We will be very pleased to see the place," Tommy said, for the benefit of the rest of the room. Business concluded, Theodora turned to the rest of the room, smiled politely and nodded to everyone"s silent study of her, and stepped back out into the street, begging the pardon of Aunt Polly, who was just coming in. Tommy, however, had not really seen any of the business at the door. He was too busy considering Theodora"s last words, the way that she had nimbly stepped around his own invitation and replaced it with one of her own. She"d be ready by Thursday, if he said he"d be there Friday, and she"d stay ready if he decided to be late and hold out until Sunday. That last look of hers had been in deadly earnest, the eyes and smile that coldly and ever so seriously said If you think you can run me, Thomas Shelby, you"re wrong. "That woman," Aunt Pol observed knowledgeably, watching Miss Carteret stroll calmly down the lane, "will be trouble." And don"t I know it, Tommy observed to himself. Let me begin by saying that I"m not really sure what I"m doing here. (But do any of us really know what we"re doing, honestly?) I can"t find a history of Birmingham at six different libraries, ditto a good book on organized crime in England, ditto information on urban dwellings in the 20th century West Midlands, ditto a dozen other topics I will need to make this a well-informed story. And I"ve never been to Birmingham, so Mea culpa to the good citizens of that city. But after watching season one of Peaky Blinders, I had this sudden image of this upper-class woman who wanted to try and figure Tommy out, who was just as determined and just as stubborn and who knew a thing or two about having feelings and experiences that you don"t talk about, and then I had to find a way to get her into Small Heath, where she clearly didn"t belong and suddenly, Jane Addams and Hull House surfaced, and Small Heath Settlement House, the perfect way to put a strange fish in stranger water, appeared. So here we are, testing the waters on a story I"m not even sure will work. There"s a two year gap between season one and season two. Say that this happens then. If you enjoyed Theo and Tommy"s little tete-a-tete, feel free to say so in the comments and we"ll see what we can do. Finn inspected the clean-collared, starch-stiffened version of himself in the pier-glass near the kitchen and grimaced. "What are we doing all this for, anyway?" he asked, making a half-hearted gesture to the rest of the room, which was filled with the rest of his family, lounging about the sitting room in similar states of dress, Tommy and Arthur"s shirtfronts impressively white, Aunt Polly"s hat sporting a particularly ostentatious feather and Esme"s little beaded reticule clattering with self-importance as she straightened the children"s collars. "Because Tommy likes to give a nice first impression," Arthur drawled, only half-serious, from the love-seat, exchanging a knowledgeable glance with John, who also grinned, and then busied himself with helping Esme break up a bit of horseplay between two of his offspring, who were perilously close to disrupting their fine Sunday attire. Tommy frowned briefly at both of his brothers and the minor scuffle, and strode over to the glass, standing behind Finn. The boy was getting tall - tall enough to see himself and his brother in the little slip of mirror. When he spoke, it was for Finn"s ears alone, the soft, serious voice that Tommy only used when he was in deadly earnest. "Because her brothers were officers with batsmen and china cups and tailored uniforms, and your brothers fought in the dirt of Flanders - like real men. Her people sent gifts we couldn"t use and empty promises that wouldn"t feed us and got rich off of the suffering of our lot, and now they want to use that wealth to help us. We need to show her we don"t need her kind of help at all." Finn"s eyes were glazed with an emotion he couldn"t name, but he didn"t show the recognition Tommy was seeking to explain. He turned his brother away from the mirror and laid his hands on the youngest Shelby"s shoulders, locking his brother"s gaze in his own. "She"ll look at you and she"ll see Small Heath mud, Finn, even if you"ve got none on you. She thinks she"s better than us," Tommy said strongly, "And I want to prove her wrong." Overcome, Finn nodded vigorously, and turned quickly away so that his brother would not see the quiver in his cheek. But Tommy saw everything, and he allowed himself a private smile before turning on the rest of his family and declaring "Right, we"re off, then!" and leading the charge out the door. Didn"t they make a sight, driving (in two cars, Tommy"s and John"s, else they wouldn"t have fit) down to King Street on a Saturday morning in their Sunday clothes. Small Heath knew the Shelby family to be smart dressers, but Sunday suits on Saturday morning beggared belief. Especially when both cars parked a respectful distance down the street from the Small Heath Settlement House, and walked to the door. Usually, when paying a call, there would be the social niceties like ringing a bell or, as was more usually the case in Small Health, knocking on the door and waiting for an answer on the stoop. But there was no such luck here - the door was already wide open to all comers, with a nicely lettered sign tacked to the door asking for all deliveries to be brought around the back. Arthur, who had lead the group out of the cars, pulled up short, glancing around at the rest of them with momentary confusion, and had to be prompted by Aunt Poll to actually head inside the building before their little parade turned into an unsightly, confused mess on the front steps. The Shelbys were never confused or caught out - the Shelbys always had a plan, and it never involved milling on doorsteps like sheep without a shepherd. The storefront was unrecognizable from the inside. The walls having been given what must have been their first new coat of paint in decades (a nice slate blue, bright but hard-wearing), and the front room was filled with light from the large front window. The counter had been re-stained and waxed to a tremendous shine, and the shelves behind it, once built for dry goods and cans, now held a wide variety of baby goods - bottles, blankets, booties, and several stacks of pamphlets whose titles were not immediately visible. Along another wall of shelves a large variety of books peeked out into the room, several volumes sporting gilt letters along their spines. There was a hum of voices from a back room, and before any of the Shelbys could even think about going to investigate, a young woman emerged from the open doorway, all pleasant smiles. "You must be Mr. Shelby," she said, shaking hands with Tommy, who by now had moved to the front of the group. "I"m Lydia Pritchard, one of the teachers here. Theo said we"d be expecting you this morning. We"re so pleased that you"ve come to see our work." It was not the welcome Tommy was expecting. At the very least he"d expected the short, irate woman from two weeks ago to chivvy them about, or for Miss Carteret herself to be waiting out front, ready to meet them in the road. The pause at the steps, the uncertain emptiness of the front room, and then, like a bolt out of the blue, Lydia Pritchard"s open, helpful smile and enthusiastic handshake, however, were not anticipated. They were treating him like...well, like... Damn that woman again. She"d put out the outrageously cheerful Lydia to treat him like the well-heeled businessman he attempted to be, in the hopes that she"d trip him up or catch him out. Just like her own calculated appearance in the offices of Shelby Brothers Limited, she wanted to test him, judge him, and see how he"d react. "Theo is upstairs in her office, if you"ll wait one moment," Lydia was saying. "If you"ll wait here I can go fe- "No need to fetch me, Lydia, I"m here. I heard them come in." The group turned as one to the tall, aristocratic figure of Theodora Carteret in the doorway, smiling enigmatically. "Mr. Shelby," she said, holding her hand out for another handshake, firm and fair. "And this must be your family," she said, turning to the assembled multitude with a pleased smile. Well, no time to brood now. Introductions were in order and he would not disappoint. "Miss Carteret, allow me to introduce my aunt, Polly Gray." There was another firm handshake for Polly, returned by an equally firm, searching look for Miss Carteret. "My older brother, Arthur Shelby." Arthur received a handshake as well, he who was so used to beautiful women wrapping themselves around the promise of power with groveling and simpering looks momentarily surprised by the woman"s businesslike demeanor and absolutely no interest in catering to any of his whims. "My younger brother, John Shelby, and his wife, Esme, and his children. This is Jack, and Mabel, and Jasper, and the youngest is Martha." The children, well-behaved more on account of the shock and strangeness of being in a new place than anything else, studied Theo with childish calculation, wondering, as their parents did, if this strange woman was friend or foe. Martha, only two, hid behind her stepmother"s skirts and would not budge, but Jack (or John, Junior, when his father was very proud of him) teetered for a moment, and then, in parody of his adult minders, stuck out his hand to be shaken, his face grave. Theo"s face broke into an unpredicted smile and she shook hands with all the gravitas afforded to his uncles. Inspired by their elder brother"s example, Mabel and Jasper both stuck their hands out as well, though Jasper, at four, put his hand out palm up as though expecting a sweet, which detracted a little bit from the mock solemnity. "A very great pleasure to meet you all," Theodora said, her voice oddly genuine. She paused, and then bent down. "Master Jasper, I think you will find something has fallen out of your pocket," she whispered, glancing tellingly at the floor, where one of Jasper"s handkerchiefs, wrapped around a stub of obviously old toffee (judging by the bits of lint and debris attached) had landed as he had pulled his hand out of his pocket. Jasper swiped the handkerchief and its contents off the floor and shoved the whole mess back in his pocket, glancing first at Theo and then at his stepmother, who was glaring at him for doing something so undignified. "And this is my youngest brother, Finn," Tommy finished, trying to move past the undeniable humanity of a four-year old filching sweets. Perhaps it had been a mistake to bring them. "I think we"ve met before," Theodora said, shaking hands with Finn as she had the others. Finn looked a little ashamed, and he colored behind his collar. Good manners prevented Miss Carteret from making any comment, and she breezed on, cool as anything. "Well, we"re so delighted you all could join us today. Shall we?" She ushered them into the back room - a classroom, albeit a very empty one, save for four or five exceptionally small students and their teacher at the front. "This is our nursery school class," Theodora Carteret explained, "All three through five year olds who don"t yet go to the council school, to get them out of their mothers" way for three or four hours a day. They get breakfast here, and playtime, and we begin their reading lessons with them. There"s a lot of wonderful research being done now about how children who are read to from an early age..." And thus began the Shelby family"s lessons on the program of good works at Small Heath Settlement. Tommy had not been an earnest student during his school days, short though they had been. Teachers routinely complained that he was a bright spark, knew his times tables and his grammar and could recite and copy with the best, that he would make a fine clerk someday if he could but settle down, stop running wild with those hooligan Gypsy uncles of his, and actually come to school. It was not that Thomas Shelby didn"t want to learn, only that the topics covered in the local council school did not pique his interest. And why should they, when he could learn all he wanted about biology and physiology by watching his uncles exercise and care for their horses, physics in the weights and pulleys of the dockyards and mathematics problems by the score in the columns and grubby papers of the family betting books? School may have held very little to interest Thomas Shelby as a child, but Small Heath Settlement House, itself one very large, very comprehensive school, held much to interest him now. They were his streets and his people - what should they want for? Apparently, quite a lot. There was the nursery school class and the free milk program, meant to salve the lot of Small Heath"s overburdened mothers, the play groups that would keep their older brothers off the streets, the sewing and cooking circles that would help their older sisters gain employment as cooks and maids or erase deficiencies in their future careers as mothers, the study groups for all children that would fill in the gaps that their council school education left out and their parents could not help with, the reading circles for their fathers and much-older brothers where the social and political topics of the day would be discussed, and the free clinic that would put some distance between the nightmarish outbreaks of diphtheria, typhoid, and that awful "flu. All this from a storefront on King Street, staffed by ten or so women who"d never even played on streets like this and had never known what it was like not to be able to feed your children because milk was too expensive, rationing was in high favor, and Dad (and Dad"s pay envelope) was away at the war. It was astounding. Oh, patronizing, perhaps, for Aunt Polly, who hated to be found wrong in anything she did and who took all of the polite programs of the House as a criticism of her own housekeeping, and painfully domestic for Arthur and John, who spent much of the tour with their daydreams alternating between their pints in the Garrison, the promise of what was for dinner that evening, and (for Arthur) about the fine legs of Miss Carteret. But astounding, absolutely astounding, for Tommy. Here was another person who dared to dream big. And even if he hated to think that his people needed the kind of charity on offer, and Miss Carteret"s officer-class background galled him, the sheer scope of it all was bloody impressive. They ended their tour in the back room, a kind of canteen with long tables and benches where the nursery school breakfast could be served and the reading groups could meet and have tea. The kitchen at the end of the room was pressed into service for the Shelby family tea as a kind of cap to the end of the tour, and everyone settled in with their rummage sale teacups to take a load off their feet and process what they had just seen. Lydia Prichard joined them, as well as several of the other teachers and residents, coming in from their afternoon rounds of the neighborhood, jolly and welcoming and eager, so eager to meet their guests and thank them for coming. Polly, in particular, was in a bad mood, and her eyes kept darting to the end of the room, where her nephew was standing observing the proceedings with his calm, practiced gaze. She"ll have a lot to say when we get home, for she won"t speak here. Let her wait with it. "So." Theo Carteret emerged at his elbow with two cups of strong, murky tea, demanding his attention in her single syllable. "Do we pass your muster, Mr. Shelby?" "It is all very impressive," Tommy admitted, taking a cup from her with no intention of consuming it yet. "But..." Miss Carteret let the single syllable out to taunt him and took a sip of her tea while she waited for his reply. "My aunt was not pleased about some of the items offered by your clinic." A stack of pamphlets by Marie Stopes, somewhat hidden and never alluded to on tour, another pamphlet containing contents well known to veterans of the army"s campaign against VDs, and the box of prophylactics that went with them. "Only for married women, and only when they ask," she said promptly, knowing exactly what he referred to. "And some of our ex-soldiers, when identified by the clinic." Her voice told him this was not a battle Polly"s opinions would win. Tommy went on. "The reading room contained several books of a...reactionary nature." A quick review of the shelves revealed Marx, Engels, and the works of several Fabians that no self-respecting bookstore would stock. Freddie Thorne would be in heaven. "Meant only for healthy public discussion of the issues. Records will be kept of who takes the books out, if the relevant authorities want to know." Theo studied him for a moment, and added judiciously, "The working classes in this country have a right to participate in their political processes and know how they work." Another sip, another calm, daring glance, another battle he would not win. Well, if that was the way she was going to play. He had one more bullet in the chamber, and he meant to use it. "Your friend Miss Skinner seems to take very poorly to the idea of gambling." The teacup came down and the smile became a little more brittle. Finally, a charge she could not deny. Madeline Skinner, the short shrill woman who had shouted at them on that first day out in the street, the sergeant-major to Theo Carteret"s captain among the ranks of the settlement house, had not had very many nice words to say on the subject of gambling and bookmaking. Tommy had been afraid Aunt Polly would slap the younger woman as she went off, in the middle of a perfectly civil discussion about the free clinic and the nursery school breakfast, about how much better off the people of Small Heath would be if they saved their money from the bookies and spent it on their families. It was not an off-hand remark, either - she had known to whom she was speaking and she went in with guns blazing with deliberation. Yes, that had hurt, more than the feeble little faces in the schoolroom. How dare she say that they, Shelby Brothers, Limited, were taking food out of the mouths of innocent children and tempting their mothers, their fathers, their older siblings, away from the primrose path of righteousness and temperance by spending their little free coin on a flutter on the races! How dare she deny them their little bit of fun, their sole bright spark. Betting gave a man hope, gave him something to look forward to at the end of his working week! And if someone made money on his honest fun, well, who were they to judge that man? At least, that was what Tommy told himself sometimes. He wasn"t sure anymore if it was true. But these were the lies, Tommy always reminded himself, that any man in any dubious business told himself. In this, even the war profiteer and the factory owner and, yes, the humble street-corner bookmaker were alike. "I am not sure," Tommy began, taking a well-timed sip of his cooling tea, "that Shelby Brothers, Limited can, in good conscience, support an enterprise that has such views." He let that sink in, and took another leisurely sip for effect. Theodora Carteret"s smile hadn"t moved, though her eyes had clouded up with inward fighting spirit. Now he had her. "Indeed, we might be forced to be very...public about our disappointment in your organization." The directress of Small Heath Settlement House considered the proposition, imagining the consequences of their "public disappointment"...rocks through windows, dung thrown at their newly painted walls. "And if Miss Skinner were to find some way of... quieting her views?" "We might be persuaded." A long, even nod. "Any other requests?" Now - now! - she was in retreat, and Tommy Shelby the soldier was going to let her give up whatever ground she wanted before he lead his last charge and routed her. "No mentions made within these walls of the .... perceived evils of gambling," he began, hiding any obvious smiles at his victory. "No direct harassment or shame for any one of our employees or anyone who frequents them. No mention of temperance or any attempts to make anyone sign the pledge. Bad for the business interests of the neighborhood, you know." Miss Carteret considered all these things, her gaze drifting out across the canteen to the rest of the Shelbys at the far end of the room and her motley crew of teachers and nurses, chattering happily. Was she imagining the consequences of her decision, or was her gaze just following an invisible horizon on the back wall? Tommy drank more of his tea. He was a patient man. He would let her consider all she liked. "Done." Her voice had the sharp finality of an auctioneer"s, and the quickness of her answer and lack of resistance surprised him. Was she really going to make it that simple for him? Had he made it too simple? Was there room for more negotiations? Tommy"s eye was caught by the glint of sunlight on dull gold near the room"s doorway - a list of the Settlement House"s donors in gilt paint. Our Generous Patrons, the title read.

"And this is my youngest brother, Finn," Tommy finished, trying to move past the undeniable humanity of a four-year old filching sweets. Perhaps it had been a mistake to bring them. "I think we"ve met before," Theodora said, shaking hands with Finn as she had the others. Finn looked a little ashamed, and he colored behind his collar. Good manners prevented Miss Carteret from making any comment, and she breezed on, cool as anything. "Well, we"re so delighted you all could join us today. Shall we?" She ushered them into the back room - a classroom, albeit a very empty one, save for four or five exceptionally small students and their teacher at the front. "This is our nursery school class," Theodora Carteret explained, "All three through five year olds who don"t yet go to the council school, to get them out of their mothers" way for three or four hours a day. They get breakfast here, and playtime, and we begin their reading lessons with them. There"s a lot of wonderful research being done now about how children who are read to from an early age..." And thus began the Shelby family"s lessons on the program of good works at Small Heath Settlement. Tommy had not been an earnest student during his school days, short though they had been. Teachers routinely complained that he was a bright spark, knew his times tables and his grammar and could recite and copy with the best, that he would make a fine clerk someday if he could but settle down, stop running wild with those hooligan Gypsy uncles of his, and actually come to school. It was not that Thomas Shelby didn"t want to learn, only that the topics covered in the local council school did not pique his interest. And why should they, when he could learn all he wanted about biology and physiology by watching his uncles exercise and care for their horses, physics in the weights and pulleys of the dockyards and mathematics problems by the score in the columns and grubby papers of the family betting books? School may have held very little to interest Thomas Shelby as a child, but Small Heath Settlement House, itself one very large, very comprehensive school, held much to interest him now. They were his streets and his people - what should they want for? Apparently, quite a lot. There was the nursery school class and the free milk program, meant to salve the lot of Small Heath"s overburdened mothers, the play groups that would keep their older brothers off the streets, the sewing and cooking circles that would help their older sisters gain employment as cooks and maids or erase deficiencies in their future careers as mothers, the study groups for all children that would fill in the gaps that their council school education left out and their parents could not help with, the reading circles for their fathers and much-older brothers where the social and political topics of the day would be discussed, and the free clinic that would put some distance between the nightmarish outbreaks of diphtheria, typhoid, and that awful "flu. All this from a storefront on King Street, staffed by ten or so women who"d never even played on streets like this and had never known what it was like not to be able to feed your children because milk was too expensive, rationing was in high favor, and Dad (and Dad"s pay envelope) was away at the war. It was astounding. Oh, patronizing, perhaps, for Aunt Polly, who hated to be found wrong in anything she did and who took all of the polite programs of the House as a criticism of her own housekeeping, and painfully domestic for Arthur and John, who spent much of the tour with their daydreams alternating between their pints in the Garrison, the promise of what was for dinner that evening, and (for Arthur) about the fine legs of Miss Carteret. But astounding, absolutely astounding, for Tommy. Here was another person who dared to dream big. And even if he hated to think that his people needed the kind of charity on offer, and Miss Carteret"s officer-class background galled him, the sheer scope of it all was bloody impressive. They ended their tour in the back room, a kind of canteen with long tables and benches where the nursery school breakfast could be served and the reading groups could meet and have tea. The kitchen at the end of the room was pressed into service for the Shelby family tea as a kind of cap to the end of the tour, and everyone settled in with their rummage sale teacups to take a load off their feet and process what they had just seen. Lydia Prichard joined them, as well as several of the other teachers and residents, coming in from their afternoon rounds of the neighborhood, jolly and welcoming and eager, so eager to meet their guests and thank them for coming. Polly, in particular, was in a bad mood, and her eyes kept darting to the end of the room, where her nephew was standing observing the proceedings with his calm, practiced gaze. She"ll have a lot to say when we get home, for she won"t speak here. Let her wait with it. "So." Theo Carteret emerged at his elbow with two cups of strong, murky tea, demanding his attention in her single syllable. "Do we pass your muster, Mr. Shelby?" "It is all very impressive," Tommy admitted, taking a cup from her with no intention of consuming it yet. "But..." Miss Carteret let the single syllable out to taunt him and took a sip of her tea while she waited for his reply. "My aunt was not pleased about some of the items offered by your clinic." A stack of pamphlets by Marie Stopes, somewhat hidden and never alluded to on tour, another pamphlet containing contents well known to veterans of the army"s campaign against VDs, and the box of prophylactics that went with them. "Only for married women, and only when they ask," she said promptly, knowing exactly what he referred to. "And some of our ex-soldiers, when identified by the clinic." Her voice told him this was not a battle Polly"s opinions would win. Tommy went on. "The reading room contained several books of a...reactionary nature." A quick review of the shelves revealed Marx, Engels, and the works of several Fabians that no self-respecting bookstore would stock. Freddie Thorne would be in heaven. "Meant only for healthy public discussion of the issues. Records will be kept of who takes the books out, if the relevant authorities want to know." Theo studied him for a moment, and added judiciously, "The working classes in this country have a right to participate in their political processes and know how they work." Another sip, another calm, daring glance, another battle he would not win. Well, if that was the way she was going to play. He had one more bullet in the chamber, and he meant to use it. "Your friend Miss Skinner seems to take very poorly to the idea of gambling." The teacup came down and the smile became a little more brittle. Finally, a charge she could not deny. Madeline Skinner, the short shrill woman who had shouted at them on that first day out in the street, the sergeant-major to Theo Carteret"s captain among the ranks of the settlement house, had not had very many nice words to say on the subject of gambling and bookmaking. Tommy had been afraid Aunt Polly would slap the younger woman as she went off, in the middle of a perfectly civil discussion about the free clinic and the nursery school breakfast, about how much better off the people of Small Heath would be if they saved their money from the bookies and spent it on their families. It was not an off-hand remark, either - she had known to whom she was speaking and she went in with guns blazing with deliberation. Yes, that had hurt, more than the feeble little faces in the schoolroom. How dare she say that they, Shelby Brothers, Limited, were taking food out of the mouths of innocent children and tempting their mothers, their fathers, their older siblings, away from the primrose path of righteousness and temperance by spending their little free coin on a flutter on the races! How dare she deny them their little bit of fun, their sole bright spark. Betting gave a man hope, gave him something to look forward to at the end of his working week! And if someone made money on his honest fun, well, who were they to judge that man? At least, that was what Tommy told himself sometimes. He wasn"t sure anymore if it was true. But these were the lies, Tommy always reminded himself, that any man in any dubious business told himself. In this, even the war profiteer and the factory owner and, yes, the humble street-corner bookmaker were alike. "I am not sure," Tommy began, taking a well-timed sip of his cooling tea, "that Shelby Brothers, Limited can, in good conscience, support an enterprise that has such views." He let that sink in, and took another leisurely sip for effect. Theodora Carteret"s smile hadn"t moved, though her eyes had clouded up with inward fighting spirit. Now he had her. "Indeed, we might be forced to be very...public about our disappointment in your organization." The directress of Small Heath Settlement House considered the proposition, imagining the consequences of their "public disappointment"...rocks through windows, dung thrown at their newly painted walls. "And if Miss Skinner were to find some way of... quieting her views?" "We might be persuaded." A long, even nod. "Any other requests?" Now - now! - she was in retreat, and Tommy Shelby the soldier was going to let her give up whatever ground she wanted before he lead his last charge and routed her. "No mentions made within these walls of the .... perceived evils of gambling," he began, hiding any obvious smiles at his victory. "No direct harassment or shame for any one of our employees or anyone who frequents them. No mention of temperance or any attempts to make anyone sign the pledge. Bad for the business interests of the neighborhood, you know." Miss Carteret considered all these things, her gaze drifting out across the canteen to the rest of the Shelbys at the far end of the room and her motley crew of teachers and nurses, chattering happily. Was she imagining the consequences of her decision, or was her gaze just following an invisible horizon on the back wall? Tommy drank more of his tea. He was a patient man. He would let her consider all she liked. "Done." Her voice had the sharp finality of an auctioneer"s, and the quickness of her answer and lack of resistance surprised him. Was she really going to make it that simple for him? Had he made it too simple? Was there room for more negotiations? Tommy"s eye was caught by the glint of sunlight on dull gold near the room"s doorway - a list of the Settlement House"s donors in gilt paint. Our Generous Patrons, the title read. "We will, of course, be added to the wall?" It was both a statement and a question, just a little bit of defiance to add a little more sting to his victory. The name of a notorious family on the wonderful, morally white walls of her little charity school. She fixed her gaze across the room with the same straight serious look she"d held in place for their entire negotiation. "For a hundred pounds, Mr. Shelby, we might even paint you in at the top of the list." Tommy, after a moment of surprise at her daring, let out a laugh, causing everyone else in the room to turn. Theodora Carteret allowed herself a smile, as though she"d been in the middle of telling a joke. But she hadn"t been joking, and that was why Tommy was laughing. It was, as parting shots go, a very bold one. She"d doubled the price on his bid for respectability without even batting an eyelash, prepared to let it all go up in smoke if he did not match her bet. Had she been planning this whole time to ask for more money, or had that been decided on the spot? Did it matter? Did he care? "Who taught you to gamble, Miss Carteret?" Tommy asked, still chuckling at her cheek. "My father. Though he usually loses," she added. "A great friend to the bookmaker, then. You"ll have to introduce me some day." Now it was Miss Carteret"s turn to laugh. "Only when I am that desperate for your good favor, Mr. Shelby," she said darkly. It was an unguarded remark, the kind one makes to a friend in whose company one feels comfortable and safe. So we are to be friends, then. Or allies. Tommy saved that thought for later. "Your aunt looks like she"d like to murder me," Theodora observed, hiding behind her tea cup once more. "We should probably be going," Tommy agreed. "This has been a most instructive visit, Miss Carteret. We will look forward to a very long and...ah, productive relationship." "It will be instructive for everyone, I am sure." They had reached the end of the room, and the rest of the family was rising from their seats. "Thank you all so much for coming today," Theodora said with her best matron smile firmly in place. "We so enjoyed having you visit." "Yes, it was very interesting," Polly said hastily. "We really should be getting home soon, though, Thomas, the children..." she trailed off, content to leave the exact reasons for their departure vague. "You must bring them along on our next outing, Mrs. Shelby," Theodora offered, directly to Esme, rather than Polly. "We are planning a trip to the countryside in a few months, to give some of our students a bit of fresh air. You would be more than welcome to join us, if you liked. We would be happy to have you." "Yes, we will think about it," Polly said, again speaking for Esme, who looked as though she"d very much like a trip to the country. There was much scraping of chairs and a final glance around before Polly was packing them all out the door, desperate to leave. "You shall be hearing from us directly, Miss Carteret," Tommy promised at the front door as the rest of the family loaded themselves back into the cars, ignoring Jasper"s whines for another biscuit. "One hundred pounds seems a very reasonable gift in these circumstances." "We shall ready the gilt paint," Miss Carteret said with a smile, eliciting an amused smile from Tommy. She smiled with him, and then said, in a voice that seemed much different than the one she had used all morning, "It was very nice to meet your family, Mr. Shelby." Tommy"s face froze for a moment, and he contented himself with one last nod and a touch to his hat brim. Polly, worse luck, had chosen the front seat, the better to bend his ear about whatever long litany of objections she was about to raise. But there were none; the whole ride home was completed in perfect silence from the front seat passenger, though Tommy could feel her beside him bristling with anger. She did not say a word, in fact, until they reached home, and the coats had been hung up and the hats returned to their pegs. Tommy settled himself into his armchair with the afternoon paper and waited for Polly"s patience to wear out. The room emptied; Arthur said something about going to the Garrison, and Finn disappeared upstairs with his latest acquisition from the local two-penny library. When everyone else had gone, Polly spoke. "What were you laughing about, back there?" Tommy paused, letting the paper relax in his hands a little. Of all the questions his aunt might ask, he had not been expecting that one. He hadn"t even thought she"d noticed, while they were standing alone in the back of the canteen with their tea. But trust Aunt Polly to retain her suspicion of her nephew and the power of a pretty face. Was Theodora Carteret pretty? Tommy supposed she was. He"d been too busy trying to guess her game to give it much notice. But that hadn"t been Polly"s question. "She something funny," Tommy said simply, and returned to his paper. The matter was given no more discussion for the rest of the afternoon. So, one of the things that struck me as I was rewatching Season One trying to pull more bits out for this story is that, the first time I watched this show, I was rooting for Grace, for some reason. Young girl, big city, trying to fight for truth, justice, and revenge. Found myself shouting at the TV set telling her not to get involved with Tommy, who was, as far as I was concerned, a very hot mess that did not need to complicate her life. Second time around, I find myself rooting for Tommy. Family guy, just trying to make his world work, just trying to support the various needs and wants of the people in his life. And my reading of his relationship with Grace changed. The first time, I legitimately thought she just found herself in love with him, but the second, I started wondering if she started cultivating the relationship and then she found she loved him despite her best efforts, and just went with it because she was too far in for any real feeling to make a difference. And that, that studied indifference, is why she leaves at the end without Tommy. Anyway, the point of this monologue is that if we, as viewers, can come away from re-playing these events with two different readings, how must it play in Tommy"s head? Here"s a guy who, even before all of this, only really seems to trust his enemies, who at one point seems to know, as we do, that Grace is not really on his team. How must the idea of her keep him up at night? My thought is that Tommy likes Grace because she represents that golden ideal of moving up in the world, an idea that he seems to be striving towards during the first season. He makes a big deal of her posh accent and uses her voice as a cover during their trip to Cheltenham. At the end of episode five, you see the camera pan through the betting shop, with Tommy smiling like a king in the midst of his business. He also has a lot of time and a lot of respect for the careful planners and keen-minded characters of the series, the Aunt Pollys and Campbells, which exist in strong opposition to the characters that he has to mentally carry, like Arthur. Even after her betrayal, I think he still maintains a kind of respect for Grace (if not an outright love) because he recognizes and respects the skill with which she sold him out without him guessing a thing. He was outplayed, and that doesn"t happen often, and a mind like that is attractive to him. The things we love are bad for us, I guess. If his attraction, then, is to intelligence and careful planning, and his respect is given even to those people he stands in opposition to, then we come to the character of Theodora, who exists to explore those concepts and how they play out. Like Grace, Theodora is on the outside of Tommy"s world, and totally different from the other women in his life, except maybe Polly. She represents a totally different standard of life and work that Tommy both despises and longs for at the same time. Now that Shelby Brothers is a legal business, Tommy is looking for a little more middle-class gilding on his life, and philanthropy is going to add that gilt. But Theodora Carteret is going to make him work a little for it. Nothing more was said in the Shelby household about Small Heath Settlement House after their Sunday visit. The cheque, painstakingly filled out on Tommy"s desk, was duly cashed, and the world went on much as it had before. King Street had its own eyes and ears, and they had all taken notice of the Shelbys" visit, and their silence on the subject afterwards. Their approval had been given. And Shelby approval was just as good as law. Tommy did not seek out the fruits of his endeavor. If Theodora Carteret said she would do a thing, then he rather thought she would. The officer class set a high standard on honor in its many forms, and he did not think their idea of honor was exclusive to men only. The changes wrought by the Settlement were imperceivable to an untrained eye - a few less children playing in the streets, a group of boys (and a few girls) walking home in the evening hours, long after school had finished for the day, in deep discussion of some working man"s theme, one less hacking cough echoing from an upper-story window. The neighborhood grew used to the sight of the Settlement"s nursing residents dashing through town with their bags strapped to the back of their bicycles. Thus unencumbered, life went on, with Tommy Shelby looking after his empire and The Honorable Miss Theodora Carteret looking after hers. It did not seem likely their paths would cross often- Tommy was not in the habit of frequenting schoolyards, or back-lane doorsteps, or the homes of the convalescent. Far easier to find him in the Garrison snug, or his uncle"s yards, or his family"s warehouses near the river, or, yes, the factory gates near closing time on a Friday payday to supervise the collecting of the week"s betting slips from the eager factory hands. Even an emperor likes to dirty his hands watching the work every once in a while. And it did make Tommy smile, watching old John Davvey patiently pencil in each entry as the crowd around him clamored to get their bets in before Davvey closed the book and slouched back to Shelby Brothers Limited to deposit his take and record his bettors" names. This was a good pitch, one Tommy hadn"t visited in a while, being just across the street from the Birmingham Small Arms factory. The men who worked here were well paid and well informed on the comings and goings of the racing world - Tommy had good information from a legion of newspaper boys that the Racing Daily was one of the best selling papers on this street. And there was a big race meeting this weekend at Cheltenham. Yes, John Davvey"s take would be a big one.

"I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD." Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that is built as a city that is compact together." - Psalm 122:1-3 The minute Aude"s horse set foot inside the walls of Jerusalem the Little Dove knew she was not returning home. In fact, she realized, she was not returning anywhere, for this was no longer the city she knew. She was a foreigner in a foreign land. The streets had not changed, and the people who filled them were still remarkably the same; in fact, little had changed at all except the pennants flying over the ramparts, and the soldiers stationed at the gates of the Citadel wore different liveries, red and green instead of gold and blue, the elegant script replacing the five golden crosses. But still something was different, in the air or the dust of the streets or the rush of people moving to the market, something so small it just escaped the usual forms of detection, and Aude could not identify with certainty what it was. And of course, the other difference was Remy, riding ahead of her in his new surcoat with the Tripoli arms on it, the sigil that Aude did not remember Tiberias ever wearing. His duty had always been to Jerusalem, and he had always worn Jerusalem"s arms. Now such shows were meaningless. Jerusalem the Kingdom was no more. And certainly they were getting looks from some of the guards in the street, but Remy had a pass with him, signed in Nasir"s own hand, and the spear banners of Remy"s men were creamy white - flags of truce instead of war. The heat under her veil was stifling, the cloth Khazuran had draped over her nose and mouth heavy and modest - so that no light will pass through, her tutor had explained. "It is the mark of a lady to be veiled so. You must not speak when you are dressed so. Your rank does not permit you - your modesty does not permit it, either." "It is shameful for men to hear my voice, Khazuran? That seems a little extreme," Aude had remarked in camp that morning as her tutor helped her dress. "That is the custom. A woman"s voice is for her husband"s delight alone, or her father"s delight, if she has no husband. The veil is a privilege, Audemande," Khazuran said again, slapping her student"s hand as she tried to move the face-covering a little bit. "It is a mark of royalty and rank. They will know you by it, and respect you in higher degrees." So she had worn the heavy cloth, happy when it blotted some of the sun and pleased when the covering over her mouth protected her from a mouthful of windblown sand. But to not speak? To not be heard at all? Audemande was not accustomed to silencing her tongue. Scaffolding and dozens of workmen surrounded what had once been the Citadel of David, the center of power and royal life for the Holy City. It appeared Saladin was putting his own touches into the city"s rebuilding - carvings and Qu"ranic verses to adorn the facades and the walls of the once-mighty palace, crosses taken down and replaced with other less Christian symbols. Remy spurred his horse boldly on ahead of her, directing the train into the courtyard of the Citadel and waiting (rather pompously, Aude observed silently from inside her swaths of veil) until the man who appeared to be Saladin"s Chamberlain or steward came out, bowing and glancing at the leading Remy for some kind of explanation. Remy held out the pass. "We are here as guests of the lord Imad al Din," Remy announced to the chamberlain, who looked back at him uncomprehendingly. "My lord, I do not speak franj," the man replied, frowning sadly and bowing again. Remy scowled, angry at not having been immediately understood, and repeated himself, louder and more slowly, as if he were speaking to an especially petulant child. The chamberlain gave the same answer, which only annoyed Remy even more. "These people! Audemande, tell this man that we"re here to see Lord Nasir," the young lord demanded, turning his horse to face the Little Dove, who backed her own horse away a step, unsure of what to do. Her protector demanded she speak, the veil (and the territory"s custom) demanded she remain silent. Khazuran stepped in before Aude had a chance to commit a serious breach of protocol, translating quietly for the Chamberlain, her unveiled face a sign she was a servant, and no noblewoman. Her voice was too soft for Aude to hear properly, but she thought she heard several apologies in the midst of the explanation. Finally she turned around, business completed. "My lord Chamberlain bids us welcome in the name of the Lord Imad, and bids us come with him, that we may be shown the guest quarters. Our luggage will follow," she added, as Remy glanced at the pack horses near the end of the rather short train, the look on his face suggesting he was almost perfectly certain the Saracens would rob them blind if the packages were not watched. He left his fears aside for a moment to help Audemande from her horse, escorting her up the steps into the cool shade of the arched stone hallways, out of the heavy sunlight of midday outside. "What was that about, Audemande? Why did you not speak?" Remy asked quietly as they followed the chamberlain. "I looked like a fool!" "They do things differently here. It is considered a sign of modesty for women to remain silent in public. I would not like to be seen as an immoral woman, Remy," Aude said sharply but quietly. She didn"t wait for him to say more after that, silently turning and following the chamberlain down the hall, feeling pleasantly invisible behind her veil, a ghost lesser mortals were not permitted to see. Aude had always speculated that wearing such a garment would be restricting, but somehow, oddly, it made her feel...alluring, as if every person they passed in the corridor was silently wondering what face hid underneath the stranger"s garb. This was a part of the palace she had not often wandered, and the ornament and decoration were all new to her eyes. Remy, of course, out in front of the train, was paying little attention to the artistry. They stopped at another door where the passageway split in two, and the chamberlain asked Remy to remain where he was while he took Aude to the women"s quarters, the harem part of the household. OF course everything needed to be translated over for Remy, who again looked belligerent at the idea that he should be separated from the woman he had been told to protect. "Tell them you"ll be just as safe with me!" He demanded. "Who knows what they"ll do to you if I leave you here?" he muttered. "Uncle will never forgive me," he added, a little too dramatically, as if he were a lover in a girlish poem, the kind of story that involves a kidnapped maiden and a rakish hero. Well, this was no poem, and Aude was decided, firmly and forever, that Remy, for all he wanted to be, would never be a hero in anyone"s poem, least of all hers. Tired of his complaining and tired also of remaining silent to it, she spoke. "Remy, it is tradition," Aude declared with finality. "Tiberias will forgive you; it is something he understands and which you, unfortunately, do not." She gave a curt nod to the chamberlain, asking him in that terse gesture to move onwards, and left Remy in the hall with the rest of his retinue, confused and alone. The doors beyond were guarded from the inside by tall, heavily veiled female servants, though when they opened the doors Aude saw such defenses were quite thick enough to stand on their own against outsiders. The chamberlain left Aude and Khazuran at the entryway with a silent bow, clapping his hands for the grooms carrying their luggage to leave it by the door. Khazuran marched straight inside, unhindered by the curiosity which held Audemande in check behind her, cautiously proceeding forward into the silent, still air of the harem. It was not what Audemande had expected, to say the least. The picture painted by fantastically dreaming minds (male minds, of course, who had never seen a harem and were never likely to) of languid maidens lying about on cushions and delicate tendrils of smoke curling seductively up from unseen censers. Certainly it was not a scene of wild debauchery either - in fact, the only word Aude could summon to describe it was serene. Uncluttered, quiet, calm space, far removed from the tense, martial, male dominated sphere outside the heavy doors. Maidservants came to take Audemande"s veil and cloak, while others, taking their quietly ordered direction from Khazuran, picked up the chests and luggage to move them to the room that had obviously been set aside for the Little Dove. In another corridor Audemande could hear children playing, their mothers gossiping underneath the laughter and shrieking of the children. In her study, her library, in the backrooms of law courts children were always far away, a distant thought for a far distant future. "When will I see my lord, then?" Aude asked, looking around at the room she was now standing and remembering the guards at the door. Here was not a place where she could wander at will. Nasir would have to come to her. And even then, would he be able to see her? She was not of his family, and would probably be required to sit in his presence with Remy, to fulfill the need for a male family member in the room. And how can two lovers meet when one who would have them apart is at the meeting? "Patience, saddiya. He will come," Khazuran assured her, beginning to unpack, trying to find clean clothes so she and Aude might change out of their dusty traveling things. Suddenly there was a ruckus outside the door to their room, which swung open violently to admit a very noble looking woman, tall and with paler skin than Aude was accustomed to seeing among the Muslims. Clearly this was a noblewoman - her complexion had never ventured out into the sun, had never tilled a field or walked beside a plow. But her beauty was overwhelmed at the moment by her monumental anger, anger that had persuaded her to nearly break down the door. "How dare you bring an unwashed heathen into my house!" the woman shouted in a nobly accented Arabic. "How dare you, Khazuran Bint Walu! You had no right!" Khazuran knelt quickly, her forehead touching the floor. Bint Walu...daughter of nothing? That is a cold thing indeed to say to an orphan, even if she is only your servant. "Forgive me, Saddiya Rayhana, I did only as I was bid. They did not know from whence she came. My Lord Nasir bid that they direct her here." Rayhana? That was a name Audemande did not know. And Khazuran used the honorific saddiya with her. This was a woman of considerable rank. The woman glanced at Aude, eyes very nearly flaming. Aude stared straight back, unwilling to admit that she was the unwashed heathen to whom the woman referred. There was something familiar about her face that Aude couldn"t place, as if she had seen it before. "Make certain that she bathes before she is allowed into the rest of the house," the woman said, turning to leave. "Thank you for your hospitality," Aude said to her retreating back. The woman turned around, still seething, and gave a curt nod of acknowledgement. Clearly she hadn"t expected Audemande to have understood her. When she had gone Aude turned to Khazuran with amazement. "Who was that?" she asked, unable to think in anything but French. "That was Nasir"s sister, Rayhana. Apparently he has not told his family about you yet," Khazuran surmised, speaking still in her native tongue. His sister? If that"s what she thinks of me I have a long way to go yet with his family. "You must go bathe, my lady, or she will very likely kill you. It is insult enough that she must house a non-believer at her brother"s wishes." "I would have done that already if she had not admonished me so," Aude defended. "I"m not so barbaric that I"ll refuse a bath." Presently they were joined by what seemed like a small army of maidservants, all trying to usher Aude off to the baths without actually touching her. Apparently unwashed meant possibly carrying the plague and several different types of flesh-eating fleas" here, but Aude was a guest, and as guest, she would do as she was bid, even if that meant being treated a bit like a leper. Audemande was fully expecting to be plunged, perhaps even half-drowned, in a large bucket of ice-water and have that called her bath. She remembered a similar experience after a journey quite longer than the one she had just taken when she had first arrived in Jerusalem. Evidently, however, the Muslim custom was much different from the Frankish one in this regard. First she was stripped of every stitch of clothing she was wearing, showered thoroughly with cold water and then ushered into a little room where she wilted for a quarter of an hour in a cloud of near- blistering steam. after she was done sweating out whatever impurities had been on her skin before, she was rinsed again and given a robe, sitting and waiting patiently while her hair was unbraided, washed, rubbed with rose oil, and braided once more. It was more bath than Aude had ever had in her life, and evidently it wasn"t over. "Khazuran, was that really necessary?" Aude asked, sitting gingerly down on a cushion. Her skin was tingling, every hair on her body not residing on her head having been ruthlessly ripped out by a veritable army of creams, salves and ungents by a further army of bathhouse attendants, who had looked quite askance at her when her robe had been removed. The older woman nodded. "It is considered uncouth and untidy to remain otherwise," the tutor said delicately, trying not to smile at her mistress" pain. "A poet spoke once of a singing girl"s body looking like a herdsman"s face, beard and all. I would hate for the Little Dove to be thus remembered." "I wouldn"t have minded so much if it hadn"t hurt so much. I can"t sit down without feeling blistered," Aude complained. But Khazuran wasn"t listening to her charge -- her hearing was directed elsewhere, out into the main room of the harem, where there was apparently a visitor approaching. "Uncle Nasir!" one of the smaller children (Rayhana"s, one assumed) shouted, a small pattering of bare feet preceding the eventual soft collision of one energetic human body against another, larger human being. "Gibreel, my darling nephew!" Nasir"s voice exclaimed with just as much excitement. "And what have you been doing today?" "Uncle, a strange franj lady came today!" the nephew Ghalib explained. "Mama shouted at her." Audemande stifled a laugh, glancing out the partially open door to the corridor beyond. The curious honesty of children. "Did she now?" Nasir asked, looking at his sister. "Brother, you and I have things to discuss," the grande dame of the women"s quarters said sharply, glaring at her brother with the ferocious look only a vengeful sister can summon. "In private." Nasir glanced around the harem and followed his sister to the room next to Audemande"s, the door closing with a heavy snap. With a delicate leap Khazuran was across the room and peeling back the drapery on the wall, revealing a heavy stone latticework between the rooms. "Come!" she hissed, summoning her mistress to the listening post with a sharp gesture of her hand. Reluctantly Aude followed, pressing her face to the grating to try and make out the scene in the room beyond. "What business have you bringing that woman here, to your house?" "She could not stay in the city, and her cousin is my guest as well. it would unmannerly to make her seek her own lodging," The General said strongly "She is a franj, brother, and an unclean one at that. The maids told me the bathwater changed color after she got out. They were obliged to change it afterwards, there was so much dirt in it!" "She rode all the way here from Tripolis, sister! Anyone would be that dirty after such a ride." "Rode? On a horse? Brother, why do you associate with so unseemly a woman that she cannot be persuaded to ride a palanquin, as is proper?" "It is not their custom, sister. It was proper enough among her people to do such." "And why should she come here?" Rayhana asked further, pressing her brother for more information than Aude judged he wanted to give at the present time. "What should her cousin"s business, a man"s business of state, have with her?" "I invited her!" Nasir admitted finally. His sister stepped back, half surprised, half horrified. "I am the reason she is here, Rayhana." "The woman you wrote all that poetry for..." his sister said, leaving the end of her sentence open, realizing what it was her brother implied. "Was her." "Brother, our mother will not like to hear of this," she threatened. Aude"s blood chilled. Nothing had been said of meeting Nasir"s mother. If she was anything like Rayhana, Aude was quite sure she"d rather not have to meet her. "She will stay here, Rayhana, whether our mother agrees to like her or not. She is my guest. She will remain under my roof." "AND DO NOT marry women who ascribe divinity to aught beside God ere they attain to true belief: for any believing follower of God is certainly better than a woman who ascribes divinity to aught beside God, even though she please you greatly," Rayhana quoted ruthlessly at her brother. "There has been no talk of marriage yet, sister," Nasir reminded, but this did not seem to be enough for Rayhana, who merely frowned and left the room in a deliberate quiet, obviously trying to make her brother as uncomfortable as she could. Whispering to him did not seem to be the right way to get his attention -- Aude frowned for a moment and then, as distinctly as she could, cooed through the grating in some silly-sounding parody of birdsong. Nasir turned his head, looking oddly at the lattice, a sad smile slowly creeping onto his face. He approached the wall and laid a hand against the lattice. Aude moved her own hand into its shadow, so close and yet so far from actually touching him. "I am come as you bid me, my lord," Aude offered. "And here we are." "I suppose you heard Rayhana." The General"s voice sounded very resigned, a far cry from the determined, commanding presence he had just been with his sister. "You did not tell me you had such a sister. If she did not hate me so much I think we might have been good friends," Aude offered brightly. Nasir chuckled, his smile betraying more sadness than the laugh could hide. " "A Frankish woman has captivated me,the breeze of frangrance lingers on herin her clothing there is a soft branchand her crown is a radiant moon..." He said, his voice tinged with the beginnings of a great sadness; he had obviously wanted Audemande"s reception her to be a little more welcoming then it had been thus far. His hand brushed against the screen, and Aude felt her cheek warm, knowing the touch was meant for her and not the stonework that separated them. "Who do you quote now?" she asked softly. "Quote?" Nasir asked with a slight smile, as if the idea were absurd that he had not written the poem he had just recited. "Yes, quote. I know what your poetry sounds like, and I know that is not yours," Aude said with an impish note. The poet of Isfahan"s smile widened a little in spite of his general melancholy. "You are cruel to me, Audemande. Cruel but true. It was al- Qaysarani. I am including it in a collection of poetry I am compiling." Audemande nodded. "He makes her sound like a tree. Soft branches, a lunar crown. I am not sajara," she pointed out. Nasir laughed. "Come, my lord, sit with me a while," Aude begged. "Here we are alone, and I will make you laugh again, and you may call me sajara and speak of my branches and my moonlit crown if that is what you desire. Though I must say, I much preferred being a bird of the air to a thing of the earth," she added. "You were another man"s Dove. To me you will be a tree, a place of shade and respite, a thing of beauty and stability, a rare presence in the desert." "Are you so lonely here in Jerusalem that you call it a desert?" Aude asked, her voice benignly asking for the truth. Nasir smiled reflectively. "I could be in the midst of a great multitude and still be lonely if you were not with me," he said, peering through the lattice. "Are your rooms comfortable?" he asked, back to playing host. "I have not had time to inspect them," Aude admitted, glancing behind her, where Khazuran was bustling about, probably listening to the two of them in between her re-arranging of the room"s accoutrements. Let her listen. "Khazuran seems to think them appropriate." "Khazuran would think anything appropriate as long as her match-making plans were not interrupted," Nasir said, loud enough so the tutor was sure to hear. With her back turned to them, neither saw what her face was saying, but there was the slightest tremor of laughter in her shoulders. "Speaking of Khazuran, my lord," Aude mentioned, remembering something from their long journey to the Holy City, "On the road here she told me a strange story, about how you came to win your name. She told me your given name was not really Imad or Nasir. That it was something else entirely."

"Not bad. I just got here, pretty dull so far, in all honesty." He replied with a truthful tone, shrugging slightly. She smirked and tilted her head again. "How about we fix that?" He turned his gaze to her curiously, raising an eyebrow. "How so?" "Come dancing with me. They"ve got a dance floor set up in the lounge." She said with a mischievous smile. "Ah..I really don"t think-" But again, before he could finish his thought, she was already taking him by the hand and leading him to the lounge. He promptly set his bottle on the table after another quick swig, and allowed himself to be lead, where there were indeed some people dancing to music. "I really can"t dance, lass.." He began, but she raised a finger to his lips. "Then I"ll teach you." For the next hour, they danced on the floor like animals, giving up any care in the world, at least momentarily. Most of them looked stupid, but they danced none the less. What a wonderful thing dance could sometimes be. An expression of emotion, a way for people to come together. A little over an hour had passed, when she turned to him and spoke seriously again. "How about I teach you to tango?" She asked seriously. "Tango? You know how to dance that well?" He asked, actually interested in the offer. "Yeah..I went to dance school for a little while, and it was always my favorite dance." She said happily with a small smile in return. He grinned slightly at this, his gaze shifting to the floor momentarily, considering, and finally saying: "Bah, why not?" And so they tangoed during the night. She lead at first, showing him how the dance went several times, and then he lead instead. Somewhere along the lines they felt a connection to each other. Nothing as strong as love, no, but when two sad, lonely people find comfort in each other, sometimes they think it"s just as good. When their dancing had stopped, the party was nearly over. For one night, at least, Athard had forgotten about the alcohol laying on the table, and about the need for a cigarette from his pocket. That was enough. Most others were leaving the party, and they stood together on the dance floor, smiling slightly at each other. No, it wasn"t love, especially not at their young and immature age, but it was something. "We should hang out sometime. My name is Sarah." She concluded, giving him a brief pat on the cheek. "You want my number?" He simply nodded. "Got something to write it down on?" She asked him. "Nah. Don"t need anything. I"ll remember it." And that much, he did. May, 1997 Athard Blaicess walked out into the schoolyard during recess, looking around and blinking in the sunlight, yawning quietly and stretching, taking a few deep breaths of the fresh, crisp air. He smiled and started jogging across the playground, hoping to find a game of hopscotch, catch or tag that he would be allowed to join in on, his amber eyes glowing slightly in the sunlight. He spread his arms out and made imitated the sound of an airplane as he ran across the schoolyard, laughing to nobody in particular but himself. The day was beautiful, and he planned to take advantage of this little recess he had. He spotted a couple of girls playing a game of hopscotch about a dozen meters away, just what he had in mind, and ran over to them, smiling and laughing before coming to a stop and waving his arms at them. "Hey! Can I play?" He asked enthusiastically, smiling a big toothy grin at them, cocking his head slightly. The girls all looked at him and giggled to each other before one shrugged and nodded, with a "Yeah, sure!" He nodded with a smile and ran to the starting line, beginning to play the game and skip across the squares, not a care in that little boys world on that day. One jump, two jumps, to and fro, he played with the girls in his grade and laughed along with them for a few minutes. A group of older kids by a few years walked by, one of them pointing and laughing at the group. Another elbowed a third in the stomach, grinning and chuckling, saying mockingly "Oh look, the little boy is playing with the girls", to which one of the ladies of the group giggled. A second girl punched the one that spoke in the arm, with a quiet "Leave him be, it"s cute..". Before they all walked off chuckling and giggling. Athard watched them go, standing on his hopscotch square, frowning slightly and then sighing, deciding it was too cootie-risky and easy to make fun of to be playing with girls, turning and walking off across the schoolyard for something better to do. After a few minutes he found a group of somewhat older boys playing a game of basketball at a single court. He watched in awe for a few seconds at how quickly they ran around each other, passed the ball from person to person so skillfully, how athletic they were. He wanted to be able to play like that when he was older. He approached the group, a breeze rustling through his fair brown hair, blinking and coughing before speaking up quietly. "Hey..Can I play?" he asked timidly, curiously. The boys stopped after one last pass of the ball, turning to look at him, a rather tall one dribbling the ball up and down on the pavement. One of them raised his eyebrow and laughed quietly, whispering something to his friend and gesturing towards the kid, more specifically his face. The one in front spoke up first. "A kid as young as you can"t play against us, lad. You"re not good enough. Scram." Athard winced at a certain part of these words, for a moment, before his happy, innocent composure returned with a wide smile as he responded. "Well, can I at least try to get it in?" He asked happily, clasping his hands together and awaiting a response eagerly. The boys all looked at each other, shrugged, and the one holding the ball tossed it towards Athard, with a muttered "Shoot, kid." Athard barely caught it, almost falling over from the impact, barely managing to stay upright and hold the ball. The boys laughed and stepped back, watching as Athard stepped into position, looking up at the basket. He closed his eyes for a few moments, taking a deep breath, opening them and staring at the net. "He"ll never get it anywhere near the basket.." One of the oldest ones murmured to the others, who snickered and nodded in agreement. He took a few breaths, readying to throw like he saw them throwing it earlier, bending his wrist back and narrowing his eyes. He bent his knees, then popped them up and swung his arm and wrist up and forward, tossing the ball up towards the basket. The ball fell underneath the basket, hit the wall, rebounded and bounced over to the other boys, one of whom caught it with one hand, laughing. "No hope, lad, get outta here." One of them said to him, all of them going back to their game. Athards shoulders sagged slightly, he frowned and walked off, kicking a rock aside as he did, walking over to the schools football field. November, 2004 He held the phone to his ear, listening to it ring, wincing slightly at the yelling in the next room. He glanced around at his dirty, tiny one-bed room, a night table sitting beside the bed with a deck of cards, a half-empty pack of cigarettes and a few sticks of gum laying atop it. Underneath his small, creaky, worn-out bed were clothing pieces thrown around, most of them old and dirty, some torn up and ragged, many of them too small for him. He gently drummed his fingers against the phone as he listened to it ring, ring, ring. He sighed, and was about to put the phone down, when finally there was a quiet, audible click and then a familiar female voice. "Hello?" Sarah asked. Athard paused, took a breath, and then responded. "Hey, uh, Sarah? This is Athard, the guy from the party? You gave me your number.." He said with a friendly tone, smiling slightly. "Oh, Yeah! Of course I remember!" She said quickly, and then "What"s up?" He stuttered slightly, shaking his head and composing himself. "U-Uh..Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go out and get a coffee with me sometime. I really liked meeting you, and..I kinda want to get to know you better." He said, smirking to himself and even managing to blush slightly, even though alone. She chuckled quietly, and then responded with "Yeah..Yeah, I"d like that. How about The 3Fe coffee shop in..Say, an hour?" Wraith smiled widely and then almost talked too excitedly, stopping himself, taking a breath and then responding. "Yeah, sure. See you there, Sarah." He said relatively calmly. "Seeya!" She said happily, a second later there was a quiet click as she hung up. Athard hung up his own phone and went out through the living room, where his father was sitting and watching television, to the porch and slipping on his coat. Just as he place his fingers around the door handle, his father spoke up. "Where are you going?" He said. Athard tensed up, sighing through his nose and slowly looking back to see his father looking over at him over his shoulder, a brown glass bottle half-filled with liquid in his right hand. Athard winced slightly, before responding with simply "Out." "Don"t you give me that, you-" But before his father would finish his sentence, the door was already opened and closed, Athard out the door, his father glaring after him. Twenty minutes later, Athard sat down on a bench out front of the coffee shop named "3Fe", and waited the next fourty minutes for Sarah to arrive, watching people go by on the streets somewhat sadly, chin resting in his hands with a quiet sigh, kicking his feet at loose rocks absent-mindedly once in a while. The leaves swayed gently around him, he turned his gaze up towards the soft, blue sky, as the few visible clouds drifted by lazily. Absent-mindedly, he reached up with his left hand and gently crossed his fingers across the scar across his eye, a scar that would not leave him for the entirety of his life. He took a deep breath, exhaling it into the crisp air, a thin mist forming before his parted lips. He remained like this for quite some time, troubled thoughts on his mind as he waited for a little less than forty minutes. Eventually, he heard a female voice pipe up after some footsteps stopped, with a cheerful "Hey!". He immediately lowered his head and turned his gaze to look at Sarah, who had stopped two feet away from him, looking down at him and smiling widely. He raised one hand in a small wave, as he spoke out softly to her. "Hey, Sarah. How are you?" he said, his gaze holding her own, never looking away from her eyes for now. She tilted her head, closing her eyes for a moment while she smiled, before opening them and responding with "I"m good, how about you?" He shrugged offhandedly, with a hearty "Fine. Shall we head inside?", to which she responded to with a small nod of her head, holding out her left hand. He took it happily, standing up from his bench and walking inside the cafe with the young lady, stirrings of love and affection in the air between them. May, 1997 He sat alone in the shade against a tree, watching the other kids run about as they kicked a football (Well, soccer ball), back and forth between each other about halfway across the field from him. There was a little less than a month left of school, and this year he had once again not made any friends for more than a week, been included in any games, but he was still pulling through in school, for now. He looked down between his feet, settling his gaze upon a little spider crawling along the blades of grass in the soothing, fresh spring air. While most people hated a lot of bugs and specifically spiders, Athard did not. He smiled slightly to himself, watching it with curiosity, leaning forwards as he watched it make its journey across what, to it, was a forest in such a massive world. He tried to imagine himself being in the spiders position, with such massive, human creatures around it, in a crazy, massive world, and he could not. He leaned down, bringing his left hand towards it and stopping in front of it, intending to let it crawl onto his hand. Instead of doing so, the small thing touched his hand for a moment before turning and heading in the other direction, away from the sudden warmth. He quickly moved his left hand to bring it to its other side- Crch He stared down at the now dead spider. He had moved his hand too quickly, and now it laid in a crumpled heap, still twitching slightly but soon becoming still. He stared down at it, wide-eyed and still for a few seconds, before suddenly bursting into tears. They poured down his cheeks as he held back weak sobs, leaning down and bringing the dead spider into his palms, muttering "I"m s-sorry..I"m s-so s-sorry.." He stayed like this for quite some time, body shuddering, tears dripping down into the grass, sobbing for reasons no other child his age could possibly understand, for reasons many would not understand until their late teenage years. Soon, though, the recess bell rang. The children began to head inside, carrying the soccer ball with them, sighing and complaining about school, while Athard sat there shivering. He waited for them all to have passed by, before setting the body of the spider down in the dirt, digging a small, finger-sized hole, setting the spider inside, and then burying it. He patted the dirt, stood up, staring down at that spot for a few moments, before wiping the tears from his face and jogging towards the school. His footsteps thudded heavily as he ran across the pavement, he sprinted towards the door, but he stopped halfway across the school yard, looking to his right at the basketball court and the basket up on the wall. He lowered his gaze down to the small orange basketball that lay in the middle of the court, left by the other children until some teacher were to come across it. He turned to continue on his way, but stopped again, and then took a few steps back, looking at the ball before walking over to it. He leaned down, picked it up, and then walked back to the chalk like a few meters away from the basket. He turned back towards it, looking up towards the net and sighing. He"ll never get it anywhere near the basket... He dribbled it up and down on the cement, keeping his eyes on the basket. He knew the older kids were right, he couldn"t get it anywhere near the basket, especially after missing the first time so badly. He was just too young. He sighed, stopping the dribbling and turning away, thinking of walking away, before slowly turning back, looking at the net. They were right, and yet... And yet... Sometimes, Athard was already beginning to understand, it didn"t matter if somebody was right. It didn"t even matter if you knew they were right, at least when it came to things other than facts or history. When it came to things that involved pride, or skill, or effort, sometimes it didn"t matter. Sometimes you gave it your all just to prove them wrong, and prove to yourself that you could. He bent his knees, brought his arms back and threw it, because November, 2004 "So, you grow up here?" Athard asked her, sitting across from her at a small, two-person cafe table. In front of her sat a small mug of steaming, ural grey tea, and in front of Athard sat the same. He had never tried it before, so he decided to order it when she did, and found it was pretty soothing. She nodded slightly, smiling and taking a sip of her tea before responding with words. "Yeah, in this neighbourhood, actually. Never moved once my whole life, live in a nice little house a few blocks away. How about you?" She asked curiously. He shrugged slightly, nodding, and responding with, "Yeah, same here. Lived in the same little house my whole life, couple of bus stops away." "Neat, so we live pretty close to each other!" She said happily. He smiled slightly at this, nodding in response and slowly looking back around at the cafe, then outside the window beside them at the few people walking up and down the street, with an occasional car driving by. "What do your parents do?" She said, piping up during the short silence. He turned his gaze back towards her, blinking once and thinking for a moment before responding. "Mom doesn"t have a job, really. Dad"s a doctor down at the hospital, he"s pretty good at his job." She nodded slightly, but sensed some odd, faint sadness in his eyes and voice as he spoke. She said nothing about it, instead she asked, "What about you? What do you want to be?" He considered this for a while, looking back out the large pane window, watching the people that walked by as he pondered, before responding a short while later. "Likely a doctor like my dad. That"s what"s on my mind the most, anyway." He said. "Ah, want to be like yer old man?" She asked teasingly. He looked back out towards the window, his eyes closing halfway with a sigh through his nose. He took several long seconds, before responding. "No." She stared into his eyes for a while, looking curious, waiting a while before asking, "Athard...Where did you get that scar?" September, 2003 He sat at his kitchen table, looking down at the steak and mashed potatoes on his plate. He poked lightly at his steak with his fork, haven not eaten much more than one bite of his food. His mother sat at the end of the table, his father sitting directly across him from, staring at him. Both had identical meals. Athard had a glass of water, his mother had a small glass of wine, his father had a bottle of beer (with several empties laying scattered about in the living room). "Eat your food." His father spoke quietly, eyeing him. Athard looked up from his plate after poking at the steak once more with his fork, looking into his fathers eyes for just a moment before looking down towards the table instead, not holding his gaze. "Not hungry.." He mumbled quietly. His father set down his beer bottle against the table quietly, before speaking the same words once more. "Eat your food." "I don"t like it, dad..." He mumbled again. His father slammed his right hand down slightly against the wooden table, glaring towards Athard. "S-sir.." He said, correcting himself. "Eat. Your food." Athard did not respond in speech this time, just shaking his head slightly, fingers shaking slightly. For a few seconds, there was simply silence and stillness. Then his father stood up, reached forwards and swatted the plate of food to the left flying off the table. The food splattered to the floor, the plate smashed to the ground and shattered to pieces, which flew across the smooth, black tiled floor. Athard flinched slightly before just staring down at the table, blinking a few times. "Clean it up." His father spoke calmly. His mother, meanwhile, sighed, and slowly stood up, taking out a cigarette from her sweater pocket and walking into the living room, and then out the front door, closing it behind her. Athard stood from his chair, slowly, and went to the kitchen sink. He bent down, opening a cupboard and removing a small garbage bag and some paper towel. He walked over to the mess, going to his knees and beginning to gather the pieces of the plate into the garbage bag. A few seconds later, he took an unexpected blow to his right side as his father lashed out a kick from behind him. He stumbled to his left on his knees, catching himself by planting his left hand against the floor, right on top of a piece of the plate, which dug straight into his hand. He let out a hiss of pain as the blood began to drip onto the tiles, slowly looking up towards his father, shaking slightly. He then looked back down towards the floor, scooping the rest of the pieces into the garbage bag, along with the food, and wiping the blood off the floor with paper towel. He began to stand, and a moment before he could lift up the garbage bag, a hand grabbed him around his collar and neck. His father shoved him against the kitchen counter, Athard stared up at him, wide-eyed and shaking, trying to resist and break free from his grip. His father simply got angrier at this, slapping Athard across the face with his other strong hand, a bit of blood starting to drip from Athards nose, before punching him once in the gut. The air whooshed out of Athard, who stopped moving after getting the message, just staring up at him, shaking. "The next time we put food on the table, you eat it." His father said, the scent of alcohol seeping from his lips like a vile poison. A few moments later, his father reached with his free hand to the knife holder, pulling out a decently sized butcher knife. "N-N-No p-p-please don"t-" His father slapped him once more before bringing the butcher knife up to his sons face, who began to breathe extremely quickly, his heart hammering in his chest, his eyes wide with fear and pain, a few tears rolling down his cheeks. His father dragged the blade across the skin above and below his left eye, from top to bottom, a gash opening, blood dripping into Athards eye and down along his cheek, mixing with his tears and dripping onto the counter as he groaned in pain and blinked repeatedly from the irritation to his eye. His father grabbed him by the collar, pulled him off the counter and tossed him back onto the floor, onto his knees, beside the garbage bag. "Finish cleaning up." Athard looked back up at him with wide, teary eyes, one stained with blood.

"Max!" His voice called out over the thunder and rain. "Wait!" They turned to look towards the voice. Warren came over the top of the path, onto the hill. "Max-!" He began to call again. Thunder boomed, lightning flashed. With a crack, a tree was struck and snapped, falling towards Warren- Rewind. "Warren, tree! Dive!" Max yelled out suddenly. "Wh-?!" He began, before thinking better of it, having full confidence in her. He dived forwards and tucked into a rough roll. Lightning flashed. Crack. The tree fell two feet behind him, smashing into the mud, water spewing up in all directions in a great splash. Warren was covered in mud now, but he didn"t seem to care, getting up and running towards Max. "Saved my ass..!" He called out. Max walked to meet him, and threw her arms around him wordlessly. "Warren.." She muttered briefly, smiling. He came all the way up here. He hugged her tightly in return for a few moments, Chloe smiling lightly in the background, before he pushed her away gently and looked down at her. "I need you to listen to me and trust me, right now." Max looked up at him, and immediately nodded. Just like he had. "Okay. Go. Listening." Chloe, too, looked rather intent on focusing her entire attention on the boy, walking up beside Max. "I"ve been thinking about everything you told me, back at the diner." Max nodded. "We figured that you were the cause of all of this, right? That your power being used messed up everything in some weird time-space distortion, causing a chain reaction?" She nodded again, glancing back at Chloe. "I-It"s...It"s because I saved her...I"ve been s-saving her all week, like the universe..Like it wants her.." Warren grabbed her shoulder gently, nodding. "Okay. Listen. That means it"s like, this..destiny, right? That she"s meant to die or something?" Max nodded, and Chloe frowned, but followed with a nod as well. "Well, I thought about it, and-Destiny can"t be solid. It can"t be..Concrete, or a straight path with only one outcome-Look." He turned and pointed towards the town, towards the tornado. "You see that? We could stand here. Right now. And let that tornado kill everybody. You, me, Chloe, we-she"d still be alive up here, right? At least for the moment." Max nodded wildly. What was he getting at? What was this about? "Then that must mean that destiny isn"t fixed. If she was meant to die, then she would be dead. There would be absolutely no way-" "I wouldn"t have these powers..." Max said, realization dawning on her. "If destiny was impossible to change, we wouldn"t be up here right now...Those powers never would have.." Her eyes widened. Chloe"s eyes widened as well, as she began to understand. "Wait, are you saying there"s-There"s a way to save my ass?!" Chloe called out, taking another step forwards, and gesturing for him to go on. "Tell us, idiot! Spit it out!" Warren nodded slightly. "I..I don"t know for sure, okay? I don"t have these powers, I"m not some crazy magic scientist who knows everything-" Max pressed a hand against his chest. "Warren. Tell us what you think. Please." He took another breath, nodded, and so he spoke. "I think that destiny is getting altered, by little things. The subtle things. And I think that everything we do changes destiny, or, or..Shapes it, like clay. It"s there, it exists, but it can be..Bent, formed, right? It"s still up in the air what"s going to happen until something causes something else to happen-" "Something happened that made my destiny death." Chloe interrupted. Her mouth hung open slightly, and Max thinking hard "Exactly. Something, at some point in time, moulded the..The destiny...Puddy! Moulded it in such a way that it set you up to die, and now it"s causing all of this because Max tried to save you, but-" "But if I go back and find that point in time and change it.." "You save Chloe. And we stay alive." Max glanced back and forth between Warren and Chloe rapidly, before smiling widely. She had never thought of-"Warren, you"re a genius!" She threw her arms around him again, laughing. She had no idea what the point in time was, or how she was going to do it, but gods be damned, it was a chance. This was the third option. "Max..Max listen to me-" "Wont we forget all of this, though?" Chloe asked suddenly. Warren looked over at her, and nodded his head solemnly before speaking. "Yes...Unless..." "There"s an "unless"?" Max asked, incredulous, looking up at him again. "Unless you fix whatever it was, but still do everything else exactly the same. It"s a game of variables, like math class, understand? Or a game of chess. You have to find that one part of the formula, change it, but still keep the rest intact. You have to find the move that makes checkmate, but keep every other move the same." Max bit her lip. Could she do it? Could she even find such a specific point in their life? What would have caused Chloe to be destined to die? If she could fix it, though...Destiny would be unshaped, and none of this would have ever needed to happen. "Okay...Okay, I"ll...I"ll try." She said reluctantly, looking back down towards the photo. "Max..." Chloe began, walking forwards. "Max, if you...If this doesn"t work...I..I forgive you. Make sure you..Make the right choice, no matter what, okay?" She said it in a near whisper, and in a moment she had thrown her arms around the brunette. "I"ll miss you too." She whispered ever so softly. Max almost began to cry again at this, hugging her tightly for a moment. "I have to..I have to go.." The tornado was just about to hit the bay. It was crossing the beach. She released Chloe and turned to Warren. "Warren, I..." "For good luck." Warren said, before he stepped forwards. She stepped forwards, too, as if by pure instinct, and they met in an embrace, their lips pressing together more firmly than their first. When they broke apart, the last words he said to her, with a smile on his lips, passion and hope in his eyes, were simply... "I believe in you, SuperMax." She smiled widely, then, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Warren, I.." "I know." Biting her lip, she looked down onto the photo...And focused. A/N: I"m currently writing the next chapter for this story. I wanted to release it all at once, but I decided this was enough to start on and figured I"d release the first part for people to read at least. Hope you enjoy it, post any reviews you please-but don"t bother suggesting places for this story to go, because I know exactly where it"s going. It"s going to be one hell of a ride. Buckle your seatbelt, because it"s going to get a tad confusing-I"m drawing a little inspiration from an old fanfic for a different game I read once, and the rest is all from my head. Best Friends. Forever. A/N: I was honestly thinking of breaking this up into more parts-or simply making it longer and adding more, especially when I saw a few positive reviews to the first "part", however I had already written most of it, and I could have added more in but I wasn"t sure it would"ve been worth it, probably would have just dragged on. With this, I think I got through the message I went in wanting to get through, and IF there was ever an alternate ending, I made the one that I would have wanted to see. Hope you enjoy. P.S: I am, though, considering making more fanfics if this one gets positive feedback enough. I stopped writing fanfics some years ago, and these days I only write when I get really inspired, but Life is Strange is something special to me. So, if you like this, I"m probably willing to write more fanfics based around other points in the game, and whatever I might come up with. On with the show. Go. Do it right. And don"t make it worth nothing. Click. The bathroom. The butterfly. She was back here, again. For a moment, she wondered if, perhaps, she had already gone through this before. Wincing, she reached one hand up and held her head for a moment. It always hurt when she jumped this far back, at least for a minute or two. No time to waste. Do it right. She turned on her heel, pulling the picture she had just taken out of the camera. She traced her thumb gently across the photograph. Think. Saving Chloe here is what caused the chain reaction, the storm. That meant, Max realized, that whatever had caused her to be destined to die had been before this moment, otherwise saving her would not have mattered. How do I go back further? And what moment is it?! An entire life was filled with so many moments, infinite moments, and countless choices and decisions...It would be like trying to find an imaginary needle in a huge, constantly changing haystack. Every change made changed everything else. She had to push those thoughts aside, though. She knew it had to start with finding a way to go back before this moment in time. But how? It was always so difficult to exit the boundaries of each of these photo memories, things got blurry and hazy if she tried to leave the area- The photo. She peered around the corner of the stalls. Nathan hadn"t come in, not yet. The photograph she had torn, her "everyday hero" photo, still laid in two parts on the ground before the sink. She stepped around the stall, and slowly raised her right hand in front of her, closing her eyes and hoping this worked. Time rewound, slowly, but surely-and she found that it required quite a lot of effort to rewind in a memory. Gritting her teeth, she cracked one eye open and watched as the two halves of the photograph slowly crept back together, and then leapt up into her hand, not even a trace of a tear left on it. "This is going to hurt", she thought, but did not hesitate. She stepped back around the stall into the corner beside the fire alarm, looked down at the photo, took a breath, and focused. She snapped back into consciousness, her mind reeling as she was thrown into her body after a second jump back, and this one was even further. Gripping her head and groaning in pain quietly, she looked around the inside of her dorm room. It was late evening, her room lights were off other than the lanterns hanging above her mural of photographs. All was peaceful, and quiet. The photo she had taken was hanging out of her camera. She had come back here, once already, to tear the photo and stop herself from winning the contest. This time, though, she needed to do something else. Okay. I have time to think here. Chloe isn"t going to die here if I don"t do anything, so I can think about what to do next. The dorm seemed like a safe haven in this flurry of memories. Blood, however, began to drip from her nose, and she winced in pain again, wiping it away. "Fuck.." She muttered, shaking her head, "Okay, think, think Max, think.." Was this far enough back? It was a while before the events that began to unfold the day she saved Chloe, certainly. Did something between then and now happen that destined her to die? Or was it even further back than this? She wasn"t sure she could go further back; her head was already killing her. No. Able to or not, I have to. She turned to look at the camera and the photo hanging out of it. Taking out the photo, she set it aside on her bed. Then, she stepped around the camera, and set the timer, before walking back in front of it, taking a deep breath, and turning with her back to the camera, facing the photos again. The dim lights flickered softly above her, illuminating the photos. Memories, dozens of them, all in front of her. Pictures, of life captured in time, frozen for eternity in dozens of single moments. Maxine closed her eyes, and the camera clicked. A second copy of the almost identical photograph slid out of the camera, and she turned around, taking it and slipping it into her bag. Then, she turned back to the mural, looking at each of the photos. Which one do I try? How many do I have the energy to try if the first doesn"t work? It seemed impossible, but she did not hesitate. Instead of the mural, she walked to one of her drawers, opened it. She found the first photograph she thought to try; one of her and Chloe, when they were young. It was before Chloe"s father had even died; a far jump back. They were dressed as pirates. She leaned forwards, peering into the depths of the photo, letting the memory seep into her mind, a single tear rolling down her cheek, and she was gone. The two were out in the yard, smiling into the camera, and Chloe began to laugh after it was taken. She was sitting on the swing, a huge grin across her lips. "That"s a keeper!" Chloe said immediately, looking at the photo as it came out of the camera. Max managed to smile and nod, and an instant later her head felt like it may explode. A splitting pain came across her. She had never done this many jumps before, and it immediately seemed like a bad idea. The edges of the memory were even more hazy than usual. She thanked whatever powers there were above that she had done it at all, and that a nosebleed hadn"t started yet; she would have to make an excuse when Chloe asked about it if one did. "Okay...Push me!" Chloe cried with a smirk. Max couldn"t help but smile, despite the pain. She gave a small nod and slowly stood straight, turning and stepping behind the swing, pressing her hands against the base, and pushing forwards. It swung forth, then back, and Max pushed again. "Wee!" Chloe yelled, laughing. A tear rolled down Max"s cheek. Oh, how much Chloe had been hurt by the loss of her father, and Max leaving. She should have never left her. None of this would have happened- Was that what caused it? Did Max"s leaving destine her best friend to die? Max suddenly stopped pushing the swing, shuddering at the thought. Had even that been her fault? "Oi, why"d you stop pushing me? Getting tired already, SuperMax?!" Max managed another smile at the name. Those pictures of them as super heroes they had drawn so long ago. She had the powers for real; now, all she was lacking was the "super". Chloe stopped, stepping off the swing and frowning, turning to look at Max. "Max..? What"s wrong? You look.." Max winced and rubbed her head. "H-Huh? Oh, n-nothing..Just uh, just a headache, don"t worry about it." She gave a firm smile, which Chloe hesitantly returned. They both sat down on the two swings, now, side by side. Max tilted her head back, looking up towards the clouds, sighing through her nose. Shortly, Chloe looked at her, and did the same, peering up at the skies above. A happy family, a best friend, a peaceful town...This is how Max wanted to remember it. I can"t, though. Saving William...I already tried that. That destined her to die eventually, too. Paralyzed, first, but she died slowly after that. So is that where the timeline split, where she"s destined to die in either direction? If so, what could she do to fix it? Find some way to make herself stay in Arcadia Bay? That would alter the timeline completely, it wouldn"t keep things exactly the same like Warren had advised-in fact, things may happen to make them not meet, or any number of consequences, and she didn"t have the time or power to try that alternative. Should I just save William again? That timeline was peaceful, at least, and she was..Happier, until the end. No, she came back to save her, not just have her die happily. Besides, Max herself was a different person in that timeline; different friends, and while she might be able to change some of that, she couldn"t be certain. There had to be something else, in the original timeline, that she could change. Had to be. "You look like you"re real deep in thought, Max. What"s up?" Chloe asked quietly. Max, her head still killing her but the pain having stabilized a little now, turned to look at her, snapping back to reality. "Huh? Oh...It"s..Nothing. I just.." She paused. "I hope we"re together like this. Forever. Y"know?" Chloe smiled at this response and nodded. "We will be! No matter what. We"re a duo, ya know? Totally gonna rule the world." Max smirked. "That"d be...Hella awesome." Turning her head away, she hid one tear that rolled down her cheek, swiping it away briefly. "But uh...What if we ever, were like..Far apart, or something?" Asking this, she turned to look at Chloe again. Chloe seemed to consider this for a while, peering up at the sky, before grinning and giggling quietly. Bringing one hand up, she poked Max over where her heart was. "Then, we"d find a way back to each other. We"ll always be right here, wont we?" Max almost couldn"t stop herself from crying, then. She smiled shakily, and nodded her head. "Right!" Chloe leaned forwards, now, and hugged her arms around Max, almost as if she sensed something was wrong, though she smiled still. "Chloe...No matter what, I want you to know...You"re the coolest girl I know. I don"t ever want us to grow apart, no matter what. I don"t ever want us to change." Chloe, leaning backwards and grinning, gave Max a thumbs up. "Best friends, forever." A breeze rolled through the yard. The grass swayed gently, a leaf blowing across the fence. Somewhere across town, Max knew, young Victoria, and Stella...Evan, Daniel, and Warren, they were all here, somewhere. Growing. She wondered, now, what they were doing, how all of their individual lives and memories were being shaped. Best friends, forever. Who even says that anymore? "Forever." Max replied. Telling Chloe things like this while they were young might help her, she knew; help her to cope in the future, but she did not feel that this was the memory that could stop what shifted her destiny. The memory began to fade, as they smiled at each other, giggling. Joyce called to them from inside for one reason or another. Then, she was gone. She was back in the dorm, and quickly reached up, wiping blood from her nose. Some of he pain relieved when she had come back. Okay. The timeline didn"t change very much from that conversation, because I still end up in this dorm at this point. I don"t have time to worry about how much Chloe has changed or whatever, I need to think of another memory. She turned to look back at the mural of photos, after taking the one she just used and putting it back in the drawer, closing it. Nothing about the photos looked different, and she still had her Everyday Hero contest photo. That was good. That pirate photograph was a good start-it had been sitting there in her dorm the whole time, she had looked at it so many times, yet she hadn"t thought of it until now. But it might not have been enough. So which one? Which photo should I choose, she asked herself, glancing between all of them desperately. She looked at a photo at the lighthouse she had taken, once. It was the day that they had drawn on that tree stump, carved their names into it to make their mark. I have an idea. Leaning forwards, she braced herself for the pain, and she jumped back in time. Her head nearly split from the pain again. It seemed to be getting worse. Maxine wasn"t sure how much longer she could keep this up. "It"s awesome!" Chloe exclaimed, looking at the carving on the stump of the tree and smiling proudly. Max, rubbing her head, nodded and smiled lightly. "Y-Yeah. Now our mark will be here forever." Perhaps not forever, but she knew it was there when they were adults in the future. She pulled the picture out of the camera. Chloe hopped over to the bench beside the lighthouse, brown hair swaying in the wind, and she plopped down to sit on it. Max walked over and sat down beside her. The sun was slowly beginning to set. They couldn"t stay out here too much longer, their parents would be worried, and angry. Everyone she knew and loved, right there. The town seemed peaceful. Cars drove around down on the streets. Light shimmered across the water in the bay, and one or two fishing boats could be seen. No fire, no storm...No death. "Think we should head back soon?" Chloe asked, turning her head to look at Max. With a shrug, she replied, "Probably...Don"t want your mo-your parents, to be worried." Chloe raised an eyebrow, and ignored the stutter, smiling and nodding. "Bah, we shouldn"t need a curfew! We can take care of ourselves." Max actually laughed quietly for a moment. It felt so normal. "Hey, Chloe?" Max whispered quietly. "Yeah, Max?" "Don"t ever change." Max said simply, smiling softly. Chloe gave her an odd look for a few moments, before smirking and laughing. "You"re acting so weird lately, Max. Of course I won"t change. Come on, let"s get back." Chloe stood up. "Race you!" She turned and began running towards the path. Max stood up, and Chloe called back over her shoulder, "Come on, slowpoke!" Cupping her hands to her mouth, Max called out in reply, "I"ll catch up!", before turning to look out over Arcadia Bay. For some reason, Nathan popped into her mind. I wonder what you"re doing right now, Nathan. Were you already sick, or did your stupid family cause it? With a sigh, she turned, determined, and walked to the tree stump. Picking up the same rock they had carved it with, she knelt down, and she knew what to do. She wrote below it. Afterwards, she stood up, and turned around, remembering something. She walked around the small building beside the lighthouse, and looked on the back of it. It was clean, and smooth, with nothing drawn on its beige-white wall.

"Alexis Davis." She said automatically, taking note of Jax"s crestfallen expression. He was an enigma wrapped up in a mystery to her lately. Why do I try to understand men, Alexis asked herself. She and Ned were nonexistent lately, and Alexis knew their relationship had come to a natural end. This saddened her, but Jax had been a huge distraction. "Natasha, I have a glass of the best vodka with your name on it in front of me." Alexis took a deep breath. Whatever Luke wanted, it was something major. She could feel the strain in his voice, and the desperation that seemed to flow from his simple words. She had always felt an undeniable pull to this man. "Are we talking Russian Vodka?" Alexis asked lightly. "You want the best and it"s Finnish darlin". I told you that." Luke said with a small smile. "None of that third world Russian crap." He chuckled lightly, knowing Alexis could see right through him. "Come alone. Lurch can hold up the Port Charles hotel or do whatever he does." "Luke he"s a corporate raider not a criminal." Alexis sighed. "I"ll be right there." She said, infusing additional warmth into her voice. As she hung the phone up, Alexis looked at Jax. "I have to go, but I"ll be home before it"s too late." She said, leaning in close to kiss the butter off her husband"s lips. "Stay up for me, we need to talk." "I will." Jax said, feeding Alexis one last buttery kernel. "Don"t be too long." ~*~ "That"s what love is for To help us through it That"s what love is for Nothing else can do it Melt our defenses Bring us back to our senses Give us strength to try once more Baby, that"s what love is for" Wyndamere Bobbie Spencer looked up at the gothic mansion and gathered her coat around her. As a bitter wind swirled around her, the trace of tears that adorned Bobbie"s cheeks stung. "How can I do this?' she whispered as she attempted to summon strength. Luke was furious with her, but at the same time she needed answers. Could she risk the wrath of Stefan Cassadine as well? Was she strong enough to withstand blows from two men she loved in one night? Love, Bobbie sighed and smoothed back her russet hair. She had finally admitted it, even if only to herself. She was still in love with her ex-husband. They had never really had a chance; Bobbie always knew that. She had gotten too caught up in her brother"s feud, and her husband"s machinations to even try to get to know all of him or to fight for what they had. Stefan had changed in the years they had been apart. He had softened and become more grounded. Gaining and then losing Nikolas as his son had been so hard on him. Bobbie closed her eyes to snap herself out of contemplation. She was at Wyndamere for a purpose and she would get her answers whatever the cost. She owed that much to Carly. With deliberate steps, Bobbie made her way to the ornate door and waited to be announced. Stefan Cassadine removed his glasses and ran a hand over his eyes, pausing to pinch the bridge of his nose before expelling a long breath. He had been following Barbara"s progress off he launch and found himself intrigued by her moment of contemplation at the edge of the island. What was she doing at Wyndamere and what had caused her distress, he found himself wondering. As Mrs. Landsburry announced his ex-wife, Stefan exited his study, replacing his expression of active interest with one of nonchalance. As he approached, Stefan could clearly tell Barbara"s distress in her reddened eyes and the way her lips trembled. He steeled himself against the damsel in distress, having been through that too many times with Laura. "Barbara what a surprise." Stefan nodded as he regarded her coolly. He couldn"t let her perceive his interest or ever know the way she still made his heart forget to beat. He could not allow her that power over him. "Stefan." Bobbie said in a trembling voice. "I need your help." Concern overrode caution as Stefan moved to his ex-wife. "What is it?" he inquired in a gentle tone. "I have some information I need Stefan and you"re my best chance of an answer." ~*~ "Sometimes I see you And you don"t know why I"m there And I"m washed away by emotions I hold deep down inside Getting stronger with time It"s living through the fire And holding on we find" Alexis Davis hurried into Lukes" club and looked around. He must be in his office, Alexis thought. She wondered what had Luke so troubled. There had been something in his voice that had pulled her away as surely as her need to figure out Jax had begged her to stay in his penthouse. Alexis walked into Luke"s office and looked at him in shock. Glassy eyes stared back; he didn"t even seem to recognize her. He held a piece of paper in a trembling hand. She watched him for a moment, then, moved by some emotion she didn"t know and couldn"t piece together; she pulled him against her and rocked him slowly. "Whatever it is Luke, It can"t be that bad." Alexis whispered. A rush of love and affection for this odious man assaulted her, and she held his head closer to her chest, offering comfort for something unknown and unseen. Her fingers smoothed his short hair down a she tried to ignore the fluttering in her body at the intimacy of this act. Luke pressed his head closer, seeking the affection Alexis was freely giving. It felt so good to be held! He breathed in her scent, savoring it. A small part of him had been a little in love with her for over a year, and a lot in lust. While his mind was savoring her comfort, his body was focused on her closeness, getting lost in her for a short moment. He needed to feel alive again and she was the flame melting the ice that had hardened around his heart. Alexis held Luke for some long moments, rocking him gently as she tried to deny the sexual tension that was building between them. "Luke what is it." Alexis prodded gently. She slowly sank to her knees and stroked his cheek with a fingertip. Luke met Alexis" eyes and sighed. "Ya ever have something in your life that makes nothing else make sense Natasha?" He asked as he reached for a glass of vodka. Luke stared at the liquid for a long moment before handing Alexis the glass. "My baby sister just dropped a bomb on me." He sighed and looked at Alexis, expecting her to prod him into an explanation. When she just settled on her knees and sipped the vodka, Luke gave her an ironic smile. "Natasha you have either a sister or a niece." Alexis" eyes widened perceptibly. "I do?" She asked and took a careful swallow of the vodka. "Who is it? I"d like to deliver a congratulations for being a Cassadine gift. That"s what we gatekeepers do." She said with a small smile. Her mind was racing, wondering who Luke could be talking about. "I don"t know how darlin", but my baby sister tells me Caroline"s father is a Cassadine." Luke announced in a weighted tone. Alexis" eyes widened. "Carly Benson, Quartermaine, whatever she calls herself is one of us?" She quickly finished off her vodka and put her hand out for another. "How did this happen?" "Do I need to tell you all about the birds and the bees, Natasha?" Luke was finding it a little easier now that he had unburdened himself. "Or I could show you." He mock leered. "Lurch can"t be satisfying all your needs." "Luke stop." Alexis said in a distracted tone. "Carly is a Cassadine?" She repeated. "And my darlin" sister never said a word." A bitter edge appeared in Luke"s voice and something occurred to Alexis. This went beyond shock; he and Bobbie must have had serious words. "Did you confront her when you found out?" Alexis asked gently. "She came to me, with this damned piece of paper." Luke handed the sheet to Alexis. "And we fought, badly. I threw her out." He admitted with a heavy sigh. Alexis picked up the paper and looked it over carefully. "Possible candidates for Carly"s father." She said in a soft voice, "And the nominees are..." her eyes widened when she saw the names on the paper. "Mikkos, Victor, Tony, Stavros or Stefan? Did they breed in packs?" "I don"t know Darlin"" Luke admitted. "Big shock here too. But she wants answers." "So you came to me." Alexis finished. "Are you going to share any answers we may find?" That"s what love is for To help us through it That"s what love is for Nothing else can do it Luke considered her answer carefully before nodding. "I"m angry at her Natasha, but Bobbie and Sweet Caroline deserve to know." He looked closely at the list again. "Whichever monster it is." Alexis regarded Luke for a long moment before she gathered her purse. "Get some sleep, we"ll have an early flight and we"ll leave first thing in the morning, as unlike commercial flights that is. Don"t be late Luke. I"ll leave with or without you." Wyndamere "What information Barbara and why me?" Stefan asked her as he arched an eyebrow. His cool emerald gaze appraised her and took extra note of her apparent distress. Bobbie stared at the ground. "I kept something from you Stefan." She began quietly. Even after all these years, it pained her to hurt him. "What was that?" The air of vulnerability that surrounded her strangely touched Stefan. Protectiveness welled up inside him, even as he steeled himself against her. Bobbie took off her coat slowly and lay it against the formal lounge before answering. "You know that before I came to Port Charles I was a hooker." She said in a quiet voice. "You also know that Carly was born before I came to Port Charles." Bobbie raised her eyes to Stefan"s finally. This was dangerous; she could so easily drown in his gaze. However, she owed him the whole truth, even the pain it caused her to tell it. "Yes Barbara I recall." Stefan said quietly. "One day, I started being sent out to high profile parties. Apparently, the idea of a saucy redheaded 16 year old was more of a turn on to some then I could have anticipated." Bobbie paused as Stefan"s eyes widened. "One day, I was sent to a magnificent yacht. The family was European royalty, princes, and nobility of all sorts. They wanted a special young woman for the two youngest men, two boys." "You were to be their first." Stefan finished for her. "But before the night was out" he stopped as the memory welled up inside him. "Yes, they all shared me. Apparently they wanted their money"s worth after the shy teenager with the ginger hair disappeared behind closed doors with me for hours." Stefan spared Bobbie a small smile. "They never knew that I didn"t..." he trailed off. "Barbara, I did not until this moment remember that it was you." He paused, as he considered the most appropriate phrasing of his next question. "It was a nice memory, but why are you telling me this now." There was more to this then Barbara had just spoken and Stefan intended to get to the bottom of it. "That wasn"t the end of it." Bobbie said quietly. "I hadn"t been with anyone in months before then and wasn"t with anyone for a month afterward. Three weeks after our yacht encounter happened, I had a positive pregnancy test." Stefan"s eyes widened and he sank to the lounge as he absently stroked his goatee. "The result is Caroline?" he inquired as a formality. Bobbie nodded and sank to the lounge next to him. "Luke was just told." "Why now?" Stefan asked as he tried to process the information. "She is twenty five years old." Bobbie said in a trembling voice. "And she is pregnant with her second child. As God is my witness, she needs grounding before she spirals out of control even further." Stefan regarded Barbara as a smile appeared on his face. "And the Cassadines will provide this grounding?" "No." Bobbie was quick to answer. "But she deserves to know. And I have a solution. Helena will never have to know. I know you"re thinking that Carly will be in danger from her. She won"t be though. She can get to know the Cassadines naturally." Bobbie finished. This would be the hardest part. "We do it under the guise that you and I are back together and that we are strengthening our family ties." Stefan just gaped at his ex wife before striding to the bar and pouring himself a glass of vodka. Part 2 The Next day Alexis Davis hurried to the airport. She was running late, having been up until all hours of the night as she and Jax had relaxed together. Their bond appeared to be growing by the moment, even as her connection with Luke was intensifying. Now, she was about to fly to Greece in search of answers to a 25 year old mystery. How could they attain the answers Luke and Bobbie desired, Alexis wondered? Every one of the possibilities had been deceased over ten years, save Stefan. Alexis colored as she considered her brother. She had no even attempted to contact him. Their relationship was complex in the best of times and a cross between thorny and non-existent when things became worse. It would be much better to approach him after the fact-finding mission was completed. As Alexis entered the airy terminal she looked for Luke. She didn"t really expect him to be on time; after all Luke was hardly a morning person. Yet there he was, leaning against a pillar. Though his dark sunglasses covered the blue of his eyes, Alexis could tell Luke was following her every move in the astute way he was tracking the crowd. Even though this partner and she ran like fire and ice, Alexis knew she could trust him during a crisis. Luke watched Alexis approach and tried to stay nonchalant. In reality his stomach was twisted in knots. He hated fighting with Bobbie, as they were all they had sometimes. Luke had lost Laura for good and Bobbie had sworn off romantic entanglements after Jerry Jacks left town with her heart in his back pocket. Lucky and Ruby were gone too. Luke sighed, knowing he had to do this for his sister. "Oh Barbara Jean." He muttered. "Don"t even say I wouldn"t go through hell for ya." As he eyed the leggy attorney, Luke found himself wondering if hell wasn"t so bad after all. "Good morning." Alexis said as she approached. She slipped a bag and a steaming cup into Luke"s hands. "Breakfast. We have a long flight ahead of us. Come on, we need to go over to the corporate wing." Luke groaned silently. "Natasha please don"t tell me you want me to take the batplane." "No Luke, Jax lent me his jet when I told him I needed to go to Greece for a few days." "Oh great, even better, the Lurchmobile. Is Lurch flying? I hear he has trouble keeping birds airborne." "That"s just a nasty rumor, now come on." Alexis snapped. Why was she so defensive over the subject of her husband? They weren"t that involved. "Natasha, I"m not goin" anywhere until you answer my question. Is the living ken Doll flying the plane?" Luke dug in his heels even as Alexis yanked on his arm. Her composure and patience were gone. "Will you stop insulting my husband, you insufferable twit! No, he is not flying but if he was we would get there in the same condition in which we left." "Hot and bothered?" Luke asked innocently. He didn"t even attempt to dodge her hand as it connected with the flesh of his upper arm. "Tantrum over yet, Natahsa?" Luke couldn"t stop a grin from splitting his face as Alexis stalked off. "Hey wait up darlin" he called out as he hurried after her. Alexis stormed into the corporate boarding area and wondered how she could avoid committing murder on this short trip. Luke was a challenge at the best of times, but Alexis" nerves were on edge at the thought of returning to her childhood home, her house of tortures. She was unprepared to deal with the emotional ramifications of this trip. Even coached as it was in noble intentions the visit was bound to be harrowing at the very least. As Alexis reached the boarding area, she took a deep breath, conferring with the flight staff. They would depart soon, land in London and stay the night and be off to Greece at daybreak. The flight plan would read Switzerland in case anyone checked up on them. "Come on Luke." Alexis called out softly. They were able to board the plane immediately and Alexis wanted to settle in and get some work done on the flight. She wondered what Luke intended to do for the 8 hours they would spend in the air. Alexis had a vision of him haunting her every move. He couldn"t be that bad could he, she wondered. "What"s the plan?" Luke asked as they moved swiftly along the jetway and entered the plush airplane. "We land in London in the evening. There is a suite booked at the Savoy. You"ll be responsible for your own accommodations." Alexis told Luke. "We also have a suite booked in Geneva. The flight plan will direct attention there." "Good job." Luke said approvingly. "When do we get to Greece?" "Tomorrow late morning." Alexis replied. "We"ll land in Athens and speedboat in through the back." "Thorough, I like it." Luke smirked and settled into a leather chair. As he rummaged through his scarred leather travel bag, he extracted a thick novel. "The ultimate James Bond?" Alexis smiled. "Do you ever thing you"re taking this spy stuff too seriously?" Melt our defenses Bring us back to our senses Give us strength to try once more Baby, that"s what love is for Wyndamere Bobbie Spencer awoke slowly and stretched. She had fallen asleep gradually on the couch after Stefan"s non-reaction to her suggestion. She had never seen him speechless before and found herself wondering if maybe it was the toll old age had taken on him. She glanced over to his sleeping form, sitting in an ornate chair and felt the urge to brush his hair back from his forehead. Stefan lay still, measuring her gaze upon him. He could sense the intensity of her stare and entertained the notion of utter silence until his curiosity got the better of him. As Stefan opened one emerald eye, he found her chocolate ones on his face. "Good morning Barbara." Stefan said in a rusty voice. "How did we find ourselves here?" "We were sitting. You were absorbing the information," Bobbie said quietly. "And all of a sudden it was the morning." Stefan nodded and looked Bobbie over carefully. "Will anyone at your home worry?" He was unsure of her romantic prospects post Jerry Jacks. "No one." Bobbie frowned for a moment. "Lucas is away right now with Tony. Carly can always reach me on my cell phone. She shrugged. "That"s it" "And the hospital?" Stefan asked. He wanted a large chunk of time to help her figure out her dilemma as well as enjoying her company. He had missed her so much. Katherine had never compared and Laura, well, that was a mistaken resurrection of a long dead love affair. "Two days off." Bobbie said in a teasing voice. "It will take at least that long for my brother to cool off so he isn"t likely to call me either." Her voice turned serious and sad. "But Luke will get over it." She added in an unconvincing tone. Stefan was moved by the tone in her voice. She had a magnetic pull to him, and always had. With a small sigh of defeat Stefan moved to her side. "Luke is nothing if not stubborn to a fault." "I know." Bobbie had to try to resist him. His nearness begged her to pull him closer. As Stefan sank to the couch beside her, she instinctively leaned closer, seeking something elemental yet unknown. Stefan slowly reached out to Bobbie, fingering the sheer fabric at the cuff of her blouse before sliding his much larger hand over hers in a gesture of comfort. As his flesh kissed hers, Bobbie inhaled. The tingles coming from the place where their hands joined were irresistible. She had to remain aloof though. She couldn"t give him the satisfaction of knowing that he still had power over her. Stefan breathed in and out shallowly. Her hand felt so warm and welcoming under his, and the sexual tension seemed to grow by the second as his hand slowly cupped hers. Stefan was unsure of where this attraction was going and that unsettled him, so, as he squeezed Bobbie"s hand, he stood. "Would you like some breakfast?" He always had her off balance! Just as Bobbie was about to succumb to the caresses that had sent shivers from her hand through her body, Stefan had stood. He was as inscrutable as ever and appeared unaffected, bored even with the events that had Bobbie quaking inside. "Breakfast would be delightful." "Wonderful." Stefan intoned. "I will summon Mrs. Landsburry." He felt strangely disappointed in her non-reaction to his caress. He was on fire with want for her; every fiber of his body fought to pull her into his arms. He could not let her hurt him, though and when he had opened himself up to Barbara Jean Spencer in the past, he had been betrayed. He would be wise not to forget that. The Lurchmobile The tapping of Alexis" nails on the computer keyboard was driving Luke crazy. They had been in the air for hours now and all he could hear was that incessant tap tap tap. "Do you ever stop?" he muttered. "Excuse me?" Alexis met Luke"s eyes. "I am trying to figure out the possibilities here. How old is Carly?" "She"s almost 25 darlin"." Luke said as he placed his book upon his lap. "What does that have to do with anything?" "Well." Alexis started patiently. "Stavros would have been 43 and Stefan is 41, so I was just figuring their ages then. This was likely Stefan"s first experience, so I feel relatively certain that we can leave him out."

Somewhere celestial... Somewhere celestial.... Steve Hardy sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. How he and Mary Mae had become in charge of this rag tag band of do-gooders was beyond him. Most days it was a challenge but lately, their antics were too much for man or angel. "All right." Steve gave the group a small smile. "I want reports from everyone, but first I have to know some things. Who is responsible for the changes in Nikolas and Lucky? Who brought Juan, Hannah and Chloe to town?" He looked around to the faces of friends and irritants that he had gotten to know since his arrival in 1996. "Anyone care to speak up?" Mary Mae Ward waited a few minutes for the group to reply. When everyone studiously appraised the fluffy cloud they were all perched upon, she sighed loudly. She and Steve had become unofficial leaders of their merry band almost as soon as they arrived. The group had needed some continuity and Steve and Mary Mae had offered the right tone of authority. "Would anyone care to speak up?" her voice was velvet covered steel. They all knew she wasn"t a spirit to be trifled with. When silence ensued, Mary Mae got direct. "Mikkos, you troublemaker, are you responsible for any of these upheavals? Brenda? Trying to help Sonny get over you with the arrival of Hannah on the scene? Robert, Anna? Are you still hoping Jason will pay for choosing Carly over your daughter? And you Ruby, did you change Lucky? Jake are you responsible for Rachel"s arrival into town?" Steve gave the group a stern look. "What will it take for you all to stop meddling? The big guy is getting quite annoyed with your antics. Need I remind you of your purpose here?" As if one, the group spoke in unions. "Our job is to be guardian angels. We must not cause things to happen but just observe and advise invisibly." "Very good." Steve smiled, happy that the group was finally under control. "Now get to work. The residents of Port Charles need our guidance more today than ever!" As the group disbanded into small groups, Steve and Mary Mae smiled to one another. "It wasn"t too hard to keep them in line was it?" "Don"t turn your back on them." Mary Mae warned quietly. "They each have their own agenda." ~*~ Anna Devane and Robert Scorpio leaned in close to one another, enjoying the intimacy afforded a couple that was to be together an eternity. "What"s our plan?" Anna asked Robert as they strained to see earth through the cottony cloud cover. "Well first we need to get Mac and Felicia back together and failing that, there"s always Venus. They looked good together." "And Robin." Anna added. "We need to find her spirit and give it back to her. The sainthood cowl she was wearing never fit well and I want my spirited little girl back" "Me too." Robert agreed, nodding. They needed to make their family happy by any means possible, despite what Steve Hardy had to say about it. ~*~ Dominique Baldwin and Jake Marshak leaned in close to one another. "Do you plan on observing what Steve said?" Dom asked quickly. "Are you joking?" Jake replied with an easy smile. "We have a lot of lost people to help in Port Charles. "My point exactly." Dom shook her long chestnut hair out and smiled at her cohort. "I"m taking care of my family, can you manage your old friends?" When Jake started to frown, Dom tapped him on the nose. "Yes and even Chris Ramsey. I always thought he and Eve were soulmates. What about you?" Jake gave Dominique a small smile. "You"re such a romantic" he remarked in a gentle tone. "Let"s see what we can do and all"s fair in love and war." ~*~ Brenda pulled Lily to an edge of the cloud. "We need to make sure Sonny"s happy agreed?" Brenda said hotly. "Look at how we"ve messed up in the past. First Hannah was with Sonny and now that Chloe is with my Jax." "They need to be stopped." Lily agreed. "By any means necessary. We need Sonny and Carly to be happy." "And to have their child." Brenda added quietly "Who do you want Jax to find love with?" Lily asked, her eyes on a distant cloud where her child frolicked in the mist. "I don"t know." Brenda admitted. "Alexis or V would be just fine. I just want him to be happy." ~*~ "Hi there!" BJ Jones looked up at the imposing man with a smile. "Will you come and play with me?" Even though none of the other angels played with him, she thought the man looked nice, even if he was sometimes very grumpy. "Darling I don"t really want to play." Mikkos smoothed down BJ"s hair. The young girl reminded him so much of Natasha some days. Ruby sighed heavily as she spied BJ chatting with Mikkos Cassadine. The girl didn"t understand that even though he was an angel he was still pretty dangerous. "Bj why don"t you come over here." Ruby suggested firmly. "No aunt Ruby." Bj gripped the man"s hand tightly. "You come visit us." She had been thinking ruby needed a friend and this man would do just fine. She leaned in conspiratorially to Mikkos. "She isn"t really mean I promise." Mikkos couldn"t help the glimmer of a smile that started its journey across his face. "She"s a Spencer. They"re all mean." He emphasized Ruby joined BJ and Mikkos with a sour smile on her face. "We stick to the rules all right?" she reminded quietly "We have been here longer therefore we make the rules." Mikkos informed the kindly older woman in a haughty tone. "And I for one want to have some fun. What about you?" he asked. As his gaze pierced Ruby"s, Mikkos lifted BJ high above his head and started tickling her. "Do you like fun little girl?" "Yes yes I do." BJ"s giggles resonated like a trilling bell, bringing smiles from all the small groups. "What do you want to do?" "Well, my little boy Stefan needs a girlfriend don"t you think?" Bj nodded seriously and waited for Mikkos to continue. "And that evil wife of mine needs to be stopped. Why don"t we pour shoe polish on her to start with?" "That"s not nice." Ruby replied stiffly. She should have known Mikkos Cassadine was still a troublemaker. How he had gotten his wings instead of a set of horns was beyond her comprehension. "I like Stefan. He was mean to my mommy at first but now he is much nicer." She thought hard. "I will help you get him a girlfriend and you can help me with my plans." "What are those?" Mikkos inquired. "It"s a secret." BJ replied impishly. She could hardly tell Mikkos she intended to set a love connection into motion between he and her beloved Aunt Ruby. ~*~ Steve and Mary Mae regarded the crowd for some time. "They"ll muddle up everything won"t they?' Steve worried. "They"re all so concerned about their loved ones that the rules from above have no bearing on their behavior." "Will it yours?" Mary Mae knew Steve had his own agenda no matter how well hidden. Steve sighed and didn"t even reply. He couldn"t lie to his friend, nor would he want to. "My helpfulness is complicated by my sense of duty." "But it will not stop you. Your path is as written in the stars as the rest of ours. The big guy knows what we intend to do. We"re just angels unaware of His greater plan." Satisfied that Steve was now fully on their side, Mary Mae smiled and parted the clouds. "Gather yourself angels we have jobs to do!" Chapter 1 "Port Charles?" Frisco Jones looked at the printout in shock, and then glanced up at WSB Director Donely. "You want me to take care of the Helena Cassadine situation In Port Charles?" Frisco was shocked. He had repeatedly requested a New York assignment and had been turned down every time. "Why now Sean?" "Yes we do Jones. " Sean rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I"ve been trying to get you in there but as assistant director I had no luck. I have no idea why Ballantine chose now to retire." BJ snickered from her position in the corner. "Like duh, cause I want uncle Frisco to get home to Maxie and Georgie." She said in an exasperated tone. She"d left Mikkos and Aunt Ruby arguing while she went off to find herself some fun. "What happened there?" Frisco inquired. He felt a strange prickling sensation and looked idly toward the far corner of the room. "I don"t know. Ballantine just decided since he has another granddaughter on the way that he wanted to be more involved at home and..." Sean trailed off as he followed Frisco"s gaze. "What are you looking at?" "Nothing." Frisco said quickly. He had the strangest feeling that he was being watched. "Ballantine chose to retire cause someone helped him have a dream that he was losing everything." BJ explained to the two men across the room from her spirit. "But you won"t know that cause he won"t tell you." BJ puffed her chest out proudly. "And I gave him the dream." The little girl smirked with her own self-importance. She was proud of her visits to earth. Sure, she was breaking the rules by meddling but she was just helping, that was different then meddling in BJ"s eyes. She was just helping her family out. "So...." Sean ventured as he wondered how to get the conversation back on track. "You"ll be based in Port Charles until we have the evidence to take Helena down." "What charges or are we going with any we find?" Sean clapped a hand on Frisco"s shoulder, increasing the pressure gently. "Whatever you can find, we"ll go with Frisco. Keep your eyes open and she"ll soon incriminate herself." "And keep your eyes open cause you"re going to be back together with Aunt Felicia real soon." BJ added with a giggle. ~*~ "Well hi there." Sonny Corinthos" soft purr was a direct counterpoint to his normal tone of authority. He peered at the small black and white ultrasound photo of his baby. His son. The feelings welling up inside were foreign to Sonny yet they felt so right. How had he come to this place of domesticity with Carly? As his fingers moved over the small image of their unborn child, Sonny"s thoughts wavered between the past and the future. He"d never had a chance to get involved in Lily"s pregnancy, and in truth he might not have been ready to be a father then. He was ready now. As he sighed, Sonny wondered what his children with Lily or Brenda might have looked like. "Hi." A little dark haired girl touched Sonny"s knee for a brief moment. He looked up, gazing into the chocolate brown eyes that were so similar to his own before reaching out to her. "Adela Corinthos you get back here!" The little girl winced at the anger in her mother"s tone. She wasn"t trying to be a bad girl, just sometimes trouble found her. She knew they weren"t supposed to scare the humans, but the man"s pain had touched her soul. "Bye bye papa." The cherub whispered before scampering to the darkest corner of the living room and disappearing into the shadows. "Papa?' Sonny stood and hurried over to the corner where the little girl had last been seen. Where are you? Who are you?" The tension was evident in Sonny"s voice as he struggled to understand what was beyond his comprehension. He thoroughly scoured the area then wrenched the door open. "Johnny who was she and why did you let her in?" his words were angry. "I"m sorry?" Johnny questioned softly. "I haven"t let anyone inside in hours." Sonny rounded on his long time bodyguard. "If you haven"t let anyone in in hours." He mocked. "How did that little girl get in? Did she fly in from the open window?" "Boss I haven"t seen a little girl." Johnny asserted. He idly wondered if Sonny was losing his sanity yet again. The incident last year still weighed heavily on all their minds. Sonny had seemed close to the point of insanity. Keeping that in mind, Johnny found himself making a mental note to inform Francis and the others about this alarming development. "What are you thinking Lily?" Brenda asked hotly as she looked at her. "You have to reign in your child!" Brenda was annoyed at this screw up. It wasn"t enough that the little girl had wanted too visit Sonny but somehow he had seen her. This was a pure disaster. "Brenda enough! She"s only a child. She made a mistake. Sonny will brush it off. He always does." Lily had had enough of the vapid model"s chatter. "Just control your child." Brenda said in an annoyed tone. As if it wasn"t enough, that Carly and Sonny were having a child, Brenda had to be reminded that she never had possessed that special part of Sonny. She had somehow failed in not giving him a child. Unable to deal with the pain of what could have been, Brenda sighed. "I am not in the mood to fight Lily. I"m going to check on Jax." As the other woman left, little Adela turned to her mother. "Mama did I upset Brenda?" she asked in a small voice. Sometimes Brenda was mean but that was just because she hadn"t learned to share papa. She considered going after the woman but then her mother hugged the little spirit close and Adela sighed. "Papa liked seeing me." She insisted quietly. "I know darling but we mustn"t do that anymore." Lily smoothed her daughter"s hair down before they both turned their attention back to Sonny. ~*~ "Hi honey, I"m home." Jax teased as he opened the door of the penthouse. He and Alexis had remained platonic roommates as they dissolved their marriage, as her hotel suite was in the process of a large-scale renovation. Alexis looked up from the stack of papers she was studying. "Hi Jax." She said before popping a buttery kernel of popcorn into her mouth. "You were so late in getting home that I ordered up some dinner from the Grille. It will be here in..." she trailed off as she consulted her watch. "Twenty minutes. Chloe is spending the night with Lila and will call you tomorrow." "Oh." Jax smiled slightly. He wasn"t happy with Chloe any longer but he could hardly abandon the girl when she was sick and possibly dying. He much preferred the intellectual banter of an evening with Alexis. "Yeah she and Lila wanted to spend some time together." Alexis remarked offhandedly. While Chloe had proven herself to be a loyal friend, Alexis missed the bond that had formed between she and V. Jax nodded, unwilling to talk any longer about Chloe. "What did you do today? Have a busy time with work?" "Yes Natasha answer him, you work far too hard." Mikkos had been observing his daughter for some time when the big blond oaf had walked in. He rounded on the blond. "Dopey looking fellow aren"t you and not much in the brains department to divorce my daughter for someone not fit to tie her shoes. We are Royalty, do you not understand the word?" Mikkos asked, leaning over to cuff Jax rather hard. Jax reached up reflexively as Mikkos pulled his hand back. He had to watch out for that. When he was angered, people could sometimes hear and feel him. "What was that Alexis?" Jax asked as he rubbed his head. "What was what?" Alexis looked at Jax. Confusion was written all over her face as her gaze met Jax"s. He seemed to be in some discomfort as he rubbed his head. "Something...." Jax trailed off as he felt the whisper of something more pleasant on the sore spot. "Fell or something." He looked around, unable to spot the offending piece of plaster or whatever it was. "There there." Brenda floated a few feet off the ground to kiss the reddened spot at Jax"s temple before whirling on Mikkos. "How dare you." She roared in fury. Mikkos" smirk faded, as he fully comprehended the scope of Brenda"s anger. She approached him lightning fast and cuffed him at least as hard as he had Jax. "I"ll show you dopey looking!" Mikkos immediately backed off. This would be a disaster. As it was, Natasha and Dopey were looking around suspiciously. As their ire increased, they would be sensed at the very least. "Calm down." He hissed. "They can sense us when we"re agitated." "You apologize now." Brenda said as she advanced on him again. "I think not!" Mikkos retorted. "Natasha deserves so much better than Dopey over there. Civilization has arrived in Australia even if he hasn"t become aware of that fact. Sometimes I think he deserves that blond." He shook his head. "I have other visits to make, so I"ll leave you to simper over your lost love." ~*~ Robin Scorpio ran her hands through her long dark hair and stretched in her airplane seat. She would never cut her hair again, she silently vowed as she enjoyed the feel of her hair through her fingers. How could anyone take her seriously when she looked like an aging pixie? With one final sigh, she reached into her oversized carryon bag and pulled out a novel. The flight from Paris to Port Charles would be a long one and she might as well relax. "She looks so sad." Anna remarked as she watched her daughter trying to bury herself in a book. Anna felt her husband"s arms wrap around her as they perched on the airplane wing inches away from their daughter. "Yes she does." Robert echoed. The loss of his daughter"s spirit was a mystery to him, but as surely as Robert knew he was not among the living, he knew his daughter had changed and not for the better. Where was the spunk, the fire, their daughter had possessed? Where was her conviction to herself? When had Robin gone from a girl with fire and determination to an amateur preacher? "Her loneliness permeates everything around her." Robert said sadly. "So what do we do?" Anna asked as she tilted her head up. Her husband looked as perfect to her as he had in their days on earth and Anna felt a pang of very human longing as she wished for her daughter to find the same happiness. "We try with she and Jason. If that is not meant to be." Robert sighed. "We find another man for her Anna. We find her soulmate and we bring him to her. It"s as simple as that." "Nothing is simple in the workings between heaven and earth Robbie." Anna reminded gently. "We have love on our side." Robert reminded in a determined tone. ~*~ "Oh Scotty this place is a mess!" Dominique Baldwin looked around her husband"s home office and stifled a scream of pure frustration. Scott"s head was buried in his hands and he was staring at some legal briefs. "Are those the papers about Christina?" Dom inquired gently as she rubbed Scott"s shoulders. Scott took a long drink of his coffee as he rolled his shoulders The brown liquid burned a path down to his stomach but the tension in his shoulders was easing by degrees. If only all his problems were as easy to solve as some shoulder tension. He couldn"t find a way around this Christina situation. Karen had outright rejected his plea to take a drug test. Scott was astute enough to surmise that there was a big problem with his eldest daughter. He picked up a photo of he and Dominique and looked at it as tears welled up in his eyes. It wasn"t that he was unhappy with Lucy exactly, but Dom had been his soulmate. Some days the pain of loss echoed in his heart like a tribal drum and it hurt too much to breathe. This is one of those Days Scott realized with a frustrated groan. "I miss you." He whispered as a masculine feature traced her delicate cheekbones. "I miss you too." Dom could feel her husband"s heart crying. "Talk to me Scotty, I"m listening. I"m always listening." She said as she pulled up a chair in front of him. As if Scott could sense her, he began talking. ~*~ "Hi Cowboy." Luke said quietly as he approached his son. Lucky had been staring in the window of Kellys for almost an hour now, retreating whenever a familiar face approached. "We taught you well." Luke observed, taking in his son"s tense stance. The boy was about to bolt and they both knew it. "Yeah I guess you did." Lucky pushed his too long brown hair back as he regarded his father. He had to run when it was least expected. "Please don"t go?" The vulnerability in Luke"s voice stopped Lucky in his tracks. He hated that he was hurting his father but the plan dictated no other way. "I have to." Lucky tried to sound detached and started to edge away. "Oh no you don"t" Ruby declared. She had had enough of this distance between father and son. "You sit down Lucky Spencer and you stay here." Ruby said as she tried to drag the young man to one of the outdoor tables. Frustrated that she couldn"t move him, Ruby just tightened her hold on Lucky"s reddening earlobe. "Lucky reached up to bat away whatever bug was biting him. "Get away." He said in a slight panic as the pressure and pain increased. "Oh no young man. You sit and talk to your father. I will not let that woman win over my family." Ruby said firmly, pleased that Lucky could feel her touch. "You ok cowboy?" Luke studied his son, aware of the rising anxiety coursing through the younger man. "What"s wrong son?" Taking advantage of Lucky"s distraction, Luke moved to the younger man. "Stay with me cowboy please" Luke whispered, pulling his son into his arms. He enveloped the unresisting form in a tight hug before kissing the top of Lucky"s head. The tension stretched out, pulsing between them as Luke sensed his son"s inner struggle. "I don"t care what"s happened, cowboy, let"s start over." After one last long moment, a small shudder went through Lucky and he relaxed in his father"s arms. "Welcome home son." Luke whispered through his tears. Chapter 2 Stone Cates sat on the wing of the 747 jet as it roared to life. He had been watching Robin"s parents for awhile now. It wasn"t his place to interrupt but he knew he could help them in their quest to find Robin happiness. After all, he had loved her just as much as they had, in his own way. Stone was far from a typical angel, but he had cultivated his angel"s heart in his years on high. Now, he was tagging along to Port Charles. Sonny, the man who had meant so much to him, was in a bad way, as was Robin. He couldn"t just sit by and offer no help. "Mr, Mrs. Scorpio can I please help you with Robin? I want her to be happy too." He hadn"t wanted to interrupt the couple as they peered into the plane. They seemed to have such a closeness that transcended heaven and earth. Stone knew he and Robin had that closeness as well, even though they were separated by life and beyond. As he caught the way they turned to speak to him in unison, as if they were one being, Stone smiled. He and Robin had been that close and would again, when the time. "Stone" Robert took in the good looking young man and smiled sadly. Even though human emotions were supposed to be impossible in angelhood, Robert always felt a pang of sadness when he looked upon the young angels. Their youthfulness was a poignant counterpoint to their time on earth. "Hello darling" Anna said as she cupped Stone"s cheek. Though they would likely have had a strained relationship on earth, things were different in heaven. Anna thought of Stone as the son she and Robert had never had. "Hi Mrs. S." Stone said with a smile. He always felt somewhat ill at ease around the couple, but as soon as Robin"s parents had greeted him warmly, he approached them and looked in the small airplane window. "She does look sad. I want to help." "As do I." The Scottish burr heralded the arrival of Anna"s old love and Robin"s old stepfather Duke Lavery. He leaned against Robert"s arm as he too looked in. "We have a difficult task here indeed." Duke remarked as the jet engines purred under them. ~*~ Jake Marshak looked around the all familiar on call room for a moment as he oriented himself. There seemed to be so many problems with his old colleagues that he had no idea where to begin. Julie was duking it out with Lucy and Scott for custody of her child. Karen was on pills again. Chris was married to Julie and Frank Scanlon was involved with that scheming witch Courtney. Newcomers Rachel and Ian seemed distanced from everyone. As the crushing weight of his obligations settled upon Jake"s shoulders he slumped onto the couch. "Whatever is the matter?" Jake"s head snapped up as he heard the woman"s voice. "Hello Mary Mae. Everyone"s lives are in such turmoil. I don"t know where to begin." "Which seems the most critical?" She asked as she rubbed the young man"s shoulder. "Well Christina, but I think Dom is taking care of that. I"m responsible for Frank, Chris and Julie, Courtney, Rachel, Karen, Joe and the new people." He sighed as he considered everyone"s individual situations. "Karen"s drug abuse is killing her soul. I guess that is most important." "Then go to it young man." Mary Mae gave Jake a brief hug before moving away. Jake nodded and sighed, summoning all his strength. He knew he"d need it for this assignment. He"d always had a special place in his heart for Karen. How could she be destroying her body like this? He sat back wondering about his strategy for some moments but was jolted to a standing position when Karen walked in. She had been on leave of the hospital but had been convinced to come in and visit some of her sicker patients, Jake realized. Jake watched silently as Karen put her purse inside her locker and took her identification out. She stared at it for a long moment before returning it to her purse. "I"m not qualified to wear that anymore." Karen said heavily. She tucked her dark hair behind an ear and took a deep breath. "I have to do this." She reminded herself with a half groan. Unable to deal with the withdrawal that was attacking her from within, Karen pulled out a small pill and opened her mouth to swallow it. "Oh no you don"t." Jake said as he went into motion. He used all of his strength to knock Karen"s hand out of her mouth. The while pill went skittering over the floor and came to a rest just beyond the threshold of the door. "What the..." Karen whirled around looking for the offender. "Ok where did you go?" She couldn"t see anyone lurking in the corners, which was a contradiction to the fact that she had felt someone seconds ago. "Ok come out whoever you are. This isn"t funny!" Jake watched Karen sadly. "I can"t yet, but when it"s safer I will. I promise you that Karen. You"re not alone in this." Karen didn"t know why a sense of calm descended upon her but nonetheless, she embraced it. "Thank you." She said quietly, looking around for her human companion. "The fight has just begun but that is the first step." ~*~ "Why are you two doing here?" Mary Mae looked at the two women who were standing just inside the foyer of the Quartermaine mansion. "We want to help." Paige Bowen looked at the stately woman and smiled. "Alexandria and I know this family needs a lot of help and we"re prepared. You have your own family to see to and the other angels watch over as it is. Let us help." Mary Mae sighed and watched the women. "Very well then. Do not reveal yourselves. Your job here is to observe and fix things in subtle ways." "We understand." Paige said in an exaggerated tone. She just wanted to see her daughter now. "Emily needs me as much as the rest of the family needs yourself and Alexandria. Shall we get to it then?" Her impatience mounted as Paige crossed her arms and started at Mary Mae. No one would keep her from her precious daughter much longer. Even though Mary Mae knew that the women were unlikely to follow her rules, she reluctantly nodded watching as Paige raced into the living room while Alexandria ascended the ornate staircase. "Oh Edward." She said as she looked at a picture of her old love. "I do hope that you are prepared for the chaos my angels will no doubt cause." ~*~ Paige barely waited for Mary Mae"s gesture, so intent was she to see her little girl. "Oh Emily." She said as her eyes filled with something suspiciously like human tears. Her daughter stood tall at the breakfast bar, sipping an ice water and nibbling on a croissant as she talked eagerly with cousin Ned. "So did you think Juan will start getting things together soon?" Emily chattered to Ned. She was so excited that her boyfriend"s career was destined to take off. "Did he tell you he started getting pictures of girls in bikinis?" Ned arched an eyebrow as he listened to his young cousin. Emily seemed so happy, so well adjusted even in the face of AJ"s renewed drinking and all the family stresses. "I think he has a future." Ned allowed. He wanted to temper Emily"s enthusiasm a small bit, without taking her spirit away. "But he has so much hard work ahead of him. I hope he can stay focused." There was something about Juan that Ned was not entirely comfortable with but he couldn"t quite describe exactly what that was. When Paige saw Ned with Emily, she knew what she had been sent to earth to do. Her final gift would be to give her daughter something had had forever eluded Emily in life. But how could she give her daughter a most precious gift? Emily sank onto the couch and bit more deeply into her croissant. "A future like Eddie Maine, um..." she trailed off with a giggle. "I mean you, or one like Miguel, cause no offense Ned, but you"re no Miguel" Ned favored Emily with a small smile. "No I"m not." He said as the French doors unexpectedly blew open. Paige took advantage of this distraction to slip a piece of paper she always carried with her into Edward"s desk. They would find that paper somehow and some way. "Emily I will help you to complete your life darling." Paige whispered as she stroked her daughter"s hair slowly before moving into the background. ~*~ Steve Hardy had descended to earth at a leisurely pace. He wanted to stay in Port Charles for a time before going out to Colorado and knocking some sense into Jeff. He had things he needed to do here first though. As he touched earth, Steve immediately moved toward the studio his granddaughter rented. He had some serious issues with young Elizabeth. She needed his help greatly. As Steve slipped into Liz"s small room, he could hear her teary sobs echoing off the walls. What he wouldn"t do to hold his precious granddaughter right now! They had never been physically close, but they had written to one another often, and their phone conversations had been filled with the shared silence of understanding. Steve moved to his younger granddaughter and rubbed her back gently. Though Liz could not feel him, he felt better offering this invisible comfort. Liz sighed as more tears seeped from the corners of her eyes. Things had been going so well with Lucky up to a point. Then, everything fell apart. He could not have made his intentions clearer if he tried. He did not want to be involved with her anymore; it was as simple as that. Liz still didn"t know what she had done to cause this reaction in her soulmate. "Oh Lucky I love you. Why did you stop loving me?' she asked as she gazed at her favorite portrait of him. "I know you"ve been through a horrific ordeal but I can help you through it. Give me a chance." Steve felt so helpless as his granddaughter"s heartbreak reached his ears. He knew that lucky Spencer was not destined for his granddaughter, but somehow he needed to help her get through the loss she had suffered twice now and give her some solace. Steve took a long look at the paintings that adorned the walls. "So much anger." He whispered as the vibrant slashes of magenta maroon and plum assailed his eyes. "We need to get your muse back Elizabeth." Liz coughed and wiped her eyes with a paint-speckled rag as her tears slowed. Somehow she felt a small warmth radiating from a spot in her back and she knew for the briefest of moments that she would be all right if she poured her thoughts and feelings into art. The hard work had just begun but she was a survivor. Chapter 3 Mikkos Cassadine stroked into Wyndamere like an angel on a mission. He had to find his son and analyze him in order to choose his mate. And he would choose a good mate for Stefan. His son was not destined to be involved with insipid blondes or women who were pining for their husbands. "You can do so much better then you have, my son." Mikkos said in a soft voice. As Mikkos passed a small picture of his wife, he barely suppressed the urge to spit. Angels didn"t so that sort of thing, but that woman had tested his patience both in life and death. "You will not meddle in our son"s affairs any longer." Mikkos vowed in a low voice. Where in this dreary estate could he expect to find his son? He appraised the dark furnishings slowly and then resolutely made his way to the study. The dark wood was welcoming, not as oppressive as the rest of the dwelling. As Mikkos started to step into the room, he heard the excited chatter of voices rise to a crescendo. Could it be...no that was impossible? Only he had been chosen for this mission. "Hello father." Stavros Cassadine turned to greet the newcomer and offered him a smile. When his father just gaped at him, the younger man approached and hugged him. "I have missed you." As Mikkos gaped, one of the other men stepped closer. "Mikkos he did make it up there." Victor Cassadine emphasized the point by looking up to heaven. "We just never see him." "How?" Mikkos finally managed. "And Victor why are you here? This was supposed to be my assignment." With a theatrical sigh, Mikkos leveled his younger brother with a withering look. "And you Tony" he added as an afterthought. "I should have thought that you would want to keep your distance from me." Tony Cassadine made a deliberate effort of staring his eldest brother down. "I have no fear. We are, after all angels. Even the one that blustered the most." "Why you...." Mikkos started, but Stavros drew him away from his maddening younger brother with a firm hand on his shoulder. "There was a reason why I killed you Anthony Cassadine!" Mikkos called over his shoulder. "Can we all concentrate at the task at hand?" Victor asked in an exasperated tone. "Stefan needs a woman befitting him. Is there anyone in this village good enough for him? Can we perhaps focus on this before we start attacking one another for harms and cruelties done in another life?" The four men carefully considered the question for some long moments. Who had the perfect blend of class and breeding, intelligence, wit and lightheartedness to match the enigmatic and far too serious Stefan? Stavros was the first to speak up. "Can we avoid blondes?" The four men looked at each other and all chuckled. "That would be wise Stavros." Mikkos offered. "But who can we find who isn"t already taken?" Tony looked briefly at Victor before speaking. "Victor and I have discussed this. We quite like the looks of Dr. Rachel Locke. She is not taken and though she does appear occasionally unbalanced, she will be fine with time." Mikkos nodded thoughtfully. "I quite like the looks of Lucy Coe, but she is taken and though we have a great many powers we do not rule over the human heart. Eve Lambert looks as if she would be a good match for Stefan even though she is young. The same can be said for Venus Ardanowski." "Well then we must investigate all of these choices and see which one is best for our Stefan." Victor walked to Stefan"s wet bar and poured four tumblers of vodka. The men drank a silent toast, united in their quest to find Stefan a mate. Slowly, they all departed to the four corners of Port Charles. A few moments later, Stefan entered his study, intent to work on some Cassadine Industries paperwork. As four half-empty glasses met his gaze, Stefan gave them a puzzled look. "Mrs. Landsburry can you explain this?" ~*~ "Home?" Lucky whispered in his father"s embrace. You want me still after everything that"s happened. I hated you, man." Lucky was torn between tears and relief, unable to allow himself to let his guard down in front of his father. He wanted to believe and trust but he couldn"t yet. His memories swirled up, ominous and frightening and the young man pulled away. "I don"t think I can do this." Lucky said miserably and turned to run away. "Oh no you dooooon"t." The little girl"s voice sing songed as BJ Jones stepped into Lucky"s path. Lucky blinked a couple of times as a little girl appeared in his path. Between she and the stinging in his ear he was quickly becoming disoriented. Closing his eyes for a moment, Lucky took a deep breath, but when he opened them again, the little girl was still there. "Cowboy?" Luke asked putting his hand on his son"s shoulder. Luke was unsure if his son was lost in his memories or if this behavior was indicative of something more sinister. He knew, however, that he had to be with Lucky; he had to take advantage of the small opening offered before the door slammed shut again. "Dad?" When Lucky turned to look at Luke, his eyes were almost glowing with shock and acceptance. "Do you see BJ too?" "Bj?" Luke was perplexed. He leaned in close to his son, peering over Lucky"s shoulder. Sure enough, his long dead niece was standing in front of Lucky. "Hi Uncle Luke." BJ said gaily with a jaunty wave, ignoring the angry look from her Aunt Ruby. "Am I seeing things or did she just say hi Uncle Luke?" Lucky asked his father slowly. He couldn"t even begin to make sense of all of this. "She said hi all right cowboy." Luke affirmed. "And even if I was drinkin" you aren"t and we never had joint hallucinations before." Lucky looked at Luke for a long moment before getting down on his knees. "Hi BJ." He said. His acceptance was immediate and total now that he knew Luke had seen and heard the same things he had, He reached out to stroke the child"s hair and smiled as he felt the silky tresses run through his fingers. "We"ve missed you a lot, BJ all of us." "I missed you too Lucky." BJ shared shyly. "Welcome home." She gave her cousin a hug quickly then moved a few steps away. "Aunt Ruby is here too. That"s why your ear hurts." BJ shared. "We just want you to not be scared Lucky. It will be ok." Lucky flinched as his father"s hand came to a rest on his shoulders and almost pulled away as he felt the slash of what had to be his father"s tears. "It will be ok." Lucky whispered quietly with conviction. As BJ nodded, the inner turmoil disappeared for a moment leaving Lucky with a feeling of total peace. He believed for that moment that everything would be all right. ~*~ Scott ran his hands through his hair and sighed. He felt foolish telling the whole Christina tale to someone who wasn"t even present. Then again, Dom was never far away from Scott"s thoughts. He picked up a photograph of them, tracing a finger gently along her features. "Who could have imagined that an impulsive relationship would mean the love of my life?" he asked in a tender tone. His heart still soared as he thought of his beautiful delicate wife. Dom kissed her husband"s forehead lightly and used all her energy to send a picture of Eve Skittering across his desk. "I wasn"t the only love of your life." She gently reminded. Scott"s hand jerked up with a start as he focused on the picture sitting on top of his blotter. Eve. He hadn"t thought about her in a long time. Glancing between Dom and Eve he sighed. Lucy had never made him feel as special as those two ladies did. "Dom what should I do?" Scott whispered in a heartbroken tone. "I don"t want to hurt Lucy or the girls but she just is not the love of my life that you were, that Eve is. Do you think there can be a future for us? Should I give up what I have in the pursuit of true love?" "Oh yes I think so." Dominique said emphatically even though she knew her husband couldn"t hear her. "Call her Scott. Give it a try. I know deep in my heart that she loves you and longs for you as much as you do her." Scott nodded, feeling as if he was having a subconscious conversation with Dom. "Yes I"ll call Eve and invite her over." He decided quietly. Somehow on some deep inner level, Scott knew that this was the beginning of his second chance. He dialed Eve"s number. realizing with a start that he had it memorized all along. Eve Lambert Collins had a long day looming ahead of her. She was working the second shift at GH after having completed a double shift less than 24 hours prior. "How did I get into this grind so quickly?" She muttered as she blow dried her hair. At least she had been able to sleep in. That wasn"t always a given with the many crises happening in Port Charles. "Come on Eve answer quickly." Scott begged quietly. He had barely dialed her number when his nerves had started. Scott was tempted to hang up, even though he felt compelled to see this thorough. He couldn"t take her rejection. Eve"s head turned toward her cell phone a moment before it rang. She sometimes had the uncanny ability to anticipate phone calls. Lucy would have considered that she was psychic and want to examine her aura at length so it was something she didn"t often share. "Hello this is Eve,

I didn"t know how to reply. Soon I started coughing. The locket wiggled its way up my throat and resulted a mess on the floor. We both stared at it. It just lay in between us. We look up from the locket and into each other"s eyes. "Hey, Kim?" "Jack?" "I love you." I looked down at the locket for a minute. Soon, 7 and 8 came in and picked Jack up. He struggled, but failed to escape. Right as the door was about to close... "I LOVE YOU TOO!" Tears welled up in my left eye also, and they leaked onto the floor. He probably didn"t even hear me. I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling, and sobbed harder, whispering to myself: "I love you too, Jack..." Jack"s POV I was dropped in a white room, with 3 walls white and 1 a window. The window showed into Kim"s room. Kim was rolling on the ground, crying, and screaming my name. I scooted over to the glass and pressed my nose against it. I hated watching her suffer. But what could I do? "KIM!" I screamed. She didn"t hear me. She just continued to cry. Soon, 3 walked in. "It"s a one-way mirror. You can see and hear her, but she can"t see or hear you." "KIM!" I screamed again. "Kid, calm down! I"ll do my best to get her to you, but I have to obey my boss"s orders," 3 said. He picked me up, and attached me to the wall. "I can"t bear to see this, but 1, 8, and 10 are coming in. Good luck, kid." I gave a small nod, wondering why 3 was being so nice to me. All of the numbers other than 1 wore a mask, hiding their faces. 1, 8, and 10 soon came in. "What do you want?" I said sharply. "Loosen your tone," said 1. "I"m going to ask you some questions." "About what?" I said. "You"ll see. Question one: Do guns scare you?" I shook. A spitting image of one came into my head. I shuddered at the sight and barely muttered, "No." "Yeah, right," said 1. "Hook him to the lie detectors." Soon I felt a metal plate on my head, and two tubes going into my ears. "I"ll ask again, gun; you afraid of "em? "No!" Suddenly, I felt an electric shot course through my brain, and down to my arms, lower to my legs. I yelled at the feel of it. Something I never want to feel again. "And that was only setting two; you do NOT want to have to go to setting ten." I shook my head. "So! Question two: Did you find out about the girl"s... injury?" "Her name is Kim! And yes! She"s suffering a lot, so stop hurting her!" "Mmm, protective." "Right." I had no idea why he was asking about Kim, and I hoped that they weren"t gonna shake me for all of the information I know about her and use it against her. "How about more about this "Kim", Question 3: Do you love this girl?" "Yes." "Okay, question 4: What would you do if we were to hurt her?" "I"d kill you." No shock. I don"t lie about protecting Kim. She"s like a baby shark. She CAN fight for herself. But sometimes, it"s too hard. She gets trapped, outnumbered, and she suffers because she needs a hero. "Great to know. Question 5: Has anyone ever... done anything to Kim, romantically?" "What do you mean by that? She has had past boyfriends, but none of them..." "You know what I mean, so tell me." "Why are you asking questions this personal?" "Because I can, now answer." "We have... tried to. We always got interrupted by our friend, Jerry. OH! Also, I"m pretty sure that Jerry wants to do "it" to her, but there"s no way I"m letting that happen." "Interesting. Question 6: Do you know where this "Jerry" is right now?" "Yes, he came here with me. He"s the one with the darker hair and something wrong with his brain." "Okay," 1 said as he got up he whispered something to 10 and gave something to 8. 8 soon pried my eye open and put something inside of it. He did the same with the other eye. Soon, I felt more comfortable keeping my eyes open. It felt impossible to close them. I thought this was some sort of contact that kept you staring without your eyes getting irritated, or vision becoming hazy. 8 left and untied Kim completely, but made sure that she didn"t get out. She was too weak to move. She had used her energy on crying and screaming, and I"m pretty sure that when I was getting asked questions, 9 did something to her. I wasn"t sure what, but it seemed like she found it hard to stand up. Soon, Jerry was pushed into Kim"s room. Jerry raised his eyebrows and neared towards Kim. "Finally, WOOOO!" Kim used her remaining energy to run to the door. It was locked on the outside. Jerry soon removed the sweatshirt, and pushed her down to the ground. She wasn"t bare; she still had her same clothes on from Sunday morning. I watched in shock as Kim ran out of energy and wasn"t moving. She wasn"t dead... I knew it... but Jerry didn"t stop there. He began to inch down her shorts, little by little. Then I remembered: She wasn"t wearing underwear. Oh no... Hi guys! So about the whole voting thing, I"ve decided to NOT write that story until I finish this one, or at least get further. Then I"ll look at the votes, so please VOTE! And if you can, vote on the Chapter 8 page! I am so amused by your reviews. :D Jack"s POV When I realized that Jerry must have planned this whole thing to get Kim to... do it with him... was when he yanked her shorts down and she did a muffled scream. My eyes were completely open, and I couldn"t close them. I was too engaged in thought to turn my head. I watched as Jerry picked up Kim and tore her bra literally to pieces. What a desperate boy. Then I realized: What if I could make it so she could hear me? So she could see me? So I could be her hero? All this time, had I forgotten how well I knew karate? Even if my arms and legs were binded, I could still do almost anything I could do without them together. I swung my arms around a few times, then hit them towards the glass. I shut my eyes to protect them from the result. My arms were cut entirely, and Jerry and Kim"s shocked faces danced across my eyes. I ran over to Jerry and swung my bloody arms at him. We soon got into a battle, and I shoved him towards the mirror. More glass broke, and he ran towards a door and knocked repeatedly. Soon, the door opened and he ran out. It shut again, locking me inside. I ran over to Kim. Naked, bruised, cut, bleeding. I chuckled as I looked down at her. "Why do I always find you like this?" She didn"t reply and grabbed onto my feet. "Kim, what are you doing?" She ignored my gaze and started to loosen the ropes on my legs. I lay on my stomach, getting the message, and she did the same for my arms. "Jack..." Kim said. I looked over at her. "Yes, Kimmy?" the she said two words I"d never heard her say. "I"m scared." I shook my head and pulled down my shorts, leaving me with some boxers. I didn"t care. "...Jack?" I also took off my shirt. Yes, I might have forgotten to wear something under that day, but I still had my boxers. I soon slid my shorts up Kim"s legs and tightened them, then placed her shirt over her head. "Be strong, Kimmy." But by the look in her eyes, she was trying to hold back for me. I could tell she was in pain. I grabbed the hem of my(her) shirt. "You mind?" Kim shook her head "no", and I slowly lifted my(her) shirt. I examined the top half of her for any new injuries. There was still a large hole, a few pricks of glass in her skin, and one of her breasts had a large cut. "Ow... looks like that hurt," I said, pointing to it. She nodded. I knew that her shirt would soak up the slight amount of blood it took up. I yanked the shirt back down, as something triggered something in my head. Kim gasped a little in pain. "Gosh, Jerry"s such an idiot! I"m already half naked with cuts everywhere thanks to that son of a-" "Jack, look at me," Kim said. "NO KIM! I"m sick of this stupid place and I need to know how we-" She grabbed my chin and turned it towards her. She put her small fingers into my eye and took out the contact, and did the same with the other. I closed my eyes as she examined the contacts. "Feel better?" she asked. "YES!" I screamed. "THAT WAS THE WORST THING I"VE EVER FELT!" I grasped Kim in my arms and playfully tackled her. I nuzzled my head into her stomach then looked back at her. "Thank you, Kimmy!" She chuckled a little. I lay down beside her and cuddled her in my arms. "Jack, why are we here?" "Because of Jerry"s stupid plan to try to get into you!" "Jack, Jerry isn"t smart enough to plan any of this." Honestly, I soon realized that she couldn"t be any more right. "Jack?" Kim said, resting her head on my chest. "Do you think we"ll ever get out of here?" "...Anything"s possible, Kimmy." Before I knew it, we both fell asleep, and the minute I awoke, I was in a brown room with Kim, Jerry, and Milton. We were all strapped to lie detectors. I"m so sorry that I didn"t update yesterday! I was supposed to! D: Wellz, here be another chappy :D Jack"s POV We were strapped onto lie detectors and attached to the wall. Everyone took one side. "Okay..." I said, trying to process this. "Dude. We"re attached to lie detectors. Even I can figure that out," Jerry said. I ignored my desire to break his face off of his body. "Where are 1-10?" Jerry asked. "Oh, like you don"t know!" I scoffed. "No, seriously. Is there any point of why we"re here attached to these?" "FIRST QUESTION," I announced, making Kim and Milton jump. "Jerry; did you plan all of this?" "You seriously think I did this?" "ANSWER THE QUESTION!" "...No." No shock. I was surprised. If Jerry didn"t do this... then who did? "Milton, was it you?" "No." My heart stopped. Thinking this was Kim would be extremely unbearable and impossible, but it could be... then again, she wouldn"t have hurt herself and had Jerry do all that to her while I was looking... Wait... what if she was mad at me and wanted to make me jealous?! "Kim? Was it you?" She frowned up at me. Then, she looked like I had betrayed her or something. I wasn"t the best at reading emotions, especially off of Kim. She"s unpredictable. "Jack... you honestly think I did it?" Her voice was cracking, like she was about to cry but was holding it in. "...Anything"s possible..." "Then you"re an idiot." "Excuse me?" "You"re an idiot. And so am I." "Answer the freaking question, Kim!" "NO JACK!" Kim said, looking like she wanted to strangle me. "I DID NOT SET UP THIS STUPID KIDNAP." So none of them did. Humph. "Wait... I have a question..." Jerry said. "Do any of you know... who did this?" We all groaned. "Really, Jerry, really?" said Milton. "Just curious..." Jerry muttered. "How about you, Jack?" Kim said. "Was it you? You seemed okay with hurting me a few days ago, I don"t see why you wouldn"t now." "No, it was not me!" "Have any of you ever peed yourself?" Jerry said. "...What?" I whispered. "So Jacky did, huh?" "I have," said Milton. "When Frank and the dragons harassed me." "Me too..." Kim said, blushing. "Jack"s really good at stuff like that..." "Oooooooh!" Jerry said. "Shut it!" Kim replied. "I may have a little... but I haven"t since I was like, one." SHOCK That one hurt. "Okay, I lied. But I"m not telling you when I did last." "Whatevs," Jerry said. "Okay... do you like anybody currently?" I asked, raising my eyebrow at Kim. "Yes," Jerry said. "Yes..." "I did," Kim said. "But now, I"m not so sure..." she glared at me. "What about you, Jack?" "Yes," I said. "But I don"t like her. I"m in love with her. And I hope she"ll forgive me..." I said, looking into Kim"s big, brown eyes. Kim looked at me and blushed. "She"s the most beautiful girl in the planet and the sweetest girl in the galaxy, and I"ve loved her for as long as I can remember. I"m asking her to forgive me now. Please..." "Who is she, Jack, WHO IS SHE?!" Jerry yelled. Oh, Jerry... Kim bit her lip. "Yes, yes I forgive you!" I laughed at how dramatic that was, what we both said. But it was worth it, right? "Okay," Milton chuckled. "What"s the meanest thing you"ve ever said about... Jerry?" "He"s an idiot," Kim said. "He"s a son of a b-" "Easy there, tiger," Milton said to me. We continued to ask questions for hours, and I learned a lot about everyone. 1 came in. "Having fun?" he said. "So listen, we felt like you were gonna eventually kill each other because you didn"t know who planned it. "We thought we"d bring the man in charge to meet you." "Oh, thank you, George!" a voice said. George..? I recognized that voice. But I couldn"t tell whose it was. Then, he walked in. Black boots with blue silky pants. A white undershirt with a black leather vest. Blonde hair spiked a little at the top. I knew who this was. I was about to say it, but Kim beat me to it. "...Ricky... Weaver?!" OH MY GOSH, guys, 100 REVIEWS! Thank you SO much! I love ya"ll! Kim"s POV Ricky Weaver set this up?! "I bet you people want explaining," said Ricky. I rolled my eyes. "Okay, so here goes; Jack betrayed me, Kim flipped me, all for love that they will never have. Kim"s feisty. I like that. But Jack," Ricky said, nearing towards Jack. "Decided to be Kim"s bodyguard. The thing is, Jack, is that I can get any girl that I want." "Kim doesn"t like you, Ricky, and she never will!" Jack spat. I like how he stuck up for me whenever things went wrong. "That"s where you"re wrong, Jack. You see, I can get any girl to like me, as I said before." "Exactly. Maybe if you stopped being a Justin Beiber wannabe, then you could," Jack said. Ricky scoffed. "Jack, I don"t think you"ve realized that you"re the one tied up. So I suggest that you shut your yap." "Don"t talk to him like that!" I screamed. I didn"t even realize I had until the four guys stared at me. "Kim, it"s okay," Jack said. "I can fight my own battles for now." "For now..." Ricky said. "So, Kimmy-" "DON"T call me Kimmy." "Whatevs. So, how would you like it if I did..." Ricky kicked Jack"s nose and it began to bleed. I watched in horror. "...This?" "JACK!" I screamed. "Don"t worry, Kim," Jack said. "This punk is no match for me." "Actually, I am. When I have ten body guards and a gun in my pocket-" "Wait- a gun in your pocket?" Milton said. "Yes, dork. Did you not hear me the first time?" Milton shut himself up as I turned back to Ricky. "What do you want from me? All you"re gonna do is dump me!" "Exactly. Therefore, I have to make the best out of it. Right, Jack?" Jack wiggled in his binds, trying to escape. "You won"t get away with this, Weaver!" Jack yelled. "Actually, Jack, I will," said Ricky. "Not with me to protect her, you won"t!" "Yeah... about that," Ricky said, grabbing the gun out of his pocket and putting it up by Jack"s head. "No... no..." I muttered. "Take me instead, don"t hurt Jack..." "Sorry, princess, I gotta do what I gotta do." "NO!" I screamed. Jack seemed to be struggling, but became still. "If you kill me, you won"t touch Kim." "What?" Ricky sneered. "Sorry, but I make the rules, not you. I can touch her however and wherever I want." I gasped a little, and looked over at Jack. That really set him off. He wriggled in every way. It was cute. But knowing that he might die in a matter of seconds died my focus down. "Don"t hurt him, please, Ricky..." I said. Ricky picked up the gun and put it to Jack"s head. "Kim, just let him go," said Ricky. I growled at him. "Yeah right. No matter what happens to him..." I looked directly into Jack"s eyes. "...I"ll never let you go, Jack." Jack smiled. I smiled too. It was like it was just him and I. BOOM I closed my eyes and began to cry. It was a gunshot. BOOM Another gunshot. And I didn"t dare open my eyes. OH MY GOSH! Another chapter is complete. Ask this to yourself: 1) Was Jack the one who was shot? 2) How will Kim react to Jack"s (possible) death? 3) Will Ricky be arrested? 4) Will the gang ever get out of there? So I"m leaving you with a slight cliff-hanger. AND I WILL NOT CONTINUE THIS STORY UNTIL... PLEASE vote on the chapter 8 page! I still need more votes! Please, guys! Hi guys! So, I checked fanfic today and saw that there was a story on my page that I didn"t upload..? I only do Kickin" It stories, to clarify. So I talked it over and realized it was my obnoxious sister. Anyways, sorry if that story offended you. I, myself, love the couples that people invent and the stories about them make me laugh. So as soon as I can figure out how, I"ll take that so called "story" down. As for this story, PLEASE vote! In case I worded it wrong last chapter, I really want more votes on chapter 8 to find out which Crossover I should write about next. Then, I"ll continue the story. Thank youuuu reviewerrrs, love ya"ll! Hi guys! I am SO VERY SORRY for my writer"s block! I did, however, decide that this is most likely going to be the last chapter. Anyways, I looked at the reviews, and SOMEONE figured out some of the storyline! Some of it. But you"ll see who did in this chapter. And, to my first negative review from a "Guest", I did not rate this M because most teenagers are indeed mature enough for this story. Sorry that you"re not. Kim"s POV I kept my eyes squinted shut, not even daring to open them, risking the worst possible scenario. Is Jack dead? "Get up," a deep voice echoed in my head. "GET UP!" "No..." I shook my head and sobbed. "Kim?" That edge of familiarity to his voice kept tempting me to wrench my eyes open. So I did. Jack stood there. Cloaked in white, but clean and unharmed. I looked around and saw we were no longer in the dusty brown room, but in a bright place. Not quite a room, but not outdoors. I couldn"t make it out, and I didn"t understand. "Where are we? What happened?" "We"re nowhere," Jack responded, his calm, soothing voice forming waves that circled around me. "What happened?" I repeated. "Ricky"s dead. Gunshot right to the heart," Jack said. "How...?" "3. He came in and shot him. One shot was all it took. He rallied the other numbers up and set them free, then called the cops." I gave a small nod. "Kim?" "Yeah?" He said nothing. He thrusted a hard, metal object into my hands, which was a mirror. "Look at yourself." I did so, and saw something... it wasn"t me. It was a gorgeous young girl. She had perfect golden hair with perfect natural curls cascading down her back. Dark blue eyes with a glowing smile. Flawless and clean. Nothing was wrong with her. She was perfect. "Jack, who is this?" He chuckled at me. I didn"t know how exactly to respond. "Jack?" "That"s you, Kim." "No, it"s not," I said. "This girl looks nothing like me. She"s... beautiful. She"s perfect." "She"s what I see whenever I look at you," said Jack. I looked at him and noticed he didn"t look the same. He was paler. But I didn"t care. I just smiled at him. He smiled back. No life is perfect... I looked at the floor, and back up to him. He had no smile and was fading. He was fading. Slipping into the white. A rocket went through his brain. Not a rocket. A bullet. I ducked and watched as it passed me. And he just slipped away. When you"re not here... "Jack?" I said. No reply. "JACK!" I yelled, this time. Still, no reply. I watched as my hands wiggled by my sides. The second gunshot was Jack. Or the first. If 3 killed Ricky, then Ricky killed Jack, but Jack was alive when he was talking to me. Was he? Was this a dream? I shook my head, and tried to wake myself. I did all that I could. But I couldn"t. This isn"t a dream. This isn"t real. "Hello?" No walls. "Anybody?" No floors. What was I even standing on? I sat down and cried. All I could do. I wanted to leave here. Something grabbed me. "It"s time to go home." Where"s home? Then I realized. I"m dead. So... that ends another chapter! If you didn"t figure it out, swagmasterlol figured out that it was 3 who shot Ricky. *CLAPS* Also, thank you autumn1999 for being a constant reviewer from the beginning. I love your reviews! I decided that this is a terrible ending, and I will do one more chapter. So stay tuned. Hello, dear reviewers! If you"re still wondering about this story, I"ve decided to post the last chapter. But, re-reading the story again, I"m finding a lot of dumb mistakes... Okay, let"s clear some things up before we start. 1, please note that I had just turned twelve when I began to write this. That being said, I did make many errors and felt like if the story was mature enough for me, it was for my readers. I apologize now for not rating the story Mature and thinking that this was mature enough for all teenagers, because reading this again, it"s a bit overboard. 2, this one I laughed at, for chapter 5, I know now that it takes more than a small cup to get you drunk. I apologize for that, also. 3, on chapter 10, I have no idea what a tracking website is, or if there even is such thing. I think when I was writing this, I wanted it to kind of be like that one iCarly episode where Sam is in the mental hospital and Freddie and Carly track her on the computer with her phone. 4, this has been asked about a lot, the video of Kim. I might mention that here, but if I don"t, I guess just Jack did it to get money that he needed, and Jerry didn"t share the video because of the whole "saving Kim" fiasco that changed his mind. But, maybe, JUST MAYBE, if I write a sequel to this, which I might not based on how this ends, the terms of the video will appear again. Anyways, when did I write the last chapter? Was it September? Well, I don"t know. But, out of curiosity, do you guys remember when I wanted to make a crossover? I still might, I"ll tally up the votes in a moment. EEE, one more thing! I officially have over 20,000 reads! That is so big for me, and I want to say thanks!

"What did the total end up being?" Ondina asked, interrupting Sirena. Both Mimmi and Sirena turned towards Ondina and glared daggers at her, in which she innocently replied, "Sorry, just wondering..." to. "I just... I thought finally having family would be fun! But he treats me like dirt..." "He doesn"t mean what he says, Mimmi, he doesn"t," said Sirena. "Then why does he say it?" Mimmi asked, though it came out more like a statement. "Well, Aquata and I used to fight. She"d always steal my comb and I"d get really mad. I"d say things I didn"t mean. Maybe it"s because I knew that no matter what, she wouldn"t be able to ditch me like friends could. Overall, though, we"re still family. We still love each other a lot," Sirena said. "Yeah. I guess," Mimmi said. "I"m going to try to clear my mind for a bit." "Ooh, wanna go to the café with Ondina and I?" "Sure, that sounds nice," said Mimmi, offering a small smile. "...Actually... I don"t think I"ll be going. Not for a while," Ondina said, not looking up from her nails. "Nobody who works there knows what I like anymore." Sirena and Mimmi exchanged a look, but shrugged it off, linking arms and leaving. ~.x.x.x.~ Mimmi and Sirena sat at a table outside, looking out at the sea. Mimmi"s happy mood began to fade as soon as her thoughts landed on Zac. She knew he didn"t mean what he said to hurt her, but nobody from the pod had ever called her names or treated her badly at all. "Oh, hey Sirena, Mimmi!" Carly called, bouncing from table to table. "I"ll be with you guys in a second." "That"s alright, take your time," Sirena said kindly, waving her hand dismissively. Mimmi sat upright, still staring out at the sea. Her eyes moved to the dock and she saw a group of children running around, and a teenage boy who was very tan and built standing on a corner, probably looking after the kids. Suddenly, she heard a voice in her ear. "Hey, Mimms," said her brother with a wide smile. He sat in the open seat of the girls" table. Mimmi continued looking out at the sea as if he wasn"t even there. "Oh, so you"re giving me the silent treatment, huh?" Zac said, face cringing up. "How mature." "You"re trying to talk to me about maturity?" Mimmi snapped, standing up and facing her brother. "You still play with your stupid land toys! You"re the most childish person I know!" Zac also stood up. "At least I have a girlfriend! That makes me much more mature than you, girl who"s never even kissed a guy!" "What I do with boys is none of your business," Mimmi said, disgusted. "And me knowing that my personal affairs are none of your concern is quite mature! You flaunting off the fact that you"re dating someone is extremely immature!" At this point, the sibling"s bickering had cause attention from neighboring customers. "Not here, guys, please," warned Sirena. At this, Mimmi nodded and sat back down. Zac stood his ground. "So now you"re just giving up? I have such a coward for a sister. Stop being such a brat," Zac sneered. Mimmi immediately stood up and marched away from her friends and towards the dock, avoiding any kind of contact with anyone else. Mimmi plunged into the water and sped away towards Mako. Little did she know that there were a pair of eyes who watched her dive into the water, and watched her grow a tail. ~.x.x.x.~ Zac lay on his bed, hands on his forehead. Mimmi was posing a real problem for him. Of course, he was excited to finally not be an only child, but now he knew having a sibling wasn"t all it seemed. Zac and Mimmi argued more than they talked. What was her problem? He"d tried to talk to her earlier and all she did was ignore him. Zac"s mouth scrunched up at the thought of her. He"d never understand girls and their screwed up logic. He heard his open door creak and he sat up. There stood his best friend, Cam. He sighed and lay back down. "What"s up with you?" Cam asked. Zac gave another long sigh and sat up. He looked at Cam with a smile. "Nothing. Hey, wanna do something?" ~.x.x.x.~ Mimmi floated atop the mysteriously blue waters of the moon pool, looking up at the day-lit sky. She sung quietly to herself a song that Sirena taught her. After a while, she swam over to an edge of the pool and lay against it. She stared at the water as if it was endless, like her thoughts. Sometimes, when she was alone, she"d wonder about her mother. Sometimes all she could ever think about was how badly she wished she could meet her. She had so many questions. Suddenly, she heard a rumble behind her. Quickly, she turned to the source of the sound. On the land part of the cave stood the teenage boy she had seen at the dock earlier. He was staring right at her. She was now exposed to him as a mermaid, and her face was tied to the tail. She contemplated leaving, swimming out of the cave and back to Rita"s. But what would that do? What if this boy grew curious and searched for more mermaids? There were plenty all around Mako since the pod had returned, Mimmi knew. Plus, now that he had a face, he could easily expose her for what she was. Everyone could know her greatest secret. So she stood her ground and stared up at the boy, thinking of what to say. "Please don"t leave," the boy said quietly. As she"d noticed earlier, he was very tan and muscular, but along with that came a pair of amber eyes and golden-red hair. "Who are you?" Mimmi asked. "Hayden. Might I ask you the same question?" the boy said, squatting down to Mimmi"s level. "I"m Mimmi..." Mimmi said. "It"s a pleasure," Hayden said. Mimmi stared up at him, and he stared down at her. "I"m sorry, this is probably weird for you..." she said. "No need for an apology. Believe it or not, I"ve come across quite a lot of weird things in my time," he said. She gave a small nod. "How did you get in here? I thought the only entrance was through the underwater tunnel," Mimmi asked. "Well, I-I found another one," said Hayden hesitantly. "Had to clear some rocks to get in..." Mimmi, not having explored the island too thoroughly, believed this. "So you also have legs? Can you turn into a mermaid at will?" Hayden asked, desperate for a change of subject. Mimmi shook her head. "I WISH it was at will! No, it"s once you hit water, then you"re bound to transform," she said. She looked down, and then back up at the boy, concern in her eyes. "Please," she said. "You can"t tell anyone else about this, about me. Believe it or not, you"re the first that"s caught me like this..." "I won"t tell..." he said, scooting closer to her. "If you answer a few things. Are there more of you?" "Mermaids..?" she said. "Yes." "Are there mermen too?" "Yes." "Locally?" "...Yes." "How many?" "A lot all around here, but their power relies on this island. I have a few friends who are like me, though, who live on land too." "...Who are they?" "Their names are Sirena, Ondina, Evie, Zac, and Rita..." Mimmi said quietly. She looked at him with pleading eyes. "Please don"t tell. About me, about any of us." Hayden smiled. "I wouldn"t dream of it." ~.x.x.x.~ Sirena and Ondina stood on Rita"s porch, admiring the scenery from the tall view. Sirena turned to Ondina. "What are you thinking about?" she asked. Ondina looked down, then back up at the world in front of them. "I don"t know." Sirena leaned over to Ondina and put her arm around her back, side-hugging her. Behind them, there was the sound of a door opening, and Sirena and Ondina broke apart and span around. There stood Zac and Cam, a fishnet and a jug of temporary blue dye in their hands. "We want to prank Mimmi," the two said with big smiles. Ondina and Sirena looked at one another, then back at the boys, eyebrows raised higher than anyone could have ever remembered them to be. ~.x.x.x.~ "So how did you become a mermaid?" Hayden asked, standing across the room from Mimmi. Mimmi, now in her land form, leaned up against the moon pool cave"s walls. "I was always a mermaid," she responded, looking up at Hayden. "I used a ring to grow legs, though. It"s kind of confusing, but I already told you about my ring. I mainly live on land now." He nodded. The pair had been talking for hours about Mimmi, her powers, her friends, and mer-people in general. Hayden walked over to Mimmi. "Mimmi?" he started. "Yes?" she responded. Hayden smiled and grabbed her hands. "Do you trust me?" he asked. She nodded. "Yes, of course. Especially since I told you all of this." "Good, that"s good," he said, nodding. He moved her hands behind her back and pressed her closer to the wall. "W-what are you doing?" Mimmi said, voice quivering as he got closer. "I really like you, Mimmi," Hayden said, still smiling, as he leaned down and touched his lips to hers. He pulled away around five seconds after leaning in. He could feel Mimmi become less tense. "...Wow..." she said slowly, smiling. "Yeah," he said. "Mimmi... if you trust me, don"t move a muscle. I want you to close your eyes." "...Okay..." she said, closing her eyes, remembering briefly when she asked another guy to do the same for her. Hayden removed his hands from hers, backing away slowly. He reached into his right pants pocket and pulled out a lighter. Careful not to let the flame go out as he lit it, he set his finger on fire. For a second, his entire body glowed a mix of red, orange, and yellow, but then his body returned to its original hue. He slipped the lighter back into his pocket. He braced his legs and held his hands up. Slowly, he began pulling the oxygen from the room. He wasn"t going to kill the girl, but merely knock her out for a while. He noticed her breathing becoming quicker and more unsteady as he sucked away more oxygen. "Everything alright?" he asked, taking a moment to look in her direction. Her eyes were still closed. "Yeah, I"m just a little... lightheaded..." And just as she spoke, Mimmi fell to the ground. Hayden stopped removing the air and grinned. He slowly approached her limp body, retrieving sections of long rope from the loops of his shorts. ~.x.x.x.~ "Okay, aaaaaaaand... there," Zac said, successfully tying a bucket of temporary blue dye to the net. "So, how"s it work?" asked Cam, admiring the finished product. The fishnet was draped all across the top of Rita"s pool so it covered any way of entrance; tied to it was the bucket. "So, when she comes in later, she"ll get caught in the net, and pulling on it will tip over the bucket so the whole pool will fill with blue dye! She"ll turn blue!" "You do realize that, if this stupid plan works, she"ll only be blue in her mermaid form, right?" Ondina snapped. "Ah. Didn"t think about that. Oh well. A blue mermaid"s better than a regular one!" Zac said, laughing. "But what will happen when the water gets filled with dye? How long will it be like that?" Sirena asked. "Not long," Cam responded. "After a bit, it"ll just dissolve, fade. Probably overnight." "I really don"t think this is a good idea..." Sirena said quietly. "Think? It"s a horrible idea!" Ondina said, walking over to the two laughing boys. "Oh, shut up. Call me when it backfires on you like it"s bound to." She walked up the stairs and out of the room. ~.x.x.x.~ "Hello, Mimmi," Hayden said when Mimmi opened her eyes. She was laying on the ground, hands and feet bound so that they were unmovable. It took her a minute to remember what had happened. She shifted herself to lean against the wall. "Why am I tied up?" Mimmi asked innocently. "Don"t you get it, Mimmi?" Hayden said. "I did this. So glad you decided to trust me, because now, you"re going to help me." "H-help you do what...?" asked Mimmi, now tensing up in fear. "Eliminate all of the mer-people around Mako. If you play your cards right, you"ll be the last to go." Mimmi"s scared eyes moved into a frown. "Why are you doing this?" Hayden chuckled. He put his hands behind his back, and suddenly, a ball of fire rested in his right palm. He threw the ball over his shoulder to his left hand, and from there, tossed the ball into the moon pool. "Woah..." Mimmi said quietly, scooting further away from the boy. "You see, Mimmi, all I want is to rule the world. For a teenage boy, there aren"t many options right now, but what I can do... is rule Mako. It"s an island with all sorts of powers that I will use to rule everyone locally, and then I"ll move up to becoming the leader of the world! "See, the problem, though," Hayden said, stepping closer to Mimmi. "Is that mer-people like you are all over, living at this island. The only way for me to claim the island as my own is for all of you to either leave... or die. And since they"re obviously not going anywhere..." "No," Mimmi said. "I"m not going to help you. Please, if you could just let me go and I"ll tell the pod to leave-" "Oh, Mimmi," Hayden said, laughing once more. "I believe that"s not possible. Your friends will want to fight for their island. Normally, I"d be able to take on quite a few mermaids, but with all of them attacking me, I"ll lose. That"s why I"m going to kill them, one by one. It"ll take a while, but with your help, I"ll have the island in no time." "I"m not going to help you," Mimmi repeated more sharply than before. "Hmm hmm hmm, now that won"t do..." said Hayden, kneeling down to face Mimmi. "If you don"t help me, I"ll target your closer friends first. Maybe Evie... or Rita... Sirena... Ondina, didn"t you say she was your best friend? Or Zac... your brother." "NO! NO! DON"T YOU LAY A HAND ON THEM! LET ME GO!" Mimmi shouted, squirming around in her binds. Hayden laughed devilishly. "So here"s what"s going to happen," he said. More fire appeared on his hand, and he held it like it was an object. He began to move it close to Mimmi"s face. Right before it touched her, he pulled back. "I"ll give you ten minutes to make up your mind. Either you help me... or this," he said, holding up his fiery hand. "Is your other option." ~.x.x.x.~ As Zac sat on Rita"s porch with Cam, Sirena, and Ondina, he couldn"t help but wonder where Mimmi was. He hadn"t checked the trap in ten minutes, but he had a feeling she still hadn"t shown up yet. He looked over the scenery from Rita"s porch. Suddenly, he saw something that didn"t belong. He jolted back. He was in the cave inside of Mako. He saw a boy who seemed to be around his age kneeling down in front of him. The boy was holding fire as if it was an object. He neared it closer and closer to Zac"s face, and all Zac could feel was fear... He blinked and saw the familiar view of Rita"s home. He immediately stood up, realizing that this vision had to be his sister"s if it wasn"t his. "Zac? What"s wrong?" Sirena asked, standing up as well. Their other two friends followed suit. "Mimmi"s in trouble. I"m going out to save her. Nobody come along," Zac said, heading back inside the house and down the stairs to the front door. "Wait! What if something happens to you?" asked Sirena. "Sirena, Ondina, if I"m not back in around half an hour, come to Mako," Zac said hurriedly. He looked out at the water, then back to his friends. "Hopefully it doesn"t come to that." Zac began running, plunging into the sea of water nearby. "I"m always so important in situations like these," murmured Cam. Ondina smacked him on the back of his head, and he whispered a sharp, "Ow." ~.x.x.x.~ "Time"s up," Hayden said, moving to the bound Mimmi. She sat, defiantly staring up at him. Mimmi kept her glossy blue-gray eyes set on Hayden. She let out a long sigh. Her heart was beating a mile a minute. "What"s your decision?" asked Hayden, re-spawning a fireball in his hand. "My friends... my brother..." she said quietly. "I"ll will not let you hurt them! They... they"re my family. I love them so much. So... if that means you kill me right here and now, that"s okay. But you"re not going to kill them." "What makes you so sure?" Hayden laughed, tossing a fireball at Mimmi"s head. It hit the area right above her head, causing a small part of her hair to singe. Her eyes were closed tightly as she embraced what was going to happen to her. Suddenly, Hayden was lifted high into the air. He moved up to the top of the dormant volcano where it opened, and then he dropped hundreds of feet into the pool below. Mimmi, wide-eyed, rolled herself over to the pool to see where Hayden wound up. He floated gently on the water. She was unsure if he was still alive, especially since he was kind of made up of fire. Zac twisted his hand, causing him to be visible again. He grinned up at his sister from the water. "Zac," Mimmi said, smiling. "You"re here." "I heard what you said, about me and our friends. It"s amazing that you"d do something like that for us. Thank you, Mimmi." "No, thank you. I wouldn"t be alive if you hadn"t shown up," Mimmi said, eyes becoming slightly watery. Zac stretched up and hugged his sister, who couldn"t return the hug due to her hands being bound. The hug had gotten Mimmi slightly wet, so quickly, Zac untied her feet and helped her slide into the water. Once she was in the water and in her mermaid form, Zac undid her hands. Mimmi noticed a lighter lingering halfway out of Hayden"s pocket. She grabbed it and banged it against the wall several times, breaking it. "What do we do now?" Mimmi asked, looking over at Hayden. "He might still be alive, so I"ll keep him here for a while. I want you to go back to Rita"s and find Sirena or Ondina-they"re at her place. Then, I need you to go warn the pod, talk to the mermaid council about the situation. I"m sure they"ll sort everything out. For now, someone has to stay here and make sure he doesn"t get away, but I don"t want to leave you alone with that guy again." Mimmi nodded, giving Zac a smile. "Thank you. I couldn"t ask for a better brother." The pair exchanged another hug, and once they broke apart, Mimmi gave Zac another smile and exited the pool. As Mimmi swam back to Rita"s, she almost reached Rita"s grotto entrance, but she ran into Ondina and Sirena before she could get there, who were heading to Mako on Zac"s request. She signaled for the girls to surface. "What happened?!" Ondina said immediately when they were exposed to air. "There"s a guy... he can control fire. He"s out to destroy all mermaids so he can rule Mako, and one day, I guess, the world. Zac"s holding him down at Mako right now-don"t worry, Zac"s fine-but we should go to Veridia and tell her about him. Maybe she"ll be able to take care of it so nothing like this happens again." Mimmi"s two friends nodded in unison. The trio swam out to where the pod usually floated around this time of day. The three girls spotted the mermaid council and made their way over. "Hi, Veridia, we have a situation," said Mimmi. "What is it?" asked Veridia sternly. Mimmi opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted when a smaller mermaid pounced on Ondina. "Hi, big sister!" Neppy squealed, clinging on to the girl she grew closet to in her land stay. Ondina couldn"t help but smile, wrapping her arms around the young girl. "Hey, Neppy, it"s great to see you," she said. Neppy released her and looked over at the three girls. "What brings you here again? I know you guys sometimes pop in and out but I thought you said you"d be gone for the week!" the younger mermaid exclaimed. "Yes, we were planning on staying on land this week, but something bad happened that we need taken care of," Ondina said. "Ooh! Can I help?!" asked Neppy. "Well," said Ondina, turning from Neppy to Veridia. "If it"s okay with Veridia, I think we could really use the help of a brave, strong girl like you." ~.x.x.x.~ Zac, Mimmi, Sirena, and Ondina swam to Rita"s, but swam above-water instead, doing doggy-paddles so they could all converse. "I wonder where they took him," said Mimmi. "I"m more surprised that Neppy could cast a spell on him like that! She"s learned a lot," Ondina chuckled. "Guess she took your advice to take mermaid school seriously," Sirena shrugged. "Well, wherever he is now, I"m sure they"re making sure he"s never going to harm another person again," Zac said, smiling. "I"m ready to go back to the grotto," said Mimmi. "Can we race?" "Sure!" Zac said, smiling. Ondina and Sirena exchanged a look, remembering Zac"s trap and realizing he must have forgotten about it. "Actually," interjected Ondina. "I wanted to show Sirena and Mimmi something at the café. We"ll meet you back there really soon, though!" Sirena had a wide smile, and Mimmi just looked confused, but Ondina gestured for the girls to follow her. Zac shrugged and began to swim to Rita"s. "What do you have to show us?" asked Mimmi when Zac left. "Nothing," Ondina said. "But we"re going to want to be inside the grotto before Zac gets there, but we have to use the land entrance. Come on." ~.x.x.x.~ As Zac entered the grotto, he was suddenly trapped underneath a net. Blue dye made its way around the pool. Zac groaned, only just remembering he was the one who set this up. Looking down at him were the three girls, all giggling, and Cam, smirking. "Zac"d intended for that to be for you," Cam said to Mimmi. Mimmi began to laugh even harder. "I guess this is why we need to stop fighting as much. Right, Zac?" Mimmi said, giggling again at her brother. "Right," Zac groaned, helplessly looking up at his friends. Please leave your thoughts on this one, and, as always, don"t forget to keep requesting!

This time I punched him. He stood up, and dug through his wallet. He pulled out 498 dollars, a pass to the girl"s bathroom, answers to every upcoming Social Studies test, and a keychain of a stuffed bear. "All this... for a video of her beautiful naked body. Deal?" I thought for a moment. It would be unfair to Kim... then again, I"ve always wanted to see a girl"s bathroom, and the money could help pay for the house. "Deal," I said. We shook hands and he gave me the stuff. I left the room. "What"s that?" Kim asked, motioning towards the stuff. "Jerry gave it to me for something in return." "Oh..." Kim said. We headed back to our place. Eventually, I had the perfect plan to get the video for Jerry. I honestly didn"t feel comfortable about this, but Kim wouldn"t know. It was about 9:00 at night. "Wanna drink?" I said, offering her a small, plastic cup. "I can"t drink "till I"m 21, you know that." "Come on, if you do, I will too." "You promise?" I nodded. I grabbed her hand. "Ready... 1... 2... 3!" We both tilted our heads back. I made sure that none of the liquid got into my throat, whereas I could tell that Kim had swallowed her entire cup. She quickly fainted onto the couch. I shook her awake, and murmured her name multiple times. She wrapped her arms around my neck to contain herself. "Kiss meeeee..." she mumbled. I pecked her lips and she smiled at me. She took off her skirt and shirt, and then rubbed herself against me. She got off and grabbed a blanket. This was when I got my phone out, and began recording. She tied the blanket around her neck and ran around the room. It was hilarious seeing Kim drunk. She then twirled five times, and leaned against the wall. "Yack... Mack..." "JACK!" she screamed. "COME OVA HERE." I grabbed my phone and walked over to her. She removed her bra and poked one of her breasts. I zoomed in. "What"s this, Jack?" I smiled down at her, then her body. "You don"t know Kimmy?" "Mm-nnn." She said. She tore off her underwear and examined it. I zoomed out to see her body in full. "Blehblkmiaomm..." she mumbled. She put the underwear on her head, and I laughed. "DAAAANCE PAAAARRTY!" she announced. She bounced up and down, did a terrible cartwheel, and a sideways summersault. "Yay!" She approached me. "Jack! Truth or dare?" I thought for a minute. "Uh... truth." "Pick dare! PIIICK DARE!" "Okay, dare." "Kiss meeee for ten seconds!" I had no excuse to not do what she asked. I toppled on top of her, and kissed her for ten seconds. "Hooooray! My turn!" "Okay, truth or dare?" "DARE! DARE!" "We got a little daredevil tonight!" I announced. She giggled. "I dare you to..." I ran into our room and grabbed a giant teddy bear. "Have sex with this ol" guy." "YAAAY!" she screamed. She grabbed the bear and thrust it on her opening. Then, she kissed it, more and more. "SEEEEXY BEARRR!" "Oh no!" I exclaimed. "Kim, it"s past your bedtime!" She curled up in a ball and rubbed her eyes. She outstretched her arms. "Carry me!" I grabbed her, and she wrapped her legs around my back and leant her head on my shoulder. I put her into her side of the head, and she completely blacked out. "Goodnight, Kimmy," I said, and I kissed her head before I stopped recording and left the room. I reviewed the video, which made me blush. I immediately sent it to Jerry, saying, "When Kim"s drunk..." I turned my phone off and went into my room. Kim was sucking on her thumb. I climbed onto my side of the bed, and held Kim close to me. She turned to face me and cowered under my weight. I held her back and placed my head on hers. Soon, I fell into a deep sleep... Hey guys! In this chapter, we will realize the truth about Jerry... Thanks BOTH reviews! Two, I know, but I HOPE that there are more people reading! Again, thank you SO much reviewers! And favoriters and followers! :D I"ll try and update every day! If I don"t, I"ll post a reasonable explanation of why I didn"t. ENJOY! Jerry"s POV Today was Saturday. Everyone at the dojo practiced for three hours, and then we played truth or dare. "Okay, Jerry, truth or dare?" Rudy asked. "Dare." "I dare you to take off your clothes except for your boxers, run outside, and scream "I AM THE KING OF THE WORLD!'" "I chicken out." "There goes your last chicken out, Jer," Jack said. We each had three chicken outs; Milton had none left, Rudy had two left, Kim had one left, and Jack had all three, because he never chose dare. "Okay, my turn, who"s the lucky person..." I looked in my pocket to see my phone. Blackmail time! Kim always chose dare. "Kimmy! Truth or dare." She frowned. "Don"t call me Kimmy... and dare." She said, biting her lip. Jack started to look guilty. I got up and brought over a mannequin. "Get completely naked, jump onto the mannequin, and make out with it." All of the guys smiled. "No way!" Kim screamed. Their smiled faded. "Kim, a word?" I said smirking. I brought her into Rudy"s office. "Do the dare." "No!" "Do it... or this gets sent to everyone at school." I held up my phone and played the part of the video where Kim was humping the bear. She automatically went into panic mode. "I didn"t do that!" "This video says differently. So what do you say, do the dare and have us see you naked, or DON"T do it and have everyone in the school see you naked. Choose, princess." She stuttered a bit, and then frowned. "T-that"s blackmail!" "Remove the gi, sweetheart." "We"re supposed to be friends." "A boy"s hormones get past his feelings." She shook her head and removed her gi. Then, she removed everything underneath and blushed. "Look at you! Better without than with, I guess." "Come out in a second," I said to her. I came back out. "Kim"ll come out in a second, stripped down and everything." Jack stood up. "Jerry, I did you a favor! Don"t torture her because of my mistake!" "Sending me the video wasn"t a mistake, Jack. It was a dream come true," I said. "Rudy," Jack said. "You"re an adult, can"t you do anything to stop this?!" "Sorry, Jack, but I"ve never seen a girl"s body before!" Jack sat back down and stared sadly at the door. "KIIIIIIM!" I yelled. "COMEEE OUTTT!" The door peeked open and Kim, arms around her chest, came out slowly. Jack"s POV I felt terrible for Kim. I felt like this was all my fault and that I should have not done any of this. I don"t even know why I did it in the first place. Jerry pried her hands from her chest and she blushed more, as I shielded my face. "WOW! I"ve never seen the feminine body before!" said Milton. "Come, Kim..." Jerry said, leading her to the mannequin. "WAIT!" I said. I stood up and got a blanket for Kim, and wrapped it around her. "I wanna go home..." Kim said, sniffing. "Okay, we can go." I said. She jumped into my arms and wrapped her arms and legs around my back, pressing everything else to my chest. I made sure the blanket covered any exposing parts of her. I carried her out of the mall area and to the sidewalk leading to our house. Once we got in, she ran into our room and plopped herself onto the bed. "Kim, where are yo-" She was sobbing on our bed, hiding her face. I took the blanket I found for her and put it into the washer. Once I got back, I took off my shoes and crawled next to her. She cried even harder and I scooted her closer to me, stroking her hair. "My body isn"t something I should just show off... right?" she asked me. I was unsure how to respond. "No, Kimmy..." I say. "So I shouldn"t show my naked body to anyone?" I pulled her closer and made our faces level. "Anyone other than me, no." "Cause I can trust you..." she says, with a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Kimmy, just tell me if anything happens. If anyone tells you to strip, touches you somewhere or does anything unthinkable, tell me as soon as you can. I"m the only one who"s allowed to do that." "Yes you are, you"re my hero." I planted a small kiss on her lips. "We"ll hang out here until Monday, okay?" She bit her lip. "Okay." I massaged up and down her back and she cuddled against my shirt. Living with Kim has sure been crazy so far, and it"s only been a day. Hi guys! I am freaking obsessed with writing this story. I know, I may not be getting many reviews, but I look at what every one of you says, and I appreciate it! It"s about 3 in the morning, and I just HAVE to finish this chapter before bed. Kim"s POV I woke up, and Jack was already up. I peeked into the bathroom to see him singing in the shower. He caught my eye and smiled. I couldn"t help but feel a blush creep up my cheeks. I went through my drawers, coming to find out that I still had to do laundry. So, I put on a simple white bra, and found one of Jack"s hoodies. I put on some really short shorts (again, all I have at the moment) that was barely able to be seen because of how long the hoodie was. Jack came out of the bathroom and greeted me. "Gotten attached to my clothes now?" Jack said, wrapping the towel around his waist. I chuckled. "Laundry day!" I spat. He scooted past me and dropped the towel, and I stared a little. Then he put boxers on and a grey T-shirt. Then, he snuck up behind me and linked arms with me. "So, somewhat sexy companion, what is our mission for today?" "Sit around, laundry, multi-purpose room and maybe some video games?" He smiled down at me. "You forgot one thing: I need to make sure you stay away from Jerry so he doesn"t post that video." "Thanks Jack, you truly are my he..." I paused. "Wait a sec, how do you know about the blackmailing video? HE DIDN"T SHOW YOU, DID HE?!" "Calm down! You mumbled something about a video last night in your sleep." "Oh..." I sighed of relief. "Good to know, I would DIE if you saw that video." Jack chuckled. "Hey, I"m gonna try to make breakfast," he said. I pictured Jack making breakfast, and figured he might as well try. "Okay," I said softly. I went into the multi-purpose room and found a piano. I hooked up a microphone to it and played a fast song, slowing it down a bit. I random words just flew into my mind, and I wrote them down. Then, played it in the key of A, and sang along to it. I can feel you comin" from a mile away My pulse starts racing from the words that you say And you say so many of them like you don"t have a clue That I"m signed, sealed, delivered with a stamp on You don"t have to try too hard You already have my heart You don"t got a thing to prove I"m already into you Soo... Hold hold, hold hold me tight now "Cause I"m so, so good to go Don"t say, don"t say goodnight You know... You had me at hello I finished with an A. I wondered how good of a song it could turn out to be with just a few variations. "Kimmy!" Jack called. We agreed (In my head) that he was the only one who could call me Kimmy. "Breakfast!" I stood from the piano bench, but on my way out, I tripped over a jump rope. "JAAAACK!" I called. He poked his head through the door. "Yes, princess?" "Carrryyy meeee," I said, outstretching my arms. He laughed a little and picked me up. "C"mon, we"re gonna do a piggy-back." He transferred me from his front to his back and I played with his hair. We walked over to the table, and I saw the food. Honestly, I wasn"t sure what exactly it was. All I knew is that it looked and smelled terrible. "Hey, Jack?" "Ya?" "W-what is it?" He turned his head a little and shifted his eyes towards me. "Breakfast." I looked at it again. It looked like the food it served at school. Gross and uneatable. "Jacky?" "Yus?" he said. "I"m not hungry," I said. And it wasn"t exactly a lie. I kinda lost my appetite from just looking at Jack"s... creation. "Okay," he said. He looked up at me and raised his eyebrows. Then, he trotted for the door. "Jack! What are you doing?!" He ignored me and continued running. It took about half an hour for him to finally drop me. Into the sand. We were at a beach. I didn"t quite recognize it because our family really never went anywhere, and I normally didn"t explore more than fifteen minutes away from our home. Well, our old home. Jack grabbed both of my hands. "Where are we, Jack?" He just closed his eyes and chuckled under his breath. "Jack?" This time, he grabbed me by the waist and put his hand over my mouth. Then, he came closer to me. Knowing him and his crazy plans, he was trying to get me to do something. What if he had glue on his hand? Glue on his lips?! What if he planned to keep me here all night? Bury me into the sand? Whatever he was planning, I knew it wasn"t good. So I did what any normal person would do; backed away. Wrong move, Kim. He pushed me into the water, and held me under there for a few seconds. He wasn"t letting up, and karate fails underwater. So... YANK Jack"s POV I was holding Kim underwater, testing her breath. Then, she goes and pulls my boxers down! I take my hand off of her head and let her surface for air. I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks, even though the beach isn"t that crowded today. Kim smirked and held the boxers in front of my face, waving them around. "If you want them back, you have to grab them!" she chanted. She held them up high, and then swirled them and threw them on shore. I frowned. "You gonna get those?" I asked. She shook her head. "You want them back? Go get them." "Bad little Kimmy. I think you need a spanking." She blushed a little and I yanked her own shorts down, and threw them on shore, right next to my boxers. Then I lightly smacked her bare bottom, and she turned as red as ketchup. Boy, how she loves ketchup. "So, who"s gonna get them now?" she asked. "We just stay in here until everyone leaves, I guess," I said. I looked up at shore to see her sneakers buried in the sand, and the same with my flip-flops. "Wonder what happened to them," I said, noticing that she had seen them there too. "Mmmph," She muttered. I laughed at her cuteness, then planted a kiss right on her lips. I wrapped my legs around hers, kissing her even more. "MMMAAKKKKK" she muffled into the kiss. I broke from her. "What?" "Not here! In public!" I shook my head. "Oh, look at the time." I said, looking at my digital watch. 5:30. "Time flies when you"re having fun, I guess," I said, staring directly into her eyes. I pulled her underwater and kissed her more. Soon, she ran out of air and brought herself to the surface. "It"s starting to wrinkle..." she said, pointing downwards. "You need your shorts, then?" She squinted her eyes and nodded. "Okay," I said. "Then we"ll go together to get our pants." She laughed a little at the sentence, then looked me in the eye again. "But wait... there are still people here..." "No one we know," I reassured her. "But still. I don"t want them to see... It"s a total invasion of our privacy..." "Kimmy, do we really have privacy anymore?" She nodded. "Yeah, uh-huh, because I don"t want any strangers looking where they shouldn"t!" "Oh look," I said, motioning towards two people leaving. "The last pair left. Now we can go." I dragged her out and she quickly pulled on her shorts, not wasting any time exposing herself. I grabbed my boxers, and wiggled the sand out of them, then slowly put them on. Of course, Kim and her weird girly mind were staring. A lot. So I put them on very slowly to make sure she got a good glimpse. Her smile faded as I snapped them on. "Don"t worry," I say. "I"m not sleeping in this. Not after the sand and the chafing..." I uncomfortably tried to position my boxers. "...So you can stare all you want tonight." She stuck her tongue out and put on her sneakers. Sunset was just arriving and it reflected over the water. "Hey, Kimmy," I said. "Do you remember when I said that we weren"t anything, not yet anyway?" Kim nodded. "Well, I was waiting for the right time, and I think this is it." I got on one knee, and reached into my T-shirt pocket. OOOOH! A cliffy! You excited? For the next chapter? If you beg me enough, I"ll post it today :D Thanks for reviews, guys! I normally didn"t get this much in just a few days on my previous account. Keep reviewing, I love hearing everything you have to say! Hey guys! I bet I got your hopes up until you saw "Not a chapter", sorry :P 15 reviews! Thanks so much to: -lolstar99 -autumn1999 -jesshasswaggerlove -Phoenix2014 -fiftyshadesofkay -KarateGirl77 For inspiring me to continue the series! Weell, anyways, I was gonna wait until 25 reviews to update, cuz it"s such a huge cliffy. Yeeks. But I reeeallly want your feedback on what I should write about in my spare time. I was gonna do a Kickin" It crossover, and I was gonna lay out some choices and hope that you guys"ll tell me which I should write about. So here are a few ideas: 1) Kickin" It and Harry Potter - Basically, the KI gang goes to Hogwarts. (If you choose this option, PLEASE tell me if you want them to meet the HP cast. If you don"t say so, I"ll choose for myself!) 2) Kickin" It and Big Time Rush - BTR goes on tour to Seaford. Kendall has an accidental moment with Kim, and Jack and Jo are jealous. As Jack and Jo figure out a plan to split K and K apart, they just get closer together. 3) Kickin" It and Girl vs Monster - Kim moves to a new place to start over because of her huge fight with the warriors. But, the town ends up not allowing newcomers, so she temporarily changes her name to Skylar. Learning that the town is corrupted with ghosts, she tries to escape but cannot. Also, she starts a budding romance with Ryan, but Jack eventually gets the memo and figures out what is going on. 4) Kickin" It and Zoey101 - The KI gang goes to PCA and meets the Z101 gang also. But, in their "Future101" class, when they are assigned to be married, Chase is put with Quinn, Jack is put with Zoey, and Kim is put with Logan. Will their original relationships be put to the test, or even changed? 5) Kickin" It and H2O - The Wasabi Warriors have a big tournament in Australia. Kim"s luggage is missing and she discovers that it was stolen. She looks around for it, gets a ride from Zane to Mako Island, and finds the moon pool, where she soon becomes a mermaid. She finds her luggage at the bottom of the ocean the next day. But, what powers did she receive, and how will the whole mermaid situation affect her life? Those five! Vote as many times as you want, but not on the same account. If you use the same account as you did last, you may not vote for the same story again. The first story to 10 votes wins! If there"s a tie, I"ll either write both in two separate stories OR combine them! As for "I"m So Sorry", I will continue to update daily, but I won"t update until I get 10 votes on whatever story you choose! VOTTTE! Oh fine, I won"t be pushy. VOTTTE!..please? I felt terrible on keeping you guys waiting! I mean, it was only a few hours... but I still felt bad. I know you"re eager on what Jack has to say. Keep voting! Please! I"ll post the results in the next chapter! Jack"s POV I got on one knee, and reached into me T-shirt pocket. "First off Kimmy," I said, taking my hand out, wanting to tell her this before I showed her the thing inside the pocket. I looked up at her face, and she looked excited, smiling and biting her lip. "...Your shoe is untied," I said, reaching out and tying it for her. Her face fell suddenly. (OMGOMGOMG I"M CRACKING UP! At my own writing! I"m just trying to picture your faces as you just read that! AHHHHH! Okay, sorry for my immaturity, back to the story.) I realized what she thought I was about to do. "Don"t worry!" I said, smiling. "There"s still more I need to tell you." She raised her eyebrows. I frowned as I began to tell her how I really felt. "I know I"m confusing you a lot, with my kisses and "oh, can"t wait to see you naked" vibe, and it"s just because I want you so badly. I really have wanted to have sex with you since the locker incident where I was out of control. But other than that, my feelings for you have grown since I first saw you. You"ve been my best friend and I didn"t know if you liked me too. And there I was, forcing this all on you. "I"ve been trying to do things to ya, Kim, and it"s always interrupted. It"s not just my hormones, it"s because I really really like you, and I ignored your feelings this entire time. Look at us; we live together, getting naked every night! "I understand if you don"t like me either. But I can"t stop wanting you. And I won"t stop, even after I get you. I"ll keep wanting you until I can"t anymore. This has been all my fault, and I never took your feelings into consideration, and... I"m sorry," I finished. I pulled the gift out of my pocket. I shoved it to her, turned around, and headed home. Not to our home. My home. Kim"s POV I looked at the gift. It was a heart shaped locket, with the word, "KIM" etched onto it. Inside were pictures of me and Jack. On the left was our arms around each other and us holding hands, and on the right was us kissing. When I looked back up, he was gone. "Jack?" It took me a while to process what had just happened. And I just stand here, thinking: Jack feels like he"s forcing this onto me, and he"s leaving. He"s leaving?! "JACK!" I call out. I run down the street and turn left and right. He"s gone. And I don"t know where he went. "Jack..." I sniffed. "Jerk, JACK!" I screamed. "JAAACK!" I fell down, crying. "Jack... Jack..." I murmured. And then, I must have cried myself to sleep, because everything blacked out. Short chapter sorry, guys. But I"ll surely write more tonight or tomorrow. Review please, and keep voting!

The front door slammed shut. The impact echoed all throughout the house. Sirena groaned. Ondina continued to paint her nails, unaffected by the commotion. However, when she heard angry footsteps above her, she looked up in alarm. "Are they at it again?" Ondina asked Sirena. "Probably," Sirena sighed, grabbing a bubblegum pink polish. As suspected, the passageway to the grotto opened soon enough, and in came a fuming Mimmi. "Weird. Before Zac came along, she"d never really get angry about anything," Ondina murmured to Sirena, just quietly enough so Mimmi couldn"t hear. Mimmi stomped down the stairs and plopped herself onto a nearby ledge, folding her arms tightly against her chest. "Oh, what happened, Mimmi?" asked Sirena sincerely, putting down her nail polish to turn and talk to Mimmi. "He just always has to be right, it drives me mad!" "What did he do?" Sirena asked. "We were at the café, and David needed help totaling something. I got the answer first but he interrupted me! Obviously, I told him his answer was wrong and that David was asking me. He told me to stop being a brat and that the world didn"t revolve around me... so I left. David wound up having to total it himself." "Oh, Mimmi, I"m sor-" "What did the total end up being?" Ondina asked, interrupting Sirena. Both Mimmi and Sirena turned towards Ondina and glared daggers at her, in which she innocently replied, "Sorry, just wondering..." to. "I just... I thought finally having family would be fun! But he treats me like dirt..." "He doesn"t mean what he says, Mimmi, he doesn"t," said Sirena. "Then why does he say it?" Mimmi asked, though it came out more like a statement. "Well, Aquata and I used to fight. She"d always steal my comb and I"d get really mad. I"d say things I didn"t mean. Maybe it"s because I knew that no matter what, she wouldn"t be able to ditch me like friends could. Overall, though, we"re still family. We still love each other a lot," Sirena said. "Yeah. I guess," Mimmi said. "I"m going to try to clear my mind for a bit." "Ooh, wanna go to the café with Ondina and I?" "Sure, that sounds nice," said Mimmi, offering a small smile. "...Actually... I don"t think I"ll be going. Not for a while," Ondina said, not looking up from her nails. "Nobody who works there knows what I like anymore." Sirena and Mimmi exchanged a look, but shrugged it off, linking arms and leaving. ~.x.x.x.~ Mimmi and Sirena sat at a table outside, looking out at the sea. Mimmi"s happy mood began to fade as soon as her thoughts landed on Zac. She knew he didn"t mean what he said to hurt her, but nobody from the pod had ever called her names or treated her badly at all. "Oh, hey Sirena, Mimmi!" Carly called, bouncing from table to table. "I"ll be with you guys in a second." "That"s alright, take your time," Sirena said kindly, waving her hand dismissively. Mimmi sat upright, still staring out at the sea. Her eyes moved to the dock and she saw a group of children running around, and a teenage boy who was very tan and built standing on a corner, probably looking after the kids. Suddenly, she heard a voice in her ear. "Hey, Mimms," said her brother with a wide smile. He sat in the open seat of the girls" table. Mimmi continued looking out at the sea as if he wasn"t even there. "Oh, so you"re giving me the silent treatment, huh?" Zac said, face cringing up. "How mature." "You"re trying to talk to me about maturity?" Mimmi snapped, standing up and facing her brother. "You still play with your stupid land toys! You"re the most childish person I know!" Zac also stood up. "At least I have a girlfriend! That makes me much more mature than you, girl who"s never even kissed a guy!" "What I do with boys is none of your business," Mimmi said, disgusted. "And me knowing that my personal affairs are none of your concern is quite mature! You flaunting off the fact that you"re dating someone is extremely immature!" At this point, the sibling"s bickering had cause attention from neighboring customers. "Not here, guys, please," warned Sirena. At this, Mimmi nodded and sat back down. Zac stood his ground. "So now you"re just giving up? I have such a coward for a sister. Stop being such a brat," Zac sneered. Mimmi immediately stood up and marched away from her friends and towards the dock, avoiding any kind of contact with anyone else. Mimmi plunged into the water and sped away towards Mako. Little did she know that there were a pair of eyes who watched her dive into the water, and watched her grow a tail. ~.x.x.x.~ Zac lay on his bed, hands on his forehead. Mimmi was posing a real problem for him. Of course, he was excited to finally not be an only child, but now he knew having a sibling wasn"t all it seemed. Zac and Mimmi argued more than they talked. What was her problem? He"d tried to talk to her earlier and all she did was ignore him. Zac"s mouth scrunched up at the thought of her. He"d never understand girls and their screwed up logic. He heard his open door creak and he sat up. There stood his best friend, Cam. He sighed and lay back down. "What"s up with you?" Cam asked. Zac gave another long sigh and sat up. He looked at Cam with a smile. "Nothing. Hey, wanna do something?" ~.x.x.x.~ Mimmi floated atop the mysteriously blue waters of the moon pool, looking up at the day-lit sky. She sung quietly to herself a song that Sirena taught her. After a while, she swam over to an edge of the pool and lay against it. She stared at the water as if it was endless, like her thoughts. Sometimes, when she was alone, she"d wonder about her mother. Sometimes all she could ever think about was how badly she wished she could meet her. She had so many questions. Suddenly, she heard a rumble behind her. Quickly, she turned to the source of the sound. On the land part of the cave stood the teenage boy she had seen at the dock earlier. He was staring right at her. She was now exposed to him as a mermaid, and her face was tied to the tail. She contemplated leaving, swimming out of the cave and back to Rita"s. But what would that do? What if this boy grew curious and searched for more mermaids? There were plenty all around Mako since the pod had returned, Mimmi knew. Plus, now that he had a face, he could easily expose her for what she was. Everyone could know her greatest secret. So she stood her ground and stared up at the boy, thinking of what to say. "Please don"t leave," the boy said quietly. As she"d noticed earlier, he was very tan and muscular, but along with that came a pair of amber eyes and golden-red hair. "Who are you?" Mimmi asked. "Hayden. Might I ask you the same question?" the boy said, squatting down to Mimmi"s level. "I"m Mimmi..." Mimmi said. "It"s a pleasure," Hayden said. Mimmi stared up at him, and he stared down at her. "I"m sorry, this is probably weird for you..." she said. "No need for an apology. Believe it or not, I"ve come across quite a lot of weird things in my time," he said. She gave a small nod. "How did you get in here? I thought the only entrance was through the underwater tunnel," Mimmi asked. "Well, I-I found another one," said Hayden hesitantly. "Had to clear some rocks to get in..." Mimmi, not having explored the island too thoroughly, believed this. "So you also have legs? Can you turn into a mermaid at will?" Hayden asked, desperate for a change of subject. Mimmi shook her head. "I WISH it was at will! No, it"s once you hit water, then you"re bound to transform," she said. She looked down, and then back up at the boy, concern in her eyes. "Please," she said. "You can"t tell anyone else about this, about me. Believe it or not, you"re the first that"s caught me like this..." "I won"t tell..." he said, scooting closer to her. "If you answer a few things. Are there more of you?" "Mermaids..?" she said. "Yes." "Are there mermen too?" "Yes." "Locally?" "...Yes." "How many?" "A lot all around here, but their power relies on this island. I have a few friends who are like me, though, who live on land too." "...Who are they?" "Their names are Sirena, Ondina, Evie, Zac, and Rita..." Mimmi said quietly. She looked at him with pleading eyes. "Please don"t tell. About me, about any of us." Hayden smiled. "I wouldn"t dream of it." ~.x.x.x.~ Sirena and Ondina stood on Rita"s porch, admiring the scenery from the tall view. Sirena turned to Ondina. "What are you thinking about?" she asked. Ondina looked down, then back up at the world in front of them. "I don"t know." Sirena leaned over to Ondina and put her arm around her back, side-hugging her. Behind them, there was the sound of a door opening, and Sirena and Ondina broke apart and span around. There stood Zac and Cam, a fishnet and a jug of temporary blue dye in their hands. "We want to prank Mimmi," the two said with big smiles. Ondina and Sirena looked at one another, then back at the boys, eyebrows raised higher than anyone could have ever remembered them to be. ~.x.x.x.~ "So how did you become a mermaid?" Hayden asked, standing across the room from Mimmi. Mimmi, now in her land form, leaned up against the moon pool cave"s walls. "I was always a mermaid," she responded, looking up at Hayden. "I used a ring to grow legs, though. It"s kind of confusing, but I already told you about my ring. I mainly live on land now." He nodded. The pair had been talking for hours about Mimmi, her powers, her friends, and mer-people in general. Hayden walked over to Mimmi. "Mimmi?" he started. "Yes?" she responded. Hayden smiled and grabbed her hands. "Do you trust me?" he asked. She nodded. "Yes, of course. Especially since I told you all of this." "Good, that"s good," he said, nodding. He moved her hands behind her back and pressed her closer to the wall. "W-what are you doing?" Mimmi said, voice quivering as he got closer. "I really like you, Mimmi," Hayden said, still smiling, as he leaned down and touched his lips to hers. He pulled away around five seconds after leaning in. He could feel Mimmi become less tense. "...Wow..." she said slowly, smiling. "Yeah," he said. "Mimmi... if you trust me, don"t move a muscle. I want you to close your eyes." "...Okay..." she said, closing her eyes, remembering briefly when she asked another guy to do the same for her. Hayden removed his hands from hers, backing away slowly. He reached into his right pants pocket and pulled out a lighter. Careful not to let the flame go out as he lit it, he set his finger on fire. For a second, his entire body glowed a mix of red, orange, and yellow, but then his body returned to its original hue. He slipped the lighter back into his pocket. He braced his legs and held his hands up. Slowly, he began pulling the oxygen from the room. He wasn"t going to kill the girl, but merely knock her out for a while. He noticed her breathing becoming quicker and more unsteady as he sucked away more oxygen. "Everything alright?" he asked, taking a moment to look in her direction. Her eyes were still closed. "Yeah, I"m just a little... lightheaded..." And just as she spoke, Mimmi fell to the ground. Hayden stopped removing the air and grinned. He slowly approached her limp body, retrieving sections of long rope from the loops of his shorts. ~.x.x.x.~ "Okay, aaaaaaaand... there," Zac said, successfully tying a bucket of temporary blue dye to the net. "So, how"s it work?" asked Cam, admiring the finished product. The fishnet was draped all across the top of Rita"s pool so it covered any way of entrance; tied to it was the bucket. "So, when she comes in later, she"ll get caught in the net, and pulling on it will tip over the bucket so the whole pool will fill with blue dye! She"ll turn blue!" "You do realize that, if this stupid plan works, she"ll only be blue in her mermaid form, right?" Ondina snapped. "Ah. Didn"t think about that. Oh well. A blue mermaid"s better than a regular one!" Zac said, laughing. "But what will happen when the water gets filled with dye? How long will it be like that?" Sirena asked. "Not long," Cam responded. "After a bit, it"ll just dissolve, fade. Probably overnight." "I really don"t think this is a good idea..." Sirena said quietly. "Think? It"s a horrible idea!" Ondina said, walking over to the two laughing boys. "Oh, shut up. Call me when it backfires on you like it"s bound to." She walked up the stairs and out of the room. ~.x.x.x.~ "Hello, Mimmi," Hayden said when Mimmi opened her eyes. She was laying on the ground, hands and feet bound so that they were unmovable. It took her a minute to remember what had happened. She shifted herself to lean against the wall. "Why am I tied up?" Mimmi asked innocently. "Don"t you get it, Mimmi?" Hayden said. "I did this. So glad you decided to trust me, because now, you"re going to help me." "H-help you do what...?" asked Mimmi, now tensing up in fear. "Eliminate all of the mer-people around Mako. If you play your cards right, you"ll be the last to go." Mimmi"s scared eyes moved into a frown. "Why are you doing this?" Hayden chuckled. He put his hands behind his back, and suddenly, a ball of fire rested in his right palm. He threw the ball over his shoulder to his left hand, and from there, tossed the ball into the moon pool. "Woah..." Mimmi said quietly, scooting further away from the boy. "You see, Mimmi, all I want is to rule the world. For a teenage boy, there aren"t many options right now, but what I can do... is rule Mako. It"s an island with all sorts of powers that I will use to rule everyone locally, and then I"ll move up to becoming the leader of the world! "See, the problem, though," Hayden said, stepping closer to Mimmi. "Is that mer-people like you are all over, living at this island. The only way for me to claim the island as my own is for all of you to either leave... or die. And since they"re obviously not going anywhere..." "No," Mimmi said. "I"m not going to help you. Please, if you could just let me go and I"ll tell the pod to leave-" "Oh, Mimmi," Hayden said, laughing once more. "I believe that"s not possible. Your friends will want to fight for their island. Normally, I"d be able to take on quite a few mermaids, but with all of them attacking me, I"ll lose. That"s why I"m going to kill them, one by one. It"ll take a while, but with your help, I"ll have the island in no time." "I"m not going to help you," Mimmi repeated more sharply than before. "Hmm hmm hmm, now that won"t do..." said Hayden, kneeling down to face Mimmi. "If you don"t help me, I"ll target your closer friends first. Maybe Evie... or Rita... Sirena... Ondina, didn"t you say she was your best friend? Or Zac... your brother." "NO! NO! DON"T YOU LAY A HAND ON THEM! LET ME GO!" Mimmi shouted, squirming around in her binds. Hayden laughed devilishly. "So here"s what"s going to happen," he said. More fire appeared on his hand, and he held it like it was an object. He began to move it close to Mimmi"s face. Right before it touched her, he pulled back. "I"ll give you ten minutes to make up your mind. Either you help me... or this," he said, holding up his fiery hand. "Is your other option." ~.x.x.x.~ As Zac sat on Rita"s porch with Cam, Sirena, and Ondina, he couldn"t help but wonder where Mimmi was. He hadn"t checked the trap in ten minutes, but he had a feeling she still hadn"t shown up yet. He looked over the scenery from Rita"s porch. Suddenly, he saw something that didn"t belong. He jolted back. He was in the cave inside of Mako. He saw a boy who seemed to be around his age kneeling down in front of him. The boy was holding fire as if it was an object. He neared it closer and closer to Zac"s face, and all Zac could feel was fear... He blinked and saw the familiar view of Rita"s home. He immediately stood up, realizing that this vision had to be his sister"s if it wasn"t his. "Zac? What"s wrong?" Sirena asked, standing up as well. Their other two friends followed suit. "Mimmi"s in trouble. I"m going out to save her. Nobody come along," Zac said, heading back inside the house and down the stairs to the front door. "Wait! What if something happens to you?" asked Sirena. "Sirena, Ondina, if I"m not back in around half an hour, come to Mako," Zac said hurriedly. He looked out at the water, then back to his friends. "Hopefully it doesn"t come to that." Zac began running, plunging into the sea of water nearby. "I"m always so important in situations like these," murmured Cam. Ondina smacked him on the back of his head, and he whispered a sharp, "Ow." ~.x.x.x.~ "Time"s up," Hayden said, moving to the bound Mimmi. She sat, defiantly staring up at him. Mimmi kept her glossy blue-gray eyes set on Hayden. She let out a long sigh. Her heart was beating a mile a minute. "What"s your decision?" asked Hayden, re-spawning a fireball in his hand. "My friends... my brother..." she said quietly. "I"ll will not let you hurt them! They... they"re my family. I love them so much. So... if that means you kill me right here and now, that"s okay. But you"re not going to kill them." "What makes you so sure?" Hayden laughed, tossing a fireball at Mimmi"s head. It hit the area right above her head, causing a small part of her hair to singe. Her eyes were closed tightly as she embraced what was going to happen to her. Suddenly, Hayden was lifted high into the air. He moved up to the top of the dormant volcano where it opened, and then he dropped hundreds of feet into the pool below. Mimmi, wide-eyed, rolled herself over to the pool to see where Hayden wound up. He floated gently on the water. She was unsure if he was still alive, especially since he was kind of made up of fire. Zac twisted his hand, causing him to be visible again. He grinned up at his sister from the water. "Zac," Mimmi said, smiling. "You"re here." "I heard what you said, about me and our friends. It"s amazing that you"d do something like that for us. Thank you, Mimmi." "No, thank you. I wouldn"t be alive if you hadn"t shown up," Mimmi said, eyes becoming slightly watery. Zac stretched up and hugged his sister, who couldn"t return the hug due to her hands being bound. The hug had gotten Mimmi slightly wet, so quickly, Zac untied her feet and helped her slide into the water. Once she was in the water and in her mermaid form, Zac undid her hands. Mimmi noticed a lighter lingering halfway out of Hayden"s pocket. She grabbed it and banged it against the wall several times, breaking it. "What do we do now?" Mimmi asked, looking over at Hayden. "He might still be alive, so I"ll keep him here for a while. I want you to go back to Rita"s and find Sirena or Ondina-they"re at her place. Then, I need you to go warn the pod, talk to the mermaid council about the situation. I"m sure they"ll sort everything out. For now, someone has to stay here and make sure he doesn"t get away, but I don"t want to leave you alone with that guy again." Mimmi nodded, giving Zac a smile. "Thank you. I couldn"t ask for a better brother." The pair exchanged another hug, and once they broke apart, Mimmi gave Zac another smile and exited the pool. As Mimmi swam back to Rita"s, she almost reached Rita"s grotto entrance, but she ran into Ondina and Sirena before she could get there, who were heading to Mako on Zac"s request. She signaled for the girls to surface. "What happened?!" Ondina said immediately when they were exposed to air. "There"s a guy... he can control fire. He"s out to destroy all mermaids so he can rule Mako, and one day, I guess, the world. Zac"s holding him down at Mako right now-don"t worry, Zac"s fine-but we should go to Veridia and tell her about him. Maybe she"ll be able to take care of it so nothing like this happens again." Mimmi"s two friends nodded in unison. The trio swam out to where the pod usually floated around this time of day. The three girls spotted the mermaid council and made their way over. "Hi, Veridia, we have a situation," said Mimmi. "What is it?" asked Veridia sternly. Mimmi opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted when a smaller mermaid pounced on Ondina. "Hi, big sister!" Neppy squealed, clinging on to the girl she grew closet to in her land stay. Ondina couldn"t help but smile, wrapping her arms around the young girl. "Hey, Neppy, it"s great to see you," she said. Neppy released her and looked over at the three girls. "What brings you here again? I know you guys sometimes pop in and out but I thought you said you"d be gone for the week!" the younger mermaid exclaimed. "Yes, we were planning on staying on land this week, but something bad happened that we need taken care of," Ondina said. "Ooh! Can I help?!" asked Neppy. "Well," said Ondina, turning from Neppy to Veridia. "If it"s okay with Veridia, I think we could really use the help of a brave, strong girl like you." ~.x.x.x.~ Zac, Mimmi, Sirena, and Ondina swam to Rita"s, but swam above-water instead, doing doggy-paddles so they could all converse. "I wonder where they took him," said Mimmi. "I"m more surprised that Neppy could cast a spell on him like that! She"s learned a lot," Ondina chuckled. "Guess she took your advice to take mermaid school seriously," Sirena shrugged. "Well, wherever he is now, I"m sure they"re making sure he"s never going to harm another person again," Zac said, smiling. "I"m ready to go back to the grotto," said Mimmi. "Can we race?"

Chapter Three - Day 15: Evacuation The chain-link fence that made up the gate was bent out of shape. The two hummers that held them in place were dented and scratched. The outside of the metal perimeter was covered in blood. The charred bodies were a testament to the soldiers" knowledge of biohazard disposal. No one wanted to go outside and bury the infected dead. They didn"t know exactly how it spread and they certainly didn"t want to discover exactly how through trial and error. The skies were still blue, yet they were marred by the pillars of smoke rising from nearby cities and blockades. The soldiers had a rough week. That was a given. But things seemed to be looking up for the rest of the country. It was confirmed that the infection wasn"t spreading west as many thought it would. Too much open land, they said. The crazies would get disoriented, picked off by patrolling helicopters or die by the elements. Good thing, Doyle thought. They only had half the nation to worry about... Alarms and sirens were prohibited in the base. The commanders worried that they might act as an invitation to any infected within hearing range. Instead, soldiers perched on the perimeter would wave a large flag around on the side where infected were spotted. A neat system, but it didn"t get the soldiers to the fence as fast as a siren would have. Supplies were running low. Convoys didn"t dare to attempt to make a push through the area, and the soldiers of the base were in no rush to attempt either. But if something didn"t happen soon to remedy their shortage, then they"d have to leave. No question. Contributing to the blockade. That"s what the troopers thought they were doing and that"s why they had no desire to leave immediately. Every infected killed was another life saved down the line. Doyle peered through the binoculars and out to the north of the base. A mushroom of smoke appeared. Three more began to rise along side it before the sound of the explosion was heard. "What the hell are they doing?" Doyle whispered to himself. A few seconds later, a formation of fighter jets came into sight from the direction of the smoke. They shrieked overhead and disappeared into the distance. "Bad news, ladies," the commander stood atop one of the hummers and spoke to crowd of soldiers. He referred a piece of paper on a clipboard. "We are now officially riding in the danger zone. The air force just began bombing the surrounding areas to drive the sickos down towards Manhattan." "Why Manhattan, sir?" a soldier raised his hand. "Commerce. Why else?" The crowd laughed off their uncertainty. They had no better reason to laugh lately. "Back to what I was saying, those explosions are going to drive every blood-spewing mother in our direction. Come nightfall, we"re gonna have our hands full to put it lightly. Case and point, we"re not needed here any longer. So we"re evacuating." Everyone began to shake their heads. The idea of going outside didn"t sit well with them. "Don"t worry, you pansies. We have air-support enroute. If all goes according to plan, then our angels should be coming in over that fence just as soon as hell decides to pay us a visit." For the rest of the day, the men began to gather what was left of the supplies: weapons, ammunition and the rest of the food. The vehicles were going to be useless when the helicopters showed up, so they were used to brace any weak spots in the metal perimeter. "We"ll be out of here before those buggers ever get near us," the commanders would reiterate over and over again. Doyle could see right through them. They were just as nervous as the rest of the unit. The thought that the air support wouldn"t get to them before the infected did terrified them. For the past week, they had been fighting any groups that strayed off into the country, not a concentrated lot that was being pushed towards them. As the sun began to sink behind the horizon, the lookouts were frantically scanning the lighted parts of the sky for the choppers. Before nightfall, that"s what they said. Their hopes began to dim with the fading light. The stars were out now, and there wasn"t even a transponder blip on their radar. "They supposed to be this late?" Damion asked Doyle as they sat on the perimeter wall. The commander had ordered all of the lights turned out and to have small groups sit on the walls with night vision goggles. "We should have been on a chopper an hour ago," Doyle looked out over the field. "I"m guessing they hit a snag." "A snag, eh? I guess we"re boned then. A snag these days means-" "I know, man. Just try not to think about it. If you start panicking then I"m pushing you over the wall." "Screw you," Damion chuckled. "If we get swarmed, I"ma feed you to them so I can get away." "Glad you think so highly of me." "Your mom thinks highly of me too." Doyle leaned over and pretended to push Damion over the edge. The two laughed. "Your life"s in my hands, bitch." "I"m just gonna jump off myself then." The snap of a twig breaking shut them up in a hurry. "Hear that?" Doyle began to search the field frantically. "Might have been a bird, huh?" Damion switched on his night vision as well. "Might have been something else, too." "Hope you"re wrong," whispered Damion. "I just wanted to get out of here without firing my weapon for one night at least." Doyle looked back towards the base. None of the other perimeter guards were signaling anything. The night was quiet once again. Maybe Damion was right about that bird, Doyle assured himself. The rustle of the grass began to intensify. "Turning into a windy night," Doyle pointed out. "Gonna be hard to hear things now." Damion pulled off one of his gloves and held his bare hand up into the air. He quickly replaced the glove. "It ain"t windy, Doyle." He pulled out his flashlight and clicked it on and off towards the guards in the base. Everyone began to silently move to their positions. The guards on the perimeter began to lower themselves down. Turning back to the field briefly before descending the wall, Doyle caught a glimpse of a very large group of people. They were hunched over and tensed up and walking at a very rapid pace. Their eyes glowed like headlights in the infrared. The whole base was quiet. No one wanted to move or breathe for that matter. They were silent enough so that the footsteps outside the base could be heard throughout. "Do we fire?" asked Damion in Doyle"s ear. Doyle shook his head. "We just want them to pass us by." The soldiers of the base sat nervously for several minutes. Every now and then they would hear growls and hisses from the other side of the wall. The men would pass looks of fright and confusion to each other as the footsteps continued on. Before long, the crickets in the field began to chirp once again and the rustle of the grass faded into the distance. Everyone took a breath of relief. "I think I pissed myself," came a voice from a corner of the base. The men laughed as quietly as they could. They all wanted to erupt and laugh away the harsh reality of things-but they couldn"t. Flashlights began to switch on. The commander walked across saying the same thing over and over to each of the men so he wouldn"t have to yell it. "Keep quiet and prep for evac." One of the soldiers walked over to the hummers by the gate. He wanted to siphon the rest of the gasoline out of the tanks before the choppers came. Gas might be hard to come by, he thought. As he approached the gate, he heard the chain-link fence moving. He switched on his flashlight and shined in the direction of the movement. One of the guards positioned near the gate had been pulled up against it. His mouth was covered by a small arm reaching through a chink in the fence. The guard"s eyes were beginning to turn red and roll back into his head and his arm was pulled through another gap. It was being chewed on viciously by a red-eyed teenage boy on the other side. "Shit!" the soldier yelled. He pulled out his gun and fired a single round. It penetrated through the guard and into the boy, killing both. The gunshot echoed through the night sky. "Who the hell did that?!" the commander yelled out. That"s when the wave of screams filled the air. They had heard it. The ground began to vibrate under the infected mob"s movement. "Prepare to engage!" the commander ran through the base and made sure everyone was in their positions. The walls had thus far been able to withstand the abuse of any infected groups that attacked the base. Because of this, most of the soldiers took positions near the gate and on the walls next to the gate. Doyle and Damion got up on the walls with their rifles. "Snipers, are they close?" the commander called to the two. Doyle flipped on his night vision and found the field full of shining eyes. Thousands. The scene looked liked the very star-filled night sky they sat under. "Yes, sir, we have incoming!" he called back. The infected ran at full steam towards the gate, their screams intensifying as they did. As they slammed into the gate and the walls, Doyle and Damion almost lost their balance. Right away, anyone who had a clear shot opened fire. Bodies fell, but not easily. Most shook off their wounds and continued to attack the gate and the walls. To Doyle, they seemed almost desperate to get inside and shred the unit to pieces. "We can"t possibly attract more attention, sir!" Damion yelled. "Alright then," the commander responded. "Hit the lights!" The spotlight clapped on and brought the horror into full view. "No way we can hold all of them off!" Damion panicked. "We have to!" Doyle said. "We don"t have any other option." The dead had begun to pile up at the gate and the other infected were using them as stepping stools to reach the top of the gate. One of the other men on the wall pulled out a grenade and dropped it just below him into the crowd. "No! No grenades!" Doyle saw he was too late and turned away from that direction. The grenade exploded, sending blood and debris all over the wall. The soldier who had thrown the grenade began to rub his eye as if something had gotten in it. He began to shake and rubbed his eye harder. Not able to control himself anymore, he toppled over the wall and into the crowd. A minute later, he was pressed up against the gate trying to get in. Hissing and scratching along with the others. "What happened?!" Damion asked. "Blood in his eye," Doyle didn"t look up from the scope of his rifle. Every bullet counted. Headshots whenever he could. Every bullet counted... The gate began to bend out of place. It wasn"t going to last long. "If they break through," the commander yelled to the men, "run to the barracks and lock yourselves in!" That won"t work, Doyle thought. They would bust through those cheap metal walls as if they were made of paper. "I guess we"ll be perched up here for a while then," Damion tried to joke. He fired another shot. Everyone was so focused on the gate that they didn"t notice the two transport helicopters slowly lowering themselves into the base. Doyle looked over and saw their angels. "Halleluiah," he said. "Let"s get the hell out of here." He and Damion jumped off of the wall and made their way towards the choppers. As the men abandoned their posts to run to the transports, the infected were able to attack the gate in full force now. A man helped Doyle and Damion aboard the chopper. They felt free now. Free from this hell. The gate broke and the mob began to push their way into the base. Their sights set on the helicopters. A few of the soldiers had fallen behind. The helicopters began to lift off without them. "Wait!" Damion yelled to the pilot. "We still have men down there!" The pilot ignored him and continued to pull back on the controls. "Help me, Doyle," Damion began to lean out of the door to offer a hand to the soldiers. Doyle grabbed his friends hand and helped him lean out as far as he could. Two of the men tripped over each other and were consumed by the mob. The last straggler jumped up and grabbed Damion"s hand. "Pull me in!" the soldier screamed. "Pull me in!" "Hold up," Damion strained to pull the man in. He felt his shoulder being pulled tighter. The infected had grabbed onto the dangling soldier. They pulled him back towards the ground. Damion was abruptly pulled through the door. The soldier screamed as he was pulled into the crowd. Damion loosened his grip and let the soldier go. "Doyle!" Damion yelled. "I lost him." "Get him back inside!" the pilot shouted to Doyle. "We"re off balance!" Another infected leapt up out of the crowd and now had grip on Damion. "No! Doyle!" Hundreds of hands grabbed his uniform and began to pull him down. Doyle grabbed onto the handrails inside the door of the helicopter with his other hand. His face turned red as he fought to save his friend"s life. The other soldiers in the cabin all gripped Doyle to ensure that he too was not pulled out. "Damion!" Doyle fought to keep his grip on Damion"s hand. The helicopter gained more elevation. Doyle felt his shoulder pop out of its socket. The pain consumed him. The last thing he remembered before blacking out from the pain was Damion"s fingers slipping out from his glove. "Homecoming" Chapter Four - Day 20: Devastation They promised Doyle that when he got better, he"d have a front row seat to the devastation. He wasn"t completely sure of what they were talking about because staying conscious was difficult. The doctors weren"t sure if his docile state was on account of his injury or if the sleep was relaxing. Either way, for nearly four days, he slept. The dreams were the only downside to the extended rest period. Just as sleeping in the barracks brought out horrible images in his mind, the isolation of his bed in the hospital permitted his mind to wander. One night he relived a fishing trip that he had taken during basic training. Doyle, Harold Flynn and Damion rented a boat and went out on a lake near the base. Their commanding officers had decided to give the platoon that Sunday off for "good behavior" and fishing was the first thing that popped into the three friends" mind. Their lures had been bobbing in the water for nearly two hours. Damion had actually felt the tug of a bite on the line, but he didn"t bother to pull it in. He didn"t really come all the way out here to do much of anything. None of them did. It was the relaxation and the ambiance of the trip that made it appealing. "One more week, eh?" Doyle was almost falling asleep in his seat. His fisherman"s hat blocking the sun from piercing his eyes. "Yep," Damion swiveled around in his seat and flicked his fishing rod. "Just like high school, man. Wanted out from day one, but now I don"t want to leave." "I"m ready to get out. Need the cash to start rolling in," Flynn reeled in his line and cast it out again. He didn"t add more bait. "Decided on whether or not you"re gonna be flying, Flynn?" Doyle asked. "Yep, I"ll be in a chopper by the end of the month," Flynn replied. "Is that your final answer?" "Already put in my papers. They"re sending me off to Fort Campbell in Kentucky after all is said and done." "The wife doesn"t mind you being up in the air?" "She understands. Been wanting to fly since I was little. Best chance I"m gonna get." "Well, here"s to you," Doyle raised a half-empty beer can. "To Flynn!" Damion laughed as he lifted up his beer. "Ah, shut up," Flynn smiled. The three let silence fall over their boat once again. This trip was the last time they were all together. It was also the last really happy moment that Doyle could remember. The sad part was seeing Damion"s face again. The bad part was when the dream shifted and the boat tipped over, throwing Damion into the water. Doyle and Flynn casually leaned over to help him back into the boat, laughing hysterically as they did. Then hundreds of pale hands would reach out of the water and drag Damion"s head down under, the bubbles surfacing above him. The sick part was that Doyle found himself still laughing even as his friend was drowning. Doyle woke up and threw up into a pan by his bed; gasping for breath afterwards. Why the hell did I dream that? Doyle"s room in the hospital had a small balcony with a cheap plastic chair by the railing. He looked around at his view and felt relived to be back in the city. They buildings seemed barren and the only vehicles below were of the military sort. Across the Hudson River, he could see Manhattan. The island was dark and seemed like it was covered in a shadow. To him, it looked a lot like a scene out of "Escape from New York." The nurse came in after a while and was astonished that Doyle was out of bed. She explained to him that his commanding officers would be in shortly to explain what would be happening tonight. Sure enough, just as the clock struck 8 o" clock, a few generals walked in. Doyle hadn"t put on his clothes and was still walking around his room in the hospital gown. The first thing the officers spotted upon entering was his bare rear end. "Sergeant Jeremy Doyle?" a general asked. Doyle turned around to face the officers. He saluted in his gown. "Yes, sir." The officers saluted back. "At ease." They escorted Doyle to the balcony and began to explain the situation in detail. "In the next few hours, you will be hearing a series of explosions. Much like those you heard and saw near your outpost." "You really are driving them to Manhattan?" Doyle asked. "Yes, we are. It"s the only place that can contain all of the infected persons long enough for us to begin our strikes." "Strikes?" Doyle laughed. "You"re gonna level the island?" "We don"t like it any more than you do, but this is our best chance to save the remaining population. If all goes according to plan, we will be wiping out eighty-nine percent of the infected this night. The rest can be easily picked off by our airborne divisions." "I don"t believe this," he turned back to his view of Manhattan. "I trust that the island is emptied." "We"ve been evacuating for the past week. The only reason there would be people still there is if they"re hiding." Of course there are people in hiding. Doyle sighed. Some of the people on that island are about to lose everything they have anyways. Why not go down with the ship? "We hope you"ll be back to assist us with the "clean-up", Sergeant," one of the officers said to Doyle as they exited the room. The bridges were the first to be hit when midnight rolled around. They groaned and cried their twisted-metal songs as they fell into the river. Would he help with the clean-up? He didn"t know for certain. If it ended with the world turning in peace for a few more years, then yes he would. But now, he couldn"t think. The bombers made a pass over the island before swinging around. The firebombs lit up the island. The concussion pounded in his ears with every burst and the walls of the hospital jumped. Buildings fell and everything burned. Underneath the explosions, he heard the infected screaming. Their cries rang out all at once. Such hate, Doyle thought. He began to pity them. They weren"t like this by choice. The disease only spread through the innocent. Now, instead of finding a cure, we were bombing one of our own cities to get rid of a problem that we created. Science starts with a man asking questions. His mind trailed off to Dana being infected only three feet away from him and Damion"s hand slipping out of his glove. The pity he felt for the infected was gone. He hated them now. Completely. "Burn, you bastards," Doyle whispered towards the island. "Homecoming" Chapter Five - 28 Days Later... "It looks like we have targets to the north, Doyle," Flynn spoke into the intercom as the helicopter rose into the air. "You in?" "In like Flynn," Doyle loaded a clip into his rifle and cocked it back. The chopper made a quick pass over Manhattan. Ash still blocked most of the destruction from view but orange glows still indicated that fires were still burning. It was a necessary loss, Doyle convinced himself There were three other riflemen in the chopper beside Doyle. He was quick to learn their names but stopped there. He didn"t want to know them. Connections were severed far too often in this line of work. "Doyle, right?" Danny was his name. He kept on chewing a wad of gum as he smiled at Doyle. "Yeah. Danny, right?" Doyle played along. Danny nodded his head. "You"re Zack?" Zach nodded. "And you"re George?" "Yep," George confirmed. He held his rifle tight against his stomach as if he was using it as a shield. "Don"t get all riled up. We"ll be up here and they"ll be up here," Doyle reassured George. "You lost someone?" "My sister," George said. "She was at school when..." "Keep that out of your mind, alright?" Doyle needed everyone firing straight. A nervous sniper equaled wasted shots. "Did you two lose someone?" "My grandparents," Zack held back tears. "My dad," Danny said. "Alright then. We"re all in the same boat," Doyle said. "Relax and keep them out of your minds. You"ll be saving lives by doing so." "Hooah," the three said in unison. "What are you seeing, Flynn?" Doyle asked through the intercom.

"I should be going with you." He sounds miserable, but I question how much of it is from the illness. "I should"ve gone to a doctor when I first felt woozy. Now I gotta sit here and... I don"t even know what I"m gonna do." "Catch up on Wyrm Talk?" I say with a grin. He snickers. "Believe it or not, I don"t find dragons interesting enough to sit through an hour-long talk show. Regardless of how charming that Dunkle-guy is." "Well, you"re gonna have to watch them because I will not-repeat, will not-be watching this next season all by myself. You"ll just have to suffer through it." Anders blows his nose into a handkerchief, and says with a nasally voice, "More than I already am?" "More than you already are." "Is this that the ol" elvish charm you"re working on me? The thing everyone always warns me about?" "Is it working?" He cocked his head. "Right now, I wish it wasn"t." The worry lines on his forehead recede and he finally relents and takes my hand in his. "Just be careful, okay? Word on the net is that tavern might be hotter than we thought." "I have no doubt." "Just be careful," he repeats. "If things go to drek..." "I"ll sound the retreat." I kiss him and we touch our foreheads together. I can feel the heat from his fever radiating through my skin. "Don"t worry. I"ll be back soon-" - [simsense/skipforward: sub: dze user: anders time: 03:37:12/06-8-54 initiate...] We always knew the tavern Mr. Johnson tasked us with robbing was much more than it appeared. It"s on Renraku property, so right away we"re talking about the reddest of flags. But there had been no guards outside. A few inside, certainly, but nothing to really get worried about. I"m working on hacking the door into the back room when Raina starts to get antsy. "There"s something off here, guys," she says. I pretend like I hadn"t heard and start pulling up the correct IC and spikes on my deck. Doesn"t take me that long. I figure, judging by the port, that they"re only running a RenSEC v46 security program for the door. It"s the most basic security algorithm still in general circulation, but I still don"t take any chances. I call up a little trojan to test the pushback. I haven"t avoided flatlining all these years by making assumptions. "Give it a rest, Rain," Thek says, never failing to speak his mind when the opportunity allows. It"s why I bring him along so often. "Just be ready. Keep the suspicions and the spider-sense shit to yourself." Hester, our formidable mage, takes a second out of her night to laugh at Thek"s little reference. "We"re not supposed to be having fun in here, Thek." Thek throws on a fake grin. "Who"s having fun?" "Not Raina." In response, Raina turns and stares daggers at Thek and Hester, hefting that Colt rifle as if she intends to use it. "Just thinking out loud. Maybe we shoulda brought more people." I finally humor her. "Four runners are fine for this job if we take it slow." I get a ping back from my trojan, giving us the all-clear for my spike. Within a second of my hitting the EXECUTE button, the electronic deadbolt whines and retracts. With a big smile on my face, I turn, playfully flick the barrel of Raina"s Colt, and repeat, "Slow." That seems to calm her down. Not sure why. "Okay." "All right." I nod at Thek, who already has his little assault drone, Buster, ready to be our point man. "Clear the next room, if you would." "With pleasure." He plugs the little droid transmitter into his datajack and I can see readouts flickering inside his cybereyes. "Go, Buster, go." The drone excitedly spins once and hovers toward the door, which I gradually push open until the crack is wide enough for the little machine to pass through, then I pull it closed. "Legolas, what do your elf eyes see?" I ask. Thek shakes his head. "The intense sensation of disappointment I"m feeling right now is overriding my driving ability here." He looks around the room, guiding the drone"s camera. "Looks like a bunch of shelves... more shelves... a couple empty wine bottles and a walk-in freezer." "No guards?" "No nothin"." "Is there a panel on the walk-in?" His eyebrows furrow. "Not that I can see." I don"t like the sounds of this. Why were there guards around if there"s nothing in this building to guard? "Nothing that looks like a sensor? Camera? Are you getting any kind of electronic feedback?" "Scanning all frequencies, all corners. There"s nothing in there." Despite giving Raina a hard time, I"m starting to agree with her. There"s something off about this place. "Okay, keep Buster trained on that door. Shoot anything that comes out." "Roger that. Shoot indiscriminately." "Raina, find some cover behind Buster. You"ll be going in first. Hester, you and I will follow Raina." The mage nods and snaps her fingers. Sparks fly. "You got it, Boss." "Thek, you wait here until we clear that walk-in." The elf nods. "Roger that. Waiting indiscriminately." "Pain in the ass," Hester whispers, smiling. "Mission accomplished." We move into the next room with Raina on point behind the drone. She sweeps her Colt around the room, letting the lamp mounted on the barrel illuminate the darker corners. We find nothing out of the ordinary for an abandoned tavern. But it"s not just an abandoned tavern, isn"t it? "Clear," Raina barks. "Okay." I holster my pistol and moved to the walk-in freezer; a bit of a misnomer, since it was effectively room temperature at this point. "Unless we somehow missed a room-" "We didn"t," Thek calls out from the doorway. "-then Mr. Johnson"s goods have to be in this walk-in." "Seems unlikely," Hester says, scratching her nose. "Smells like mold. If you hadn"t told me Renraku was listed on the lease, I would"ve told you this looks like your average tavern." "I guess we"ll find out." I unto the chain latch on the walk-in door and pull back the handle. The heavy door swings wide, delaying a most interesting reveal. "Damn..." Hester chuckles. "Did I happen to say something along the lines of "Seems unlikely"?" Thek makes the little drone nod and blink an affirmative. "Guess my spider-sense isn"t as refined as Raina"s." Raina, thankfully, doesn"t rise to the prodding. I approach the safe door, set almost perfectly inside the mouth of the walk-in. Thinking about it, it makes sense; the freezers are already lined with lead so building a safe inside of one was just a matter of adding a heavy door and a padlock. "Time for the final breach," I say, and swing the deck down off my shoulder. "I know I said this wasn"t gonna be a windfall or anything, but a safe this size makes me think they"re stowing more than just what our Mr. Johnson needs." Thek finally decides to join the group. "Fingers crossed for some sweet, sweet incriminating data." Raina looks over her shoulder, still looking uncertain as ever. But I know we"re almost through here. Just one more door. I hook my deck into the padlock and get a trojan ready to test the security type. Safety first. The elf sighs. "Do you really gotta do that with every door? You waste time like an elf." "You know I"m an elf. What"s that supposed to mean?" I ask. "We have all the time, but none of the patience. Humans have all the patience, but none of the time. You need to look to humans for inspiration more often." Thek looks pleased with himself. "Put that on a plaque and sell it." "Right." Hester is stifling a laugh. "Take that back to Boonie and I"m sure he"ll laugh you out the door." "That guy has mad respect for me. Just watch, he"s gonna buy us drinks when we get back-and he"s gonna have a novelty sticker to hand out of that drek shop he has going-" I smile-and for some reason, I"m thinking of Anders. My trojan comes back tainted, and it starts overheating my datajack to the point where it feels like it"s burning a hole through my head. I can hear myself screaming, scratching at the jack to yank the connection, but my hands can"t find the plug. There are flashes erupting from Raina"s gun and Hester steps over me with electricity arcing between her fingertips. I"m on my back now, convulsing. I"m still trying to yank the cord from my skull, but my hands come back with clumps of my own hair instead. This is it. That warm feeling that twists you about and kicks you into something resembling Limbo. Dumpshock is setting in. I"ve never been this scared in my life. Raina looks at me, looks at the cord and my smoldering datajack. Her hand leaves her weapon for a brief moment, but a bullet connects with the wall beside her and she yelps. She trips over my body running for the exit- - Anders couldn"t take any more. He brought the simsense safeword to mind and repeated it mentally over and over. The chaos of Daze-E"s memories started to withdraw, fading back and back until Anders found himself in the hotel coffin. Alone. Looking over at the tiny mirror beside him, he half-expected to see Daze-E looking back, but there was nothing. He could still hear her thoughts echoing off the walls of his mind, making it harder for him to accept that the woman who"d made them was truly gone. He reached for another bottle of whiskey, but the minibar was empty. He cursed and thrashed and cried into his hands, occasionally whimpering her name, praying that she"d reply. But then another name came to him: Boonie. He"d heard the name before. Boonie was a fence and a one-time fixer out of the Barrens, and it was possible he"d come into possession of Hester and Raina"s whereabouts since the tavern job went down. It was a small lead, but he had to wonder just how small. Anders eased back down onto his bed, and held up Thek"s datajack to the light. """[Well, you"ve all got the feed by now. Should we be thrilled?]""" - Armagetty (22:32:45/06-7-54) """[I"m thinking I could sleep better than I ever have. He had it coming in the worst way.]""" - ShyLow (22:35:01/06-7-54) """[. . .don"t think i"ve seen a jack get yanked in that way. bare hands and all. gnarly stuff. . .]""" - gatzB (22:36:12/06-7-54) """[I still have that masterpiece on replay over here. You can see the regret set in like a damn fever, the exact moment Thek realized he shouldn"t"ve left Daze-E to die. Wish I could frame this.]""" - ACR (22:39:08/06-7-54) """[You are several different kinds of fragged, ACR.]""" - Armagetty (22:42:10/06-7-54) """[It"s all for posterity, a lesson for the Barrens. You let the one ray of sunshine in this place get geeked, you"re gonna be living in a world of darkness.]""" - ACR (22:44:22/06-7-54) Shadowrun: Daze Gone Bye Chapter Four - Phantom Pains "This is what you bring me, yeah? What you bring me after all the years we known each other?" The ork slipped an entire plug of chew between his tuck and cheek, gnawing on the end while he sized up the young woman. "You bring me trouble, yeah? And not the kind I can easily be rid of." Raina couldn"t help but notice the unusually cramped quality of Boonie"s apartment. She had to tuck in her elbows to avoid touching the scattering of armed gangers lounging about with weapons at their ready. During previous visits, she could"ve sworn she"d heard the ork say something about getting out of the game. Getting far out of the game, might have been closer to verbatim, but Boonie"s operation never seemed to shrink. Tonight-and Raina had a guess as to why-something very specific had Boonie spooked. "I didn"t know what else to do," Raina said, trying to keep some measure of calm. "The guy tore the jack from Thek"s head with his bare fucking hands. Right in front of the camera, Boonie. Right in front of me." She hadn"t said it aloud yet, and it came out at a stutter: "He"s... God, he"s gonna kill me, Boonie." "And probably it won"t be quick," said the ork. "That was implied, yeah. Thanks for pointing that out." She sneered. "He"ll probably do worse for me. And that"s if he gets to me before Hester. If I"m the last to go, he might just keep me on the line "til he"s had his kicks flaying the skin from my fingers or something." "Calm yourself, Raina." "How am I supposed to calm down, huh?" She gestured around the room. "You"ve got twenty guys here because of this and I"m not supposed to be on edge?" Boonie spat a gob of chew. Never onto the floor, never into a cup. Right into his plump hand before slipping it into his pocket. No one had ever been able to figure out why he did this. Raina hadn"t even made the attempt. "I take threats seriously. Most seriously, yeah? This man, Anders, if he comes for you then he"ll have to come for me. If he comes for me, then I make things difficult." Raina eased herself back onto one of the padded chairs in the room. It was outrageously comfortable by human standards, thick and plushy, but about baseline for an ork. "I don"t know what to do." "You"ve already found something to do, yeah? Relax." "We should"ve done things differently. We should"ve... I don"t know. Told Anders? Tried harder to save Daze?" "In this business, the questions will be numerous enough to suffocate. Runs go bad, people die, sometimes taken by Renraku and never seen again. You say Daze-E was dumpshocked and I say I believe you. You say there was nothing you could do and I believe that too. But Daze-E was well-liked, especially here in the Barrens." He spat into his hand again and chuckled. "Most of all by her husband, yeah?" Raina could feel herself tearing up, which surprised her. She hadn"t really let the full weight of her current predicament seep in this whole time. After seeing Thek die, she"d spent the whole night running and running, lugging her rifle case behind her down every backalley she could think of, skirting around ganger hangouts. Now the very real possibility of getting geeked by this maniac was staring her right in the face. "Maybe if we pay him off," Raina mused. "If we give him Daze-E"s share from the run, maybe he"ll just go away." Boonie shook his head. "Even if that were your decision to make, and it is not, it is not likely he will quit his revenge play for money. I would guess Thek offered him as much when his thinker was being split open." He shrugged. "In any case, the goods from your run have been purchased. The nuyen divvied out. There"s nothing to give unless you would part with your share." When Raina looked to the floor, he smiled knowingly. "And I suspect you have nothing to give, either." Raina sighed and shook her head. It was true, her share of the money was long gone. Even with the substantial payout Boonie had given her and Thek and Hester, it was barely enough to pay down her debts. This last run with Daze-E was supposed to be a stepping stone into more profitable runs, since Daze-E had an in with practically everyone this side of Seattle. What a dramatic ending to that endeavor. If what she saw on the Shadowlands was any indication, she"d never be able to find work in this city again. Moving to CalFree or the Flux would be her only option. Maybe. "Are you gonna let me stay here, Boonie?" Raina asked. The ork nodded. "I will let you stay until this matter has ended. I suspect one of the weapons in this room will bring about that end, yeah? Much potential, Raina. Much potential." "If you say so." "I say and I mean it." Boonie snapped his bulging fingers and one of his gangers stepped forward. "Take Miss Raina to the panic room. Ensure no one disturbs here." He turned back to Raina. "Some sleep in a safe room will certainly do wonders for this fear." Raina couldn"t help but notice the ork had called the room a panic room and a safe room-there distinction there was important for a passing moment-but she nodded graciously at her one-time fixer and long-time friend and followed the ganger into the master bedroom. At the back corner of the room was a floor-to-ceiling mirror, into which Raina stared for a long moment until her escort flipped a switch on the nightstand. The mirror slid open, revealing an open reenforced door that led into a small, similarly-armored room. There was small cot in the corner, a shelf loaded down with MREs of various combinations, and a series of vidscreens that gave the room"s occupant a view of very room in the apartment, along with a view of the hallway, stairway, and the building"s entrance. "Thanks," she said, stepping into the room. "Locks from the inside," said the escort. "I"ll be sliding the mirror closed right now." "All right." The escort nodded and flipped the switch on the nightstand again. Raina closed and locked the reenforced door, and plopped down on the cot. For a time, she just sat there, glaring at her callused hands and the chipped remnants of blue nail polish on her fingers. She remembered the first time she met Daze-E; the woman had all but insisted that she could read palms. Unsure if it was part of the interview, Raina had held out her hand and Daze"s delicate fingers traced fate lines to some inconclusive end. She wondered if that stuff actually worked, if Daze-E had seen how their two lives would cross, how only one of them would endure to see the day after. Would Daze-E have said something? Or was it all just drek and nobody saw that disaster coming until it arrived? A conclusion lanced through Raina"s mind like a flash of lightning, a weak admission that she should"ve stayed with Daze-E. Even at her own peril, she should"ve stayed. "Boonie," came a voice. "Boonie, open up." Raina looked up at the monitors and saw someone standing at Boonie"s front door. It was a woman with olive skin and a bright white robe that was strapped tight around her waist. The cowl of the robe was pulled up over her head, but Raina saw that curly brown hair hanging down to her chest and she knew who it was. "Who is it?" Boonie called back, keeping a few gangers between himself and the door. "It"s Hester," the woman said. It was their stalwart mage from Daze-E"s last run."Dammit, Boon, open it up." Boonie gave the signal and one of his soldiers toggled the heavy padlocks on the front door and pulled it open. When the ork got a good look at her, he gave everyone the signal to stand down. "Well if it isn"t my favorite mage. You"re looking well, my friend." "Not dead, you mean," said Hester, stepping inside. "It"s been one hell of a week." "So I"ve heard, so I"ve heard. A milk run gone sour, yeah? I know this, I know this very well." He motioned to the living room and the pair of them appeared on a different vidscreen, this one with a slightly tilted view of the couches. "Glad to see you made it back safe. Much misfortune clinging to that run." Hester crossed her arms beneath her robe, trying to keep her hands from shivering. "I was very lucky." "Luck? Yes, but luck is a passing thing. I suspect you know this, as well." "I"ve heard about Thek. Terrible news." "Terrible, yes. In our line of work, death... it is not uncommon. Still, we are never quite dulled to it." The ork put some more chew in between his tusks. "Different pains each time, yeah?" "Yeah," said Hester. Raina couldn"t help but notice how much the mage was shivering; as though she were sitting in a freezer. "With all this business involving Anders and Thek, I thought I might be able to find Raina here. Has she come by?" The ork stroked his chin. "I have not yet seen her. Not since your group unloaded the goods. I suspect this business you speak of, this business with Anders drove her away, or underground, yeah? Somewhere a man like him cannot follow." "Oh?" Hester"s whole body began to quiver. Her mouth twitched, as though she were on the verge of forming a hundred different words at once. "I"d... I"d very much like to get in touch with her... her... her." Boonie"s yellow eyes narrowed. He spat into his hand, carried it to his pocket. "Are you not well, Hester?" Hester"s eyes went wide. "C-c-cold," she said. "W-w-where...?" "I"ve told you, I do not know. She"s not here." "S-s-slave..." "What?" Hester"s hand tugged at her hair violently, her whole body shaking. "S-s-slave, B-b-b-boonie." Her head twitched. "Where!" Raina couldn"t make sense of what was going on until Boonie charged forward and pulled back Hester"s cowl. Raina gasped; Boonie stumbled back, rage in his eyes. Latched to the top of Hester"s skull, at about the spot her datajack would"ve been, was an odd-looking device that was made up of mostly brightly-colored wires, some of which curved down the back of her neck and pierced the base of her skull. "She"s slaved out!" Boonie roared. "Anders, you fragging monster!" "Where is she!" Hester shouted, her voice strangled by conflicting signals. "Where is she, Boonie!" "You"re getting null outta me, Anders! Let Hester go!" "Tell me!" "You let her go right now!" "You"re a part of this," Hester said. Raina could almost hear Anders in her voice. "You"re all part of this!" The mage"s arm glowed, sparked, while her other arm fought to tug it back down. "Damn you, Anders!" The ork pulled a pistol from his hip and aimed it at Hester"s head, but before he could even squeeze the trigger, every screen in the safe room cut out. The entire building shook and the floor beneath Raina"s feet heaved as though it would burst open. The room heated to an almost unbearable temperature. Raina sat there. Waiting and waiting. Waiting for some glimpse of life to return to her screens, but all she saw was static and all she heard was the hiss of white noise. After a moment or two, even that was gone.

Jim and Doyle would often relax in the aircraft carrier"s bar and recap on their history. They found that talking came quite easily between the two of them. "We"re just lucky, I guess," Doyle had teased over a pint. "You know how we Americans are. Blast anything what squirts blood at you into oblivion." "Seems effective from here," Jim said, taking a drink. "I just can"t believe how it didn"t spread to the US. Selena was telling me how it was all over the news for a time." "They"re not very good swimmers. Mostly all they can do is scream and bite...from what I hear anyways." "Yeah, there"s a bit more to "em than that, but I guess that"s the most of it." Doyle stared off into the distance. His eye twitched as if he was surprised by something. "You alright, Doyle?" Jim asked. "Something bite you?" "Yeah," Doyle said in a very blank tone of voice. "I mean, no." "What?" "Nothing," the sergeant buried his face into the beer glass. That was the way he acted every time they drank. Something would pop up in Doyle"s mind that sent him into a type of flashback. Jim thought this was strange and began asking around the ship to see if something had happened to his friend in the past. "Couldn"t tell ya," a soldier would say. "Just met the guy. Been overseas for about a year now." "He seems like a cool guy," another said. "Doesn"t seem like someone that would let his past affect him." "Been overseas. So, I don"t really know Doyle all too well." Jim found it equally strange that almost every member of the crew had been overseas before being redeployed to Britain to assist in the quarantine. He found it a bit disturbing, actually. But, his fears were laid to rest when he caught up with an old friend of Doyle"s. "Nothing really spectacular ever happened," Flynn said. "Nothing that would get Doyle all freaked out." "Yeah, but he"s really going through something," Jim explained. "When he starts drinking then he can"t stay focused for more than a minute." "Well, I"m sure all of the soldiers who have a few too many will have similar symptoms. It"s often referred to as "being drunk off your ass"." "He"s not telling me something or you"re not telling me something. The man has been nothing but kind to me and my friends since we got on this boat. I want to help him if I can." Flynn all of the sudden turned very serious. His voice was cold and unforgiving. "You"re digging a bit too deep here, son," he said. "Let things be. You"ve seen what"s out there, but we"ve seen worse. Don"t go mouthing off to the wrong person or you might be on this ship for a very long time. You and your companions." He turned and walked away, leaving Jim with a sick feeling inside. For the remainder of his stay aboard the carrier, Jim watched his friend mentally self-destruct. Only it wasn"t happening over a drink now, it was at random times. Doyle would stop in mid-step, prop himself against the corridor wall and get red-eyed. "You all right, Doyle?" Jim asked. "I think I got me some food poisoning." He wiped his tears away. "Damn McDonalds food. Am I right or am I right?" Jim smiled weakly. On the day of their departure, Jim, Selena and Hannah said their goodbyes to all of the people they had come to know and love. On the flight deck, Doyle awaited the arrival of the trio. He was leaned up against the helicopter talking to Flynn. "Got tired of floatin" around with us, huh?" Doyle reached out and shook Jim"s hand. Jim laughed. "Trust me, rather be here than France. I can tell you that much." Doyle walked over to Selena and hugged her. "You keep them out of trouble." "So I guess I"m the mother now," Selena said. "Just lock Hannah in a closet whenever she gets fussy, and you"ll do fine." Hannah giggled and embraced Doyle after Selena. "Thanks for taking care of us, Doyle." "Don"t thank me too much; I was serious about the closet." The three waved through the window of the chopper as it hovered into the sky. Doyle stood on the helipad and watched them until they were safely on their way across the Channel. Flynn turned towards the passengers and handed Jim a small envelope. "He wanted me to give that to you!" he yelled over the propellers. Jim reached up and took the envelope. He pulled up the flap and shook its contents out onto the palm of his hand. "Dogtags," he said, moving them into better light to read the words. Ever since that day, Jim wore those tags. He wasn"t even quite sure why. All he knew was that there was something wrong with that soldier. Something terribly wrong. The two of them reacted the same to loud noises and people"s coughs the same way. They both jumped as if something was about to attack them. The way the infected did. Yet, Doyle constantly denied such an encounter. It annoyed Jim very much, and it destroyed him when he read the newspaper the told of the destruction of District One. Three survivors, it said. That meant the secret of Sergeant Jeremy Doyle"s past may have died with him. "Bastards," Jim repeated. "How are you fairing?" Selena"s voice made a whisper behind him. She sat down on the grass. "I read the papers this morning." "Yeah? Then you know what that means?" Jim asked. "He was a dear friend to all of us. Hannah just won"t stop crying in her room." "The worst of it is," he began to rant, "is that it wasn"t the bloody infected." A few pedestrians turned their head at the sound of the word. "It was us! Normal, intelligent, rational English speaking people. Not some mindless freaks of nature." "Calm down, Jim." "It"s just..." he took a breath and calmed down. "...it"s all fucked." "I know," Selena said, trying to comfort her friend. From across the lawn, three men in suits and a man in a military uniform approached Jim and Selena. Right away, they recognized the uniformed man. "Flynn," Jim stood up to meet the group. Flynn nodded gravely. The past incident obviously still fresh in his mind. "Jim. Selena," he acknowledged the two, but his expression still seemed blank. "I remembered that you and yours were shipped over here. Wanted to see if I could find you before I leave for the States." "Then Doyle"s dead," Jim said, knowing what Flynn"s presence meant. Flynn bit his lip and held back the emotions. "Yes," he said. "The biohazard group of District One confirmed the kill.-It was Code Red, so anything and everything that moved had to be taken out. That was how..." "I understand," Jim interrupted to save Flynn from finishing the sentence. "There were two survivors other than myself," Flynn sighed. "A brother and sister. They were the last to see Doyle alive. If you want, you can accompany these men," he motioned to the suits, "and they"ll take you to meet them." "Where"s my sister?" Andy shot a look of defiance at the nurse. The nurse grew impatient, and responded in her thick French accent. "They"ve taken her to a different lab for decontamination." "She doesn"t need decontamination!" he was frustrated now. "I was the one who got bit, not her." "Sweetie, you couldn"t have been bitten," she picked up a scope and looked into the boy"s eyes. Upon examination, she noticed the different colored irises and the red discoloration around them. "Did you come into contact with any hazardous materials? Anything that would make your eyes irritated?" Andy rolled his eyes. "They put that smoke out in the streets." "Who did?" "Those army guys. The ones that killed Doyle." "Ah," the nurse realized what had happened. "You must have gotten a small dose of the chemical weaponry they implemented." The doctor, a tall man with a thick moustache, walked into the room. He asked the nurse if she found anything. "Avez-vous trouvé quelque chose?" "Non," she said. "Mais ses yeux sont irrités du contaminant biologique." "I see," the doctor had a perfect English accent. "Well, young man, the worst you might get from us is a vaccine and a glass of water." He smiled. "I want to see Tam," Andy demanded. "I believe she"s already been let go," the doctor reassured his patient. "When you"re through here, I"ll arrange transport personally. Won"t be more than an hour, I promise." The doctor pulled a small wooden instrument from a drawer that resembled a large popsicle stick to the boy. "Open your mouth and say "Ah"," he requested. The boy opened his mouth wide and the doctor moved in close so see if there was any sort of infection in his throat. "Now, I need you to cough for me." Andy did so. A tiny drop of saliva flicked into the doctor"s eye. "Ouch," he said in reflex. "Êtes-vous bien, docteur?" the nurse asked. "Yes, yes. I"m alright," he said, rubbing his eye. "Okay, now open wide again because I couldn"t quite..." The doctor began to rub his eye again. With every passing second the rubbing intensified. He began to shout out in agony. "Docteur?" asked the nurse, weakly. The man continued to rub his eye frantically until blood began to drip down his hand... Edit: 12/24/07 - Couldn"t get the story arc for "The Unforgiven" down, so I tacked that singular chapter onto the end of "Homecoming" to let it just lead off into the end of the movie. So, I apologize for not being able to finish that story. (I just don"t know enough about France to keep it going successfully.) Also wanted to take this opportunity to thank those who have endured the many typos and read this fic! D Wow. Can"t believe it got finished. I really can"t. It"s been a wild ride, I guess you could say. The whole thing started after I watched "28 Weeks Later" on opening day. I had watched its predecessor several times over and had reservations that the sequel, minus its original cast, would just sit there and fail to amuse me in the theater. After being awestruck, I vented my rage concerning the death of my favorite character into this prequel. Very much like I did with my fic "Drive" after watching the last episode of "Firefly" on DVD. (Serenity needed to fly again, in my mind.) I wished Doyle had survived the whole ordeal, or at least been used a bit more. But, obviously, it isn"t going to happen. Sad, really. So, here"s the end of the story. I am very proud of it and had a lot of fun writing it. Too much fun. Now comes the time to fix all of the errors and stuff like that to make it more streamlined, but, for now, it"s finished. Bummer. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read this and continue to leave reviews for it. Especially Stranded, who left a review almost every step of the way, and saved me from not using Scarlett Ross at all in the story. It was that one look that Doyle gave Ross through his scope that I completely missed, lol. Thanks again, and I hope that I didn"t make any stupid mistakes with the story. There was only one way it could end. -knight p.s. - Don"t forget to review. It really helps me out. :) "Homecoming" Chapter Two - Day 8: Epidemic The sun was coming up over the coast, shooing away the mist that covered the fields around the base. The front gates had been barricaded with various crates loaded down with sand. Armed guards walked along the perimeter, an honest eye looking out towards the fields. In the radio room, the operator sat, always tensed. Just waiting for the incoming static to fade into a sliver of hope every now and then. It was only the previous day that they got word that the riots around New York were, in fact, a biological contaminant. That"s what they were calling it. The words "apocalypse" and "end of the world" were being used by the soldiers to describe the current state of affairs. "Just be glad we"re not in England right now," the commanding officers would reassure them. They had lost almost all contact with the island across the pond. Cargo ships loaded with refugees were found drifting towards Manhattan. Most of the ships were "extinguished" on account of their infected cargo. Other than that, it was only silence in the air waves. From the reports they were receiving from around the east coast, the incidents were pretty isolated. The infected didn"t have a chance of spreading in most places. "Thank God for the second amendment." Most of the infected were shot dead before they could do much damage. Yet, the threat was not immediately extinguishable. Blockades were being thrown up everywhere, made up of soldiers and militia to keep the lines from being thin, but some were still being overrun apparently. "These are dark days that fall upon us," the President would muse over the radio. "Dark days that will test our strength as a unified species." Unified species, indeed. The next day the embargos were ratified and a naval quarantine of the waters around the east coast began. The eastern hemisphere was dead to the United States at this time. The barracks were typically quiet as the men rested for the nights, but now, they were always bustling. Most of the soldiers couldn"t sleep more than an hour. They began to subconsciously sleep in shifts. Each one that was awake eyed the horizon for the boogie man. Doyle was fast asleep. Deep inside a nightmare. That image of Dana, infected and bleeding from her mouth, was etched into his mind. In most of his dreams, she would actually catch up with him when he tried to run. "Hey!" Damion kicked at Doyle"s bunk to wake him up. "Get out of that nightmare and join us in this one." Doyle shot up and nearly hit his head on the bar of the top bunk. He began to breathe heavily. "Same dream?" Damion asked. Doyle had told him of the incident involving his girlfriend while they were on the perimeter the day before. "Same damn one," Doyle caught his breath. He stood up and began to put on his uniform. "That wasn"t your fault, ya know?" "I"d like to think that," he buttoned up his coat. "But it"s hard to convince myself that when it happened at arm"s length." "It could have happened a mile away and you"d still be beating yourself up. I know you." Damion pointed. He had known Doyle since high school and all through basic training. He wasn"t lying when he said that. "Anything today?" Doyle changed the subject. "No calls. No anything. Either the other units have everything under control or there aren"t any units left. Either way, we"re sitting on our hand at the moment." "Hooah." The two walked through the base. They noticed that the boxes at the front gates were being replaced with two hummers. Just as heavy, but easily movable if something happens. Good thinking, Doyle thought. He had noticed that the commanders hadn"t yet come to grips that the problem was going to be on their front doorstep before long. The perimeter guards and the boxes had only recently been put in place. Even now, they still swear by their rifles that the infection isn"t that much of a problem. He wagered that every commander who said such a thing slept with a gun under their pillow. He swore by his rifle that they did. "Those walls are closin" in on us," Damion sighed, watching the men park the hummers in front of the gate without coordination. They were constantly coming within inches of each other as they did. "Yes they are. I don"t care how close they get, but I hope they do their job," Doyle replied. "Amen, brother." The hummers knocked bumpers before finally being put in place. The drivers walked away from the vehicles, ashamed at the scraped paint job. Doyle and Damion made a 180 when they heard the radio room door burst open. The operator sprinted out the door with a piece of paper and ran to the commanders" quarters. "What do you reckon?" Damion asked. "Bad news, I assume," Doyle began to walk back towards the barracks to get his gear ready. "Our destination is the city of Troy!" the commander shouted above the diesel engine of the transport. "We received a distress signal that indicates that a few people with the disease were spotted running around town. Don"t know how many we"ll actually be dealing with once we get there." The soldiers bounced around in their seats, not given a vehicle with particularly great suspension. Doyle held his rifle horizontal vertical, pointed up towards the canvas roof. The butt of the gun tapped against the metal flooring as they bounced along. The commander continued. "The town is small. Really small. It won"t take long to make a full sweep of the place, so look sharp, troops." "Hooah!" the soldiers hollered in unison. "Alright." There was nervousness abound. The men had been issued gas masks to wear during their sweeps of the town, but they were considered an obstruction since they didn"t offer a good field of vision. The infected moved very quickly according to intelligence. "Are we shooting to kill?" a soldier raised his hand. "What was that?" the commander turned an ear towards the man. "I asked if we"ve been given the kill order, sir." "R.O.E., boys. Don"t fire unless it"s in self-defense. Things may be bad, but they"re still people. As far as I"m concerned they"re just contagious sickies," the commander reached into a container and pulled out a stack of surgical masks. "Goggles on as well," he said as he passed out the masks to the soldiers. The truck screeched to a halt. "This is our stop!" the commander ushered everyone off of the truck. "Go! Go! Go!" The troopers piled out of the truck and into an empty town square. They were dumbfounded. There"s the kind of empty that"s seen at night when no one is about, then there is the kind of empty that the soldiers were staring into. Papers littered the roundabout, the road that circled a giant statue of a man on a horse. Cars were parked in the middle of the street, doors still hanging open, and a few had the engines still running. The shops were emptied. No one was outside. It was an eerie feeling to say the least. "Any movement?" Doyle called out to the rest of the troops. If the commander wasn"t around, then he was in charge. "No, sir," a soldier was using the scope to scan the windows. "Second platoon, scout the street at three o" clock," Doyle signaled the "go" order. The group of five soldiers carefully moved towards the entrance to the street leading out of the square to the right. One trooper planted himself at the corner of a building and leaned around the edge. He made a signal to Doyle, nothing. "Let"s move up." Once the rest of the unit reached the platoon, they joined up and began to search the street. "Speak up loud and proud if anyone sees anything," Doyle ordered. "Even if it"s a cat." "I got this suspicious lookin" paper over here, Sergeant," one of the men joked. "Street lamp over here," another joined in. "I think this bush is signaling intent, Sergeant. Requesting permission to interrogate." They have to joke. They have to, Doyle reasoned. They really have no idea what they"re looking for. If they had seen what I saw that day... "Doyle," Damion pointed up to the second floor of a pharmacy. "Top floor, ten o" clock." The group saw the movement and a slight thumping in the distance. Doyle brought the rifle up and peered through his scope at the window. "Jesus..." Doyle saw a blonde-haired girl being pressed up against the window. Her arms flailed around as she attempted the break the glass. A large amount of blood shot all over her face and the window. She fell to the ground, revealing a shadowy figure. Doyle could make out the red eyes. "Heat "em up!" Doyle ordered. Damion loaded a small grenade into the launcher on his rifle. He took aim at the window and pulled the trigger. The smoke line curved towards the window and a small amount of glass trickled down onto the pavement. "Take cover!" The unit ducked behind an alley just before they heard the explosion. Flaming pieces of wood and rubble flew through the sky and slammed into the street below. "What about the rules of engagement, sir?" a soldier asked, holding his weapon close. "I don"t know about you," Damion spoke up, "but I heard a gunshot." He believed the stories that Doyle had told. Without a doubt. He knew he had just given that girl the peace of mercy. "I heard it," the soldiers began to say one by one. "Yeah, same here." "I heard it too, boss." After the debris stopped falling, the men moved out from the alley. The top floor of the pharmacy was gone. "Let"s go make sure that there aren"t any infected over at the bar," Damion laughed. "Maybe another time," Doyle replied. "There"s no one here anymore. We"ll be defenseless if we go deeper into town." He made a signal back towards the town square. "Back to the transport." A man burst through the glass of a nearby shop and threw himself onto Damion. Right away, they were on the ground. The man began to scratch and bite at his armor, but wasn"t able to reach flesh. "Get him the hell off me!" Damion screamed. The men already had a grip on the man"s tattered shirt. They pulled him off their fellow soldier and harshly threw him aside. One of the soldiers tried to talks some sense into the man. "Take it easy, sir." Almost at the same time, Doyle yelled out, "Fire!" Their guns lit up and the infected man was slammed back against the wall. He fell dead on the sidewalk. "Move! Double time!" Doyle began to jog with the men towards the square. As they reached the statue, they heard a very loud cacophony of screams and shouts. From the opposite street, a crowd of people that spanned the width of the street was rapidly moving towards them.

Chapter One - All That"s Left Behind Anders followed her body all they way to the local Corpse Grinders, and the mortician had the common decency to apologize for the sign outside the building. "It was a drek name when the franchise was started, and it"s even worse now that we"re subsidized and utilized more than the actual mortuaries." The mortician shook his head. "You shouldn"t be here, friend-o. The body"s already been purchased. If we don"t deliver... Well, let"s just say those kinds of lawsuits are fairly indiscriminate. They swing wide and they swing hard." Anders hadn"t eaten in days, and it"d been even longer since he slept. Compounded by Daze-E"s death, he was reaching a kind of weariness that made his surroundings indistinguishable from the astral. "I just need more time," he pleaded. "I"m begging you. Please don"t..." He motioned to the cold slab, to the laser-guided instruments, to the iceboxes that were already labeled with with the names of vital organs and a familiar blood type. "Please don"t cut her up." The dwarf mortician was looking just as rundown, but there was a kind of indifference there that gave the impression he"d had this talk a thousand times before tonight. "I need you to listen to what I"m saying, chummer. Are you doing that?" Anders nodded. "As I said when you first walked through those doors, Daisy Costigan"s last will and testament is non-ex, and she was found on corporate property with corporate goods, having just shot at corporate security. Those are the three strikes that no one hopes to see." The mortician waited until he spotted some kind of response from Anders. "Now, I"m going to make a leap in judgment and assume that you ran the shadows along with Miss Costigan. Is that correct?" Another nod. "So you know about the UCAS Salvage and Recovery Act. All runners do." "All runners do," Anders echoed at a whisper. The mortician steeled himself. "That means her corpse is corporate property. That means unless you can produce a will or "sufficient interring funds" for a funeral before we"re finished talking, there is nothing you or I can do about this." The tears came again. Anders didn"t think he"d had any left. "Please. She was afraid of needles..." Corpse Grinders security came walking up, but the mortician motioned for her to stand down. "Can I give you some advice?" he asked Anders. "We all mourn the dead. We all wish for different, more peaceful ends for the people we love. But don"t let that emotion color what"s happening in front of you-what"s really happening, I should say." He leaned forward. "Despite the shell you"re seeing in front of you, she"s already gone. And all that"s really left of her in this world is up here," he pointed to Anders"s forehead. "Cherish the memories, not the meat." The mortician nodded and security escorted Anders firmly through the steel double-doors and out into the lobby. He paced across the small room for what must have been an hour, watching the florescents pulse and flicker against the decaying power grid. Off in the corner, past the receptionist"s desk where a brown-haired troll was absently running an oversized nail file across her horns, he spotted a tiny plastic sign that read Observation Room. He stood there, wondering. Maybe the mortician was right. Maybe he should just let her go, accept the unacceptable. That his love of nearly twenty years had gotten herself tagged on what-by all accounts-should have been a milk run, bought and paid for. And that, worst of all, she"d gotten tagged the one time he didn"t go with her. The one time. That tired little voice in his head had been playing the Blame Game all day, from the moment he"d gotten word from Raina that the run had gone south and that Daze was the sole casualty. He"d wanted to reach through the comm and kill the runners on the other end. Raina sounded happy to be alive. Thrilled, even, since they"d gotten away with most of the goods and would only have to split the profit three ways instead of four. She didn"t even pay Anders the courtesy of telling him all this to his face. Maybe it was all Raina"s fault. Maybe she let her guard down and let Daze-E flatline for that little bump in profit. Raina had been the street sam, after all. Daze"s guardian angel. Raina would be blacklisted by most of the fixers in the Sprawl for how everything turned out, but not before she cashed out with the goods. Daze"s goods. But maybe, just maybe, it had been Anders"s fault for not going with the group. He"d let Daze convince him it was just going to be a milk run, even though the first thing every shadowrunner learns on the job is that there"s no such thing. He let those bright green eyes keep him in place, that wide smile break him down, and that calm, singsong voice convince him that everything was going to be okay. He let her lie to him. He should"ve gone. Presently, Anders walked past the receptionist"s desk and turned the corner into the observation room. As fate would have it, Daze-E"s body had already been prepped and marked for surgery. Surgery. Is that what it was? The mortician wrapped a surgical mask around his mouth and began to dictate into the recorder. His voice came amplified over the only working speaker in the observation room. "Subject is a thirty-eight year old female elf. Name: Daisy Costigan. Cause of death: multiple slug wounds leading to a complete bleedout. Scars around datajack indicate possible dumpshock, but all vital organs-minus the left lung-appear intact according to initial scanning. "Beginning first incision." Anders would later find out some unknown art student down in CalFree had paid one lump sum of nuyen for dual reassignment surgery-gender and race-going from male to female, human to elf. Most of Daze"s flesh would end up down there, first class shipping in the finest iceboxes money can buy. The mortician started with Daze-E"s face, moving the laser scalpel over her forehead, around her temples, and down under her chin, taking with it the scar she had suffered tripping down the kitchen step of their first apartment. Then there came a bright flash from a device used to detach the musculature from the skin and the mortician pulled her face free without preamble. He held it up briefly to inspect his work, light from the overhead lamp shining brightly through Daze"s empty mouth, nose, and sagging eyelids, illuminating a macabre expression of cosmic indifference that fluttered like a piece of thin cloth. Anders heard himself cry out in agony, though his own voice seemed miles away. Then, despite the bright surgical lighting and florescents, he saw the floor rising up to meet him and all the world went dark. """[Are we taking bets before I announce who c&b"d during last night"s run? :)]""" - ShyLow (13:05:21/06-7-54) """[Just get the fuck on with it, Shy.]""" - ACR (13:08:56/06-7-54) """[Now I don"t wanna say. Ass.]""" - ShyLow (13:10:45/06-7-54) """[It was Daze-E and her gang, ACR. +1 Temp. -1 Regular. I don"t think anyone would"ve taken that bet.]""" - Armagetty (13:13:31/06-7-54) """[? ? ?Daze-E? seriously? she had a flawless record last i checked? ? ?]""" - gatzB (13:19:08/06-7-54) """[Hear their temp hosed the op. Streetsam goes by Raina. AKA "Rain." AKA "Blacklisted For All Fragging Eternity."]""" - Armagetty (13:15:42/06-7-54) Shadowrun: Daze Gone Bye Chapter Two - This Second-Story Life Raina Dallows placed the barrel of her rifle among the other components and quickly threw her heavy quilt over the table. The chrono of her headware told her she was thirty seconds early. She was off. A lot of things were off, actually. Raina blinked away the chrono projection and waited, her arms pressing down on the quilt, pressing down and around all the components of her rifle, big and small, keeping them in place. The back leg of the table wasn"t standing straight anymore, so the whole thing rocked when she put more weight on it. When had that happened? Three... Two... And one. The headlights of the 3:23 tram flashed directly into her studio apartment before curving around towards Chipp Street, carrying the rest of the train the length of the building, causing nearly everything that wasn"t nailed down to shake vigorously. Fortunately, "everything" wasn"t all that much. A few photographs of old friends swung precariously on cheap tacks and wire; the two porcelain lamps at opposite corners of the apartment rattled threw orange light all over the place; and the old duster of a computer sat on the floor atop a strip of cardboard, its monitor bobbing back and forth. With the passing of the last tram car, a little dust was shaken free from the walls and there came a clacking noise of a few bits of drywall striking the monitor before sliding off onto the mildewed carpet. Raina exhaled. Nothing was working out the way it was supposed to. The small refrigerator in near the computer was almost empty, but for a few condiments and a cup of soykaf she bought a few days back and never finished. She wanted to drink it if it was still good, but the last thing she needed to do was keep herself awake. If and when the images of that last run faded, she wanted to sleep as much as possible; it had been three days and she was still alert and on-edge. She carefully removed the quilt from the table and, with tempered efficiency, reassembled the rifle components until together they were the spitting image of her Colt M22A4. She checked the mag-it was full-and slapped it into the well with a satisfying click. The ammo alone was the most expensive thing in the apartment, and selling off the Colt could probably net her enough scrip to buy out the second and third floors. It sounded tempting from time to time, mostly when the ork couple upstairs were going at it, knocking more dust off the walls than the 3:23. But then all she"d really have would be two empty floors of a rundown apartment with nothing but a fridge, a struggling computer, and a few pictures to fill them with. Sometimes she thought of downgrading one more time to a nearby coffin motel. At least then she wouldn"t be forced to entertain dreams of filling up the empty space with furniture and appliances and all the luxuries she"d promised herself she would have by now. She should be living the high life, not this second-story life. She had to admit to herself one more time: A lot of things were off these days. Especially after that last run with Daze-E. The low chirp of her telecomm chased the thoughts away. She had rerouted her number through the computer so her headware wouldn"t shock her awake if she happened to fall asleep. Some good that did, twenty-four sleepless hours later. Raina tried to hit the key to accept the call, but it was stuck. Whoever had owned the keyboard before leaving it on the curb outside had spilled some kind of drink into it. Now when the keys didn"t stick, they froze in place, and vice versa. Finally, she leaned on the button and the call connected with a quiet ping. "-dammit... Raina!" came a familiar voice. After a few seconds of buffering, the low-res video came through, as well. "Raina, can you hear me?" "Yeah, Thek, I can hear you." It was the rigger from Daze-E"s run. She"d gotten to know the elf decently well before then through a few other runs and word-of-mouth, but if they had bypassed the acquaintance phase and reached personal call levels of familiarity, she hadn"t noticed. "What"s up?" The motorboy was at a stationary comm, street-level by the looks of it. He was pouring sweat and looking over his shoulder more than addressing the camera. "Pack up your stuff and get to a safe house, all right? Wherever you are, it"s not safe. He"ll find you. I can"t figure out how, but he found me..." He turned his back on the camera for a moment. "Who found you?" Raina asked, leaning closer to the monitor. "Are you all right, Thek?" "That guy we met before the run on that tavern. Daze-E"s fling." Raina thought back to the call she"d made after the run. The look of incomparable loss-and rage. "Anders? Thek, is it Anders?" "Yeah, yeah, yeah. That"s the guy. He"s super-fucking pissed, Rain. Probably "cause of what happened to Daze. Came at me with a damn hatchet outside SeaTac. Lone Star didn"t even blink an eye!" "Calm down." "No... no, no, no, I gotta keep moving. I don"t know how I"m gonna get out of the Sprawl now, but I gotta. You should, too." "How the hell do you propose I do that, Thek?" "I don"t fragging know. Walk barefoot through Salish territory if you gotta, but I"m jamming. I"ll see you if I see you. Don"t say no one did nothing for you-" The feed was interrupted by the loud pop of someone slamming into the camera, and the quick movements and loud cries caused the stream to pause and buffer. When it resolved, Thek was gone from the image, but the back of someone hunched over the ground was visible. Every few seconds, a hatchet rose into view and was brought down, each time it came up it was covered in another layer of blood and bits of bone. Trembling, Raina cut the feed from her end so she couldn"t be seen. The hatchet came down a few more times until its owner was satisfied. Anders rose into view, his face pale and spattered with blood. Under his arm was Thek"s mutilated head, crudely severed. Anders ran his fingers around a gash near Thek"s hairline and dug in. His face strained as he fought with something that eventually gave. Thek"s datajack tore loose from his skull, taking with it a cluster of neurocircuitry with chunks of brain still attached. Anders dropped the head and turned the bloody datajack around in his hands, a sick little smile spreading across his face. He must have noticed the telecomm just then, because the smile faded and he leaned in close enough to the camera to fog up the image. "Who is this...?" he whispered. Raina brought her hand down on the keyboard and ended the call. She sat in silence for a moment, trying to figure out what had just happened. She finally correctly determined her life was in grave danger, and stood to pack her things. She was out the door with one half-empty suitcase only a few minutes later. Why was everything going so wrong? """[I need to find a shadowrunner named Thek. He"s an elf twenty years out of Tir, used to run motorboy with Mister Buch"s crew a few years back down in Puyallup.]""" - Ender (16:14:20/06-7-54) """[You have to know there"s a wee bit of a stigma against turning over runners to hostile parties. The line that sets us apart from slot gangs is thin enough as it is.]""" - ShyLow (16:16:01/06-7-54) """[Is he still a runner if he"s been blacklisted by most fixers in the city?]""" - Ender (16:17:57/06-7-54) """[? ? ?is a bird still a bird if its wings have been clipped? ? ?]""" - gatzB (16:19:13/06-7-54) """[It"s a bit of a coincidence that Rain and the gang hose a run down at that "tavern" and someone comes looking for one of the gang. Revenge play? Those don"t go anywhere, man.]""" - ShyLow (16:21:21/06-7-54) """[They got a valuable runner killed. Got themselves blacklisted for skipping the scene with the goods. Not to mention my personal stake. Call it revenge, justice, or just plain business if you want. I need to find those runners. Daze-E deserved better than to be dumpshocked and shot up.]""" - Ender (16:23:11/06-7-54) """[Look, I"m only telling you this because I"m certain most everyone here loved Daze. I know Rain went dark and Hester skipped town, but Thek spent a little too much time bouncing between fences before buying a ticket for a plane out of SeaTac.]""" - ShyLow (16:31:42/06-7-54) """[If you"re gonna let him live, leave him thankful to be alive. If you"re gonna kill him, leave him wishing for a swift death. He"s not one of us.]""" - ACR (16:40:09/06-7-54) Shadowrun: Daze Gone Bye Chapter Three - Eye of the Mind The small window of Anders"s coffin was fogged by a few decades" worth of calcium deposits, but the green neon running the edges of the towering Renraku Arcology filtered in without hindrance. It hid the blood and the lines in Anders"s face, true to form on a wider scale. As he lay upon the thin mattress and pillow with his face only a hand"s length from the ceiling, he contemplated the two datajacks in his hand. The first was smaller, more contoured, and in any other light it would have been a bright shade of pink. The first was Daze-E"s: the only thing of hers the mortician allowed Anders to take. The second was an older model, rectangular with rounded corners, scuffed up around the slot and it was still sticky with drying blood. The second was Thek"s, fresh from the depths of his skull. When he tried to set the datajacks aside and get some rest, his hands trembled enough to keep him awake. And the green light filtered in-Renraku always looming in the periphery. Finishing off the tiny plastic bottle of watered-down whiskey from the minibar finally got him into a state of mind where he could seriously contemplate doing what he"d come to this coffin motel to do. From his pack, he produced a modified simsense deck that Daze-E had used rather frequently throughout her running career. To Daze-E, every run was an opportunity to improve, to correct mistakes and strengthen weakness. Like the coach of an urban brawl team, she obsessively reviewed their plays so that the other team would never get the upper hand. And every shadowrunner she brought into the fold was required to be slotted with a simsense chip. No exceptions. Hitting the Shadowlands BBS netted him the elven motorboy from Daze-E"s last run, but the other two, Raina and Hester, would be tougher to find now that they very likely knew he was on their trail. Going through the simsense chips from Daze-E and Thek"s datajacks would be the only way to track them down. But he didn"t want to. Not one bit. He could never understand how Daze-E could spend so much time in other people"s heads, but there was a marked difference between the recordings of a run and what he was about to experience. It was the difference between a sports play and a snuff film. Anders toggled the hatch of the minibar and downed another tiny whiskey bottle from its stock. The alcohol wasn"t really helping with the stress, but it was doing wonders for his hesitation. He casually powered up the simsense deck, watched the little screen fill with white boot text, and waited for the little blue smiley face to appear before he jacked in Daze-E"s chip. The little smiley face took on a ponderous expression, and a staggered ellipses let him know the data was being loaded. A few minutes and one more tiny bottle later, the blue smiley face turned green. Without giving himself any time to think about what he was about to see, he slipped the sim halo around his skull. The staggered ellipses returned, ensuring the electronic connection to his brain was optimal. It was. He hit the playback button. His body went stiff with the electrical current running through him. He felt cold, then hot, then wet; he heard voices, then the rain, then silence. Eventually, the projected senses coalesced and the memory came through vivid-and he heard his own voice in the distance- - [simsense/playback: sub: dze user: anders time: 03:23:07/06-8-54 initiate...] I can hear my own voice coming from the other room as the memory sharpens, gradually climbing from a blurry onslaught of light, shadows, and sound into an image that looks indistinguishable from reality. I am looking through Daze-E"s eyes, feeling the weight of the cyberdeck on her back and the calm rhythm of her heartbeat beneath the swell of her breasts, smelling the rain on the breeze pouring in through our apartment windows, and tasting the meal of synthesized strawberry jam and toast in her mouth. I turn her head and catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Even though I definitely feel calm, I don"t look it. There"s a sheen of sweat on my face and a few strands of my red hair are stuck to my cheek. Everything has been planned out for tonight"s run, and we even found a good temp for Anders while I-he-is out of commission with that fever. I don"t like not having him by my side when the drek hits the fan, but bringing in a temp is better than possibly seeing him get worse. I"m worried about him, but maybe a day off will do him some good. Hopefully. I don"t know if I could do another run without him. I push my hair back behind my pointed ears and follow Anders"s voice to the living room. Despite the fever, he can"t keep himself from playing the dedicated fixer, ensuring all the runners are en-route, fully supplied, and aware of everything the job will entail. Regardless of the fact that I"ll be going over everything with the crew two or three more times on the way to the job site. The way he worries about me... I don"t know, it just makes me happy. Anders is carrying around a glass of ice water in one hand and pressing a cold pack to his forehead with the other while he rambles on to my crew through his headware, looking all business and super serious until he sees me walk into the room. He brightens up-well, as much as a man can manage with that kind of fever burning up his brain.

did not revolve around the baby, however Claire felt at the moment. Meg had things jobs that she needed to be getting on with, and Alex had turned up just at the right moment. "Alex, would you mind watching Charlotte for a moment while I put the washing out?" Alex grinned at Meg. "Me? Baby-sit? What does Claire say?" "She"s asleep and what she doesn"t know, won"t hurt. But for the sake of our sanity, perhaps we shouldn"t tell her just yet?" Meg grinned back at Alex, knowing full well that Claire wouldn"t object to Alex looking after Charlotte - not really anyway. Sure she might SAY she objected, but Meg knew Claire. Knew that if there were anyone outside the family that she would trust with her daughter, that it would be Alex Ryan. That Claire would ultimately trust Alex with anything and everything - Drovers Run, her family, her daughter and Meg hoped, eventually her heart. Alex stared down at the baby on his lap; her small fist wrapped tightly around his little finger. She stared up at him, and Alex fell in love all over again. He smiled at her and began to talk. "You and I need to talk, Charlotte. I need to tell you something, and I need you to keep it between the two of us. Yeah, right - who are you going to tell?" He smirked down at her. "Anyway, I need to tell you this Charlotte, you need to know this." Alex paused again, the words rattling around inside his head - he had to say this, it had been eating away at him for some time now, and he had to say it out loud - even if it were to a tiny baby who wouldn"t understand him - let alone be able to respond. "Charlotte, you are a very lucky young lady. You have a family who love you, an Aunt who adores you and a bunch of adopted Aunts who would do anything for you. Your Uncle Nick finds you fascinating and then there"s me." Alex stopped, closing his eyes as he cast around for the best way to say what he was feeling. It had all seemed so easy to say when he was practicing it in his mind, but now, now he was saying it out loud, when this was a whole other matter. Throwing back his head, Alex laughed out loud - just say it, you knob, he told himself. "Charlotte, I want to tell you that if there"s ever anything you need, anything you want, you can always come to me. Always. I"ll be there for you however and whenever you need me. I"m as close as you can get to a father - that Johnson knob doesn"t count for anything. You don"t need him Charlotte, not when you"ve got me. And neither does your Mum. I"ll always be around Charlotte, I"ll take care of you and I"ll - I"ll love you just as much as any father could. As much - as much as I love your Mother. She"s a good woman, Charlotte; she"s beautiful, strong, independent and extremely stubborn. And I love her, Charlotte. I always have and I always will. You should be my daughter, Charlotte." He sighed. "But you"re not, and there"s not much I can do about it. But you need to know this. I love you Charlotte, and I love your Mum, and, well, I"ll always be around if you need me." Charlotte gurgled up at Alex, a small baby smile playing around the corners of her tiny mouth. Alex grinned back at her. "And you don"t understand a word I"ve just told you, do you?" A small sound behind them made Alex jump. Meg moved over to sit beside him, smiling down at Charlotte. "Alex, you need to talk to Claire." "Meg, no, I - it doesn"t matter. I can"t tell her, she"d laugh in my face - " at Meg"s disapproving look, he amended that. "Ok, so maybe she wouldn"t - but she doesn"t need me telling her all of this now. Not when she"s finally getting herself back on track. Meg, I"ve always loved her and I reckon I always will, but why rock the boat by telling her now? She doesn"t need it and it"s not going to happen, Meg. Not a word, not to anyone." Carefully, and with all of the pride of a new father, he handed Charlotte to Meg and stood, gently stroking Charlotte"s soft downy hair. "Not a word. Charlotte is all Claire needs right now. I can wait." And with that he moved off the veranda, and into his Ute, the dust roaring as he drove off. Meg looked down at Charlotte, shielding her eyes from the dust. "Charlotte, Alex is right you know. You are a lucky girl. Your Mum adores you and your Dad? Well, let"s just say that as of today Alex is your Dad. He loves you and he loves your Mum and I"m going to see to it that they find their way to each other if I have to bang their heads together to do so. OK?" Meg stood up and cradled the baby to her, carrying her back into the kitchen and tucking her into the bassinet. Claire shuffled downstairs, rubbing her eyes sleepily as she came into the kitchen. "Was that Alex causing that dust storm?" she asked. Meg smiled, her new knowledge of Alex"s feelings making her more aware than ever of the bond between the two of them. Claire always seemed to know when Alex was around, and vice versa. "MmHm. He babysat while I put the washing out. He"s good with her, isn"t he? He could be a good father figure for her." She said, plunging her hands into the hot water in the washing up bowl. Claire looked askance at Meg, all traces of sleep vanishing. "Meg, Charlotte has a father, and it"s not Alex" - however much I wish it was, thought Claire. Her eyes widened as the thought sank in. Where had that come from? Pushing it away to the back of her mind, Claire continued talking. "Peter has a right to get to know her, and I"m not going to stand in his way. He has a right to see her if he wants to." Meg turned round and held up dripping hands. "Claire! Claire, hey, calm down. I"m not arguing. I"m just saying that seeing as Peter isn"t around, that Alex would be a good replacement. He obviously adores Charlotte and you and he, well you"ve always been close - I was just saying - " "Well don"t. Alex isn"t Charlotte"s father and that"s an end to it." Claire scooped Charlotte up and took her back out onto the veranda. Meg sighed and turned back to the dishes, this was going to prove harder than she had thought. Claire sat in the late afternoon sun cradling Charlotte to her chest. The depth of emotions she felt for her daughter had surprised her. She had known she"d love the baby - that was only normal, wasn"t it. But she had been surprised at the depth of the love and at the sudden all-consuming conviction that something was going to go wrong - that something would happen to Charlotte. Claire knew she had a good team around her, that her family would always rally round should she need it. And, she grinned to herself, she had to admit that she included Nick and Alex in that family. Particularly Alex. Making herself more comfortable, Claire began to think about Alex Ryan. She couldn"t remember a time when he hadn"t been there for her - whether she had wanted him there or not. He was always there, always in the background, ready with support, attention and a swift kick in the pants when she needed it. Not that she ever had - well, not that often anyway. And Meg was right, really. Alex would make a good father figure for Charlotte - would have been a good father for Charlotte. And again the thought drew Claire up short. Where were these thoughts coming from? Peter was the biological father. Peter. Claire rolled the name around in her head and found that she had no reaction at all. No small shiver, no clench of the heart, no butterflies in the tummy. Nothing. Just the knowledge that Peter was Charlotte"s father and therefore had the right to see his child. If he wanted to. Which he hadn"t yet. And was showing no sign of doing so in the near future. Unlike Alex, who had visited daily, sometimes more than once. Unlike Alex who had obviously formed a bond with Charlotte and cared about the baby a great deal. Unlike Alex who was doing all he could for them. Claire sat back and thought about Alex. About the way he cared for Charlotte and - and cared for her. Claire had never doubted that Alex cared about her, but until now the relationship between the two of them had been one of friendship - a true, everlasting friendship, but nothing more. Until now. And it was all Meg"s fault. Meg had planted the seed. Meg had made Claire think this way. Think these thoughts about Alex. To think about those oh so blue eyes, to think about the way his muscles rippled as he moved, to think about the way those tight jeans move - and you can just stop that RIGHT there Claire McLeod, she told herself. Except that she didn"t. Meg stood at the window watching Claire. Smiling, she watched as a range of emotions played across Claire"s face. Outside, Claire smiled and shuddered simultaneously. What did all of this mean? Was she attracted to Alex? To ALEX? And would it be such a bad thing if she was? Sure he was a friend, a good friend, but would it be so terrible to - well to go that extra step and to allow herself to fall in love with him? And again Claire drew a sharp breath. Where had that one come from? In love with Alex? In love with Alex Ryan? And yet a small niggle at the back of her mind was screaming out to Claire that all of this, it wasn"t anything that she didn"t already know, it wasn"t something that she hadn"t always felt on some level. And would it really be so bad to let herself feel this way? Of course it would, she told herself. After all, what was the point - Alex only saw her as a friend, nothing more - and to let herself fall for him, well that would only lead to heartbreak. Meg continued to watch Claire. Claire sighed, she"d done it now. She"d let it out, and now that it was out it wouldn"t go back. Feelings, emotions were a real burden. Claire prided herself in being a strong independent woman, and yet here she was in love with her next door neighbour and now she had realised it, she was unable to stop it. She was unable to stop loving this man, the man who had always been around, who loved her daughter like his own, and who looked so damn good in those snug fitting jeans. Meg watched as Claire smiled softly. "Meg?" she said, and Meg jumped, he expression one of a deer caught in the headlights. "What am I going to do? And don"t deny it. You always could read me." Meg came and sat beside her, gently taking Charlotte from Claire. "Go and talk to him. I think you"ll be pleasantly surprised. I promised him I wouldn"t say anything, and so I won"t, but if you talk to him - well it might just be that you"ll find what you"re looking for." Meg stood up and with her free arm, she pulled Claire to her feet. "Go on Claire. Go and see him - go now, please. For me, for Charlotte and most importantly, for you." In a voice uncharacteristically full of trepidation, Claire managed to whisper "Really?" "Really." Said Meg, giving her a little shove towards Blaze. "Go" Meg smiled as she watched Blaze carry Claire towards Wilgul. As ever, Claire rode smoothly, but to Meg"s trained eye, it appeared that Blaze was leading Claire, rather than Claire riding Blaze. Meg smiled. Only Claire would do that, trust an animal rather than trust herself. Claire trusted Blaze to get her to Wilgul, letting herself think about what she would find there. She knew she had to talk to Alex, but what in the name of, in the name of Charlotte Prudence was she going to say. "Where"s Claire going?" said Tess, shielding her eyes as she squinted at her sister. "Tess! Good grief, don"t do that!" yelled Meg, turning and making her way back into the kitchen. "Now, what would you like for dinner? How were the shee - " "Meg - what"s going on? Where"s Claire going?" "Would you believe she"s exercising Blaze?" "No." "She"s excercising herself?" continued Meg - she couldn"t tell Tess, Claire needed to figure it out first before - "MEG! What"s going on? Is Claire all right? Is there anything wrong? Meg please, you"re worrying me?" "There"s nothing to worry about - she"s just gone to see Alex, is all" "Well why couldn"t you just say that? There"s nothing wrong with that, they"re always around each other. Why couldn"t you tell me that?" "No reason." Said Meg, making her way around the kitchen and burying her head in the fridge. Small fireworks began going of inside Tess" mind. What could be going on that Meg wouldn"t tell her that Claire was going to see Alex? It wasn"t as if Claire could be missing him, she thought, Alex had been around a lot lately, he"d been here almost every day, it felt natural seeing him here at Drovers with Claire and Charlotte. It was almost like he was part of the family, as if he and Claire were the real parents of Little Bomb, as if Claire had realised - "OH MY GOD! You mean she"s gone to see Alex? To SEE see Alex? You mean that she KNOWS?" "Tess! Shut up for goodness sake! Anyway, knows what?" said Meg, hiding her head amongst the cabbage once more. "Oooh, don"t even try it Meg" grinned Tess. "What happened? How did she find out?" "Find out what?" managed Meg, although she knew she was fighting a losing battle. "Find out that she"s in love with him, find out that she"s always been in love with him, and find out that Alex is the perfect father for Charlotte and the perfect man for her?" "That." Stalled Meg. "That." Agreed Tess, an impish grin blazing across her face. Meg shut the fridge and slumped at the kitchen table. "Ok, ok, but keep it down, for goodness sake. I"m sure Claire will tell the others when she"s good and ready. If there"s anything TO tell." "Yeah right, as if Alex is going to turn round and tell her to get lost. He ADORES Claire, always has, whatever he might do or say. Everyone knows that" "Well, they may KNOW that, but getting them to actually DO something about it, that"s a whole other option. You know how stubborn they are. And Alex made me promise not to say anything, and it wasn"t as if he actually told me he loved Claire, he was talking to Charlotte at the time and - " "Alex SAID he loved Claire? Out loud?" squeaked Tess, almost losing her voice in happiness. "This is soooo good. What about Claire? What did she say? Does she know he said that? Did - " "Tess, for goodness sake! All right, all right I"ll tell you, but so help me, if you breathe a word of this before Claire gets back, you"ll be cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next month, year for - " "I get it, Meg. Now talk!" Meg took a deep breath, praying that all went well and that Claire and Alex finally realised what the rest of them had known for years, that they were meant to be together, that they were destined to be together and in Meg"s opinion destiny didn"t make mistakes. Well, not often, I mean there was the time when - A shake on here arm brought Meg back to the present, coming face to face with an excited Tess. "Meg! Spill!" And so she did. Meg told Tess all about Alex"s conversation with the child who should have been his daughter. About his declaration of love for both Charlotte and Claire, and about his insistence that she, Meg, say nothing to anyone. And then Meg told Tess about what she had seen in Claire, about the way she had "read" Claire, seen the awareness appear, had watched Claire realise she loved Alex. And about the way she had told Claire to go and see Alex. Claire was miles away as Blaze made his way across the countryside towards Wilgul. Thoughts were spiralling around inside her head. Thoughts over which she had no control. She knew she was doing the right thing in going to tell Alex, she had to tell him, but was now the right time? Surely it could wait, I mean I don"t even know what I want to say, and I"m sure Charlotte needs feeding and then there"s the drenching that needs to be done, she told herself. She had almost convinced herself to turn back, when a buzzing behind her caught her attention. She turned in the saddle to pinpoint the noise, smiling despite herself when she saw Alex riding towards her. "Hey, McLeod!" he called, willing himself not to jump off the bike and ravish her there and then. She had looked so beautiful as she rode, her dark hair flowing in the wind, her riding style poised and perfect. Turning the bike off, he walked over to Claire, who remained on Blaze. Claire tightened her grip on the reins. Alex really was a gorgeous man, all muscle and blue, blue eyes. Not that that was all there was to him, she told herself, looks aren"t everything - although they definitely were a bonus, she thought, her eyebrows rising at the thought. "What? " Alex grinned, having noticed her eyes trail up and down his body. "Looking good, hey?" Claire busied herself in dismounting Blaze, her actions not quite hiding the blush that blazed across her face. She missed her mark slightly, her preoccupation with Alex causing her to meet the ground slightly faster than expected. Stumbling, she found herself in Alex"s arms as he leaped forward to catch her. As if in an automatic reaction to having Claire in his arms, Alex tightened his grip on her, his hands caressing her arms, his eyes seeking hers. Claire stared up at him, and for the merest of seconds she really thought he was going to kiss her. She saw it in his eyes, the love, the passion and the desire - and she saw him turn it all off as quickly as it had appeared. "Watch it McLeod, don"t fool with the merchandise" he grinned as he stepped away from her and straightened his shirt. Glancing away from the woman in front of him, Alex willed himself to get a grip on his emotions. He could wait, he told himself. Claire needed more time; she wasn"t ready for a relationship. Looking back at her, he felt his heart stop. She always had been beautiful, but just now, flushed and breathless, she was all he would ever need. It was all he could do not to pull her to him and kiss her until the cows came home - literally. Claire swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. There was no denying it, she had seen the look he had given her, and she had also seen the way he had repressed it. Reaching up a slightly shaking hand, she ran her hand through her hair, before replacing her hat firmly on her head. "As if!" she finally managed in reply. And there it was again, the flash of emotion, the hurt swiftly covered up by another grin. "You"ll never know unless you try" he said, the silence that followed broken only by the soft whinny of the horse beside them. Taking her heart in both hands, Claire looked at Alex. "What - " she swallowed again, this was going to be difficult, I mean, this was Alex - the Alex who had dunked her in the waterhole aged 8, the Alex who had taken part in mud fights during the storms when she was 16, the Alex who had stepped up to be Charlotte"s father - the Alex with whom Claire was now so desperately and completely in love. Alex took a step closer to her, confused and concerned by her actions. "What, what if - " "Claire?" By now he was so close she could feel the heat radiating from him. Reaching out, he ran a hand down her arm, his concern clouding his determination not to touch her. Claire stared up into his beautiful blue eyes and heard herself continue. "What if I want to try the merchandise? The glimmer of a smile threatened to break free as Claire heard Alex"s almost imperceptible gasp as he took in what she had just said. "McL- Claire - wh - did you just say - did you just say what I think you just said?" And it was all there; Alex"s face was an open book. Surprise, hope, delight and love chased each other through his soul, eventually breaking out in the biggest grin Claire had ever seen. "Claire - what are you say - ah the hell with it" he said, pulling Claire to him and wrapping her in his arms. "I"ve wanted to do this for so long," he murmured into her hair. Raising his eyes to hers Alex stared at her. Jumping in with both feet, Alex shut his eyes and told her. "Claire McLeod, I love you. I always have and I always will. Whatever happens, you have to know that I love you." His heart stopped in the following silence, starting only again as he felt a small, but passionate kiss grace his lips. "Alex? Alex, look at me, please." Alex opened his eyes and smiled at the woman who fit so perfectly in his arms. "Alex, I - you, you"ve always been there for me. Everywhere I look, everywhere I go, there you are - whether I want you there or not" she grinned poking him in the shoulder. He grinned back, praying to every god he"d ever heard of that she wasn"t going to brush him off after he had opened his soul to her. Claire never did have a good time talking about things; she was true to her heritage, finding it hard to talk about emotions, preferring to suppress her emotions than to give into them. Alex slowly lowered his arms and drew Claire out of the sunlight and into the shade of a nearby eucalypt. Claire shivered, having grown used to being in Alex"s embrace. Turning to him, she caught a momentary flash of fear, as if he feared his heart was about to be trampled and returned to him on a plate. Sighing, she realised that she shouldn"t be so hurt by his reaction; she never had been one for putting her emotions out there for all to see. But this, this was precious; this had to be grabbed with both hands and never let go. Alex loves me, she thought to herself, a bubble of happiness growing inside. He really truly loves me and - and I love him. So tell him, you fool! She admonished herself, reading the growing anxiety that crawled across his face. Alex"s heart was breaking. He"d told her, finally told her and she didn"t get it. His heart was out there for her to see, and McLeod didn"t want it.

enough for today. Much more of this and my head will explode. I think we need a break, and I have the perfect thing. I reckon that there are two little nippers next door that I"d like to meet. What do you think?" he grinned at her, blue eyes alight with anticipation. 39 "Ah, hello? Anyone home?" came a voice through the flyscreen at the front door. Small muffled voices joined the first, their laughter instinctively making Maggie smile. "Hello? Mel - ah, sorry, Maggie? Anyone around?" A deeper voice joined the fray then, a deeper voice full of laughter." Joe, stop tickling. Not fair! Mama, where"s Melly? Joe"s tickling me!!" In the lounge room, Maggie looked over at PJ, a nervous smile on her face. "Looks like you"re going to get your wish." She said softly, before standing up and wrapping her arms around herself. "Yeah, ah, so Kay"s had the boys for the last few days while this all unravelled but - " she glanced at her watch, "Well, she helps out at the Youth Centre twice a week, and she must be on her way down there now. She and Luka, they hold that place together. They - " PJ stood up, reaching over to take her in his arms. "Shh. I know you"re nervous Mags. I am too. I mean, this"ll be the first time I meet my sons, and if I"m really honest it"s scaring the living daylights out of me. I mean, what if they hate me? What if they take one look at me and run screaming? Thing is, neither of us will know anything until we actually get out there. Mags, our boys are out there, on the verandah, waiting for us, and yeah, ah - ' he swallowed dryly, taking her hand in his and leading her towards the front door. "I love you Mags," he said, as they neared the front door. "Always have, always will, and I"ll love our boys too." Seeing them come down the corridor, it was all Kay could do to stop Tom and Joe pulling the flyscreen open and running full pelt to their mother. It was only when they became aware of the man standing behind her that they stopped, staring up at him in surprise. "Mummy?" came a small squeak from Joe. "Who that?" asked Tom, peering curiously up at PJ. Maggie peered over her shoulder, feeling movement as PJ squatted down beside her, coming face to face with the boys. "Hi. " he said softly, smiling as they moved closer to each other, and then, in turn, closer to Maggie. "Hey. My name"s PJ. Your Mum and I, she"s my best friend, and - " Maggie slid down to the floor, crossing her legs and scooping the boys into her lap as PJ tried to get comfortable too. He glanced over at Maggie, marveling at the ease at which she sat, legs folded and looking impossibly comfortable. "how do you do that?" he asked, folding his legs in all sorts of positions, trying to copy Mags. "It"s easy," she said with a grin. "Once you know how" From the safety of their mother"s lap, Joe grinned over at his twin, and they both started giggling at the antics of the squirming man next to their mum. Kay did her best to stifle her laughter, but subtlety seemed to have escaped Luka. "Detective PJ, you look silly!" he said with a huge guffaw of laughter, and once unleashed the laughter was catching as the twins couldn"t help themselves. Kay clamped her lips together as she struggled to stop laughing, and reached over to grab her son. "Luka, come on, or we"ll be late. We"ll see the boys tomorrow" she said, with a glance at Maggie, who nodded. "They need to be with their mum and dad now, and we need to go." Maggie froze, as Kay"s words sunk in, glancing over at PJ, who gently reached out and took her hand. The boys, surprised at their mother"s sudden stillness looked up at her, and then over at the man beside her. Noting their clasped hands, it was Tom, this time, who looked over at his twin, before climbing off Maggie"s lap and moving over to PJ. With a shake of his head, PJ dragged himself back to the present. "What can we do - " "You can get yourself out there and find the bastard, that"s what you can do!" Christophe demanded, this time showering himself with spittle. Wiping his face with the back of his hand, he sat up a little straighter. "He"s out there, the little bastard, and you"re going to go get him and throw away the key. And if you don"t, I will." "And exactly who might this "little bastard" be, and why would we want him?" Tom asked when PJ continued to silently stare at the photograph in front of him. "Are you listening? Hasham, are you listening to me at all?" "I"m listening" PJ said, picking up a pen and straightening the notepad in front of him. "I"m listening. What"s the problem?" "Now he listens!! I don"t suppose it would interest you to know that you"ve got a gunman on the loose? That some maniac is taking potshots at my Milly here?" Christophe announced, his tone condescending and derogotary. "You think a little thing like that might interest the great Detective Hasham?" PJ tensed at the tone and the implication, but let it wash over him. It wasn"t worth getting riled up, nothing was worth anything any more. Get the job done, go home, get up, get the job done - that"s all that mattered now. "He"s not bloody listening again, Croydon, what is it, am I not important enough? Am I not blonde enough?" Christophe glanced at the picture that held the detective"s attention. "Someone took a shot at Milly, for god"s sake!! What if it was her?" Christophe reached over and snatched the photo from the desk. "What if it was blondie here that was shot? What if someone put a bullet in her?" PJ froze as his son came to a stop in front of him PJ froze as his son came to a stop in front of him. Tom leant forward, and after a momentary hesitation, he tried to pick up the leg that was nearest to him, glancing over at his mother"s lap as he did so. "This,' he declared with certainly, "here" and he tried to push PJ"s leg into place, wanting to make PJ"s lap a copy of his Mum"s. Joe joined his brother, both boys pushing PJ"s legs into place, PJ sliding backwards as they did so, falling into an ungainly heap, taking Maggie with him, she being too slow in letting go of his hand. Untangling themselves, PJ leant up on his elbows, coming face to face with a giggling twin on either side of them. "Silly Mummy!" Joe said, climbing up and sitting on her tummy. Tom mirrored his brother, plonking himself fair and square on PJ"s belly, giggling as PJ flexed his abdominal muscles and Tom bounced up and down. "Silly man" Tom spluttered though his giggles. Kay smiled down at them, reaching over and taking Luka"s hand. "Come on sweetheart, the boys will be fine." She pulled slightly, but Luka held his ground. Maggie looked up at him, a smile wide on her face. Her smile was mirrored in both of her sons, and almost as bright as the one PJ offered him. Luka looked down at the little family, carefully studying each of them. Maggie wriggled, and Joe gently rolled off her, standing up as Maggie drew herself to her feet. Beside her, PJ stood, lifting Tom up and settling him on his hip. "Luka. You go to work with Mum, I promise you we"re fine. PJ is a nice man, he"s my friend, and he loves the boys like I do." Maggie told him, seeing the hesitance on Luka"s face. It was a lot for Luka to take in, he was so used to it just being the woman he knew as Melly, and the little boys that he"d come to see as family. Now there was this man, this Detective PJ standing there, holding Tom, just like Melly was now holding Joe. And Tom seemed quite happy with Detective PJ holding him, and Detective PJ was holding hands with Melly, he was wrapping his arm around Melly and pulling her tight against him and Melly was smiling, beaming with happiness as she glanced up at the detective. "Ok," Luka finally relented, "but come back later and play?" PJ grinned at Luka"s protectiveness. "Sure mate. You come back after work and we"ll have a kickabout." Luka"s innocent eyes glanced over at Maggie, who nodded in reassurance. "You know, PJ here thinks he"s a bit of a whizzkid with the footy, so you and the boys can show him what really good players are like" and Luka"s grin could have eclipsed the sun. He was a little puzzled as to why Melly seemed to be wriggling slightly, as if something was tickling her, but his attention was soon taken by Kay tapping him on the shoulder, and her insistence that they would be late if they didn"t leave now. After waving goodbye from the front porch, PJ turned to Maggie, lifting a wriggling Tom more comfortably against his hip. "Thank you so much Doyley. I"m going to get flattened - have you seen the size of him?" he nodded back at the departed Luka. Tom"s giggle drew PJ"s attention back to him. "And as for you, you little horror - " PJ withdrew his arm from Maggie"s shoulder and proceeded to tickle his son until Tom swung upside down, shrieking with laughter. Maggie"s smirk widened as Joe climbed out of her arms, crawling across her and climbing onto PJ"s back, where he proceeded to start to tickle PJ as well. "Oy!! That"s not fair," PJ yelped, and with one son on his back, and one dangling around the front, he stomped his way back into the lounge, carefully, but over dramatically, plonking first Tom, and then Joe down on the sofa, tickling them some more in the process. Stepping back and skillfully evading their expert little hands, PJ smiled over at Maggie, holding a hand out to her and wrapping her in his arms when she stepped close to him. "I love you," he whispered, swallowing hard against the sudden lump in his throat. Maggie blinked furiously, not wanting the boys to see the tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks. "I love you too PJ," she whispered back, turning slightly and placing a small kiss on the corner of his mouth. Turning back to look at the boys, they found two identical pairs of blue eyes staring up at them. Giving PJ"s hand a squeeze, Maggie sat down on the couch, lifting Tom to sit on her knees facing his Mum. PJ similarly situated Joe, but before they could say anything, Tom"s innate curiosity took hold. Very, very gently, Tom began to trace the area around PJ"s eyes, glancing between him and Joe. After a few seconds, Joe became curious, and began to look between PJ and his brother too. He nodded over at Tom, before tom stopped and looked at Maggie. "Blue," he said, once again tracing PJ"s eyes and looking at Joe. "Like Joe and me. Big Blue and Little Blue!" he insisted, pointing between themselves and PJ. Again PJ swallowed tightly, recognising the obvious similarities that his sons had inherited. "Yep. You"ve got blue eyes just like mine" he finally managed in a dry voice, closing those blue eyes tight as a wave of emotion ran through him. Maggie reached around and gently turned his face to her, placing a kiss on his lips, before their foreheads came to rest against one another"s for a few moments. Joe and Tom watched them, knowing something was happening, but not quite what it was. Joe glanced at his brother, their hands coming together in a show of brotherly reassurance, and then their gazes turned back to the couple on whose laps they were sitting. "Mummy?" Maggie took a deep breath, taking comfort in the small kiss that PJ placed against her hair. "Tom, Joe, I have something important to tell you. You remember what important means?" "Means to listen and then think hard?" Joe said, very proud of himself for having remembered. Important meant not poking your brother when Mummy was talking. Important meant listening to Mummy and not trying to see where the nearest footy was. Important meant actually listening. PJ bit back a smile as both boys adopted identical earnest expressions, two pairs of blue eyes trained on their mother, ready to listen carefully. Maggie, smiled proudly at her sons. "Certainly does. Well done Joe!" she leant forward and gave him a kiss on his nose, grinning as Tom placed his face right next to his brother"s. "Me too Mummy, me too!" "You too, Tom, love you too." "God, I love you" PJ couldn"t help himself. "You love our Mummy?" Joe"s eyes were wide. "I - " PJ hadn"t meant to say anything, but when Maggie nodded, he somehow found the words." I - yeah, I do. I love your Mummy, and, well, I - " he took a deep breath. "I love you two as well." Tom and Joe exchanged long looks. They could see the wisdom loving their Mummy, after all, she was the Best Mummy In The World, but why would the man say he loved Joe and Tom? They"d never even met the man before! "Boys, listen. This is PJ, and like I said, he"s my friend. He"s my best friend, and I"ve known him for a long time, even before you were born." PJ bit back a grin at the expressions of surprise on his son"s faces - yes, Mummy did have a life before them. "Mummy used to live a long way from here, in a place called Mount Thomas" PJ said, "And she and I used to work in the local Police Station." "Mummy "tective? Like on tv?" Tom asked, eyes wide with wonder. PJ grinned at the wonder in his son"s voice, puffing out his chest with pride. "Not quite, Mummy wasn"t the Detective, but I was. Mummy wore a uniform, and she worked with me." "Mummy good as "tectives" Joe said stubbornly, sensing PJ"s unconscious boast. Not matter how he tried, PJ had always seen Detectives to be superior to the Uniformed branch. "That"s my boy," Maggie grinned proudly, laughing as Tom tried to smack PJ for being, as they saw it, mean to their Mum. "Hey! You"re right boys, but go easy on your Dad, he doesn"t know any better!" 41 41 Dad. She"d called him Dad. While her words just about made PJ"s day, he was a little worried as to how the boys would take it. They hadn"t exactly sat down and talked about how they were going to tell the boys. There hadn"t really had the time to do that before Kay had dropped them off and Maggie had spoken without thinking. PJ met her worried eyes as both he and Maggie sat and waited for the boys to react to her words. While they both knew that he was their father, and PJ couldn"t help but smile at that thought, telling the boys that he was their Dad was a whole other thing. His small smile eased Maggie"s mind, and she smiled back at him. Tom and Joe, however, were oblivious to the tension that their parents were under. '"tective PJ? You hear? Mummy says Uniforms good as "tectives, so there!" Tom said, risking a glance at his brother, before struggling to his feet, small chubby hands placed on his hips, his stance daring PJ to disagree. Joe, as ever protective of his Mum, and thoroughly agreeing with his twin, soon stood beside Tom, and it was a struggle for PJ to keep his emotions in check as he watched his sons, a sudden realisation of everything that he"d missed out on flashing across his face. "It"s ok, boys," he finally managed in what sounded to Maggie like a voice dangerously close to tears. "It"s ok. I"m not having a go at your Mum. I think she"s a wonderful Mum, and you are the luckiest boys in the world to have her as your Mummy." He looked up at Maggie as he spoke, and Tom glanced at Maggie, before looking over at Joe in confusion. "Tective PJ was sad now? ""tective PJ? You sad? Hug? Mummy likes hugs when she sad" Tom said, as Joe moved over and climbed up onto PJ"s stomach, reaching up to wrap his small arms around his Dad"s neck. "Is ok, we like "tectives too. Mummy likes "tectives, and me and Joe do too. See?" Tom had reached over and taken Maggie"s hand, pulling her over towards PJ. "Mummy? "tective PJ sad, you need to hug him better." Maggie took her son"s advice, and wrapped PJ into a hug, and Tom, having stood back and admired his handiwork, leapt into the fray, worming his way between his parents where he found a rather squashed Joe. The family bear hug only stayed in place for a few seconds before both boys began to struggle to be free, and PJ suddenly shuddered as a small foot kicked him in an area no man should ever be kicked in, Maggie wincing in sympathy as she saw tears of pain form in his eyes. "Mags, ah," PJ said, struggling to find his voice, and Maggie rolled the boys off her and PJ. "That"s enough now you two. Why don"t you two go and grab your footy and have a kickaround in the back garden?" Tom and Joe yelped with happiness, all thoughts of sad "tectives long forgotten at the mention of football. "Yay!! Mummy, you come too?" Maggie looked over at PJ, who was now sitting up against the wall, watching his family, smiling widely despite the pain. "Ah, not at the moment sweetheart, I think I"ll stay with PJ here for a little while." Tom looked over at PJ, and, seeing that he still didn"t look completely happy, he wandered over to PJ, holding a hand out towards him." "tective PJ come play?" PJ smiled at his son. "Mate, I think I"ll stay here too, but thanks for the offer. Maybe later?" Tom glanced over at Joe, who reached over and took Maggie"s hand, pulling her back to PJ. "Mummy, you play with "tective PJ, and me and Joe will play footy. " he told them, placing Maggie"s hand in PJ"s and smiling at them both, before running out into the back garden. PJ smiled at Maggie as the screen door closed behind their sons. "I love you Maggie Doyle," he said softly, wrapping his arms around you. "You have no idea how much I love you. Those boys, they"re, Mags, they"re - " "Big foot?" Maggie grinned, glancing down. "Just like their daddy" PJ grinned back, before glancing down as well. "Don"t worry, I"m fine, although if you wanted to check for yourself..." "PJ Hasham!" Maggie glared at him, before breaking into a grin. "Maybe later." And she couldn"t help but laugh at the expression that flew across PJ"s face. "Come on, you. Up you get," she said, pulling herself to her feet and holding out a hand to PJ. He stood up carefully, wrapping her into a hug. "Like I said, Doyley, I love you," and he drew her into a kiss. "Listen, about before," PJ paused, unsure about to say what was running through his mind. She"d called him Dad. She"d called him Dad in front of the boys. They"d not picked up on it, it seemed, but still, they needed to figure out what they were going to say. "You mean when I called you Dad?" Maggie said, to the point as ever. "Ah, well, yes." PJ said, leading her over to the couch and sitting down, wrapping an arm around her but still keeping the boys in sight. "I think that we need to figure out what we"re going to say Mags. I want to tell them, but, well, I"ve not really had that much experience around kids their age, and I don"t know how to relate to them, I don"t know how to talk to them." "I"d say you"re doing just fine PJ. They like you. Usually they"re hesitant around men, they love Luka, but, well, he"s an exception, and he"s just a big kid anyway. On the whole, they"re hesitant around men. Probably because they"ve only ever really been around me, or something. I suppose there"s Dan too, but, he doesn"t really count, and they like you, which is a huge step." At the mention of Dan, PJ flinched slightly. That was a subject that he"d have to talk to her about later, but not now. Maggie too flinched when she saw PJ"s reaction. "PJ, I"m sorry." PJ looked up, giving her a small smile before reaching over and placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "Mags, it"s ok" "No, it"s not. PJ listen to me. I can understand what you"re thinking, but you have nothing to worry about. I love you PJ. You know that. Dan and me, we were only ever friends. I needed a friend, and he was there, but I promise you PJ, there was never anything else. Just friendship. There wasn"t room for anything else, because even when I didn"t know it was you, I still knew that I was desperately missing the man I"d loved so much. Geez, I"m waffling." Maggie sat up, pulling away from him slightly so that she could look him in the eyes as she spoke. "PJ. I love you. I love you more than I ever thought possible. You"re who I dreamed about, you"re who I craved when I couldn"t sleep, and you"re who I want every single second of the day. I don"t know how to put it any other way. I am in love with you, always have been, and always will be. Even when I thought I had been married, and they showed me the pictures of my supposed husband, I just knew that something wasn"t right, because he wasn"t you - " PJ leaned up and kissed her. He kissed her until they both had to come up for air. "I know you love me, Mags, and I love you too. I"m sorry, I suppose I just - well, I - Mags, I missed you so much, and I guess knowing you"ve been up here, getting on with life without me - and before you say it, I know you weren"t really getting on without me, cos you didn"t remember me, it"s just that - " PJ stopped, and took a deep breath, before smiling at her. "Now who"s waffling?" he said with a grin. "OK. So, I love you. I love you just as much as you love me. Actually, I love you in ways you can"t even imagine, but more about that later" he said, with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows, laughter erupting as she reached up out of his hug and whacked him on his arm. "No, you know what I mean," he said, smiling as she wrapped his arms around her again. "We know how we feel about each other, and we know that, well, I know that I never want to lose you again. I want to be with you for the rest of my life Mags," he said, watching her eyebrows raise in surprise and a delighted smile flow across her face. "And yes, I was talking about what you think I"m talking about, and right now I have to kiss you again before I can do anymore talking" PJ said, promptly

tiny baby who wouldn"t understand him - let alone be able to respond. "Charlotte, you are a very lucky young lady. You have a family who love you, an Aunt who adores you and a bunch of adopted Aunts who would do anything for you. Your Uncle Nick finds you fascinating and then there"s me." Alex stopped, closing his eyes as he cast around for the best way to say what he was feeling. It had all seemed so easy to say when he was practicing it in his mind, but now, now he was saying it out loud, when this was a whole other matter. Throwing back his head, Alex laughed out loud - just say it, you knob, he told himself. "Charlotte, I want to tell you that if there"s ever anything you need, anything you want, you can always come to me. Always. I"ll be there for you however and whenever you need me. I"m as close as you can get to a father - that Johnson knob doesn"t count for anything. You don"t need him Charlotte, not when you"ve got me. And neither does your Mum. I"ll always be around Charlotte, I"ll take care of you and I"ll - I"ll love you just as much as any father could. As much - as much as I love your Mother. She"s a good woman, Charlotte; she"s beautiful, strong, independent and extremely stubborn. And I love her, Charlotte. I always have and I always will. You should be my daughter, Charlotte." He sighed. "But you"re not, and there"s not much I can do about it. But you need to know this. I love you Charlotte, and I love your Mum, and, well, I"ll always be around if you need me." Charlotte gurgled up at Alex, a small baby smile playing around the corners of her tiny mouth. Alex grinned back at her. "And you don"t understand a word I"ve just told you, do you?" A small sound behind them made Alex jump. Meg moved over to sit beside him, smiling down at Charlotte. "Alex, you need to talk to Claire." "Meg, no, I - it doesn"t matter. I can"t tell her, she"d laugh in my face - " at Meg"s disapproving look, he amended that. "Ok, so maybe she wouldn"t - but she doesn"t need me telling her all of this now. Not when she"s finally getting herself back on track. Meg, I"ve always loved her and I reckon I always will, but why rock the boat by telling her now? She doesn"t need it and it"s not going to happen, Meg. Not a word, not to anyone." Carefully, and with all of the pride of a new father, he handed Charlotte to Meg and stood, gently stroking Charlotte"s soft downy hair. "Not a word. Charlotte is all Claire needs right now. I can wait." And with that he moved off the veranda, and into his Ute, the dust roaring as he drove off. Meg looked down at Charlotte, shielding her eyes from the dust. "Charlotte, Alex is right you know. You are a lucky girl. Your Mum adores you and your Dad? Well, let"s just say that as of today Alex is your Dad. He loves you and he loves your Mum and I"m going to see to it that they find their way to each other if I have to bang their heads together to do so. OK?" Meg stood up and cradled the baby to her, carrying her back into the kitchen and tucking her into the bassinet. Claire shuffled downstairs, rubbing her eyes sleepily as she came into the kitchen. "Was that Alex causing that dust storm?" she asked. Meg smiled, her new knowledge of Alex"s feelings making her more aware than ever of the bond between the two of them. Claire always seemed to know when Alex was around, and vice versa. "MmHm. He babysat while I put the washing out. He"s good with her, isn"t he? He could be a good father figure for her." She said, plunging her hands into the hot water in the washing up bowl. Claire looked askance at Meg, all traces of sleep vanishing. "Meg, Charlotte has a father, and it"s not Alex" - however much I wish it was, thought Claire. Her eyes widened as the thought sank in. Where had that come from? Pushing it away to the back of her mind, Claire continued talking. "Peter has a right to get to know her, and I"m not going to stand in his way. He has a right to see her if he wants to." Meg turned round and held up dripping hands. "Claire! Claire, hey, calm down. I"m not arguing. I"m just saying that seeing as Peter isn"t around, that Alex would be a good replacement. He obviously adores Charlotte and you and he, well you"ve always been close - I was just saying - " "Well don"t. Alex isn"t Charlotte"s father and that"s an end to it." Claire scooped Charlotte up and took her back out onto the veranda. Meg sighed and turned back to the dishes, this was going to prove harder than she had thought. Claire sat in the late afternoon sun cradling Charlotte to her chest. The depth of emotions she felt for her daughter had surprised her. She had known she"d love the baby - that was only normal, wasn"t it. But she had been surprised at the depth of the love and at the sudden all-consuming conviction that something was going to go wrong - that something would happen to Charlotte. Claire knew she had a good team around her, that her family would always rally round should she need it. And, she grinned to herself, she had to admit that she included Nick and Alex in that family. Particularly Alex. Making herself more comfortable, Claire began to think about Alex Ryan. She couldn"t remember a time when he hadn"t been there for her - whether she had wanted him there or not. He was always there, always in the background, ready with support, attention and a swift kick in the pants when she needed it. Not that she ever had - well, not that often anyway. And Meg was right, really. Alex would make a good father figure for Charlotte - would have been a good father for Charlotte. And again the thought drew Claire up short. Where were these thoughts coming from? Peter was the biological father. Peter. Claire rolled the name around in her head and found that she had no reaction at all. No small shiver, no clench of the heart, no butterflies in the tummy. Nothing. Just the knowledge that Peter was Charlotte"s father and therefore had the right to see his child. If he wanted to. Which he hadn"t yet. And was showing no sign of doing so in the near future. Unlike Alex, who had visited daily, sometimes more than once. Unlike Alex who had obviously formed a bond with Charlotte and cared about the baby a great deal. Unlike Alex who was doing all he could for them. Claire sat back and thought about Alex. About the way he cared for Charlotte and - and cared for her. Claire had never doubted that Alex cared about her, but until now the relationship between the two of them had been one of friendship - a true, everlasting friendship, but nothing more. Until now. And it was all Meg"s fault. Meg had planted the seed. Meg had made Claire think this way. Think these thoughts about Alex. To think about those oh so blue eyes, to think about the way his muscles rippled as he moved, to think about the way those tight jeans move - and you can just stop that RIGHT there Claire McLeod, she told herself. Except that she didn"t. Meg stood at the window watching Claire. Smiling, she watched as a range of emotions played across Claire"s face. Outside, Claire smiled and shuddered simultaneously. What did all of this mean? Was she attracted to Alex? To ALEX? And would it be such a bad thing if she was? Sure he was a friend, a good friend, but would it be so terrible to - well to go that extra step and to allow herself to fall in love with him? And again Claire drew a sharp breath. Where had that one come from? In love with Alex? In love with Alex Ryan? And yet a small niggle at the back of her mind was screaming out to Claire that all of this, it wasn"t anything that she didn"t already know, it wasn"t something that she hadn"t always felt on some level. And would it really be so bad to let herself feel this way? Of course it would, she told herself. After all, what was the point - Alex only saw her as a friend, nothing more - and to let herself fall for him, well that would only lead to heartbreak. Meg continued to watch Claire. Claire sighed, she"d done it now. She"d let it out, and now that it was out it wouldn"t go back. Feelings, emotions were a real burden. Claire prided herself in being a strong independent woman, and yet here she was in love with her next door neighbour and now she had realised it, she was unable to stop it. She was unable to stop loving this man, the man who had always been around, who loved her daughter like his own, and who looked so damn good in those snug fitting jeans. Meg watched as Claire smiled softly. "Meg?" she said, and Meg jumped, he expression one of a deer caught in the headlights. "What am I going to do? And don"t deny it. You always could read me." Meg came and sat beside her, gently taking Charlotte from Claire. "Go and talk to him. I think you"ll be pleasantly surprised. I promised him I wouldn"t say anything, and so I won"t, but if you talk to him - well it might just be that you"ll find what you"re looking for." Meg stood up and with her free arm, she pulled Claire to her feet. "Go on Claire. Go and see him - go now, please. For me, for Charlotte and most importantly, for you." In a voice uncharacteristically full of trepidation, Claire managed to whisper "Really?" "Really." Said Meg, giving her a little shove towards Blaze. "Go" Meg smiled as she watched Blaze carry Claire towards Wilgul. As ever, Claire rode smoothly, but to Meg"s trained eye, it appeared that Blaze was leading Claire, rather than Claire riding Blaze. Meg smiled. Only Claire would do that, trust an animal rather than trust herself. Claire trusted Blaze to get her to Wilgul, letting herself think about what she would find there. She knew she had to talk to Alex, but what in the name of, in the name of Charlotte Prudence was she going to say. "Where"s Claire going?" said Tess, shielding her eyes as she squinted at her sister. "Tess! Good grief, don"t do that!" yelled Meg, turning and making her way back into the kitchen. "Now, what would you like for dinner? How were the shee - " "Meg - what"s going on? Where"s Claire going?" "Would you believe she"s exercising Blaze?" "No." "She"s excercising herself?" continued Meg - she couldn"t tell Tess, Claire needed to figure it out first before - "MEG! What"s going on? Is Claire all right? Is there anything wrong? Meg please, you"re worrying me?" "There"s nothing to worry about - she"s just gone to see Alex, is all" "Well why couldn"t you just say that? There"s nothing wrong with that, they"re always around each other. Why couldn"t you tell me that?" "No reason." Said Meg, making her way around the kitchen and burying her head in the fridge. Small fireworks began going of inside Tess" mind. What could be going on that Meg wouldn"t tell her that Claire was going to see Alex? It wasn"t as if Claire could be missing him, she thought, Alex had been around a lot lately, he"d been here almost every day, it felt natural seeing him here at Drovers with Claire and Charlotte. It was almost like he was part of the family, as if he and Claire were the real parents of Little Bomb, as if Claire had realised - "OH MY GOD! You mean she"s gone to see Alex? To SEE see Alex? You mean that she KNOWS?" "Tess! Shut up for goodness sake! Anyway, knows what?" said Meg, hiding her head amongst the cabbage once more. "Oooh, don"t even try it Meg" grinned Tess. "What happened? How did she find out?" "Find out what?" managed Meg, although she knew she was fighting a losing battle. "Find out that she"s in love with him, find out that she"s always been in love with him, and find out that Alex is the perfect father for Charlotte and the perfect man for her?" "That." Stalled Meg. "That." Agreed Tess, an impish grin blazing across her face. Meg shut the fridge and slumped at the kitchen table. "Ok, ok, but keep it down, for goodness sake. I"m sure Claire will tell the others when she"s good and ready. If there"s anything TO tell." "Yeah right, as if Alex is going to turn round and tell her to get lost. He ADORES Claire, always has, whatever he might do or say. Everyone knows that" "Well, they may KNOW that, but getting them to actually DO something about it, that"s a whole other option. You know how stubborn they are. And Alex made me promise not to say anything, and it wasn"t as if he actually told me he loved Claire, he was talking to Charlotte at the time and - " "Alex SAID he loved Claire? Out loud?" squeaked Tess, almost losing her voice in happiness. "This is soooo good. What about Claire? What did she say? Does she know he said that? Did - " "Tess, for goodness sake! All right, all right I"ll tell you, but so help me, if you breathe a word of this before Claire gets back, you"ll be cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next month, year for - " "I get it, Meg. Now talk!" Meg took a deep breath, praying that all went well and that Claire and Alex finally realised what the rest of them had known for years, that they were meant to be together, that they were destined to be together and in Meg"s opinion destiny didn"t make mistakes. Well, not often, I mean there was the time when - A shake on here arm brought Meg back to the present, coming face to face with an excited Tess. "Meg! Spill!" And so she did. Meg told Tess all about Alex"s conversation with the child who should have been his daughter. About his declaration of love for both Charlotte and Claire, and about his insistence that she, Meg, say nothing to anyone. And then Meg told Tess about what she had seen in Claire, about the way she had "read" Claire, seen the awareness appear, had watched Claire realise she loved Alex. And about the way she had told Claire to go and see Alex. Claire was miles away as Blaze made his way across the countryside towards Wilgul. Thoughts were spiralling around inside her head. Thoughts over which she had no control. She knew she was doing the right thing in going to tell Alex, she had to tell him, but was now the right time? Surely it could wait, I mean I don"t even know what I want to say, and I"m sure Charlotte needs feeding and then there"s the drenching that needs to be done, she told herself. She had almost convinced herself to turn back, when a buzzing behind her caught her attention. She turned in the saddle to pinpoint the noise, smiling despite herself when she saw Alex riding towards her. "Hey, McLeod!" he called, willing himself not to jump off the bike and ravish her there and then. She had looked so beautiful as she rode, her dark hair flowing in the wind, her riding style poised and perfect. Turning the bike off, he walked over to Claire, who remained on Blaze. Claire tightened her grip on the reins. Alex really was a gorgeous man, all muscle and blue, blue eyes. Not that that was all there was to him, she told herself, looks aren"t everything - although they definitely were a bonus, she thought, her eyebrows rising at the thought. "What? " Alex grinned, having noticed her eyes trail up and down his body. "Looking good, hey?" Claire busied herself in dismounting Blaze, her actions not quite hiding the blush that blazed across her face. She missed her mark slightly, her preoccupation with Alex causing her to meet the ground slightly faster than expected. Stumbling, she found herself in Alex"s arms as he leaped forward to catch her. As if in an automatic reaction to having Claire in his arms, Alex tightened his grip on her, his hands caressing her arms, his eyes seeking hers. Claire stared up at him, and for the merest of seconds she really thought he was going to kiss her. She saw it in his eyes, the love, the passion and the desire - and she saw him turn it all off as quickly as it had appeared. "Watch it McLeod, don"t fool with the merchandise" he grinned as he stepped away from her and straightened his shirt. Glancing away from the woman in front of him, Alex willed himself to get a grip on his emotions. He could wait, he told himself. Claire needed more time; she wasn"t ready for a relationship. Looking back at her, he felt his heart stop. She always had been beautiful, but just now, flushed and breathless, she was all he would ever need. It was all he could do not to pull her to him and kiss her until the cows came home - literally. Claire swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. There was no denying it, she had seen the look he had given her, and she had also seen the way he had repressed it. Reaching up a slightly shaking hand, she ran her hand through her hair, before replacing her hat firmly on her head. "As if!" she finally managed in reply. And there it was again, the flash of emotion, the hurt swiftly covered up by another grin. "You"ll never know unless you try" he said, the silence that followed broken only by the soft whinny of the horse beside them. Taking her heart in both hands, Claire looked at Alex. "What - " she swallowed again, this was going to be difficult, I mean, this was Alex - the Alex who had dunked her in the waterhole aged 8, the Alex who had taken part in mud fights during the storms when she was 16, the Alex who had stepped up to be Charlotte"s father - the Alex with whom Claire was now so desperately and completely in love. Alex took a step closer to her, confused and concerned by her actions. "What, what if - " "Claire?" By now he was so close she could feel the heat radiating from him. Reaching out, he ran a hand down her arm, his concern clouding his determination not to touch her. Claire stared up into his beautiful blue eyes and heard herself continue. "What if I want to try the merchandise? The glimmer of a smile threatened to break free as Claire heard Alex"s almost imperceptible gasp as he took in what she had just said. "McL- Claire - wh - did you just say - did you just say what I think you just said?" And it was all there; Alex"s face was an open book. Surprise, hope, delight and love chased each other through his soul, eventually breaking out in the biggest grin Claire had ever seen. "Claire - what are you say - ah the hell with it" he said, pulling Claire to him and wrapping her in his arms. "I"ve wanted to do this for so long," he murmured into her hair. Raising his eyes to hers Alex stared at her. Jumping in with both feet, Alex shut his eyes and told her. "Claire McLeod, I love you. I always have and I always will. Whatever happens, you have to know that I love you." His heart stopped in the following silence, starting only again as he felt a small, but passionate kiss grace his lips. "Alex? Alex, look at me, please." Alex opened his eyes and smiled at the woman who fit so perfectly in his arms. "Alex, I - you, you"ve always been there for me. Everywhere I look, everywhere I go, there you are - whether I want you there or not" she grinned poking him in the shoulder. He grinned back, praying to every god he"d ever heard of that she wasn"t going to brush him off after he had opened his soul to her. Claire never did have a good time talking about things; she was true to her heritage, finding it hard to talk about emotions, preferring to suppress her emotions than to give into them. Alex slowly lowered his arms and drew Claire out of the sunlight and into the shade of a nearby eucalypt. Claire shivered, having grown used to being in Alex"s embrace. Turning to him, she caught a momentary flash of fear, as if he feared his heart was about to be trampled and returned to him on a plate. Sighing, she realised that she shouldn"t be so hurt by his reaction; she never had been one for putting her emotions out there for all to see. But this, this was precious; this had to be grabbed with both hands and never let go. Alex loves me, she thought to herself, a bubble of happiness growing inside. He really truly loves me and - and I love him. So tell him, you fool! She admonished herself, reading the growing anxiety that crawled across his face. Alex"s heart was breaking. He"d told her, finally told her and she didn"t get it. His heart was out there for her to see, and McLeod didn"t want it. And suddenly it was more than he could take. Brushing past her, Alex made for his bike. It took Claire a couple of seconds to realise that Alex was leaving, and that he still thought she didn"t love him. Chasing after him, she grabbed his arm and swung him round. "Alex wait! "Yeah, sure McLeod. I"ll hang around so you can trample over my emotions, so you can laugh about the fact that I love you more than I"ve ever loved any woman!" he yelled. "Oh now wait just a minute Alexander Ryan! Don"t you dare speak to me like that, not when I"m just about to tell you that I love you too! Don"t you dare tell me that I don"t love you when I love you so much it scares me! Don"t you ever tell me that" she yelled back at him. There was a silence while the implications of their words sank in. "Ok." Said Alex, reaching out a hand towards her. "Ok" said Claire, taking his hand and wrapping herself in his hug. Staring up at him Claire smiled softly as Alex took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Running one hand through her silky dark hair, his fingers came to rest under her chin. Raising it so that he could look deep into her eyes, he stared down at her, his blue eyes revealing all of the love he felt for her. Her smile widened as he spoke. She knew what he was going to say, and she knew what her reply would be. "Ok, McLeod, I"m going to kiss you now." He said, lowering his lips towards hers. Just before they met, she murmured, "And about bloody time too!"

think I"ll stay here too, but thanks for the offer. Maybe later?" Tom glanced over at Joe, who reached over and took Maggie"s hand, pulling her back to PJ. "Mummy, you play with "tective PJ, and me and Joe will play footy. " he told them, placing Maggie"s hand in PJ"s and smiling at them both, before running out into the back garden. PJ smiled at Maggie as the screen door closed behind their sons. "I love you Maggie Doyle," he said softly, wrapping his arms around you. "You have no idea how much I love you. Those boys, they"re, Mags, they"re - " "Big foot?" Maggie grinned, glancing down. "Just like their daddy" PJ grinned back, before glancing down as well. "Don"t worry, I"m fine, although if you wanted to check for yourself..." "PJ Hasham!" Maggie glared at him, before breaking into a grin. "Maybe later." And she couldn"t help but laugh at the expression that flew across PJ"s face. "Come on, you. Up you get," she said, pulling herself to her feet and holding out a hand to PJ. He stood up carefully, wrapping her into a hug. "Like I said, Doyley, I love you," and he drew her into a kiss. "Listen, about before," PJ paused, unsure about to say what was running through his mind. She"d called him Dad. She"d called him Dad in front of the boys. They"d not picked up on it, it seemed, but still, they needed to figure out what they were going to say. "You mean when I called you Dad?" Maggie said, to the point as ever. "Ah, well, yes." PJ said, leading her over to the couch and sitting down, wrapping an arm around her but still keeping the boys in sight. "I think that we need to figure out what we"re going to say Mags. I want to tell them, but, well, I"ve not really had that much experience around kids their age, and I don"t know how to relate to them, I don"t know how to talk to them." "I"d say you"re doing just fine PJ. They like you. Usually they"re hesitant around men, they love Luka, but, well, he"s an exception, and he"s just a big kid anyway. On the whole, they"re hesitant around men. Probably because they"ve only ever really been around me, or something. I suppose there"s Dan too, but, he doesn"t really count, and they like you, which is a huge step." At the mention of Dan, PJ flinched slightly. That was a subject that he"d have to talk to her about later, but not now. Maggie too flinched when she saw PJ"s reaction. "PJ, I"m sorry." PJ looked up, giving her a small smile before reaching over and placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "Mags, it"s ok" "No, it"s not. PJ listen to me. I can understand what you"re thinking, but you have nothing to worry about. I love you PJ. You know that. Dan and me, we were only ever friends. I needed a friend, and he was there, but I promise you PJ, there was never anything else. Just friendship. There wasn"t room for anything else, because even when I didn"t know it was you, I still knew that I was desperately missing the man I"d loved so much. Geez, I"m waffling." Maggie sat up, pulling away from him slightly so that she could look him in the eyes as she spoke. "PJ. I love you. I love you more than I ever thought possible. You"re who I dreamed about, you"re who I craved when I couldn"t sleep, and you"re who I want every single second of the day. I don"t know how to put it any other way. I am in love with you, always have been, and always will be. Even when I thought I had been married, and they showed me the pictures of my supposed husband, I just knew that something wasn"t right, because he wasn"t you - " PJ leaned up and kissed her. He kissed her until they both had to come up for air. "I know you love me, Mags, and I love you too. I"m sorry, I suppose I just - well, I - Mags, I missed you so much, and I guess knowing you"ve been up here, getting on with life without me - and before you say it, I know you weren"t really getting on without me, cos you didn"t remember me, it"s just that - " PJ stopped, and took a deep breath, before smiling at her. "Now who"s waffling?" he said with a grin. "OK. So, I love you. I love you just as much as you love me. Actually, I love you in ways you can"t even imagine, but more about that later" he said, with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows, laughter erupting as she reached up out of his hug and whacked him on his arm. "No, you know what I mean," he said, smiling as she wrapped his arms around her again. "We know how we feel about each other, and we know that, well, I know that I never want to lose you again. I want to be with you for the rest of my life Mags," he said, watching her eyebrows raise in surprise and a delighted smile flow across her face. "And yes, I was talking about what you think I"m talking about, and right now I have to kiss you again before I can do anymore talking" PJ said, promptly doing just what he"d just said. Several minutes later, PJ once again surfaced, groaning as he did so. "Maggie Doyle," he shifted slightly against the couch. "Mags, we need to stop doing that, or I won"t be held accountable for my actions" Maggie sighed, moving slightly out of temptation"s range. Taking a deep breath, she grinned at PJ. "Me either, PJ. Me either." A shriek of laughter from the back garden broke the moment, and, truth be told, both Maggie and PJ were relieved. Much as they wanted it, reconnecting like that would have to wait until they were alone, and besides, there was the question of how to tell their sons that their father was alive, well and sitting in the lounge watching them play footy. "Yeah, ah, so the boys then. How are we going to tell them that I"m their Daddy?" PJ asked, jumping slightly as the football rolled into view by his feet. "Daddy?" A small voice said from his elbow, and PJ turned to see Joe staring up at him, a small scared look on his face. For Helen, the Queen of Drawing Things Out.....who"s de daddy?? C ;) 42 Seconds later another small voice piped up. "You not Daddy! Daddy in Heaven!! Mummy said so!" Tom said angrily. "Mummy says telling lies is bad, so you BAD, "tective PJ, YOU BAD!" and he reached over and grabbed Joe"s hand, dragging his worried brother over to Maggie, where they both climbed up onto her lap and cuddled into her. Maggie automatically wrapped her arms around them, tears filling her eyes as the impact of Tom"s words sank in. Both boys were glaring at PJ, fury written all over their faces. "BAD!" Joe growled, echoed by Tom. Maggie glanced over at PJ, her heart breaking at the pain that was etched across his face. They hated him. His sons hated him. PJ ran a hand across his face, his heart breaking into a thousand shattered pieces. Opening his eyes, he stood up. "Mags, I"m going to get going. I"m sorry if I upset you two," he said, kneeling down in front of the boys, startled when Tom sat up in his mother"s lap and shoved PJ as hard as he could. "Not Daddy, not. You BAD, "tective PJ. You tell lies and you BAD, and Mummy cry, and - " and he hopped off Maggie"s lap, kicking and pushing PJ as hard as he could, PJ collapsing back onto the floor under the onslaught. Maggie tried to get up to pull him off PJ, but she was hampered by a screaming Joe, terrified at his brother"s antics, and at the tension that had filled the room. "Thomas!!" Maggie yelled, as PJ finally managed to get hold of a ferociously squirming Tom, wrapping both arms around his son and holding him tight against his lap. "Tom, stop it, please. Right now," she said, scooting forward on the couch as best she could, Joe continuing to cling to her like a limpet. "Let go!" Tom yelled at PJ, fighting to get free, to get to his Mum as Maggie sat down on the floor next to them. "BAD "tective, let me go!!" PJ glanced over at Maggie, a small trickle of blood trailing down his chin as the effects of Tom"s rage kicked in. "Mags, I - " he took a deep breath, fighting back the sob that was threatening to escape. "No," she said, with just as much emotion both in her. "No, you"re not going anywhere. This needs to be sorted out, and it needs to be sorted out now. If you go so that the boys can "calm down" it"ll just give them more time to think about it and work themselves up even more. PJ, please, you have to stay here and we have to sort this out now." Maggie was quiet, her heart beating erratically, her mind filling up with all sorts of ideas. Maybe he did want to go, maybe this was all too much and he wanted out, maybe - and he kissed her. Softly, gently, and with as much love as he could summon, PJ kissed Maggie, drawing her into a one armed hug as each other arm held a twin tightly to them. Tom, still struggling slightly, looked up at "tective PJ as he kissed his Mummy. Mummy wasn"t sad now, she was, Tom frowned, she was, well she was sort of happy. She was holding on to Joe tightly, just like "tective PJ was holding him, and she was kissing "tective PJ, which wasn"t something sad people did, cos Mummy was happy when she kissed him and Joe, and she - Tom sighed. He really had no idea what was going on. When Mummy and "tective PJ pulled apart, Tommy looked very closely at them. Mummy was staring at "tective PJ, a small smile playing around her mouth. She rested her head against his, both of their eyes shut, as if they were drawing strength from each other. Tom glanced over at Joe, who was seeing the same thing. Without saying anything, each twin came to the conclusion that Mummy liked "tective PJ. She liked him a lot. And, if they thought about it, he liked Mummy too. They could tell, just by the way he looked at her, the way he acted around her. The way he had made him and Joe laugh and feel safe, the way he had - Daddy. He had called himself Daddy. Which wasn"t right at all, cos Mummy had said that Daddy was in Heaven, and Mummies aren"t allowed to lie to their little boys. It was a Rule, with a capital R, and everyone knows that those are the ones that never, ever, EVER get broken. Twisting slightly, Tom sat in PJ"s lap, still held in place by a strong arm. He startled slightly at the sight of blood on PJ"s chin, and for some odd reason felt a tear start to fall down his small cheek. "I sorry, "tective PJ. I not mean to bleed you." He said sadly, reaching over for his Mum. "I sorry Mummy." "Sorry too," Joe whispered from deep inside Maggie"s comforting arms. Surprisingly for Tom, it was "tective PJ who spoke first. "We know you"re sorry mate. I know it wasn"t on purpose. You just had a fright, and I"m sorry you found out that way." PJ gently lifted Tom up off his lap and sat him on the couch, smiling over at Joe as Maggie did the same. "Listen. Your Mum and I need to talk to you. We need you to listen to us, and it might be a bit scary, but I want you to listen all the way through before you say anything, ok?" Tom looked over at Joe, before they nodded in unison. Maggie moved over so that she was sitting next to PJ on the coffee table, facing their sons. She slid her small hand into his, facing the boys as a couple, with strength, and most of all, as it was becoming more and more obvious to both boys, with love. 43 43 Having made his declaration, PJ was instantly stumped for words. Glancing over at Maggie, who sat close beside him, he took a deep breath, almost sighing in relief as Maggie beat him to it. "You two know how much I love you both, right?" the boys nodded at her, and PJ smiled at the sight. Both boys clearly adored their Mum, loved her with only the adoration that children their age can have. She was their world, and anyone that threatened their Mum, or made her sad as he had, well they would stand up for her with everything that they had. "Love you Mummy," Joe said softly, and Tom nodded, glancing over at PJ, who gave him a smile in return. "And I love you too Joe, and you Tom. I really truly do. And I know that you must be feeling a bit confused and scared at the moment, but so are we. PJ and I, we - well - ok. He"s telling you the truth. I know it"s hard to take in, and I know it seems like I lied to you, but PJ is telling you the truth. He is your Daddy." Tom sat still on the couch, his little mind confused and bewildered. Beside him, Joe"s expression matched his twin"s, and it almost broke PJ"s heart. "I know it"s scary, and I know it"s hard to understand. You have to believe me, though; your Mummy didn"t lie to you." PJ said gently. "I know it seems like she did, and I know that she said your Daddy was in Heaven, and now she"s saying that I"m your Daddy, but you need to listen carefully and we"ll try to explain, ok?" After what seemed like an eternity to PJ and Maggie, both Tom and Joe nodded, scrunching tighter together, their hands seeking out each other"s and holding on tightly. Maggie"s heart almost broke at the worry and confusion she saw on their faces, while at the same time swelling in pride at the close bond they shared with one another. "Ok," She took another deep breath and began to try to explain. "Ok. So, well, a long time before you were born, Mummy used to live in a place called Mount Thomas. It"s a long way from here, but it"s a beautiful place. There are lots of farms, a fantastic footy oval - " she grinned as two sets of identical blue eyes lit up at that revelation. "Thought you"d like that! Anyway, you"ll just have to take my word for it, Mount Thomas is a great place to live. Anyway, "tective PJ and I lived there for a long time, and he was my best friend. And then" over time, well, we started to go out together." "Where did you go?" tom asked, but it was the more astute and insightful Joe that saw what his Mummy was trying to say. "Like Mummies and Daddies do?" came Joe"s quiet voice. PJ smiled inwardly, Joe"s answer intuitive and insightful, just like his Mum. "Yes mate," PJ answered with a smile. "Yes, your Mummy and I started to go out like Mummies and Daddies do. I fell in love with her, guys, I loved your Mummy so much, and after a while we started talking about getting married" "And you love "tective PJ too Mummy?" Tom asked curiously. "Yes, I loved him too, sweetheart. I loved him lots and lots. As much as you two love your chocolate ice-cream" Maggie revealed, and PJ couldn"t help his laughter at the expressions on his son"s faces. "Wow!" Joe said, eyes wide, glancing at Tom. "That"s lots and lots and lots!! "Tective PJ, you love Mummy like chocolate ice-cream too?" Tom was clutching Joe"s hand tightly as he waited for PJ to answer. If they were totally honest, they liked "tective PJ. Liked him lots and lot - chocolate ice-cream lots. He made Mummy smile, and anyone that made Mummy smile made them smile. The only thing that worried them was this thing about him being their Daddy. It couldn"t be true, cos Daddy was in Heaven, but there was Mummy, sitting there right in front of them, not looking like she was lying ( which wasn"t allowed anyway), there was Mummy saying that "tective PJ was their Daddy, and - and it was all so confusing..... "If it"s at all possible, I love your Mummy MORE than chocolate ice-cream. Lots and lots and lots more" PJ told them, turning slightly to smile at Maggie, who couldn"t help herself, placing a soft kiss on his lips. "I love you too PJ" she said, lavishing him with a brilliant smile, before turning her attention back to their wide-eyed sons. "So does that tell you how special it was? How much I cared about your Mummy, and how much she cared about me?" Joe and Tom nodded, finally understanding how much Mummy and "tective PJ loved each other. 44 44 "So you still love Mummy now?" Tom asked, followed a second later by Joe asking Maggie her version of the same question. Satisfied by the answers, both Joe and Tom smiled huge matching smiles, their blue eyes twinkling with happiness. "Ok," Maggie brought them back to the reason they were all sitting there. "So now you know that "tective PJ and I loved each other lots and lots. Well, we were really happy for a long time, and then something bad happened, and Mummy had an accident." At the scared looks that they gave her, Maggie immediately moved to reassure them. "Don"t look so scared, I"m ok, I"m right here aren"t I? I"m absolutely fine now. Now, you know that before you two were born, Mummy had a bad accident, the one that gave me the mark near my heart?" Tom nodded, Joe scrunching up tighter to his twin, who held his hand tightly. Maggie paused, before continuing, knowing that this would be hard to hear. "Well, when Mummy got hurt, when I had that accident, I was in the hospital for a long time, and it wasn"t a hospital near "tective PJ, so he didn"t know what was going on. Nobody told "tective PJ where I was, so he was very sad and he thought I"d gone to Heaven." Maggie said, doing her utmost to simplify what had been the most traumatic time of her life so that her small sons could understand. "But Mummy, why didn"t you tell "tective PJ? Why you not stand up and say" here I am, here I am" like Tom and I do when he can"t find me when we play hide and seek?" Joe asked. "See that"s the thing, sweetheart. When I eventually did wake up in the hospital, something funny had happened to my head, and I couldn"t remember anything. You know how you sometimes forget to do things, like when you went to Kay"s house last week and you couldn"t find your gumboots, and then we found them hidden in the back of your cupboard where you"d put them cos they made you feet feel squelchy?" Tom nodded, transfixed by the story. "Well, when Mummy woke up in the hospital, I couldn"t remember anything. I couldn"t remember my name, I didn"t remember Mount Thomas, and I didn"t remember anything about "tective PJ at all." Tom glanced over at "tective PJ as Mummy said that, and his little heart clenched with sadness at the look on "tective PJ"s face. Scooting forward on the sofa, Tom reached out and patted PJ"s leg. "It"s ok, "tective PJ. Mummy loves you now, she loves you like chocolate ice-cream now," he said comfortingly, and PJ had to bite back his emotions. "I love her too, son," he managed, and to his surprise, Tom didn"t mind being called son. Somehow it didn"t seem to upset him quite as much as it had done before. "Yeah, ok, so ah - " Maggie too bit back her tears, and Joe moved forward to give his Mum a hug, before wriggling back into place next to Tom on the couch. "So," she gathered herself and kept going. "So I woke up in the hospital, and I was all confused, and then some doctors and some policemen thought they would help me and they told me a story. You see, some bad people had tried to hurt me, and when I woke up in the hospital and I couldn"t remember anything, the doctors and policemen thought it might be better if I moved away from Mount Thomas and started again in a different place. So they didn"t tell me anything about "tective PJ, and because I had forgotten anything, I didn"t remember him anyway." Maggie stopped again, glancing over at PJ, who gave her a supportive smile, before replacing that with an even more supportive kiss. "Mummy? " Joe was very inquisitive, much more so than his brother. Maggie smiled at him, before nodding at him to continue. "Mummy, why didn"t "tective PJ come and get you then?" he asked, turning his blue eyes on PJ. 42 45 PJ sighed. "Your Mum couldn"t remember me at all mate, and down in Mount Thomas, the doctors had told me that your Mummy was really badly hurt and well, they told me that she had gone to Heaven because she"d been hurt so much when the bad men came. I was really, really sad, and I cried and cried for a very long time. Your Mummy had lots of friends in Mount Thomas, and we all cried for days and days, and they had to look after me because I was so sad. I never thought I"d see your Mummy again." PJ said, his voice breaking slightly. Joe leaned forward, giving PJ the patented Hasham smile. "S Ok, tective PJ, Mummy"s here, and she loves you lots and lots." "I know she is, and you will never know how happy that makes me," PJ said, returning the Hasham charm, giving both his sons and their mother a look that spoke volumes. "I love your Mummy, and you two so much." "We love you too," Tom said reassuringly. "Love you lots "tective PJ" PJ"s heart soared at his son"s words, and it was his turn to have to bite back tears. "So what happened next?" Joe asked, wanting to hear more of the story. "Tective PJ all sad in Mutt Thomas, and Mummy all sad here. What happened next?" "Well, I had to try to get on with my life without your Mummy, but it was very hard to do, and I didn"t really want to." PJ said softly. "My friends, well, mine and Mummy"s friends from Mount Thomas, we cried for a long time, and we missed Mummy so much, but after a long time, we had to start to get on with our lives, and we had to go out and start to catch the bag guys again." PJ explained. "Did you catch the bag guys who hurt Mummy? Tom asked curiously, and Maggie was curious too. That was something that they hadn"t really talked about, who had actually shot her. Realisation dawned in PJ, and it was all he could do not to let his true feeling show as he thought about exactly whom it was who had shot Maggie. Feeling her eyes bore into him, PJ did his best to hide it, turning to his sons and simplifying things once again. "Yes, we did, and he"s in jail now, and you don"t have to worry, he won"t be getting out." Hanging his head slightly, he glanced over at Maggie. "Later sweetheart. I"ll tell you later, I promise" and he looked so worried, so distraught that Maggie let it go, storing his reactions

Armed with crayons, paper, and a chair that swiveled Blair kept himself busy while Simon worked at his desk. However, he soon became bored and upon spotting a book asked if he could read it. Simon glanced up and said, "Sure," smiling indulgently as the book was a large book and he figured that the little boy would make up a story as he paged through it. The time passed by in silence when suddenly Blair looked up and asked, "What"s deee-cap-i-taa-zation?" Simon nearly choked on the coffee that he had been drinking and quickly snatched the book away. "You shouldn"t be reading that," he said replacing the book back on the shelf. Blair turned confused eyes on him, "But, you said I could--I asked if I could read it and you said "sure"." "Yes, well...I changed my mind," he answered, flustered. Blair shrugged and sat back down on his chair with a sigh. He rested his head on his hand as he swiveled back and forth. He was in fact very...very...bored. A little while later, Simon received a phone call and had to leave. He asked Blair to stay there as he would be back in a couple of minutes. Blair was getting hungry and he waited and waited for the police captain to return for what seemed like forever...but was in actuality only a few seconds. The little boy worried his lip as he thought about what the police captain had said. He had told him to stay "here", but hadn"t said if the "here" meant in his office "here" or in the building "here". Blair"s stomach growled so he rationalized that he had meant in the building "here" and went off in search of something to eat. The detectives in the bullpen were all occupied with their work and did not notice the small boy as he walked out of the bullpen door. After wandering around for awhile, he soon came upon a snack machine. Unfortunately, he had no money with him. As Blair contemplated this problem, Simon walked back into his office and nearly had a heart attack upon discovering that Blair was no longer there. He further began to panic when he found out that no one had seen Blair leave. Unbeknownst to the panic he was causing, Blair wandered out into the hall and asked the first person that he saw if he could please borrow 50cents. As soon as he asked, the little boy realized that he had asked the wrong person and quickly backed up. The man went to grab him and missed. Blair turned to run--the man right behind. Reaching into his pocket, Blair discovered some of his crayons. He threw them at the man, but missed his mark. However, the man slipped on crayons and crashed heavily into a wall, knocked out cold. Blair"s jaw dropped and his eyes widened as he took in the sight. He went to check on the man and breathed a sigh of relief when he discovered that he hadn"t killed the man. Then, a shiny glint caught his eye and he realized that the change had fallen out of the man"s pockets. After rationalizing that it wasn"t really stealing, as he was only borrowing the money, Blair picked up two quarters and headed back to the snack machines. He ate the treat that he bought and yawned. Discovering that he was now very tired from all that excitement the little boy curled up on a chair and soon fell asleep, chocolate smeared around his mouth. Meanwhile, the whole Major Crimes Department was involved in a frantic search that only intensified when the unconscious man was discovered. Five minutes later, Rhonda discovered Blair sleeping in the chair and moved him to the couch in the office of the much relieved police captain. As Simon watched the innocent looking child sleeping he wondered if Jim had any idea what he had gotten himself into... And that was how little Blair spent his first full day in the Major Crimes office under the care of one Captain Simon Banks. The Little Boy and the BabysitterCuriously enough, the police captain did not offer to baby-sit again, but instead recommended a babysitter. She had plenty of experience and had babysat his son when he was younger. And so the detective hired the babysitter to watch the little boy while he was a work. When the babysitter came, the little boy watched her from behind the detective"s legs. She was an older woman with gray hair and carried a rather large purse. She bent down and smiled widely at Blair, "My! Aren"t we just the cutest thing ever!" she said pinching his cheek. Blair scrunched up his nose and hid behind Jim. He hated to be talked down to. "Now Chief," Jim said pulling Blair out from behind him and lifting him into his arms, "you be good for Ms. Johnson." "I"ll be back right after work," he reassured, setting Blair down and ruffling his hair. "Oh, don"t worry about us," Ms. Johnson said, "we"ll be just fine--won"t we, sugar?" She smiled widely and pat Blair on his head. The four-year-old sent Jim a desperate plea with his eyes, but alas the detective did not see it and the door closed leaving the two alone together. "Now, what should we do first," Ms. Johnson asked setting her purse down on the chair. "Oh! I know," she said clapping her hands together;" I"ll say an animal and you can tell me what sound it makes!" The little boy looked incredulously at the babysitter who was obviously delighted at this idea. He had never played this particular game before and it didn"t seem very challenging and so the little boy decided add a bit more to his answers. "The cow says..." the babysitter began in a singsong voice clapping her hands. She paused, waiting for his answer, smiling widely in anticipation. "The cow makes a noise usually described as a "moo". Cows are used for food here in the United States, but in India they"re considered sacred animals and..." the little boy answered gesturing with his hands as he excitedly told her about cows in India. The babysitter"s smile faltered. "My! You seem to know a lot about cows," she interrupted. Blair stopped in midsentence and blinked up at her. He opened he mouth to say something when the babysitter quickly announced that it was just about time for lunch. Lunch went by without incident and buoyed by this the babysitter asked Blair what he wanted to do. The little boy asked if she would tell him a story. The babysitter was relieved at this--she knew many children"s stories and felt that she told them rather well. The little boy settled beside her on the couch and she began, "Once upon a time in..." "When?" the little boy asked. "Once upon a time," she repeated. "But, when--100 years ago, a thousand...?" "A very long time ago," the babysitter said and began again, "Once upon a time in a land far far away there lived..." Only to be interrupted again: "Where?" "In a land far far away," the babysitter explained with a now forced smile. "But..." he started to say but the babysitter quickly continued on, "Once upon a time in a land far far away there lived a princess..." "A princess of what?" "Just a princess," the babysitter said taking a deep breath. "Once upon a time in a land far far away there lived a princess in a beautiful castle..." The little boy opened his mouth and the babysitter anticipated his question saying, "no one knew where the castle was as it was a hidden castle..." she felt quite proud of herself for thinking of that until, "What kind of castle was it?" "A big one," she answered quickly and began again, "once upon a time there lived a princess in a big castle..." "You forgot "in a land far far away," the little boy pointed out. That evening, when the detective got home he was surprised by a much frazzled babysitter hurrying out the door the moment it opened. As she pushed past him she shouted "I quit!" The shocked detective quietly closed the door behind him and turned to look at the little boy who was innocently coloring on the floor. The detective sent him a questioning look and the little boy shrugged his shoulders obviously as mystified by the babysitter"s reaction as he was. And that was how little Blair spent his first--and last--day in the care Ms. Johnson the babysitter. Please take the time to review. Someone gave me this suggestion after the last story--and I just couldn"t resist!Dedicated to Ines at SentinelAngst (thanks for the idea!)Please read and review.Thank you to those who reviewed the previous chapters: Tsuki no Lomelinde, Carol J., Katie, and mctsensitive. I really appreciated it--cookies for all! :) The Little Boy and the Ladies of the Forensic DepartmentA week later, the detective still did not have a permanent babysitter for the little boy. He still could not figure out what in the world the four-year-old could have possibly done to drive Ms. Johnson off like that. And so, he reluctantly decided to take Blair to work with him as a temporary solution. When he arrived, he was quite surprised when Carolyn and the ladies from Forensics agreed to keep an eye on Blair while he was in a meeting. The little boy eyed the ladies of the Forensic Department with curiosity as the ladies of the Forensic Department eyed him. Cassie knelt down to his level, "What a cute little baby," she cooed ruffling his hair. Blair stepped back, indignant--baby? He was four-years-old! He glared at her. "My aren"t we grumpy today," Sam said amused, seeing his glare. "Well, who wouldn"t be living with Jim," Carolyn commented. Blair turned to her, shocked, "That"s not very nice," he said, "I like Jim!" He glared at all three of them. They just laughed and took him to the Forensics lab with instructions that he was not to touch anything. Five minutes later, Blair was bored. He sighed loudly. Then, looking around he realized that no one had heard him so he sighed again--louder this time. Still no one turned around. The Forensic lab, the little boy decided, was a very boring place to be. The ladies of the Forensic Department didn"t seem bored, though. He wondered what they were so interested in. He decided to find out. "Whatcha doing?" he asked Sam, coming up behind her and trying to see what was on top of the counter. "My job," Sam said, trying to concentrate on carefully putting drops of some kind of liquid into a container. "Why?" Blair asked. "Because," Sam said, distracted. Blair sighed, and then studied the contents of the counter with curiosity. He went to pick up one of the containers and accidentally ended up spilling some of it into another container. He put his hand to his mouth in surprise and quickly backed away from it, remembering that he wasn"t supposed to touch anything. But, looking around he realized that no one had noticed. The stuff on the counter, the little boy decided, wasn"t very interesting anyway. He was going to go talk to Carolyn, but she got up and walked out of the room. He didn"t really like her anyway, the little boy decided, she had said mean things about Jim. He stuck his tongue out at her retreating back. That left only one more person in the room to talk to. With a huge sigh, as he was in fact very bored, he reluctantly went up to Cassie to see what she was doing. She had some papers and stuff spread out in front of her and the little boy eyed it with curiosity. "Whatcha doing?" he asked. "Trying to figure out how this all fits together,"she murmured. Then, turning to him she smiled widely, "you wouldn"t understand it--it"s very complicated." She patted his head. Once again, the little boy was indignant--he may be little, he thought, but he wasn"t stupid. He opened his mouth to say something, when the phone rang. While Cassie went to answer it; he carefully studied the papers in front of him. He picked one up and moved it. He looked around--no one had noticed. He moved some more. When he was finished, he stepped back to look at his work. Just then, Jim walked in. "Where you good for the Forensic ladies?" Jim asked. "Uh huh," Blair nodded, taking his hand. After they left, Cassie sat back down to look over the papers that she had left sitting on the table. "Huh," she mumbled confused. Then with a shrug, she smiled, "I knew I would figure it out!" Just then, Sam reached for a container on the counter and poured it to her mixture. As the little boy and the detective entered the elevator, a small explosion sounded. "What do you think that was?" Jim asked in surprise. Blair shrugged, as puzzled as he was. And that was how little Blair spent his first and only afternoon with the ladies of the Forensic Department. Who would you like to see little Blair interact with next? Please let me know. The Little Boy and the Teenager The detective could not understand why he was having such a hard time finding a babysitter for the little boy. Every time that he thought that he found one, they quit or moved or was too busy to baby-sit again. He just did not understand it. This Friday, he had a stakeout that he could not get out of, and so Simon had "volunteered" his son, Darrel, to babysit. After all, it was only for a few hours. The teenager was not happy to be spending his Friday night babysitting a four-year-old. In his mind, four-year-olds were like one step above an infant. The kid would probably spend all night crying and wanting to watch annoying shows like Barney. And so, it was with a huge sigh that the teenager knocked on the detective"s door. The detective greeted the teenager at the door and introduced him to Blair. The four- year-old peered out from behind the detective"s legs and eyed Darrel warily. There had been a steady stream of new people coming over to watch him--none of them had come back. He wondered why these people hadn"t liked him--he was used to being around new people and usually made friends fairly quickly. He just could not understand why none of these new people that he had met had come back to visit him. With these thoughts running through his mind, the little boy watched the detective leave then turned his big blue eyes on Darrel. The teenager eyed the little boy anxiously. He was not sure what to do now and was desperately hoping that the little boy didn"t start crying. "So....ummm....what do you want to do?" he asked. The little boy considered this question very carefully. He knew from past experiences that storytelling didn"t usually go over very well, nor did Twenty Questions. Worrying his bottom lip, the little boy continued to think. "Scientific experiments" really really hadn"t gone over well, he thought with a frown--he hadn"t known that someone could scream that loud. And Ms. Pierce had been in near tears when he had played hide-and-go-seek with her--though she really hadn"t specified that he had to hide inside. Some people, the little boy thought, just didn"t know how to specify. The teenager watched the little boy as he thought. Getting tired of waiting, he asked, "Do you want to watch something on TV?" Startled, the little boy blinked in surprise as he had been very deeply in thought. TV, he decided, would be alright. And so, he nodded. And so the two sat on the couch. Darrel handed Blair the remote and braced himself for a brain-numbing kiddie show. "I can pick any show I want?" Blair asked, turning to him. "Yep, any show," Darrel answered. Blair slowly flipped through the channels, then stopped on the Discovery Channel where a documentary on African lions was being shown. He cautiously snuck a glance at Darrel, and when no objection to his choice was made, settled back to watch the show. Darrel jumped when two lions started attacking each other, and quickly looked over to see how Blair was taking it. "You OK over there little guy? Maybe we should change the channel," he suggested. "I"m alright," Blair answered, "....but we can change the channel if you want to." he added, giving Darrel the puppy dog look--obviously not liking that option. Darrel eyed him skeptically. "They"re just fighting over their territory," Blair explained, pointing to the screen, "When I went to Africa the elders told us about it--but I didn"t get to see it "cause lions are dangerous and eat little boys." "You really went to Africa?" Darrel asked, impressed. "Uh, huh," Blair said nodding. "Cool," Darrel said with a grin. Blair smiled back, and bouncing in his seat and waving his arms animatedly, started to tell Darrel all about Africa. That evening, when Jim got home, he found Blair sleeping on Darrel"s lap on the couch. Hearing the door close, Blair sleepily sat up and yawned. His eyes widened with surprise when he saw Jim and he ran to give him a hug. "Thanks for watching him," Jim said as Darrel stood up. "No problem," Darrel said smiling. "Are you going to come back some time," Blair asked quietly, turning his baby blues on Darrel. "Sure thing," Darrel answered as he ruffled Blair"s hair, "you"re a pretty cool little dude." Blair beamed. And that was how little Blair spent his first day with the teenager. ------------------------------------------------ feedback is always welcome! ;) The Little Boy and the Grandfather One night, the little boy was looking through the bookshelves in the loft for something to read and came across a very interesting book indeed. It was a photo album and had many pictures in it. Curious about the pictures, the little boy walked over to the detective to ask about them. "Whatcha got there, Chief?" Jim asked seeing him approach. Blair crawled up on his lap, pulling the book up with him. "Who"s in these pictures?" he asked opening it up. The detective sighed, knowing that many questions were forthcoming. But, unable to resist the puppy-dog look the little boy was giving him, he answered pointing the people out, "that"s me, my brother and my father" The little boy wrinkled his brow in puzzlement. "Did they die?" he asked softly. Jim blinked, startled, "What?" "Your brother and your father--did they die?" Blair looked up at him worrily. Jim sighed, "No, they"re still alive." Now the little boy was really puzzled. The detective had never mentioned a brother or a father before and there were no pictures of them displayed in the house. Just then, the doorbell rang signeling the arrival of dinner and the conversation was forgotten...well, for the moment at least... One week Later The little boy sat on the couch drinking a juicebox and watching tv quietly. The reason that he was watching it quietly, was that it was nap time. Of course, the only one taking a nap at the moment was his babysitter. The little boy glanced over at the doorway to his room where his babysitter was inside sleeping. He had laid down in bed while she read him a story. He had decided to close his eyes for a little bit, and when he opened them, he found his babysitter fast asleep. So, he had tucked a blanket around her and had headed off to the living room. Then, the phone rang. The little boy quickly answered it--as he didn"t want to disturb his babysitter. "Hello?" "I"m sorry, I must have the wrong number..." the voice on the other end said. "Who were you trying to call?" "James Ellison--I was sure this was the number" "That"s the same name as Jim!" Blair said happlily. "You know my son?" he asked shocked. The little boy was quite shocked himself. Was this really the detective"s dad? he wondered. Was he the man in the pictures that he had looked at? Finally the little boy answered, "Uh huh, Jim took me in--he"s my foster dad." "What!" the voice gasped. "Are you really his dad?" "Yes...I..." "How come you don"t visit him very often?" the little boy was curious about this because he had been with the detective for what seemed like a very long time now and he had never visited or called during that time. "Well...I...You see we...we drifted apart a bit and..." "Why?" "Well, there were circumstances and...we decided it was probably best..." "Why?" "Is Jim there?" "Nope, he"s at work." "You"re there alone!" "Of course not silly--I"m with a babysitter." "Why didn"t she answer the phone?" "She"s sleeeeeeeping." "She doesn"t sound like a very good babysitter." "I like her alot!" the little boy was quick to defend, "...I think I wore her out a little, though" he confessed. "I see." "Are you gonna come visit?" "You know, I think I just might..." "Can I call you grandpa?" When the detective arrived home that night, he found a very sleepy little boy and very well rested babysitter. After the babysitter left, the detective tucked the little boy into bed. "Guess what?" the little boy asked excitedly--though very sleeply. The detective knew that there was no way to guess what the little boy would say when he said "guess what" and so he asked for the little boy to tell him instead. The little boy yawned and said, "Grandpa called--he"s coming to visit tomorrow," then promptly fell asleep. Jim stared at the now sleeping boy in shock. Had his father really called? The next day, there came a knock on the door. Jim was still mildy shocked to see that was indeed his father on the other side of the door. "Hello, dad." "Hello, son," his father said. Both were shocked when the bit of awkward silence that followed was interputed by Blair who launched himself at the older man with an enthusiastic, "Hi, grandpa!" After gathering Blair up into his arms, William Ellison turned to his son and said, "It seems we have alot of catching up to do." And that was how the little boy came to meet his grandfather.

And on a world in chaotic disarray a lonely little girl sat looking up at the heavens. She remembered how her mother had run with her when the monsters had come to her earth...and remembered the look in her mother"s eyes when she had told her to hide. The little girl had noticed that her mom"s voice was weak and the look of pain on her face. She remembered how her mom had told her that she loved her and would always look over her from heaven. The little girl looked up at the sky. "I wish I still had a family," she whispered. She did have a family out there somewhere--a father that she had never met... On another world four others were making much the same wish unknowingly much at the same time... A young man in his twenties awoke with a start from a nightmare. "When had it all gone so wrong?' he thought. Now only two of the original four sliders were still together. "I had promised to get them home, now I just wish that all of us were together", he sighed, then fell back into a restless sleep. In the same room the other of the remaining original sliders made the exact same wish, while across the room two others made much the same wish of family and belonging... They are heard... And up above someone was listening. Listening to the wishes of seven people who thought that they had slipped through the cracks. Listening and planning a miracle... And the miracles begin... A swirling blue vortex opened and dropped out the four sliders. Quinn Mallory--boy genius, Colin Mallory--his brother, Rembrandt Brown--an R & B singer, and Maggie Becket--an ex-marine. The four sliders got up and looked around. That"s when they noticed a little girl staring at them. But when she saw them looking she ran away. "Well, I guess we should probably look around and check into the Chandler," Maggie said. "Yea, I guess," Quinn said absently. He had only glimpsed the girl momentarily, but she had somehow seemed familiar. He shook his head, thinking that he must have been imagining things. The city, they soon found out, was pretty much in ruins. "The Kromaggs!" Maggie hissed. "Well, at least it looks like they"re gone for now," Quinn said, looking around. "When do we slide?" Colin asked. "We"re lucky we slide in only four hours," Quinn answered. They were glad they were leaving this wrecked city so soon--they still had the image of Earth Prime in thier heads. It too had been taken over by the Kromaggs. That was when Quinn had found out that he was from a parallel world and that he had a brother. It was also the world in which Wade had been captured. Not exactly what they had pictured thier return home would be like. "Well, it"s time to slide!" said Quinn. Colin put into words what they were all thinking-"Finally!" Quinn pointed the device at the wall and a swirling blue vortex appeared. Colin, Maggie, Rembrandt and Quinn jumped into the vortex that would lead them to the next world. No one noticed as one more person jumped into the vortex... The sliders landed in a heap on the next world. "Man, can"t you do somehing about those landings?!" Rembrandt complained. "You know I can"t..." Quinn started to say when he suddenly noticed the little girl. His eyes widened. "Did you follow us?" Quinn asked kneeling down to her level. The little girl just looked up at him withwide eyes. "Now what are we going to do?" Maggie asked, throwing up her hands. "We can"t just leave her here!" Colin said. "I guess we"ll have to take her with us--for now," Quinn said sighing. "What"s your name?" he asked. The little girl just looked down. He held out his hand to her, but she took Maggie"s instead (much to Maggie"s obvious annoyance). They walked into town and immediately noticed the elaborate decorations. "Man, I didn"t even realize it was Christmas time already!" Rembrandt commented looking around. "At least this world seems somewhat normal!" Maggie said as they checked into their usual suite at the Chandler Hotel. "You hungry?" Quinn questioned the little girl. She shook her head. "Quinn, can you hand me a soda?" Colin asked. At that, the little girl looked at Quinn startled. "Quinn what?" she asked quietly. They all turned to look at her. "What?" Quinn asked confused. "Your last name--what"s your last name?" she asked quietly. "Mallory," he said, "Quinn Mallory" She gasped, "That"s my daddy"s name" "What?!" The little girl looked down. "He was a slider too," she said quietly. "So you know about sliding?" Colin asked. "My mommy told me about it," she said softly. Quinn was staring at her wide-eyed. He suddenly realized why she looked so familiar. It was her eyes...they looked just like... "Oh my God!" Quinn whispered. "Umm, what"s your name?" he asked "Katie," she said shyly. Quinn reached into his pocket and took out his wallet. He searched through it till he found what he was looking for--it was a picture. "Katie--is this your mom?" Quinn asked showing her the picture. "Uh huh," she said wide-eyed. "Q-ball?" Remmy said questionably. Quinn ignored him."Come here," he said. She walked over to him. "Are you my daddy?" she asked, looking up at him. "I might be," he said quietly, " I just might be..." "Did your mommy tell you anything about your daddy?" he asked. "Uh huh," she said, " He was a slider and she said that he gave her a miracle. She said he helped her have me and that he had to leave though "cause it wasn"t safe on our world for boys." Suddenly Quinn smiled wonderingly. He gazed at her with new eyes--the eyes of a father. "My little girl," he said amazed. She lookied at him with wide eyes. "Really?" "Yes, really!" he said, giving her a hug. The others were shocked. Quinn turned to them. "Katie, I"d like you to meet Remmy and Maggie...and your Uncle Colin." Two days later "So, Katie, how do you like sliding?" Quinn asked his daughter. " It"s fun!" she said grinning. They had been lucky, the worlds they had landed on had been fairly normal lately. He was still amazed at this little person that he had helped create. And he was happy--happier then he had been in years. The others took quick notice of his change in attitude. "I"ve never seen Q-ball act like this before!" Rembrandt said smiling looking over at Quinn who was holding up a laughing Katie. It seemed that Katie was just what the group had needed to lift thier spirits. The four doted on her and Katie took a quick liking to all of them. Up Above She smiled down on them from high up above. The group had been long overdo for some happiness. One miracle down; two more to go... Back down below When the group slid to the next world they knew immediatly that something wasn"t right. For one thing, they were now surrounded by computers and electrical equipment...not to mention some very ticked off looking Kromaggs. "Umm...guys this doesn"t look good!" Rembrandt said looking around. Quinn instictivly tightened his grip on Kaite who was now as white as a ghost. "Those are the monsters who killed my mommy," she whispered burying her head in Quinn"s jacket. "How did you get that sliding device!" one of the Kromaggs asked. "I uh, invented it," Quinn said too stunned to make something up. "Liar! Humans know nothing of interdimensional travel!" another Kromagg scoffed. Maggie rolled her eyes--Kromaggs could be thick as boards. It seemed that every time they encountered them theyhad to explain about the timer--and even then they still didn"t entirely believe them. It looked like they would be spending Christmas in a Kromagg prison... Up Above "Oh no!" she groaned. The first one had been so easy--just direct their wormhole to the right earth. But this time..."Why did they assign me to this one!' she thought. In her opinion they deserved better then that. She was way too new at this. "I guess just dropping them off on the right earth isn"t enough," she whispered. Now to think of a way to help them find another member of thier group--and more importantly get them out of that prison. Christmas in a prison--especially a Kromagg prison--just would not do... A mission below She materialized close to the cell. "Excuse me, which one of you is Wade Wells?" she asked. "I am," five virtually identical women said at the same time. She groaned when she realized that this particular cell had five Wades in it--only one of which was the one she was looking for. She took a deep breath then looked up and whispered, "Please guide me." That"s when she noticed one of the Wades was standing by herself and knew instantly that she was the one that she was looking for. She said a silent thank you and entered the cell. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a key and opened the cell. "Your friends will be glad to see you again," she said to the Wade standing off to one side. Wade gave this strange woman an inquisitive look. "What do you mean?" she asked suspiciously. "Come with me," the woman said seeming not to hear her. Wade reluctantly followed her out of the cell. Wade followed her stunned as she led her down a passage. They stopped in front of another row of cells and Wade realized with a start that they hadn"t seen a single Kromagg the whole time. "Your friends are in the second cell on your left...and no I don"t mean their doubles either," the woman clarified. Wade was startled and not a little suspcious. "Is this some kind of a joke or trick or something?" Wade asked nervously. She smiled, "I assure you this is no trick" She handed Wade a timer. "You had better hurry if you"re to make the slide." Wade stared. This couldn"t be happening! After all this time was she really going to see them again? "But how...?" she started to ask then was startled to realize that the woman was gone. It was almostas if she had disappeared into thin air. But that was impossible...wasn"t it? She cautiously walked to the cell that the woman had told her to go to. She was surprised to see a key already in the slot--and even more surprized that there wasn"t a Kromagg in sight. She cautiously opened the cell as they hadn"t noticed her yet. "Ummm...guys?" she said hesitantly. They all turned to her in shock. "Wade?!" They all stared. "We"ve only got like five seconds left," she said showing them the timer. "What--how...?" Quinn asked puzzled. "Actually, I don"t know, but we better hurry or we"ll miss the slide." With that she activated the timer. On the next world They all landed in a heap. "Wade, I can"t believe it"s really you girl!" Rembrandt said giving Wade a hug. "Wade!" was all Quinn could say as he too gave her a hug. That"s when Wade noticed that besides Maggie there were two others with them one of which was a little child. "Who...?" she asked questionly. "Wade, I"d like you to meet my brother, Colin and my daughter, Katie," Quinn said smiling. "Daughter...brother...since when?!" asked Wade clearly confused. "It"s a loooong story!" Up Above She smiled. She was glad that it had all worked out for the best. Two down, one to go... The next day Wade was still amazed at all that had happened since she had been gone. The group had quickly filled her in yesterday--and they had also insisted that she got a check-up. The doctor had said that she was fine other than the fact that she had some bruises and minor injuries. She was just glad that the group had found her before...Wade shuddered. She didn"t even want to think of what could have happened. She looked over at the group where they were showing Katie the Christmas decorations in the windows. "Wade come see!" a delighted Katie squealed excitedly. Wade smiled and joined the group pushing those unpleasant thoughts aside for now. "3-2-1.."with that Quinn aimed the timer and the vortex opened sending them to the next world... on the next world "We"re here for about five days," Quinn said after looking at the timer. Suddenly he glanced back at the timer in surprise. "This can"t be right!' he thought in dismay. "Um, guys we"ve got a problem..." "What now?" Maggie asked annoyed. He showed them the now blank timer. "What do we do now?" asked Colin. "I guess we"ll have to find out what"s wrong with it," he searched his pockets and looked up confused, "but first we need to go to the hardware store--I can"t find my tools." "I also need a screwdriver..."Quinn started to say as he looked for the tools he needed. "I"ll get it daddy!" Katie said cheerfully as she ran to look for it. Quinn smiled as he watched his daughter. He was glad she was so happy. She had been terrified when they had been in that Kromagg prison, and afterwards she had been quieter. But now it seemed she was back to her own cheerful self... The professor grumbled as he picked up some more wires. His arms were already full with various electrical equipment. He sighed as he dropped some of it. Bending over to pick it up he was run into by a little dark-haired girl. "Blistering idiot!" he mumbled. Katie looked up, frightened. She was still a little uncomfortable around men--especilly big ones. "I-I"m sorry," she said helping him pick up the items he had dropped. "It"s quite alright," he assured her. "I"m just frustrated because I don"t think I"ll ever get this blasted thing to work!" he said more to himself than to her. "What are you work"n on?" she asked quietly. "Nothing that you"d know about my dear," he said, "even I don"t fully understand it," he admitted. "I bet my dad would," she said seriously, "he knows all about that kind of stuff." "Katie?" a voice called from the next aisle. She looked up, "I"ve gotta go," the little girl said hurrying in the direction of the voice. But the professor was hardly listening. That voice sounded so familar, but it couldn"t ? "Daddy, there"s a man in the next aisle getting wires and stuff," she frowned, "do ya think he"s working on a timer too?" Katie looked up at Quinn quizzedly. Quinn smiled. "I don"t think so, angel," he said ruffling her hair. He was still amazed at her innocence--even after all she had been through--although a little wiser--she was still so innocent. What he wouldn"t give to have that kind of innocence again. He smiled. "We better go pay for this stuff, the others are waiting for us back at the hotel." "Are we gonna have pizza again?" Kaitie asked. Pizza was one of her favorite foods--she could eat it every day--which was good since they did eat it practically every day. Suddenly she heard her dad gasp. She looked up and noticed his face had gone white. "Are you alright, daddy?" she asked worrily. "I-I"m fine," he said but his eyes were still fixed on the person getting into the check-out lane next to thiers. He shook his head and glanced away. He should have been used to seeing doubles by now...but still seeing the professor--even when he knew it wasn"t their professor--surprised him. "I guess it"s because we haven"t seen one of his doubles in a while,' he reasoned. After dropping his purchases on the counter the professor glanced at the next lane and nearly did a double take. There in the nextaisle was that little girl again--but he was more concerned with who she was with. It was Quinn--or rather his double--but at any rate probably much more capable of putting together a sliding machine then he... They had just finished checking out and were now leaving the store when the professor approached them. "Excuse me....Mr. Mallory?" Quinn looked up surprised. "Y-yes?" Quinn said still trying to get over the shock. "Sorry to bother you, but I am in rather an unusual sort of predicament you see and I could really use your help." "My help?" Quinn said still trying to absorb what was going on. "Yes, you see your daughter informed me that you are rather good at this sort of thing and seeing as how you"re here--I don"t doubt that you are," he finished knowing full well that the Quinn of this world was out sliding around the multi-universe. The professor noticed with a frown that Quinn seemed rather uneasy and wouldn"t look him in the eye. "Are you alright, my boy?" He noticed that Quinn got slightly paler at this. Quinn took a deep breath, "I"m fine," he said. "What is it exactly that you needed my help on?" he asked. "A sliding machine. I can"t get the blasted thing to work!" Quinn sighed. It seemed like a lot of people needed help with sliding machines--himself included. After a few experiences he had learned to be very catious when dealing with trying to help others with thier sliding machines. But somehow though, he felt that he didn"t need to be suspicous this time...which was why he agreed. "You what?!" Wade asked. "I ah, told someone that I"d help them with thier sliding machine," Quinn said looking rather uncomfortable. "What about our timer?! That still needs fixed too!" Maggie pointed out. "I thought I"d work on both," he explained. "No offense, Q-ball, but how do you know we can trust this person?" Remmy asked. Quinn sighed. How did he know he could trust him? Because he looked like the professor that"s why which wasn"t really a very good reason he had to admit. "I already told him that I would," he finally said. "Does this person have a name?" Wade asked noticing that Quinn had avoided meantioning it. "Yes, he has a name...it"s..." Quinn mumbled the last part. "It"s what?" Remmy asked looking at him funny. Quinn took a deep breath. "It"s the professor"s double," he reluctantly said. Rembrandt and Wade were stunned--Colin and Maggie were unaffected by the meantion of the professor--as neither of them had known him. "The professor?" Wade whispered. "His double," Quinn gently reminded her. "Quinn, are you sure you want to do this?" Rembrandt asked concerned. "Yeah, I"m sure...I mean how could I not? Quinn answered with a shrug. "Where are you going to work on it?" Colin asked. "He said he had kind of a lab set up at his house." "We"re coming too," Wade said firmly. They arrived at the professor"s house two hours later. Quinn nervously took a deep breath and knocked on the door. The professor opened the door immediately. "I hope you don"t mind...but I brought my friends with me," Quinn said. "No, not at all, come on in," the professor said gestring them in. The professor"s eyes widened as he saw who they were--in particular who two of them were. "This is Wade, Rembrandt, Maggie, my brother, Colin, and you"ve already met my daughter, Katie," Quinn introduced. "It is a pleasure to meet you all," the professor said. "Wade, are you alright?" Quinn asked concerned. Wade had turned awfully pale. "Yea, it"s just...I"m fine," Wade whispered blinking back tears. "We knew your double from our world," Rembrandt explained. "Knew...?" "He died," Maggie said rather bluntly. Wade and Rembrandt glared at her. "What?" Maggie asked. "Shouldn"t we get started?" Quinn interrupted quickly changing the subject. They all headed down to the basement and Quinn Colin, and the professor gathered around the equipment. "It looks like you have a pretty good start here," Quinn commented. "Well, it should--I"ve been working on this blasted thing for years now." The three got to work on the sliding machine while the others looked around the basement. "Hey, check this out--on this world the Golden Gate bridge is blue!" Maggie said flipping through a magazine. Quinn dropped the part that he hand been working on in suprize. He, Wade, and Rambrandt looked at each other. Wade gasped. "Are you thinking what I"m thinking, Q-ball" "I think..." Quinn said slowly, "we may have been here before..." . They cast uneasy glances at the professor. "Mind filling the rest of us in here?" Maggie asked. "It was about our second year sliding..." Quinn began. The professor gave him a startled look. "Yeah, and we thought we were home too," Rembrandt continued. "Wait a second, it didn"t happen to be just four of you sliding then?" the professor asked. "Yeah," Rembrandt said slowly. "I don"t believe this...didn"t you realize you had the wrong one?!" "The wrong one?" Wade asked curiously. "And you"re saying that you"re the right one?" Rembrandt asked not believing him. "Of course I"m the right one you blistering idiot!" "I guess there"s only one way to find out for sure," Quinn said slowly after taking it all in. "Mind filling the rest of us in on what"s going on here?" Maggie repeated impatiently. The three quickly filled her in on what happened the last time they had been on this Earth. "...And now we"re going to check his quantum signiture to see if it matches Wade and Rembrandt"s." Quinn finished. "What about yours?" the professor asked confused. "That...is a very long story," Quinn said with a slight smile. After checking his quantum signiture they found that he was indeed their professor. Obvoiusly this revelation brought about alotof excitement and they took turns filling the professor in on all that had transpired since they had been separated. It looked like this would be a Christmas to remember. up above She smiled. It looked like her work here was done. They were now all together and more importantly they were all happy. After all, tomorrow was Christmas...what could go wrong? THE END Please review, any and all feedback is welcome. (yes, I know this story was a little on the sappy side--but it was the first fanfic that I had ever written...) (thank you very much to hunter3 who has already reviewed :) )

Later, at the backstage of a theater... "Eh? Two free V.I.P seats for these two boys? Who are they Luca?" Ojou-chan"s mom, who is her manager, asked. "They"re my new friends mom. They helped me out a while ago." "Help...? ...! You mean... Are you okay! You weren"t hurt, were you!" "No. Ayasaki-kun and Springfield-chan came to help me." "Uh... Our pleasure to... help out your daughter umm... Ma"am." Older Aniki said, being a gentleman as he is. "...Arigatou-gosaimazu, for helping Luca. But I"m afraid I cannot ask you two to be here." "Eh?" We asked. "Mom?" Ojou-chan asked. "If you two are no friend of those people, they will likely track you down and that will cause trouble for the people around you. Oh um... I meant no offense. Gomen." ...That"s kinda rude of her... Yeah, sure, those guys may have a problem of them being beat up by Aniki and Older Aniki but even then, they"ll just get beat up again. "Eh! But mom..." "No buts Luca. We"re in trouble enough already with the Sanzenin Company after you. And we don"t want you to get in trouble." ...! Did... Did she say... Did she say Sanzenin...? The ojou-chan we... That Older Aniki rescued that time? ...Aniki-judas did say that her family is rich... "But mom... " Poor ojou-chan... "Um... That"s okay... We"ll just... sit outside where we can see you. That is good enough for us, right Springfield?" Older Aniki said. "A-Ah. Yeah huh?" Come on Aniki... "No. You"ll have to leave." "Ah..." How cold. Ojou-chan"s mom seem to only want for us to leave. I understand that she doesn"t wish to get involved with us since we frankly made ourselves an enemy of a mafia syndicate. Outside... Without any objections. we exit the theater, which is quite bothersome. "Well that was a waste of time..." I said with a sigh. "It can"t be help. Not all people are true to themselves yet." Aniki said. "Hai, hai..." "Wait, Ayasaki-kun! Springfield-chan!" ...? Oh, it"s ojou-chan. "Wait up. Huff, huff." "Suirenji-san? What is it? We"re just about to leave-" She suddenly covers Older Aniki"s mouth, preventing him from finishing his sentence. "Shh." She observes our surrounding. "Come with me." She drags Older Aniki. "O-Oi, Suirenji-san...!"Me and Aniki follow them behind. Ojou-chan took us to an abandoned building that has a spot where we can see the whole stage, where apparently her singing performance will be performed. "You can watch from here. I used to watch the other singers performed here from time to time." "This is where you will sing?" "Ah. Ja, I better get ready. Wish me luck! Chu." Cling! "...!" She kissed Older Aniki"s cheek! Alright! Another 50,000 ermine dollar! "Uh..." Older Aniki is left speechless. "Wow... She really has taken a liking of you Ayasaki-san..." Aniki said. "Ha ha... ...Yeah..." "Hee hee..." Yosh. Another girl for Older Aniki! And that means, more money for me! "Hm? Why are snickering Chamo-kun?" Eep! "Eh? Uh n-nothing! You"re imagining thinks Aniki!" Hayate Ayasaki P.O.V ...Though Chamomile-san told Springfield that he has nothing to hide, I can see through him that he is delightened that Suirenji-san has taken a liking to me... "..." I touch my cheek that was kissed by her... "Ah..." I can"t help but blush... "Ah! There she is! Looks like she"s about to do her performance!" ...? Oh, there she is as Springfield said. She"s dressed in a black dress with a flower on her forehead. She"s... pretty... "..." "...? What"s the matter Ayasaki-san?" "Eh? Uh nothing. I"m just... surprised to see her in that outfit..." "Hm? Oh right. She"s kinda cute in that outfit doesn"t she?" ...You"re pretty bold to say that Springfield. But, since you"re still just a 10 year old boy, I guess you"re still not what most teenagers would think. "Yeah... Huh?" "..." Judas-san is staring at me with an all-knowing-look. I guess he can tell that I"m kinda attracted to her in that outfit... Ah... But I don"t think I"m the type of guy who is suitable for someone like her... ...Right? "Yosh, here I go everyone!" "YEEAAHH!" All of her fans become excited as she exclaimed that through the microphone. She begins singing... ...What a lovely voice she has... She"s like an angel of God... I don"t really know what she"s singing but from what I can hear and see at the signs of the fans, it"s entitled as "Heaven is a Place on Earth". "Wow! She really is a good singer!" Springfield commented. "Yeah! Way to go ojou-chan!" Chamomile-san cheered. "..." I just remain silent and watch her performance. Normal P.O.V Tap,tap... Two guys in suitswatch Luca from afar. Both nod at each other and proceed through the cheering fans. "Yeah! Luca!" "That"s the Luca we know!" "Alright!" All of the fans are cheering excitedly for their idol. The two guys find it difficult to pass through as a result so they decided to go around the back. "Hm?" Hayate noticed them. "Those guys are...?" "...?" Judas turns to his direction. "...! ..." It seems trouble... "Hm? What"s the matter Judas-san?" "Those guys... ...Prepare yourselves. Both of you." "Huh?" The two persona-users asked. "Those guys are after that girl. You"ll have to protect her!" "...!What? But... But why...!" "There"s no time! Hurry up and get moving!" "...Hm!" Both of them jump down from their spot and run towards the crowded stage. "Grr..." The two guys in suit are getting irritated of the cheering fans as it become more and more difficult for them to passed through. "Why the hell are these people-Ugh!" One of them got pulled by somebody... Strike! "Ugh!" He is knocked unconcious. "Huh? O-Oi, daijobou! What happened-" Strike! "Ugh!" "Hn." Hayate snucked up behind the other guy and knocked him out with a karate chop on the neck. Both he and Negi then drag the two guys somewhere where no one can see nor hear them. At an alley... "Hey." The two of them lay down the two guys on the ground with their backs facing the wall. "What do you think you"re doing in there? Who are you guys?" "Ugh. We"ve been sent... To kidnapped that girl." The concious guy said. "What?" "Who sent you?" Negi asked. "Ugh... Not of your business ki-" Strike! "Ugh!" Hayate kicks his abdomen. "Start talking." He demanded. "*Cough* Ugh. It was... It was... It was Sanzenin Mikado. He hired us to kidnap that girl. He didn"t told us why. We didn"t ask him any questions. It was not our place to do so." "..." Hayate and Negi look at each other then turn back to the guy. "And...? Where..." Hayate grabs him by his shirt. "...is he!" "Guh! H-He"s at the Sanzenin building! It"s at the northern part of the city! It"s the heart of their operations all over the world!" "..." He lets him go. "I see... Thanks for the information. But..." He grabs him again. "Guh!" "It"s way fast your bed time. Once you wake up, you"ll find yourself in your bedroom(prison that is). So, sweet dreams." Strike,strike,strike! He beat him up to bloody pulp until he"s no longer concious. "Springfield, call the police." "H-Hai." Negi goes to call the police by a payphone booth. "..." Hayate looks at Luca at the stage. "Suirenji-san... ...I have to protect her." "Ah. Make sure no delusional fool can get to her." Judas voice said. "Hm." He nods. He then left the alley. "Arigatou everyone!" Luca said as she finished her song. Her fans are throwing flowers all over the stage as a sign of their fondness for her. Meanwhile, at the Sanzenin building... "..." Sera flies to the higher part of the building. Below him, men in suits are lying on the ground with their blood spilled on it. All of them have evidently been killed by a sword. On Sera"s right hand, a probably seven feet katana is on his grasp. The blood of the men are on it. "Inferior creatures... Soon, the "Promised Land" awaits us all. All negativity... shall be lifted like fog that has lifted on the day the Sun has arisen..." He said with a deadly angry expression as he quicken his ascension to the higher part of the building. Below him... A dark fog engulfs the dead men... "Grr..." ...transforming them into Shadows with black, thin humanoid bodies with red eyes. "Grooaarr." "Now, go forth. Unleash our wrath to these creatures. ...And lead them to the "Promised Land". Ha ha ha." A dark wicked voice, who is presumably Jehovah, commanded the them. "Grooaarr." Heeding her command, they march inside the building... Back to Hayate and Negi... Negi called the police as Hayate told him to. "The police are on the way. I told them about those two men." He said to him. "Ah. Thanks. But..." Hayate looks at Luca, who is being praised by her friends, who are the crew for her show, at the stage. Most of the fans have already left since the show is about to be end. "I hope nothing bad happens to her..." "Yeah..." "More "hired guns" will probably come and try capture her. Mataka... People nowadays are so blind to these man-made papers you call money." Judas said in an annoyed tone. "It can"t be help. Not all people can easily through the fog of deceit." "Hmph. And this is why I consider the ego of people to be the source of all evil and suffering in this world. Tch... The fog has blinded them to their true selves..." "There"s nothing we can do about that right now. For now, we should focus on protecting Suirenji-san." Hayate said. "Hn. I suppose you"re right. But, you two might be able to do something about the foolishness of these delusional people." "Eh?" Both persona-users asked. "What do you mean by that aniki-judas?" Chamo asked. "I meant exactly what I just said. This journey of yours will be able to change this world. That is the destiny that has been entrusted on you two. That is what you two have been longing for." "How do we...?" "...Forget it. You"ll realize this soon enough. For now, you guys... we should attend to that Luca girl." "Oh, right. Let"s go, Springfield." Hayate said. "A-Ah. Let"s." They head around the back where there is a door that leads backstage. At the back... "Why did we sneak here?" Chamo asked. "We don"t want them to see us, do we?" Hayate said. "Oh. Right." "Wait, didn"t Suirenji-san mentioned that she"ll be meeting us back there at the spot where we were watching?" "...!Oh right... Then...!" Hayate then realizes that Luca maybe in danger that she is alone. "Suirenji-san... Suirenji-san!" He rushes to the spot where they were watching her performance! "Ayasaki-san!" "Tch. Go follow him!" Judas said to Negi. "R-Right!" He does so. Tap,tap,tap! "Suirenji-san... I"m coming!" Hayate thought as he quicken his pace. Meanwhile, at the spot where Hayate and Negi watched Luca... "Ayasaki-kun! Springfield-chan! Eh?" Luca came to check on them but finds that they"re not there. "Where did they-?" "Suirenji Luca." "...?" She turns around... Men in suits are line up as if making sure there"s no way for her to escape them. "You are..." "You are coming with us. You"ve been quite a trouble for us to capture. Now the gig is up." One of them is about to reprimand Luca but... "Hiyaa!" Strike! "Ugh!" Hayate came flying out of the back alley and kicked the guy on his left cheek, pushing him away from his princess, sort to speak. "Ayasaki-kun!" The princess is rescued by her prince. "Wh-Who are you! Where did you-!" "I"m someone who show delusional fools like you reality, so be more respectful to women as you should be!" STRIKE! Strike, strike, strike! He fights them. "Ayasaki-san!" Negi came out of the back alley. "Springfield-chan!" "Ah, Suirenji-san! Daijobou!" Hm. Ayasaki-kun-" "Hiya!" Strike! "Guh!" Hayate kicked one of them on their right cheek, knocking them unconscious. "Teme-!" Strike! "Ugh!" One of them is about to pull out a gun but then Hayate kicked him on the cheek as well, knocking him unconscious. "Hn." He then turn to the other guys... "Gr..." They realize that they cannot beat him so... "Tch. If it has come to this... Oi! Get over here!" One of them yelled out loud. More of them have come to join the party... Sort to speak. "You brats. You"re going to pay for the trouble you caused us! Get them!" They all point their guns at Hayate and the other two! (Three if including Chamo.) "Ah! A-Ayasaki-kun...!" "Gr...!" "..." Hayate turns to his left. A trash can is there. "...Hn!" He jumps to it then...! Splat! He kicked it then he grabbed hold of the top of it and decided to use it as a shield. "Ayasaki-kun!" "Fire!" Bang, bang, bang! Block, block, block! He managed to block all of their shots! "Guh!" Much to the shock the men in suits. "Hua!" Whoosh! He throws the shield towards them like a boomerang. Strike! Strike! "Ugh!" "Guh!" "Ah! My head!" "Hiyaa!" Strike!Strike!Strike! He then jumped at them and begun beating them up while making sure that they don"t fire their guns so that he won"t have to look strange to the princess, again, sort to speak, that gunshots cannot wound him due to his persona. "Ayasaki-san!" Whoosh! "Ah, Springfield-chan!" Negi joins the battle! "Go get "em Aniki!" Chamo cheered which of course... "Eh?" Luca was able to hear his voice, much to her confusion, since there is no one else around. (She does not see him due to him under Negi"s shirt.) "Ah! C-Chamo-kun...!" Negi quickly grabbed him from the back of his neck and hid him under his shirt again through his torso. "Keep it down will you!" He said in a whispering tone. "Wari, wari!" Chamo said in the same tone. Then... "Yosh... Hiyaa!" Strike! Strike! Strike! Negi joins the party! "Ah." Luca is impressed by him, being able to fight at the only age of 10. Strike! Strike! Strike! Both Hayate and Negi beat up the men in suit. Most of them are lying on the ground unconcious with some of them, having some of their teeths punched or kicked out of their mouths. While the commotion is going on, the boss sneaks up behind Luca. "Got you." He said. "Huh? Ah!" He grabbed Luca. "Ahh!" He covered her mouth. "Suirenji-san!" Hayate, having his full attention on the other men, took notice of Luca"s predicament. "We got you. Hold them at bay!" The boss said as he drags Luca to their black limousine. "Hey!" Hayate intends to stop him but... Bang, Bang, Bang! Two guys block his path and fire at him non-stop. "Where do you think you"re going!" One of them said. "Grr...!" Whoosh! Hayate jumps above to avoid the shots which is sort of pointless since they won"t have any effect on him whatsoever due to his persona but since Luca is at the scene, he decided not to get hit by the gunshots and let Luca think that he"s not normal. "Hua!" Strike! Bang, bang, bang! He then kicked one of the guys" gun, making him pull the trigger while the gun is pointed upward. He then grabs him from behind, and pull his hand, that is holding the gun, to his neck. Bang, bang, bang! Making him fire at the nearby building. He then holds his other hand to his back, making it twitch. "Guh!" Strike! "Ugh!" The guy came face to face with his foot, and he is knocked unconcious. Hayate did the same to the other guy. Strike! Strike! Negi took care of the remaining men then turns to the spot where Luca was. "...! Suirenji-san...!" He spots the limousine and sees Luca in it. He realizes that they have failed in protecting her. "Suirenji-san!" Hayate pushes away the guy he"s holding and turns his attention to the limousine. "Suirenji-san!" "Ayasaki-kun!" Vroom! But it was too late... The limousine drives off with Luca as a hostage. "Suirenji-san!" Hayate is about to despair... "Suirenji-san... Huh?" ...but then hope came to him. A yellow motor cycle is parked nearby. He thought of using it. "..." He does so. "Ayasaki-san?" Negi asked his intention. Hayate rides on the bike. There"s a key attached to the handler, thankfully, and he starts the engine. Vroom. "I hope I know how to drive this thing..." Truth to be told, he once had ridden a motorcyle back at Wales as part his training but it didn"t go well so the only thing he learned is how to drive it. "A-Ayasaki-san...?" "Get on! We"re going to chase that limousine!" "E-Eh!" "Just ride the vehicle! You will just fine." Judas assured Negi. "...Hm." With a nod, he rides on the back while holding on to Hayate. "Here, wear this." He gives him a yellow helmet. "But, what about you?" "Daijobou! I"ve tried riding a motorcycle back at the academy countless times now without wearing an helmet. But no matter how many times I try I cannot seem to handle it properly ha ha... I only know how to drive it." "Eh?" Negi and Chamo suddenly felt reluctant on riding the vehicle. "Daijobou. Your driving skills is enough for you to be keep safe. Just make sure you don"t get into an accident or it might cause you your lives." Judas advised. "Ah! Yosh, here goes!" Vrooom! And they took off... with Negi holding for dear life. As for Luca... "Ayasaki-kun. Springfield-chan..." She is seating on the back seat, looking behind, hoping that the two persona-users would show up. "Ha ha! Those two brats had taken us by surprise back there. Maybe they are students of that infamous academy called Hakou Academy." The boss said. "Ah. It"s where brats like them can study or train to become rangers. I heard a lot of female students there have chosen to train to become rangers. There are only a few guys who took the same course." The driver said. "Ah. That"s what I heard too. You think those two were rangers?" "Who knows? Either way, they won"t catch up to us now and we"re on our way to become rich people after we hand over that girl to that old president of the Sanzenin Company." "Ah. Ha ha ha!" Both laugh. "..." Luca is disgusted by their conversation and turns around with her eyes closed with tears falling from it. Then she prays to the stars above for a savior to come and rescue her. And then... "What the!" The driver exclaimed. "What is it?" The boss asked. "I-It"s those brats!" "Ah..." Luca opens her eyes and turns around to see... Vrooom! "Suirenji-san!" Hayate and Negi manage to catch up with the limousine. "Aya...saki-kun!" The princess, again for the third time, sort to speak, is delightened at the sight of her prince. "H-How did they-! Those brats! Keep driving! I"ll shoot down those two." The boss grabs an A.K. and opens his side of the window. "Ayasaki-kun! Springfield-chan!" Vrooom! Hayate drives closer to the limousine. "Hm?" At then, the boss is aiming at them with the A.K. "Hn!" Realizing the danger, he drives the motorcycle to the right side of the roadway to avoid being aim properly by the boss"s shot. "Steady... Fire!" Bang! Whoosh! "Gu...!" To the boss surprise, Hayate dodge his precise shot by slowing down the motorcyle a bit. Judas actually casted a masukuja spell on him and Negi to make things easier for them. At the moment, everything is moving slowly from their perspectives due to the masukuja spell. Hayate can see the bullets that are being shot slowly approaching and he can dodge it without fearing any accidents happening. The boss reloads his A.K. "Damn brats...!" "Ayasaki-kun!" "Hua!" Bang, Bang, Bang! Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! "Too slow..." Hayate said as he maneuvers the motorcycle to dodge the slowly approaching bullets with ease. "Thanks a lot, Judas-san." Negi thought. "Hm?" He then spots someone moving in a slow pace... "That is..." It"s a girl with short purple hair with her bangs covering her face. Looking back at the events last night, he recognizes her as one of the Baka rangers, Miyazaki Nodoka. She"s carrying a load of books and she"s about to climb down a stone stairs... Tumble! "Gwah!" ...! She trips down! "O-Oi!" Whoosh! Negi, without thinking twice, jumped down from the motorcycle! "Oi! Springfield!" Hayate exclaimed. "Leave him be! He has something he has to do." Judas said. "Huh?" "Just focus on rescuing the girl." "...Gr." He reluctantly takes his advice. Negi held on to a street light to stop himself from being pulled away by the gravity when he jumped down from the motorcycle. With Masukuja still in effect, his fall is slow so he was able to land safely. "That girl... Oi!" "Aniki! Where are we going! Ojou-chan"s limo is heading that way!" Chamo said. "I got to save her!" "Yeah, but you"re heading for the wrong way! She"s- Eh?" At that moment, Chamo realizes Negi"s intent. "Ahh!" Nodoka is about to hit the ground...! "Ah!" Negi jumps to catch her...! And the Masukuja spell is about to wear off...! BONK! He succeeded in catching her but he himself got hurt in the process... "...?" Nodoka opens her eyes with tears on it. She thought she was going to fall on her head and have a concoction afterwards but she finds herself sitting on something... or someone. Regaining her composure, she sees Negi lying below her. "You"re..." "Ah... My back..." "Ah...!" She recognizes him as the "cool boy who beat up the yakuzas yesterday". A blush appears on her cheeks. "Ah..." Negi turns to her. "Daijobou? That was dangerous. Thank goodness you"re alright." "H-Hai..." Both of them stand up from their positions."This boy... It"s him..." She thought. Negi dusts off the dirt on his shirt. "Daijobou, Chamo-kun?" He asked Chamo, who is under his shirt, in a whispering tone. "Hai... That was dangerous you know... I thought I was gonna be flatten to the ground..." The ermine said with a bruise on his head. "Eh! D-Daijobou!" "Ah... And don"t raise your voice Aniki. She"ll suspect you." "Ah." Negi realizes his mistake and takes his advice. "...?" Nodoka is staring at him curiously.

"Oh uh okay, but... don"t you think..." It might be just another star so... Flipping it... "Huh?" The hanged man... in the downward position, what does this mean? In the Thoth reading, this represents unable to move on, or... unable to do anything, normally this is a bad sign, but in this case, three stars in a row may mean that this inability to move maybe that the person cannot change destiny itself, and in Ichika"s case, this might means... he may be blessed... whether he likes it or not... or whether he will acknowledge it or not. "Uh, this is..." "Oh, the hanged man, hehe, you might find yourself blessed with fortune... despite how you might see it as a curse or misfortune." "Eh? Wha-" Just then Ichika finds himself surrounded by two people whose faces are covered in... clothing, which may seem look like they"re a bunch of terrorists who are onto hiding. "Eh? Who-" They suddenly stand beside him. "To that end, I think you will need this." The old man with long nose presents a long canister with... red substance on it. "Hehe, hold him." "Hai." The two guys said, and..." "Eh? W-Waah! H-Hey, what is the meaning of this!" Ichika got grabbed from both sides and he"s struggling to break free, but these guys seem to be very relentless. Then another guy with his face covered in clothing comes with a... stretcher, for operation. Ichika is laid on it, with his arms and legs incapacitated by the other guys. "H-Hey, what is this? What is the meaning of this? Grr, grr, let me go! I said let me go!" "Relax my boy, with this," The long nose old man presents the canister, "You shall be... the star the grants wishes to the appealment of women this day." A lightning struck as he said that with a striking expression. "What does that mean? Hey, let me go, hey, gr, urgh!" He tries to break free but those things are like... well, they"re like equipments in a gym that Ichika finds lacking the strength to lift them, well, if they"re not attached to the stretcher, he might be able to lift them, but the real problem is... something like an helmet is placed on Ichika"s head, with many connectors on it, when they put it on him, all of the connectors are stuck on his head. "Eh? This is?" They are connected to his brain it seems, no, no, not like the brain organ in his head is stucked with a bunch of connectors but rather... there are motion waves that are causing his brain waves to be like... well, putting in a state where you feel like you"re sleepy, similar to a surgery room wherein a couple of doctors has put the patient to sleep for the duration of the operation, but this one... Ichika"s brain is being connected to something. "What are you..." The old man sits beside him on a operation equipment that is provided by the men. "Well then, show me, show me... what the Hysteria Zero Syndrome will do to the human, ha ha, for the latest of my invention, something that trascends the logic of others, some say that the brain is the senses of all things... well then, let us see how far will this theory go, ha ha! Ha ha! Ha ha ha!" "Ahh! You"re insane! Help, someone help-!" blurrgh, blurrgh, blurrgh! The Hysteria Zero Syndrome as the old man would put it, is installed into a something that is input on Ichika"s connectors, then they all flew through him like a bunch of blood being poured out of his head, then... "Urgh, wha..." Ichika feels like something inside him is about to boil, like his blood is boiling... the brainwaves... his brain... those connectors are providing a motion wave that is too... too... overwhelming! It"s awakening the sixth sense, like... like... "Urgh, uaarrgh!" Ichika"s eyes become sort of empty, but then they return lively again, the sixth sense is gain and then... ha ha... ha ha... ha ha... Ichika could see a bunch of girls laughing, some may say that he"s hallucinating these things but... there are some things that are beyond human comprehension... this... is one of them. blurrgh, blurrgh! The brain waves still intact, started to show Ichika something like a bunch of boiling red substance that seems to have been input on his spinal cord, then into his brain and then finally, it kicks in, it becomes hot inside like his brain is being boiled, allowing the sixth sense to become active. "Ah, ah... ah." Ichika exclaims some air for a while, it"s not really painful but it can certainly makes you feel nervous when you feel like you"re diving into the unknown and then... all sort of images of people comes to Ichika"s mind, almost all of it... no, it"s not almos... all of them are girls, and then... even Chifuyu is included it seems... then the last is... a star... which sends... endless amount of possibilities. "Ah!" Ichika opens his eyes to see himself not lying on a stretcher or operation equipment but rather, he"s lying on the ground near the sedan that is owned by his older sister. "What the... I... Ugh," touching his head, he still feels a little headache from that experience, it feels like he"s been under a surgical operation wherein a new type of blood was input onto his well-being, those connectors around his head sort of affected the brain waves on his brain, but that"s not the problem, the problem is... "Ugh, I... I feel like..." Trying to maintain his composure, he tries to stand up while shaking, he cannot seem to get himself straight from the trauma and something inside his head... seems to be boiling for some reason, he can feel some beats around his head, as if the brain is beating, well, not exactly the brain but... nah, he"s not good at the bisecting lesson of biology, so nevermind about that. "Ah, the stars..." Staring up, he still hallucinating some things due to the experience but he can see clearly and his brain is functioning real well. Keplunk. "Hey, sorry for the long wait, let"s get going." Chifuyu emerges out of the house, oblivious of what just transpired... the strange part is, there is no trace of all the activities earlier, that strange, eccentric, long nose old man is not within the premises and that stretcher and other equipments seem to have been removed as well. "Hm? What"s the matter? You look a little dizzy." "Ah... Ah, yeah, I guess so..." He said trying to use the car as a balance so that he may not fall. "...? What"s wrong? Are you sick? Let me feel your head." Chifuyu touches his head, then toucher her own to see if there is any different in temperature, strangely, Ichika"s head seems to be hot and hers is only... well, it"s hot but not really in the same temperature of Ichika. "Hm, that"s strange, do you have a flu?" "Uh no, I... huh? Wah!" He didn"t noticed it, but Chifuyu held his head around her chest to see if his neck is hot as well, then... without Chifuyu"s notice, his head is now on her chest... which... "B-Black bra, C-Chifuyu-nee... you"re..." He didn"t dare go say it outloud, but... at this case... Chifuyu removes his head from her chest, to see if any other of his body parts are the same temperature around his head. "I..." blurrghha. "Huh?" Something boils in his head. "Ugh." This causes him to touch his head again as he is aching. "What"s the matter? Are you sick?" "Augh, no, I... Guh." He falls on the ground. "Ugh, I... Gwah!" Black panties... pretty attractive. blurrgh, blurrgh. Blood boiling... too hot. "Ugh, dammit." "Hey, snap out of it, come on, let"s get you to the academy before you started to pass out here, we can"t affor to... huh?" Just then, a tank came passing by the neighborhood. "What the..." "Huh?" Ichika turns to it and then he realizes it"s... "Hey, that"s..." "Yeah, lucky! lucky! lucky!" Bang, bang, bang! "Damn!" "G-Guah!" Chifuyu took Ichika and he pulled... no, he got pulled by Chifuyu around the neck collar and they hide behind the sedan car, it"s a terrorist attack. "Stay down!" Chifuyu brought out a gun as gunfire erupted in the neighborhood. "lucky! lucky! lucky!" "Those are..." Ichika knows these guys, they"re the Wild Lucky Bunch who are causing trouble around the area recently, most of the residents are having a hard time breathing at night due to their usual interference around here. They are reported on the news but it says the politicians do not have the manpower to manuever the problem right now, why? Because... well, due to the introduction of IS, terrorism, looting and other criminal activities have spread, evidently, some men who didn"t like the idea of men being outstrip by women when it comes to the superior gender, it"s a superiority complex in other words. Bang, bang, bang! A gunshot broke out. Some police patrol cars arrived in the area. "Take cover!" Some squad forces with shield kneeled forward with shields as their cover, some police officers with guns came out of their cars and use the door as barricade and shield while they fire and the squad forces of the police with heavy artillery, mainly a.k.s and other heavyarmed guns, step forward while couching in a position that is aimed for the thugs. "Lucky, lucky, lucky!" The guys who are "lucky" as they put it continue firing at the town. "Mommy, what should..." "Let"s go dear!" Some civilians are present and they run for it at the sight of this battle, some battlefields out there involved men and women, those who said to have sided with women are a bunch of "girly" men who don"t have guts to fight, though that is just egotistical thinking and very unreasonable, some men are like that, always prowling about how great men should be and how women are forever be housewives and nothing more, it"s barbaric and egotistical, that is why, reason must reign in. "Tch, bastards, why now?" Chifuyu tries to contact someone. "Yamada, we have a slight problem here, I"m going to need a detachment of IS force here immediately, some terrorists are raiding the neighborhood, we need IS deployment here, hurry!" She hangs up. "Tch, bastards!" Bang, bang, bang! She fires at them, she got two of them, they"re not dead, only injured, there would be casualties if these guys would be dead so it"s best to just humiliate or incapacitate them. If they would even do that however, if they do not, then they will... die... so... "Ugh, urgh." Ichika is still feeling the effect of that boiling substance that is on his brain and that is coming from the spinal cord, it"s too much, it sometime makes him hallucinate things that are not there but... sometimes... the sixth sense that is opened up to him, seems to suggest... that he mus do something, but first... "I... must..." Bang, bang, bang! "Ichika, stay down!" Hit! "Gr," One tries to hit them, the bullet reflected on the sedan, reducing some of its beauty. "Those bastards, I spent a whole day cleaning this, they won"t get away with this." Chifuyu bowed on that. "Hiya!" Bang, bang, bang! "Ugh!" "Ugh!" "Augh!" Three are hit, and they unconcious on the ground, the bullets that Chifuyu is using is that of stun bullets, which they do not kill, but only incapacitated. One guy sneaks up from the side but... Bang! "Guh!" With a sharp sense, Chifuyu performed a rotating shot without looking and hit the guy on the abdomen, it"s too risky to aim at the head part or the chest part, so the abdomen will have to do, the very chance that they will faint from there is very high. "Everyone, we have an hostage!" "No, make that three hostage, ha ha!" The boss of the Wild Lucky Bunch announced while standing over a tank that they stole. "Waah! Help us!" Three girls, students it seems, are being held captive, all of whom are all from the same school it seems. "Hm? That"s..." Chifuyu recognized their uniforms to that of IS academy, that one of them is also a representative candidate of Japan, Sarashiki Kanzashi. She"s the younger sister of the student council, and she"s being held hostage along with some other women. "Kyaah!" "Ha ha, look how helpless these girls here, this is what girls should be, housewives, maids, servants, hosts, for us! Ha ha! Ha ha ha! ha ha!" The insane sicko who is the boss of this group exclaimed loudly over the microphone, mocking every women who is present here, some of the civilians are hiding behind cars to avoid the gunshots. "Now look, as I make myself comfortable at the presences of these babes!" The boss taking off his shirt. "Kyaah!" Which frightened the girls. "Yeah, lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky!" With the henchmen laughing at the development. "Gr," Chifuyu curses. She picks up her phone again. "Hey Yamada, what"s taking so long? We need backup here, three... no... one of our students who is highly important is being held hostage along with other two students." "What? But..." That someone in the phone sounds timid and nervous at the development. "We need backup here, don"t waste anymore time, we need you here, now!" "H-Hai, be right there." She hung up. "Tch, it may take some time before they arrive... dammit, they won"t..." At this rate, those girls will be abused and they won"t be pure anymore, sort to speak. "Kyaah!" "Kyaah!" One of the students, the one with blue hair, just got stripped of her outer uniform, now there is only the undershirt. "Whoo! Lucky, lucky, lucky!" And those sickos begun cheering like wild animals. "Tch," "Oh my." "Those poor girls." Chifuyu and the other civilians are disgusted by the development. Then... one shooting star just passed by... and the girls wish is... "Save us-!" They all yelled and... "Huh?" Ichika, who has been feeling hot on his head for some time now, takes notice of the development. "What the..." He can see almost half-naked girls in sight, this proves to be... blurgh. "Ah." This time it doesn"t feel unpleasant, but rather... "I..." blurrugh, blurrgh, blurrgh! All sort of information are flowing, almost... almost... unlimited! Flash! That sparked it, the... the... Zero... Hysteria Zero Syndrome! "...Ah." Ichika smiles... almost... wickedly. "This isn"t gonna be pretty, we better- hm?" Chifuyu notices that her younger brother is making himself a target practice by exposing himself. "Hey, I told you to stand down and- huh?" He suddenly grabs her hand with the gun. "Daijobou, Chifuyu-nee." He is sort of smirking at her. "Ah, you"ll be the princess who watches how this turns out." "Huh?" Now that"s odd, he"s acting like... he"s very confident of what will transpire and he"s acting almost chivalrous... too chivalrous, almost too, too, very, very chivalrous as he just took Chifuyu into a bridal style carry and carries her to a bench nearby. "Wh-What"s gotten into you? Ichika, you"re..." "Shh, be remain, I"ll take care of things." He said that with a wink. "Ah." She blushes because of that, what"s gotten into him? As he gone crazy? Or... "H-Hey, get down, you"re gonna get shot!" "Daijobou, it"s better that you stay safe right? Like a princess should leave things to her prince." "Huh?" Shrugging off these nonsense words that are like of a chivalrous knight, "What"s gotten into you? Did you suddenly hit your head a while ago?" "No, I... As your older brother, I must repay your love with tender, Chifuyu-nee, chu." A blow kiss. "Ah." She blushes because of that. "Now then, I will borrow this." It"s about the pistol. Then... a sword that is in its closed form for now, it"s an IS equipment actually, Chifuyu can carry this like her strength is that of almost superhuman. Due to some strange occurrence, Ichika"s reflex and enhanced physical strength seems to have drastically increased, almost like there"s something in him that has awoken, it"s a like a demon inside that is aiming to do... to do... to do... "Ha ha, des... truction to those who harm women." Ichika"s eyes are glowing red in a slight degree that it"s indicating the effect of the Hysteria Zero Syndrome or something that eccentric old guy implemented on him, he steps into the battleground. "Hm? Hey, boss, we got another one here!" "Hm?" The boss just took off his shirt for his so-called "entertainment" with the girls. "Huh?" "Hm?" The girls, Chifuyu, the Wild Lucky Bunch and the civilians all turn to Ichika who is walking slowly towards these guys. "..." He"s keeping a confident smirk on his face as the Syndrome compels him to. "Hey, step back, our boss is keeping his luckiest moment here." All of the guys point their guns at Ichika. "Huh, is that so." He said lowering his head then turning to them with a smile... sort the least. "Ja, why don"t we all calm down and think about stuff and then let"s all be gentlemen and forget about all this." A smile like an innocent kid... an angel... but... "..." "..." "..." Everyone feels awkward, the girls, the civilians and Chifuyu are all wondering what he is trying to do, asking these guys to surrender the girls peacefully and repent for what they have done, how naive... how... foolish into the eyes of these guys but... "Ha ha ha!" "Ha ha! Hey, look who it is, someone trying to be a hero, ha ha!" "Ha ha! Yeah, get lost sucker, ha ha!" "Ha ha ha!" All of the Wild Bunch Lucky or Wild Lucky Bunch laughed hysterically at him. ...Speaking of Hysteria... At that laughter, it is apparent that they won"t surrender so... the demon... has awaken... the angel has passed... now... there is only... "Ah, ha ha." Ichika slowly begins to form a wicked smile... replacing the angel smile earlier. "Ha ha, so, it"s that your final answer?" "Huh, if you want an answer, answer this!" Bang, bang, bang! All of them fired, creating a smoke screen. "Ichika!" Chifuyu exclaimed, she"s still on the bench where Ichika carried her and told her to watch like a princess. "Ah." The civilians are in awe. "Hm?" As well as the police. "Ha ha, some hero he was. Huh?" Just as the smoke screen fades, the Wild Lucky Bunch find that... "Ha," Ichika has deployed a large katana and he seems to have blocked all the shots of these guys. "Wha..." "What the?" "Hm?" The boos who has just took off his pants turn to the commotion. "Why are you...?" "Huh?" The girls, who are hostages, also turn to Ichika. "Why are you...?" "Ichika." Chifuyu and the others are expecting something that will happen and... "Ha," With a wicked smirk, Ichika raises his head as one card, the hanged man, is left with a lot of holes on it as it falls to the ground, while reflecting on Ichika. That card seems to be a keepsake for him from that eccentric old guy. "You know there is a saying that bad men tell no tales, and you know what they say about the bad men... they all..." Turning around... with he deployed katana in hand... turning around again. "Die." Slaarrgh, slaarrgh, bang, bang, bang! "Guah!" "Guaargh!" "Uraggh!" "Arrgh!" A lot of the men received a hit on the neck by the side of the katana while the rest got deafened on their ears by the shot that Ichika performed rapidly. "Arrgh!" All of them fainted as a result. "Wha...?" The boss is all that is left. "Huh?" The girls turn to Ichika. "M-My luck, it"s..." "Teme!" One guy remains but... Bang! "Guah!" One of the police shot him from behind with a stun gun. "Gather around, protect the civilians!" The lieutenant exclaimed. "Hai, yes sir!" The police squad froces split up. "You dare interrupt with my luck?" The boss got all aggressive. Whoosh! "Huh?" Then Ichika stepped forward to challenge him from the sides. "Geh, you, you"re responsible for this!" Bang! Whoosh! Ichika moves his leg to the left to avoid contact with the bullet that he just shot, he can see he bullet slowly due to some reflexes, or rather, his reflexes are too fast at his state that he can participate in dodging something before it comes before his eyes. "Hiyaa!" Bang, bang, bang! Block, block, block! Ichika used the katana deployed to deflect all the bullets. Then he held it in a striking way like he"s challenging the boss to a contest. "Hm," "Guah!" The boss is at a disadvantage. "Ah." The girls are rather in awe in all this development. "You"re rather rude, treating women like this, you know there is only one solution for something like his, sa, I challenge you, I will make you a bet that if you lose, you will be disgraced as a man for treating women like this and if you... haha, honestly, I can only see you lose." He said that with fury in his eyes. "Shut up you indoctrinated man! I won"t let you ruin my luck!" The boss untied the rope for the girls, freeing them but, "Guah!" "S-Sarashiki-san!" "Huh, I"ll be taking this girl with me, we"ll be having fun!" "Gyaah!" "Sarashiki-san!" "Hmph, bastard." Blood boils on Ichika, he steps foot on the tank where the guy is standing. "Don"t come any closer, or this girl dies!" He points a pistol on the girl"s temple. "Wah!" Everyone is worried. "Yabe, we"re at a disadvantage." The police can"t do anything. "We can"t let her be dragged." "But we can"t let them get away as well." "Shut up!" Bang! The man fired above, alarming the citizens. "I want you all to be quiet if you don"t wish to be put a hole in this girl"s head!" He points at the girl"s temple again. "U... U," She"s on a verge of tears. "Ja, what are you terms?" Ichika step forward. "Don"t come, don"t come any closer, step another foot and I"ll shoot her." "Hmph, ja, what are you terms? We"re at your disposal." "..." The police cannot do anything so the police just lay their faith on Ichika for the best outcome to this.

... ...At the command room... "We just heard someone"s scream nearby. Is someone else in here!?" Kanata asked. "I"m looking on it." Kurugaya is operating the console. "Hey, Inohara, can you check up on the boy for me? We have to make sure he"s safe." "A-Alright! He"s at the second floor, right?" "Naturally. He"s a guy, after all. Now hurry! I have to track down Natsume"s signal. And it seems there"s someone else-Huh?" Just then, Kurugaya detected a signal that is moving. It would seem that someone is running very fast within the vicinity. "What the... Another signal?" "What"s wrong, Kurugaya?" Kanata asked. "I... I don"t know. I"m detecting a signal. It"s-" ... ...Back to Komari... "GROOOAAARR-!" The Shadow is approaching her. "Gyaaaahh-! S-Someone...!" She"s backing away slowly from this monster. "Kamikita-san...!"Someone"s voice is heard. "Huh?" Komari was surprised upon hearing that voice, she turned around to see... ... ...tap, tap, tap, tap... ...tap, tap, tap, tap... ...tap, tap, tap, tap-! "Kamikita-saaan!" It"s Riki running at full speed! "Y-You..." Komari remembered him from last time. Where he saved her from those punks just this morning. "What are you-" "GROOOAAARR-!" The Shadow approached Komari-to the point that it"s about to launch an attack on her-! "Ah," Komari turned her attention back to the Shadow and she immediately realized she"s in trouble. The Shadow raised one blade-then it swung it towards Komari-! "GROOOOAAAAARRR-!" "Gyaaaaaahhh-!" Komari covere herself in terror with her eyes closed. "Gr, don"t you dare to even TOUCH HER-!" Riki said as he ran in-between Komari and the Shadow, he said that last part with the combination of his and his Shadow"s voice, by the way. Flaash-! Flaash-! Riki summoned two cards on his palms. "GROOOOAAARR-!" The Shadow is about to hit its target-! "Fusion Spell: Infinity!" Riki exclaimed- FLAASH-! A barrier formed around Komari. "GROOOOAAAARRR-!" BLOOOOCCCKK-! The Shadow"s attack couldn"t reach Riki or Komari due to the impregnable barrier. The sound of the screeching blade annoyed Riki since it"s so damn loud. "Gr, why you..." Riki covered his ears since the screeching is so loud. "GROOOAAARR-!" Bloocck! Blooock! Block! Block! Block! Block-! The Shadow didn"t stop attacking and it"s trying to pierce the barrier with its blades. "Hm?" Komari opened her eyes and she found herself to be safe and sound. "Eh?" She stopped covering herself and In front of her, Riki is covering his ears due to the sounds of metal being very deafening. "You..." "Gr, would you stop that already! Try as many as you like and the result will always be the same!" Riki said to the Shadow as he removed his hands from his ears, then- Flash-! He summoned his persona card in front of him- FLASH-! He crushed it with his right hand- BLAASST-! "GROOOAAAARR-!" Seth is summoned. It hovered and it turned its attention to the Shadow in front. "Groooaarr!" *Myriad Arrows* Tsing, tsing, tsing... tsing, tsing, tsing, TSIING-! "GROOOOAAAARRR-!" A wave of piercing forces destroyed some of the Shadow"s arms and they exploded in the process, the Shadow is also wounded on its middle. "GROOOAAARR-!" -Riki extended his arm forcefully. "Finish him off, Seth!" He commanded of his persona. "GROOOOOAAAARRR-!" *Megidolaon* Three massive lights gathered above, then they slowly descended towards the Shadow while condensing altogether- "Ah..." Komari is watching in awe, this is all so unbelievable and... ...awesome. Riki is awesome... She"s watching him from behind. She"s watching Riki perform- "What is-" *BOOOOOOOOMMM-!* "GROOOOAAAARRR-!" The Shadow was completely blown away by that attack-All of its remains turned into black mists and they disappeared. The battle is over. ... ...From afar... "Huh!?" Kyosuke heard that explosion from afar. ...Somewhere else... "Huh!?" "Wha-!?" "Ah!" "Guah!" Rin, Kanata, Kengo and A-chan heard that explosion as well. "Wh-What was that!?" Rin asked. ... ...Back to Riki and Komari... "huff, huff, huff. Ah." Riki is catching is breath. "Groooaar," Seth disappeared from above. "Ah..." Komari is completely in awe. The monster is gone... Riki defeated it. "That was... ... ... Ah..." She smiled brightly like the Sun. "Th-THAT WAS AMAZING!" She exclaimed happily and cheerfully. ... ...Later... "Augh," Riki knelt on the ground. He"s still exhausted from all that excursion, sort of speaking. "You"re safe now." He told Komari who is behind him. "You," Komari went in front of him and she knelt down as well, they"re facing each other. "What was that? There was that dragon and-and-and-" "Ah, it"s... complicated." Riki said slightly looking down. "I"ll explain... later..." "Hm, you can tell about it all you want. Either way, this is now the second time huh?" "Eh?" Riki slightly raised his head. "A second... time?" "Hm," Komari nodded. "This is now the second time that you rescued me. From those bullies and now... from that monster." "Oh, I... see." He said with his eyes looking slightly downward on the left side. "Hm, well," He tried to raise his body- "Gurk!" But he couldn"t. "Ah! You better be careful." Komari said as she placed her hands on his shoulders to support him. "Ah, I"m tired..." "Hm, yeah, I can tell that by looking at you. Say... Do you think I should give you a reward for rescuing me this second time...?" "Eh?" Riki looked at Komari. "Hm, you don"t have to do that." "No, not thanking is a crime! I should give you something as reward!" Komari insisted. "Ah..." Riki sheepishly looked down at his left side, it seems Komari is pretty adamant about giving him something in return for saving her this second time. "Well, you can do as you wish, I guess." He said not looking at her. "Alright! Well then..." She said as she put an index finger on her chin. "How about..." ...She placed her hands on Riki"s cheek, grabbing his face. "Eh?" He is forced to look at her. Then... She leaned closer... closer... ... ...chu. "...!" ...He got kissed! On the lips. "Hmm, hmm," "Hmm, hmm...!" Riki couldn"t process immediately what"s going on, but the taste of her lips is like orange, and he feels... tired, even more tired than before. "Hmm, hmm, hmmm~" "Hmm... hm..." Riki"s eyes are becoming heavy now... ...chu... Komari broke the kiss. She let go of Riki"s cheeks. "Hehe," She sheepishly laughed with her own cheeks blushing red. "Ah..." Riki is slightly looking down, he can"t look at her like this. "I... am... ah..." Then he started to lose all of his energy all at once-He fell unconcious. "Ah! H-Hey! A-Are you okay!? H-Hey, whoever you are, I don"t know your name yet, but..." Komari shook his body. "Hey, come on, answer me!" ...tap, tap, tap, tap! ...tap, tap, tap, tap! ...tap, tap,tap, tap! "Hey, what"s going on-Huh?" The group, Rin, A-chan, Kanata and Kengo, arrived at the scene. A-chan is the first to speak up. "Huh?" Kanata saw Riki unconcious with Komari shaking him. "Ah." "Wha..." The next ones to react are Rin and Kengo. "N-Naoe!" "Naoe!" "..." Riki could hear the voices of everyone from afar... Then... There was only... ...darkness, afterwards... End of Chapter 3 Note: If you must know, the scenes with Komari are reflecting the scenes in Persona 3 where Minato saved Yukari from the Magician Shadow. I"ll stop here for now and see if I will get any reviews at all. I might get motivated to continue this if I receive some. Well, I hope you have enjoyed this. Farewell. ...Inside Riki"s Psyche... "Agh... Ah..." Riki slowly opened his eyes, he found himself in a gray colored place where there is nothing but gray color everywhere... Then that gray color turned dark, but it"s not completely dark here... ...shaaaadddeeee... ...shaaadddeee... ...Then a lot of rectangular shaped mirrors appeared hovering about. They appeared out of nowhere as if they"ve been here from the start and that they were invisible for the whole time. "Huh?" Riki looked about at his surrounding, "This place is..." "So you"re finally awake." A hollowed sounding of Riki"s voice is heard. "Huh?" -Then all of the sudden, Shadow Riki is being shown in all of those rectangular shaped mirrors. "Other... me?" "Can you heed my voice clearly? You became unconcious after you have used the Fusion Spell for the second time. Hmph, but I suppose it is nothing to worry about. So simply calm yourself..." Shadow Riki crossed his arms together. "By the way..." "Hm?" "How long do you plan to lie still there?" "Huh? Oh, r-right." Riki stood up straight and dusted himself off. Then he turned to the mirrors about, "What happened after... after..." He remembered defeating that huge Shadow and saving Komari... "Things have improved ever since you defeated that abomination. But the time for our conversation is short, so I"ll be clear... Don"t overdo your own body, and act on your own volition. That is all." Shadow Riki disappeared from the mirrors, they"re all blank again. ...shaaaaaaaaddddddeeee... Then it became very dark in this place, only Riki can be seen now... "I... What?" Then he himself is engulfed by the darkness... "I... feel... sleepy..." ...Those were his last words before silence took over... ... ... ...At the command room... "Hng, ah..." Riki once again opened his eyes slowly, the first thing he saw is the ceiling of a room that he"s not familiar with. "Ah... Ah." His expression tells that he"s fully awake, and he found himself lying on a sofa. He raised his body up, "This place is..." He said looking around. The one thing that caught his interest greatly is the huge monitor in front. "Hm? A... computer?" -The door opened, it seems Kanata has brought a tray of food. "Hm? Ah, Naoe-kun!" "Hm? Futaki...-san?" Kanata approached Riki and put the tray down on the table in front of Riki. "Are you feeling better?" She asked, placing a hand on his forehead and then placing a hand on her own forehead. "Huh? Uh, y-yeah." "Hm, I see." She removed her hands from their foreheads. "It doesn"t seem like your temperature is high or that it"s something that cannot be compared to my own temperature, so I suppose I could assume you are well." "A... Ah. Where... Where am I?" He asked, looking about at this room that he"s not familiar with. "Ah... This place is..." -The door opened, Rin is at the door, she didn"t came in, but she is taking a peek from there without opening the door widely... "Futaki-san, is he-Huh?" Then she saw Riki to be awake. "Ah! Y-You"re awake!" "Hm? Oh, R-Rin-san." "Rin-san, please call the others. We will begin our meeting in this very room." Kanata turned to Riki as she said that, "We will explain everything we can for you, Naoe-kun." She then bowed in an apologetic manner. "I apologize for not telling you about this much earlier, but we will disclose everything to you now." "Huh?" Riki blinked, "Disclose...?" ... ...Later... ...A long table has been presented on the middle, Kanata is sitting at the middle end with Riki sitting at the opposite side across her. "Um, what exactly... are you going to tell me?" Riki asked. "Hm, we will explain everything as soon as-" -The door opened, a lot of people came in. "Hm? Oh, Riki!" Kyosuke exclaimed joyously at the sight of Riki. "Naoe!" "Oh, it"s that one guy!" A-chan and Masato exclaimed joyously. "Everyone..." Riki is eyeing everyone on the door. "Hm, I see you have awakened, boy." Kurugaya said. "Hello, Naoe Riki." Mio said without much emotion. "Huh?" Riki remembered her from the school assembly at the auditorium. "You are..." "Hm?" Kurugaya turned to Mio, then to Riki once more. "Ara? Have you met before?" "Oh, well... Y-Yeah, I suppose so." "Hm," Mio nodded. "At the school assembly. He picked up my handkerchief by chance and returned it to me." "Oh, a gentleman, I see." Kengo said eyeing Riki. "You"re an honorable, decent person, I see." "Eh?" ... ...Everyone is seated at the seats provided on the sides of the table. "Very well. We will now begin our meeting regarding our case with Naoe Riki-kun." Kanata said, commencing the meeting in-session. Upon saying that, everyone turned to Riki. "Before we proceed, however," Kanata picked her cellphone from her pocket and dialed someone. She waited for the other line to pick up, and when they answered-"Hello? It"s me. I would like of you to bring Kamikita Komari to the command room. We have something to discuss with her." "Kamikita-san?' Riki thought. "Hm, it"s that cute girl that the boy rescued from that huge Shadow, yes?" Kurugaya asked. Rin nodded. "Yeah. She was escorted by Futaki-san and Nishizono-san after that fight..." "We took her somewhere safe. Then we planned to explain everything to her once Naoe-san has recovered." Mio explained passively. "Hm, I see." Kurugaya said. She then turned to Riki. "You are brave, boy. To risk your life for that girl... Hm, you may be more than I thought." She said giving a somewhat michievous expression. Riki sweat dropped at that. "Uh, I... I guess?" "Well anyway, it"s good to see you awake, Riki. We were surprised when we found out that you went outside during the dark hour and then you saved that girl from harm." Kyosuke said. "Eh? The... dark hour?" Upon Riki asking that, Kanata has finished her phone call and she put her cellphone away, "We will explain that now. Now then..." She placed both of her hands on the table. "Naoe-kun, to begin with, would you believe me if I told you that day consists of more than 24 hours?" "..." Riki was indeed confused by that question. "Excuse me?" "Haha, I"m not surprised by your reaction." A-chan said, chuckling. "But you already experienced this twice now, you know." "That"s right, boy. You must have noticed the signs during your first day here. Futaki mentioned that you arrived prior to the end of the dark hour during your first day." Kurugaya said. "Ah," Riki remembered the greenish environment and all of those coffins about. "You mean..." "Surely you"ve already seen those coffins on the street, there was nothing working-no electric devices or equipment functioning and the surrounding was green in color, right?" Kyosuke said. "Coffins... Nothing was working..." Riki said recalling his first day, and then the time when he rescued Komari... "What was... going on?" "That was the dark hour. A time period hidden from one day and the next." Kanata said. "Hidden?" "Hm," She nodded. "I suppose you can think of it as something that no ordinary person is aware of. But the dark hour is very real, it occurs each night-at midnight. It will happen tonight and every night to come." "Ah." Now that surprised Riki. "I know it"s all of a sudden, but it"s true. Heh, I was scared too when I first learned of it." Masato said being understanding of Riki"s position. "Hmhm," Kengo nodded. "Fear not, though. You have comrades who will guide you in the right way." "Hey, don"t give him more hard time than it is." Rin said to the two guys who spoke up. "Uh no, it is all right." Riki said. He slightly looked down on the table, "So you mean to tell me that... Those previous nights that I experienced... are... supernatural phenomenon?" "Yup, you got it." Kyosuke said. "Well, I wouldn"t worry about it too much if I were you." "Kyosuke! He just learned of it! Don"t say it like it"s a natural thing for those who are new to it." Rin said. "Hm," Kurugaya nodded, then she turned to Riki. "Are you shocked? Are you afraid?" Riki slightly raised his head. "No, it"s just... Well..." "Well, I wouldn"t expect you to collect all of your thoughts together just yet. But be assured that we will offer you our protection and our guidance in this entire ordeal." Kanata assured. She turned to everyone around her, "Are we all in agreement to this?" """Yeah!""" "Sure thing." "No problem." "Okay." Everyone said while nodding. Then they all turned to Riki. "Well, Riki, we"ll give you enough time to think about this." Kyosuke said. "But for now..." He formed a serious expression. "Let us discuss about those monsters that you defeated." "Eh?" Riki recalled those "Shadows" that he fought and defeated. "Monsters?" Everyone nodded. "Yeah. Those nasty things that appear only during the dark hour." Masato said. "Normal people don"t realize the dark hour exists, but there is also another factor that they are oblivious at aside from that." Kengo said. "You"ve seen them, yes? Those creatures that you defeated... We call them "Shadows". They only appear during the time period when the dark hour occurs and they attack anyone who is not among those who have transmogrified into a coffin." "Eh? Trans... mogrified? Wait... Are you saying that those coffins are...?" Riki said getting into a conclusion... "Ah." Kurugaya nodded. "They are people who are sleeping... perhaps. I"m not sure what kind of state they are on other than they are oblivious of the things around them when the dark hour is in session." "Hmhm," A-chan nodded. "But there"s no need for us to worry about them except..." She slightly looked down when she said the last part. "Recently, the Shadows have been able to transform people back into their human forms and they have attacked those people." Kanata informed. "That girl, Kamikita Komari, may have joined the list of victims who were attacked when they were active during the dark hour had you not intervened, Naoe-kun." "Transform... people back into their... human forms?" Riki asked. "Ah. Only us who have the power to fight Shadows are safe during the dark hour." Kyosuke said. "While those who don"t have that power... ...might end up being devoured by the Shadows that lurk during the dark hour." He said darkly. "Power?" Kanata stood up. "That power that you used... We call it, "Persona". It is something that we ourselves use to fight those monsters-the Shadows-and it is something you yourself can use to protect yourself and those around you." Kyosuke himself stood up, "Yeah. Which pretty much means that we"re the only ones-Well, plainly speaking, it"s all up to us." Everyone else, with the exception of Kanata, nodded on that. Then they all turned to Riki. "It"s our job to fight them as persona-users." "Persona-users...?" Riki asked. "Ah." He nodded. "That"s what we refer to ourselves. Long story short, we have banded together to achieve one simple goal: to eradicate the Shadows and to protect the world from them." "Hm," Kanata nodded. "That is why... Naoe-kun," She turned to A-chan who nodded and picked up a briefcase below the table. She put it down on the table and opened it. Inside are a communicator, an armband and a medal of some sort. Kanata turned back to Riki. "What we are saying is... We would like of you to join us. We"ve prepared these for you. We like you to lend us your support, Naoe-kun." She said looking at him earnestly. "..." Riki is speechless. ...shaaaaadddeee... ...Riki found himself to be inside his psyche again, it"s all dark here. And the rectangular shaped mirrors are hovering about again. "It seems the time has come." Shadow Riki"s voice sounded. '...Other me.' Shadow Riki is shown in all of those mirrors. "The time has come, other me. These people will benefit at your presence, and the same can be said about their own existences being a boon for you. Now, take responsibility and lead these people to enlightenment. Let the gentle touch of your darkness be spread... Other me." "Hey, aren"t we pushing him a bit in making a decision so soon?" Rin said feeling like they"re forcing Riki to make a difficult decision rashly. "...Okay."Riki said in a low tone. "Hm?" "Hm?" Both Kanata and Kyosuke heard him though. Riki looked up at Kanata, "I will join you." He said with firmness. "See? We can-Huh?" Rin couldn"t finish what she intended to say as she was surprised by what Riki said as she turned to him with a surprised expression. "Wha... What did you say? You... You"re just okay with that?" Riki turned to her and nodded, "I will do what I can to fit in." He said having a serious expression. "...Hm," Kanata smiled earnestly. "Thank you. I"m sorry if we"re being rash a bit in making you choose a difficult decision. We"ll do what we can to guide you, I promise." She said giving her word with a promising nod. The others smiled as they looked at Riki. "Welcome aboard. This is your first time, but I imagine that we"ll all have fun in the end." Kyosuke said. "Hey, don"t be shy around here. We"re all in this together, right?" Masato said cheerfully. "Hm, another comrade has joined us. It"s a nice change of air in the environment." Kengo said. A-chan turned to Kanata. "Well, Kanata? Aren"t we going to give Naoe his permanent key?" Kanata turned to her and nodded, "Yes." She then picked up a key from her pocket, she turned to Riki. "Naoe-kun, about your proper accommodations..." ... ...Outside Riki"s room... Riki, Rin and Kyosuke arrived here altogether. "Looks like this will be your permanent room from now on." Rin said. "Yeah. With you being part of the group, you"ll just have to do your part regarding the Shadows. We usually hang out at my room-Oh, me, Kengo and Masato, that is. Rin is not allowed there." Rin turned to Kyosuke with an annoyed expression. "Of course I"m not. It"s a guy"s room." "Hm," Riki nodded. "Well, I think I"ll go rest-" "Hey, you guys!" A-chan"s voice is heard at the hall. They all turned to her as she ran towards them.

"I-Ichika-san." Now this... is... a touching scene... if it weren"t... whoosh. "Huh?" "Hm?" They both turn to see that the plane is crashing... down to the airport below! "Waah! I"m loosing control!" Chelsea, who is in the pilot seat, cannot control it since it"s been rigged to go to Moscow, but with the controls going haywire, it"s out of charts, it"s going to crash into the city below. "What did you do?" The pilot snaps. "I... I don"t know, I just pushed the button here and there and..." "You don"t guess the controls here!" "Chelsea, what"s going on!" The other maid asked. "I-I..." "We"re going to crash, everyone, brace yourself!" The pilot said to the passengers. "Gyaah!" Everyone ducks in panic. whoosh, whoosh. Two personal IS fly towards the plane. "Chelsea!" Cecilia, who is carrying Ichika, flies towards it, he has run out of stamina because... "I... Hm," He has used too much effort in his Zero mode, he"s worn out, it"ll probably take about a lot of rest before he could regain back most of his energy, the two of them managed to get on the plane with Ichika following slowly to the pilot"s seat. "Chelsea, what"s going on?" "Ojou-sama, t-the controls..." "They"re ruined, we can"t use them now!" The pilot said. The meter is showing maximum velocity and the angle won"t get straight, it"s venting a lot of gasses pretty fast, it"s approaching the city below! "Here, install this on the cd part. Guh." Ichika tries to use the last of his strength to request them to install a data cd that he prepared just in case something like this would happen. "Hm? What is that?" Chelsea asked as Cecilia grabs it. "A cd? Wha...?" "Insert it... on... the... cock... pit, and... think only... of... landing... the... air... plane. Guh."He falls into unconcious state due to exerting a lot of effort in his Zero mode, which have subsided now. "Guh..." "I-Ichika-san!" "Hey!" "Let"s do what he says, we have no choice." The pilot suggested. "O-Okay, then, Chelsea, insert..." "No, I"ll do that, your maid can"t be trusted with the controls." "Hey, I know where to insert this!" Despite her protest, the pilot inserted the data cd. "There, it"s all yours." "Okay." Cecilia sits on the pilot seat. Then all sort of data are gathered, the letter Z.E.R.O. is on the screen. "Zero?" Then the visual interface is gone, only... "Huh? Hey, why can"t we see anything? We can"t land at this rate." "Yeah, we"ll..." "No, it"s quite alright." Cecilia assures both the pilot and Chelsea. "Huh?" "Leave this to me." Then Cecilia remembers Ichika"s words before he passed off. Think only of landing he said, Cecilia touches the radar like machine and begun to think just that. "Ichika-san, watch over me." She said in her mind, then the interface begun to calculate all possible courses to take, Cecilia guides it to make a safety landing, and it did. "Huh? Hey, the plane is moving." "Yeah, is the machine... moving it?" The pilot is i disbelief, right now, the plane is on auto-pilot mode, but not loosely, it"s being controlled by the program Z.E.R.O. and it"s moving according to Cecilia"s guidance. "Hm, hm." She"s getting a hang of it. ...At the airport... Slice, shoock, boom! "That should be the last of it." Mission complete, class 1 has dispatched all enemies, and the men from Russia are all capture by the authorities of IS academy. "Good job everyone, but... you all disobeyed orders, I"m expecting you to... huh?" Chifuyu berates all of them, but then a sight of a plane landing... "Uwa, that"s..." "Flight 3.12, it"s coming back but..." "Ichika." Houki removes the helmet like apparatus, it started to stop functioning almost just before all enemies were annihilated, she concluded that something must have happened to Ichika so that the system is shut off, since it was connected to the Byakushiki after all. "Ichika!" At this moment, the plane cannot land without a beacon, so... "Alright, Orimura-kun needs to see where to land, let"s light a beacon." "Hai, class 1, here we go!" There they go again, being hyperactive as always. "H-Hey, everyone!" Yamada called them out. "sigh, let them be Yamada. I got a full cover up on what do with the regarding their punishment." Chifuyu said. "Huh?" "These kids are special, perhaps, with them..." "Ichika, over here!" Houki and the other grab each one of the landing signals, those that can light out a path for a plane to land. "Yo, Orimu, over here!" "Yeah, over here!" Each of them are carrying something that the attendants carry in order to guide a landing. "Uh..." "See? I told you they"re special, hm." Chifuyu smirks at these kids, they"re really are something. Inside the pilot... the cockpit. "Ojou-sama, there, the students are beaconing us." Chelsea said. "I know. Hm." The Z.E.R.O. system continues to function, Cecilia focuses her mind in following the light beacons that is being signalled by her comrades in class 1. "Yosh, here we... go." With the landing wheels active, it"s now time to decrease velocity... the Z.E.R.O. programming did that. "Whoa," "Sugoi." Both the pilot and Chelsea are amazed at such fast technology outcome. "Sugoi, how does it...?" The plane slowly begun to decrease velocity... then it lands on the ground, the wheels are stirring and... done, it"s safe. "Yahoo!" "Yeah!" "We did it!" "Yeah!" "Orimura! Orimura! Orimura!" Inside the plane... "Yosh, we did it!" "Yeah!" The pilot and Chelsea cheered, then she goes to the passenger cabin. "Everyone, we made it, we"re now safe and sound, yahoo!" "Yay!" "Yeah, we"re safe!" "Darling, we safe!" Everyone celebrated the victory over this terrorism. "Sigh," Cecilia stops touching the machine, the Z.E.R.O. program signed off, given the purpose already done, and the c.d. being ejected. "Oh, I must study this." The pilot said grabbing the c.d. which is a modified version of the Z.E.R.O. program that Ichika asked to be developed by his classmates before they set out here, using the Hysteria Zero Syndrome, he was able to do so. "What is that?" Chelsea asked. "I don"t know, but it"s look..." "Sigh," Cecilia lies down on the seat, feeling relaxed, today has been very prominent for her... it"s a day of salvation, now she won"t have to be alone anymore... staring at the sleeping Ichika on the floor... "Ichika-san, he, arigatou, you showed me... the light, I am forever... in your... care. Orimura Ichika." End of Chapter 4 Midnight Stars of Giving Wish Chapter 5: Reunion with Destiny... Again ...at the field... Everyone is ready for some IS manuever lessons, everyone is dressed up in their respective attire, meaning all of them wear the same fitting suit which is like a one-piece swimsuit, Cecila has one but hers is that of almost blue color, Ichika is the only one dressed in a different attire given he"s the one who"s the only of the opposite gender, oh, and Chifuyu and Yamada are dressed in jogging suits, as proper attire for instructors. "Then, let us begin the IS manuever class." Chifuyu said, last night was... Flashback whickmp! "Gmn!" Everyone is being scolded in a line-up position. "Idiots, who give you permission to enter into this battle!" Chifuyu is holding a whip that is used for disciplining undisciplined disciple, sort to speak, she does not hit the student of course, but... "Who the heck gave you permission to enter, is it this idiot?" She points at the sleeping Ichika who has been deprived of all his energy, Chifuyu grabs him but he still remains unconcious. "Did he gave you specific instructions to follow?" "Um... hai." They all said unison. "Hmph, should have figured, I"ll-" "I"ll take full responsibility." Cecilia stepped forward. "Eh?" Everyone turns to her. "It"s because of me that they came, they wouldn"t just leave a comrade in arm." "Comrade in arm huh, and... who gave this code of moral?" "Um..." Everyone stares at the sleeping Ichika who is being hold on to Chifuyu"s grasp. "Let me guess, him?" They all nod. "Huh, I should have known." He got let go of her. "Well, since you guys were successful in dismantling the commotion here, I suppose I should drop all offense in this matter," Everyone is relieved at this, "But, If I hear any of you involved with something like this again..." Here it comes, everyone swallows their saliva to prepare for the grand... "I"ll make sure that you guys are informed." "Eh?" Everyone is surprised at that. Did they hear that right? They"ll be informed should a comrade in arm is in danger again? "O-Orimura-sensei?" Even Yamada is in shock. "You guys did well in your tactical plan, how did you do that?" "Uh well..." They all turn to Houki. "Well, I..." End of flashback "Z.E.R.O. programming huh." Right after Ichika used that program on Byakushiki, he has inputed it through imagination, IS are said to be manuevered through the use of the user"s imagination, as such, even though the machine is just an equipment, the user themselves feel all the things that one IS can touch, bisected with and all forms of senses it may manifested through the user, so it"s like bonding as the way of personal IS users tend to bond with their IS more than anything else as they are willing to put their well-being into them like they are both sides of a same coin. In Ichika"s case, the Z.E.R.O. programming was "inserted" through by his Hysteria Zero Syndrome, in which his mentality was being reflected on, as such, he has a good imagination during at this state, through this imagination in his Hysteria Zero syndrome, he has managed to "input" the system on Byakushiki, though he can"t say the same if he"s not in this mode, in fact, the other night, it took about at least four hours after six in the morning to rest up, and even that seems not enough, he has exerted a lot using that syndrome, as such, during class, he received two at least hit from Chifuyu for being lazy as she said, though he claims he"s not in any condition to pay attention due to the lack energy to which Chifuyu dismissed that he just overslept but this clearly proven wrong right after the nurse in the clinic confirmed that he is indeed lacking of energy, Chifuyu asked for why but it was just concluded that he has exerted a lot of force during the day, specifically, when Ichika was using the Z.E.R.O. programming, his mentality was being pushed to the edge, his only focus that time was to guide the system so that it may not overload his mind, the humand mind can be complexed as evident of how he was able to come up with that kind of tactical system that he has managed to "input" into the Byakushiki interface through the use of imagination, that"s how IS works as mentioned, they are operated through the mind of the user and right now, it"s been almost about seven days after Ichika was really exhausted, Cecilia, Houki and the rest of class 1 would visit him from time to time, right now, he"s not yet fully recuperated so he still lack some energy, in fact, he can barely keep an eye out for the lessons this morning, he can just lift his head after it was drowning out and then pretend he was listening, but in the end, it proved to be a failure, as Chifuyu just allowed him to rest at the nurse"s office for a while, not that he has a sick or fever but that he won"t be able to learn anything at his rate and the students are quite getting distracted as his distraught face which is like a helpless man that is drowning out in the middle of the sea, well, in a manner of allegory. "Orimura, are you in any condition to fly on your own?" "Eh?" He didn"t noticed it because of his groggy state, but he was being called out by Chifuyu. "Oh uh..." "I said you and Alcott would demonstrate what to do in aerial manuevers, can you do that?" "Uh..." To be honest, he can"t, but he"s been skipping some learning sessions so he"ll have to try his best. "Uh no, I think I can..." "Yosh, ja, hurry up and deployed your IS." "Hai." Raising the gauntlet... nothing happens. "Eh? Huh?" "Hurry up and do it, simply use your imagination." "..." Closing his eyes... flash! Success. "Too slow, an average user would have been able to do that within 0.01 second." "Hai..." What to expect actually? He"s not in his top condition and on top of that, the Hysteria Zero Syndrome seems to be working but it"s not taking over, it"s too exhausted right now, only partial of the blood is rising up at the sight of some of the girls here in swimsuits, well, almost like swimsuits attire, but Ichika seems to have developed an habit to stop it from arising by using his own will to do it, it"s quite simply actually, simply with the right emotion and sense that he can do it, now he"s getting a hang of it. "Ja, Alcott, look after him." "Hai, sa, Ichika-san, let"s go." "Hai." Whoosh! Cecilia is the first to take off, followed by... Whoos- "Wa, w-whooa!" Since he"s in his groggy state still, he cannot seem to work out his mind to manuever the IS, it requires a sharp mind to dodge one single attack, a mental retarded guy would probably have a hard time accelerating at this state, so when piloting an IS, it requires the individual to be fully open-minded, but Ichika manages to fly regardless, in a slow way though. "You"re slow, even average IS users can do better than that." Even though he"s used to Chifuyu"s harsh, cold words, he wouldn"t mind being given a break due to all the mental burden he has right now, one; his Hysteria Zero Syndrome is dropped out, meaning it won"t be activated for some time, and second; he ponders about what happened that night, as far as he can recall, all of class 1 suffered because of his actions though according to the class, they gladly suffer it, and there were no punishments done to them anyway, courtesy of their actions that night that saved both Cecilia and the Alcott inheritence, which leads also to... "Sigh, average IS huh, hm, does this mean I"m lower than... gr," "Use imagination." Cecilia said. "Eh?" They can hear each other clearly through interface, even there is a slight distance between them, it does work very cleary and distinctly. "The IS armaments can be deployed through a quick thinking and durable combat manuevers can be done by simply thinking of a way you can relax your mind." "Relax my mind huh..." During his state in using the Z.E.R.O. programming, his mentality was being pushed so hard that he didn"t have time to react, he didn"t have to anyway, before a decision is make, the system takes care of that, not even the slightest machine can beat it as that seem to be very durable that it requires no decision-making process time just before an action is initiated. That and the unstoppable urges would help but sadly, in his state, he cannot "insert" the program to the interfece right now. "Come on Ichika-san, you should be able to imagine how durable your movements are when you are flying." "Even if you say that, I can"t say I"m actually flying, the advance thrusters are too..." Too complex for one"s brain it seems, the human brain cannot process all the data together all at once, that would be like processing a number symbols of numerals which is similar to a calculator doing all sort of mathematics and the user will have to suffer... what can say? Perhaps one"s brain might get damaged from thinking too much, Ichika certainly been that way, given all the logical thinking process that he"s enduring whenever he"s in Zero"s mode, his brain can certainly take a break for a while from such baseless... well, not exactly baseless but he"s been wondering about that eccentric guy who planted this type of blood on his vibes and he cannot help but wonder that maybe this guy... no, thinking of such paranormal things will only exhaust his mentality as it is, he hasn"t been feeling well for the couple days, his guess is probably because he exerted a lot of force during his confrontation with the unmanned drones and russian spies that night at the airport, through the next courses of days, he was instructed and guided by Cecilia on how to operate Byakushiki, he remembers his promise to her while in Zero mode... and as a gentleman, he has no choice but to carry it out, or at least, that"s part of his moral code and those who break it are no longer classified chivalrous person so best not broke it, or less... less he suffer the spartan way of Chifuyu, who has strictly made him devoted to this moral no matter what the situation is. "Ma, I guess I"ll just deal with it." "Oh Ichika-san, that"s no good, and I was offering you good lesson, hoho." "Hm?" And there she was again, ever since she transferred here, she seems to be lacking any smile on her british accent face, until recently when she is rescued by her comrades of class 1. Ichika has just noticed that she keeps adding "-san" as suffix for him in pronouncing his name, his first name too instead of Orimura like what most everybody would call him, with a suffix "-kun" on it as well, though normally... nah, cute guys are often referred as that, though Ichika would not certainly mind with simply Ichika without any something like that because... "Ichika! How long do you keep planning to fly up there!" A loud voice echoed throughout the field, her voice is loudened by the communicator that she took from Yamada, it"s Houki. "S-Shinonono-san, please give me back my intercom..." She said in a stuttering tone. "Houki..." "Well, Ichika-san, let us go back now." Cecilia is the first to manuever a falling landing way to the ground, it"s simply by imagining she said, perhaps one can imagine being blown by the wind and then fly downward. "Land huh... yosh." Ichika does that kind of thinking but... "Hm?" To his dismay... he is flying to the current of the wind to which... to which there is no stop! "A-Ahh!" Bluuncchttz! A large hole is inflicted on the ground, there is an indicating that an IS fell from the sky... that much is obvious. "Gyah!" Everyone is blown away a bit. "O-Orimura-kun!" "Yare, yare... idiot, who gave you order to make a hole on the ground?" The instructors tend to the damage. "Practice more of your manuever and you"ll get a hang out of it." "Guh, even if you say that..." Ichika rubs his head that is on the ground, filled with dirt. "You"re pathetic Ichika, I thought I told you... Guah." "Ichika-san, are you alright?" "Uh yeah, I"m fine, just a little... dirty, and... yaawn, tired." "Ua, you"re still lacking energy are you? You shouldn"t have tried that out if you"re tired." "Idiot, you could have just told me that you"re still lacking of energy, and I wouldn"t have called you." Perhaps there is still some reasoning into Chifuyu. Cecilia stepped in as Houki was about to berate Ichika for his weakness, well, not like everyone has the same strength and weaknesses, and too much expectation will lead to heartbreak, or is it mental retardation? "Hai, hai, yaaawn, anyway, can I have some rest?" "Ah, sure, but make sure you are free for some extra training this afternoon, if you got the strength." "Sure, yaawn, ja, ja ne." "Ah wait, Ichika-san, you need escorting right? I"ll esc-" "I"ll do that, I"m the one who trains Ichika so buzz off." Houki interjected to Cecilia"s proposal of escort. "Ara, Shinonono-san, can you teach personal IS manuevers? Or can you simply use lowdown methods to teach?" A mockery of sort. "Compare to a british accent girl, I can do just fine." The two share a glare. "What are they glaring for?" Ichika is bewildered though. ...Lunchtime, at the hall "Sigh, it"s been seven days and I still haven"t recovered all of my strength." Ichika said in his mind as he wanders on the hall, thinking of what he"ll eat, some girls are murmuring about him being able to save Cecilia that night as he passes by, and of course, his newfound popularity rose up as well, making him the most at least, one of the popular people in the school, if not the most, in this world, it seems those who tend to cherish their bonds of others are those who will prevail in the end, most of which are of course tending to cast aside their own problems and situation and would just rely on solving others" problem for the sake of spending their time on Earth. ...Outside the main lobby building... "This is the place huh?" A certain foreigner comes across the main lobby building, her twintails are one of her attractive posture, the other is her petite body and... well, to speak plainly, she"s of the Chinese nationality and she has come here to visit a childhood friend who she misses so much, so much that she would leave her own country behind in order to be with that person, yes, childhood acquiantances are probably the most well-known individual to those who know them around. "Sa te, I better go in," Despite how Japanese she may look, she is indeed of the Chinese nationality, her name is Lingyin Huang, the representative candidate of China and the childhood friend of... "Wonder where he is, if he"s going to be here, the least he could do is show himself." One of Ling, for short, habits is that she is sometimes too boastful of her abilities and she"s quite... energetic to the point that the rain of cheefulness and energized atmosphere could roam the entire hall at any minute that people might become too bossy as well, or at least, that"s what that certain childhood friend would say or think. "Well then, first things first is... the reception hall is..." Looking around, there are a lot facilities here that the map around won"t be able to help anyone who is being pinpointed in various direction, so best just rely on one"s own intellect. "Guah, this place is huge, how am I supposed to..."

Riki has just finished preparing for school. He"s currently fixing himself on the mirror by the sink. "Hm, I guess I better go downstairs." He decided to go downstairs. ... ...Second floor, hallway... Riki is walking down the corridor. Then- ...tap, tap, tap, tap... "Hm?" Someone, a female student with an attractive body, came down from the floor upstairs. "Hm?" Riki came into an eye contact with this person. "Oh, you"re..." "Hm, I"ve never seen you here before. Are you new here, boy?" This young woman referred to Riki as "boy" as if she"s a big sister figure for any young girls around her. This is Yuiko Kurugaya. "Eh?" "B-Boy...?' Riki felt awkward at being referred to by that term, so he was caught off-guard. "Oh, uh... Y-Yeah. I just... arrived here last night." "Hm, I see... Then you"re that boy that Futaki-san mentioned." "Futaki-san? Oh, by the way, where is she?" "Oh? Futaki-san? Ohhh... Are you perhaps..." She eyed him instensely... "...after the Head of Student Council, too?" "Eh?" Again, Riki was caught off-guard at that. "She"s very popular, you know. Most of the girls look up to her as if she"s an idol or a goddess figure. And most of the boys can"t even approach her due to her aura that tend to make people bow to her. I would say though, she"s quite distant and quite... eh, overbearing. You got nice tastes, boy. Hm," She winked at him. "...Eh," Riki sweat dropped at her words. "Well, anyway," She flipped her hair, making her look beautiful from men"s perspectives."I"m Kurugaya Yuiko, what a pleasure to meet you, boy." Riki sweat dropped big this time. "Uh, yeah. I"m...I"m Naoe Riki. Pleased to meet you, um, K-Kurugaya-san." "What was that you said just now!?" A loud voice from downstairs is heard loudly. "Hm?" "Huh?" Kurugaya"s and Riki"s attention were caught by that voice. "Hmph, you"re all into brute force, Masato. You cannot defeat me without even knowing the extent of your physical strength." Another voice is heard downstairs. "Yeah? Say that again!" There"s the first voice again. "What the...?" Riki ran downstairs to see what"s the commotion is all about. "Sigh, not again." While Kurugaya simply put her hand on her forehead, feeling annoyed at the voices that are coming form downstairs. "Those two muscle-brained are going at it again. Sigh, well, I suppose I could watch some entertainment." Kurugaya declared and she herself decided to go and see what"s going downstairs. ... ...First floor, dining room... "Ora! Hey, get back!" Rin Natsume is picking up her cats that are running about due to the loud voices of Masato Inohara and Kengo Miyazawa. She"s keeping them from harm"s reach-in which she"s preventing them from being caught in the fight between the two guys. "Hmph, Kengo, it"s been too long since we had a good match. This time, I"ll prove I"m the strongest!" Masato exclaimed loudly while giving off a confident expression as he stared at his rival, Kengo. "Hmph, you? Huh, for someone who can"t even defeat Kyosuke, I"m pretty sure I"ll be the one to challenge him soon enough. Well, you might get hurt as well if someone else interfere in our match." Kengo gave a calm statement which only angered Masato. "As well? You think you can hurt me!?" Masato said clenching his fists tightly and strongly. ...tap, tap, tap! Riki arrived at the scene. "Huh?" He witnessed the fight that is transpiring right now. "What the..." "Ah, hey! Don"t go in there!" Rin exclaimed as one of her cats ran straight to where the fight is transpiring. "Ah...!" Riki himself felt like going in there and try to save the cat. "H-Hey, it"s dangerous!" "Hm?" Kurugaya arrived at the scene as well. At the same time, Riki ran straight to the battleground. "Hey, it"s dangerous there! You"ll get caught in the fight!" Riki exclaimed as he chased the cat to pick it up. "Ah, you..." Rin eyed Riki. This is the first time she has seen him in person. "Ah, boy!" Kurugaya exclaimed as she felt worried for Riki who is not stopping in chasing the cat that is running straight to those two big idiots. "Alright, Kengo, I won"t let you make a fool out of me! Uryaaaa-!" Masato is the first to attack! "Hmph," Kengo remained steady, then he put on a stance of a samurai, and-"Hn!" Then he himself lunged forth! "Huaaarrgghh!" "Huuaaaarrhh!" Both of them are going at it! "Meow!" The cat ran in-between the two-and- "Hey, STOP!" Riki jumped towards the cat... and in-between Kengo and Masato whose attacks are about to collide and- "Ah!" Kurugaya exclaimed as she realized that Riki will be caught in the attacks of those two. "B-Boy!" "H-Hey!" Rin exclaimed with her arm extended towards Riki"s direction. "Oh no... I"m... I"m an idiot.' Riki thought as he realized that he just put himself in danger. "Why did I jumped here!?' "Gr," Closing his eyes, he waited for whatever it is that is coming his way and- -Sharp-! "Grrr!" Seth suddenly appeared in his mind. "Huh?" Riki opened his eyes and- *Counter* BLOOOCk-! BLOCK! "Huh?" "Wha...?" Both Kengo"s and Masato"s attacks were stopped by an invisible barrier and- REFLEEECT-! THWACHT-! BAM-! TWAACTHH-! "Guargh!" "Guggh!" Both of their attacks were redirected backwards... ...back to them, that is. *BAMMM-!* "Gaaahhh!" "Uwaaahh!" *CRAAASSHHH-!* Both of them were sent flying backwards and they crashed on the walls. "Eh?" Riki was dumbfounded at the development. By the way, he managed to catch the cat when he jumped at it and right then, he could swore that Seth"s ability "Counter" was activated and that pretty much sent both Kengo and Masato flying towards the wallls. "Eh?" He was even more dumbfounded at that part-the part that they are now unconcious and are glued on the walls, that is. "Eh?" Even Kurugaya is dumbfounded at what she saw-or at least, she thinks Riki somehow managed to summon unreal strength that pretty much sent those two idiots flying. She didn"t see the invisible barrier that protected Riki. "Ah..." Rin"s eyes are glued at Riki. "... ... ..." Riki isn"t moving a muscle. He cannot fathom what just happened here other than... ...he just injured two guys indirectly. "I... just..." "Meow." The cat he"s holding jumped to his left shoulder and licked him on the cheek. "Ah... ...Wh-What I have doneeee...!" He exclaimed loudly, with this voice echoing throughout the dorm. ... ...Later, at the school gate... "Ah." Riki arrived here with a dumbfounded expression. "...I guess... I should attend... the first day of school... Ah." He recalled what happened after the "incident". Flashback "Hm," Kurugaya eyed Kengo who is unconcious and is glued on the wall. "Hm," Then she turned to Masato who is at the other side and is on the same state as Kengo. "Boy..." She then approached Riki who is still in disbelief of what happened. "Boy, you..." "What have I done! Q-Quick, someone call for help or... Huh?" Kurugaya placed her hands on his shoulder, then she made him turn around to face her. "K-Kurugaya-san...?" "You... How did you do that?" She asked with her eyes intensely looking at his. "Eh? Oh... Well... I... think... Uh..." Rin ran up to Riki. "You... You saved my cat..." "Meow." The cat that Riki rescued walked up to Rin and she picked him up. "Meow." "You"re..." Turning her eyes to Riki, "..." -Suddenly, the front door opened- "What"s going on!?" "We heard someone yelling here!" Both Kanata and A-chan arrived at the scene. ""Hm?"" Then both of them witnessed the scene before them. ""Huh?"" They reacted the same and at the same time. ... ...Later... "I see..." Kanata said. All of those who are present-with the exception of Kengo and Masato who have been laid on the sofas due to their unconcious states-are seated at the dining table, Kurugaya just gave the full details of what transpired befor Kanata and A-chan arrived. "Then..." Turning to RIki who is sitting at the middle end of the table, "Naoe-kun, you stopped those two from harming that innocent cat of Natsu-I-I mean Rin-san, and we have just arrived to see the result of that incident." ""Hm,"" Both Rin and Kurugaya nodded at that. "That"s pretty much how it stands. Those two idiots were going at it and then this boy stood up and broke the fight." Kurugaya said. "Hm, I see." Kanata said in acknowledgement. "Well, I guess that"s that?" A-chan asked if the meeting is already adjourned. "Well, I suppose this misunderstanding is already cleared. And school will start soon, all you can go now." Kanata turned to Riki after saying that. "And Naoe," "Y-Yes?" "...Hm," Kanata smiled. "You did good." "Eh?" "From saving Rin-san"s cat and breaking off those two from doing something foolish." "Oh, uh... It"s..." He slightly lowered his head, "Can you... offer my apology once they recovered?" He turned to the sofas where the two unconcious guys are. Everyone else turned to where he is staring at. "Why are you apologizing? It"s not like you did anything bad." A-chan said. "But... I sort of went overboard there, didn"t I?" "Hmph, if you ask me, this is something that could give this those two something to think about. Something that should straighten them up, that is." Kurugaya said. "Hm, I suppose your request is fair, Naoe. Very well. Well then, you"re all adjourned." Kanata declared. ...Later, outside the dormitory... Riki stepped out of the dorm, right before he could close the door behind him, however- "A moment, boy." Kurugaya placed her hand on his hand that is closing the door. "Eh? Oh, K-Kurugaya-san." She"s just on the other side of the door that is slightly opened. She managed to stop him from closing the door just now. "What is it?" "Hm," She opened the door for her to able to step out, but she didn"t let go of Riki"s hand as she stepped out. "You seem to be interesting, boy. I didn"t think you could incapacitate those two with bare strength." "Ah... That"s... W-Well, uh, I-I think I should go now. W-Well, s-see you..." He attempted to leave, but... "Oh... You"re just leaving me behind?" As he is about to go, Kurugaya didn"t let go of his hand, and he has to stop because of that. "Eh... K-Kurugaya-san..." He nervously looked at her. "Can you... let go of my hand...? I have to get to school and..." "Hm, we"re heading for the same direction, boy. Why don"t we simply go there... together?" She winked at him when she suggested the last part. "Eh?" Riki was caught off-guard at that. "Well then, let us go, boy." Kurugaya started walking with her not letting go of Riki"s hand, and he"s pulled along. "W-W-Wait, K-Kurugaya-san..." He is forced to walk alongside her. ... ...Later, inside a train... Riki and Kurugaya has met up with Rin onboard this train. Rin was able to catch up with the two of them when they were about to board this train and they all went onboard altogether. Rin and Riki are staring out through the window-with Rin explaining to Riki about the environment and the school. "So, that"s it. See? You can see it from here." Rin said, pointing at the sight of the school. "Ah." Riki could see it from here as the train is like gliding over the sea. "We"re almost there." "You two should sit down." Kurugaya, who is seated beside Rin, told the two. "Come on, you should relax before we get there." "Hm," Rin nodded. ... ...Later, at Port Island Station... The train arrived at its intended destination. As soon as the doors opened, all of the students stepped out. Riki, Rin and Kurugaya stepped out altogether. "Hm," Kurugaya stretched out her arms to feel the warmth of the pleasant morning. She put down her arms afterwards, "Ah, the sight of the sea can certainly be sleepy. It"s like a calm that is putting you to sleep. What a marvelous way of life." "Hm? What"s that?" Rin asked. "Nothing. Well then, should we get going?" "Hm," Riki intended to follow them, but- Sharp-! ...The other Riki appeared in Riki"s mind. "A moment, my other me." "Eh? My... other self?' Shadow Riki nodded. "There is an urgence in going to the almost deserted part of this station. You may meet someone who could benefit from your aid... And you will form a new bond. Now go." Flash-! Shadow Riki disappeared as Riki could only see whiteness in his mind afterwards. "..." Riki just stood about. Both Rin and Kurugaya didn"t seem to have noticed that he"s not tagging along with them. Both of them went on ahead while Riki pondered on what to do. "...A deserted part of this station? Hm," He looked about, seaching for any deserted-looking part of the station. "Hm, maybe I should..." He started walking out to the direction where Rin and Kurugaya went. ... ...Behind Port Island Station... Riki found himself here, seeing that the place is deserted. So this might be the right place. "...But..." Riki sweat dropped as this place is more like an hideout for punks, criminals and all that kind of people. There are signs that this place has been used by some people already as there are littered cigarrettes about, litterred cans of soda and other kinds of litterred things. "But what exactly am I supposed to find here...?" "Eeek! P-Please, I just got lost and..." A girl"s voice is heard loudly. "Huh?" Riki became alerted at that. "What the..." He looked at the right side where the voice came from, he could swore. "Is someone..." He ran to the direction ahead of that path. ... ...At a deserted part of the alley... "Eek..." Komari Kamikita is surrounded by four punks. "P-Please, I just got lost on the way here..." "Huh? What was that?" "Hey, bro, can I get piece of her? Ooh, she"s hot." "Hey, I want a piece of her, too, bro!" The punks are talking sick... "Fine, fine... Just make sure that she can"t report this to those police bastards." ...tap, tap, tap... Riki arrived at the scene. "Hm? Wha..." He found Komari to be surrounded by these punks. Sharp-! Shadow Riki appeared once more in Riki"s mind. "Fear not, my other me. Remember, muster your will and take responsibility for it. It is then that your obstacles would be swept aside, much like these degenerates about. Now, SUMMON FORTH YOUR DESIRED OUTCOME-!" "...Hm," Riki slightly clenched his fists, then... Flash-! Riki summoned his persona card, it landed on his right palm- FLAASH-! -then he crushed it. *Swift Strike* Riki prepared himself-then he rushed towards the people ahead of him. "Gr..." Komari is terrified as she backed away a bit from the punks. "Alright, let"s see what we can get from her... hehe," They started to approach her then... "Hmrh," Komari closed her eyes with her slightly turning away from the punks. "Alright, let"s see wha-Wh-What the-! Guark!" POW! POOW...! "What the-! Who are- Guaargh!" Pow, Bam, Baam! "B-Bastard, what did you do to my bro!? Haaaa!" BAAAM-! "GUAARRGH-!" "D-Dammit, I won"t forget this!" "Gr, let"s go!" The sounds of the punks running away are heard. "...Eh?" Komari didn"t witness what has happened, but... "..." Riki is here, having beat up the punks and forcing them to retreat. "..." He stood up straight after dealing with the punks. (Note: This scene is reflecting the Social Link event of the Lovers Social Link in Persona 3, if you must know. And if you must also know, Komari"s Arcana is the Lovers, much like Yukari.) "Eh?" Komari was surprised to see him. "Y-You... Who are... you?" "..." Riki turned to Komari. "You should not come here. Well, I suppose it wasn"t your fault that you ended up here. But just go to where other decent people head to, okay?" "Ah... You... What happened to those people?" "Hm, them? I drove them away." Riki said, looking at the direction where the punks ran off. "Well," He turned around. "You best leave this place." "Oh, um... Y-Yes... But... You... You saved me?" "What does it look like? I cannot leave you to your fate when you were surrounded by those ungrateful bastards. Well, school is about to start. You best hurry." tap, tap, tap, tap-! Riki ran off. "Ah, w-wait!" Komari extended a hand towards his direction but he didn"t stop running. End of Flashback ...Back at the present, at the school gate... "Ah, is that what was urgent, other me?" Riki is speaking with his other self. "Yes. You did well in saving that girl, but I would conjecture that you will meet more people today. So, I will be watching... Be well, other me." Shadow Riki disappeared in his mind. "Hm, I suppose I should go to that building over there..." Riki headed for the main lobby building. ... ...Main lobby building... A lot of students are looking at the bulletin board where the classroom assignments are posted. Riki himself is trying to see where his name is... "Hm, no... no... Ah, the list is so long that- Oh, wait, there it is." He spotted his name. "Hm?" Looking below his name, the name Natsume Rin is right there... "Rin...? Rin-san will be my... classmate? ... ..." It seems that is the case. "Huh, o... kay. What coencidence." -Just then, the intercom sounded. "Attention all students. Please come to the auditorium for the opening ceremony. All are required and no exception. We will begin with the..." It seems everyone is being summoned to the auditorium. Some people are heard complaining. "Oh man, this isn"t gonna be just some boring rants from the principal, is it?" "Hm, I hope not. I got better things to do. My mom will be..." Riki could hear more complaints. "Hm, it"s not that of a hussle or nuisance.' Bonk! "Gah!" Someone bumped into him as they ran passed him. "Oh, sorry about that." He apologized to that person even though he"s the one who pushed a bit. "Hm? Oh no, that"s okay. Haha, sorry about that." This is Haruka Saigusa. She was running energitically and she bumped into Riki on the process. "Well, see ya!" She left running energetically again. "Huh, an energetic person." Riki watched her leave. "I guess I better go, too." ... ...Later, at the auditorium... All of the students are gathered here. "Now then, the school assembly is about to start. First, the principal has something to say." A teacher said over the microphone. She stepped out of the podium and the principal took her place there. "Hmhm. Ahem. Good morning, I would like to welcome all of you as we begin the new school year. Today marks the beginning of your paths towards new educational experiences, your way of making new friends and acquiantances and most importanly, today also marks the day where you yourselves may begin to see forth a new light in a different perspective. When we talk about..." The principal continued with his speech. "..." Riki is sitting still on his seat. He could hear the yawning of some male students behind him, he can tell that they"re not interested in listening to this speech whatsoever. He sweat dropped since they"re frankly speaking in which anyone nearby can hear them, and there are teachers about. "Aren"t these guys worried that they may get caught talking while the principal is speaking?' "Hey, who"s talking over there?" A teacher seemed to have heard them talking. Upon hearing that teacher, the boys were alarmed and they all sat still and straight. '...That"s karma, I suppose.' Riki thought. Plat "Hm?" He noticed that an handkerchief fell on the ground. "That"s...' He thought of picking it up, and he did, but- -In doing so, another hand appeared to have the same intention. Riki"s hand and that hand involuntarily came into contact. "Ah." "Hm?" The one sitting beside Riki, Mio Nishizono, seemed to have dropped her handkerchief. "Ah." She regarded Riki without much expression... or emotion. "Oh, uh, is this yours?" "..." She nodded in response. "Oh, then..." ...While pausing in mid-sentence, he picked up the handkerchief and dusted it off. "H-Here. It"s still clean." "Hm," She received the handkerchief without much expression again. "Thank you." "Y-Yeah... Ah." Riki turned his attention back in front afterwards. "She"s passive...e motionless... Hm, oh well. I shouldn"t be rude on how people act as they see fit.' Sharp-! -Suddenly, Shadow Riki appeared once more in his mind. "I know this is a sudden, but another urgent thing has come to our attention." "Other me...? Wha... What is it this time?' "Once this gathering is over, go to the courtyard. You will see something... familiar." '...? Familiar?' The Shadow nodded. "That is all. Go do what you must." Then he disappeared in Riki"s mind. "...The courtyard." Riki muttered. "Hm? What about the courtyard?" Mio heard him muttering that. "Eh? Oh, uh... N-Nothing." He said as he fidgeted a bit. He sat still and straight to make it look like that he"s acting normally. "Gr, I better stop talking outloud when people are around me.' He made a mental note of that. "...Hm," Mio took his word and she herself turned her attention in front... ... ...Later, after the assembly, at the courtyard... As he was instructed to by his Shadow, Riki went to this courtyard to check out something... which he has no idea of what it is whatsoever. "Okay... I am here... What now?' He looked around at his surrounding. This is a nice courtyard. One can probably have a lunch here if they wish. Perhaps a lot of students eat their lunches here. "Meow." A cat is passing by the grass. "Hm?" Riki noticed that cat as it passed by, and then that cat went behind a tree. "A cat? Could it be... Rin-san"s cat?" "Hm? Someone say my beloved sister"s name?" A voice behind the tree asked. "Eh?" Riki was caught by surprise there for a second. It seems there"s someone else here... "Who... Is someone... Is someone there?"

"An helmet?" "No, it"s a tactical deploy armament, it"s used for giving commands for the units on a field." End of flashback. Houki equipped the helmet(Similar helmet with the modified Epyon system that was used by Dorothy in Gundam wing) that is connected through Ichika"s IS, which reflects that of the programming on it, Z.E.R.O., it will probably function in the same way as the programming of Byakushiki does, which means... this is will be mastermind battle, so... "Yosh," With Houki providing tactical movements, everyone boarded their practice IS as more unmanned drones enter the field. "Orimura-sensei, look, more unmanned drones." "And those brats, gr, what are they doing here? I bet it"s Orimura"s fault why they are here." "Uh..." Speaking of Orimura... "Houki, everyone, I"m counting on you guys, remember, one for all..." He gives a trademark to which... "All for one! Yeah!" Houki and the rest followed up with thumbs up. "Go, O-ri-mu-ra!" Some of them cheered as Ichika flew into the sky, into the borders of Japan. "Yosh," Houki prepares to give command to all. "Shinonono, we"re counting on you." "Yeah, give us the right command." "Class 1, here we go!" Everyone cheered as they charge into battle. "Ichika, this is..." Remembering Ichika"s words... Flashback. "What? Me?" Houki is assigned to give commands to everyone during the battle. "Hm, you"ll be good for the job, simply think of it as assigning rows in your kendo manuever." "Th-That"s different! It"s..." "Daijobou, I"ll guide you through it." Ichika entrusted the helmet apparatus to Houki. "Eh?" "Daijobou, I"ll make it easier for you, Houki." He said that while winking. "I... Ichika... Hm, okay." End of flashback "Okay, for you Ichika, I"ll..." The helmet begins to glow in the same color as Byakushiki, golden. Ichika, from afar, typed the exact letters he typed on the Byakushiki, it"s connected through Houki"s helmet by a connector that is similar to sending messages through the internet, so... the letters Z.E.R.O. appeared on Houki"s helmet, signifying the activation of it. "Yosh, good, this will do it." Houki feels more confident as the reaction time on her brain waves has decreased drastically, and all sort of information are flowing through, there are connectors that are attached to her head which can send motion waves that can put her in state where she can think logically and calmly, with two goals in mind, one, is to provide tactical command to the rest, second, keep up with Ichika"s promise that they"ll all return safely so... the only left thing to do is... "Yosh, sa, head for the flank, group 1! Group 2, head for the rear, and three, head for the aerial manuevers!" All sort of future movements come, Houki knows when and how the enemies would react due to the down reaction and future outcomes are being transmitted as she guides the Z.E.R.O program to help the others and keep up with Ichika"s words, she"s bonded with the helmet sort to speak, as she can feel sort of becoming one, in a way, with it. "Yosh!" "Understood!" And so they went to formation. blast, blast! "Target: confirmed." Some unmanned drones have changed targets to the members of class 1. "Get those girls, we"ll get them instead!" "Hai!" The men assigned all the drones to attack them, and they went to formation. "Yosh!" The members of class 1 then split up according to Houki"s guidance. "Tho- E-Everyone!" Yamada exclaimed. "Those idiots, what are they- Huh?" Just as when Chifuyu was about to berate them for their recklessness, she then took notice that they"re rather acting in... a very devious manner. "What the...?" They"re tactical movement is perfect, in this way... blast, blast, shoock, boom! "Yeah!" "Got one!" Nohohon-san and her other two friends destroyed a couple of unmanne drones by blasting them on the torso, where the core is. slice, slice, shoock, boom! "Yeah!" "Alright!" Then the kendo club sliced off those in the rear. boom, boom, boom, shoock, boom! "Alright!" "Good analytical movement!" Then those who are for aerial bound fired in ranged, it"s perfect aim. "Yosh, now, go to..." Houki continues to provide analytical, tactical movements of attack. The helmet is showing all the possible courses to take, all she have to think about is giving them command. "S-Sugoi." "How do they..." The two instructors from class 1 are speechless, how do they... since when did they... did they get taught by some instructor during their absence, or... ...Above in the sky... Whoosh, Ichika flies overhead, detecting the flight carrier 3.12. "There it is, hm?" He sees some fighting, that"s... bhew, bhew! boom, boom! bhew, bhew! The IS, personal IS, blue tears, is deployed. Its weapon pods, to which where it"s given a name, are firing at the unmanned drones that are deployed and are circling the plane where she escaped from earlier. Flashback... srck, srcht, srcht! "Guh!" Through sheer thinking, Cecilia managed to break off the chains holding her in her chair, then... "Hiya!" Thuck, thud! "Guah! Argh." "B-Boss, the Alcott daughter is-" thud! "Guh!" A bunch of body guards got kicked on their abdomen, their chin, and their cheek. "You damn spoiled... forget it, attack!" bang, bang, bang! They all fire at her, alarming the passengers to get down so that they may not get shot. "Mmrngh." "mmrgh." They all duck from where they are sitting. "Hold your fire, we need the hostages alive!" The boss commanded, Cecilia partially deployed the arm of her personal IS to block the bullets then, "You bastards, you think I didn"t come prepare for this? I"ll teach you the pride of the Alcott! Ahh!" Flash! She deployed her IS as she opens the door to the passenger cabin then jumped out. "H-Hey, bitch, program the unmanned drones to fire at her, hurry!" "Hai!" End of flashback bhew, bhew, boom, boom! "Gr," bhew, bhew, boom! Cecilia spreaded the blue like tear pods everywhere, exposing some of the unmanned drones weakness to which they can be fired just about anywhere as the pods speed are very quick to the point they can decimate one enemy from all direction. "You bastards, I won"t go down easily!" Whoosh! She flies abit upward to avoid the attack of the unmanned drone. blast, blast. "Target: confirmed." blast, blast! Whoosh, whoosh! Cecilia dexterously dodged the shot, she"s not an England representative for nothing, she"s very agile, as well as reflexive, to be fired at by those amateurs, "Hiya!" bhew, bhew! boom, boom! Two more down. Two approaches from behind. blast, blast. "Gr," She turns around, only to... blast, boom! "Guh!" One fired from behind, leaving her vulnerable, her reaction time isn"t enough since the height of this place, as well as the passengers being in danger, is still alarmed in her mind, she cannot forget that they must be protected or else she won"t be a noble at all. "Gurk,gr." "She"s vulnerable boss!" "Yeah, kill her now! We"ll take the inheritence ourself without her approval or her supported marriage." The unmanned drones close in. About to fire, but... slice, slice! The guns are sliced. A white thing came passing by. whoosh, whoosh , slice, boom, boom! Then it ran them through, destroying them. "Huh?" Cecilia ponders on what it is. "Wha-?" "What is that?" "Another IS?" "Hm?" The boss of these russian guys, as well as the passengers look outside. "You..." Cecilia recognized this person. "Yo, you"ve done pretty well for yourself." Ichika, in Byakushiki, performed a manuever that quickly dispatched the unmanned drones. "You, what are you doing here?" "I could ask you the same question, why are you not inside the plane? Your servants were worried about you." "Geh, Chelsea..." "Ojou-sama!" "Huh?" Turning around, she sees a propeller plane approaching with two maids piloting it, Chelsea and another maid. "C-Chelsea?" "Ojou-sama, we"re coming!" "Chelsea, no, stay back!" The unmanned drones detected the plane. "Ah, Chelsea, we"re in trouble!" "Gr," She realized that but it"s too late. "Guh!" One unmanned drone detected them and- blast! "Guah!" "Ah!" "Chelsea, no!" "Hm," Ichika saw fit to intervene, there are only ten minutes left before the Hysteria Zero Syndrome passes off, so he best used the make up time. He relie on the Z.E.R.O. program. "Let"s do it, Byakushiki." "Hm, I agree, let"s go, white knight." A voice that is like female said. "Hm," Whoosh! Ichika dashes off, the Z.E.R.O. programming giving all the advanced data and the reaction time is decreasing for the pilot, then, Ichika focuses on two things: Saving Chelsea and the other maid, then... help Cecilia along... then the passengers... analytical data... absorbed, now, resolving. Byakushiki glows golden light, as well as Ichika"s eyes. "Yosh, let"s go!" With Yukihira type 2 ignited, whoosh! he dashes off at incredible speed. That is because of the ignition boost of Byakushiki. "Target: Con-" Slice, boom! Slice, boom! "System error, does not-" boom! Two unmanned drones that are targetting the plane are dispatched. "Ah, Chelsea, we"re safe." "Ah, it"s thanks to..." Staring at the Byakushiki... "You... a boy? Orimura..." "Ichika?" Whoosh! Then like a shooting star, Ichika dashes off to the plane of flight 3.12, it"s guarded by unmanned drones, the Z.E.R.O. programming formulated a plan, then it takes it back directly back to the pilot, giving him... slice, slice, slice! ...absolute victory. boom, boom, boom! All unmanned drones are destroyed before they could react. "Sugoi." Cecilia is amazed at that, how one can predict one"s movement before even the enemy itself knows what to do? "I..." Feeling helpless, she remembers the time where it was about time her parents would make up for not being with each other for awhile, but... "No, I cannot... I cannot be helpless, I..." "Target: confirmed." While being absorbed in thought, unmanned drones have input their target on her. "Huh?" Before she could react however... blast, blast, boom, boom! "G-Guah!" She isn"t hit, just got blown away by the impact of the explosion that came from... "You"re too prickle, you shouldn"t just staw off a distance." Ichika, who was already informed by the Z.E.R.O. program that unmanned drones would try to hit her, blocked the attack for her. "Gr, you." Now she"s even more irritate for being helpless. "You, don"t look down on me!" She yelled outloud. "Ojou-sama." "Not now, we gotta save those passengers inside, let"s go." Chelsea managed to fly near the passenger door of flight 3.12. Then she jumps in. "H-Hey, Chelsea, wait- Gyaah!" Her skirt, the maid that is, the other one, got blown away a bit, which distracted her for a while, but then she managed to jump in as well. "Whew, that was dangerous." "Alright, freeze you russian scum!" Chelsea aims a gun at them. "What the-? How did you-?" bang! "Guh!" A stun bullet to the forehead, it won"t kill him. "B-Boss, you-!" Bang! "Guh! Argh... argh... uh. zzz... zz..." The other was a tranquilizer. "Yosh, free the passengers, I"ll handle the pilot upahead." "Yosh, okay." Chelsea runs up-front to confront the pilot, he"s not the mastermind though. slide. "Alright, everyone, stay calm." "Freeze!" "Guh! Guah! W-Wait, I"m not one of them, I... they jammed the controls, I can"t control it, we"re gonna crashed!" The pilot said in a panic while his hands are tied up. "What?" Meanwhile, outside... shoock, boom! The last of the unmanned drone is destroyed, the Z.E.R.O. programming is turned off, Byakushiki is at its normal rate again. "Whew," "Why did you saved me?" Cecilia asked in a melancholic manner. "Hm? It"s only natural right? We"re classmate and-" "Your chivalrous actions are hurting me!" "What?" There"s only five minutes left before the Hysteria Zero Syndrome would pass off so... "Ever since... ever since... ever since my parents died, I swore that I would become stronger and reliable, wherein... wherein... sob, sob. So that the perfect man I envisioned of, would be... would be... someone... the very opposite of my father, he was troubled, and mother... and mother..." Tears... a shooting star passes by... "...Perfect man you say, hm." Ichika flies closer to her. "That"s right, the man I have envisioned, I always thought, that I could run the family by myself, but no, I couldn"t, I can"t do it alone, I... cannot... not even... not even..." "Ja, if you were to marry someone, what would you do?" She didn"t noticed that Ichika is just probably just about inches away from her face, which... "Of course I"ll be able to- Huh? Hmmrngh." A kiss, that is... "Hmrngh." Shock, shock! It started raining, but it"s not uncomfortable, it"s rather serene and... beautiful. shock! "Hmmnrgh," She begins to feel relax. Ichika broke the kiss. "Ja, I"ll be that man, I"ll treat you well, my princess." "Uh..." Now this is new, perhaps he"s the one? "Y-You, why are you..." "You say you needed someone to watch over you right? Well, I"m offerring to be your man." "Huh? What are you...?" "I"m not gonna let you deal with these problems by yourself, even if the world is your enemy, I"ll be your knight, through and through, until the end of the world is upon us, I"ll gladly serve you, my princess!" He kneels down while in mid-air, though the balance of the IS is keeping him from this position. "..." She is speechless, then with another shooting star falling, perhaps it"s by fate that something like a string of red fate bought the princess a chance to meet the white knight she"s been expecting for, this knight is a shooting star that would grant one wish, and that is... "I... will..." happiness... "So my princess, I have to ask you..." While taking her hand... "Wh-What?" "Will you... will you take me as your groom?" "..." Petals of cherry blossom falling... wedding bells echoing... and the sound of cheering people.. including... her deceased parents. "Congratulations, Cecilia." They all exclaimed with the voices of parents being the most loudest in her hearing. "I..." Then... with the shooting star granting the wish... she... "I... I..." Tears of... not sadness, but happiness... rolls down... and... "Yes! I do! I certainly do!" She hug the knight, her white knight. "I certainly will... Ichika... -san." "Hm, I"m glad, you provided me with the happiness that I have yearned for." Chivalrous words. "I-Ichika-san." Now this... is... a touching scene... if it weren"t... whoosh. "Huh?" "Hm?" They both turn to see that the plane is crashing... down to the airport below! "Waah! I"m loosing control!" Chelsea, who is in the pilot seat, cannot control it since it"s been rigged to go to Moscow, but with the controls going haywire, it"s out of charts, it"s going to crash into the city below. "What did you do?" The pilot snaps. "I... I don"t know, I just pushed the button here and there and..." "You don"t guess the controls here!" "Chelsea, what"s going on!" The other maid asked. "I-I..." "We"re going to crash, everyone, brace yourself!" The pilot said to the passengers. "Gyaah!" Everyone ducks in panic. whoosh, whoosh. Two personal IS fly towards the plane. "Chelsea!" Cecilia, who is carrying Ichika, flies towards it, he has run out of stamina because... "I... Hm," He has used too much effort in his Zero mode, he"s worn out, it"ll probably take about a lot of rest before he could regain back most of his energy, the two of them managed to get on the plane with Ichika following slowly to the pilot"s seat. "Chelsea, what"s going on?" "Ojou-sama, t-the controls..." "They"re ruined, we can"t use them now!" The pilot said. The meter is showing maximum velocity and the angle won"t get straight, it"s venting a lot of gasses pretty fast, it"s approaching the city below! "Here, install this on the cd part. Guh." Ichika tries to use the last of his strength to request them to install a data cd that he prepared just in case something like this would happen. "Hm? What is that?" Chelsea asked as Cecilia grabs it. "A cd? Wha...?" "Insert it... on... the... cock... pit, and... think only... of... landing... the... air... plane. Guh."He falls into unconcious state due to exerting a lot of effort in his Zero mode, which have subsided now. "Guh..." "I-Ichika-san!" "Hey!" "Let"s do what he says, we have no choice." The pilot suggested. "O-Okay, then, Chelsea, insert..." "No, I"ll do that, your maid can"t be trusted with the controls." "Hey, I know where to insert this!" Despite her protest, the pilot inserted the data cd. "There, it"s all yours." "Okay." Cecilia sits on the pilot seat. Then all sort of data are gathered, the letter Z.E.R.O. is on the screen. "Zero?" Then the visual interface is gone, only... "Huh? Hey, why can"t we see anything? We can"t land at this rate." "Yeah, we"ll..." "No, it"s quite alright." Cecilia assures both the pilot and Chelsea. "Huh?" "Leave this to me." Then Cecilia remembers Ichika"s words before he passed off. Think only of landing he said, Cecilia touches the radar like machine and begun to think just that. "Ichika-san, watch over me." She said in her mind, then the interface begun to calculate all possible courses to take, Cecilia guides it to make a safety landing, and it did. "Huh? Hey, the plane is moving." "Yeah, is the machine... moving it?" The pilot is i disbelief, right now, the plane is on auto-pilot mode, but not loosely, it"s being controlled by the program Z.E.R.O. and it"s moving according to Cecilia"s guidance. "Hm, hm." She"s getting a hang of it. ...At the airport... Slice, shoock, boom! "That should be the last of it." Mission complete, class 1 has dispatched all enemies, and the men from Russia are all capture by the authorities of IS academy. "Good job everyone, but... you all disobeyed orders, I"m expecting you to... huh?" Chifuyu berates all of them, but then a sight of a plane landing... "Uwa, that"s..." "Flight 3.12, it"s coming back but..." "Ichika." Houki removes the helmet like apparatus, it started to stop functioning almost just before all enemies were annihilated, she concluded that something must have happened to Ichika so that the system is shut off, since it was connected to the Byakushiki after all. "Ichika!" At this moment, the plane cannot land without a beacon, so... "Alright, Orimura-kun needs to see where to land, let"s light a beacon." "Hai, class 1, here we go!" There they go again, being hyperactive as always. "H-Hey, everyone!" Yamada called them out. "sigh, let them be Yamada. I got a full cover up on what do with the regarding their punishment." Chifuyu said. "Huh?" "These kids are special, perhaps, with them..." "Ichika, over here!" Houki and the other grab each one of the landing signals, those that can light out a path for a plane to land. "Yo, Orimu, over here!" "Yeah, over here!" Each of them are carrying something that the attendants carry in order to guide a landing. "Uh..." "See? I told you they"re special, hm." Chifuyu smirks at these kids, they"re really are something. Inside the pilot... the cockpit. "Ojou-sama, there, the students are beaconing us." Chelsea said. "I know. Hm." The Z.E.R.O. system continues to function, Cecilia focuses her mind in following the light beacons that is being signalled by her comrades in class 1. "Yosh, here we... go." With the landing wheels active, it"s now time to decrease velocity... the Z.E.R.O. programming did that. "Whoa," "Sugoi." Both the pilot and Chelsea are amazed at such fast technology outcome. "Sugoi, how does it...?" The plane slowly begun to decrease velocity... then it lands on the ground, the wheels are stirring and... done, it"s safe. "Yahoo!" "Yeah!" "We did it!" "Yeah!" "Orimura! Orimura! Orimura!" Inside the plane... "Yosh, we did it!" "Yeah!" The pilot and Chelsea cheered, then she goes to the passenger cabin. "Everyone, we made it, we"re now safe and sound, yahoo!" "Yay!" "Yeah, we"re safe!" "Darling, we safe!" Everyone celebrated the victory over this terrorism. "Sigh," Cecilia stops touching the machine, the Z.E.R.O. program signed off, given the purpose already done, and the c.d. being ejected. "Oh, I must study this." The pilot said grabbing the c.d. which is a modified version of the Z.E.R.O. program that Ichika asked to be developed by his classmates before they set out here, using the Hysteria Zero Syndrome, he was able to do so. "What is that?" Chelsea asked. "I don"t know, but it"s look..." "Sigh," Cecilia lies down on the seat, feeling relaxed, today has been very prominent for her... it"s a day of salvation, now she won"t have to be alone anymore... staring at the sleeping Ichika on the floor... "Ichika-san, he, arigatou, you showed me... the light, I am forever... in your... care. Orimura Ichika." End of Chapter 4 Midnight Stars of Giving Wish Chapter 5: Reunion with Destiny... Again ...at the field... Everyone is ready for some IS manuever lessons, everyone is dressed up in their respective attire, meaning all of them wear the same fitting suit which is like a one-piece swimsuit, Cecila has one but hers is that of almost blue color, Ichika is the only one dressed in a different attire given he"s the one who"s the only of the opposite gender, oh, and Chifuyu and Yamada are dressed in jogging suits, as proper attire for instructors. "Then, let us begin the IS manuever class." Chifuyu said, last night was... Flashback whickmp! "Gmn!" Everyone is being scolded in a line-up position.

"Yeah... You"re right..." Setsuna said jokingly to which Konoka mused. "Hmph. Spoiled girl." Judas said. "Ha ha ha..." To which Hayate only laugh at. Later... Whoosh! The group finally arrived on the island. It"s small surprisingly. The trio, Nagi, Nodoka and Yue watched the view from the windows as they land at the cliff near the sea. They then exit the plane afterwards. Surprisingly, Nagi brought some luggages with her. "Do you really need all of these stuff?" Setsuna asked annoyed by her spoiled attitude. "Yeah. You don"t really need all of these luggages." Hinagiku added. "I can bring whatever I want." The spoiled girl said. "...Hmph." Both Setsuna and Hinagiku simply ignored her to which Maria could only give off a laugh. "So this is the island..." Hayate said looking around. "It sure is peaceful here..." Negi said observing the surrounding. "Do not be fool by the tranquility of this place. It"s full of traps and dangers." Judas warns the two. "We know. We have to make sure that no harm would reach them." Hayate refers to their companions. "Ah. I hope they do not prove to be a nuisance to you two. But I suppose that would rude if I say it like that. Just make sure you guys will protect them." Hayate and Negi nod to that. They clunch their fists to that promise. They approach the group. "Ja, I think you guys will have to stay here." Negi said. "Eh!" Everyone complained of course. "Why is that?" Nagi is the first one to speak of her complain. "We didn"t come all this way just to stay here you know." Second is Risa. "That"s right! Come on Hayata-kun~" Third is Izumi. Both persona-users rub the back of their heads. "Uh well... It"s just... too dangerous in there." Hayate said. "You don"t know that yet." Hinagiku said. "Yeah, we"re coming with you two. Like it or not." The two, and Judas and Chamo, give off a sigh. "...Very well. Just make sure you are prepared okay?" Negi said to which they all nod. "There are already people inside. It"s those two..." Luca said trying to sense anything other than monsters inside the temple in front of them. Then she sensed something more evil than the Tennouso sisters... "...And that guy." This alarmed Hayate, Negi, Chamo and Judas. "That guy... Does she mean...? ..." Judas said getting the hint. "That guy in black..." Negi said. "..." Hayate has a troubled expression on his face. Sera is actually a friend of Ikusa in the past. He has the feeling that he may have something to do with his older brother"s death... "...Let"s go." He said. Negi, Chamo, and Judas nod. "Ja, everyone who is coming, please come with us." "Alright!" The chinese girl, who was introduced by the girls(Negima girls) as Ku Fei, cheered. She"s the new girl in the group. "Yosh. Time for some adventure." Kaede said. "Bring it on. We can do this." Asuna cheered. "Don"t get too arrogant now. We are being expected by a lot of malevolent beings inside." Setsuna adviced. "That"s right. Expect a lot of unexpected things you guys." Hinagiku said to the girls.(The Hng girls that is). "This will be a cinch!" Konoka cheered. "I hope there aren"t any dirt inside that dirty temple." Nagi said sipping her juice. "That is very unlikely Nagi." Maria said. "Take care of the plane Klause." She tells her butler and pilot to which he saluted. "Hm?" Then a white tiger(The white tiger in the previous chapter who is happen to be Tama) is seen near the plane. He seems to have snuck inside without being noticed by the group. "..." Klause thought of what to do with him but since he looks helpless, he decided to let him in. "Just so as long as he doesn"t eat me or ojou-sama..." He thought as he signaled the tiger to follow him in the plane to which he did. "Ja, let"s go." Hayate said taking the lead. "Alright!" "Yosh!" "This should be worth the time." The trio said. "Yay!" "Adventure time!" The Narutaki twins cheered. "I hope these guys know what they are about to get themselves into." Judas said. "Daijobou. We"ll be there to protect them." Hayate assures. "Ah. Do that." "We"ll be just fine." Negi added. "I hope you"re right Aniki." Chamo said. All of them walk towards the entrance of the temple. Meanwhile... Tap, tap, tap. Sera is walking down a hallway which walls is filled with strange drawings as if depicting a prophecy. "...When the barbaric beasts have brought about the world"s demise, a single jewel will brought about the salvation of the world. The great being, Jehovah, will lead all of these souls to their eternal slumber of peace. There will be no sufferring. Only joy... In the eternal tranquility that awaits all living things. ...Such is the way of the universe. Just as sands run out, so does the lifespan of a living thing. ...The same goes for me..." He turns back with an angry expression. "To think... my traitor friends..." Flashbacks of Nagi Springfield, Negi"s father, and Ikusa Ayasaki came to his mind. "...To think that I have delivered them there..." He kneels on the floor shaking... "...In the Promised Land... I was left alone... In this cruel world that most barbaric creatures live in..." ...His expression is becoming of that of an insane man... "I"M TIRED OF IIT!" He let out a loud cry that echoes throughout the temple. Somewhere else... "Huh?" His cry was loud enough for the Tennousos to hear. "What was that?" At the group... "Huh?" Hayate also heard him from the entrance... "What"s the matter?" Negi asked noticing his best friend"s troubled look. "Uh no, it"s nothing." He said followed by the thought. "What was that just now?' He looks far ahead where darkness lurks. Nothing can be seen at the moment but there are evidences that somebody just went in. "Look at these tracks. You don"t think they..." Makie said having an idea whose tracks are those in the floor. "It"s those blonde girls, no doubt about it. But..." Hinagiku notices unfamiliar tracks. "These two tracks... One of them probably belongs to that idiot butler of theirs and this one is... Hmm..." "A new enemy?" Setsuna asked. "Who knows? Best prepare ourselves as we march in. Let"s go." They walk in... Tap, tap, tap, tap... ...Their footsteps are the only thing that can be heard in the hall until... Crash! "Guh!" Everyone is taken by surprise when something broke through the wall! "Wh-What was that!" Asuna asked. "Wohohoho!" A golem with a bat! "I am the guardian of this place! All non-Ancients shall be exterminated!" "Huh? H-Hey! Wait a minute, we have an Ancient here!" "Huh?" Asuna pulls Luca. "Ah, K-Kagurazaka-san!" Hayate exclaimed. "You good for nothing traitor! Don"t sold one of our comrades!" Ayaka pulls Luca out her grasp. "What? You sold me once too you know!" "Be quiet! This isn"t the time and place for your childish quarrel!" Setsuna scolds the two. "Wohohoho! I can only see a few Ancient blood within her. She does not much the requirements unlike the other two!" The golem probably refers to the Tennouso sisters. "Now, I shall now proceed in smashing all of you!" It raises its bat! It"s gigantic bat that is. "Gyaah!" Everyone exclaimed. "Tch! Hiyaa!" Hinagiku charges forth! "Hinagiku-san!" Hayate calls her out. "Hiya!" Slash! She hit it successfully in the head but... "Wohohoho! Weak minded human female. Is this all the strength you got?" Her attack is just as if her sword just touches it. "Now I shall smash you!" It grabs hold of her sword that is stucked on its head. "Gyaah!" Hinagiku is in trouble! "Hinagiku-san!" Hayate rushes to her aid! "This should help." *Hero Spell* Judas casted the same spell last night. A golden glow surrounds Hayate then... "Haa!" Whooosh! Two white angel wings emerged out of the back of his shoulders! "Ah!" Everyone is surprised by this. "Ayasaki-san!" Negi exclaimed. "Hiyaa!" Strike! "Guh!" Hayate managed to break the golem"s grip on Hinagiku! "Gyah!" He then catches her. "Hinagiku-san, daijobou!" "Hayate-kun... H-Hm." She nods blushing. "Wohohoho! Amaizing for a human. So it seems some of you are worthy of time. Let this entertainment labyrinth begin!" It said raising its bat. It"s gigantic bat that is. Scrutch! Scrutch! "Guh!" ...! To everyone"s surprise, Makie is pushed to the secret rotating door on the left wall by the right wall which seems to be a trap for those who are not Ancients. "Makie!" "Sasaki-san!" Negi and the others exclaimed. Scrutch! "Gyaah!" ...! The Narutaki twins fell to a trap hole! "Fuka! Fumika!" The girls(Negi girls) exclaimed. Scrutch! "Guh!" Konoka is pushed to another secret rotating door that is on the other side of the left wall! "Ojou-sama!" Setsuna exclaimed as she comes to her aid but was too late. Bonk! Bonk! To her surprise, the door wouldn"t rotate. "What is wrong with this! Why won"t it open!" "Sakurazaki-san!" Negi exclaimed but... Scrutch! "Gyah!" She too has been pushed to the door. She cannot come back... "Sakurazaki-san!" Bonk! Bonk! "Springfield, get away from there!" Judas warned immediately then... Scrutch! "Huh?" The wall is going to push him as well! "Guh!" Whoosh! BONK! He managed to slip out of the way in time. "Aniki!" Chamo, who is on his right shoulder, exclaimed. But then... Scrutch! "Guh! WaWaaah!" The floor suddenly opened! "Gya-gyaaah!" Chamo exclaimed as they fall. "O-Oi Springfield!" "Negi!" "Negi-kun!" "Negi-chan~!" The others in the group who have still not yet fallen for a trap exclaimed. "S-Springfield..." Hayate said concerned for his best friend. "Just great..." Judas said placing his hand on his forehead. "Now what?" Asuna asked. And then suddenly... Scrutch! "Gwa-waaah!" She falls for a trap hole as well. "Asuna!" "Asuna-san!" Scrutch! Scrutch! Scrutch! "Gwaah!" "Gyaah!" "Guh!" Nodoka, Yue, Haruna, Ku fei, Kaede, Nagi and Maria fell for different traps such as trap holes and by the trap wall that pushes people on the rotating doors on the left. "E-everyone!" "Sakurazaki-san...!" Hayate and Hinagiku are the only ones left. (And Judas too for that matter.) "Oh great... This complicated things..." Judas said. "Now what do we do...?" Hayate asked. "...We have to find the others." "But how?" He asked Judas, forgetting that Hinagiku can"t see him. "Huh? Who are you talking to?" She asked. "Oh uh no one. Anyway, we have to rescue the others." "This whole place is a trap! Guuh!" Oh, and Ayaka is one of the only ones who haven"t fallen for a trap yet. But the bigger problem right now is... "Wohohoho! Now the fun begins!" The golem said getting ready to annihilate them. "Gr..." The three of them take a few step back. Scrutch! "Huh? G-Gyaah!" "Yukihiro-san!" "Inchou!" ...And in the end, class rep fell for it too... "Ah, we"re the only ones left..." Hayate said grimly. "Wohohoho! Now it"s play time!" The golem waves its bat. Hayate gives him an angry glare for the mischief that he has played on their friends. "Go play yourself!" Strike! "Guhh!" He kicks him on his metal leg, though it"s rough, he is able to hurt him due to his persona. "Guh! No fun. I will smash you!" "Let"s go Hinagiku-san!" "H-Hai!" Tap, tap, tap! The two of them made a run for it to the deeper part of the temple. "Wohohoho! You can run but you cannot hide. I will hunt you all down. Wohohoho!" Meanwhile... At Negi... "Ahh!" "A-Aniki!" Negi and Chamo brace themselves for an impact! Bonk! "Ow..." He landed on his butt. "Sigh... That was dangerous you know." "I know... ow." He rubs his butt. "Where is this? Where are Ayasaki-san and the others!" He asked worriedly. "We fell for a trap remember? We cannot know what happened to Older Aniki and ojou-chans." Chamo said looking up. It seems the option of going back is impossible. "...At the moment, we have no choice but to keep moving." "Eh? But... Where are we going?" Negi asked getting up. "Right now, we have no choice but to keep moving forward. So let"s go." "B-But... We don"t know what"s up ahead... If only Ayasaki-san and the others are-" "Daijobou Aniki. You got me!" "H-Hai..." ...He won"t be much of a help though. Of course, he can guide little Negi... Oh, about the trio...(Izumi, Risa and Miki)...Here"s a Flashback... When the group were about to enter the temple... "Ooh, this should be nice." Flash! Risa takes a picture of closophie flower that is near the entrance of the temple. "Wow! This place looks great!" Izumi cheered. Then... Click. "Eh?" She steps onto a what seems to be a trap... Scrutch! "G-Gyaah!" ...She fell to a trap hole. "I-Izumi?" Risa didn"t see her fall but... Scrutch! "Huh? G-Guuh!" A trap hole that is beside her opens and she loses balance and fell to it. "Hmm?" Miki didn"t see her friends fall to the traps then... "Where did they- Hmgm!" Two magic hands that emerged out of the temple"s wall covered her mouth then pulled her to it, before it rotates, sealing her within somewhere the temple. Hayate and the others were too busy about observing their surrounding for anything unexpected so they pretty much have forgotten about them. ...Except Judas who decided to inform them about them later since they"ll be going deeper into the temple anyway. End of Flashback... "A-Ano... Do we have something like a flashlight?" Negi asked since the halls up ahead is pitch black. "Hm... Maybe Aniki-Judas can help. Oi! Aniki-Judas!" Chamo yelled. "I think Judas-san is with Ayasaki-san right now..." "You call?" "Guh!" Both are taken by surprise when Judas"s head passed through the ceiling above them. "I figured you might need my help." "Judas-san!" "How did you get here? Where are the others?" Chamo asked. "Ayasaki and Katsura are still up there. Everyone else has pretty much fell for it." "Oh... So... We all fell for it..." "Well, except those two who are still up there." "Why did you come here?" Negi asked. "I figured they would be safe since I casted that Hero Spell on Ayasaki, so I decided to check on you two. Anyway, let"s go. This should help you on the way." Flash! He summons a small ball of light for Negi. "Here." It flies on his palms. "Ah, this should help us." "Come on." Tap, tap, tap. The three of them made their way. Meanwhile... At Makie and the Narutaki twins... "Ow... My butt hurts..." Makie said rubbing her butt. So are the twins. "Yeah... Ow... Where did we...?" Fuka asked observing their surrounding. "Huh? This place is...?" Fumika asked. Then they realized that they might be helpless when it comes to dealing with the residents of the place. "Gyaah! What do we do onee-chan!" She clings to her sister. "Daijobou! Negi-kun will surely come and save us!" She assured her. But... "Now, where are the others?" ...looking around, they realize that their hero, sort to speak, is nowhere to be seen nor the others. "Uh... Where is everyone...? ..." "..." Realizing the situation... "Gyaah!" Both twins run up to Makie. "Makie-san! What do we do! We"ve been separated from the others!" Fumika said crying. "Daijobou! We"ll just call out for them to come to us!" ...What a bunch of naive girls... Oh well. "Oi! Everyone! We"re over here!" She said waving her hands thinking that anyone will come over to rescue them... "Eh?" Realizing that no one will be come, they... "Gyaaaah!" They cried out in despair. "Where is everyone?" "That"s what we have been trying to tell you!" The Narutaki twins said. Meanwhile... At Nagi and Maria... "Ow..." Nagi rubs her butt. "That hurt... Daijobou, Maria?" "H-Hai. I think I hurt my my ankle though..." "Eh! Daijobou?" "Ah. Daijobou. I can still walk." She stands up only to... "Ugh." ...She finds it difficult to do so. "You"re not okay at all! You need help! Hayate!" Nagi"s voice echoed throughout the dark hall. ...No respond though. "Hayate?" "I think we"ve been separated from them. We"re on our own..." "Eh! B-B-But..." Nagi is tearing up from fear. "This is bad... We don"t know what"s lurking inside here. And we"re not good at dealing with those sort of things." Maria thought. "Grr." ...! Then a roar of a monster is heard in the hall... "Wh-What was that...?" Nagi asked frightened. Now she knows what fear is. Meanwhile... At Ku fei and Kaede... And Ayaka... Ayaka, who was the last one to fall to the trap, fell on top of Ku fei. "Ow... That hurt you know inchou." She complained. "I couldn"t help it. I fell, remember?" "Hai. Hai..." Both of them stand up. "The others seem be nowhere in sight." Kaede said observing their situation. "We must have fall off far away from them." "Nooo! Negi-chan~!" Ayaka yelled crying. "Calm down, inchou. Negi-bozu will be fine. He has that persona thing remember? He"ll be fine." "Yeah huh? We best focus on our current situation." Ku fei said. "By the way, is that kid for real?" "Negi-bozu? Ah, he"s really cool. That friend of his is cool too. I think he may have won Katsura"s heart." "Eh? R-Really? The almighty president of the student council, Katsura Hinagiku, have fallen for him?" "Ah. I"ve noticed her behavior whenever she"s around him. I envy that girl. Finding true love at last... Dreamily Sigh... It"s so dreamy." "Yeah huh?" Ku fei goes to imagine what it feels like to find true love. "This isn"t the time for that you two!" Ayaka snapped them out of their daydreaming. "We need to focus on getting back to Negi-chan and the others!" "Yeah, you"re right. But do you two know how to get back?" Kaede asked. "Hmm... We fell really high. Maybe they"re in the high floors." Ku fei said. "Hm. I guess you"re right." "I think this whole place is a trap. Be careful not to step on any trap you guys." Although Ayaka said that... Click. "Huh?" ...She step onto something...Splash! Splash! "G-Gyaah!" Water is pouring the room! "Ah, inchou!" The other two girls exclaimed. "Wh-What is this!" "I think you just activated a trap inchou!" Ku fei exclaimed with an accusing finger. "What!" Splash! Splash! "If this continues, this place will be flooded soon. We must leave!" Kaede said and then she and Ku fei took their leave. "H-Hey, wait for me!" The class rep follows behind. Meanwhile... At Asuna, Konoka and Setsuna... "Ah... Ahh... Where..? Gyah!" Setsuna finds herself face to face with Konoka"s underwear as she fell next to her. "O-Ojou-sama! Get up! You need to get up!" She instantly stands up and wakes her beloved friend... or it looks that way. "Ahh... Se-chan?" She wakes up from the impact. "Where...? Where are we...? Where is everyone?" "Ahh..." Luca is the next to wake up. "Where...? Ayasaki-kun...?" She asked looking for Hayate but finds that he"s nowhere to be found. "What happened?" She asked as she stands up. "It seems we fell for the trap of this place. By the way, we didn"t see you fell here. How did you get here Suirenji?" Setsuna asked. "Ah well..." Flashback... "Don"t sold one of our comrades!" Ayaka said as she freed Luca out of Asuna"s grasp when the golem guardian said that those who are not of Ancient blood are to be exterminated. "You sold me once too you know!" Asuna exclaimed. Then... "Huh?" Luca notices that the right wall seem to be... free of space. "How could-" Scrutch! "Gya-!" ...A secret rotating door pulls her in without being noticed by everyone. End of Flashback... "And that"s how it happened. Hehe..." Luca said. "...Wow. So you were the first to fall the traps of this place." Setsuna said. ...Well actually it was the trio who fell first. "Well anyway, we need to rendezvous with the others." "Ahh... Huh? This is...?" Asuna is the fourth one to wake up from the impact. "Were we...?" "It"s about time you wake up. We"re on our way now." "Huh? Where are we-?" Crash! ...! "Gyah!" Something came crashing in! "Grooaarr!" Monsters, that are similar to Shadows, came crashing in through the wall. They have the appearance of a rabid wolf with two horns. "Grooaarrr!" "Gyaah!" Asuna backs away from them. "What are those!" Konoka exclaimed. "Monsters! Looks like you were right about this place being dangerous Suirenji!" Setsuna said as she drawed out her sword. "Se-chan!" "Stand back! All of you! I"ll handle this!" She said as she entered into a fighting stance. "Not alone you won"t!" Asuna said joining her. "Stand back Asuna! This isn"t something you can handle." "Oh yeah? Watch me!" "Me too." Luca said joining them. "Luca?" "Daijobou. I can deal with them. Ahh." She closes her eyes. Flaash! "...!" To the girls" surprise, a pure green light surrounds Luca. They are gathering around her... "Ah... Ahh!" Flash! ...A pink figure came out of her... A persona... "Ahh..." It has an elegant pink body with red-orange pony tail hair. (This persona"s face is similar to that of Aerith in FF7). "Ahhh..." It unleashes pure pink light on her surrounding environment... "Grooaarr!" "Grooaarr!" The light seems to be painful for the monsters. "Grooaarr!" They all fall down and dissolve to the ground. "Ahh..." Luca dismisses her persona. "Hm..." "...Wow... Wow!" Asuna exclaimed which surprises the idol. "That was cool Luca!" She embraces her. "Eh? Uh..." "Yeah. We didn"t know you could do that." Setsuna said amaized by Luca"s power. "Yeah. That was beautiful! You should have told us that you have powers too!" Konoka said cheerfully. "Ah well... We... Ancients were the first one to ever summoned personas so... since I have Ancient blood I have less ego and I"m... well, intuative, sort to speak, so I can do it. It"s the same thing for Ayasaki-kun and Springfield-chan. Ha ha..." "I see. So that"s how it works." Setsuna said. "Well, with that power of yours, we should be fine as we go to the other sections of this place."

"You." Ichika turns to him. "What are you...?" "You must be Orimura Ichika, you have been a bother." "Hmph," "My men tell me you have abducted my daughter, I am here to take her back, I ask you to behave yourself and be a nice boy or else..." The unmanned drones" presence is a sign of fear, something Mr. Dunois is good of. "I can"t guarantee what will occur." "And If I say I don"t give a damn about your threats?" "Hm," The man scoffs at that. "Hm," Both glare at each other. "I-Ichika, Ichika-sa- I mean..." "Charlotte, which will it be? Will you go with this man or turn your attention back to me? Come back to me and your mother will be proud of you." "Eh?" "Don"t listen Charlotte, you know it"s not true, if there"s anyone who knew your mother best, it"s you." The pendant of Charlotte glows at that word. "Ichika. Huh?" The pendant catches Charlotte"s attention. "Raphael-Revive Custom II?" "Thy shalt go with him." That voice was only heard by her. "Eh?" "Thy shalt want freedom, slavery is but an illusion, thy shalt aid thou and thy shalt go together with this man, he is the beacon for you, come, we shall head towards the future with him and beyond!" "Raphael-Revive Custom II... Hm, okay. Ja..." Turning to her father. "Charlotte-kun?" "Father, I... I won"t come back." She said that with determination. "Hm," "Gr," Ichika smiles while Mr. Dunois scoff in disappointment. "I see, ja, you would rather die with him, I was feeling this might happen so..." click. He pushed something like a switch. "Hm?" "Hm?" Both Ichika and Charlotte wonder about that. "I plan to sink this entire country... with me." "What? What did you say?" Ichika asked. "Father, what did you..." "This switch will trigger a tsunami motion into this city and soon the entire city along with that wretched academy will be sink to the bottom of the ocean, as it should be mine! Only mine! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha!" "You sick, deranged bastard!" Flash! "Hyaah!" Ichika charged forth, not wanting to hear anything more out of him. "Hit me if you will, you cannot stop-" Thud, "Hiya!" Strike! "Guh!" Ichika knocked him unconcious. blast, blast! "Target: Confirmed." The unmanned drones have already been programmed to disaggregate Ichika and Charlotte. blast, blast! "Gr," Ichika dodges all of their assault. "Whoorsse!" The horse hide behind the trees. boom, boom, boom! "Whoorse!" But even that isn"t enough. "Ichika, gr, let"s go, Raphael! Hiya!" Using the bread slice, Charlotte rushed through. slice, slice, boom, boom! Destroying some of the unmanned drones. "Hiya!" Having Byakushiki already deployed, Crunnch! Crack! Crunch! Ichika punched through the sensors of some of the unmanned drones, making them blind, then stepping on their sensor one by one, he performed... "Hiyaa!" Sliice! A sliced through attack through two of them using the Yukihira type 2. shoock, shoock. "Target: Unconfiirmmedd..." boom, boom! They all exploded. blast, blast, blast, boom, boom! Only three more. "Hiyaa!" slice, slice, boom, boom! Two down, Ichika brought them down by slicing them through their torso, where their cores are, using the Yukihira then he flies away for a bit. blast, blast! "Target: confirmed. Initiating-" stab! The bread slicer went through. shoock, shoock. "Target: Unconfirmeeedd..." boom! Charlotte took care of the last one. "Ichika." Ichika landed on the ground. "This is not over yet, that bastard..." At the far end of the lake, a wave is gathering up, the sky above is gathering, like a typhoon is coming, it seems to be a massive generator at fault, perhaps its hacking through the system of other systems and its gathering up electronic waves to gather enough vaporite mixture to turn sky into red and then... with enough electro magnetic waves on the water surface... shake, shake, shake! "Uwaa!" "Charlotte!" Ichika grabbed Charlotte as she was about to fall off from the sudden earthquake. "Whoorsse!" The horse too is frightened. ...Around the city... "Wh-What the?" "What"s happening? Is there an earthquake." Some disturbances are occurring everywhere, some screens, that of t.v.s, cellphones and other interfaces are becoming static and now there is only dark sky above, something is emanating like a bunch of electricity gathering at the sea... "What is going on? Is there some kind of storm ablewing?" ...Back to the near lake... "This is..." "Ichika, look." "Huh?" Looking at the sea. "Wah." A typhoon... gathering... and... Wind are ablewing. ...At the city... "Hm? This wind, what could it be?" Strong wind are ablewing everywhere. All sort of stuff like paper posters and other materialized things are being blown away by the wind. "Ah- A tornado?" "A tornado?" "What the-" "It"s heading for us!" ...At the sea, a tornado is gathering, it"s going to hit the city. "Wah! Run for it!" "We better get out of here!" "Calm down, everyone!" The police try to calm the uproar and panic of the city. "Don"t tell us to calm down! How can we be calm with THAT around!" ...Back near the lake... "Ichika!" "Gr, that bastard..." The man responsible for this is still unconcious on the ground and he won"t be able to stop it through that switch he just pushed. The clouds are dark in the sky and... thunder are hitting everywhere, this isn"t good, this artificial machine that can cause a weather dysfunction is something that should not even exist, with this, the Dunois corporation is surely will... become downfall now. "Hmph," Ichika decided to do something drastic. "Charlotte, listen carefully." "Eh? I-Ichika?" "I"m going in there, in that tornado." "Eh?" Splaash, splaash, splaash, SPLAASH! Not just a tornado, a killer tsunami is about to hit the city! "W-Waah!" Screams of thousands can be heard a distance, everyone is panicking for their lives and they can"t take much more of this, it"s going to hit the city. "Waah, run for it!" "Run!" "Gyaah!" Everyone is running forth, ignoring the police, and they themselves started to run at the sight of the tsunami. splaash, splaash, splaash! At this rate, it will take a miracle for something to save the city and... "Hm," Someone who is blessed by the shooting star should be able to do it. "Alright, ja, Byakushiki, let"s do it." flash. The system does something, like the interface of Byakushiki is focusing on what to do, and it seems to be... forming a sentience of sort. "Sa, let"s go-" "Ichika, wait, where are you going?" "The system generator for that thing is at the sea floor right?" "H-Hai, probably..." "Ja, there is one solution: I"m going to ram that thing to smitheerens until there is nothing anymore." "Eh?" That"s a risky, suicidal move, one closer to the generator and it might cause a malfunction that will destroy anything inbound, like anything and anyone nearby will be decimated and not even one particle of the matter will survive. "B-But Ichika, if you do that you"ll..." "There isn"t much choice here." "Whoorsse." The horse comes out in hiding, it seems to be caring for Ichika as it understood what they are saying. "Boy, you take care of Charlotte, got it?" "...Whorse." "But Ichika-" "We don"t have any other choice, once I leave, you get to somewhere safe okay?" Ichika prepares the thruster, this is gonna be a longshot. "But Ichika-" "Charlotte, do you understand what at stake here? If I don"t stop that holocaust, we"ll all be living in ruins and people will die, many lives are at stake, and I rather take the risk than do nothing at all, please, believe in me on this." "Ichika..." "I promised you that I"ll take care of you and bring you to IS academy... but for now, be assured that I"ll make sure in my power that I"ll do everything to ensure that, so..." Turning to her, and walking towards her and grabbing her arms. "Charlotte, do you trust me?" flash. His eyes glow a bit red, perhaps the Hysteria Zero Syndrome is being pushed to the limit. "Ichika... Hm, I do believe you." A touching scene of a maiden and a prince... "Whoorse, whoorse!" The horse dances around, as if showing its blessing to them, then the sakura blossoms raining down upon them. "...Charlotte..." "...Ichika... Hm," "Hm," chu. A sharing of intimate kiss. They lasted at least for about... five seconds. Then they broke off. "Ja, you better get going." "H-Hai." "Ja, wish me luck, hmhm." Ichika smiles at her. "Ichika..." "Ichika... you"re... you"re... hmhm, you"re the best guy... that I... met.' Tears roll down on her eyes as she confirmed that in her thoughts, like she has made a vow or promised to trust in him until the end. "Sa, here I goo-! Hiyaa-!" Whoosh, blaast, ablaaze! Then with the thrusters at full force, Ichika charged for the tornado at the sea that is causing the typhoon. "Hiyaa!" Then he types the letters Z.E.R.O. on the interface. "Byakushiki, let"s do this!" Flash. The system responded out of pure sentience, it"s alive, Byakushiki is alive, and so... responding to the user"s plea. The interface glowed golden light, then Ichika was provided all set of possible courses to take, and now, with only one thing in mind... that is... to save... anyone... in the city... everyone... Charlotte"s face ablewing in his mind... Flash! That was enough. "Yosh, let"s GOOO-!" Whoosh, BLAAST! With full speed, he moved on ahead. "Ichika." Charlotte sees him off. "Arrgh!" Whoosh, whoosh! Flying towards the holocaust, it"s quite unstable given that this is not just some ordinary calamity, it"s being caused by a genocidal machine that is at the ocean floor. That bastard Mr. Dunois is the cause of all this, after this, it will likely that the Dunois corp will ceased of being as it is and perhaps something new will arise, something greater, something brigher, something with a good cause, but right now isn"t that time, something must be done... by a hero. "Hiyaa!" Arising up, Ichika prepares to go through the sea floor by climbing up to the top of the tornado, then from inside, he intends to go through the sea floor and knock the beating of the generator there. "Aahhrrgh- ARRRGHH-!" Whoosh, flash. Byakushiki has become full gold, indicating the Z.E.R.O. programming at work. ...At the city... "Come on, we gotta get out of here!" Everyone is running forth, there has been some accidents already with cars crashing one another and some pedestrians complaining and yelling, and drivers yelling out for them being untoo careful, and a lot of pedestrians running forth from the upcoming calamity. "Hey, can"t you at least move on! We can"t stay here!" "Won"t you guys just keep going, hurry up! We"re gonna die!" "Waah!" Some children begun to cry outloud. "Dammit, hurry up, I don"t have all die!" "Line up, line up, please! Line up..." Some police are keeping order here. "Don"t tell us to line up! We"re gonna be swallowed by that tsunami, run for it!" "Everyone, please calm down!" ...At the sea... spllassh, spllaash, SPLAASH-! "Hiyaa!" Ichika flies above and... Whoorrll, whoooorl! The tornado"s intensity is too intensifying, with this the thruster will not be hold on much longer. "Hm," Ichika then remembers the lesson of equilizer from Yamada. "Equilizer huh, I guess, it"s a good thing that Rin suggested equipping one, so... Heh," Smirking, he activates it and then a coordinate is provided for him by the Z.E.R.O. programming. flaash... flassh... Ablaaze, ablaaze! "Arrgh!" He managed to get to the top! "Ahh!" Then using Ignition boost, he increased the pace of the thrusters, as well as the equilizer, he managed to get in! "Ahh!" Whooorl, whooorl! The tornado is absorbing sea water. "Gr, this is too bad." While trying to control his balance of not getting absorbed by this typhoon, he managed to see something glowing below it"s... "There it is!" It"s the holocaust generator that was created by the Dunois corp through genocidal intent. "Ahh!" Speeding up to it... splaash, splaash, SPLAASH-! The tsunami is getting violent, causing some of the water to enter through! "Grugh, argh!" Ichika is now soaked in water. "I will... gr," ablaaze, ablaaze! Not stopping now, he proceed forward, "I will..." Flashback... "I promised you that I"ll take care of you and bring you to IS academy... but for now, be assured that I"ll make sure in my power that I"ll do everything to ensure that, so..." Turning to her, and walking towards her and grabbing her arms. "Charlotte, do you trust me?" "Ichika... Hm, I do believe you." "Whoorse, whoorse!" "...Charlotte..." "...Ichika... Hm," "Hm," chu. End of flashback. "Gr," Everyone"s mind is one... and the face of everyone, Houki, Rin, Cecilia and Chifuyu-nee and the others are flashed, and then... with Charlotte"s face smiling... he intends to go through that promise of returning... "I will..." Houki"s face smiling... "I will..." Rin"s face smiling... "I will..." Cecilia"s face smiling... and then Charlotte"s face smiling... "I will SURVIIIVEE-!" Target: confirmed. The core of the machine... ABLAAZE! "Arrgh, ARRGH-!" ...cruunch, crunch, craack... shoock, shoock. Whoorl, whooorl! The tornado stopped swirling and the typhoon stopped at the shore. "Huh? That"s..." "Whoorse." Charlotte and the horse bear witness to this. ...While underwater... "Ahhrrgh, HIYAA-!" Crack, crack! boom, boom! The generator begun to explode. "Let"s go, ByakushiKIII-!" craack... craack... craack...! With one straight punch to the core... shatter! CRAACK-! CRUNNCH! boom, boom, boom! ...At the surface... boom, boom! "Ah!" Charlotte and the horse saw this, the calamity has been stopped. At the city... "Wha... What the?" "What is that?" "Huh?" Everyone is in awe of what happened, the tornado stopped and the clouds that are dark are clearing. "Did a miracle occurred?" One of the police officers said. ...At the shore... Flash! One shooting star passes by, a miracle was granted. "Ichika." The waves slowly go back in forth as the abnormal weather stops now. "Ichika... huh?" Something coming out of the sea... splaash... wave... Splaash-! "Ah!" It"s Ichika, Byakushiki is a little rusted, but not really rust, merely scratches of all the debris that he encountered. He landed on the shore. "Ah, whew, that was... close. I never... been there before." It seems his Zero mode passed by, even if it"s still not yet five hours, he must have used its extent use, which makes him worn out, very worn out. "Z.E.R.O. programming shutting doown..." The Byakushiki interface shuts down itself and the IS returns to its closed form, in a form of a gauntlet, leaving Ichika to lay on the ground. "I..." Staring at the sky that is now rid of dark clouds, the sun emanated at his face. "...did it. Ah." He said with a delighted smile before passing. "Ichika! Ichika!" "Whoorse!" Both the horse and Charlotte went to his aid. Flash! A shooting star passed by, signifying that a blessing has been blessed on Earth. End of chapter 7 Midnight Stars of Giving Wish Chapter 8: A German Soldier"s Heart Class 1... "Hai, my name is Charles Dunois, nice to meet you!" In front is a bishounen guy... or a disguised Charlotte, she"s here on her first day of debut in IS academy, sort the least. She"s introducing herself in front. "..." "Kyaah!" "Wow, another guy who could pilot an IS!" "Yeah, we"re gonna have..." "Hmhm," Charlotte... Charles chuckles at the reaction of others, except... "..." "Charlotte... why do you have to... change into that...' A mentally fatigued and exhausted Ichika thought in his mind, after using the Hysteria Zero Syndrome for about... well, it"s fullest or mightest, he was exhausted that it took him for about five days to rest up in the clinic, but then again, that too is not yet enough, and stil he needs more five days to rest up, worse than that, he"s having a hard time comprehending what is in front, what is being discussed, and to make matters worse, in just two days is the final, or rather, the most awaited day of the IS demonstration of the only man who can pilot an IS, mainly him, and how he will perform in the eyes of a lot of people, and the media, and right now, he has been attending classes to make sure he doesn"t skip some learning session around even though he"s in a critical condition of collapsing, though for some reason, either because of strong will or determination, that is he able to pull through despite his fatigued state, his expression however is catching the attention of his worried classmates, more importantly, Houki, Rin and Cecilia, and Charlotte too, after the incident with the head of the Dunois corp, who has been arrested for his abusal, and the resistance of France, Charlotte was granted permission to attend IS academy in order to be safe for a while while the resistance members would go back to France to set things right in the company. "..." Right now, Ichika is still at his fullest and he"s still fatigued, catching Houki"s attention. "Ichika, you look... sick." She said, she"s not minding the introduction in front, she"s more worried about her childhood friend. "Hm... Hm... U..." Who is keeping his expression awake so that he doesn"t fall, he would raise his head from time to time whenever he is about to fall asleep, then when he thinks he can"t take the pressure, he would just lay down his head on the desk and pretend to be half-tired while keeping his eyes open, which are tearing up because of his weak status. "..." Cecilia is also caught in that expression. "Ichika-san, what are you...' "Ah." ...At Class 2 "That Ichika, what has he been...?' Rin ponders as the teacher discusses in front. Class 1 "Hm..." The introduction of Charles Dunois is over and even he can"t get excited about it, the blood of the Hysteria Zero Syndrome would arise, but not take over, Ichika has full control of it now due to experience of being able to activate at will and him being paralyzed sort to speak by the trauma of him using it to the full potential that day at the lake where he asked Charlotte to stay here and he would be caring for her as much as possible. But right now, he needs rest, a lot of rest, for the upcoming demonstration. Come to think of it, there will also be germans who will come to that colosseum where it will take place, supposedly some german representative will be demonstrating the power arm of the German and how they conquer the French during world war II, well, those were feudal times, but right now, French is a peaceful country and a nation. "Well then, please treat Dunois-kun well, everyone." Yamada said nicely. "Hai!" "Hm, ah." Ichika merely groans for his condition is fatigued right now. "Well then, Dunois-kun, I hope you enjoy your stay here with us." "Hai! Sa, about my seat hm..." "Oh yes, you"re going to need to... let"s see hm..." ...After class, at the hall... "..." Ichika walks groggily such as his state, his only goal in mind right now is either go lunch or go to the rooftop for some fresh air since all the excitement about Charlotte- Charles Dunois transferring has reached every corridors of the academy and not one can Ichika go to sleep at this rate and it would only makes things worst if he does fall asleep. The instructor from hell is still here, and it would make things worse if there would be appointment with her. "Orimura, I have something to discuss of you." ...Speaking of hell... "...Hai?" Ichika said rubbing his eye while giving out a yawn. "Not here, in the faculty, let"s go." "Hai." ...Faculty office There are other instructors here, they"re filling in each other with everyday"s effort and report about the current staff status that is holding up like how class 3 is going to manuever all the Practice IS development for the next IS manuever lessons and then there"s that upcoming ball where everyone will dance at the field with a bonfire on the middle, supposedly, it will take place right after the demonstration this upcoming Saturday where some german representatives will join the fray and show the military strength of the German country, well, that and some friendly contest to see if the representative candidate of Germany is tough as they say, she is said to be a super soldier who revere Chifuyu as sort of a goddess figure like most everybody else around here. "Sa, I would like to speak with you about the upcoming demonstration." "Hai?" Ichika is keeping his stance of not falling asleep as he is already deprived of energy. "As you know, there will be some german representatives there, there"s this group that I know, they are called the..." "..." Ichika didn"t heard it clearly due to his vision getting blurry and his ears becoming drowsy at their conversation though he did heard the part like a german representative candidate will attend the meeting. "-so that being said, I"m going to tutor about some basics IS manuever in both aerial and on the ground." "Hai." He sighs once more, hope he can do this, otherwise, it"s public humiliation, he definitely hope that other Ichika would rise up from its slumber anytime soon. "Alright, ja, you can finish whatever business you have, I"ll see you after lunch." "Huh? You mean I won"t be attending the other session?" He asked that Chifuyu left. "Weren"t you listening? Everyone is preparing for the upcoming ball, they don"t have time to hold on class sessions for now." "Eh? You mean we won"t be having regular classes from now?"

I will turn my back to my former self...! Gone in a second! Ultimate End! Gods are fighting! In a never-ending sorrow! "Ahh! Ten thousand words of Truth!" Flash! They both said then... Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! The two of them inflicted multiple attacks on him! "Grooaarr!" Sera-Lucifer agonizes in pain and then...! Whoosh! "Hua!" Hayate and Negi jump upward above him then...! "Hiyaa...!" Endless Chaos for an eternity! "HIYAA!" They both lunge their swords towards him and then, for a fitting finalle...! Welcome to... ...HEEELL! SLAASH! A huge scar has been inflicted on Sera-Lucifer, completely spilling his blood. "Grooaarr!" Cricker! cricker! Bright light burst out of him as he begins to dissolve into black mist. "Grooaarr... GROOAARR!" He slowly falls to the sky behind him as he dissolve into black mist then to nothing. Flash. ...The sky returns to normal. "...Did we do it?" Negi asked. "I... don"t know. I..." Sharp! "Ugh!" Hayate is brought to his knees. "A-Ayasaki-san! What"s wrong!" "He"s... still alive..." "Huh?" "...!" Judas then notices that something... or someone is in the dark fog in front of them. "Sera. He"s..." Hayate slowly flies towards it. "A-Ayasaki-san!" "Older Aniki!" "Ayasaki!" Judas accompanies him. Both of them enter the blinding fog... "Huh?" Haruna notices it from the harbor. "What"s wrong?" "Over there. Look." She points the black mist with Hayate entering it. "Guah! Huh? Is that...?" Nagi and the other four have arrived at the harbor as well. "Hayate-kun?" Hinagiku said. She also takes notice of the person she love flying towards the fog of where a certain someone is waiting... "Hayate-kun!" "Hayata-kun!" "Hayate!" The others have taken notice of this as well. "Hayate!" Athena, who is still on the cliff with her sister, said. "..." Without feeling any fear, Hayate enters the fog. ... Unknown... ...Hayate slowly falls down to an unknown place with Judas providing him with the Hero Spell then... "...Hm?" He opens his eyes to see... "Huh...!" "...Hmph." A shirtless Sera with his seven foot katana in hand. He gives a wicked smile. "...Hn." Hayate understood why he was summoned here. And then... (Final Battle) Both enter into a fighting stance. "Hn." "..." Sera has nothing to say as he holds his katana left handedly. "..." Hayate understands that he finally realizes that he is being deceived by the fog of delusions all this time. "..." He gives a glare in which he"s telling him to finish him off so that he could be free of delusions once and for all. "...Okay." Hayate does so then... "Ja, prepare..." Blast! He summons Seraph then... "...to die." "...Hm." He nods quietly and so, "Hiya!" Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Whoosh! For the finalle of the year, Hayate frees Sera from... "Ugh." "...Goodbye." Flash! SLASH! ...the delusions that he has been clinging for some time now. "Ugh! Guh!" Sera could no longer stand the pain and he falls down to his knees. "Ahh... Ah..." He slowly looks on Hayate. "Huaargh..." He slowly falls down but he"s body floats. His seven foot katana is dropped to the abyss below. The fog clears out. "Ayasaki-san!" Negi is there, from his position earlier. "..." Both he and Hayate look down on Sera"s body that is bloody. "Did he...?" "Ah. He"s been freed of the delusions." "...I see." Sera P.O.V I... I have lost. I have the power of the accursed fog of deceit yet I lost. ...I suppose it is as they say, delusions will always be delusions. It cannot alter reality. I was a fool to think otherwise. ...It"s all over. Maybe... Maybe I"ve known from the start what"s wrong with me. It was not my two friends who betrayed me. It was I. ...I betrayed myself. ...The irony of Fate. ...Now I am going to succumb to my death and leave this world. With all of my memories of my past and even now be forgotten. I suppose... ...I suppose this is my punishment for all the sins I have commited. Now all is lost. ...For me. "All is not lost." ...? This voice... Normal P.O.V "Hey, everyone look!" Haruna points above where Hayate and Negi are along with Sera. "Huh?" Athena and Evangeline turn their gazes there as well. And so did Chachamaru and Machina. "Ah." Luca and the crewmembers came across the two Tennousos on their way to the city and they turn to the two as well when the sky returned to normal. This time though, the fear is no longer present and hope has replaced it. "Ayasaki-san." Luca smiles at the two above with delight. "You"re free now. You can rest peacefully." Hayate said to Sera. "..." Sera floats is mid-air, bloody and beaten, looking at the now normal sky above. "...Hm. Right..." He accepts his defeat and death without malice. Flash. A pillar of light shines down upon on him on the sky. "Huh?" Flash! "Huh? This is...?" Two shining cards appear right before Hayate and Negi. "What is this?" Hayate is the first to pick it up followed by Negi. "That, is your reward for your deed." Judas said. "Reward?" "Ah, with that, you can deliver the Promised Land to everyone. Sa, why don"t give to them? Show them the Truth? Lift all of these fog of delusions so that the Sun can rise and the brand new days will come." "...Hm. Okay." He turns to Negi who gives him a nod and he gives a nod of his own then... "Sa," Both raises their cards upward then... Flash... Flaash. The cards eminated light from them, making the night go away as if a brand new day has just risen, even though it"s still 12:30 a.m. "Ahh." Everyone sees this. "Hey guys, look!" Haruna said. "Ah." Everyone is mesmorized by the brilliance of the light. "What is that?" "Some kind of fireworks?" A child said. "Ah." Nagi and the other four watches as well. "Hayate-kun did it." Maria said. "Ah. Hayate." Nagi said with tears of joy. "Hayate-kun!" "They did it! Negi-kun did it!" "Yay!" "Alright!" Hinagiku, Makie and the other Baka rangers cheered followed by everyone in the city. "They did it onee-chan!" Evangeline cheered. "Ah." The two Tennousos run up to the harbor in the city. "Masters." Chachamaru followed while carrying Machina. "Ayasaki-kun." Luca followed behind. "Luca!" Her mother and the crew members follow. Flaash. The light from the two cards, which Judas revealed to be the wild cards that has been aiding Hayate and Negi throughout their struggles, continue to glow giving the light of truth all over the world, banishing the fog of deceit that has been plaguing everyone. A brand new world has been granted with the fog having but all lifted and everything is just as it was from the beginning where love will blossom and will continue to grow. "Ah. We did it Springfield." Hayate said. "Yeah!" "Alright! Way to go Aniki and Older Aniki!" Chamo, who has been under Negi"s shirt the whole time, climbs up to Negi"s right shoulder and cheer. "Ha ha." The two give a laugh. A laugh of victory that is. As for Sera... "This light..." The pillar of light that only he can see continues shining down on him, removing the remaining fog within him. "Huh...?" To his surprise, he can see two figures with two white wings coming down towards him. The white feathers are scattering on the surrounding pillar of light. "Huh?" Hayate and Negi notice it then to their surprise. "...Huh." Sera smiles at the two figures and he reaches out his right arm towards them. They both take his hand and they slowly raise him upward to the pillar. "It"s you guys. Hmph, you two are always full of surprises. Just like when we celebrated my birthday at the academy." He said recalling a certain celebration during their time in the academy in Wales. "Ikusa-nii-chan!" Hayate said recognizing his older brother. "Father!" Negi also recognized his father. "Hm." Both give the two a smile and a wave of a hand as they take Sera to, presumably, Heaven. "Hm." Sera does the same to them. With his serious or angry expression gone, his facial expression looks exactly of that of Hayate. "Ah..." Both Hayate and Negi are speechless of the phenomenon. "They have come to pay you two a visit. And to bring him "there"." Judas said which made the two wonder of where exactly does he meant by "there". "Heehee." Both the spirit of Nagi Springfield and Ikusa, and that of Sera whose physical body has dissolved since its time has now passed by, give the two a farewell wave and a smile with the impression of that they"ll be watching them from "there". "Ikusa-nii-chan... ...Hm." Hayate smiles at the figure of his older brother as he disappears to Heaven. "Father... Hm." Negi does the same to his father. Then suddenly... crutter. "Hm?" Crutter! "Huh? W-Waah!" Whoosh! "G-Gyahh!" "H-Hey!" Judas said. The floating rock they"re stepping on suddenly crumbles, so they fall onto the sea below. "Oh, confound it." Judas follows behind. "Yay! Negi-chan did it!" The Narutaki twins cheered then, "Huh? Hey, is that...?" Haruna asked as she spotted the two falling. "...waah... Wahh!" Splash, splash! Both fell to the sea. "Guah!" Everyone saw that. "N-Negi-kun!" "Negi!" "Negi-chan!" "Hayate!" "Hayate-kun!" "Hayata-kun!" Everyone exclaimed. Judas flies down near the sea shore. "Hey! Daijobou!" He asked frantically yelling. He didn"t mind going underwater but he cannot see clearly below the water since its still night time. Or at least the Sun hasn"t rise up yet. But the glowing light remains though so it"s looks like that it"s already morning. Splash! "Muuah!" The two rises up from the water. "*cough* *cough*" "How did we-" Negi said unfinished as, Flash. "Huh?" Their cards continue to glow. And then... Flaash! Small pillar of lights is sent towards the now no longer a danger "meteor". "What is this...?" Before Hayate could finish his question. A miracle has just answered that. Flaaash...! "Ah...!" To everyone"s surprise, "meteor" has been reduced into a lot of pieces, though they are not of craters but rather, they are black mists, presumably fog that were absorbed by "meteor" as it continued to grow itself. "Waah." Everyone is in awe of the miracle. "The "meteor"..." Negi said looking above. "It"s gone." Hayate said. Judas flies near them. "Congratulations. You have saved the world. And you have shown the Truth to everyone and you two have reached the Promised Land." "R-Really?" Negi asked. "Ah." "Yes!" Both of them cheered. "We did it Springfield!" Hayate cheered. "Ah! We did it Ayasaki-san!" "I knew you guys could do it!" Chamo cheered. "Heeey!" Voices called them out from the harbor. "Hayate-kun!" "Negi-chan!" "Negi!" "Negi-kun!" "Hayata-kun!" "Hayate!" "Boya!" "Ayasaki-kun! Springfield-chan!" Everyone is there, waving at them. "Ah, everyone!" The two of them wave back at them. "Hm." Judas smiles with delight. It"s finally over... The fog that were absorbed by "meteor" slowly fade away into the sky. It"s been a memorable year... 2011 slowly passes by and a new years arises. Brand new days await everyone. With the fog gone, most of the negativity will banish without a trace and the memory of those bitter days would eventually fade away. But... One thing that will never be forgotten is... ...that it was the deed of two children that brought about these brightful days... Later... boom! boom! With "meteor" gone, the power in the city was quickly re-open and a New Year celebration was celebrated. Fireworks are being fired everywhere to the sky, making the scenery all over the city like paradise like the United Kingdom where Hayate and Negi"s homecountry Wales is, well actually Hayate immigrated there when he was ten years old when he was abandoned by his parents and was admitted by the grandmaster, Igor. Many people are outside celebrating the birth of a new year, 2012. With most of the fog of deceit gone, brand new days await everyone. Most are eager to see those days. At Hakou Academy... boom! boom! Meanwhile, at the institute where Setsuna, Hinagiku and the Baka rangers attend to, and the school that is being run by the Tennousos, a New Year celebration is being celebrated by the students and staff there. Hayate and Negi are special guests. Athena walks up afront in the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen," She said through the microphone. "Please welcome Ayasaki Hayate and Negi Springfield!" "Yaay!" Everyone cheered as Hayate and Negi embarrasingly walk up in the stage, rubbing the back of their heads. "Uh... H-Hi, everyone." "It"s... uh... surprise to be here, in... stage." They both said embarrased in the microphone. "Yaaay!" Everyone is delightened at the sight of the two which caused them to be more embarrased. Most of the people they have known, the Narutaki twins, Makie and Haruna giggle at what they said. "Hayate-kun!" Hinagiku and the others give applauses to them. Evangeline walks up afront. "And now, the moment everyone has been waiting for, it"s now time for a celebration!" "Yeaah!" Everyone cheered again. This time it"s more wildly. "Let the New Year celebration begins!" "Yaaay!" Everyone gathers around Hayate and Negi. "WH-Whoa, hey!" "Guuh, w-waah!" The two of them are embraced by various female students. Athena, Evangeline, Hinagiku and the others, are among those. Sakuya and Isumi also attended the party along with Nagi"s fiance, well actually, it"s now ex-fiance since with the death of the head of the Sanzenin, Mikado, that agreement is no longer to be continue. And so the celebration continues. Most girls asked Hayate and Negi to dance with them and in the end, they ended up dancing with various female students since they didn"t want to upset any of them. The last girls that they dance with are the Tennousos. The party continued up to 3 a.m. in the morning and it doesn"t look like it was going to stop soon. More fireworks are fired as the Sun is about to rise up from its slumber... where brand new days await everyone. A brand brightful and magnificient days that is. And it was given to everyone by the two. "Ah, it"s great being with these people." Judas commented. He"ll be staying with the two for the rest of their lives, giving them guidance and protection for it is his purpose. And he was glad to be with them. Being with a lot of unique and interesting people, it"s great to be with them. ...And they will continue to be happy as they continue living... Love will Grow! And nothing comes in the way! It"s true that love is here to stay; All we have to do is to face tomorrow. Love will Grow! And nothing comes in the way! It"s true we"ve always been so slow- Should I tell you now what"s been burning inside? Darling, strange days are over, Fears and tears, they"re all gone. This is the very beginning- Now, the world is meant for you and me. Love will grow, and nothing comes in the way, It"s true that love is here to stay; Should I tell you now what"s been burning inside? Love will grow, and nothing comes in the way, It"s true we"ve always been so slow- Should I tell you now what"s been burning inside? Darling, strange days are over, Fears and tears, they"re all gone. This is the very beginning- Now, the world is meant for you and me. See how the day has just broken, Oh, so fresh from the world See how the brand new sun"s coming up- Let it now... shine on me! Shine on you... shine on me! Love will Grow! And nothing comes in the way! It"s true we"ve always been so slow- Should I tell you now what"s been burning inside? Darling, strange days are over, Fears and tears, they"re all gone. This is the very beginning- Now, the world is meant for you and me. Love will grow, and nothing comes in the way, It"s true that love is here to stay; Should I tell you now what"s been burning inside? Love will grow, and nothing comes in the way, It"s true we"ve always been so slow- Should I tell you now what"s been burning inside? Darling, strange days are over, Fears and tears, they"re all gone. This is the very beginning- Now, the world is meant for you and me. See how the day has just broken, Oh, so fresh from the world See how the brand new sun"s coming up- Let it now... shine on me! Shine on you... shine on me! Love will Grow! And nothing comes in the way! It"s true we"ve always been so slow- Should I tell you now what"s been burning inside? Darling, strange days are over, Fears and tears, they"re all gone. This is the very beginning- Now, the world is meant for you and me. Love will grow, and nothing comes in the way, It"s true that love is here to stay; Should I tell you now what"s been burning inside? Love will grow, and nothing comes in the way, It"s true we"ve always been so slow- Should I tell you now what"s been burning inside? Darling, strange days are over, Fears and tears, they"re all gone. This is the very beginning- Now, the world is meant for you and me. See how the day has just broken, Oh, so fresh from the world See how the brand new sun"s coming up- Let it now... shine on me! Shine on you... shine on me! Love will grow, and nothing comes in the way, It"s true that love is here to stay; All we have to do is to face tomorrow! The End Epilogue... The days continued on after New Year. The girls would occasionally spend their time with Hayate and Negi and they would also come to the Tennousos" Velvet mansion for some enjoyable time together since according to them, that place is the most enjoyable place to spend time with much to the two sisters" dismay but since nothing breaks there, they didn"t mind. Hayate and Negi would visit each of them with either they have presents or they just thought of visiting them. Oh, and they each went on dates that involves each of the girls. Their days went on like that in which they are doing their promise in their "contract" that they"ll rescue kidnapped people or find missing things. And then at the month of March... "Well, looks like this is it." Hayate said as he and Negi give one last look at the Tokyo before going back to Wales. They have completed their contract for a year and now it"s time for them to go back to the academy. "It wasn"t long but I had fun here." "Ah. It was our most enjoyable time together with everyone. I"ll never forget them." Negi said. "Ah." They then turn to their ship. "Sa, are you guys ready? Because will be having a lot of company." Judas said. "Huh?" Both asked. "What do you mean by that Aniki-judas?" Chamo asked. "Negi-kun!" "Hayate-kun!" "...!" To their surprise, they see everyone with luggages. "Wha...!" "What are you guys doing here!" Negi asked. "Uh well... ha ha." "We thought we might come with you." Izumi and Setsuna said. "Huh?" The two asked. "Yeah. Since we now know of the Shadows existence we thought of learning about the summoning of our own personas." Hinagiku said. "Eh? You mean...?" "Hai! We"re going with you!" Everyone said. "..." An awkward wind passes by them then... "WHAT!" Hayate and Negi exclaimed. "Yeah, so let"s go!" Izumi said running towards the ship with her luggages. "Ah S-Segawa-san!" "Sa, pack your things everyone. We"re going to Wales." Setsuna goes there as well. "Yeah!" Everyone said as they pack their things. "W-Wait a minute everyone!" "Sa, we"re under your care Hayate-kun." Hinagiku said with a wink. "Uh..." "Sa, let"s go." "Ah, H-Hinagiku-san...!" She grabs hold of his right arm and drag him. "Well, you all seem to be enthuastic." A noble feminine voice said. "Huh?" Everyone turns to it then... "A-tan?" "Evangeline-san?" "Since you all seem to have a neck to get into trouble, we thought we might as well accompany you to a foreign country." Evangeline said. "Indeed. Sa, let us go, everyone." Athena said packing their luggages. "Yeah!" Everyone said as they head for the ship. "Uh..." "How did it... Come to this...?" Hayate and Negi asked. "Well, there is a saying that one adventure leads to another." Judas said to which Chamo nods. That"s true. Looks like there will another adventure for the group. In Wales that is. "Sa, let"s go Hayate." Athena grabs on to Hayate"s other arm with Hinagiku on the other. "Ah A-A-tan..." "Let"s go then." Hinagiku said as they drag the young man to the boat. "Sa, let"s go, boya." Evangeline does the same to the ten year old. "Uh..." Both are speechless of the series of events. "Looks like the academy will be having a lot of new students. Hm, sounds worth the time. This is going to be another exciting adventure for you guys." Judas said as he follows everyone to the boat. "Yosh! More ermine dollars for me! Heehee." Chamo said as he climbs up to Negi"s left shoulder. Chachamaru, her older sister and Machina, who after several weeks, have finally recovered. Looks like their days in the academy will be more exciting than before. FIN Note: And that"s it! I had fun writing this. I felt sad since I was kinda like watching the end of an anime ha ha. Anyway, some words from the battle poem during the final battle were from One Winged Angel, Sephiroth"s theme, in FF7 as you no doubt know. And the other words in the second battle poem are from God in Fire from Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy. Oh, just to want to let you know, Brink of Delusion is like a synonym of Final Fantasy ha ha. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. I am thinking of making a sequel of this in which Fate from Negima will be the main antagonist and that the story will be more focusing on Negi but Hayate will also be in it and like here, he"s a main character and a protagonist. If all of you who read this want me to write it, send me reviews and I"ll get into it ha ha. Anyway, enjoy! Ja ne!

"The corner of your mind. But enough about that, it would seem that something urgent has come to our attention." "Urgent?" "Yes... Abominations are roaming the corners of the place that you are staying at. Go save her... She"s waiting for you. She will need you." "She? Uh... Who?" "Komari Kamikita." Everything was engulfed by a blinding light after the Shadow said that name. ... ... ...At Riki"s room... "Hm!" Riki opened his eyes widely, he"s fully awake now. The first thing he saw was the ceiling of his room, it"s colored green for some reason. Riki blinked twice, "Huh?" He rose his body up, "What the..." He looked around his room. Everything is greenish for some reason. "What happened?" He then turned to the window, "Huh?" He stood up from his bed and decided to check outside through the window. "Hm," He"s looking about on the street below. There are... ...coffins. Riki blinked, "A coffin?" He remembered the coffins that he saw when he first came into town... "...Those are the same coffins much like before..." Sharp-! "Ah..." Riki felt a slight pain on his head. Like a worm squirming into his skull... He touched his forehead. "What... the..." ...He suddenly started hearing some eerie voices... "The humans... Their minds are delicious... Those minds that are filled with endless darkness... They give Mother eternal power." This voice sounds malevolent and wicked, and feels unnatural. Supernatural, in fact. "I will have this girl, Komari Kamikita. She is OURRRSS-! GROOOAAAARR-!" Sharp-! "Garrgh!" Riki knelt down in pain, he cannot hear the voice anymore. "huff, huff, ah." He touched his forehead again. "What was that...? Is that girl Komari..." He remembered that girl that he saved from punks recently... She"s in trouble... danger. "..." Riki stood up with him touching his forehead still. "I... I..." He slightly lowered his head and removed his hand from his forehead. "... ..." He slightly raised his head as he stared at the window with an expression that tells that he has a premonition that something bad will happen soon... to Komari Kamikita. "I better go to her." ...With that, he dressed in his school uniform and he headed out of his room to find that girl, Komari Kamikita. ... ... ...At the riverbank side... -tap, tap, tap, tap-! Riki arrived here after running for a while. "huff, huff, huff, ah." He"s catching his breath with his hands on his knees after all that running. "Ah." He straightened himself up. "Ah, where..." He looked around. The river is just at the side-on the right side-and there"s no one within the vicinity. "Hm," He looked up. There"s a full moon tonight... But looking at it feels eerie for some reason. "What in the world is going on here...?" ...Meanwhile, at the command room at the dormitory... Everyone, with the exception of Kyosuke, is still here, doing whatever they wish. Masato is working out with his dumbbells at the corner, Kengo is sitting on a meditative state at another corner, Rin is feeding her cat with a cookie on the sofa, A-chan is drinking tea still, Kurugaya is reading a book on the sofa as well, and the same goes for Kanata who is seated on the same seat earlier. "Say, where did Kyosuke go?" A-chan asked after filling up a cup of tea. "He said he"ll be training himself for a while. Hm, why didn"t you want to go with him, Inohara?" Kanata asked without diverting her attention from her book. "Heh, Kyosuke thinks Tartarus is just a training ground. But if you ask me, there are some things that are best left untouched." Masato said without stopping on his work out. Kengo opened his eyes upon hearing that. He turned to Masato, "Hmph, I"m surprised to hear that from you. I guess you"re not entirely devoid of cognitive functions." Masato turned to him. "Huh? Cogniwhat now...?" Even though Kengo"s statement was a bit insulting, Masato is so much of an idiot that the insult didn"t even reach him... "By the way, I heard-" Teeerreet, teeerreet-! Before Kurugaya could continue, the console sounded. Kanata stood up and approached the console, she pushed a red button. "Command room. ...Is that you, Natsume Kyosuke?" "*static* *static* You"re not gonna believe this, this thing"s huge! Unfortunately, I don"t have time to talk, it"s chasing me... I"m at the Riverbank, I-What the- W-Wait, G-Gaaauurrgh-!" Kyosuke"s line was cut-off with a loud static. """*gasp*!""" The girls gasped at that. "K-Kyosuke!" Rin stood up from the sofa, agitated. "Meow!" Her cat is on the sofa still. Masato put his dumbbells down. "What was that? It sounded like he was in trouble." "That thing is huge...? What was he referring at?" Kengo asked. A-chan turned to him. "Duh, it"s the dark hour. That means-" "Kyosuke is under attack by a Shadow!?" Rin asked, agitated. Everyone else felt alarmed and alerted. Kanata faced all of them, "Prepare yourselves. Natsume said he"s at the Riverbank, and if our suspicion is correct, a battle may be unavoidable." She turned to A-chan, "A-chan, prepare everyone"s weapons. Make sure that dorm is secured and make sure Naoe-kun is safe." A-chan felt nervous for a moment, but she nodded. "R-Right. Be careful!" ... ...At the Riverbank side... ...tap, tap, tap, tap... Riki found himself wandering around here. "Where exactly am I supposed to go?" "Grooooaaarr." "Huh?" He heard something... a roar... He turned to his left-"Wha...?" "Groooaaarrr..." "Groooaaaarr..." "Groooaaaarr..." ...Monsters are crawling... They"re using their arms to drag their bodies to move... They"re colored black and greenish... They have red eyes and they"re all staring at Riki. "What... the..." Riki took one step backward- Shaarp-! "Other me." The voice of his Shadow. "Huh?" Riki is summoned inside his mind and his Shadow self appeared behind him, "Other me?" Much like before, the Shadow"s back is facing Riki"s and he"s not facing Riki himself. "You are now facing the mere fragments of human ego, as they call them. The Shadows. Prepare yourself, other me. And use the given power to you to destroy your enemies... Fusion Spell!" -Everything is engulfed by a blinding light inside Riki"s mind. "Ah." Riki"s focus is back to the real world once again. These monsters, the "Shadows", as Shadow Riki referred to them as such, are approaching with menacing expressions. "Groooaaarr..." "Grooooaaarrr..." "Groooaaarr..." "Ah." Riki just stood on his ground- "Use the Fusion Spell, other me." Shadow Riki"s voice is heard. "That bond that you share with that oaf, Natsume Kyosuke, should help you. Use it!" "Ah," Riki felt a soothing light- Flaash-! A card appeared in a flash of light on his right palm. The Wheel of Fortune Card. "Ah." He stared at the card, "This is...? The Wheel... of Fortune?" Flaash-! "Huh?" He turned to his other palm, another card has appeared in a flash of light there. The Fool. "The Fool..." Flaassh-! Flaash-! Both of the cards he"s holding glowed brightly. Then they floated upward and both of them rotated in a spiral manner as they ascended-this is a fusion. Sharp-! "Fusion... Spell?" Riki said looking up as he watched cards ascend, he felt a sharp sensation and he knew immediately of what is happening... "...With this, I..." FLAAASH-! The two cards merged. Fusion Spell: Infinity! Flaaashh-! A barrier formed around Riki. "Infinity." He said looking up still, then he turned to the Shadows in front. "Groooaaarr!" "Groooaaarr!" "Groooaaarrr!" They all lunged towards him-! Block, Block, Block-! The Shadows found themselves unable to reach Riki due to the invisible barrier around him. "It worked. Hm," Riki readied himself. "Alright..." -Flash-! He summoned his persona card, it"s floating and rotatin in front of him. Then he reached it out with his right hand- Flaash-! -And he crushed it. BLAASSTT-! Blue mists burst out of the ground. "Persona...!" Riki said. BLAAST-! "GROOOOOAAAARR-!" Seth is summoned. It hovered above, "Hm," Then Riki extended his arm forward. "Destroy them." He spoke in a combination of his and his Shadow"s voices. "GROOOOAAAAARR-!" Seth obliged to that command. *Maragidyne* "GROOOAAAARR-!" *ABLAAAAZZEEE-!* *ABLAAAAAAAAZZEE-!* "Groooaaaarrr-!" The Shadows were burned to ashes by the wave of flames that Seth summoned. "..." Riki watched as the flames dispersed, "Grooaarr," Then Seth disappeared as well. "Shadows... Hm, I guess my other me wasn"t lying about them. But where do I-" Sharp-! "I will take this girl..." ...Riki recognized this voice... It"s that same wicked and malevolent voice that heard earlier at his room. "Komari Kamikita, your soul is mine!" Sharp-! "Grk!" Riki touched his forehead in pain as he could no longer hear that voice. "Gr," Then he opened his eyes, "Kamikita... Komari..." He removed his hand from his forehead- Tap, tap,tap, tap-! -Then he started running at the left direction. "I have to get to her... Before that monster does! Kamikita-saaan!" He said running at full speed! ...Meanwhile, at the other side of the Riverbank... -Tap, tap, tap, tap-! "Dammit, dammit, dammit...!" Kyosuke is running away from something huge... TAP, TAP, TAP, TAP-! This freak of nature, a large Shadow, is using its multiple arms to walk-or run as he is chasing Kyosuke-and he"s wielding multiples blades at the same time. -tap, tap, tap, tap-! "Dammit, what have I ever done to you!?" Kyosuke is already running out of breath as far as he could tell. He can"t keep running forever. "Dammit, grr!" He took a detour and he ran at the alley way that is narrow in which the Shadow cannot follow him. "GROOOAAAARRR-!" The Shadow was enraged by that fact as it just stood outside the alley, giving a loud roar. "Tch, see you later, loser!" Kyosuke mocked the Shadow as he continued running throught he narrow alley way. Riiing, riiing, riing-! -His cellphone rang. He answered it. "Hello?" "Hey, where are you!? We can"t find your signal anywhere!" It sounded like Rin"s voice. Kyosuke cannot mistake it for someone else. "I"m at the Riverbank, at the southern side. Anyway, I"m still running, but... Gr, I gotta stop, I"m pretty tired." He stopped running and he put his hands on his knees to catch his breath. "huff, huff, huff, ah. huff, huff..." "Hey, are you all right?" He answered, "Yeah, I"m fine. Sorry, but I gotta rest here for a while. I"ll send you a strong signal so you can detect me, if anything else-" "GROOOAAAARRR-!" The Shadow is heard from afar. "Hey! What was that!?" It seems Rin is agitated when she heard that roar of the Shadow. "That was the Shadow. I"ll be waiting for you guys here, hurry!" "Huh? But-" Before Rin could say anything further, Kyosuke hung up. "huff, that damn bastard... What the hell is he doing now...?" He"s catching his breath still. "I only hope he can"t follow me here in this alley..." ... ...At the middle of the street, at the Southern Riverbank side... One coffin is standing on the middle of the road... -Shaade-! -It transformed into a person-Komari. "Hm," Her eyes are closed. Then she slowly opened them, the first thing she saw is a greenish environment with coffins on the street-there are two of them. Komari blinked twice. "Eh?" Her facial expression is groggy, she looked around and she saw more coffins. The river"s color is that of a sea of blood. "Ah... *gasp!*" That sight alone was enough for her to be fully awaken. "Wha-Wha-Wha..." She looked around nervously and agitatedly, "Wh-Wh-Where am I!? Where is..." She turned to her left- Sharp-! "Komari Kamikita," An eerie voice called out her name. "Huh?" Komari heard it, and she seems to be the only one who can hear it. "Your life is mine... Your soul... is mine-! GROOOOAAAARRR-!" "Gyah...!" Komari felt even more agitated and she immediately looked at her right side-and what she saw was- -a large monster... coming out of the alley... It has multiple arms that are carrying blades and it"s also carrying a mask. "*gasp*! Wah... Waa..." Komari was terrified at the sight of that monster. And she can"t help but-"Gyaaaaahhh-!" Her scream echoed throughout the neighborhood. ... ...From afar... "Ah!" "Wah!" "Huh?" "What...!?" The group-Rin, A-chan, Kengo and Kanata, heard that scream. "Wha-What was that!?" A-chan asked, agitated. "That sounded like... Someone is in trouble!" Kengo said, alarmed. "Tch," Kanata picked her cellphone from her pocket and she called-"Kurugaya-san! Is there someone else within the vicinity!?" ... ...At the command room... "We just heard someone"s scream nearby. Is someone else in here!?" Kanata asked. "I"m looking on it." Kurugaya is operating the console. "Hey, Inohara, can you check up on the boy for me? We have to make sure he"s safe." "A-Alright! He"s at the second floor, right?" "Naturally. He"s a guy, after all. Now hurry! I have to track down Natsume"s signal. And it seems there"s someone else-Huh?" Just then, Kurugaya detected a signal that is moving. It would seem that someone is running very fast within the vicinity. "What the... Another signal?" "What"s wrong, Kurugaya?" Kanata asked. "I... I don"t know. I"m detecting a signal. It"s-" ... ...Back to Komari... "GROOOAAARR-!" The Shadow is approaching her. "Gyaaaahh-! S-Someone...!" She"s backing away slowly from this monster. "Kamikita-san...!"Someone"s voice is heard. "Huh?" Komari was surprised upon hearing that voice, she turned around to see... ... ...tap, tap, tap, tap... ...tap, tap, tap, tap... ...tap, tap, tap, tap-! "Kamikita-saaan!" It"s Riki running at full speed! "Y-You..." Komari remembered him from last time. Where he saved her from those punks just this morning. "What are you-" "GROOOAAARR-!" The Shadow approached Komari-to the point that it"s about to launch an attack on her-! "Ah," Komari turned her attention back to the Shadow and she immediately realized she"s in trouble. The Shadow raised one blade-then it swung it towards Komari-! "GROOOOAAAAARRR-!" "Gyaaaaaahhh-!" Komari covere herself in terror with her eyes closed. "Gr, don"t you dare to even TOUCH HER-!" Riki said as he ran in-between Komari and the Shadow, he said that last part with the combination of his and his Shadow"s voice, by the way. Flaash-! Flaash-! Riki summoned two cards on his palms. "GROOOOAAARR-!" The Shadow is about to hit its target-! "Fusion Spell: Infinity!" Riki exclaimed- FLAASH-! A barrier formed around Komari. "GROOOOAAAARRR-!" BLOOOOCCCKK-! The Shadow"s attack couldn"t reach Riki or Komari due to the impregnable barrier. The sound of the screeching blade annoyed Riki since it"s so damn loud. "Gr, why you..." Riki covered his ears since the screeching is so loud. "GROOOAAARR-!" Bloocck! Blooock! Block! Block! Block! Block-! The Shadow didn"t stop attacking and it"s trying to pierce the barrier with its blades. "Hm?" Komari opened her eyes and she found herself to be safe and sound. "Eh?" She stopped covering herself and In front of her, Riki is covering his ears due to the sounds of metal being very deafening. "You..." "Gr, would you stop that already! Try as many as you like and the result will always be the same!" Riki said to the Shadow as he removed his hands from his ears, then- Flash-! He summoned his persona card in front of him- FLASH-! He crushed it with his right hand- BLAASST-! "GROOOAAAARR-!" Seth is summoned. It hovered and it turned its attention to the Shadow in front. "Groooaarr!" *Myriad Arrows* Tsing, tsing, tsing... tsing, tsing, tsing, TSIING-! "GROOOOAAAARRR-!" A wave of piercing forces destroyed some of the Shadow"s arms and they exploded in the process, the Shadow is also wounded on its middle. "GROOOAAARR-!" -Riki extended his arm forcefully. "Finish him off, Seth!" He commanded of his persona. "GROOOOOAAAARRR-!" *Megidolaon* Three massive lights gathered above, then they slowly descended towards the Shadow while condensing altogether- "Ah..." Komari is watching in awe, this is all so unbelievable and... ...awesome. Riki is awesome... She"s watching him from behind. She"s watching Riki perform- "What is-" *BOOOOOOOOMMM-!* "GROOOOAAAARRR-!" The Shadow was completely blown away by that attack-All of its remains turned into black mists and they disappeared. The battle is over. ... ...From afar... "Huh!?" Kyosuke heard that explosion from afar. ...Somewhere else... "Huh!?" "Wha-!?" "Ah!" "Guah!" Rin, Kanata, Kengo and A-chan heard that explosion as well. "Wh-What was that!?" Rin asked. ... ...Back to Riki and Komari... "huff, huff, huff. Ah." Riki is catching is breath. "Groooaar," Seth disappeared from above. "Ah..." Komari is completely in awe. The monster is gone... Riki defeated it. "That was... ... ... Ah..." She smiled brightly like the Sun. "Th-THAT WAS AMAZING!" She exclaimed happily and cheerfully. ... ...Later... "Augh," Riki knelt on the ground. He"s still exhausted from all that excursion, sort of speaking. "You"re safe now." He told Komari who is behind him. "You," Komari went in front of him and she knelt down as well, they"re facing each other. "What was that? There was that dragon and-and-and-" "Ah, it"s... complicated." Riki said slightly looking down. "I"ll explain... later..." "Hm, you can tell about it all you want. Either way, this is now the second time huh?" "Eh?" Riki slightly raised his head. "A second... time?" "Hm," Komari nodded. "This is now the second time that you rescued me. From those bullies and now... from that monster." "Oh, I... see." He said with his eyes looking slightly downward on the left side. "Hm, well," He tried to raise his body- "Gurk!" But he couldn"t. "Ah! You better be careful." Komari said as she placed her hands on his shoulders to support him. "Ah, I"m tired..." "Hm, yeah, I can tell that by looking at you. Say... Do you think I should give you a reward for rescuing me this second time...?" "Eh?" Riki looked at Komari. "Hm, you don"t have to do that." "No, not thanking is a crime! I should give you something as reward!" Komari insisted. "Ah..." Riki sheepishly looked down at his left side, it seems Komari is pretty adamant about giving him something in return for saving her this second time. "Well, you can do as you wish, I guess." He said not looking at her. "Alright! Well then..." She said as she put an index finger on her chin. "How about..." ...She placed her hands on Riki"s cheek, grabbing his face. "Eh?" He is forced to look at her. Then... She leaned closer... closer... ... ...chu. "...!" ...He got kissed! On the lips. "Hmm, hmm," "Hmm, hmm...!" Riki couldn"t process immediately what"s going on, but the taste of her lips is like orange, and he feels... tired, even more tired than before. "Hmm, hmm, hmmm~" "Hmm... hm..." Riki"s eyes are becoming heavy now... ...chu... Komari broke the kiss. She let go of Riki"s cheeks. "Hehe," She sheepishly laughed with her own cheeks blushing red. "Ah..." Riki is slightly looking down, he can"t look at her like this. "I... am... ah..." Then he started to lose all of his energy all at once-He fell unconcious. "Ah! H-Hey! A-Are you okay!? H-Hey, whoever you are, I don"t know your name yet, but..." Komari shook his body. "Hey, come on, answer me!" ...tap, tap, tap, tap! ...tap, tap, tap, tap! ...tap, tap,tap, tap! "Hey, what"s going on-Huh?" The group, Rin, A-chan, Kanata and Kengo, arrived at the scene. A-chan is the first to speak up. "Huh?" Kanata saw Riki unconcious with Komari shaking him. "Ah." "Wha..." The next ones to react are Rin and Kengo. "N-Naoe!" "Naoe!" "..." Riki could hear the voices of everyone from afar... Then... There was only... ...darkness, afterwards... End of Chapter 3 Note: If you must know, the scenes with Komari are reflecting the scenes in Persona 3 where Minato saved Yukari from the Magician Shadow. I"ll stop here for now and see if I will get any reviews at all. I might get motivated to continue this if I receive some. Well, I hope you have enjoyed this. Farewell. ...Inside Riki"s Psyche... "Agh... Ah..." Riki slowly opened his eyes, he found himself in a gray colored place where there is nothing but gray color everywhere... Then that gray color turned dark, but it"s not completely dark here... ...shaaaadddeeee... ...shaaadddeee... ...Then a lot of rectangular shaped mirrors appeared hovering about. They appeared out of nowhere as if they"ve been here from the start and that they were invisible for the whole time. "Huh?" Riki looked about at his surrounding, "This place is..." "So you"re finally awake." A hollowed sounding of Riki"s voice is heard. "Huh?" -Then all of the sudden, Shadow Riki is being shown in all of those rectangular shaped mirrors. "Other... me?" "Can you heed my voice clearly? You became unconcious after you have used the Fusion Spell for the second time. Hmph, but I suppose it is nothing to worry about. So simply calm yourself..." Shadow Riki crossed his arms together. "By the way..." "Hm?" "How long do you plan to lie still there?" "Huh? Oh, r-right." Riki stood up straight and dusted himself off. Then he turned to the mirrors about, "What happened after... after..." He remembered defeating that huge Shadow and saving Komari... "Things have improved ever since you defeated that abomination. But the time for our conversation is short, so I"ll be clear... Don"t overdo your own body, and act on your own volition. That is all." Shadow Riki disappeared from the mirrors, they"re all blank again. ...shaaaaaaaaddddddeeee... Then it became very dark in this place, only Riki can be seen now...

The two cards merged. Fusion Spell: Infinity! Flaaashh-! A barrier formed around Riki. "Infinity." He said looking up still, then he turned to the Shadows in front. "Groooaaarr!" "Groooaaarr!" "Groooaaarrr!" They all lunged towards him-! Block, Block, Block-! The Shadows found themselves unable to reach Riki due to the invisible barrier around him. "It worked. Hm," Riki readied himself. "Alright..." -Flash-! He summoned his persona card, it"s floating and rotatin in front of him. Then he reached it out with his right hand- Flaash-! -And he crushed it. BLAASSTT-! Blue mists burst out of the ground. "Persona...!" Riki said. BLAAST-! "GROOOOOAAAARR-!" Seth is summoned. It hovered above, "Hm," Then Riki extended his arm forward. "Destroy them." He spoke in a combination of his and his Shadow"s voices. "GROOOOAAAAARR-!" Seth obliged to that command. *Maragidyne* "GROOOAAAARR-!" *ABLAAAAZZEEE-!* *ABLAAAAAAAAZZEE-!* "Groooaaaarrr-!" The Shadows were burned to ashes by the wave of flames that Seth summoned. "..." Riki watched as the flames dispersed, "Grooaarr," Then Seth disappeared as well. "Shadows... Hm, I guess my other me wasn"t lying about them. But where do I-" Sharp-! "I will take this girl..." ...Riki recognized this voice... It"s that same wicked and malevolent voice that heard earlier at his room. "Komari Kamikita, your soul is mine!" Sharp-! "Grk!" Riki touched his forehead in pain as he could no longer hear that voice. "Gr," Then he opened his eyes, "Kamikita... Komari..." He removed his hand from his forehead- Tap, tap,tap, tap-! -Then he started running at the left direction. "I have to get to her... Before that monster does! Kamikita-saaan!" He said running at full speed! ...Meanwhile, at the other side of the Riverbank... -Tap, tap, tap, tap-! "Dammit, dammit, dammit...!" Kyosuke is running away from something huge... TAP, TAP, TAP, TAP-! This freak of nature, a large Shadow, is using its multiple arms to walk-or run as he is chasing Kyosuke-and he"s wielding multiples blades at the same time. -tap, tap, tap, tap-! "Dammit, what have I ever done to you!?" Kyosuke is already running out of breath as far as he could tell. He can"t keep running forever. "Dammit, grr!" He took a detour and he ran at the alley way that is narrow in which the Shadow cannot follow him. "GROOOAAAARRR-!" The Shadow was enraged by that fact as it just stood outside the alley, giving a loud roar. "Tch, see you later, loser!" Kyosuke mocked the Shadow as he continued running throught he narrow alley way. Riiing, riiing, riing-! -His cellphone rang. He answered it. "Hello?" "Hey, where are you!? We can"t find your signal anywhere!" It sounded like Rin"s voice. Kyosuke cannot mistake it for someone else. "I"m at the Riverbank, at the southern side. Anyway, I"m still running, but... Gr, I gotta stop, I"m pretty tired." He stopped running and he put his hands on his knees to catch his breath. "huff, huff, huff, ah. huff, huff..." "Hey, are you all right?" He answered, "Yeah, I"m fine. Sorry, but I gotta rest here for a while. I"ll send you a strong signal so you can detect me, if anything else-" "GROOOAAAARRR-!" The Shadow is heard from afar. "Hey! What was that!?" It seems Rin is agitated when she heard that roar of the Shadow. "That was the Shadow. I"ll be waiting for you guys here, hurry!" "Huh? But-" Before Rin could say anything further, Kyosuke hung up. "huff, that damn bastard... What the hell is he doing now...?" He"s catching his breath still. "I only hope he can"t follow me here in this alley..." ... ...At the middle of the street, at the Southern Riverbank side... One coffin is standing on the middle of the road... -Shaade-! -It transformed into a person-Komari. "Hm," Her eyes are closed. Then she slowly opened them, the first thing she saw is a greenish environment with coffins on the street-there are two of them. Komari blinked twice. "Eh?" Her facial expression is groggy, she looked around and she saw more coffins. The river"s color is that of a sea of blood. "Ah... *gasp!*" That sight alone was enough for her to be fully awaken. "Wha-Wha-Wha..." She looked around nervously and agitatedly, "Wh-Wh-Where am I!? Where is..." She turned to her left- Sharp-! "Komari Kamikita," An eerie voice called out her name. "Huh?" Komari heard it, and she seems to be the only one who can hear it. "Your life is mine... Your soul... is mine-! GROOOOAAAARRR-!" "Gyah...!" Komari felt even more agitated and she immediately looked at her right side-and what she saw was- -a large monster... coming out of the alley... It has multiple arms that are carrying blades and it"s also carrying a mask. "*gasp*! Wah... Waa..." Komari was terrified at the sight of that monster. And she can"t help but-"Gyaaaaahhh-!" Her scream echoed throughout the neighborhood. ... ...From afar... "Ah!" "Wah!" "Huh?" "What...!?" The group-Rin, A-chan, Kengo and Kanata, heard that scream. "Wha-What was that!?" A-chan asked, agitated. "That sounded like... Someone is in trouble!" Kengo said, alarmed. "Tch," Kanata picked her cellphone from her pocket and she called-"Kurugaya-san! Is there someone else within the vicinity!?" ... ...At the command room... "We just heard someone"s scream nearby. Is someone else in here!?" Kanata asked. "I"m looking on it." Kurugaya is operating the console. "Hey, Inohara, can you check up on the boy for me? We have to make sure he"s safe." "A-Alright! He"s at the second floor, right?" "Naturally. He"s a guy, after all. Now hurry! I have to track down Natsume"s signal. And it seems there"s someone else-Huh?" Just then, Kurugaya detected a signal that is moving. It would seem that someone is running very fast within the vicinity. "What the... Another signal?" "What"s wrong, Kurugaya?" Kanata asked. "I... I don"t know. I"m detecting a signal. It"s-" ... ...Back to Komari... "GROOOAAARR-!" The Shadow is approaching her. "Gyaaaahh-! S-Someone...!" She"s backing away slowly from this monster. "Kamikita-san...!"Someone"s voice is heard. "Huh?" Komari was surprised upon hearing that voice, she turned around to see... ... ...tap, tap, tap, tap... ...tap, tap, tap, tap... ...tap, tap, tap, tap-! "Kamikita-saaan!" It"s Riki running at full speed! "Y-You..." Komari remembered him from last time. Where he saved her from those punks just this morning. "What are you-" "GROOOAAARR-!" The Shadow approached Komari-to the point that it"s about to launch an attack on her-! "Ah," Komari turned her attention back to the Shadow and she immediately realized she"s in trouble. The Shadow raised one blade-then it swung it towards Komari-! "GROOOOAAAAARRR-!" "Gyaaaaaahhh-!" Komari covere herself in terror with her eyes closed. "Gr, don"t you dare to even TOUCH HER-!" Riki said as he ran in-between Komari and the Shadow, he said that last part with the combination of his and his Shadow"s voice, by the way. Flaash-! Flaash-! Riki summoned two cards on his palms. "GROOOOAAARR-!" The Shadow is about to hit its target-! "Fusion Spell: Infinity!" Riki exclaimed- FLAASH-! A barrier formed around Komari. "GROOOOAAAARRR-!" BLOOOOCCCKK-! The Shadow"s attack couldn"t reach Riki or Komari due to the impregnable barrier. The sound of the screeching blade annoyed Riki since it"s so damn loud. "Gr, why you..." Riki covered his ears since the screeching is so loud. "GROOOAAARR-!" Bloocck! Blooock! Block! Block! Block! Block-! The Shadow didn"t stop attacking and it"s trying to pierce the barrier with its blades. "Hm?" Komari opened her eyes and she found herself to be safe and sound. "Eh?" She stopped covering herself and In front of her, Riki is covering his ears due to the sounds of metal being very deafening. "You..." "Gr, would you stop that already! Try as many as you like and the result will always be the same!" Riki said to the Shadow as he removed his hands from his ears, then- Flash-! He summoned his persona card in front of him- FLASH-! He crushed it with his right hand- BLAASST-! "GROOOAAAARR-!" Seth is summoned. It hovered and it turned its attention to the Shadow in front. "Groooaarr!" *Myriad Arrows* Tsing, tsing, tsing... tsing, tsing, tsing, TSIING-! "GROOOOAAAARRR-!" A wave of piercing forces destroyed some of the Shadow"s arms and they exploded in the process, the Shadow is also wounded on its middle. "GROOOAAARR-!" -Riki extended his arm forcefully. "Finish him off, Seth!" He commanded of his persona. "GROOOOOAAAARRR-!" *Megidolaon* Three massive lights gathered above, then they slowly descended towards the Shadow while condensing altogether- "Ah..." Komari is watching in awe, this is all so unbelievable and... ...awesome. Riki is awesome... She"s watching him from behind. She"s watching Riki perform- "What is-" *BOOOOOOOOMMM-!* "GROOOOAAAARRR-!" The Shadow was completely blown away by that attack-All of its remains turned into black mists and they disappeared. The battle is over. ... ...From afar... "Huh!?" Kyosuke heard that explosion from afar. ...Somewhere else... "Huh!?" "Wha-!?" "Ah!" "Guah!" Rin, Kanata, Kengo and A-chan heard that explosion as well. "Wh-What was that!?" Rin asked. ... ...Back to Riki and Komari... "huff, huff, huff. Ah." Riki is catching is breath. "Groooaar," Seth disappeared from above. "Ah..." Komari is completely in awe. The monster is gone... Riki defeated it. "That was... ... ... Ah..." She smiled brightly like the Sun. "Th-THAT WAS AMAZING!" She exclaimed happily and cheerfully. ... ...Later... "Augh," Riki knelt on the ground. He"s still exhausted from all that excursion, sort of speaking. "You"re safe now." He told Komari who is behind him. "You," Komari went in front of him and she knelt down as well, they"re facing each other. "What was that? There was that dragon and-and-and-" "Ah, it"s... complicated." Riki said slightly looking down. "I"ll explain... later..." "Hm, you can tell about it all you want. Either way, this is now the second time huh?" "Eh?" Riki slightly raised his head. "A second... time?" "Hm," Komari nodded. "This is now the second time that you rescued me. From those bullies and now... from that monster." "Oh, I... see." He said with his eyes looking slightly downward on the left side. "Hm, well," He tried to raise his body- "Gurk!" But he couldn"t. "Ah! You better be careful." Komari said as she placed her hands on his shoulders to support him. "Ah, I"m tired..." "Hm, yeah, I can tell that by looking at you. Say... Do you think I should give you a reward for rescuing me this second time...?" "Eh?" Riki looked at Komari. "Hm, you don"t have to do that." "No, not thanking is a crime! I should give you something as reward!" Komari insisted. "Ah..." Riki sheepishly looked down at his left side, it seems Komari is pretty adamant about giving him something in return for saving her this second time. "Well, you can do as you wish, I guess." He said not looking at her. "Alright! Well then..." She said as she put an index finger on her chin. "How about..." ...She placed her hands on Riki"s cheek, grabbing his face. "Eh?" He is forced to look at her. Then... She leaned closer... closer... ... ...chu. "...!" ...He got kissed! On the lips. "Hmm, hmm," "Hmm, hmm...!" Riki couldn"t process immediately what"s going on, but the taste of her lips is like orange, and he feels... tired, even more tired than before. "Hmm, hmm, hmmm~" "Hmm... hm..." Riki"s eyes are becoming heavy now... ...chu... Komari broke the kiss. She let go of Riki"s cheeks. "Hehe," She sheepishly laughed with her own cheeks blushing red. "Ah..." Riki is slightly looking down, he can"t look at her like this. "I... am... ah..." Then he started to lose all of his energy all at once-He fell unconcious. "Ah! H-Hey! A-Are you okay!? H-Hey, whoever you are, I don"t know your name yet, but..." Komari shook his body. "Hey, come on, answer me!" ...tap, tap, tap, tap! ...tap, tap, tap, tap! ...tap, tap,tap, tap! "Hey, what"s going on-Huh?" The group, Rin, A-chan, Kanata and Kengo, arrived at the scene. A-chan is the first to speak up. "Huh?" Kanata saw Riki unconcious with Komari shaking him. "Ah." "Wha..." The next ones to react are Rin and Kengo. "N-Naoe!" "Naoe!" "..." Riki could hear the voices of everyone from afar... Then... There was only... ...darkness, afterwards... End of Chapter 3 Note: If you must know, the scenes with Komari are reflecting the scenes in Persona 3 where Minato saved Yukari from the Magician Shadow. I"ll stop here for now and see if I will get any reviews at all. I might get motivated to continue this if I receive some. Well, I hope you have enjoyed this. Farewell. ...Inside Riki"s Psyche... "Agh... Ah..." Riki slowly opened his eyes, he found himself in a gray colored place where there is nothing but gray color everywhere... Then that gray color turned dark, but it"s not completely dark here... ...shaaaadddeeee... ...shaaadddeee... ...Then a lot of rectangular shaped mirrors appeared hovering about. They appeared out of nowhere as if they"ve been here from the start and that they were invisible for the whole time. "Huh?" Riki looked about at his surrounding, "This place is..." "So you"re finally awake." A hollowed sounding of Riki"s voice is heard. "Huh?" -Then all of the sudden, Shadow Riki is being shown in all of those rectangular shaped mirrors. "Other... me?" "Can you heed my voice clearly? You became unconcious after you have used the Fusion Spell for the second time. Hmph, but I suppose it is nothing to worry about. So simply calm yourself..." Shadow Riki crossed his arms together. "By the way..." "Hm?" "How long do you plan to lie still there?" "Huh? Oh, r-right." Riki stood up straight and dusted himself off. Then he turned to the mirrors about, "What happened after... after..." He remembered defeating that huge Shadow and saving Komari... "Things have improved ever since you defeated that abomination. But the time for our conversation is short, so I"ll be clear... Don"t overdo your own body, and act on your own volition. That is all." Shadow Riki disappeared from the mirrors, they"re all blank again. ...shaaaaaaaaddddddeeee... Then it became very dark in this place, only Riki can be seen now... "I... What?" Then he himself is engulfed by the darkness... "I... feel... sleepy..." ...Those were his last words before silence took over... ... ... ...At the command room... "Hng, ah..." Riki once again opened his eyes slowly, the first thing he saw is the ceiling of a room that he"s not familiar with. "Ah... Ah." His expression tells that he"s fully awake, and he found himself lying on a sofa. He raised his body up, "This place is..." He said looking around. The one thing that caught his interest greatly is the huge monitor in front. "Hm? A... computer?" -The door opened, it seems Kanata has brought a tray of food. "Hm? Ah, Naoe-kun!" "Hm? Futaki...-san?" Kanata approached Riki and put the tray down on the table in front of Riki. "Are you feeling better?" She asked, placing a hand on his forehead and then placing a hand on her own forehead. "Huh? Uh, y-yeah." "Hm, I see." She removed her hands from their foreheads. "It doesn"t seem like your temperature is high or that it"s something that cannot be compared to my own temperature, so I suppose I could assume you are well." "A... Ah. Where... Where am I?" He asked, looking about at this room that he"s not familiar with. "Ah... This place is..." -The door opened, Rin is at the door, she didn"t came in, but she is taking a peek from there without opening the door widely... "Futaki-san, is he-Huh?" Then she saw Riki to be awake. "Ah! Y-You"re awake!" "Hm? Oh, R-Rin-san." "Rin-san, please call the others. We will begin our meeting in this very room." Kanata turned to Riki as she said that, "We will explain everything we can for you, Naoe-kun." She then bowed in an apologetic manner. "I apologize for not telling you about this much earlier, but we will disclose everything to you now." "Huh?" Riki blinked, "Disclose...?" ... ...Later... ...A long table has been presented on the middle, Kanata is sitting at the middle end with Riki sitting at the opposite side across her. "Um, what exactly... are you going to tell me?" Riki asked. "Hm, we will explain everything as soon as-" -The door opened, a lot of people came in. "Hm? Oh, Riki!" Kyosuke exclaimed joyously at the sight of Riki. "Naoe!" "Oh, it"s that one guy!" A-chan and Masato exclaimed joyously. "Everyone..." Riki is eyeing everyone on the door. "Hm, I see you have awakened, boy." Kurugaya said. "Hello, Naoe Riki." Mio said without much emotion. "Huh?" Riki remembered her from the school assembly at the auditorium. "You are..." "Hm?" Kurugaya turned to Mio, then to Riki once more. "Ara? Have you met before?" "Oh, well... Y-Yeah, I suppose so." "Hm," Mio nodded. "At the school assembly. He picked up my handkerchief by chance and returned it to me." "Oh, a gentleman, I see." Kengo said eyeing Riki. "You"re an honorable, decent person, I see." "Eh?" ... ...Everyone is seated at the seats provided on the sides of the table. "Very well. We will now begin our meeting regarding our case with Naoe Riki-kun." Kanata said, commencing the meeting in-session. Upon saying that, everyone turned to Riki. "Before we proceed, however," Kanata picked her cellphone from her pocket and dialed someone. She waited for the other line to pick up, and when they answered-"Hello? It"s me. I would like of you to bring Kamikita Komari to the command room. We have something to discuss with her." "Kamikita-san?' Riki thought. "Hm, it"s that cute girl that the boy rescued from that huge Shadow, yes?" Kurugaya asked. Rin nodded. "Yeah. She was escorted by Futaki-san and Nishizono-san after that fight..." "We took her somewhere safe. Then we planned to explain everything to her once Naoe-san has recovered." Mio explained passively. "Hm, I see." Kurugaya said. She then turned to Riki. "You are brave, boy. To risk your life for that girl... Hm, you may be more than I thought." She said giving a somewhat michievous expression. Riki sweat dropped at that. "Uh, I... I guess?" "Well anyway, it"s good to see you awake, Riki. We were surprised when we found out that you went outside during the dark hour and then you saved that girl from harm." Kyosuke said. "Eh? The... dark hour?" Upon Riki asking that, Kanata has finished her phone call and she put her cellphone away, "We will explain that now. Now then..." She placed both of her hands on the table. "Naoe-kun, to begin with, would you believe me if I told you that day consists of more than 24 hours?" "..." Riki was indeed confused by that question. "Excuse me?" "Haha, I"m not surprised by your reaction." A-chan said, chuckling. "But you already experienced this twice now, you know." "That"s right, boy. You must have noticed the signs during your first day here. Futaki mentioned that you arrived prior to the end of the dark hour during your first day." Kurugaya said. "Ah," Riki remembered the greenish environment and all of those coffins about. "You mean..." "Surely you"ve already seen those coffins on the street, there was nothing working-no electric devices or equipment functioning and the surrounding was green in color, right?" Kyosuke said. "Coffins... Nothing was working..." Riki said recalling his first day, and then the time when he rescued Komari... "What was... going on?" "That was the dark hour. A time period hidden from one day and the next." Kanata said. "Hidden?" "Hm," She nodded. "I suppose you can think of it as something that no ordinary person is aware of. But the dark hour is very real, it occurs each night-at midnight. It will happen tonight and every night to come." "Ah." Now that surprised Riki. "I know it"s all of a sudden, but it"s true. Heh, I was scared too when I first learned of it." Masato said being understanding of Riki"s position. "Hmhm," Kengo nodded. "Fear not, though. You have comrades who will guide you in the right way." "Hey, don"t give him more hard time than it is." Rin said to the two guys who spoke up. "Uh no, it is all right." Riki said. He slightly looked down on the table, "So you mean to tell me that... Those previous nights that I experienced... are... supernatural phenomenon?" "Yup, you got it." Kyosuke said. "Well, I wouldn"t worry about it too much if I were you." "Kyosuke! He just learned of it! Don"t say it like it"s a natural thing for those who are new to it." Rin said. "Hm," Kurugaya nodded, then she turned to Riki. "Are you shocked? Are you afraid?" Riki slightly raised his head. "No, it"s just... Well..." "Well, I wouldn"t expect you to collect all of your thoughts together just yet. But be assured that we will offer you our protection and our guidance in this entire ordeal." Kanata assured. She turned to everyone around her, "Are we all in agreement to this?" """Yeah!""" "Sure thing." "No problem." "Okay." Everyone said while nodding. Then they all turned to Riki. "Well, Riki, we"ll give you enough time to think about this." Kyosuke said. "But for now..." He formed a serious expression. "Let us discuss about those monsters that you defeated." "Eh?" Riki recalled those "Shadows" that he fought and defeated. "Monsters?" Everyone nodded. "Yeah. Those nasty things that appear only during the dark hour." Masato said. "Normal people don"t realize the dark hour exists, but there is also another factor that they are oblivious at aside from that." Kengo said. "You"ve seen them, yes? Those creatures that you defeated... We call them "Shadows". They only appear during the time period when the dark hour occurs and they attack anyone who is not among those who have transmogrified into a coffin."

"Well, as class representative of class 1, you are the honorary host for tonight"s bonfire party tonight, so please, Orimura-sensei would like you to be respectful looking and... and..." She stutters in between words and information. "Ah." Ichika knows about this, he has to dressed in a tuxedo as in to prepare at the host of this so-called party, it"s a bonfire night to remember, meaning everyone will be involved. "Hm?" Come to think of it, if Charlotte will be in, does this mean...? "..." Ichika remembers something. ...Flashback... Ichika is at his room with appliances from the infirmary all around him, all over his body to be precise, Charlotte is sitting beside him on the bed. "Um, Ichika...?" This was just a temporary... no, it should be now, as in tonight bonfire party... "Hm? Yes?" Ichika asked with something on his mouth. "Uh well, I already told you that I need to do something about situation right? Well, I decided to... I decided to..." "Decided to what?" "I decided to... I..." Thinking... throb, throb. "I will..." "...?" "..." Ponder... ponder... ponder... "I will..." Then images of Ichika and her on the sunset staring at each other at the hall. "I"m going to reveal that I"m a woman." "Eh?" End of flashback Was she serious? She"s going to... reveal everyone that... "A-Anyway Orimura-kun, please come with us to the faculty room to... uh..." "..." Right, for proper dress up attirement, well, maybe a two tuxedos of white and black will be his choosing but... ...At the facutly... "Ah." Ichika stares at the mirror, with Chifuyu testing out the tuxedos presented, there is more than one actually, a brown, a white, a black and... well, all sort of colors that are proper for a tuxedo. "Hm, not this one, not this one, this one is just like your school uniform." Chifuyu said as she and Yamada discussed about the attire while Ichika would just stare groggily at the mirror with him being reflected on it, the white was certainly like the same as Ichika"s school uniform, heck, is that even a tuxedo? It doesn"t a tie anyway and... and... It"s the exact school uniform! Oh well, it doesn"t matter, he"s fine with that actually. "Oh, how about this?" "Eh?" Yamada presents something like a cosplay armor of something like people wear in a fantasy world wherein future technology reigns and people living in the galaxy in many planets and spaceships are common, like this armor of that of commander. "Ah." Ichika wears it, it has a blue cape too, which is making him look like a prince figure. "..." Though his mind is pretty groggy at the moment to think or ponder about that. "Wa, it looks good." "Hm, it looks good, but Yamada, you got this from one that erotic manga you confiscated from the girls right? What was that? Something called Galaxy troopers or galaxy tropers or something." Chifuyu said recalling the pile or set of manga these girls in the academy has. "Wha- I-I didn"t- I don"t read those." "Yeah right.' Chifuyu thought. "Anyway, since there are no objections on that, I guess you"ll wear that Ichika, prepare yourself." "Hai. sigh." By the way, there are no classes right now and since the teachers are quite on a party tonight, it"s okay to refer to each other like family, just like Chifuyu just referred to her younger brother by his first name and him calling her Chifuyu-nee wouldn"t be bad as well. "So, when do I...?" "Everyone is still preparing outside, the bonfire hasn"t been lit so you better just stay put for a while, you haven"t fully recovered right?" "Hai." "Sa, go back to your room and fill in some supplies of medical treatment for you." "Ah no, that"s not necessary." "Why is that?" "Uh..." Two reasons: One, he just need some rest as far as he can tell, the other... there is another one in his room who is not allowed there, so the second reason... Second: Laura is still there, probably. Naked as well, and if anyone sees her... there will be unknown consequences so best not allow that. "I just... need to rest." "Are you sure?" "Hai." "Hm, very well, I"ll take up your word on that, ja, dismiss, you can go now." "Hai." ...Meanwhile, outside, three people are line up. These are Houki, Rin and Cecilia. "Hm." They are all in dilemma, Ichika just exited the faculty office. "I-Ichika will be the host, and I better..." Regarding who take the last dance in the bonfire, Ichika will be the host in which he will be the dance partner of whoever wear the most beautiful dress as well as the most beautiful looking student. Wonder who could perform such a feat? Houki doesn"t consider herself much attractive due to... due to... well, complicated reasons, one, she"s onto kendo, second, she gets angry pretty quickly, third... well, she"s shy and doesn"t seem to have the guts to do it. "But I... But I..." Clenching her fist. "Ichika, hm, I wonder what kind of dress would be attractive." Rin"s petite body is certainly attractive and her twin tails too for that matter, her attitude and way of moving can certainly be dazzling to anyone to that of brightness and cheerfulness, something most guys would like to hang out with. Well, that and her upbeat personality can be described as cute as well as boastful and bossy. "Ichika-san, hm, Japanese style is something that is not yet accustomed to me." The three ponder on what kind of dress to wear tonight. ...Meanwhile, at room of Charlotte... and a certain someone "Hm? That"s weird?" What is weird is that her roommate, whose bed remains untouched, was supposed to be use, and no, it"s not like that roommate left or something but it"s that it was never used. "Oh well." It"s already morning so it has little matter in the matter, but right now, Charlotte stares at the mirror, she can"t keep her gender a secret forever. "Hm, I must..." Staring at the yellowish dress that is prepared for her, secretly, by those resistance in France or those who are trying to rebuild the Dunois corp at the moment. "I must... with Ichika..." She dreams of something like in the middle of the bonfire on the campus later tonight, there will be two people standing on the middle, it"s her and Ichika and they... dance... melodramatically and... lovely and then... the main event of... of... a...ki... ki.. kis... "Uwa, no, I can"t just... everyone is..." She blushes at the thought of that. Everyone will be watching afterall, whoever it is who is branded as the most beautiful, well-dressed student in campus will have a dance with the only male in campus as well as the only male in those who can use IS and the one will be chosen will have the last dance. "Uwa, uwa, I can"t... I can"t... keep my posture, I must... calm down, Charlotte... you"re... you"re..." Two chibi Charles appear and dance merrily while holding out each other"s finger tips and keep saying like... "The night of love festival. The night of love festival. The night of love festival.' and there are some background heart shapes all around them as they dance. "Uwa, this is... this is..." ...Meanwhile, at 1025 "Sigh, bonfire festival huh?" This is like an halloween party except that it involves dancing on the bonfire at the field, it will be like something to remember by in one"s life in school and something like this is where couples are borned, though that is just superstition, or not, many wishes are available, but in this case, in all IS academy"s students, they are all girls, which means... the chance of being born a couple... is low, very low. Absolute 0 in fact, or is it... nah, best not rely on such symbols of numbers, or one will have a brain headache of sort, Ichika feels like his brain is like cycling part of a vehicle whenever he enters into Zero mode so he knows that feels. "gulp, I"m going to dance with someone at the bonfire dance... ah." He feels nervous about that, he knows this is just like proposing to someone but... hey, this is just a friendly dance right? Like something you are oblidge to do? Well, that"s what he thinks anyway. "Oh well." The other guy, the other Ichika, won"t be arising soon since he"s on vacation, sort to speak, and Ichika needs to find someway to deal with this. ...At Charlotte"s room and a certain someone... "..." Charlotte just put on her yellowish, attractive dress, her hair is now longer than before as in this posture, she looks more beautiful, a princess in fact, or a goddess. "..." Taking a deep breath. "I can do this, if I"m... if I"m with Ichika." Remembering their promise on that sunset, she mustered enough courage to go through with this. ...Later, at the field... "Yosh, now, one, two... fire!" Nohohon-san and her friends are helping with the preparation of the dance. One of her friends fire an arrow with a flaming paper on it towards the pile of woods and stuff on the middle, igniting the bonfire background for this dance, it lits brightly like that of a new year. "Wow." "Alright!" "Yaay!" Everyone cheers, preparation is under way and all students are eager to get dressed up, well, except... "..." Ichika sits at the side in a grogging manner in which his face tells so, he constantly falls off his head but then he rised it up again, and again, and again, countless times now since this restless morning and that Laura... wonder where she is? Ichika concluded that she may be around, probably waiting for the right opportunity to touch his body there and there and there... heck, if this continues she won"t be no longer be... well, she"ll be incorrigible if she goes on like this... it"s madness! Madness Ichika can tell! Why? Because that kind of sexual interraction is just too explicit for their age, well, Ichika is now under the age of... no, no, no, no more discussion about this stuff, it"s just too much of a mental burden. "sigh." Ichika lowers his head as the figure of Chifuyu and Yamada enter the stage upfront, Ichika and the rest are eager, well, except Ichika who is looking down on the ground of sand while the others are eager, everyone is eager to listen to the opening session of this occasion. "Well then, as you know, this is just one of our occasion where we will celebrate why IS users are born into this world," Chifuyu started. "But, this is also one lifetime opportunity for you young people to experience your lifetime experience of enjoying yourselves, so thank us instructors for this opportunity for you to handle on your own accord." That was sort of cold speech, well, to Ichika anyway. "Yaayy! Onee-sama!" While the rest are simply ecstatic about these, they"re young and bright, most women are like that. "Now then, as you know, Orimura Ichika will be the host for this bonfire party, bring him upfront here." "Haayy!" "Ah." The host in this party reluctantly stood up for two reasons: one, he"s not yet in a condition to be energetic like the rest of the girls here, and second, he"s being called for central attention, again. "Orimura-kun, over here." "Yeah, everyone is waiting for you upfront." "Come on, come on." "Hai, hai." He said gently passing through and the girls making sure he doesn"t fall due to his groggy situation, he climbs up the stage. "Well then, all of you will be showing off if you guys have all the desire and the right to be his dance partner tonight." "Gyaah!" "A dance with Orimura-kun!" "We all have the chance!" "Ah." Ichika feels more bewildered as he is once again, the central of attention, he doesn"t like this, he wished Chifuyu didn"t have to mention that. "Silence! I"m not done yet, now, I want you all on your proper attire by 7, after that, all of you are to gather here for this party." "Gyaah!" "Kyaah!" Everyone couldn"t contain their excitement as Chifuyu continued. "Ah." And Ichika himself better be ready. "Haha, everyone is eager, huh Orimura-kun?" Yamada asked, she just handed the right tuxedo for Ichika, it"s a black one, that cosplay one is pretty too attractive, too damn attractive in fact, that someone might just laugh at you, Ichika protested at this earlier at the faculty office. "Ah, they are." "Hmhm, well then, you better get dressed up as well." "Hai." ...In a nearby locker... "sigh," With the tuxedo in hand, Ichika prepares to change. "Hm?" Come to think of, there"s supposed to be Charlotte, who is disguised as a male still, should be here right? Where is she? "I wonder where..." "Ichika?" The voice of someone familiar. "Huh? Char... lotte...?" She comes out of the side and... "Ah." Beautiful, simply beautiful. She"s dressed in a dress that is yellowish, reflecting that of her hair, which is making her like a light of a goddess and many many ways of describing her beauty. "Ah." Ichika is speechless. "I-Ichika..." "Charlotte, what are you...?" "I"m planning to... I"m planning to..." She looks down. "Charlotte?" "I"m planning to... I"m planning to reveal my gender tonight." "Eh?" The sound and light of the bonfire reflected around the campus, it seems there are some who remained outside and set up the occasion"s setting here, there will dinning tables, some food, which are all for dessert, then some balloons, is this supposed to be like a birthday party? Most likely not. And then some more decorations and women dressed in dresses and Ichika... being at the center of the bonfire. "..." "..." "..." "..." ...Later, at the field. "..." The party has started and Ichika is still puzzled about what Charlotte said, is she serious? Going to confess to everyone her secret in front of everyone? That"s... way to gutsy. And... well... "Um, everyone, uh, I know this is so sudden but... um, Dunois-san has something to say." Yamada said in front, she"s also dressed in a dress now and she announced something Ichika has been expecting. Everyone stops at what they are doing and turns upstage. "Huh?" "Who...?" "She"s beautiful..." "Wow, she"s like an angel and..." Charlotte stood upfront in the stage on the podium where Yamada was. "Everyone, arigatou, I appreciate all of you listening to me, the truth is... the truth is..." "..." Ichika swallows his saliva, this is it, the moment of truth... the moment of truth... the moment of truth... "..." Sweating, sweating... "I am actually... I am actually..." "Wait, isn"t Charles-kun? Why is she... or wait, why is He dressed like that?" "I don"t know." Everyone wonders. "..." Ichika waits for the most heartthrobbing words. "I am actually... I am actually a girl, my real name is Charlotte Dunois, nice to meet you all." She smiles at them like a goddess smiling down on her people. "O..." "Ah." Everyone is speechless. "Ha ha, sorry I didn"t... told you before..." Charlotte said stuttering. "Um, okay, that"s enough now um... C-Charlotte-san and... oh, I mean uh Dunois-san and... ha ha." Yamada is stuttering as well. "Eh? Wh... She"s... a girl?" "Wow, I didn"t noticed at first." "So that"s why she looks beautiful." Everyone said. "..." Ichika could only sit near the bonfire, the sweat is not just coming from the heat but from nervousness as well. "Hey, wait, didn"t Orimura-kun specifically vouch for her when she entered into the academy?" "..." Ichika sweats more, it"s definitely not coming from the bonfire"s heat, but from nervousness. "Did he know that she was a girl but kept it from us?" "Huh? No way but..." "Ichika!" A voice called out. "Eh?" "Hm?" Ichika and the rest of the girls turn to that, it"s Rin in a white dress running towards Ichika, she grabs Ichika by his collar. "Wa, R-Rin." "What"s the meaning of this? You"ve known she was a girl but you kept it from us?" "That"s right Ichika-san, why didn"t you inform us of this?" Then Cecilia in a dress. "Ichika, you bastard." Houki sneers. "Hey, come on, I didn"t just- Guaah!" Ichika tries to explain but Rin suddenly deployed the Shenlong. "You cheating bastard, why did you-" She deploys the Ryuhow which is charging particles... "Ah." Ichika knows that the other Ichika can"t help him in this situation, but hey, maybe a wish can do right? "Ah." "Someone... save me, and...' "Ichikaa-!" charging... Charging up... "Uwa." "I"ll be dead.' boom! boom! And that was it, no more blasted pieces are... wait, this is real right? Ichika can still feel his breathing as well as his other senses. "Eh? I"m still alive.' Looking, or opening his eyes, he sees that Laura, with the Schwarzer Regen deployed, took Ichika from Rin"s grasp. "Huh?" He looks around while the rest stares were focused on him. "Wha... hey, you... your IS is repaired?" Since last time battle, the Schwarzer Regen was quite damaged due to its armaments being severely disarmed from its parts and some squeeshing sound can be heard as it operated last time. "Luckily the core didn"t got damaged so it only needed some backup parts." She said not letting go of him. "Oh, I see, then... byukku!" chu. "...!" "Hm...!" "Wa...!" "Guah...!" "Wha-Wha- Hmhmgnh." Ichika could feel something sweet lips of someone, it"s Laura"s. What"s going on here? Did something like a dream field got activated? Or is this an hallucination of the Z.E.R.O. programming affecting his mentality? ...No, this is real. It"s the first time he got kissed except of him doing the kissing. He does this whenever he is in Zero mode. "Hmmnghh- Guah!" "Y-You"ll be my bride and I will take no exception, you got it!" Said a blushing Laura. "Eh? I"m not the groom?" Normally it"s the guys who are entitled as the groom in a marriage. "I-I heard this how Japanese would go their way in proposing and accepting someone as their spouse." "..." Who told her such thing? Some crazy Japanese learning fanatic? Or... maybe she just misunderstood things from her own country? Amidst all this wondering, there are a lot of stuttering people like... "Y-You..." Rin and the others are in awe. "Y-You bastarrrdd-!" The Souten Gagetsu is deployed and the Ryuhow is charging up again. "Hm? H-Hey, I"m a victim here too you know!" Normally, when a guy got kissed by a cute silver girl, doll like face and well... anyway, Ichika didn"t enter into Zero mode despite the troubling situation. "It"s all your fault! All of it! Your fault!" "Wh-Whoa, hey!" She just throwed the Souten Gagetsu towards his directio and he ducked for cover. "Hmph!" clash! Laura shoved the weapon away. "G-Geez, that was dangerous! Huh?" Ichika turns to the other two girls in front of him. "Ichika-san, how dare you..." "Ichika..." It"s Rin and Houki. "H-Hey, calm down will you..." "Ichika... you cheating, weak bastard." "Ohohoho..." Both IS deployed, the other is not a personal one as Houki is not a personal IS user. Both girls are on a trance of... of... murder and... vengeance. "Hiyahahahaha!" Both laugh hysterically and the situation becomes dangerous. tsiign, bhewwing-! "Whoa!" boom, boom! "Gyaah!" "Uwaah!" The bonfire background has exploded, spreading forth all sort of sparks and splinters all over the place, this party has become chaos, chaos you can say! Run for it! Speaking of run for it... "Y-Yabe..." Ichika tries to pass through the running crowd. Tssantcht! "Guah!" A sword is stabbed in front of him, it belongs to a kendo club member. "Uh..." Turning around... "H-Houki..." "Ichika, how do you intend to explain?" "I"m the one who wants an explanation, wh-whoa!" He got dragged away by some of the passing people but... Someone catched him. "Huh?" Turning his head to the one who catched him, it"s a goddess... charlotte... "..." "...Ichika." "Wh-What?" "Why did you kiss a girl in front of me like that?" She asked that with a low tone and she seems to be on a mode of... destructive and anger, well... compare to the sweet gentle, Charlotte, she seems to be the angel of death or something... "Wahaha." A wicked smile... of horror. "Uh, Charlotte? I was kissed and I didn"t do it on purpose, and... by the way, why are you deploying your IS?" "Why?" The bread slicer is deployed, this is... this is... "Wa... ha ha... ha ha..." Laugh along the borders of the River of Styx, and then float there along with all the unfortunate souls who merely laugh once they reach their limit, and right now, the path to the underworld has just open up, with the name Orimura Ichika on the entrance, like they"re welcoming him, and a bunch of girls, including Houki, Rin, Cecilia and then Charlotte being at the side, picking up pitchfork that they are using like a entrance ceremony to welcome a guest to the underworld, in order for... for... for dinner... and... "Gyaah-!" boom, boom! "Ichika, explain yourself!" "Ichika, you weak bastard!" "It would be troublesome if you injured my bride." "H-Hey, don"t add more spice into this!" "Ichika!" "Orimura-kuun!" "W-Waah!" And that"s how it ends, like the bonfire worn out, and so did the snuff of life... well, not death but... well... what else can say? Like a bonfire that poop, it"s now an empty, and ruined state, of a party in here, with the victor of the dance goes to Laura since she"s the one... well, Ichika is her bride as she put it, and that"s how it ended... in an awkward way. End of Chapter 9 Note: Okay, since Ichika has now kissed all the heroines, it"s now time for the main antagonists to show themselves, in the following chapter after this, it will be now focusing on the Silver Gospel incident and right afterwards, the battle with the Phantom Task, I"m a little busy here, but I"ll update if I can, well, goodbye.

...Later that night, at the command room... -The door opened, everyone came in and they took their respective seats. Kanata sat at her usual seat, which is the same seat as before, and Riki"s seat became that of the one across her at the opposite side. He sat there. "Thank you for coming. Please, make yourselves comfortable." Everyone nodded and they sat in a comfortable position. "For a long time, our group consists only of me, A-chan, Kyosuke and the other members of Little Busters. That makes us six in total until recently, Kurugaya Yuiko joined us after we discovered her potential. The same can be said about Nishizono Mio-kun. Then our latest new members are, of course, Naoe Riki and Kamikita Komari." Everyone turned to those latest new members. Komari giggled sweetly as she waved hi at the others. Riki simply waved at them with a friendly expression. "Hm," Kanata nodded, then they all turned their attention back to the matter in hand. "Therefore, starting tonight and every other night to come, I would like for us to commence our exploration of Tartarus." ""Hm?"" Both Riki and Komari were confused at that. "Tar... tarus?" Komari asked. "Oh right, sorry we didn"t tell you." Kyosuke apologized. "Tartarus, you see, is... Hm, perhaps you can think of it as a Shadow nest. It"s where a lot of them can be found." "Shadow... nest?" "You mean... it"s where they"re coming from?" Riki asked. "Beats me. It"s something that we"ll have to find out ourselves." "Hm," Kanata nodded. "Then, as we are to agree on what to do, we shall go there before midnight tonight." ... ... ...Later, before midnight, at the school gate... Everyone has arrived here. "Well,we"re here." Masato stated. "It"s almost time..." Kengo said. Kanata checked the time on her cellphone, "Just wait a few seconds... It"s almost midnight..." ...tick... tock... tick... tock... tick-Sharp! ...Shhhaaaaaaaaaaadddddddeeeee... ...The environment became greenish in color, the water near the sidewalk became red as blood... "So... this is the dark hour." Riki said staring at the sky. "Hm," Komari is staring at him. Then she herself turned her gaze at the green sky. "That"s not something you should look at. Take a look. At our school." Kyosuke said, looking at the school campus along with the others. ""Hm?"" Both Riki and Komari turned their gazes to the school campus. ..... ... ...Reeeeeeedddddddgggghhhcccctttt-! Suddenly, the entire campus is covered with red fog(Note: a reference of the red fog in Persona 4: Arena Ultimax) and it became much more thicker afterwards. "Ah!" Komari exclaimed at the development in front, she covered her mouth with both hands in shock and surprise. "Ah." Riki is staring at what is transpiring in front of him with his mouth slightly opened. "It begins." Kyosuke said in a serious tone. "Hm," Rin, who is beside Kyosuke, nodded. -The school is completely engulfed by the red fog. But you can hear some condensing and colliding sounds coming from within the fog. ...Reeeeeeeddddddddggggghhhcctt-! -Soon after, the fog cleared and the school campus is no longer present. Replacing it is some sort of spiral-like portal that is very huge, that is the size of the campus itself, and it"s mesmerizing in its appearance. It"s on the ground and it"s largely wide. ""Ah!"" Both Riki and Komari exclaimed. "This is Tartarus. A path-a portal-that leads to a long series of stairways once you enter it. What lies beyond there is something we will have to discover ourselves." Kanata stated. Riki turned to Kanata, "A long series of... stairways?" "Hm," She nodded. "Well, you"ll see for yourself once we enter." Kyosuke said. "Come on, let"s get a move on." """Ah.""" The others said. They all moved forward- "Come on, Naoe." Masato said, gently pushing Riki forward. "Y-Yeah." "Come on, Kamikita-san." Kengo did the same to Komari. "H-Hm," She nodded as she is gently pushed forward. ...Since the two of them are new at this kind of thing, both Kengo and Masato are assigned to watch over them-give them a gentle push if necessary. ...Everyone entered this very wide portal that leads to- ... ...Tartarus, first block... -As everyone entered, they found themselves in a place that is dark and a long series of stairways lie before them, just like what Kanata stated. "This is it. This is only the first block. We have already explored some of the depths of this block before you two came along." Kanata said to Riki and Komari without looking at them as she is staring forward. Kyosuke stepped forward, "Well, we just came here to take a peek. This will be our first time exploring it, too. Hm," He smirked, "Kinda exciting huh? Going into the unknown, exploring the depths of this hellhole, and we can all come out laughing like youthfull people." ""Yeah!"" Both A-chan and Masato cheered with raised fists upward. "Yeah, we can all have fun here!" A-chan said without putting down her fist. "Yeah," Masato punched his palm, feeling excited. "well, should we get going?" "This isn"t a game, so don"t treat this lightly." Kanata reminded them, she turned around to face the others. "As much as you would like to participate in this activity, Natsume, you won"t be joining us for tonight." "Huh!?" Kyosuke was surprised at that. "Why not?" "You just got hurt the other night." "Yeah, that huge Shadow managed to hurt your elbow. Don"t overdo it, Kyosuke." Rin said. "Tch," Kyosuke grunted, turning his gaze to his left with a downcast gaze. "Fine, fine." He then turned to Riki. "Sorry Riki, but I won"t be able to guide you in the expedition." "Hm. Ah." That"s Riki"s only respond. "I will handle that. Kamikita-san, you would have to come as well. You must be familiarized with our activities here." Kanata said. "Hm," Komari nodded. "I understand." "Hm," Kanata nodded in return, she turned to A-chan. "A-chan, set up our equipment. Go ahead and inspect the perimeter and report if anything has changed." "Roger that~" She said as she gave a playful salute. Kanata went to the corner and everyone else started moving about- "Alright, gather up, guys." Kyosuke said, giving off some kind of aura that makes people follow his command, much as his charisma to lead. The others gathered around him- "Since I won"t be tagging along for the fun, we"re gonna have to appoint someone as leader." He said inspecting everyone and trying to judge their standings- "Hm? Leader? One of us? But Kyosuke, you"re our only-" "Yeah. You"re the only one capable of leading us." Kengo cut off Masato as he said that. "Hey, I was going to say that!" "Huh, didn"t I told you guys already that you guys will have to stand on your own two feet every once in a while?" Kyosuke said, raising an eyebrow which silenced both Kengo and Masato. "Okay, now... Who wants to be leader?" -Everyone looked at each other. "Leader, huh.' Riki thought. Sharp-! "Hmngh," He felt a sharp sensation on his head which caused a slight pain, "You will lead your subjects to their enlightenment. Go forth and spread the gentle touch of darkness, other me." Shadow Riki"s voice is heard in Riki"s mind. Sharp-! "Hmngh," Riki touched his forehead due to the stinging pain he"s feeling. "Hm?" Mio noticed him grimacing, "Are you well?" "Hngh, a-ah." He nodded as he removed his hand from his forehead. "I"ll be fine." He assured. "..." Mio simply nodded. "I"ll be happy to take leadership if none of you are willing." Kurugaya said volunteering for leadership. "No, I think I know someone who could lead you all and could make this team of ours become more stronger." Kyosuke said with a mystifying aura emanating around him. He then gave a piercing gaze towards Riki. "Hm?" Riki became curious of that stare. Kyosuke gestured towards Riki, "Riki, you"re in charge." "Ah." Riki was caught off-guard and was very surprised at that. """Huh!?""" The others themselves were greatly surprised by Kyosuke"s declaration. "Kyosuke, you"re saying..." Masato said in disbelief while not averting his eyes from Riki. "Ah," Kyosuke nodded. "I"m assigning the leadership of Little Busters to Riki, it will only be temporarily. But who knows..." He said that last part in a murmuring tone as he observed Riki, "Maybe he"ll take my place now...' "..." Riki himself seems to be a little fazed by Kyosuke"s declaration. Then... ...shaaaaaaaddddeee... "..." He found himself inside his own psyche-it"s all dark here and his shadow reflection is colored red. Then that colored red shadow began to form into something... different. It doesn"t reflect Riki"s own shape and appearance anymore, but- "Naoe Riki, you should take the leadership role. You will find it to be quite very pleasing should you accept, and fear not, for you will have the dominion over the darkness about you." Shadow Riki"s voice said as the shadow reflection of Riki became very large and it"s... draconic from the way it has shaped itself... is this Seth? "Huh?" Riki looked at his shadow reflection on his left side- "This is..." "You are darkness, Naoe Riki. And the darkness... is you. Gentleness of Darkness, hahahahaha." The shadow reflection became smaller and smaller... then it seems to have merged with Riki. ...shaaaaaadddddeeee... "..." Riki found his focus to be back on the real world. "Well? Are you fine with this, Riki?" Kyosuke asked for Riki"s answer regarding Riki himself being declared as leader. Mio slightly raised her hand, "If I may have a say in this, I would say..." She lowered her hand. "He"s not suited to be one." "Hm," Kurugaya nodded. "I agree with her. This may be more than you can handle, boy." "Ah, ah. Sorry, Naoe, but I don"t you can handle it." Masato himself seems to agree with the two girls. "Ah." Kengo nodded as well. "You shouldn"t take burdens that you cannot handle." "..." Rin is looking at Riki, feeling uncertain. "You know... It"s not like we"re looking down on you, we just-Huh?" Riki raised his hands to give the gesture of assurance-"You don"t have to mince words into this, Rin-san." He has a very serious expression on his face, he lowered his hands. "I don"t expect you all to believe that I can handle this, but..." He took some steps forward-"That"s a good thing." He stopped after saying that. """Hm?""" The others looked at him curiously. "Hm," Kyosuke smirked, he seems to know where this is going. "Well, what will you do then, Riki?" "..." Riki turned to Kyosuke with his very serious expression still there, then he turned to the others. "I don"t want you all to believe in me if you don"t want to, but..." He raised one index finger forward... "I like it if we don"t expect anything from each other. That will only be getting in the way," He forms a somewhat darker expression now. "Ah." Mio took one step backward, as if feeling some kind of aura around him. "..." "Hm," Riki formed a bit more darker expression as he put down his hand. "We"re going to go there, with you guys doing whatever you wish." He said as he went for the stairways. Kanata is also there, it seems she has been waiting for the group to finish their discussion. Riki approached her. "Are you firm enough to take the leadership role, Naoe-kun?" Riki eyed her with those dark, serious expression. "Of course." "...Hm," She nodded in approval and she picked up a rapier from the equipment box that is on the ground. She handed it to Riki, "This is your weapon. Rapiers have been known to be carried by those who lead others. This will be the sign of your leadership, Natsume has also wielded this, and so am I, and now, you will also wield this." "..." Riki took the blade with one hand. He sized it up before lowering it. -The others watched him, then Kyosuke turned around to face the others. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and grab your weapons. We"re not gonna be here all night. Remember, the dark hour might end soon and we won"t want to be here when that happens, right?" ...Everyone turned to each other, then they turned back to Kyosuke and nodded. ... ...Soon enough, everyone was geared up. Rin"s choice of weapon is a naginata. (Note: A reference of FemProtagonist of P3, I suppose.) Komari is using a knife. Kurugaya wields a katana. Mio is wielding a gun, in which she seems to know how to use it. Masato is wielding two knuckles on his fists. Kengo wields a long sword. "Hm," Kanata nodded in approval as she saw everyone to be ready. "Very well, commence." She ordered. ... ...Later, at the stairways... ...tap, tap, tap, tap... ...tap, tap, tap, tap... ...tap, tap, tap, tap... ...Everyone is climbing down the stairways before them. ...It"s very deep below, one can wonder just how far these spiral stairways go. "..." Riki is being followed by everyone else, so far, nothing has happened. "Can you hear me? It"s Futaki Kanata." "Ah, Futaki-san. Anything to report?" Kurugaya asked as they continued walking. "Yes... You will soon encounter some Shadows. I am not certain of their numbers, so be cautious." "Hm, roger that." "Leave the strong ones to us, we have dealt with the Shadows before you two entered our group." Mio said to Komari before turning to Riki. "No way." Riki responded simply. "..." Mio felt a bit overwhelmed by that respond. "Boy, Mio-kun and I have dealt with the Shadows before and we have more experience in this than you are. You don"t have to prove yourself to our eyes." Kurugaya said. -Riki stopped on his pace. "Stop." He ordered of everyone. """Hm?""" Everyone stopped as he ordered, but they all have curious expressions on their face. "What"s up? Why are you-" Before Masato could continue- "Groooaaarrr!" "Groooaaarr!" "Groooaaaarrr!" Multiple Shadows ahead! They"re the same ones that Riki encountered during that night when he saved Komari. They"re smaller ones. "Kyah!" Komari shrieked upon seeing them, she covered her mouth with her left hand. "These are... Shadows?" "Ah, leave them to us!" Kurugaya said, ready for battle. "Gr, we"re fighting, too!" Rin said holding her naginata tightly. "Yeah, let"s do this." Masato said with his fists ready. "Hm, here we go." Kengo said holding his sword steadily in front. "Groooaaarr!" "Groooaaarr!" Two Shadows charged towards Riki- Bang-! Bang-! Two bullets stopped them on their advance, it seems Mio opened fire at them. "Hiya!" Sliice-! Kurugaya stepped forward and sliced the first one in half- "Aarrghh...!" Then she pointed her Evoker to the left side of her forehead- Bang-! BLAAST-! -Blue mists burst out of the ground and Leanan Sidhe is summoned. "Ahh..." She let out a breath of ice- *Mabufula* -Freeeze, freeze-! Two Shadows were frozen solid. Komari watched how this transpired, "Wow." "Don"t let your guard down." Rin told her. "I want to help, too." Rin said as she pointed her Evoker to the right side of her forehead, "Persona!" Bang-! BLAAST-! "Nya! Nya!" Nekomata is summoned. *Maragi* -Ablaaaazeee, Ablaaaaazee! Two more Shadows were defeated by Rin. "Heh, too easy. I"ll go for it, too!" Masato said getting pumped up. "I"ll go, too." Kengo said calmly. Masato pointed his Evoker to the right side of his forehead-"Persona! Let"s go, Oumitsunu!" Bang-! BLAAST-! The statue-like guardian, Oumitsunu, is summoned. "Huargh!" "Crush them all!" Masato exclaimed with one fist extended forward-! "I"ll join you." Kengo went into action, he pointed his Evoker to the left side of his forehead-"Persona! Come forth, Jikokuten!" Bang-! BLAAST-! Jikokuten, the protector, is summoned. "Let"s go, Kengo!" "Hm," Kengo nodded. ""Persona!"" Both Masato and Kengo exclaimed. -Oumitsunu and Jikokuten stood together- "Huargh!" "Huwooh!" *Deathbound* *Hassohappa* *POW-!* *Pow, pow, pow-!* *BAAM-!* "Groooaaarr!" "Groooaaarr!" "Groooaaarr!" Five Shadows were defeated by that combined attack. "Wow." Komari is amazed by what her friends can do. "Kamikita, don"t just stand there. You should attack, too." Rin told Komari. "Hm, okay." "Groooaar!" "Grooaaarr!" Two Shadows remain. "Ahh..." Komari took a deep breath, "Ahh..." Then she exhaled it, and she pointed her Evoker to her forehead. "Grooaaarr!" "Grooaaarr!" The two remaining Shadows charged towards her-! "Komari!" "Komari-chan!" Mio and Kurugaya exclaimed. Bang-! BLAAST-! "Weehee!" A Pixie is summoned by Komari. "Greeezzzccht-!" It yelled out something... *Mazio* *-Elec**Elec-**-Shoock, Shooock-**boom!* The Shadows were defeated before they could reach Komari. "Ah." Komari smiled, realizing that she has defeated them. She removed her Evoker from her forehead. "I... I did it!" "Hm," Kurugaya smiled. "Good job, that was your firsthand experience in fighting Shadows. But you did all right." "Yeah!" "Alright!" "Good job!" The others praised and cheered Komari. "Haha," She giggled heartily. "Thank you, everyone." "Hm," Kurugaya is still smiling as she eyed Komari. "How cute.' She seems to be captivated by her cuteness. "Hm?" Rin turned to Riki who has not said a word ever since the attack-and even now, he"s just standing still there, not seem to be interested in joining the others in their cheering. "..." "He didn"t help us at the attack. Maybe he got scared...?' Thinking of that, Rin approached Riki. "Hey, are you all right? You didn"t got hurt, right?" "..." Riki shook his head without even turning to Rin. "I see..." "..." Aside from Rin, Mio has been looking at Riki ever since Rin turned her eyes on him, it would seem they turned their attention to him at the same time earlier. "..." She approached him as well. "You didn"t participate in the battle. Perhaps you are not qualified to be a leader, after all." That may have sounded rude or mean, but she is actually expressing concern. """Huh?""" Everyone who has been praising and cheering for a while turned to the three people, Rin, Mio and Riki. "Hey, what"s wrong, guys?" Masato asked. "Ah." Kengo eyed Riki, it seems he managed to read the atmosphere surrounding the three people. Concerned that Masato might ruin the atmosphere, he placed a hand on Masato"s left shoulder. "Masato, don"t." He said shaking his head. "Eh?" Masato is very confused, he turned back to the three people."But..." "Shh, quiet." "... ...What are you guys standing about for?" Riki asked without turning to them, "They"re coming." """Huh?""" Everyone was confused by what he said. "What do you mean, Naoe? We just defeated all the-" Before Masato could continue- "Be careful! A lot of Shadows are approaching your way! There is one strong Shadow among them!" Kanata"s voice alarmed them of danger. """Huh?""" Everyone, with the exception of Riki who is looking at the path ahead, is alarmed by what she said, they"re all looking above where Kanata"s voice sounded. "What do you mean, Futaki-san?" Kurugaya asked. "I detected them a while ago. Here they come! Prepare for battle!" -At Kanata"s warning, a swarm of Shadows are coming from the path ahead and there is one large Shadow among them, Rampage Drive, a metallic-looking Shadow that is bigger than the other Shadows that are marching and it"s more taller than an average human. """Guaah!""" "Ahh!" The girls and Masato screamed at the sight of them. "Y-You gotta be kidding!" Masato exclaimed. "There"s too many of them!" Kengo said. "W-We better go back!" Rin said in a panic. "We can"t. We could find an access point further to go back faster, but..." Kurugaya said looking at the mass of Shadows that are approaching. "Gr," Mio grunted a bit, "We have no choice. We may have to fight our way through." """Huh!?""" Everyone was in disbelief of what Mio told them. "Fight... All of them? But... W-We can"t beat them all!" Rin said in a panic. "We don"t have to. We just need to get past the weaker ones, then we can find the access point further to go back." "Access point? What is that?" Komari asked while she herself is in a state of panic. "It"s a device that we can use to teleport back to the entrance. But at this rate..." Rin said. "Tch, we have no choice. Mio-kun, you and I will protect the others. We"re the strongest in our team, the others will have to fight right behind us." Kurugaya said to Mio. Mio turned to her, "Hm," she nodded. "Very well." They both turned to the mass of Shadows. "Everyone, stay right behind us." Kurugaya said preparing herself for a long battle. The others turned to each other and they nodded in agreement to follow Kurugaya"s instruction. They rallied behind Kurugaya and Mio with the exception of... "Hm?" Kurugaya saw Riki to be standing still at the spot where he"s been standing for a while. "..." He"s eyeing the Shadows that are approaching. "Do it, my other me." Shadow Riki"s voice is heard inside his mind. '...Okay.' Riki seems to have decided on what to do. "Hey, boy! What are you doing over there!? Get behind us!" Kurugaya shouted at him. "..." But he didn"t move from his position still. "Tch," Mio was a bit annoyed by Riki as she held her gun with both hands, ready to fire at the Shadows. She ran in front of Riki. "I"ll cover him. Kurugaya, protect the others!" "Huh? But..." "I"ll be fine. I"ll take care of him." Mio said to Kurugaya with her holding her gun with both hands and her attention is focused on the Shadows that are marching their way. "..." Kurugaya eyed Riki, "Why"s he being stubborn? Did Mio-kun offended him in some way?' As she thought that, she turned her attention to the marching Shadows. "Hm, well, anyway... Hm, all right. Mio-kun, he"s in your care."

"Negi-kun!" "Aniki!" "Hiyaa!" "Grooaar?" The monster turns to Negi only to... Slice! "Grooaarr!" ...only to be cut in half. It falls to the ground then dissolve. "Negi-kun!" "Negi-chan!" Makie and the Narutaki twins said with tears on their eyes. They seem to have escaped the monsters in the temple for some time now. They may perhaps have been able to do this due to their training as rangers in the academy that involves when one is on a "hot spot" situation or in what others may say, a "getting out of the frying pan" situation. They basically means the same thing since it means getting out of in a situation where in when one is outnumbered by their enemies. "Negi-chan~!" They all cling on the boy. "Ah! O-Ora, come on, it"s safe now." He said trying to brush them off but they are stucked onto him like they"ve been sticked together by a tremendous, effective, glue branchise. "Ora..." "Negi-chan~ You save us..." The Narutaki twins said clinging onto him. "Negi-kun." Makie felt like she has been granted a messiah by God. That messiah is of course Negi. Though that is only a matter of speaking but in Makie"s perspective, she has been saved so that makes Negi a messiah or a savior. "Hey, you guys okay?" Haruna walks up to them follow by Nodoka and Yue. "Y-Yeah, we"re okay but..." "But what?" "There are monsters following us. They"re gonna be here at any second!" Bonk! Bonk! ...! Something is banging up against the wall! "Wh-what was that?" Yue asked. "I think that"s..." Haruna said. And then... Crash! Crash! "Grooaarr!" ...! Two cerberus looking monsters came crashing down from the ceiling! "Gyaah!" The girls screamed. "That"s not exactly what we are looking for! We"re looking for our friends!" Haruna said jokingly to which no one"s amusement. "This is no time for jokes Haruna-san!" Nodoka said. "Yeah! We have to get out of here!" Fuka said. "Grooaarr!" The monsters charge at them! "Aniki!" Chamo implores Negi to protect the girls. "Hm. Okay, here goes! Hiyaa!" Blast! He crushed his persona card then...! Slice! Slice! "Negi!" "Negi-kun!" Slice! Negi succesfully dispatched the two monsters but then... Crash! "Grooaarr!" A huge one emerged from the ceiling in front of them! "Whoa!" Haruna exclaimed. "What is that!" Makie exclaimed. "Ah...!" The monster has the appearance of gigantic worm with a large circular mouth with sharp teeths all over it. Negi has to make sure that it doesn"t get near the girls since it is apparent that it can burrow through the ground and emerge out of nowhere without anyone"s expectation which is something to be dreaded of since it can mean their deaths will be in an instant should they get attacked by it. "What should we do, Chamo-kun?" "Hm... If only Aniki-judas is here. Hm, I guess we"ll just have to rely on you for now Aniki. You can do it! Get that hideous worm!" "Hm, okay!" Negi prepares himself then... Crash! ...! "Grooaarr!" A debris then came falling down on the monster, making it unable to move. On top of the debris is... "Negi-chan!" ...Ayaka, Kaede and Kufei. "Yukihiro-san!" "Inchou!" "Ku fei!" Haruna said. "Kaede-nee-chan!" The Narutaki twins said. "Yo! Thought we could drop in." Kaede said. "Hello, everyone! Hee hee!" Ku fei said waving at them. "Negi-chan! Gyah!" Ayaka is about to run up to Negi but then the debris is shaked off by the monster. "Grooaarr!" It tries to remove the debris that is preventing it from getting out of its predicament. "Gyah! You... You dare try to stop me from loving my Negi-chan! You will pay a thousand fold!" Flames of anger ignite behind Ayaka. "Whoa!" Making Kaede and Ku fei back away from her a little. "Ah, inchou!" Fumika said frightened by the class rep"s burning fury. "Gah, and this is why you must not get in inchou"s way." Haruna said. "Hmhm. Yeah huh?" Fuka said frightened as well. "Ge..." Even though ichou is trying to help her beloved Negi, he himself is frightened by her. Ah, the irony. "Stay down you beast!" Stomp! "Grooaarr!" The monster is crushed by the debris that Ayaka is stepping on to increase the weight, making it agonize in pain. "Grooaarrr!" Splat! It is squashed on the ground. Its blood has been spilled on the group(Negi"s group). "Eww!" Haruna, Makie and the Narutaki twins said. The monster"s blood is all over their ranger attires. "Gross!" "Yuck!" The Narutaki twins said. "Gah, now I"m gonna be washing this uniform for a week." Haruna said. "At least the monster is vanquished." Yue said. "Yeah huh?" Nodoka said. "Hey, not that I"m not grateful to inchou and all, but she didn"t have to shower with blood." Haruna said. "Negi-chan!" Ayaka jumps off the debris and embraces her beloved Negi. "Gah, Y-Yukihiro-san." "Daijobou? You"re not hurt are you?" "Ah, no. I"m fine. Ora, you don"t have to..." "Guh... Can"t... breathe..." Chamo, who is being squashed by her hug, said trying to get off Negi"s shoulder. "Hm. Daijobou, I"m here now." Inchou said treating the young boy like he is her younger brother. Kaede and Ku fei jump off from the debris, with the monster below it, as well. "Ja, are you guys okay?" Kaede asked. "Hm! We"re fine Kaede-nee-chan!" The Narutaki twins said. "But we still haven"t found the others. We need to regroup with them." Haruna said. "Hm. I see. Ja-" "Everyone!" ...! Hayate"s voice is heard. Keplunk. "Ah, there you guys are! Ah, Springfield!" Hayate and the other members of their group came out of the pathway that is above Negi"s group. "Ayasaki-san!" "Guys!" Nodoka said relief that the others are alright. "You came." Yue said. "Hey, you guys are alright!" Risa said as the groups rejoin. "Yosh, now all we have to find are Suirenji, Kagurazaka, Konoe-san, and Sakurazaki-san." "Don"t forget about Hina as well." Miki reminded. "Oh, right. Where is she by the way?" "Ahh!" ...! That was Hinagiku"s voice. "Huh?" Everyone turns above then... "Ahhh!" Hinagiku is falling down! "Hina!" "Hina-chan!" "Katsura-san!" "Hinagiku-san!" "Ahhh!" "Hinagiku-san!" Flash! Hayate uses the Hero Spell that was provided by Judas, giving him angel wings then... Whoosh! Catch! "Hinagiku-san!" He caught Hinagiku in mid-air. "Hayate-kun..." "Hinagiku, what happened?" "Uh... well..." She said trying to avert her eyes on him. Their situation right now gives a flashback of the romantic moment in the Sanzenin building the other day. "It is because..." "Wohohoho!" ...! That hollow voice... Crash! ...! "Wh-What the!" Risa exclaimed. Hayate goes back to them with Hinagiku on his arms. He"s holding her in bridal style. The thing that just fell is... "Wohohoho! I caught you again!" "You again!" Haruna said. It is the golem earlier. "How did you get down here?" Risa asked. "Wohoho! This labyrinth has a lot of paths. One can always lead to the same path of the other people are walking. Wohohoho!" "Gee..." "We don"t have time to play games with you! Quick, guys! Into that way!" Hayate said. Everyone does as he say and they all run to the pathway where Makie and the Narutaki twins came from. "Catch up with us if you can!" He said following the others. Hinagiku is still on his arms. "Wohoho! You won"t escape me!" Tap, tap, tap! Everyone runs forward towards the end of the pathway. "Where are we going?" Negi asked while running. "We need find Suirenji-san and the others. Judas-san went to find them." Hayate said. "Eh? Where is he?" "Still searching I guess." "Judas?" Hinagiku heard their conversation. "Eh? Oh uh it"s... it"s nothing!" "Y-Yeah! We"re just mumbling Katsura-san!" Negi said adding Hayate"s defense. "Hm." Hinagiku is not convinced however. Meanwhile... Judas flies through a lot of walls as he searches for the other four. "Tch. Where in the world are they? Hm?" He then spotted Luca, followed by Asuna, Konoka and Setsuna, running on the pathway where he is currently in. "Ah, there they are. Good, now, I need to inform Ayasaki of their location." He is about to leave but then... Crash! ...! "Grooaarr!" A cerberus looking monster came crashing down. It"s no harm to him however as it cannot see or sense him for that matter. Crash! Crash! More monsters came crashing down. "...This could get messy." He realizes that Luca and the others are heading straight to them based on the layout of the temple that he has come to memorize due to him being able to roam free without having to worry about being harmed by the monsters of this place. "I better hurry up." Back to Hayate and the group... Tap, tap! "Huff! huff! Ah." They have come across an intersection. Hayate, who is still carrying Hinagiku, and Negi are the ones leading them. "Did we lose him?" Nagi asked. "I think so." Maria said. "I don"t think he followed us." Risa said. The golem seem to have not intended to chase them. It could be because that his size is not suitable for the pathway as he is large to enter the door from the very long stairway that they came from. "What should we-" Crack! "Guh!" ...! The ground is suddenly destroyed! "Gyaah!" Everyone manage to hang on to the sides except... "Maria!" Nagi exclaimed. Maria has fallen to the darkness below! "Maria-san!" Whoosh! Hayate jumps into the darkness as well to rescue her! "Hayate-kun!" Hinagiku exclaimed. "Ahhh!" "Hn!" Whoosh! Hayate spreads his white angel wings to quicken his pace! "Ayasaki-san!" Negi exclaimed. "Hayata-kun!" Izumi exclaimed. "Hey." Judas comes through the ceiling above them. "Judas-sa-" Negi covers his mouth, forgetting that they could see Judas. "Hey, how"s the situation? Where"s Ayasaki?" "Uh... well..." He stares down. "Down there?" "Maria-san fell and..." "...? ...Oh, I see. Ja, I"ll see what aid I can give." He follows Hayate to the darkness. "Judas-san!" Negi said in a whispering tone. "Now what do we do?" Nagi asked. "I don"t know. We better worry about ourselves first though. It"s not gonna do us any good if we fall there as well." Risa said. They all climb up from the edge of the hole. At Maria... "Ahh!" She continues to fall down. Her thoughts are, "Ah, am I going to die here...? ...Is this it? This is the end for me? ...' A wave of regrets came to her as she continues to fall down. From her perspective, everything is moving slowly. The rubbles that fell down along with her are falling in a slow pace and she herself, is falling in a slow pace. She gives off a sad expression as her sight becomes gray as if the world as lost its colors. "Sigh... " She closes her eyes as tears pour out of her eyes. "This is it huh... ...I always knew that my life would end in a tragic way... That has been my fate ever since I graduated from highschool. I"m not like all teenagers. Most of them are going on dates, having fun with friends and all I ever did was do my student council duties in the clocktower of Hakou Academy(Note: She is the previous president of the student council in Hayate no gotoku. This is mirroring that past of hers.).I wasn"t able to enjoy my highschool days... ...I didn"t even know what my family name is. But... None of that matters now." She is about to come in contact with the floor below... "I"m..." Whoosh...! '...doomed.' More tears pour out of her eyes at the thought of certain doom. ...That"s just what she thinks however as... Whooosh... Whoosh! "Maria-saaan!" A certain young man who will guide her to the Truth comes to her rescue! "Ah!" She opens her eyes, the world has regain its color, everything returns to normal pace and above her is... "Ahh!" Hayate reaches out his hand to hers. "Hayate...kun..." Then Judas comes flying down with his gaze focuses on her. "Give out your hand please." He said with only her can hear his voice. "..." She does so then... "Ah!" As Hayate reaches out for her hand... Flaash!... "...A"re? This place is...?" She finds herself in very bright place. There are small lights flying everywhere. This place is like Heaven. "How did I...?" "It seems that traumatic experience of yours has snapped out of your delusions." "...!" She turns around to see Judas who comes flying down. "You are...?" "I"m a friend sort to speak. So, are you ready to live in Truth?" "Truth?" "Ah, you have been living in a delusional world for some time now. It cannot last. All delusions eventually come to an end and in its place, the light of the Truth will rise up and vanish all of the fog for the brand new days that will come to you." "Brand new... days?" "Ah. That being said, you need someone to cling to." "Someone?" "Ah, someone who will guide you to those beautiful days. Someone like..." Judas points on a certain direction. An image of Hayate reaching out to her appear. "Someone like him." "Hayate-kun... But... He"s... younger than I and..." "Your age matters not. All love are permittable. Just as teenagers can love ten year old children(he"s referring to Negi and the Negima girls), someone like you is capable of loving someone as him." "I... I can love... Hayate-kun...? Be his... girlfriend?" "Ah. So, how about it?" "..." She looks at the image of Hayate. Her thoughts are, "Is this love? Love at first sight? I read in a story book that love-at-first sights are experiences that a lot of people experience and that this is a sign for them that they have found the one they are destined to love. Is this... have I found the one I am destined to love? Hayate-kun...'. She turns to Judas, who simply gives her a nod. "Hm." And she gives a nod of her own. Then she smiles with tears pouring out of her brown eyes. "So da ne... I thought when I first met this beautiful person... This Hayate-kun... I felt a feeling of hope. A hope that I will yet find happiness in my life. I may not have been able to enjoy my highschool days but I can now start enjoying my life. Together with Nagi... With her friends and... ...and Hayate-kun..." Flaash! "Ah." She finds herself falling again. Hayate is about to reach her hand. "Ahhh!" Catch! He successfully caught her before she could reach the floor. "Maria-san." "Ah." Hayate then flies back upward. Maria enjoyed watching him as they fly back to the top where everyone is waiting. For her, the path they are flying up to is a portal that leads to the brand new days that Judas spoke of. The past has come and gone and now, new beautiful days awaits her. She will be with her Nagi and her friends... Negi and the other rangers and... ...and Hayate. "Hmph." Judas gives off a delighten smile as he flies back up as well. "Ah, Judas-san." "Hm." He gives a thumbs up for rescuing Maria, not just from saving her from the fall, but also, for being her morning star(this is the same as shooting star) to the Truth. "Hm." He gives him a thumbs up as well, much to Maria"s confusion. She turns to his direction and finds no one since she cannot see Judas. But she figures that it might be him. "Hm. Arigatou." That thanks was meant for Judas. She then turns to her savior. "Arigatou. Hayate-kun" That was meant for Hayate. She touches both of his shoulders and rest her head on the right. "Maria-san?" "..." No response. She seems to have fallen asleep from the comfort she received earlier. "Hm." Hayate smiles at this. Whoosh! He quickens his pace to the top. Back at Nagi and the others... All of them are waiting for Hayate and Maria. "Hm?" Negi then spots a white thing below. "That is..." "Hm? What is it?" Nagi asked. "That"s..." He points at the white thing. "Everyone!" It"s Hayate with Maria on his arms. "Ayasaki-san!" "Hayate!" "Hayate-kun!" "Ayasaki-kun!" "Hayata-kun!" Whoosh! Hayate reached the top and he gently lies Maria on the ground. "Sorry it took so long." Everyone gathers around him. "Ayasaki-san." Negi said. "Ha ha. I"m fine Springfield. "Hm." Both of them put their arms together as a sign of their friendship. "Is she okay?" Haruna asked. "She"s fine. She"s just sleeping." Hayate said. "Hm. I guess she fainted huh?" Risa said. "I think anyone would faint from that experience." Miki said. "Yeah huh?" "But at least she"s fine!" Izumi said. "Ah." "Hm. That"s right." Nagi said. She looks at Maria. Then she turns to Hayate. "Arigatou, Hayate." "Ha ha. It"s nothing. I only did what normal people would have done." "Ha ha. You always say that." Negi looks at Maria, who is sleeping with a smile. "I guess Ayasaki-san has shown her the Truth. Hm, that"s good. With more people living in Truth, the world can become a much more bright place to live." Judas comes flying down beside him. "Hey, how"s everyone?" "Ah, Judas-san. Everyone"s fine. No monsters came and attack us." "Hm. I see. Ja, I better lead you guys to the other four." He of course refers to Luca and the other three. "Ah, Ja, everyone, should we get going?" "Ah." Hayate carries Maria to his back. "I"ll carry Maria-san. Let"s go." "Hm!" Everyone nods and they set off. Back Luca, Asuna, Konoka and Setsuna... Tap, tap! The four of them continues running towards the end of the pathway then... Crash! "Grooaarr!" "Ah!" They stop when a cerberus looking monster came crashing through the right wall. Crash! Crash! Then two more came crashing down through the other wall and ceiling. "Grooaarr!" "Oh great. More fighting." Asuna said. "Leave it to me!" Setsuna said stepping forward. "I"ll back you up!" Luca said preparing to cast a supporting spell for Setsuna but then... Crash! "Huh!" The right wall is suddenly destroyed. Amidst the smoke is... "Kagurazaka-san!" "Suirenji-san!" Hayate, Negi and the group. "Ah!" "Everyone!" "You"re okay!" "It"s about time you guys got here. What kept you?" Setsuna asked as Hinagiku draws out her sword and join her. "We could ask you the same question. Falling for a trap earlier, we could have made our way through without having to dealing with these monsters if you guys hadn"t been fallen for those traps earlier, Sakurazaki-san." She said. "Hmph, enough of this. Let"s get these abominations!" "Yeah!" Both enter into a fighting stance. "Grooaarr!" The monsters attack! "Grooaarr!" All of them are aiming for the two girls! "Here, this should help!" Flash! Luca summons her persona and casted Masukuja on the two. "Huh?" Hayate and Negi are surprised by this since they did not know that Luca is a persona-user. "Suirenji-san, you...?" "Hm. As I expected." Judas said as if he has expected this. "Huh?" "Ancients were the first ones to discover about the personas so it"s no surprise that she can summon hers since she has Ancient blood within her." "Huh. Suirenji-san..." "Ah!" *Masukuja* Flash! Pink light has enveloped Hinagiku and Setsuna, giving them strength. "Ah..." Both girls prepare themselves then... "Hiyaa!" They charge at the monsters! Slash! Slash! "Grooaarr!" Bonk! They succeeded in pushing back the monsters. But... "Grooaarr!" They did not kill them however. They seem to have become more aggravated than before. They must have been empowered by the temple itself as it is the one producing them in order to protect the one that is being kept on the bottom floor of the temple. The temple must be feeling threaten for it to do this. Perhaps it sees the group as a threat as they intend to go to the deepest part of the temple with the intent of stopping the real threat... Sera. Meanwhile, at the deepest part... "..." Sera is sitting on the ground with his back resting on the wall. "...They are here. Huh. Ikusa"s younger brother... Ayasaki Hayate. Hmph. It may fate that I have come to meet him in person. Just as it was my fate to discover about my origin..." Shock! A lightning bolt struck as he said that. It seems to be raining outside. Outside the temple... "Hm. It started raining. I hope ojou-sama is okay." Klause is looking through the window in the cockpit of the plane. "Mmgh." With him is the white tiger. He seems to be whining for some reason. "Daijobou. They"ll be fine. Anyway, you must be hungry. Come, I"ll give you something to eat." "Argh!" He becomes excited. Back to Sera... "Those two Ancients will soon arrive here. They intend to retrieve the jewel." His Shadow is replaced by Jehovah"s shadow. "My son. You know what you must do yes?" "Hai, Mother. I"ll let those two take what they have come for. And then... ha ha ha... And then I will ultimately send them all to the Promised Land. HA HA HA!" Shock! shock! The sound of the lightning bolts echoed along with Sera"s insane laugh around the temple. Somewhere else... "Hm?" Athena was able to hear it but is uncertain of where the source of the voice came from. "What"s the matter?" Her younger sister, Evangeline, asked. "Is it an enemy? Where? Where is it?" Machina asked being overprotective of his two mistress. "Shut up, Machina! Chachamaru, restraint him. Don"t let him go unless we say otherwise." "Hm. Understood, master." Their other servant does so. "H-Hey!" Machina is restraint by her. "As master"s command, I shall not let you go until she has given me the order to do so." "Aw, c"mon!" "Shut up! What is it, onee-chan?" Evangeline asked. "Hm. Probably nothing. Let"s go. The jewel is just up ahead." They continue onward. Back to Hayate and the group... "Hiya!" Slash! Slash! Hinagiku and Setsuna continue battling the monsters while Hayate and Negi are making sure that they don"t reach the girls. "Are we just gonna stand here and watch?" Haruna asked. "Yeah, is there something we can do or anything?" Risa asked. "Well..." Hayate said followed by the thought, "Right now, we have to protect everyone. Me and Springfield have personas so only us and... Suirenji-san... Can she fight? Judas-san told me that her persona is not battle oriented and that it is only capable of giving support in battle. Right now I guess all we can do is protect everyone.'.

They stumbled outside, and Lisa automatically took a deep breath in of the warm, humid air of Florida. He ushered her towards the car park, but she had had enough. She needed to get to her dad. She planted her weight and ripped her hand up towards her face, the way she remembered from her self-defence classes. Jackson turned in surprise, but she was ready. Driving her heel into the back of one of his knees, she fled as his leg collapsed with a sharp shout. Lisa screamed as he grabbed the back of her wrap-around top, but quickly unknotted the belt and left it in his hands, taking off just in her sleeveless top. "Lisa!" He bellowed, pushing himself to his feet. "LISA!" She let out a small sob as she belted away from him, heading straight into the congested traffic in the arrivals and departures area. She could almost hear him panting behind her and put on a burst of speed, despite the stitch quickly forming in her side. Resisting the temptation to look behind, she concentrated on not losing one of her sturdy work heels and ran in front of a bus. The driver leaned on the horn but, as is usual with bus drivers, did not slow down. Which gave Lisa her escape. Throwing herself onto the pavement on the other side of the road and diving behind a practical four-wheel drive, she gasped and sobbed kneeling on the hot tarmac as she tried to catch her breath. Please, please, please let her get away. "Are- are you okay?" Lisa"s head snapped up at the soft voice above her. "P- pl- please," she gasped. "Don"t l-let him see me." She shot the tall blonde woman about her own age with an equally blonde-haired toddler in her arms a pleading look. The other woman gave a quick glance over to where Lisa last saw Jackson and tightened her jaw. "Here," she said quickly, "Climb in. Keep low." She opened the back door and Lisa gratefully crawled in. She could hear the woman buckling in her little girl, who was babbling happily back at her mother. "Hang on, blossom," she cooed to the girl, and Lisa ducked her head down further when a soft baby blanket dropped over her, hiding her further. "Thank you. Thank you so much," she whispered gratefully. "No problem," the blonde woman whispered back. The door clicked closed and the little girl giggled. "Bossum! Ma, bossum!" "That"s right, my little blossom," the woman said, jumping into the drivers seat and smoothly taking off. "Let"s go home, hmm?" They drove in silence for a few minutes while Lisa continued to catch her breath. Eventually, she raised her head and pulled the blanket off, brushing hair out of her eyes. "Bankie move!" The toddler shrieked happily. Smiling up at the excited girl, Lisa moved to sit on the seat next to her. "Thank you so much, thank you," she gushed. "You"re alright now," her mysterious saviour threw over her shoulder. "I"m Sarah, by the way. You"re sitting next to Macie." "Hello, Macie," Lisa smiled at the little girl, who immediately stuck a hand in her mouth and peered shyly at the strange woman in the back seat with her. "I"m Lisa," she introduced herself to Sarah. "And I think you just saved my life." "Well, that"s sure exciting!" Sarah laughed. "Not what I was expecting when I agreed to drop my husband off at the airport this morning." "Yeah, well," Lisa chuckled nervously. "I- I had a bit of trouble-" She stumbled over what to say next, should she tell this woman the truth? Would it get her hurt? Would she think Lisa was even sane? "Look," Sarah said from the front, "You don"t have to say anything. You needed help, I helped. Was it that guy? In the suit?" "Yeah," Lisa sighed. "Trouble never looked so good." Sarah snickered at the brunette"s dark humour. "Where"re you headed, Lisa?" She asked. Lisa felt nauseous at the thought of her dad. "Can you take me to my dad"s? Blossom Palms Lane?" "Bossum!" Macie cheered. "That"s right, Macie," Lisa couldn"t help but grin. "Blossom." "Sure," Sarah replied. "My mom lives around there, actually. Today looks like a good day for a visit, if a little earlier than usual." Now that Lisa could relax a little, she began to feel all the little bruises and injuries inflicted on her over the last six hours. She winced as she felt the lump on her forehead. Dropping her hand, she glanced over at Sarah again. "Hey, you wouldn"t have a cell phone I could borrow, would you?" "Yeah, here," she said, fishing into her handbag and passing a flip phone over her shoulder. "He really did a number on you, huh." "Yeah, he did. Asshole. Oop- Sorry! Macie, don"t say that," Lisa said apologetically. Sarah just laughed, thankfully. Lisa punched in her dad"s number and held her breath. The answering machine picked up. "Dad! It"s Lisa. If you"re still at home, get out. Go to the neighbours. Go anywhere, but don"t stay at home. Oh! And leave by the back door, don"t go out the front. And if you see a silver BMW, run. I mean it. Please, go! I love you." She hung up. "What the hang happened to you?" Sarah asked sympathetically, watching Lisa brush away a few tears. Lisa took in a shuddering breath, "It"s probably safer for you if you don"t know, Sarah." She flipped open the phone again to ring Cynthia and the Lux Atlantic. Sarah dropped her off at one end of Blossom Palms Lane, at Lisa"s insistence. Finally taking off her heels, she jogged down to her dad"s house, eyes peeled for any silver cars. Her breath quickened when she didn"t see any cars. What she too late? Lifting the heavy pot plant and fishing out the spare house key, Lisa unlocked the front door and slammed it behind her, locking it firmly. "Dad?" She called out. "Dad!" She dropped her shoes and ran for the living room, still calling for her father. She began to get desperate as she raced through an empty kitchen and up the stairs to his bedroom. "Dad!" Keep calm, keep calm. He"s okay. He"s got to be okay. Throwing herself down the stairs again she headed to the back door, and almost tripped over the body sprawled on the floor. "No!" She shrieked. "Daddy!" She slid to her knees beside him and immediately cupped his warm face in her hands. Pressing two fingers into the side of his neck, she sobbed with relief when she felt a strong pulse. The air thickened. "Hi," Jackson greeted the kneeling woman, hand casually in pockets. "What have you done?" She screeched, her voice unnaturally high. "Just a knock to the back of the head, Lise. Nothing serious," he shrugged. "Didn"t want him wandering all over the place, ringing the police and whatnot before we could have a chat." "You"re sick," she hissed, clambering to her feet. "Why can"t you just leave us alone." "Now, now," he said reprovingly, "Let"s not get all emotional here, Lise-" "Ha!" She spat. "Really? Me, emotional? I think you might be going through your own "emotional dilemma", Jack. How"s Keefe, huh? He sends his regards, by the way." Jackson"s nostrils flared with anger. "Clever girl. Insult the man holding the knife." Lisa"s eyes widened at the large, extremely sharp looking knife he pulled from behind his back. She took two stumbling steps back as she blinked away flashbacks. Hot carpark. Stifling van. Sharp pain. He wouldn"t. Would he? She didn"t want to wait and see. Silently apologising to her father, she turned tail and ran. His longer legs caught her before she could make it more than five paces to the front door. He grabbed a handful of her sleeveless top and pulled her back. Her bare feet skidded on the wooden floors before they left the ground completely. She fell on her back, dazed and winded, blinking stupidly into his cold blue eyes. Although now, they weren"t that cold anymore. They burned with anger and something else. He crouched down beside her, looking her up and down, taking in her disheveled appearance. He threw a leg over her waist and straddled her, holding the knife more firmly in his long fingers. The woman beneath him began making desperate sounds as she tried to get her breath back. The look in her face was pure terror. She was absolutely terrified. For some reason, this bothered Jackson. Here was the woman who had fought him the entire flight, with both her words and her actions, the woman he had been watching with increasing obsession over nearly two months, and she"s broken by the sight of a knife at her chest- Oh. His eyes slid to the scar he knew was covered by her shirt. At this point, she began to babble senselessly. She gripped his wrists and, with tears running down her face, she began to beg him, "No, no, no. Please! No-" It broke his heart. Huh. Who would have thought he still had one of those, let alone one that still worked. He slowly backed away and heaved himself off of her, one hand open in a surrender posture, the other sliding the KA-BAR back into the holster behind his back. "Lisa," he spoke to the shattered woman softly. "Lisa, it"s okay. I"m not him. I"m not him." Pushing herself to her elbows, then using her hands and feet, she scrambled away from him until she reached a wall, panting heavily. Dashing the tears angrily from her eyes, she gave him a glare that should have had him dead and buried right there. He tried again. "I wouldn"t do that to you." "Oh yeah?" Her voice was thick with tears. "And why not? You"ve hurt me in every other way today. Why not finish me off?" He sighed. "Because it wouldn"t serve me." She looked confused and upset now. "You forget, I want to steal you, Lise." "No, you don"t," she argued. "You want to kill me-" Jackson shook his head slowly. "You don"t?" She hiccupped. "Why not?" He laughed in disbelief. "Really?" She quickly glanced to where her father was lying. "You"re not going to kill us?" "No, Lise. I"m not going to kill you or your father." She was quickly regaining her composure. "What"s going on, Jack?" She demanded. "What"s changed?" Jackson leaned back on his hands, legs stretched out in front of him. "The job," he began. "The job has changed. Well, it failed, to be frank. But, of course, you know this, being the one that caused the failure of said job. You see, I was supposed to handle your part with the right incentives, Charles Keefe was supposed to be taken out with whatever method was thought appropriate-" "They shot a missile into my hotel!" "-and then we were to go on our merry way, never to see each other again. But alas, Keefe is still alive, my man outside was called off - what"s the point of bringing attention to our work with a nasty homicide in the "burbs? - and you-" He paused, flicking his eyes lazily over the woman in front of him. "You may know too much now, little Lisa." She crossed her arms protectively over her chest. "I don"t know anything." He snorted. "I don"t! I have no idea about you or your "jobs" or anything! Not any more than I would have known if everything went according to your plan." Her arms then dropped with her mouth. "Wait, if I"m a liability, that means you would have had to get rid of me anyway-" Jackson"s lips pressed tightly together. "You lied! You said I would be able to go!" "Not lied," he argued. "You would have been able to go. But just not for long." She stared suspiciously at him as she pushed herself up to her feet, using the wall as a support. "Lise," he warned, pulling himself off the floor. "Don"t run. I"m not going to kill you," he repeated. "But that was part of the job, Jackson," she whispered harshly. "That was your part of the job." She ran. Lisa tore up the stairs and down the hall to her old room, slamming the door in Jackson"s face. She wedged a chair under the handle as the door shuddered under his weight. "Open the door!" He bellowed. Looking around for something she could use for a weapon, she remembered her old hockey stick that was buried somewhere in the back of her old wardrobe. She dove in and fished around for a few moments before pulling out her prize with a happily cheer. Holding it up, she turned around to see Jackson standing behind her. Shit! Stupid two-way bathroom. Swinging wildly, he leapt back then rushed her before she could bring the stick back to swing again. He pushed her up against the wall next to her still-barricaded door with an audible grunt, her stick pressed between their bodies. "Lisa, I like the chase as much as the next guy, but you"re gonna have to give it up at some point." "Piss off, Jackson!" She retorted, pushing at him with the stick, eyes screwed up with the effort. "Ugh! You"re so annoying!" He threw his head back and laughed. ""You"re so annoying,'? Oh, Lise, are we thirteen?" She scowled at him and said nothing as she continued to attempt to wrestle the only weapon she had out of his grip. Impatiently, Jackson threw it to the other side of the room. "Listen to me, Lisa," he demanded. "No!" "Yes!" He grabbed her flailing hands and pinned them to either side of her head. "I"m not going to kill you. I"m not going to kill your dad. I"ve grown a little- attached to you." He cocked his head as he studied her, with her bright green eyes and flushed face. "I think I want to keep you around a little longer." He rocked back as she pushed forward suddenly with her hips in a bid to escape, but he just as quickly pushed her back against the wall. "And now that the job has failed, I"ll get my chance." "You"re not going to steal me, Jack," she scoffed. "We"ll both need to lie low for a while," he continued as if she hadn"t spoken. "But, I"ll let you have a choice. I"ll give you a day or two to think about it." He grinned suddenly. "I won"t steal you just yet, but I"ll steal something else to keep me going." "Oh, yeah?" She panted, giving up on pushing the larger man off. "What"s that?" He hummed thoughtfully, then bent his head and pressed his lips against hers. Lisa froze with shock. His lips were as soft as they looked and all the pent up tension from the last half a day exploded when he pressed them more firmly and she felt the tip of his tongue against the seam of her lips. She gave in, and opened her mouth with a small moan. Jackson groaned quite loudly and dove in, shifting his hands so one was cupping the back of her skull and the other caressing her lower back. "Oh, Lise," he murmured thickly, "You have no idea how I"ve wanted-" "I have an inkling," she muttered back, pressing her hips into his and feeling his arousal hard against her belly. He moaned again and she met him halfway, wanting to taste every part of his mouth. What was it about this man, this Manager, that shook awake feelings she had thought she lost years ago. She had never felt this connection with anyone, man or woman, before. Ever. She ran her hands down his sides, under his jacket, feeling the heat of his body and the hardness of his lean physique. Jackson let out a pleased rumble of approval at her touch and the muscles bunched under her fingers as he crouched lower, his hands going to her thighs. She froze as she felt his warm fingers touch her bare thighs. Jackson also froze, panting against her mouth. "S-sorry," he gasped. He caught her eyes with his, his dilated with desire, hers suddenly fearful. He dropped his hands and stepped away from the smaller woman, despite the urge he battled to wrap her up in his arms and protect her- Wait, what? He shook his head to clear it. That"s not the urge he usually battles when it comes to attractive, infuriating women. Lisa was eyeing him warily, but she didn"t have the plain terror in her eyes like she did when he pinned her down downstairs. He cleared his throat. "A day or two, Lise. I"ll let you decide," he said, voice still husky. She licked her lips subconsciously and he nearly groaned at the sight. "I won"t go with you," she reply was just as rough. Jackson smirked. "We"ll talk later." He strode past her and unhooked the chair from beneath her door, and, giving her one last grin, ran down the stairs and out the front door, closing it gently behind him. Lisa was still plastered to the wall, not entirely sure what was going on. She let him kiss her, and her bad memories didn"t even surface until he touched her thighs. She recalled how she had "accidentally" fallen on him when she wanted his cell phone on the plane. She felt- powerful. New. Like she was healing. Which was ridiculous of course. Allowing a man like that to be the first one to touch her after the incident two years ago is the stupidest- A groan echoed up the stairs. "Dad!" Lisa gasped, and raced down the stairs. The Lux Atlantic was in chaos. Emergency service people flew back and forth, ushering people away, carrying out the less mobile and treating the injured, which weren"t too many, thank goodness. Men dressed in plain black suits littered the area, with a concentration around Charles Keefe and his family. Lisa and her dad stepped out of his car, and she winced slightly at the ache in her feet as they had been crammed back into her heels and she pulled up the sleeves of the old sweater that she had thrown on back at her dad"s house. "Lisa! Oh my gosh!" Cynthia came running out of the hotel, long red hair bouncing against her back. "Lisa," she gasped grabbing her friend"s arm, "I got them out! So close! Anyway, Keefe"s security- his security wants to talk to you. And the FBI-" "It"s okay, Cyn," Lisa reassured the other woman. "I"ll go talk to them. How"s the structural damage? Did anyone get hurt?" Cynthia shook her head. "A few scratches and bruises, but mostly shock. A certain couple laid an official complaint," she said sourly. "But considering a missile took out several rooms on the fourth floor, the building is sound, according to initial reports from the fire service and building maintenance." "Well, that"s something," Lisa sighed with relief. "Lisa," Cynthia"s voice lowered. Lisa glanced back and saw her dad being reluctantly checked over by a paramedic, and turned back to her friend. "Yeah?" "What the hell happened on that flight? I mean, you said there was some guy, but I didn"t hear anything else you said, it was crazy here." Lisa took a deep breath. "There was a guy, next to me on the plane-" "Ms Reisert?" An older woman in an FBI vest came up to the two women. "That"s me," Lisa replied carefully, seeing a few more agents come up behind the woman. "We"d like to ask you a few questions, please." "Sure," she said. "Cynthia, how about you go open the bar a bit early?" Cynthia"s eyes darted from the agent to Lisa. "Sure, Lise. I"ll catch you later." She hurried back into the hotel. Lisa looked back at the FBI agent. This didn"t look too good. Eighteen hours later, Lisa was attempting to sleep on the hard surface that was supposed to be a bed in her small cell. Rolling over onto her back, she stared at the ceiling, refusing to cry. Again. With no evidence of any "job", and no trace of a "Jackson Rippner", Lisa had been taken in for questioning over the attempted assassination of Senator Keefe and his family. Despite the bruises on her head and arms, and the testimony that there was a young man with dark hair sitting next to her on the Fresh Air flight from Texas, evidence was thin on the ground to prove that the room change was not her idea. She used her seat phone and her credit card to call and authorise the change, after all. Her father tried to help, but he never saw Jackson before he was knocked out. "Get up!" The guard slammed his baton against the bars, and Lisa jumped in fright. She said nothing as they gave her some standard-issue shoes to go with the standard issue trousers and standard issue t-shirt she was wearing. He slapped on some handcuffs too, to complete the look. Walking close behind her, the guard greeted some others they passed and he lead her out into the dark loading bay where a plain dark sedan was parked. The driver didn"t get out to greet them. "Where am I going?" Lisa asked finally. "Head down," the guard ignored her question and pushed her down into the back seat. He sauntered over to the driver"s side window and exchanged a few low words with the driver. Lisa slumped in her seat and stared out the window. She hadn"t slept for going on 36 hours now and her apathy at her whole situation was at an all-time high. The engine came to life and they pulled out of the loading bay. Driving in silence for a few minutes, Lisa realised that they were heading out of town. She began to get nervous. "Um, were are we going?" She asked again. "Anywhere you like." She froze at the voice and turned to the driver, incredulous. He took off his baseball cap and shook out his dark locks. Twisting a bit in his seat, Jackson grinned at her, "You ready for a road trip, Lise?" She was speechless. He mouth opened and closed a few times before she managed to splutter, "Y-you absolute bastard! What the- How did- Argh!" She yelled in frustration at the roof while the blue-eyed devil in the driver"s seat cackled. "I figured you may have changed your mind on the whole "being stolen" matter," he said cheerfully. Lisa glared at him. "Yeah, well. You"re still an ass." She groaned dropping her head onto the head rest. "Ugh. Fine. It wasn"t as if I was ever going to see the light of day again, thanks to you." "Aw, poor little Lise. A little taste of incarceration and she"s already lost all hope," Jackson pouted playfully. "Shut up. And get these handcuffs off me."

Pushing the Secrets Act over to her, Lucas watched as she read through the papers. He silently pushed a pen in her direction and continued to wait. The silence was even more deafening in contrast to the amiable small talk that usually filled their conversations. He was going to miss that. She signed the papers without another word and slid the papers back in his direction. "So what happens now, Mark?" "Now you go back home and watch Pete, especially with his interactions with McInnes and Ross. Find out what you can. There"s some speculation that Britain Unite has gained a patron of sorts. From the European mainland." "A patron?" "It appears Snow White has noticed the group." Anneke sucked in a sharp breath and the colour drained from her face. Sitting up in her chair she whispered harshly, "You"re joking, right?" "No joke. We need information, and we need it fast, Anneke. Whatever"s going to happen, we strongly believe it"ll happen soon." She pressed her knuckles into her forehead briefly, a gesture Lucas was coming to realise she did when she was deeply disturbed. "I"ll do what I can," she fixed him with a determined look. "How am I meant to pass on information to you?" Lucas shifted a little in his chair. Throwing her an apologetic glance he said, "I thought we could continue to see each other." Anneke looked stunned for a moment before she let out a bark of laughter. She choked on her breath a while longer, the parody of laughter not reaching her eyes. "Oh, boy. I sure do know how to pick them." She leaned forward on her knees and took a deep breath. Looking up at him from the lower viewpoint she smirked. "I bet you"re seeing someone else, too. A nice looking man like you..." The smirk faded when Lucas said nothing, and refused to meet her gaze. "Of course you"re seeing someone else," she breathed. "Well, shit, Mark. I hope she knows what you do for a living or things could get awkward." "She does," he answered stiffly. "Good, I suppose." Suddenly hating the position he put this vulnerable woman in, Lucas couldn"t bring himself to just leave the room. Instead he began to gather the papers together in front of him. Anneke"s brows suddenly snapped together and she reached out to snag his wrist. Jumping at the sudden contact, he resisted the urge to pull out of her grip, instead allowing her to turn his arm over so his palm was face up. With her other hand she gently pushed his sleeve up, displaying the tattoos decorating the surface. Just as carefully, she pulled it back down, and looked at him with an expression of utter horror and sadness. Lucas could tell she knew where they came from. She then leaned back in her seat and took another deep breath, face draining of expression. "Wendy," Anneke broke the awkward silence. "Wendy"s one of you too, isn"t she?" "Yeah." "Huh." Anneke looked down at her hands twisted in her lap. "I really liked her." "Anneke -" "It"s okay, Mark," she flashed him a brief smile. "I understand. I do. This is your job. And now, it"s mine." A/N: I"d love to thank everyone who"s been reviewing and making this story into (what I think) a better one than what I started with! Cheers to: VelocityGirl1980, Batteredpen, LadyDunla, lexie2, Sparky75, NavyLady, and Antonia Caenis. I appreciate you all giving the n00b a go! Chapter Seven She just wanted this day to be over. Anneke sat silently in the passenger seat of the black Lexus Mark insisted on driving her home in. She shifted her gaze to the man next to her, his features golden from the setting sun. As golden as his intentions. Her lip curled. As if sensing her regard, he glanced quickly at her then turned back to the road. "What is it?" He asked. "Will you stop following me now?" "What do you mean?" She sighed with exasperation. "The vans, the guy who was following me today?" Not looking at her as he swung the car into a road more familiar to her, he said, "It"s not up to me, Anneke." "Really?" She wasn"t convinced. "Really. And it"s as much to protect you as it is us." She resisted the urge to make a snarky comment. She was better than that. It was the embarrassment of almost falling for this guy that was turning her thoughts nasty. But it wasn"t really about her, was it? Lucky her, being close enough to the so-called leaders of this "Britain Unite". But she couldn"t help but wonder how far Mark would have gone had she not noticed the tails placed on her. She had revealed quite a lot about her family even on that first date, how much more if they had actually started sleeping together? Anneke winced at the thought. She didn"t doubt that he was capable of doing so for "Queen and Country". How many others had been caught up like this in the protection of Britain? "I didn"t mean to take away your choice," Mark suddenly murmured, his deep voice even lower pitched than normal. Anneke looked sharply at him. Was that... regret in that statement? No, he must be playing her again, trying to get back to the position he held before the shit hit the fan. He"s no newbie at this. "I"ll be fine, Mark," she snapped. "You just make sure you do your job. The sooner this is over, the better, right?" She"ll be fine. Sure. Just be a good girl and spy on your cousin for us. She was feeling sick, her stomach tightening at the thought of what she had to do. The only true family she"s known and this is what happens. Karma could really bite. The car pulled up in front of the Dijkstra house and Anneke didn"t bother looking at Mark again as she moved to unlock her seat belt. His large hand suddenly covered hers. Jerking it away, she stared open mouthed at him, left hand hovering mid-air, seat belt still secure. No. She did not just feel that. She didn"t feel anything. Whatever that was that they had, it"s well and truely over. Mark just stared intently into her wide eyes. Bastard knew exactly what he was doing. Anneke whipped her hand back down and swiftly unlocked her seat belt. "Do not do that. Not now," she ground out. She pulled herself out of the car and shut the door behind her with more force than necessary and hastily made her way to the house. She didn"t turn around as she heard the Lexus idle for a few moments, then slowly pull away. After a night of little sleep, Anneke trudged into the kitchen, trying to think of anything except the events of the day before. What she had to do. Seeing Hannah the night before, all excited and naïve about her coming home in Mark"s car, bolstered her belief that this was the right thing to do. Hannah would stay this innocent. These men would not tear her family apart. She found Hannah pacing in the kitchen. The younger woman looked up as Anneke entered and she knew exactly what was going on. "Bill"s here again, isn"t he?" "Bobby too," Hannah muttered, a frustrated tone slipping into her normally bright voice. "I don"t know what"s going on, but I don"t like it, Anneke. They"re here far too often." Anneke rubbed her cousin"s back reassuringly, "It"s okay, Han. It"s going to be okay." Hannah gave her such a look of trust, Anneke broke out in a sweat. "Really?" Anneke nodded stiffly and, against her better judgement, leaned closer to whisper, "I"m going to make sure it"s okay." "Thank you, Ani." Not able to stand deceiving her cousin, Anneke left the kitchen in a rush. She leaned against the hallway wall and tried to squeeze the tension out from behind her eyes, pressing her fist into her forehead. Holding back a sob, she covered her mouth with a hand to stop any sound escaping. As her breathing eased, her ears pricked at the sound of Pete"s voice coming from his small office at the back of the house. The sooner this ends, the better. She quickly opened her bag sitting next to Hannah"s on the hall table and took out her phone. Switching it on, she held it close to her chest to muffle any sounds it would make while warming up and skimmed across the floor and out the back door. Moving lightly down the side of the house, Anneke crept underneath the windows until she heard the three men above her. Pulling her phone away from her chest, she flicked through the menu until she came to a dictation app she had previously downloaded on a whim. Hands shaking, she slid the phone up onto the window sill and scampered back inside. Lucas watched the Dutch woman poke her food with her fork. Her face was drawn, but her mouth pulled into a determined grimace as she glanced back up at him. Sliding his eyes away from hers, he pressed a hand to his ear to press the earbud closer. The noise from the pub around them faded as he listened to the conversation between McInnes, Ross and Dijkstra Anneke managed to record on her phone that morning. It wasn"t very long, she had only managed to capture less than a minute before the men left the room, but it held enough information for the team to follow up. The recording ended and Lucas pulled the earbud he was using from his ear. "This is good, Ani. Anneke," he corrected himself as she glanced sharply at him. "I know it"s not much," she turned her gaze away and shrugged awkwardly. "But those men need to be gone." "No, really. It"s good. I wouldn"t have thought of using my phone like that." He gave a small smile, "I like to think I"m no Luddite, but half the time I feel I"m playing catch up with technology." "Don"t feel bad, being unemployed leaves you with plenty of time to play around in the App Store." Her mouth twisted, almost a grin. "Did you know there"s an app that shows you where the closest loo is? Great fun." Lucas" heart sped up as caught the smile. It was the first he"d seen since that time on the Grid. There had been nothing else all night. Anneke had thrown open the door and forced him back down the front steps of the Dijkstra"s house, closely following behind when he arrived To pick her up. To avoid any interaction with the family, he presumed. There had been no encouragement at all from the woman, just a steely silence and the occasional unreadable glance in his direction. "Oh, yeah?" His tone remained light, and he teasingly raised an eyebrow. "Need that one often, do we?" She caught on. "Of course not," she huffed. "All that coffee I drink is magically absorbed into my skin, giving me lovely, coffee toned..." She held up a pale hand. "...hmm, maybe not." He chuckled, and she reluctantly let her mouth be pulled into a wider smile. Silence fell and he found her again watching him intently. He was suddenly aware of the space between them in the darkened corner booth he procured for them, out of sight to most of the patrons. He twisted his legs closer, facing her more fully, and took a quick breath. "Don"t," she whispered. Caught with his ill thought out apology half formed, Lucas" mouth opened, then closed. His lips twisted to the side. "You must hate me." Anneke van Leeuwen was not a vindictive person, he knew that, so her words were not entirely unexpected. "Of course not." She was still whispering, so he slid an arm along the back of the booth and faced her fully, their knees briefly making contact. She sucked in a short breath and held up her hands defensively. "But you"re going to have to stop doing that." He leaned back a little, realisation flooding him. Then came the guilt, and not a little satisfaction. That latter he quickly buried, not wanting to deal with the implications of that particular emotion. "I"m sorry," the apology came out huskier than intended. He found himself flushing under her heated gaze. Swiftly, Anneke"s face twisted. "Stop playing with me," she hissed. She grabbed her bag and slid out of the booth. As she stalked towards the ladies" room, Lucas dropped his face into his hands. What the hell was he doing? He dragged his hands down his cheeks. He sighed and got to work, copying the data from the mobile Anneke had left behind onto his own for Tariq to access later. A/N: I love my reviewers. It"s official. I want to marry all of you. I told my husband. He just shrugged and asked if you"re all hot. I assured him you all were. Chapter Eight Anneke had stopped returning her messages. Jo tapped her fingers on the desk of her workstation anxiously, knowing on the one hand that the woman had every right to cut her off, but on the other knew that this sudden silence may ring alarm bells for the already wound up Dijkstra. She remembered her conversation with Lucas that morning about the woman. He had been giving a recording from the new asset to Tariq, and Jo asked how Anneke was handling the pressure. A thoughtful frown crossed Lucas" face. "I"m not entirely sure, Jo," he responded. "She digs for information on Dijkstra, and has been even before I told her the truth, but then - " he contemplated the floor. "It"s like she can"t bear it. Just one more thing will tip her over the edge." He shrugged. "Maybe I"m reading too much into it." The chiming of "Wendy"s" phone was an answer to prayers and Jo snatched it up. COFFEE? NEED TO TALK Jo sighed in relief. Anneke had started to grow on her and she missed the easy rapport they had shared before real life reared it"s ugly head. She looked over at Harry"s office, where Ros and Lucas sat in front their boss" desk. Ros looked as cool as ever, legs crossed and hands resting on the chairs" armrests. Lucas looked a little tense, arms crossed over his chest, his focus on the desk in front of him, rather than on the other two in the room. The same frown from that morning marred his features. Maybe the Dutch woman was growing on Lucas too. What a shame they couldn"t have met under different circumstances. Jo replied to the message. SURE. WHEN AND WHERE? The reply came back less than a minute later. GEORGINA"S. TODAY AT 2? Jo texted back with relief. GREAT. SEE YOU THERE Ros and Lucas walked out of Harry"s office. The Section Chief stopped next to Jo"s workstation and perched herself on the edge of her desk. "Anneke"s contacting me again," Jo told Ros, pleased. "We"re meeting this afternoon for coffee." "Good," Ros nodded. "The recording she made for us has proved more useful than we originally thought. McInnes made some reference to the Puritans. We"ve since discovered this is a US based group similar to Britain Unite, but on a much larger scale. Good news is, the Puritans are on the CIA"s hit list. If we can prove funds were coming from them, we have cause to arrest McInnes." Lucas grabbed his jacket and headed out the door without a glance in their direction. "Lucas is off to speak with our American friend now," Ros added with a twitch of the lips. It was no secret that Ros and Sarah Caulfield disliked each other. Following his exit with her eyes, Jo chuckled, "Let"s hope he makes it back in one piece." "Only if he wants to make it back in one piece..." Ros winked at Jo and slid off her desk. Finishing his brief phone call to Sarah, Lucas headed over to a park walking distance from Thames House, hands shoved in pockets against the icy wind that was gusting between the buildings he passed. Jogging across the street, dodging cars and cyclists, he slowed down as he entered the park. Sarah wouldn"t arrive for a few minutes yet. She sounded eager to meet, surprisingly, since her usual tone was a sardonic drawl, not letting anyone know how she felt one way or the other. Not even her MI-5 lover. Lucas spotted her several minutes later, collar of her long coat pulled up in defense against the stiff breeze, long blonde hair whipping out across her face. She was sporting a small smile as she saw him leaning against the trunk of a large oak. "Lucas," she greeted. "Long time no see." "Sarah," he replied, leaning down to kiss her lightly. "How goes the investigation?" She asked, snuggling close to him as he slung a long arm across her shoulders. Setting off at a slow pace, Lucas looked down at her before replying, "Things are moving along at a good pace." He looked down at her with an apologetic half-grin. "As much as I wish this was just a social call, I"m here to ask a favour." "What good are friends in high places if we can"t abuse the privilege once in a while, huh, Lucas?" She teased. "What do you need to know?" Lucas proceeded to summarise what they hope to find out about McInnes" mysterious cash fund, and whether any of it could be tied to the Puritans. "I"ll look into it," Sarah said, thinking hard. "It"ll be a mess if the Puritans get a foothold here." "That goes without saying," Lucas agreed. She peered up at Lucas though lowered lashes and gently shoved a hip into him, grinning slyly. "Also without saying is your little operation with your little Dutch asset." Lucas stiffened a little but covered it with a laugh. "Well, she"s not little, to start with. I don"t have to bend double to see into her eyes." His eyes sparkled at her with humour. Sarah gasped with mock offence and poked him in the side. "Low blow, Lucas!" "Low being the operative word here." "Oo, you little jerk!" She shoved him, giggling. Lucas laughed again and hauled her up close, tangling his fingers in her blonde locks. "Say that again," he whispered, nose touching hers. "You little jerk," she breathed, eyes locking on his. He took her lips hard and she opened her mouth in a gasp, which he took full advantage of. She gave as good as she got, twisting her arms around his neck and pressing her slight frame tight against his. They pulled apart to gasp for air, eyes closed and breath mingling as Lucas" forehead rested on her own. "Come see me tonight." Lucas started at her softly spoken plea. Opening her eyes, she saw the hesitation in there for a split second before his gaze softened and he smiled gently. "I will," he replied, and he kissed her again, lips soft and patient where they before they were hard and demanding. He released her from his embrace and Sarah swayed a moment before regaining her footing. "Thank you, Sarah." She returned his smile and he turned away, shoulders hunched against the wind. The smile faded from her face as she watched him leave. Anneke argued with herself for hours. She had received several messages from Wendy after the "Big Reveal". The pragmatic side of her brain pointed out quite clearly that the woman had a job to do, and she did it well. MI-5 were dealing with some serious threats and they did what they thought was best to gain information. But the side of her that was situated closer to her heart ached that it wasn"t real. She had met two great people in the past few weeks, and both of them were not real. It was a blow to the wound left by Willem and the humiliation sat heavy in her gut. The night following Mark"s revelation was so long. She wanted to run. Again. Just pack her bags and take off, like when she left Heerenveen. But the difference was that this time she had something to lose. She even had a task now. A mission. She needed to save her family. She rubbed her eyes with a tired hand. Even if it was from themselves. That thought had her sending a quick text message to Wendy on Friday morning, not really thinking about what they would talk about, but knowing they needed to talk. Anneke walked hesitantly into Georgina"s Cafe just after two that afternoon, almost expecting Wendy to look different now that she knew the truth. It was both a relief and a disappointment to see the woman looking exactly the same as when they caught up the other week. Wendy"s big blue eyes trained themselves on her as she approached the corner table. Standing awkwardly by the small table, Anneke quietly said, "Hi Wendy. How are you?" Wendy gave a kind smile and motioned for Anneke to sit down. "I"m fine, Anneke." She studied the Dutch woman"s face for a moment, tiny furrows forming on her smooth forehead, and asked with concern, "Are you dealing with this okay?" Anneke gave a soft snort and looked away from Wendy"s penetrating gaze. "As best I can, I suppose, given my cousin is allegedly some sort of terrorist." She wouldn"t mention Mark. There was only so much she could admit to out loud. Wendy reached forward and caught one of Anneke"s hands in her own. "We"re doing all we can so we can stop whatever"s going on. We really are." Staring for a moment at Wendy"s hand on hers, she waited for the familiar shock she often felt with Mark"s touch, even subconsciously knowing this woman wouldn"t set off her senses like he did. Anneke only felt a comforting warmth. Nothing more. She looked up and smiled ruefully, "I know." "How about we order some coffees? I have a bit of news that may help," Wendy said as she leaned back in her seat. Anneke nodded. Anything to make her feel better about this whole situation would be welcomed. The Grid was abuzz when Jo walked in after meeting with Anneke. "Jo!" Lucas called over, "We have it." "What?" She rushed over to where Harry and the whole team were gathered around Tariq"s workstation. "What do you have?" "Sarah has sent us evidence that some of the funds McInnes has been receiving may have been from the Puritans. It"s enough for us to arrest him under the anti-terrorism laws." "That"s great!" Jo enthused. "We"re mobilising a team now to collect him," Harry said. "Divide and conquer," he muttered, almost to himself. Ros gave Jo a congratulatory pat on the back. "Good work, Jo. And you too, Lucas," she added, looking up at him. "It was a good pick up with finding Anneke. Let"s hope she can get us more."

It wasn"t a question. Wesker knew that Dryden was very perceptive, and that he had learned of the attack seconds after it had started. "The rebels launched their attack, as you said," Wesker told him. He sat down at the very head of the table, while Dryden took the seat to his right. "And they escaped?" "Only one. The rest were annihilated. Your idea of planting a bomb close to the elevator shaft worked," Wesker said, taking a sip of the coffee. "And your condition? Have the experiments proved fruitful?" Dryden watched him closely. He seemed to detect a slight shifting in Wesker"s eyes, for he leaned against the chair and nodded. "Ah. No progress." Wesker glanced at the boy and removed his sunglasses. Dryden looked at him again, but he did not flinch. Wesker knew what his son was seeing: his ruby red eyes. "The T-virus is taking over most of my body," Wesker revealed. "My ingestion of human DNA can only keep it at bay for short periods of time." "Perhaps you need a purer source," Dryden said thoughtfully. "If you were to take a sample of my DNA, it may halt the T-virus." Wesker fell silent. It was times like this when he marveled at the boy"s intelligence. His idea seemed plausible, and Wesker knew, somehow, that it would work. But he dared not tarnish the last successful experiment of the Umbrella Corporation - not when there was an alternative. Project Janus. Shizuoka Facility, JapanUmbrella Corporation Overseas Base1215 hrs_ "...and Arcadia has lost all of its men," Dryden reported. "They all left when you traveled to Tokyo." Wesker smirked. "They didn"t seem to like our experiments." "Apparently so. But you believe that there is a certain.. human who carries the right kind of DNA to stabilize your condition?" Dryden asked hesitantly. Wesker had mentioned a few minutes ago about a human whom he believed had the sufficient DNA that could help him stabilize the T-virus. However, he had yet to reveal the person"s name. "Yes. She was the only survivor of the attack on the Tokyo base." Wesker"s face was calm. "We can always re-acquire her." "How? She could be anywhere by this time," Dryden argued. Wesker allowed his son"s arguments and doubts slide. Dryden was the only person who could talk to him like that and not raise his ire. Instead, Wesker said: "Oh we will. I have extensive knowledge of her behavior and attitudes. We will capture her easily." Dryden acknowledged this with a tilt of his head. "Are you returning to Arcadia?" "Of course. It is paramount to the success of our plan." Wesker clasped his hands together. "And you will be close by, I trust?" "As you wish, Father." Dryden paused, and Wesker sensed that he had something else on his mind. "Is there something bothering you, Dryden?" Wesker asked, as the younger man stood up to fix themselves another cup of coffee. Normally there were attendants whenever Wesker called a meeting, but lately he preferred having the room to himself and his son. Sometimes privacy was the best way to keep their secrets from spilling out. "The survivor who attacked you," Dryden said, pouring coffee from the pot. "What is her name?" Wesker hesitated for a moment. "Alice. Alice Abernathy," he replied. "Hm." Dryden turned and set the coffee cups on the table. Wesker noticed Dryden"s growing anger, and he smiled to himself. It was highly doubtful that Dryden was angry at him; most likely the anger his son was feeling was being directed towards Alice. Many an Umbrella employee had fallen victim to Dryden"s fury. The first was a researcher who had refused to provide Dryden with the information he needed. Dryden was physically only seven at the time, and yet his psionic abilities were already fully developed. Without batting an eye, Dryden had crushed the researcher"s lungs. His second kill was as brutal. He had shoved one of the high-ranking officials who had attempted to flee prior to the global outbreak. Dryden had the said official captured, along with his family, and had him watch as his wife and two young children were fed to the hungry undead. Dryden didn"t use any of his abilities during that time, but his method of carrying out the punishment solidified his position as Wesker"s second-in-command. Now Wesker watched as Dryden sipped his coffee. The blow-up was coming, and Wesker wanted to be there when it happened. How dare she, Dryden thought angrily, sipping his black coffee. The hot water should have stung his tongue and throat as he drank, but Dryden was used to drinking piping hot coffee. The sting was completely forgotten as he dwelt on the fact that a woman - Alice Abernathy, Dryden thought with a sneer - tried to kill his father. Although Wesker was not his biological father, Dryden felt strongly for him. Dryden didn"t know who his real father was, and although there were times he hoped that he could meet his father, Dryden was more concerned with Wesker. With his coffee finished, Dryden looked at his father. Wesker had worn his sunglasses once more, so Dryden could see his reflection on the black lenses. "Father," Dryden said hoarsely. "Once we have this... Alice Abernathy, would you allow me to meet her?" Wesker"s smile never faltered. "Why should I, Dryden?" "Because I plan on punishing her for her attempt on your life," Dryden finished. "You know I never liked people who opposed you and your views." "Very well. Once I have ingested the DNA that I require, you may do with her as you will," Wesker agreed, finally lifting his cup of coffee to his lips, which covered any hint of a sinister smile. Shizuoka Facility, JapanUmbrella Corporation Overseas Base1230 hrs_ "You shouldn"t focus on her just yet, Dryden," Wesker said. "She will get hers in due course. Patience." "Of course, Father. Forgive me if my anger got the best of me." Dryden looked at his father apologetically; the corner of Wesker"s mouth twitched as he set his coffee cup on the table. "For now, we must prepare for her eventual capture. I fear that the T-virus may overwhelm me soon, and I do not want to delay my plans any longer," Wesker continued. Dryden waited quietly and watched as his father pressed a button that was hidden under the meeting table. The doors to the room opened, and a guard in full battle gear entered. "Send her in," Wesker told the guard, who nodded and left the room. Dryden wondered who their guest would be - surely someone who proved vital to their task? - and finished the rest of his coffee. The guard finally returned, followed by a young blonde woman in a dark blue and purple catsuit. Her hair was slicked back and tied in a severe ponytail, making her jawline seem more prominent than it was supposed to. Her catsuit had a semi-low neckline, exposing a hint of cleavage and a bright red control device. Her hands were clasped behind her back as she followed the guard further into the room. To Dryden"s surprise, the woman took the seat to his father"s left, so that he was right across the table from her. "Dryden, this is Jill Valentine," Wesker said. "She is a former Special Tactics and Rescue Services operative, and a previous ally of our dear Alice. Now she is our functioning leader of the Umbrella troops and will help us in the attack against Alice; an attack where I am fully convinced we will capture and detain her for the final phase of our experiment." Jill shifted in her seat slightly, and it was then when Dryden was able to observe the control device closely. It was shaped like a spider; the ends of its "legs" were embedded in her flesh, and the "body" was a hollow casing filled with red liquid. "Blood?" Dryden asked, tilting his head in the direction of Jill"s device. Wesker shook his head. "Pentatheromene. A liquid that, when pumped directly into the heart, will induce complete obedience to whoever controls the microchip placed in their brain." Wesker paused, and then said: "A liquid of my design. I created it during my early years as a researcher for the Umbrella Corporation. I haven"t used it... until now." "And should I be surprised to learn that you control her?" Dryden smiled wryly. "No, you shouldn"t." Wesker glanced at him before turning to Jill. "Are you ready?" "Yes, Sir," Jill replied, her eyes fixed at a point on the wall behind Dryden. "I have received the instructions and shall depart from the base on the designated time." "Excellent." Wesker then turned from Jill to Dryden, who was still studying Jill carefully. "Is something bothering you, Dryden? You don"t seem too eager to work with Jill." Jill"s eyes focused on Dryden as Wesker said her name, but she said nothing. Dryden shook his head. "Nothing"s bothering me, Father. I"m just feeling a bit apprehensive of her working with us." "Oh? How so?" "You said she was an ally of Alice. What makes you think she won"t renege on our plans?" Dryden was skeptical of using Jill, especially in a mission that required nothing but success. The fate of his father depended on it. "I trust my invention fully. I am sure Jill will do her part well," Wesker said thinly. Dryden must have realized that his doubt had upset his father, for he smiled. "Yes, I"m sure she will. If she doesn"t, I will do what I must." "Understood." They led me along, although every cell in my body protested. I felt like a puppet on a string, one that could be used in any way that they deemed fit. Jill sat placidly on the cool metal chair, her eyes fixed on Albert Wesker and the man named Dryden. Jill had heard stories about him from the Umbrella employees, such as how he was born shortly after the outbreak in Raccoon City, how Albert Wesker had adopted him as his own son, how he had aged twenty years in only two years, and how the T-virus raged through his veins but lent him none of its devastating side effects. Although Jill had only met him a few minutes ago, something about him felt familiar. Jill met Dryden"s eyes once more, and Jill remembered the time she first met Alice in Raccoon City. Although part of her persona was responding to Wesker"s questions and Dryden"s insinuations, Jill could still recall Alice"s brown, slightly reddish, hair, her lithe form, and her shockingly blue eyes. Jill mentally shook the image of Alice from her head, for she knew that it was impossible for Alice to be Dryden"s mother. He was tall, with deep black hair and a strong jawline. His eyes, however... Jill willed herself to look at Dryden again, only to see him talking to Albert Wesker, his head turned away from her. Look at me again, Jill pleaded silently. On cue, Dryden"s eyes focused on her again, as if he had heard her in his head. Blue. Dryden may not have Alice"s looks, but he certainly has her eyes, Jill realized. Whoever his father may be, Alice is, without a doubt, his mother. "...kill Alice," Dryden said. Jill"s eyes would have widened at this, but since the Scarab had been placed on her, she maintained a passive expression. "As you wish," she heard herself reply. "Do not put any mark on her body," Dryden added. "I want to have the pleasure of that myself." Jill nodded again. "Alice is to be my team"s top priority. She shall not be killed, but instead brought to the experiment facility in Los Angeles. From there, the required procedures will be conducted." Albert Wesker glanced at Dryden, who nodded in confirmation. "In case she slips through your attack, you must use all means necessary to recapture her. Her presence is essential," Dryden stressed. "Yes, Sir." Jill hoped that Alice would escape; whatever plans Albert Wesker and Dryden had in store for her, it didn"t bode well. Shizuoka Facility, JapanUmbrella Corporation Overseas Base2400 hrs_ "Submersion in 3, 2, 1.." Dryden watched as the virtually unrecognizable mass of flesh was lowered into the glowing tank. He and Wesker were situated on a platform that was directly above the tank; Jill Valentine was standing a few feet behind them. The alarm sounded as the mass was fully submerged, turning the liquid in the tank a mixture of sickly green and red. "T-virus injection in thirty seconds," the mechanical voice announced. Two mechanical arms, which were submerged inside the tank as well, were lifted. At the end of each arm was a thick syringe, filled to the brim with the T-virus. Unlike the T-virus that had caused the global outbreak, the T-virus in these syringes had been genetically manipulated until only the codes for regeneration and reanimation of dead tissue were left. Wesker and Dryden had developed the DNA strands themselves, in the hopes of using them to resurrect key allies who had died years before. The first on their list was Simon Beck, one of the world"s leading military strategists. He had perished in one of Umbrella"s underground facilities after Dr. Isaacs had contracted a bite from one of the advanced T-virus mutants. As the T-virus was injected into Beck"s remains, Dryden watched with apprehension. He had added a few last minute tweaks to the DNA strand, and he hoped everything would turn out as he had planned. A few seconds after the T-virus was injected, the mass of flesh shuddered. Dryden was strongly reminded of a quivering glob of red Jell-O, and he could feel bile coming up his throat. Although Dryden had a fairly strong stomach, he suspected that it was due to the rotting stench that emanated from Beck"s remains. Dryden recalled having to retrieve several mangled corpses from the main North American facility a few years ago. He was only physically fifteen at the time, but he recalls the smell that came from the already decomposing bodies. That same smell filled the room now, and Dryden fought not to cough. Wesker glanced at him before focusing on Beck, whose body was quickly regenerating. "A success, it seems," Dryden commented, as Wesker motioned for Beck to be taken out of the tank. "We shall see." Wesker said, clasping his hands behind his back. "Dr. Isaacs was confident that he had domesticated the mutants, but in reality he had created a whole new strain. We must wait and see." Dryden acknowledged this with a tilt of his head. By now, Beck"s body was already taking form, although some of his muscles were still exposed. Dryden and Wesker waited patiently, until the mechanical voice announced: "Regeneration complete." "Activate the restraints," Wesker called, and a worker standing behind the console pressed a few buttons. Thick chains whipped across the metal slab where Beck lay, and heavy manacles were shackled around his ankles and wrists. As the minutes ticked by, Dryden kept his gaze fixed on Beck, who was now a fleshy whole. Just as he was about to consider the experiment a failure, Beck"s body jolted up from the slab, his back arching and limbs shaking. This repeated for a few more minutes before Beck flopped back on the metal slab and became still. Seconds later, he sat up. "Beck." Wesker"s voice rang through the chamber. Beck raised his head. "Albert Wesker," he said slowly, his voice sounding a little slurred. Wesker shot Dryden a quick glance before turning back to Beck. "How are you feeling?" "Like I"ve been run over by an army tank. Whatever Isaacs put in that damn drink must have knocked me out." Beck groaned and swung his legs over the side of the metal slab. He teetered on his feet for a moment before successfully standing up straight. "What was the last thing you remember?" Wesker asked. Although the rest of the people in the chamber, save for Dryden and Jill, were murmuring their relief over the success of the experiment. Wesker was still making sure that the improved T-virus DNA that had been injected into Beck would hold. "Isaacs," Beck muttered. "That bastard became one of them, Wesker!" Wesker raised his hand, and Beck fell silent. "So did you." Beck"s eyes widened. "Impossible! How...?" Wesker turned to Dryden, who had a satisfied smile on his face. "It appears your experiment worked, Dryden," Wesker ccommented. "Excellent work, my son." "Son?" Beck"s voice echoed in the chamber. "You have a son, Wesker?" Wesker ignored Beck"s question and turned again, this time to Jill. "Take him to quarantine. We shall keep him there for a week. If he doesn"t turn in seven days, you may release him." "At once." Jill inclined her head and gestured to a couple of guards standing near Beck. They quickly clamped their hands over Beck"s wrists and led him out of the chamber, Jill at their heels. "If he doesn"t turn, what then?" Dryden asked in a low voice as he and Wesker exited the chamber. "We resurrect Special Operative Parks," Wesker replied. "I have his remains in lockdown. He will serve our purposes well." Nine days later_ Dryden stared at the newly resurrected form of Special Operative Percival Spence Parks. He had dark, messy hair, blue eyes, and a powerful, athletic build. It was understandable why the Umbrella Corporation had hired him to be part of their security agency. Dryden held the scarab-shaped control device in his palm as he surged forward. He hit Spence with such force that they both slammed to the ground. Spence"s palm smashed against his chin, but Dryden ignored the rivets of pain that sliced through his body. "Get the fuck off of me," Spence grunted, trying to snap Dryden"s head back. To the older man"s surprise, his opponent held firm. As Spence raised his other hand to slug Dryden on the side of the head, Dryden used the opportunity to slam the control device on Spence"s chest. Spence"s eyes bulged and he fought back a cry of pain. Dryden rolled off him and was up on his feet in one fluid motion. A second later Spence lay still, the control device now pulsing, the red liquid pumping through his veins. Dryden looked over his shoulder and saw his father, whose gaze was riveted on Spence"s now still form. Behind him was Beck, who was looking better than he had in days. The T-virus injected into Beck had fully restored his body and mental processes, although he had developed a keen taste for raw flesh. It was a setback that Wesker decided he could live with. "What are we to do with him?" Beck asked. Although the military strategist looked clean, Dryden could smell fresh blood coming from him. "He will be the leader of our remaining forces. His fighting prowess, coupled with your military knowledge, will certainly crush the resistance," Wesker answered. A slight spasm flashed through Wesker"s face, and Dryden frowned. His father was having difficulty controlling the mutation, and he knew that they needed to find Project Alice. Dryden glanced at the older man lying near his feet before looking straight at his father. Wesker was already talking rapidly to Jill, who had silently joined them. "Arcadia is the most likely place for her to go," Wesker said. "I want you to assemble a team and, once Percival has revived, brief him on the mission." "Understood." As always, Jill"s reply was limited. Something in her eyes told Dryden that the real Jill was lurking beneath the surface, although the liquid was keeping her in check. Dryden wondered how long Jill would fight the effects - based on what he"d heard about her, Dryden didn"t doubt that Jill was a fighter. "Dryden." His father"s voice jolted him out of his thoughts, and he quickly followed Wesker and Beck out of the chamber. "Bring him to his room," Dryden ordered the guard standing near the door. When the guard hesitated, Dryden shot him a wry look. "He"s no longer infected." The guard nodded and gestured to a couple of other guards. They hoisted Spence to his feet and dragged him out of the chamber, Dryden"s eyes never leaving Spence"s face. "He looks like you," Jill commented, her voice devoid of any emotion. Dryden whipped his head up and looked at her. "What makes you say that?" Jill glanced at him briefly before turning away. "He just does." Shizuoka Military Base, Japan Umbrella Corporation Facility 0600hrs_ "You know what to do," Wesker said to Dryden. "I trust you will not fail me." "Never, Father," Dryden assured him. "Jill and Spence will be there to capture Project Alice. She will be in our power before the week is out." Wesker smiled thinly and stepped into the helicopter. He glanced over at the two stationary figures standing behind his son. "You have your orders. Now do them." "Yes, Sir," Spence and Jill said in unison. Dryden cast a wary glance at Spence; for some reason, the older man"s appearance unnerved him. Dryden couldn"t understand why, and for the first time in his life, he felt fear. He feared that Spence Parks held a shattering truth, one that would change his life forever. Los Angeles En route to the Umbrella Corporation Facility 1800hrs_ "We have received visual reports of massive gatherings in the area, Sir," an officer manning the radar declared. "We cannot fight our way through." "How many aerial bombs do we have?" Spence asked. "Ten, Sir." "Drop them." "No," Dryden interjected. "We risk destroying the underground facility. Lower the plane, Lieutenant." The lieutenant looked dubiously at Spence, who nodded. "Do as he says." As the plane made its descent, Dryden sensed someone standing behind him. "Do you require my assistance?" Jill asked. "No thank you," Dryden replied thinly. "I can handle myself. Position the plane close to the Hive entrance."

Dilios bowed his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Arcadians. Leonidas noticed them as well, and he faced them defiantly. "Giving up so soon?" The Arcadian general, Daxos, nodded. "The enemy is too great. We must all leave now while we have the chance." Instead of replying, Leonidas bellowed: "Spartans! Prepare for glory!" "Glory? Have you gone mad? There is no glory to be had now! Only retreat, or surrender or death!" Daxos cried, aghast. Dilios smiled inwardly. The Arcadians never fully understood the Spartan way of life. If they wanted to run with their tails between their legs, so be it. He knew his king would never surrender or admit defeat. "Well, that"s an easy choice for us, Arcadian! Spartans never retreat! Spartans never surrender! Go spread the word. Let every Greek assembled know the truth of this. Let each among them search his own soul. And while you"re at it, search your own," Leonidas advised, his sharp gaze sweeping through the small Arcadian army. Daxos flinched, but marched down the side of the cliff, followed by the rest of the Arcadian soldiers. Dilios looked back at Leonidas, who nodded. It is time. Now Dilios stared back up at the cliff, at the proud and impressive figures of the Spartans he was leaving behind. Amidst the few Spartans left standing, Dilios met the gaze of Stelios, Captain Artemis, and Leonidas. Hundreds leave. A handful stay. Only one looks back. Nothing could have prepared Dyna for the events that unfolded that very day. Although she had fully shed her persona as Aricia, the Crown Princess of Arcadia, she did not realize the extent of her ancestry. She was completely focused on helping her father, King Leonidas, succeed in his suicide mission, and to ensure that her lover returned to her safely. The massive rock structures of Sparta loomed in the distance, and she clicked her boots gently against the sides of her horse to urge him forward. As she galloped past the houses, she saw that the people were all looking worried or apprehensive. The palace doors were wide open, and she guided her horse past the armed guards, who recognized her and lowered their spears. "Aricia!" Dyna looked up and saw her mother, Gorgo, standing near an altar to Ares. Beside her was Pleistarchus, who looked surprised but pleased. "Gorgo," Dyna said breathlessly, jumping from her horse in one fluid motion. She was wearing her Arcadian battle gear: a white leather bra, matching leather shorts, and a white cape that swirled past her ankles. On her feet were flat leather boots, and she had her sword sheathed to her side. On her ankle was a deadly throwing dagger. As her mother approached, Dyna tilted her head to the side and looked at her mother meaningfully. The queen seemed to realize that she knew the truth, for her eyes widened. Before any of them could say anything, they heard several sets of footsteps. "Well well well, what do we have here?" Theron. Dyna narrowed her eyes and glared at the adviser, who didn"t falter. Instead, he looked at the queen, who stared at him defiantly. "I know Arcadia is a close ally of Sparta, but why do you insist on meddling with the affairs of the Spartans, Princess?" Theron asked bitingly. He smirked, as if daring Dyna to defend herself. Dyna felt her mother"s hand clamp around her wrist, but she shook it off gently. "The reason, Theron, is because I am a Spartan," Dyna replied. "I am Dyna, the daughter of King Leonidas and Queen Gorgo." This was not the reply Theron was expecting. He took a few steps back, while the Elders, who had crowded around him, surged forward. "You lied!" one of them accused the queen, whose expression never faltered. "You told us she died in the desert! Why keep this secret from us?" The Elders" voices rose in a steady cacophony, but the queen remained unfazed. Suddenly the queen tensed, and Dyna followed her gaze. "The Ephors," Dyna said, her eyes widening. Dyna truly felt no fear, only disgust and loathing. They were the reason why she was taken away from her real parents, why she was denied the chance to grow up in a true Spartan fashion, and why she was unable to be with her brother and Dilios. If they didn"t exist, my life would have been perfect, Dyna thought angrily. "So she is a Spartan," the lead Ephor hissed, and Theron and the Elders backed away slowly. Whether it was due to respect or mutual disgust, Dyna didn"t know. All she knew was that she had revealed herself to her kin, and that she would probably be damned as the next Oracle. "Lovely, lovely," another crooned, reaching a wrinkled hand from the many folds of its golden robes. "She is our Oracle," the first Ephor commanded, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth. "Our Oracle." "Ours, ours," the Ephors chanted, lust covering their eyes. "You can"t have her," the queen said, placing a protective arm in front of Dyna. "They won"t, Mother," Dyna assured her. To the Ephors, Dyna said: "You cannot touch me. I am no longer a vestal virgin!" The Ephors shook their heads, the front of their robes bulging with their erections. It was clear what they would do to Dyna once they had dragged her back to the temple, and this time, there was no one to defend her. The other Elders were cowed by the Ephors, while the Spartan soldiers were in the training arena. Dyna refused to give up. "I have been claimed by another!" "We care not," one Ephor said sleekly, running a rough hand down Dyna"s arm. She quickly snatched it from his grasp, and the Ephor"s eyes bulged with anticipation. "The Oracle," they chorused. Dyna"s eyes widened in horror as the Ephors closed in around her. Vaguely she heard her mother being restrained by a couple of Ephors, while Pleistarchus... where was he?... was caught in the firm grip of Theron. No, not like this, Dyna thought desperately. The first Ephor who had spoken licked his lips. "Ours. Our Oracle. Forever." Just as her hand wrapped around the handle of her blade, a flash of light erupted in the air in front of her, blinding everyone in the vicinity. He was angry. Nay, furious. For centuries he had tolerated the sexual advances of his cousin"s priests, mostly because it amused him to see lovely and nubile maidens ravaged by such monsters. But now they had gone too far; why hadn"t they heeded his warning as he flashed his symbol within their temple? His daughter was beautiful, that was true, but she was under his protection. No man, Spartan or otherwise, could touch her without his approval. She also belonged to another; the Spartan warrior who, at this very moment, was a day away from Sparta. And now the priests sought to claim her body for their own purposes. This was not to his liking. Not at all. Dyna waited for the feel of slimy flesh against her skin, to feel a rough hand clamp over her wrists and pull her towards the grotesque band of priests who stood but a few feet away from her, their tongues lolling in their mouths and drool lining their lips. But it did not come. Dyna slowly opened her eyes and saw a huge black dog standing in front of her. To her surprise, the Ephors were huddled together, their eyes wide and frightened. Whatever lust and intense sexual longing they had earlier was gone; their attention had now shifted to the black dog. "The dog! A symbol of the god Ares! Forgiveness, forgiveness!" they chanted, raising their wrinkled and deformed arms to the sky, as if in penance. "We did not know she was yours, oh great and mighty God of War! Forgive us! This shall not happen again!" The dog snarled and bared its fangs, causing the Ephors to back away in fright. From the corner of her eye Dyna saw Theron and the Elders hurry away; only a few remained to watch the spectacle. Her mother and brother remained a few feet behind her, although every so often Pleistarchus inched closer to her until he could press his fingers on her palm. The Ephors froze, and the black dog raised its head and howled, finally leaping at the frightened priests. Their shrieks filled the area as they fled, two of them tripping over their robes as it flapped about their ankles. When the Ephors were gone, the black dog turned towards Dyna, bowed its head, and gave a soft bark. Dyna smiled. "Thank you, my lord," she said, and the dog blinked. After staring at her - fondly? - for a few minutes, it turned on its heel and bounded out of the palace. "I thought you were the daughter of Aphrodite," Queen Gorgo admitted. She and Dyna were seated near the training arena, watching Pleistarchus. The incident with the Ephors had spread like wildfire around Sparta, and now everyone knew that the Princess Dyna was alive, and that she was really the daughter of Ares. While some were pleased that the princess was back, others stubbornly refused to believe that the former emissary of Arcadia had turned out to be their long-lost princess. This didn"t bother Dyna one bit; she was too busy discussing the repercussions of that event with her mother. "Your beauty was striking, even for a Spartan," Queen Gorgo continued. "During your birth there were no indications that Ares favored you." "But don"t you remember being visited by the god?" Dyna asked. Queen Gorgo shook her head. "It was always your father who visited me. Of course it was possible that Ares took the form of the king." "Well all that matters now is that I"m back," Dyna said, grasping her mother"s hands tightly. "I"m only sorry I didn"t return in time to send reinforcements." Queen Gorgo averted her gaze. "The Elders will be convening tomorrow to discuss the issue. I hope they will see reason and allow us to send more troops to your father." "What"s wrong, Mother? Why can"t you look me in the eye?" Dyna asked, her brow creasing slightly. "Is there something else I should know?" "It"s been difficult to persuade the Elders. With the Ephors saying that the Gods will punish us if we interfere, they do not dare move. Not without sufficient cause and evidence," Queen Gorgo replied. "I"ve had to resort to... other things." Dyna didn"t like the implications that statement held. "What do you mean by "other things"?" Queen Gorgo shook her head. "You don"t need to know, Dyna. It will change nothing." "Mother, what did you do?" Dyna insisted. "If your actions have put you in danger, I need to know! I want to know!" "Theron.." Queen Gorgo stopped, as if speaking of it was too painful. At the very mention of his name, somehow Dyna knew. "He demanded you have sex with him, didn"t he?" Dyna said. When her mother didn"t say anything, Dyna"s scowled. "I"ll kill him," Dyna declared after a while. "He shouldn"t have asked you to do such a thing. But that doesn"t surprise me, Mother. I"ve seen the way he looks at you." "And you," Queen Gorgo said. "As for killing him, don"t, my dear. He will get his in due course." Dyna looked at her mother, studying her carefully. "What do you mean?" Queen Gorgo remained silent, but her face had an unfathomable expression that both worried and excited Dyna. Dyna surveyed the council chamber. The Elders were in an uproar, their voices mixing together to form a steady stream of incoherent babbling. Her mother"s entreaty to them seemed to be working, and she hoped that by noon Spartan soldiers would be sent to the Hot Gates and help her father. And she would go with them. She had stayed behind once, but never again. She would not stand by and wait on tenterhooks until her father and Dilios returned. A slight movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention, and her heart pounded as she saw him. Theron. Dyna fought to keep herself calm and composed, and she made her way towards her mother. Before she could reach her, Theron clapped his hands loudly, causing everyone in the chamber to stop and look at him. "Very articulate, my Queen," he said sleekly. "You seem to have won us over completely." Dyna stilled, as if daring to believe that Theron would actually help their cause. "But I wonder what the great Elders would think if they learned that you have been giving your body to another man! This man, in fact!" Theron exclaimed, pointing to the Spartan Elder who had been advising the queen on her planned course of action. Dyna"s eyes narrowed in anger, while the Elders" cries grew louder. This time, they were crying out in outrage over Queen Gorgo"s supposed adultery and betrayal of the king. Dyna unsheathed her sword and pushed past several council members, determined to end Theron"s spite and malice once and for all. Again, she was thwarted. The council chamber fell silent as Queen Gorgo stabbed the entire swordblade into Theron"s side, piercing his heart and lungs as it made its way up to his shoulder. Dyna was close enough to hear her mother say: "This will not be over quickly. You will not enjoy this. I am not your Queen!" With a feral cry, Queen Gorgo drew back the sword, which was now stained with Theron"s life blood. As she withdrew it from his flesh, a leather pouch fell from the folds of his robes. Its contents - shiny gold coins - spilled on the floor. One coin rolled towards Dyna"s feet, and she picked it up. "This coin has the mark of Xerxes," she declared, holding it up. The rest of the Elders near her picked up some of the coins and murmured their assent. "She speaks true," one Elder said loudly. "Theron has manipulated us into submitting. We are Spartans, are we not? We never retreat! We will never surrender!" Dyna screamed, her last words being drowned out as the Elders finally shouted for their warriors to take up arms. As the Elders swept past her and into the city, Dyna caught her mother"s eye and smiled. This time, the Spartans will go to war. Just beyond that hill, Dilios thought. His spear felt heavy in his hands, and his head pounded. He had separated from the Arcadians a day ago, and now he was only a few minutes away from Sparta. He planned to tell the tale of his king and his brothers to his other warrior brethren in order to incite them to war, before finally making his way to Arcadia to see Aricia. He missed her terribly. He never thought he would have been given the chance to hold her in his arms again. I owe the king this privilege, he told himself. The King, who had been absent from his daughter"s life for years, had decided to send one of his warriors back as a way of making up for his absence. If I can"t be there for her anymore, I want to make sure that there is someone who will, King Leonidas said shortly before Dilios left. Dilios could see in his mind"s eye the impressive forms the king and the rest of the Spartans made standing on the cliffs. As he crested the top of the hill, Dilios smiled. Tonight, I will have quite a story to tell. News of your father"s death can never be taken easily. Dyna felt the whole world crashing down on her as Dilios told her of the dark odds her father faced. Although she was glad that the Gods had spared Dilios, the pain over hearing her father"s eminent death still stung her to her very core. Dilios had met her mother first, who was standing in the fields close to the palace. He had returned the queen"s wolf fang pendant, which she had given to the king before he left for Thermopylae. As he slowly made his way to the city, Dyna had run up to him and embraced him fiercely, smothering his face and lips with feverish kisses. It was only when she had laid her head on his shoulder did she see the immense sorrow on her mother"s face. "No," Dyna had gasped, pulling away from Dilios" powerful embrace. "No." Her mother had looked at her then, her beautiful eyes brimming with tears. Dyna choked back a sob and hugged her mother. Spartans never cry, Dyna reminded herself. Still she felt hot tears slipping from her eyes, and she gave in to her pain and sorrow. They then relayed the message of the king"s death to the rest of the Spartans, who immediately turned to crown Pleistarchus as the next king. Her brother looked worried at first, but after Dyna had assured him that she would guide him every step of the way, he had relaxed. Now she could focus on Dilios, who was leaning against a stone pillar. In a few hours he would be telling the story of their journey, and the unfortunate fate that the Persian army had meted out to their king. "Your eye," Dyna said as she approached, sliding her hand around his waist. "Does it still pain you?" Dilios shook his head. "It doesn"t hurt as much. I can still fight the Persians with this small scratch." "Fight? My love, you need to rest," Dyna urged. "You will need your strength to face the soldiers. Please, come to bed with me." Dilios looked at her and smiled wryly. "I have rested enough, Dyna. Your father"s story needs to be told." Dyna sighed and rested her head on the crook of his shoulder. "Tell them everything about my father, not just his battle with the Persians. He needs to be remembered as the boy, the man, and the king that he was." "As you wish, my love," Dilios replied, kissing the top of her head. "I will honor your father"s memory the best way I can: through story and on the battlefield." "Yes, and when you do go to war, I will come with you." Dyna looked deep into Dilios" eyes. "You know nothing can keep me away from you, not even death." "Your father told me to watch over you," Dilios protested. "I fully intend to participate in the war against the king who claimed my father"s life," Dyna told him fiercely. "If you plan on protecting me, you would have to come with me." Dilios smiled in spite of himself. "You are indeed your father"s daughter." "Anyone who says otherwise is a fool," Dyna agreed. She had decided against telling him who her real father was; until they had finally defeated Xerxes, that is. Dilios tilted her chin up, and Dyna molded her body to fit his. Their kiss was slow yet passionate, and it left them both breathless. "I missed you," Dilios admitted. "I prayed to the Gods that they would bring you back to me," Dyna said. "Back in Arcadia, I prayed to Ares. He has answered my prayers. Even if he could not bring my father back to me, he has at least granted me this one comfort." "Even if I am not as whole as I was before?" Dyna nodded. "You are still the man I love. Nothing, not even the loss of an eye, can change that." Dilios smiled. "I love you." "As I love you." "Marry me." The last words were said in a whisper, but Dyna took it all in stride. "I would love nothing more than to be your wife. Yours, heart, body, and soul," she said, placing her mouth close to Dilios" ear. "Forever." Dilios groaned as Dyna nibbled on his earlobe. "Forever." They finally succumbed to their desires. Dilios momentarily forgot about his obligation to speak to the Spartan soldiers, while Dyna finally fulfilled her intense longing to make love to the man who had held her heart since she was very young. Their lovemaking was fast at first, and slowly descended to a gentle pounding. The aftermath consisted of them lying next to each other, their bodies entwined. Dyna lazily traced the contours of Dilios" muscles, her leg placed across his stomach. "Dilios, do you plan on asking the other Greek states for aid in the coming war?" she asked. "I have thought about it. The more soldiers we have to our cause, the better. I suspect the Elders would not be so keen on -" "The Elders are the main reason why my father has had to deal with the small Spartan army that accompanied him to Thermopylae," Dyna seethed. "If they did not strictly impose a ban against bringing more troops without their permission, my father might still be alive. We might have even won this war!" Dilios placed one finger over Dyna"s lips. "Shhh. We have learned our lesson, my love. We will not inform the Elders of our plans. I do not think they can dictate the decisions of the other Greeks, and I certainly won"t abide by their rules this time. I will solicit help on my own." "I will come with you," Dyna said automatically. "But please, let us get married first. Tonight." Dilios smiled. "As you wish. Do you not prefer a lavish wedding?" "Spartans are not known for their weddings, only the outcomes of their wars. The quicker we can get help, the sooner Xerxes will be defeated." "You are so certain of their defeat, then?" "Yes." Dyna smiled and snuggled closer to Dilios. "I trust the Spartans. In us." "The Trojans are on their way to the Hot Gates, my lord," one messenger stated. "Emissaries are arriving from all over Greece, pledging soldiers to be sent to aid the cause of Greece," another Spartan messenger reported. Dilios studied the parchments carefully and then nodded. "These all look in order. Sparta is grateful for their aid. We shall meet them at the Hot Gates in three days." The messengers nodded, thumping their fists against their chests before leaving. Ever since Dyna and Dilios" hasty wedding a few days ago, the rest of Sparta was now treating him as their co-King. Since Pleistarchus was far too young to rule - although in four years" time the Elders knew he would be more than ready to lead Sparta - Dilios was acting in his stead. Pleistarchus continued his training with much fervor, while his older sister and Dilios" wife watched over him. Now the familiar sounds of Spartan warriors preparing for battle reached his ears, and he was surprised to see Dyna and her mother, the Queen Regent of Sparta, walking towards him.

My chest tightened as I watched my father gaze at Sonja. She looked back at him defiantly, but I could see fear flash through her blue eyes. "Aye." The word rang loud and clear throughout the chamber. "No!" I cried, but at the same moment Lucian roared. "You can"t do this! She is your daughter!" The chains holding him groaned as he strained to break free, but these held fast. It was ironic that he was the one who made the very chains that now twisted around his body. Without a word, my father stood up and left the room. I met him as he exited, and he stopped at the look on my face. "Sophia," he said softly, but I shook my head. My hands trembled, and I was afraid of speaking. Afraid of the words I would say that would surely lead to my own death. Without another word, I rushed into the chamber. A guard was taking Sonja away, and her head was lowered to the ground. Lucian was staring at her, and his gaze only broke when I ordered the guard to stop. "Sophia," Sonja breathed, her usually beautiful and shiny hair in a mess about her face. "Why are you here? Father would have you arrested - " "He has done worse," I countered, giving her a hug. "Sonja, why didn"t you tell me? I would"ve helped you in a heartbeat, you know that." "I know. But I also knew that if Father found out about you knowing about this, he would have you killed as well. And I can"t let that happen, Sophia. My sister..." Her voice trailed away. I have never seen her so defeated. "Come on," the guard said roughly, tugging at Sonja"s arm impatiently. I hissed. "Be gently with her, or you"ll answer to me," I told him. The guard nodded and led Sonja away. Lucian was still looking at Sonja, but when the heavy metal door clanged shut, he looked at me. "Are you going to berate me for impregnating your sister?" I shook my head. "No. I"m not like my father. Lucian... thank you." "For what?" "For making her happy. I know she was when she was with you. I would never go against you or her," I informed him. "If there was anything I could do..." "There is. But it is too big a risk. You heard what she said; she wouldn"t want you to die because of us." Lucian sighed. "What is it?" I asked him eagerly. He shook his head and refused to speak any more. I left him then, the man who caused the death of my sister. I headed to my room and saw my father there. He was sitting on my bed, and he stood up when I walked in. Unlike Sonja, who preferred her tight clothes, I took a fancy to flowy black dresses. My skirts whisked against the carpet as I approached him. "Sophia, my daughter," he said softly, taking my hands into his. "I must know." I knew what he was going to do a split second before he did it. He was going to check my memories, to see if I was faithful, or if I had disobeyed him. I felt my blood ebb out of the wound his fangs made on my palm, but I didn"t cry out. He seemed satisfied, because he left without another word. I sat in front of my dresser and looked at my reflection in the mirror. Outside the storm had calmed, and the moon streamed in my room through the coloured glass mirror. I let the moon"s rays hit my face when I sensed someone in the room. "My lady." Kraven. One of my father"s pet guards. He stood in the middle of my room, looking at me with interest. I knew he had a roving eye, and that his eyes had wandered to me and my sister over the years. He was one of the many soldiers my father had when he was turned by Marcus. "Yes, Kraven?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow. "What is it?" "The time for the execution has arrived. Your father is about to - " I didn"t let him finish. I ran out into the hallway, ran to the only place I knew to look: the chamber that had a window that opened out into the sky. Into the sunlight. I arrived just in time to see them, Lucian chained to the floor and my sister tied to a concrete pole in the centre of the room, right below the window, which was now open. I could see the moon hitting her, and I realized with a painful jolt that the moon"s rays would be replaced with the sunlight. "No," I choked out. My father heard me and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Let it be done," he whispered. "You are my only hope left, Sophia." I couldn"t believe my ears. He neglected me for years, only to tell me that I was a replacement. How could I be a replacement of someone so beautiful, so perfect? "Sonja," I sobbed, although tears were nonexistent. The doors closed, but there were bars. I peered through the bars until morning came. My sister and Lucian were obviously exhausted, and I kept silent. When the time came, Lucian"s and my cries for Sonja were one. I felt his agony, and I was sure he felt mine. Her porcelain skin turned gray, her silk tresses dried up, her eyes became empty sockets, and the child inside her womb died before knowing the beauty of the world. Kraven, who was standing by me the entire time, led me aside as the guards swept in. Lucian was howling in fury, and before our eyes, he changed. He turned to a werewolf, broke the chains, ripped my sister"s necklace from her throat (the only thing he had left of her), and disappeared into the night. The war began. I recall nothing but calling out for Sonja, for the sister I lost. Kraven led me past the guards and into my room. He locked us in and unsheathed his sword. I knew that my father had appointed him as my personal bodyguard, to make sure that what my sister did to him would never happen again. As I sat there, numb to everything, the howls of the werewolves - who were now called Lycans, thanks to Lucian - grew louder and louder. The soldier"s cries for blood rang throughout the fortress, and I could hear the battle rage. In the midst of it all, my father banged on the door and instructed Kraven to bring me to the ship. We did so, and there was nothing left for us to do but to wait. All the while my mind ran with memories of me and Sonja, of things we had and would never share again. I would never be an aunt, nor would I see her raise what would have been a beautiful and powerful child. These thoughts haunted me as I sailed away with my wounded father (Lucian dealt him a nearly fatal blow, would you believe that?) and Kraven to our new home. We sailed away from Sonja, from the castle where we spent our childhood, and from the place where her body would lie forever, chained to that concrete pole that ended her life. 1891 Things have changed. I am no longer the pitiful Sophia I was then. Although my father adopted a "daughter", he learned to show love and affection towards me. In the absence of Sonja, I flourished. It was as if she was the only one holding me back from my true potential. It was a horrid thought, true, but I couldn"t help think about it at times. Aside from developing my archery skills, I excelled in handling swords and other weapons. I became a killing machine. And I killed Lycans. This was after Kraven heroically pronounced Lucian, my would-have-been brother-in-law, to be dead, and he even showed me and my father the branded skin. He was young when we branded him, but even then he never screamed when my father placed a searing hot poker onto his flesh. He was strong, and I couldn"t believe it when Kraven told us about it. After Lucian died, I felt no connection to the Lycans. I slaughtered thousands, and my father"s respect and love for me grew. The other Elders, Marcus (my father"s sire) and Amelia, saw me as a credit to the vampire race. The Lycans saw me as a threat. It was strange to know this, because when Sonja was alive, I cared for the Lycans. They were the ones who felt the brunt of my father"s rage whenever something went wrong, and in a way, I knew what they were going through. People change. Believe me, I had. My past didn"t matter anymore; I lived for the present. As my father, Marcus, and Amelia devised a new system that would allow them to rule the coven equally, I became more prominent in the coven. I was second in command to the Elders, and no one dared disobey me. I knew that Viktor lost Sonja that day, but in truth, he lost me too. The new Sophia was very much unlike the old one. I was ruthless, blood thirsty, and unmerciful. The other vampires credited me as "being Viktor"s daughter through and through". In a sense, I was. Of course, my father"s adopted daughter became as prominent as well. We were both lethal, and we led the guards during raids of the Lycan"s hideouts. I learned from Kraven that the reason my father spared her was because she reminded him of Sonja. Her name was Selene. I taught her the ways of the coven, and she was a promising student. She learned quickly, and there were times when she surpassed me. We developed a sisterly relationship, but I never told her of Sonja and Lucian. It had become taboo, and I was beyond disobeying my father. Of course, there was one thing that helped change my father"s former attitude towards me. That was when Marcus and I fell in love. It was during his second turn as the ruler of the covens when he told me he loved me. It was surprising, considering we hardly interacted back when Sonja was alive. Now, he said, he saw in me a woman in her prime, a force that could be reckoned with. A truly fiery spirit, he said. Our first century together was passionate, and it wasn"t long before the entire coven knew about it. When the time came for my father to rule, I was stricken. I didn"t want to face two centuries alone, not when I had found someone who loved me deeply and truly. Finally the Elders agreed upon themselves (through a series of memories that only they could fit into a coherent pattern) that Marcus and I would rule as husband and wife. In the rarest occasion, the three Elders awoke just long enough for me and Marcus to marry. Then Amelia and Marcus slept, and I joined them in a protected place of my own. It held a regal "S", and next to it was Marcus" "M", although he slept in a separate place. Selene was happy for me - she did say so in her calm and serious way - and I knew I would miss her in my own way. We only saw each other when Marcus was awake, and even during then I only saw her when I wasn"t with Marcus, which was rare. Now I"m sitting outside, allowing the moon"s rays to hit my bare legs, just like what I did before Sonja"s execution. "Such a lovely sight," Marcus said, coming up behind me and putting his around me. "My lovely wife, sitting out here in the moonlight with her legs bare and her skirt nearly up to her waist. Very tempting, my love." He stopped and became still. "What is it, Marcus?" I asked, leaning my head against one of his arms. "There are no Lycans about, love, so please, continue seducing me with your words." Marcus came to life again, and planted kisses on my neck. I smiled and reached up to entwine my fingers in his hair. "My love." I sighed. This was pleasure, and I never knew I would be here with him, the man who sired my father. If you told me then that I was to become the wife of the patriarch of all vampires, I would have laughed. Now, it was my reality. "And I am yours." I stood up and wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him close. His beard and hair smelled of horses, blood, and sweat, and I loved it. It was his scent and no one else"s. "How is Selene?" I asked, gazing into his icy blue eyes. He grunted. "She is well, as you might imagine." "Kraven still lusting after her?" Marcus laughed. "Like a male horse longing to mount a mare." I gently slapped him on the arm. "Marcus!" "Well, it"s true," he said, smiling down at me. "Although your friend isn"t giving in." "Why should she? He"s disgusting," I said, walking back to the house (my father"s) while maintaining a tight grip on his hand. "As I recall, he saved your life," he told me. I froze. "He did. He led me away from battle, but nothing more. He didn"t spill any blood on my account." "True, but he didn"t leave you." "He was too scared to face my father if he did. I"m the only daughter he has left." I stepped into the foyer, where I saw vampires lounging about. They leapt to their feet and murmured greetings, which Marcus and I acknowledged with curt nods. "And now you"re my wife. Anyone who tries to hurt you shall suffer badly," Marcus announced passionately. I smiled and pulled him into the library. It was deserted, of course. "Stay with me?" He nodded and didn"t resist as I pulled him towards our favourite spot in the entire house: the rug in front of the fireplace. We settled ourselves and just held each other, until one of my husband"s assistants came and announced the arrival of Lord Pennington. He was one of our contacts in England. He brought news of the Lycans slaughtering their livestock and driving the peasants out. Children and women had been massacred, and Lord Pennington hoped to have our assistance. Marcus and I were now perched on our seats. I had changed into a royal blue gown and wore a necklace bearing Marcus" and my letters intertwined. Lord Pennington"s gaze flickered from my husband to me, and it usually settled on my necklace, which was resting comfortably near my cleavage. I smirked, and I could see Selene had caught this little exchange. She gave me a grimace, and I gave her a covert wink in return. How I tended to miss her, my little protégé. "As you might as well know, Pennington, the coven in England can support your needs more. Why did you even make a trip to my house in the first place?" Marcus inquired. "Unless the problem is serious." "The - the Lycans. They"re not changing back to humans," Lord Pennington said in a hushed voice. "They stay as wolves." I saw Marcus stiffen, and I knew this could only mean one thing. "Those aren"t Lycans. They"re real werewolves. Unstained by Lucian"s genes." My voice rang throughout the entire hall. Lord Pennington trembled. "Am I to have no help, then?" "Oh you shall," Marcus intoned. "You shall. Go home and rest easy, Pennington. All will be taken care of." Lord Pennington bowed and left swiftly. I looked over to Marcus, who looked taken aback. I knew what he was thinking, and who he was thinking of. William. William is Marcus" brother, whom my father cruelly imprisoned in an unknown place, far from the one person he had left in this world. The news that there was still a werewolf from William"s line still living must have brought Marcus renewed vigour. He ordered the coven to prepare, as he was travelling to England to see to the matter himself. "I will go with you." "No, I want you to stay here. Manage the coven in my absence, my love. Please." I agreed, although rather reluctantly. He kissed me on the lips, and I, not caring whether there were other vampires around, kissed him back. Our lips moved with the same rhythm, and it took us a lot of effort to break apart. I ran my fingers lightly through his beard and inhaled his very scent. I wanted it to remain with me, so that I could always feel his presence. It was like that night when Sonja died; a feeling of helplessness. I watched him leave, and it was only when his carriage was no longer in sight when I went back inside the house. Selene was there, and she gave me a reassuring one arm hug. "I miss him already," I told her as we made our way up the stairs. "He"ll be gone for a few days. I"m more concerned about whether Viktor finds out about this," Selene said. "Marcus doesn"t give a damn what my father thinks," I said rather harshly. "He loves William, and it seems that this incident is the only thing that can tell him where his brother is." Selene nodded. "Still, would you want to be in the middle? Marcus and Viktor, baying for each others" blood? You have to admit, William is going to be a problem." I whirled around and faced her. "What do you mean? Marcus can control him, and I believe him. My father is blowing things out of proportion." We stopped in front of my and Marcus" room. I silently debated if I should allow Selene to go in, but I flung the door open and stepped inside. She maintained her place, but I motioned for her to come in. The bed was untidy, considering Marcus and I had made love a couple of times last night. Other than that the room was spotless. I made my way to my dresser and removed my gloves. I didn"t take my necklace off; I was determined to keep it on until Marcus arrived. Selene stood by the four poster bed and was looking at the sheets, amused. "I know, I know," I said, smiling a little. "Wild night." "This may seem too forward, but does Marcus expect the two of you to have children?" Selene asked slowly. I shook my head. "He fears that William"s genes will pass on to our child. He doesn"t want to risk the covens going against us." "But William was turned when they were adults," she pointed out. "I don"t think William"s genes are going to - " "He is cautious. He doesn"t want to have a child only to have it stripped away from him," I interrupted. "And who am I to go against my husband"s wishes?" Selene sighed but said nothing. In a way, I could see why my father adopted her. She looked a bit like Sonja, except now she had cropped her hair. But she had the same complexion, blue eyes (like everyone else in the covens), and the same preference for tight fitting clothes. I missed them both sorely. Marcus and Sonja. But I still had Selene. The days turned into weeks, and I grew impatient, worried, and anxious. Marcus had sent me letters, but they did nothing to comfort me. It sounded as if the battle was going awry, but I knew Marcus would pull through. He always did. "Viktor would have a fit once he learns that Marcus went after the werewolves," Kraven muttered one night. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. Ever since my father had appointed him as one of his representatives, he became more and more cocky and confident. Now he was addressing my father as if they were equals. "I"m sure my father will understand that my husband is always under protection," I said levelly. "Marcus is no fool." As the patriarch of the vampire race, Marcus held the key to the survival of us all. If he died, everyone under his bloodline would die too, which was why my father had him guarded every single second. Kraven bowed his head, but I could see he was annoyed. I knew why; it fell upon him to inform my father about the things Marcus did during his reign, those that my husband kept from him. I fingered the stem of my goblet thoughtfully. Centuries had passed since Sonja and Lucian died, but somehow, I felt something was off. It was as if they were still alive. But how? I saw my sister die before my very eyes. Lucian, on the other hand, was a different story. We all had Kraven"s word on it, and nothing else. The rest of the soldiers who went in with him to Lucian"s castle (my former home) died. Only he survived, brandishing the branded skin like a trophy of his bravery. If there was one thing Kraven wasn"t, it was being brave. I said nothing about my thoughts. First of all, he had proof. I had none. Second, if Lucian was indeed alive, then where was he? I knew the death of my sister turned him completely against my father, and he would definitely show himself if he were alive. Kraven stood up and walked towards Selene. She ignored him, like she always did. Kraven invited her for a walk in the garden, but she refused. When will he give up on his obsession with her? I thought. He will never give up on her though. He can be quite persistent. As soon as Kraven left, Selene rolled her eyes and stared at the ceiling. "You"d better find yourself a husband, Selene," I chided. "Otherwise Kraven won"t stop." Selene scoffed. "I can do so much better than him. I"m not interested in him in any way." I laughed. "That"s obvious to every person in this coven but him. He"s stubborn." We fell silent. I continued reading about the coven reports. One of the newest vampires, Erika, flitted in and out of the library, refilling my goblet and asking Selene if she needed anything. An hour before dawn, we all retreated to our coffins. I slept, but I kept seeing Marcus. This was the sixteenth day he was gone, and he promised to be back after a week. The only thing that consoled me was the fact that we were all alive; that meant he was, too. Time passes fast when you"re a vampire. The hours fly by like seconds, and days seem like hours. Marcus returned after three weeks, but his quest was a failure. They found the werewolf dead, but Marcus insisted on searching the area for any signs of his brother. They found none. My husband was in a foul mood when he returned, and I sensed his displeasure as soon as he entered the mansion. "How was it, my lord?" Kraven asked, handing Marcus a glass of warm blood. "A failure," Marcus seethed, drinking the contents of the glass in one go. "Where is Sophia?" "In her room," Kraven replied. "She"s been waiting for you to return." Marcus stomped up the stairs and strode into my room. I had just risen then, and I was still in my nightgown. One strap fell lazily from my shoulder as I brushed my hair, but I had heard his familiar stride and stood up as he entered the room. "My love," I called, rushing into his arms. He embraced me tenderly, and I looked up at him. "Oh no."

"She is our Oracle," the first Ephor commanded, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth. "Our Oracle." "Ours, ours," the Ephors chanted, lust covering their eyes. "You can"t have her," the queen said, placing a protective arm in front of Dyna. "They won"t, Mother," Dyna assured her. To the Ephors, Dyna said: "You cannot touch me. I am no longer a vestal virgin!" The Ephors shook their heads, the front of their robes bulging with their erections. It was clear what they would do to Dyna once they had dragged her back to the temple, and this time, there was no one to defend her. The other Elders were cowed by the Ephors, while the Spartan soldiers were in the training arena. Dyna refused to give up. "I have been claimed by another!" "We care not," one Ephor said sleekly, running a rough hand down Dyna"s arm. She quickly snatched it from his grasp, and the Ephor"s eyes bulged with anticipation. "The Oracle," they chorused. Dyna"s eyes widened in horror as the Ephors closed in around her. Vaguely she heard her mother being restrained by a couple of Ephors, while Pleistarchus... where was he?... was caught in the firm grip of Theron. No, not like this, Dyna thought desperately. The first Ephor who had spoken licked his lips. "Ours. Our Oracle. Forever." Just as her hand wrapped around the handle of her blade, a flash of light erupted in the air in front of her, blinding everyone in the vicinity. He was angry. Nay, furious. For centuries he had tolerated the sexual advances of his cousin"s priests, mostly because it amused him to see lovely and nubile maidens ravaged by such monsters. But now they had gone too far; why hadn"t they heeded his warning as he flashed his symbol within their temple? His daughter was beautiful, that was true, but she was under his protection. No man, Spartan or otherwise, could touch her without his approval. She also belonged to another; the Spartan warrior who, at this very moment, was a day away from Sparta. And now the priests sought to claim her body for their own purposes. This was not to his liking. Not at all. Dyna waited for the feel of slimy flesh against her skin, to feel a rough hand clamp over her wrists and pull her towards the grotesque band of priests who stood but a few feet away from her, their tongues lolling in their mouths and drool lining their lips. But it did not come. Dyna slowly opened her eyes and saw a huge black dog standing in front of her. To her surprise, the Ephors were huddled together, their eyes wide and frightened. Whatever lust and intense sexual longing they had earlier was gone; their attention had now shifted to the black dog. "The dog! A symbol of the god Ares! Forgiveness, forgiveness!" they chanted, raising their wrinkled and deformed arms to the sky, as if in penance. "We did not know she was yours, oh great and mighty God of War! Forgive us! This shall not happen again!" The dog snarled and bared its fangs, causing the Ephors to back away in fright. From the corner of her eye Dyna saw Theron and the Elders hurry away; only a few remained to watch the spectacle. Her mother and brother remained a few feet behind her, although every so often Pleistarchus inched closer to her until he could press his fingers on her palm. The Ephors froze, and the black dog raised its head and howled, finally leaping at the frightened priests. Their shrieks filled the area as they fled, two of them tripping over their robes as it flapped about their ankles. When the Ephors were gone, the black dog turned towards Dyna, bowed its head, and gave a soft bark. Dyna smiled. "Thank you, my lord," she said, and the dog blinked. After staring at her - fondly? - for a few minutes, it turned on its heel and bounded out of the palace. "I thought you were the daughter of Aphrodite," Queen Gorgo admitted. She and Dyna were seated near the training arena, watching Pleistarchus. The incident with the Ephors had spread like wildfire around Sparta, and now everyone knew that the Princess Dyna was alive, and that she was really the daughter of Ares. While some were pleased that the princess was back, others stubbornly refused to believe that the former emissary of Arcadia had turned out to be their long-lost princess. This didn"t bother Dyna one bit; she was too busy discussing the repercussions of that event with her mother. "Your beauty was striking, even for a Spartan," Queen Gorgo continued. "During your birth there were no indications that Ares favored you." "But don"t you remember being visited by the god?" Dyna asked. Queen Gorgo shook her head. "It was always your father who visited me. Of course it was possible that Ares took the form of the king." "Well all that matters now is that I"m back," Dyna said, grasping her mother"s hands tightly. "I"m only sorry I didn"t return in time to send reinforcements." Queen Gorgo averted her gaze. "The Elders will be convening tomorrow to discuss the issue. I hope they will see reason and allow us to send more troops to your father." "What"s wrong, Mother? Why can"t you look me in the eye?" Dyna asked, her brow creasing slightly. "Is there something else I should know?" "It"s been difficult to persuade the Elders. With the Ephors saying that the Gods will punish us if we interfere, they do not dare move. Not without sufficient cause and evidence," Queen Gorgo replied. "I"ve had to resort to... other things." Dyna didn"t like the implications that statement held. "What do you mean by "other things"?" Queen Gorgo shook her head. "You don"t need to know, Dyna. It will change nothing." "Mother, what did you do?" Dyna insisted. "If your actions have put you in danger, I need to know! I want to know!" "Theron.." Queen Gorgo stopped, as if speaking of it was too painful. At the very mention of his name, somehow Dyna knew. "He demanded you have sex with him, didn"t he?" Dyna said. When her mother didn"t say anything, Dyna"s scowled. "I"ll kill him," Dyna declared after a while. "He shouldn"t have asked you to do such a thing. But that doesn"t surprise me, Mother. I"ve seen the way he looks at you." "And you," Queen Gorgo said. "As for killing him, don"t, my dear. He will get his in due course." Dyna looked at her mother, studying her carefully. "What do you mean?" Queen Gorgo remained silent, but her face had an unfathomable expression that both worried and excited Dyna. Dyna surveyed the council chamber. The Elders were in an uproar, their voices mixing together to form a steady stream of incoherent babbling. Her mother"s entreaty to them seemed to be working, and she hoped that by noon Spartan soldiers would be sent to the Hot Gates and help her father. And she would go with them. She had stayed behind once, but never again. She would not stand by and wait on tenterhooks until her father and Dilios returned. A slight movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention, and her heart pounded as she saw him. Theron. Dyna fought to keep herself calm and composed, and she made her way towards her mother. Before she could reach her, Theron clapped his hands loudly, causing everyone in the chamber to stop and look at him. "Very articulate, my Queen," he said sleekly. "You seem to have won us over completely." Dyna stilled, as if daring to believe that Theron would actually help their cause. "But I wonder what the great Elders would think if they learned that you have been giving your body to another man! This man, in fact!" Theron exclaimed, pointing to the Spartan Elder who had been advising the queen on her planned course of action. Dyna"s eyes narrowed in anger, while the Elders" cries grew louder. This time, they were crying out in outrage over Queen Gorgo"s supposed adultery and betrayal of the king. Dyna unsheathed her sword and pushed past several council members, determined to end Theron"s spite and malice once and for all. Again, she was thwarted. The council chamber fell silent as Queen Gorgo stabbed the entire swordblade into Theron"s side, piercing his heart and lungs as it made its way up to his shoulder. Dyna was close enough to hear her mother say: "This will not be over quickly. You will not enjoy this. I am not your Queen!" With a feral cry, Queen Gorgo drew back the sword, which was now stained with Theron"s life blood. As she withdrew it from his flesh, a leather pouch fell from the folds of his robes. Its contents - shiny gold coins - spilled on the floor. One coin rolled towards Dyna"s feet, and she picked it up. "This coin has the mark of Xerxes," she declared, holding it up. The rest of the Elders near her picked up some of the coins and murmured their assent. "She speaks true," one Elder said loudly. "Theron has manipulated us into submitting. We are Spartans, are we not? We never retreat! We will never surrender!" Dyna screamed, her last words being drowned out as the Elders finally shouted for their warriors to take up arms. As the Elders swept past her and into the city, Dyna caught her mother"s eye and smiled. This time, the Spartans will go to war. Just beyond that hill, Dilios thought. His spear felt heavy in his hands, and his head pounded. He had separated from the Arcadians a day ago, and now he was only a few minutes away from Sparta. He planned to tell the tale of his king and his brothers to his other warrior brethren in order to incite them to war, before finally making his way to Arcadia to see Aricia. He missed her terribly. He never thought he would have been given the chance to hold her in his arms again. I owe the king this privilege, he told himself. The King, who had been absent from his daughter"s life for years, had decided to send one of his warriors back as a way of making up for his absence. If I can"t be there for her anymore, I want to make sure that there is someone who will, King Leonidas said shortly before Dilios left. Dilios could see in his mind"s eye the impressive forms the king and the rest of the Spartans made standing on the cliffs. As he crested the top of the hill, Dilios smiled. Tonight, I will have quite a story to tell. News of your father"s death can never be taken easily. Dyna felt the whole world crashing down on her as Dilios told her of the dark odds her father faced. Although she was glad that the Gods had spared Dilios, the pain over hearing her father"s eminent death still stung her to her very core. Dilios had met her mother first, who was standing in the fields close to the palace. He had returned the queen"s wolf fang pendant, which she had given to the king before he left for Thermopylae. As he slowly made his way to the city, Dyna had run up to him and embraced him fiercely, smothering his face and lips with feverish kisses. It was only when she had laid her head on his shoulder did she see the immense sorrow on her mother"s face. "No," Dyna had gasped, pulling away from Dilios" powerful embrace. "No." Her mother had looked at her then, her beautiful eyes brimming with tears. Dyna choked back a sob and hugged her mother. Spartans never cry, Dyna reminded herself. Still she felt hot tears slipping from her eyes, and she gave in to her pain and sorrow. They then relayed the message of the king"s death to the rest of the Spartans, who immediately turned to crown Pleistarchus as the next king. Her brother looked worried at first, but after Dyna had assured him that she would guide him every step of the way, he had relaxed. Now she could focus on Dilios, who was leaning against a stone pillar. In a few hours he would be telling the story of their journey, and the unfortunate fate that the Persian army had meted out to their king. "Your eye," Dyna said as she approached, sliding her hand around his waist. "Does it still pain you?" Dilios shook his head. "It doesn"t hurt as much. I can still fight the Persians with this small scratch." "Fight? My love, you need to rest," Dyna urged. "You will need your strength to face the soldiers. Please, come to bed with me." Dilios looked at her and smiled wryly. "I have rested enough, Dyna. Your father"s story needs to be told." Dyna sighed and rested her head on the crook of his shoulder. "Tell them everything about my father, not just his battle with the Persians. He needs to be remembered as the boy, the man, and the king that he was." "As you wish, my love," Dilios replied, kissing the top of her head. "I will honor your father"s memory the best way I can: through story and on the battlefield." "Yes, and when you do go to war, I will come with you." Dyna looked deep into Dilios" eyes. "You know nothing can keep me away from you, not even death." "Your father told me to watch over you," Dilios protested. "I fully intend to participate in the war against the king who claimed my father"s life," Dyna told him fiercely. "If you plan on protecting me, you would have to come with me." Dilios smiled in spite of himself. "You are indeed your father"s daughter." "Anyone who says otherwise is a fool," Dyna agreed. She had decided against telling him who her real father was; until they had finally defeated Xerxes, that is. Dilios tilted her chin up, and Dyna molded her body to fit his. Their kiss was slow yet passionate, and it left them both breathless. "I missed you," Dilios admitted. "I prayed to the Gods that they would bring you back to me," Dyna said. "Back in Arcadia, I prayed to Ares. He has answered my prayers. Even if he could not bring my father back to me, he has at least granted me this one comfort." "Even if I am not as whole as I was before?" Dyna nodded. "You are still the man I love. Nothing, not even the loss of an eye, can change that." Dilios smiled. "I love you." "As I love you." "Marry me." The last words were said in a whisper, but Dyna took it all in stride. "I would love nothing more than to be your wife. Yours, heart, body, and soul," she said, placing her mouth close to Dilios" ear. "Forever." Dilios groaned as Dyna nibbled on his earlobe. "Forever." They finally succumbed to their desires. Dilios momentarily forgot about his obligation to speak to the Spartan soldiers, while Dyna finally fulfilled her intense longing to make love to the man who had held her heart since she was very young. Their lovemaking was fast at first, and slowly descended to a gentle pounding. The aftermath consisted of them lying next to each other, their bodies entwined. Dyna lazily traced the contours of Dilios" muscles, her leg placed across his stomach. "Dilios, do you plan on asking the other Greek states for aid in the coming war?" she asked. "I have thought about it. The more soldiers we have to our cause, the better. I suspect the Elders would not be so keen on -" "The Elders are the main reason why my father has had to deal with the small Spartan army that accompanied him to Thermopylae," Dyna seethed. "If they did not strictly impose a ban against bringing more troops without their permission, my father might still be alive. We might have even won this war!" Dilios placed one finger over Dyna"s lips. "Shhh. We have learned our lesson, my love. We will not inform the Elders of our plans. I do not think they can dictate the decisions of the other Greeks, and I certainly won"t abide by their rules this time. I will solicit help on my own." "I will come with you," Dyna said automatically. "But please, let us get married first. Tonight." Dilios smiled. "As you wish. Do you not prefer a lavish wedding?" "Spartans are not known for their weddings, only the outcomes of their wars. The quicker we can get help, the sooner Xerxes will be defeated." "You are so certain of their defeat, then?" "Yes." Dyna smiled and snuggled closer to Dilios. "I trust the Spartans. In us." "The Trojans are on their way to the Hot Gates, my lord," one messenger stated. "Emissaries are arriving from all over Greece, pledging soldiers to be sent to aid the cause of Greece," another Spartan messenger reported. Dilios studied the parchments carefully and then nodded. "These all look in order. Sparta is grateful for their aid. We shall meet them at the Hot Gates in three days." The messengers nodded, thumping their fists against their chests before leaving. Ever since Dyna and Dilios" hasty wedding a few days ago, the rest of Sparta was now treating him as their co-King. Since Pleistarchus was far too young to rule - although in four years" time the Elders knew he would be more than ready to lead Sparta - Dilios was acting in his stead. Pleistarchus continued his training with much fervor, while his older sister and Dilios" wife watched over him. Now the familiar sounds of Spartan warriors preparing for battle reached his ears, and he was surprised to see Dyna and her mother, the Queen Regent of Sparta, walking towards him. He immediately thought that something bad had happened, and worry crossed his handsome features as his wife walked up to him and kissed him. "What is wrong, my love?" he asked, clasping both her hands in his. It was unusual for her to leave the training arena while Pleistarchus was busy, and the presence of his mother-in-law did nothing to abate his fears. "Nothing is wrong, dear husband," Dyna assured him. She smiled at him warmly, and Dilios felt himself relax. "What is it then?" he inquired, returning her smile. Dyna glanced at her mother, who smiled at her encouragingly. Dyna looked at him again, and then placed his hand on her belly. Dilios stared at it for a few seconds, before the gravity of what she was silently trying to tell him hit him full force. "You are with child?" he croaked, his eyes widening. Dyna nodded and laughed. Dilios found himself laughing as well, and he lifted her into his arms and swung her around in a circle. "This is great news!" he exclaimed. He grinned widely and kissed Dyna again. "The people will be overjoyed to hear this!" "Pleistarchus will be a young uncle," Dyna said, beaming as Dilios set her back down on the ground. "Uncle to the next King of Sparta." "What shall be his name, if it is a boy?" Dilios asked, although he suspected he knew the answer. Dyna smiled. "Leonidas." The air was rich with anticipation. Finally, after a short period of rallying the rest of the free Greek nations to their cause, Dilios and Dyna were now in Thermopylae, accompanied by 10,000 Spartans and 30,000 Greeks. Although the swell of Dyna"s belly was not yet evident, everyone knew that she was carrying the future ruler of Sparta. Dilios had insisted that she stay behind, but he soon gave in after Pleistarchus issued an order - one of his first as co-King of Sparta - that his sister should be allowed to participate in the Battle of Plataea. The Queen Regent, Gorgo, stayed behind as well; but she wasn"t happy about it. Dyna assured her mother again and again that she would be careful, and now, here she was, standing on the very cliff that her father once stood. Beyond the wide expanse of the Hot Gates lay the Persian army. Dyna could hear furious orders being issued as they assembled. Dyna"s horse whinnied softly, and she patted the side of its head gently. "No need to worry, Ares," she said softly. "Soon you and I will be in the thick of the battle, where we belong." Beside her King Vasilios, her foster father, looked at her and then at her belly. "Should you be here?" he asked worriedly. "You do not want to put the baby in danger." "My son is a Spartan," Dyna said evenly. "And a Spartan belongs in battle." King Vasilios nodded and smiled. "I merely worry for your safety, Dyna." "I know, Father." Dyna looked at him and smiled. "I have a lot to live for now." Together they watched as Dilios roused the Spartan and Greek armies with another compelling speech. Shouts of "HAAAAOOOH!" rang through the air as the Spartans smashed their spears against their bronze spears. Finally Dilios issued the order, and the soldiers rushed towards the Persians. Dyna clicked her feet against the sides of her horse and rode into the fray hard and fast. Her sword lopped off the heads of Persian soldiers and soon she was near the back of the Persian army. There he was. Sparkling like a fallen star but more devious than Hades himself, King Xerxes stood from his throne as his eyes fell upon her. He seemed to recognize her father"s bearing and features on her face, for his eyes widened. "Even a God King can bleed," she said softly, and Xerxes backed away, tripping over his throne and landing painfully on the ground. "You killed my Father. Did you believe that I would let you live long?" "I am a god," Xerxes declared, as if that would stop her in her tracks. "You cannot touch me!" Dyna unsheathed another sword from her back and twirled it skillfully. "I am the daughter of the God of War. I can touch whom I wish." With a fierce battle cry, Dyna launched herself at Xerxes. Her first blade drove deep into his neck, while the second found a new fleshy sheath in his stomach. Xerxes squealed in pain and agony, his voice finally falling to a series of gurgles as his blood spurted from the wound on his neck. Dyna stood and watched him die. "For my father," she breathed. Dyna was barely aware of her husband"s presence as he walked up behind her, and nor did she realize that the battle had ceased once Dilios had lopped off the God King"s head and showed it to the remaining Persian warriors.

"Would you care to tell me what they are?" Aricia smiled up at him. Their faces were mere inches away from each other; Aricia only needed to fill in the gap by stepping closer to him. She did. The moment their lips touched, Aricia felt jolts of electricity shooting through her body. It made her feel weak... pleasurably so. As she flicked her tongue in Dilios" mouth, he groaned and kissed her feverishly before pulling her away from him. Aricia looked at him, startled. "Dilios, what"s wrong?" "Nothing"s wrong. I just don"t want to do anything that would jeopardize your status." Dilios looked at me and then dropped his gaze to the floor. "I"m realistic, Aricia. I know that you and I can never be. We can never be married." "Why not? Why should we allow ourselves to be dictated by others? Dilios, these last two years with you have been something out of a fever dream. And I want to continue having that dream with you," Aricia told him. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you." "You"re a Princess. I am -" "The only man I will ever want to be with. Dilios, I am ready to forsake my claim to the throne just to be with you. I don"t need wealth or a kingdom; they don"t mean anything to me if I cannot be with the man I love. Please, Dilios." Dilios sighed. "I love you too, Aricia, more than words can say. But I have a duty to the king. I cannot betray my king." "What if my parents say yes? Will you marry me then?" "Yes," Dilios replied. "Only then." Aricia leaned her head against his chest, realizing only now that a few of the Spartan warriors were watching her and Dilios. They all knew of their relationship, of course, but apparently their short conversation had piqued their curiosity. When they saw her looking at them, they quickly resumed their training. For a few moments she and Dilios just stood there, wrapped up in each others" warmth. Little did they know that their lives were about to change. "This is madness!" Aricia looked from the dark Persian messenger to the King. She had never seen him this angry... this furious. He looked ready to tear the messenger"s heart out. Beside her Dilios watched the scene calmly, as if he had seen his king in darker moods than this. "Madness?" King Leonidas said, his voice shaking with fury. "This is Sparta!" With a fierce cry the king lashed out at the Persian messenger, hitting the man squarely in the chest with his foot. The messenger flew to gaping maw of the pit behind him; the messenger"s companions were killed and thrown unceremoniously by two other Spartan warriors. Aricia gasped and tried to approach the king, but Dilios held her back. "Not now," he whispered. Together they watched as King Leonidas stalked off the scene, followed by the queen. Both of their bodies were tense, and whatever message the Persian messenger had delivered was obviously not to their liking. The crowd slowly dispersed, all of them whispering about the events that had unfolded. A few feet away Theron and the Elders were discussing something in angry but hushed tones. Aricia glanced at them before turning to Dilios. "What does this mean?" "There is only one thing that can follow such an action," Dilios said, his expression neutral. "War." "Against Persia?" Aricia"s eyes widened. She had heard of the Persians, especially of their king, the flamboyant and sadistic Xerxes. She knew he had a large and powerful army, composed of beings neither human nor beast. If King Leonidas had provoked war with Xerxes, then Sparta would fall. The Spartans were skilled warriors, and they may be able to send the Persians trembling, but with the might of the Persian army they would be eventually defeated. "If Sparta is to go to war, where will they go?" Aricia asked as she and Dilios made their way to her room. "I am certain the king will not wait for the Persians; he will go to them." "Thermopylae, most likely. The Persians have camped not far from there," Dilios replied. "Aricia, you know that if our king is to go to war, I need to accompany him." "I know," Aricia said softly. "But I know you will come back for me, Dilios." Dilios smiled slowly but did not reply. Passion. That was the only word that could give them - or anyone else - a reason why they did it. Bodies shining with sweat, hushed voices and muffled moans filled the small room where they finally consummated their love. The threat of war was upon both of them, and they knew that they may never see each other again. The very thought loomed over them like Hades" shadow: constant, persistent, and terrifying. For every pleasurable thrust came a slight jolt of pain that came with the knowledge that such a sensation may never be felt. Each kiss was precious, for it may be the last kiss either of them would ever feel. Aricia slid her hands down Dilios" back, relishing the feel of his muscles. She arched her back to allow him deeper access, and a few seconds later he shuddered and released himself within her. As he laid his head on her breasts, his eyes closed, Aricia stared up at the ceiling. She wanted nothing more than to be wrapped up in his embrace, to bear his children, to see the whole world with him. And yet the Gods were clearly conspiring against their match by bringing war and death upon Sparta. Aricia hoped that the message she had sent to her father arrived in time, for time was short. Although she knew that she may not be allowed to accompany the King and his army to Thermopylae, she would not allow the king and her lover to go to war unaided. I love you, she thought, weaving her fingers through Dilios" hair. In this life, or in the next, Dilios, I will always love you. The night was cool, but Aricia didn"t mind. She liked feeling the sharp jabs of the chilly wind against her skin; it made her feel alive. She also liked her nightly strolls around the palace, especially when everyone was asleep. This night, of all nights, was different, however. Throughout the city, Aricia could hear the urgent cries of fierce and passionate lovemaking, and she surmised that it was due to the fact that the King - who had arrived from his visit to the temple of the Ephors in a foul mood - had asked for 300 of his best soldiers to accompany him in the morning. Dilios was one of those soldiers, which had prompted Aricia to entice him to her bed. They had already made love five times, and Aricia had slipped out into the night as Dilios slept. She could still feel the pressure of his hands on various parts of her body, the tingle of the flesh between her thighs, and the trickle of his sweat on her body. For the first time in her life, Aricia felt fear. Not for herself, but for the man who she loved. She tried to push that thought at the back of her mind, and focused on the path she was treading. "Aricia." Aricia looked up, startled to hear another voice in the darkness. Shadows shifted, and the half-naked body of the king appeared in a patch of moonlight. Like her, his body was slicked with sweat, and she knew that he had just made love with the queen. Aricia suddenly felt ashamed, and she averted her gaze. "What are you doing?" the king inquired. He stood still, as if he sensed her distress at seeing him in such a state. "I thought you were with Dilios." "I usually walk around the palace at night, my lord," Aricia explained, still looking down at the floor. "I didn"t know you were there." Aricia was surprised that the king did not comment about her making love to Dilios; it made her theories about him protecting her virginity seem invalid. Or perhaps he thought that she and Dilios deserved this night, of all nights, to spend in each others" arms. "No need to apologize, Aricia. I"m glad I saw you." The king hesitated, and Aricia dared a glance at him. He was staring at her, as if steeling himself to say something. "Is something wrong, my lord?" she asked, her brow furrowing. ""My lord". That is an address you need to change when you are around me," the king said softly. "Aricia, there really is no easy way to say this..." Curious, Aricia faced the king and waited. "Remember the time when you asked me and the queen if you had ever met us before?" the king said after a moment. Aricia nodded. "That"s because you have. Only you don"t remember who we were, exactly. Twelve years ago, I had my daughter, Dyna, brought to Arcadia. Gorgo and I wanted to protect her from the Ephors, who had begun to notice my daughter"s apparent beauty. She was only six years old then, and yet her beauty could already rival that of her mothers". I asked Vasilios to give my daughter a powerful draught that would erase her memories of her early childhood," the king related. "Vasilios and his wife raised my daughter as their own, and they planned to keep her out of Sparta, just to spare her the cruel fate the Ephors would have bestowed upon her. But she had grown to be a very talented warrior..." Aricia"s heart nearly stopped. The flashes she had been seeing.. were they her memories? Aricia knew that the Arcadians were skilled in magic and sorcery. She had seen her father perform complex rituals to ease the suffering of an ill child, or to help a barren couple conceive. It was not impossible to learn that Vasilios had created a drink that could erase a child"s memory. Hers? "So you"re saying that... you"re my... my..." King Leonidas nodded. "I am your father, Aricia." Aricia backed away until she bumped against a pillar. "I knew. Somehow I knew who you were. I"ve been seeing this images inside my head..." "Your memories," the king confirmed. "Vasilios wrote to me a year after you left, about the factors involved." "If you want to protect me from the Ephors, why are you telling me this now?" "I am going to war against the Persians, Aricia. I wanted to tell you myself before I left." King Leonidas had a small smile on his face, and he was looking at her fondly. No, not fondly - but with pride. "You are a true daughter of Sparta. I have never been proud of you." Aricia wanted to hug him, say that although she could not fully remember the time she had spent as his daughter when she was little, she didn"t. Instead, she asked him what her real name was. "Dyna," he replied. "My little Dyna." Something in the king"s tone told Aricia - rather, Dyna - that they had shared a very close relationship. But those times were gone and could never be returned. "Thank you... Father," Aricia murmured. "Thank you for protecting me from the Ephors." "You must not tell no one about this," the king warned her. "Only five people know of this secret. You, your foster parents, your mother, and myself. If the Ephors learned of your true heritage, they would proclaim you as their Oracle. Once they do, I cannot protect you." Aricia nodded. "I promise." The king smiled and began walking down the hallway. After a moment"s hesitation, Aricia called: "Father?" Leonidas turned his head and looked at her. Aricia smiled slowly. "Kill them all." Good-bye, my love. The words on the short piece of parchment blurred, and Aricia wiped her tears away. She was back in her room in Arcadia, and she had never felt so alone. A few hours before dawn, Leonidas had tasked Admus to bring her back to Arcadia. She never even had the chance to say good-bye to Dilios, although he had left her a short note on the bed that they shared. Good-bye, my love. Three words that mean a myriad of things. It could indicate the fact that he was simply going off to war and would be back soon, or it could mean that he was never coming back. Aricia didn"t want to think of the latter. Bring them both back to me, Gods, Aricia prayed silently, crossing the room to the small altar of Ares and Hera. I will do anything you ask. The small fire that burned in the small bronze dish leaped as Aricia sprinkled the ash of a serpent, and pearly white smoke curled into fine tendrils in the air. Aricia was not as skilled in magic as her father, but she knew enough to help her keep Dilios and King Leonidas - her father - safe. Or so she hoped. For the very short time she and Leonidas had talked, her whole life changed. She was no longer Princess of Arcadia, but the Princess of Sparta. She felt it to her very bones. The flashes of her memory became more persistent, and for a time she believed the Gods were giving her her former memory back. But still the flashes remained, and she was only given glimpses of Leonidas laughing as he tossed a toddler - her - in the air, and even of Dilios handing her over to her foster parents. No wonder we were so drawn to each other, Aricia thought. The Fates conspired to bring us together again. After murmuring an incantation, Aricia returned to her bed. The sky was beginning to darken, and she wondered what King Leonidas and Dilios were doing. She hoped that the spell she had invoked would keep them alive and safe. The door to her room opened, and Queen Alyssa entered. As always, her hair was pinned in an elegant updo, and she was followed by several maids holding a dress and other accessories. Aricia sat up. "Mother," she said, and Queen Alyssa smiled sadly. "You know the truth." It was not a question, but a simple statement. Aricia nodded. "But this changes nothing." "No, it doesn"t," Queen Alyssa agreed. She gestured to the maids, who began undressing Aricia. Her Spartan garments fell to the floor, and soon she was dressed in Arcadian finery. The expression on her face remained constant, and her foster mother sighed. "Your father and I missed you, Aricia. We had hoped to have dinner with you and ask about your visit to Sparta. But it seems your mind is somewhere else." "Forgive me, Mother. I"m worried about... someone,"Aricia admitted. "Your real father?" Aricia hesitated. She wanted to tell her foster mother about Dilios, wanted to throw herself in her arms and weep - but she didn"t. Two years of being trained as a Spartan warrioress taught her that weakness was not tolerated. Instead she nodded and waited until the maids had finished their work. "Do you know," Queen Alyssa said after some time, "That when you were brought here your father and I visited the Temple of the Gods. We were supposed to gain Hera"s blessing for you." Aricia frowned slightly. "I didn"t know that. What happened?" Queen Alyssa smiled. "The strangest thing happened. The moment you entered the temple, the flames from Ares" altar leaped up high enough to lick the statue of the God. The priests believe you are under his protection." "That would explain why I craved war and battle," Aricia mused, smiling in spite of herself. "And why I feel drawn to Sparta more than any other city in Greece." Queen Alyssa nodded. "And it seems your destiny lies there, and not here." Aricia looked at her. "What are you saying, Mother?" Queen Alyssa"s eyes were sad. "Your father and I are giving you the freedom to go where you will. If you decide to stay here, we would be immensely happy. But if you feel that you need to return to Sparta, we will not stop you." "Thank you, Mother." Aricia studied her foster mother for a few seconds before sitting on the bed. Two years and already Queen Alyssa had changed greatly. She no longer insisted that her daughter stay in Arcadia; rather, she seemed like a shadow of her former self. Things will never be the same for us, Mother, Aricia said silently. But you will always be my Mother, and Vasilios will always be my Father. It was then when Aricia made her decision. Her name is Dyna, the daughter of King Leonidas and Queen Gorgo of Sparta. The older sister of Pleistarchus, and the lover of Dilios. Aricia was no more: she considered herself a Spartan, and a hot-blooded one at that. Yet here she was, in Arcadia, listening to the reports of the battle. How she wished her father had allowed her to accompany them to Thermopylae; she knew she could have held fast against the Persians. "The Spartans have drawn the Persians back, my king," one of the Arcadian soldiers reported. "But there are too many. We cannot hold them back for long." "I"m sure King Leonidas will do everything he can to win this war," Dyna said confidently. "He has no other choice but to do so. If Xerxes wins, Greece will fall, and Sparta will feel the brunt of his wrath." "What are we to do, my Princess?" the soldier asked. He, along with three others, had traveled from Thermopylae to deliver the news from the battlefield. "Continue the fight. Arcadia must do its part in defending Greece," Dyna said, looking to King Vasilios and Queen Alyssa for confirmation. "The Spartans promised us more warriors, my lady," the soldier said, rather accusingly. "Why are they taking so long?" "The Elders are probably keeping Gorgo from sending troops. They were always against Leonidas during times of war," King Vasilios replied. "They thought he was rather rash." The soldier nodded. "Understood, my lord. But the situation is dire. Unless those warriors arrive, we may not last much longer." "I"ll go," Dyna whispered. King Vasilios looked at her. "You cannot aid the Spartans, Aricia. I do not want you to risk your life." "No, it"s not that," Dyna said, shaking her head. "I need to go back to Sparta and see what is going on. I know the queen would not have delayed the troops without due cause." Dyna looked at her foster parents meaningfully. "Very well. This is one of our darkest hours. The Gods are clearly testing our will to live. Return to your brothers in Thermopylae." King Vasilios dismissed the soldiers, who left the throne room without further ado. Once they were gone, Dyna stepped down from her throne and faced the king and queen. "I must leave as soon as possible. There can be no delays." "We will have someone escort you to Sparta," Queen Alyssa offered. "No, Mother. The sooner I can reach Sparta, the better. I can take care of myself," Dyna assured them both. "Thank you for taking good care of me all those years. I will forever be in your debt." Queen Alyssa approached her and held her hands. "No, my darling. Your father and I should be thanking you. You gave us the chance to know what it feels to be parents. And like every parent, there comes a time when we have to let go. This is that time." Dyna felt tears forming, but she willed them away. A true Spartan never cried, no matter how upsetting the situation was. King Vasilios joined his wife and adoptive daughter. "You and any of your blood will forever be welcome in Arcadia. Whatever it is you need, you know you can turn to us." "I know, Father," Dyna said, her voice trembling slightly. King Vasilios and Queen Alyssa kissed her on the forehead, and Dyna knew this may be the last time they would ever see each other. She looked at them, smiled, and left. Her feet felt heavy, as if they were reluctant to leave the place where they had trod for so many years. But soon she would be back where she belonged. Back to Sparta. Xerxes screamed in rage as he watched the Spartans defeat his forces. The Immortals were crushed, a feat no Greek force had been able to do ever since he set foot in this forsaken country. Xerxes refused to believe that the mightiest army in the world was being annihilated by a handful of nearly naked men and their allies. The Arcadians. Xerxes knew they were pacifists, like their king, so their presence on the battlefield had surprised and shocked him. There must have been an alliance between two countries, for he knew that the Arcadians preferred to resort to magic and other mystical methods. Indeed, they didn"t seem fit for the battlefield. He had watched as one of his men gored through three Arcadians with his sword, hacking away limbs and heads with reckless abandon. The three "soldiers" had been too inexperienced to even raise their swords. What of their most talented warrior? Xerxes sneered. The Arcadians boast of a warrior who could decapitate and kill as well as any Spartan, and yet I do not see him on the battlefield. Or perhaps the king saw it fit to reserve his warrior"s talents for later use. A wise decision. But not if the warrior falls before my army. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. The word repeated itself in Artemis" head like a morbid mantra, but still the Spartan captain refused to believe that his eldest son was dead. Astinos, his brave and highly skilled son, was gone. His body lay before him, while his head lay a few feet away, the wind ruffling his brown hair. With a cry of rage, Artemis lifted his sword and ran towards the Persians, fueled only by his desire to rip, tear, and kill the Persians to pieces. In the aftermath of the battle, Artemis saw King Leonidas approach. He steeled himself for whatever order the king might issue, for he knew that the death of his son was not cause for them to pause in the midst of the war. To his surprise, King Leonidas placed a hand on his shoulder and said: "My heart is broken for your loss." No doubt the king was remembering the daughter he had left to die in the desert many years ago, but Artemis was too embittered to ponder on it further. "Heart?" Artemis said, fury tinging every syllable. "I have filled my heart with hate." King Leonidas nodded with satisfaction. "Good." As Artemis turned, his gaze fell on the head of his son. If there was one consolation to him, it was that his son died without any fear registered on his handsome face.

Alice struggled to remain calm, but panic was seeping into her very bones. Wesker had a gun to her head - how inconvenient - and now her powers were slowly ebbing away. She wasn"t panicking due to the sudden loss of her powers, but because she was unarmed. No matter. If she couldn"t shoot her way out of the situation, she could certainly talk her way out of it. Seconds before Wesker could pull the trigger, Alice said softly: "Please wait." Wesker stilled, studying her. "Last words?" Bastard, Alice thought. "Thank you," Alice told him. Confusion registered on Wesker"s face, but it disappeared after an instant. "For killing you?" Alice shook her head, noticing that the airplane was a few instances away from crashing onto a mountaintop. "For making me human again." Alice turned to look at the mountaintop, and Wesker followed her gaze. Quickly realizing that they were about to crash, Wesker made a mad dash for the controls. Alice used those precious seconds to open the airplane door and jump out. As the wind whooshed past her ears, she heard the resounding boom of an explosion above her. She twisted her head and saw the orange and black cloud against the mountains (Mount Fiji? Alice wondered). Her eyes searched the immediate area and to her horror, saw a small black speck against the bright blue sky. Wesker had survived. Alice turned her head towards the ground, which was fast approaching. She noticed a small copse of trees and clapped her arms to her sides, making her as straight as a surfboard. She immediately "flew" towards the trees, which allowed her a somewhat soft landing as she grabbed hold of one of the branches, finally stopping her descent. Once she had safely reached the ground, Alice searched the skies again. Although the Tokyo base was now unoperational, Wesker was still alive. No matter. There was still the issue of Arcadia to attend to. Author"s Note: I have taken certain liberties with this fan fiction, so do not complain if some facts/information are not consistent with the movie OR the video game. Reviews are very much welcome. :) Sunrise Towers New York 1210hrs_ Alice heard the faint sound of footsteps - and the sound of the emissary squeaking his way down the hallway - and inhaled deeply. She wasn"t scared, merely apprehensive. Only a few weeks ago she had faced Wesker on Arcadia, and now she was here to talk peace. If she knew Wesker, there would be no peace agreement, only bloodshed. The door opened and the emissary stepped in. Alice had to bite back a surprised gasp; the man who now stood before them could only be Spence Parks" younger brother - or his son. They had the same raven black hair, muscular build, sculpted nose, and a mouth that seemed to be drawn in a permanent rakish smirk. "Hello, Alice Abernathy and Leon Kennedy," the man said smoothly. "I am Dryden Ainsley Wesker." Leon smiled. "Please, take a seat, Mr. Wesker." Dryden laughed softly. "Mr. Wesker is reserved for my father, Leon. Please, call me Dryden." As Dryden took the chair opposite Alice, she used the opportunity to study him carefully. Normally she was wary of strangers, especially those who had the word "Wesker" attached to their names, but in this case, she found herself immediately liking the young man. "I"d hate to be frank, but were you expecting a battle to occur?" Dryden asked, smiling. Leon glanced swiftly at Alice, who stared back at him. "What do you mean?" Alice asked. Dryden chuckled. "Do not play me for a fool, Alice Abernathy. The moment I walked into the room I noticed your hidden guns. I came unarmed, yet you decided to hide a few weapons just in case things didn"t go your way." He clicked his tongue. "This changes the atmosphere of our meeting, don"t you think?" "I"ve learned never to trust a Wesker," Alice shot back. Her initial warmness towards Dryden vanished in an instant. "As well you should," Dryden agreed, surprising her. "But still, the deal was a deal. You have reneged on the simple rule that no weapons were to be brought." Leon made a move to remove the guns, but Dryden was too fast. Using what Alice could only explain as telekinesis, he threw the dining table across the room, sending it crashing through the large glass windows and down to the street below. Alice and Leon jumped to their feet, taking hurried steps backward. "How-?" Alice was at a loss for words. Dryden stood up, his expression calm. Every step he took seemed menacing, and yet he still had a smile that assured them that nothing was wrong. There was no way he could possess such abilities, unless... "You"re a Homo Superioris," Alice finally gasped. Leon had unsheathed a sharp Bowie knife that he had concealed inside his vest, and was watching Dryden warily. Dryden smiled even wider. "Like you. But unfortunately you decided to go against the system - a very stupid move on your part - and my father decided to recall you. I"m here to give you one last chance." "We will never surrender," Leon said defiantly. "We"d die first." "I beg to differ," Dryden said. "Father found out some very interesting facts about you, Leon Kennedy. Your small group is just the tip of the iceberg. You"ve been leading a widespread resistance against the Umbrella Corporation, haven"t you?" Leon"s eyes widened. "How did you know about the resistance?" "We"re Umbrella," Dryden said simply. "We were able to track all of your transmissions, especially when your moronic broadcaster made the mistake of hacking into an "unused" Umbrella satellite. Every single location of your resistance bases has been noted. You are the leader of the resistance, Leon Kennedy. The John Connor of modern times. Your death will certainly persuade your followers to join us." "Or spark a full blown rebellion," Alice replied angrily. "Are you that hungry for power that you would readily kill your fellow human beings just to stay on top?" Dryden did not answer, but Alice knew that what she said was true. "Don"t think we won"t go down without a fight," Leon replied, his eyes narrowed. "I would be surprised if you did. But enough chit chat. You have one, and only one, chance to surrender. Dryden lifted the collar of his shirt and whispered a few words. A few minutes later two guards burst in, dragging with them a girl with blonde hair. K Mart. "Alice!" K Mart shrieked, lashing out at one of the guards. Her nails raked across his cheek, causing three parallel lines of blood to form. While the other reached for her, she used the momentum to knock him on his back. K Mart ran towards Alice, but Dryden raised his arm and she flew towards him. The moment her back slammed against his chest, Dryden wrapped his arm around her neck, holding her in a chokehold. No matter how hard she tried to break free, Dryden"s hold on her remained firm. "Now that everyone who matters is here, we can begin the negotiations. Surrender your "forces", Leon Kennedy, or this girl shall die." Umbrella Corporation Facility Los Angeles 0830hrs_ Pain. Such searing pain. Spence ignored the sensation as he struggled to bring more of himself to the surface. For weeks he had fought to break free from the device that straddled his chest, pumping the mysterious red liquid through his veins. Most of the time he only managed to gain control of an eyebrow before sinking back into placidness. For the past few days however, Spence was able to twitch a finger, then his hand. When he had brought the girl, K Mart, to Dryden, he was even able to swing his arm. The surprise of it caused him to sock her in the face, which he quickly explained away by saying that a guard had punched her. Thankfully, Dryden had believed him. Dryden. Spence didn"t know what to make of the boy who looked similar to him, yet whose eyes unnerved him. He knew the boy was powerful, even possessing abilities he knew were beyond the reach of most humans. He had seen Dryden kill survivors without batting an eye, crush a man"s head without lifting a finger, and announcing the deaths of three humans who had attempted to escape without remorse. While he was thinking about Dryden, Spence continued his struggle with the influence of the device. He found that the harder he tried to throw off the influence of the liquid, the more pain he felt. But he knew that the pain he was feeling now would pale in comparison to the pain he would feel if he saw Alice dead. He still loved her; that much was true. Although their marriage was a fake, their feelings for each other weren"t. The thought of Alice strengthened his resolve, and ignoring the burning sensations that had taken over his body, he reached up and wrenched the device from his chest. Spence could imagine the breaking of the shackles that had bound him since he had been resurrected. Part of him remembered seeing Dryden in the "resurrection chamber", where he and a few select Umbrella employees had been brought back to life. How, he never bothered to understand. What mattered was that he was alive - alive and ready to kick some ass. Spence shook his head, feeling more free than he had in years. The pain in his body had vanished completely; once the device was off of his body, the liquid could no longer affect him. In a fury, he threw the device to the ground and stomped on it, crushing it completely. The liquid quickly evaporated, leaving reddish pink smoke. He knew the absence of the device would raise questions, so he quickly covered his bare chest with a black overcoat and strode out of the room. Just as he turned the corner, he bumped into Jill Valentine, one of the remaining STARS operatives. He knew he would need her help, and urged on by a spur-of-the-moment decision, he ordered her into an empty cell. Jill obeyed, but her eyes were studying him carefully. Spence knew he had precious seconds before she realized he wasn"t acting like his "robotic" self, so he slammed her against the cell wall and wrenched the device from her chest. Jill"s eyes bulged and she slumped to the floor. Spence destroyed the device as well, and then checked the hallway to see if anyone had heard. When he turned around, he saw Jill getting unsteadily to her feet. "Jill?" Jill trained her gaze on him. "Who - what - how did you-?" "I was able to break free," he said. "I heard Wesker and Dryden are going to kill-" "Alice," Jill finished. "Yes, I know. We have to save her." "You know her too?" Jill nodded. "We were in Raccoon City together. Shortly before - before the global outbreak." "Will you help me then?" Spence asked. "Dryden just left for New York. We should try and beat him there." "The vehicles are guarded, but I think we can make it past them," Jill said. Spence nodded, and indicated that she should cover her chest to avoid any questions about the missing device. Jill wiped the tiny spots of blood on her chest where the device once rested and zipped up her leather suit even more. Spence and Jill walked down the hallway, careful to act normal. They had just passed one of the lounges when they caught the names Dryden, Alice, and Spence. Spence froze, and ignoring Jill"s hissed warnings, inched towards the door. "- can"t believe how Wesker was able to convince the boy that his parents were dead," one of the speakers said. Spence recognized his voice; it was Simon Beck, one of the scientists Wesker and Dryden had resurrected. "Why? Are they still alive, Sir?" another man asked. "Yes they are. In fact, one of them is here," Beck replied, clearly enjoying the conversation. "Spence Parks." Spence couldn"t believe his ears. If Dryden was his son, then that only meant that Alice was Dryden"s mother. Spence quickly turned and joined Jill, who had also heard the exchange. "We have to get to them," Spence whispered as they reached the vehicle bay. "To my - to my family." The very idea that he had a son with Alice seemed foreign, yet he welcomed it. It made him even more determined to get to them. He had lost Alice once, and he"d be damned if he lost her and his son again. Sunrise Towers New York 1215hrs_ "So, what"s your decision, Leon Kennedy?" Dryden asked, smiling at the older man. "Shall you surrender or will this girl pay for your indecision?" Leon looked at the teenage girl in Dryden"s grasp. He had to admire her bravery; even though she was seconds away from death, she did not scream, cry, or plead for her life. Instead, she had her eyes fixed on Alice, who seemed to be swayed by Dryden"s "bargaining chip". "I"m waiting," Dryden said, impatience finally breaking through his calm demeanor. "Unlike you, I have other things to do." After a few heartbeats, Leon lowered his knife. He knew how futile it seemed when he had unsheathed his knife - Dryden could throw him out of the window if he wanted to - but he didn"t like feeling helpless. "I surrender. Just don"t hurt the girl." Dryden relaxed, finally reverting back to his friendly and diplomatic behavior. "Well, that wasn"t so hard, was it?" He pushed K Mart towards Alice, who caught her. "Now there"s the matter of Project Alice. I cannot let you go, not when you"re so close." Alice glared at Dryden. "Your father wants my DNA. Well he won"t have it." Dryden laughed coldly. "Oh yes he can. If you wanted to preserve your DNA and therefore prevent my father from becoming a Homo Superioris, then you should have stayed away from this ragtag survivor group. You should have gone into hiding. Fortunately for me, you care too much about others." Alice knew he was right. Why did she come here in the first place? She knew - subconsciously - that Umbrella could have heard of the broadcasts Taylor had been making, and would have determined that this was the next place she would have gone to. She should have gone somewhere else, anywhere else, but it was too late for regret. Alice saw Dryden steeling himself for an attack, but a few seconds later gunfire blasted through the room, nearly hitting Dryden on the chest. Leon pulled Alice and K Mart to the floor, shielding them with his body. Alice couldn"t see; bullets were ripping the entire suite apart, and debris was being blown off the walls. She could heard Dryden"s screams of fury, and then heard the whoosh of a massive telekinetic wave. The gunners screamed and scrambled for safety, and Alice felt herself being pulled to her feet. Her grip on K Mart"s hand tightened, and together they stumbled out of the suite, avoiding the living room and dining room areas. The second they stumbled onto the hallway, someone grabbed Alice and engulfed her in a massive hug. Alice struggled to free herself, and she felt herself being led away from the battle. Finally she wrenched herself free from the person"s grasp, looked up, and gasped. "Spence?" Curse them all, Dryden swore, releasing another psionic wave. He should have known better. Now Project Alice had escaped his grasp - again - and he was being shot down in a hail of bullets. None of the shells hit him, of course, but still, the very thought of him being caught unawares was infuriating. I should have grabbed her at once, he scolded himself. But there was little he could do now; he could hear more footsteps pounding outside the door, and despite the number of waves he sent, the gunfire continued. Dryden could feel himself growing considerably weaker - every time he used his ability a good chunk of his energy was depleted, a fact that he had decided to conceal from his father. Dryden hated to kill the survivors, having received strict orders from his father not to do so, but he felt that "self-defense" counted as a good excuse. Dryden pulled on the last of his remaining strength and lashed out using his psionic abilities; he aimed his power directly at the brains of several of the survivors. The last things Dryden heard before blacking out were the screams of shock, anguish, and then fear, coupled with the sickening wet pop of brains exploding. Umbrella Corporation Facility Los Angeles 0110hrs_ Wesker slammed one of the officers onto the wall, creating a man-shaped dent. "What do you mean my son has been captured?" he raged. "Dryden is more powerful than all of them combined, how did they overpower him?" The officer choked and spluttered, and Wesker could see he was turning blue. A few seconds later the officer became limp, and Wesker released his hold. The officer slumped to the floor dead, and Wesker turned away. "Establish a connection to their servers," Wesker snapped to one of the men manning the consoles. "I want to see their security feed. I cannot believe Dryden was easily captured, not when he carries power of that magnitude." The man typed furiously on the keyboard, and Wesker saw a series of screens pop up. In one, he saw a few humans playing cards in what looked like a diner, while in another was a man and a woman hunched over a radio deck. The man clicked through the various screens, until he found one that was positioned in the makeshift clinic. Wesker saw several empty hospital beds, and as the man manipulated the security camera, he spotted Dryden lying on the bed at the farthest corner of the room. To his surprise and fury, he saw Spence Parks leaning over Dryden, along with Project Alice. He could barely hear what they were saying, but the knowledge that Spence had somehow escaped the influence of the device infuriated him. "Find Jill Valentine, now!" he ordered, not bothering to conceal his rage. Part of him hoped that Spence had decided to make a run for it without bothering to leave with Jill, but Spence was not the type of man to leave someone in need hanging - the old Spence, that is. He watched as Spence leaned forward to say something to Project Alice, who shook her head and continued looking down at Dryden. Wesker knew that if Dryden found out about his true parentage, he would lose his greatest asset. But Wesker was not the type to mope about his losses; if Dryden was lost to him now, he would do to find someone nearly as powerful as his former son. "Check the status of Carlos Olivera," Wesker snapped to another man sitting at the far end of the console. "And have it sent to the resurrection chamber for processing." Two hours later "The procedure cannot be done," one of the scientists said. "His remains are far too charred for us to take a decent DNA sample." Wesker gave a cry of fury and hurled the scientist across the chamber. They all heard the sickening crack of bones as the scientist collided with the metal wall and slumped to the floor, leaving a thick red blood trail. "Clean that up," Wesker snapped, gesturing to two scientists standing near him. "And get me Beck!" Things were clearly not going his way. First Dryden had fallen into the hands of the enemy, and now two of his commanders had slipped his grasp. Wesker could feel the rage building up inside him - the virus was clearly struggling to wrest control of his body from him - and focused on keeping the virus at bay. He knew he couldn"t go on like this. The effort involved in controlling the effects of the virus was draining him of energy, and if he allowed himself to let the virus take over, he would most likely destroy whatever was left of Umbrella. He couldn"t let that happen. He had to find a way - anything would be better than just standing there. The door to the chamber opened and Beck stepped in. "What"s wrong, Wesker?" "Do we still have the samples of all former Umbrella employees?" Wesker asked, striding past Beck and into the hallway. "Why yes, we do," Beck replied, hurrying behind him. "Most of it is still in isolation." "Find me the DNA samples of Carlos Olivera. Failing that, find the skin grafts Dr. Isaac took of Nemesis," Wesker continued, his footsteps echoing along the hallway. "We have a situation." Sunrise Towers New York 0100hrs_ The steady beeping of the monitor brought some sense of calm to Alice. After her narrow escape with Dryden, she felt physically drained. And yet somehow she found herself helping Leon dispose of the corpses of some of his team - including the Barnes brothers, Phil and Lewis. Alice knew why she was keeping herself busy; she was trying her best not to be left alone with Spence. How was he still alive? Alice had thought for the millionth time, as she and Ada had dragged the final body into the huge incinerator (which was used to dispose of the building"s garbage). She had driven a fire axe into his skull after a Licker had nearly chewed his body to pieces and infecting him with the T-virus. Yet there he stood, talking in low voices with another old acquaintance - Jill Valentine - and shooting her covert looks every ten minutes. Now that her work was done, she had followed Leon as he and Frank wheeled the immobile body of Dryden Wesker into the room that served as the building"s hospital. It was certainly equipped like one: there were ten hospital beds in separate cubicles, and each cubicle had its own monitors and equipment. Two visitors could stay inside the cubicle at a time, and three rooms that branched off from the main "ward" housed the surgery room, the mini pharmacy, and a small staff room. Luda Davies, the only remaining doctor in Sunrise Towers, began her usual routine of checking Dryden"s heartbeat and blood pressure the moment Leon and Frank had wheeled the bed he was on in one of the vacant cubicles. As she checked Dryden"s eye with a flashlight, Alice saw that he had the same eye color as her. It unsettled her greatly, as if she was seeing her own eye in another person.

I knew what he was going to do a split second before he did it. He was going to check my memories, to see if I was faithful, or if I had disobeyed him. I felt my blood ebb out of the wound his fangs made on my palm, but I didn"t cry out. He seemed satisfied, because he left without another word. I sat in front of my dresser and looked at my reflection in the mirror. Outside the storm had calmed, and the moon streamed in my room through the coloured glass mirror. I let the moon"s rays hit my face when I sensed someone in the room. "My lady." Kraven. One of my father"s pet guards. He stood in the middle of my room, looking at me with interest. I knew he had a roving eye, and that his eyes had wandered to me and my sister over the years. He was one of the many soldiers my father had when he was turned by Marcus. "Yes, Kraven?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow. "What is it?" "The time for the execution has arrived. Your father is about to - " I didn"t let him finish. I ran out into the hallway, ran to the only place I knew to look: the chamber that had a window that opened out into the sky. Into the sunlight. I arrived just in time to see them, Lucian chained to the floor and my sister tied to a concrete pole in the centre of the room, right below the window, which was now open. I could see the moon hitting her, and I realized with a painful jolt that the moon"s rays would be replaced with the sunlight. "No," I choked out. My father heard me and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Let it be done," he whispered. "You are my only hope left, Sophia." I couldn"t believe my ears. He neglected me for years, only to tell me that I was a replacement. How could I be a replacement of someone so beautiful, so perfect? "Sonja," I sobbed, although tears were nonexistent. The doors closed, but there were bars. I peered through the bars until morning came. My sister and Lucian were obviously exhausted, and I kept silent. When the time came, Lucian"s and my cries for Sonja were one. I felt his agony, and I was sure he felt mine. Her porcelain skin turned gray, her silk tresses dried up, her eyes became empty sockets, and the child inside her womb died before knowing the beauty of the world. Kraven, who was standing by me the entire time, led me aside as the guards swept in. Lucian was howling in fury, and before our eyes, he changed. He turned to a werewolf, broke the chains, ripped my sister"s necklace from her throat (the only thing he had left of her), and disappeared into the night. The war began. I recall nothing but calling out for Sonja, for the sister I lost. Kraven led me past the guards and into my room. He locked us in and unsheathed his sword. I knew that my father had appointed him as my personal bodyguard, to make sure that what my sister did to him would never happen again. As I sat there, numb to everything, the howls of the werewolves - who were now called Lycans, thanks to Lucian - grew louder and louder. The soldier"s cries for blood rang throughout the fortress, and I could hear the battle rage. In the midst of it all, my father banged on the door and instructed Kraven to bring me to the ship. We did so, and there was nothing left for us to do but to wait. All the while my mind ran with memories of me and Sonja, of things we had and would never share again. I would never be an aunt, nor would I see her raise what would have been a beautiful and powerful child. These thoughts haunted me as I sailed away with my wounded father (Lucian dealt him a nearly fatal blow, would you believe that?) and Kraven to our new home. We sailed away from Sonja, from the castle where we spent our childhood, and from the place where her body would lie forever, chained to that concrete pole that ended her life. 1891 Things have changed. I am no longer the pitiful Sophia I was then. Although my father adopted a "daughter", he learned to show love and affection towards me. In the absence of Sonja, I flourished. It was as if she was the only one holding me back from my true potential. It was a horrid thought, true, but I couldn"t help think about it at times. Aside from developing my archery skills, I excelled in handling swords and other weapons. I became a killing machine. And I killed Lycans. This was after Kraven heroically pronounced Lucian, my would-have-been brother-in-law, to be dead, and he even showed me and my father the branded skin. He was young when we branded him, but even then he never screamed when my father placed a searing hot poker onto his flesh. He was strong, and I couldn"t believe it when Kraven told us about it. After Lucian died, I felt no connection to the Lycans. I slaughtered thousands, and my father"s respect and love for me grew. The other Elders, Marcus (my father"s sire) and Amelia, saw me as a credit to the vampire race. The Lycans saw me as a threat. It was strange to know this, because when Sonja was alive, I cared for the Lycans. They were the ones who felt the brunt of my father"s rage whenever something went wrong, and in a way, I knew what they were going through. People change. Believe me, I had. My past didn"t matter anymore; I lived for the present. As my father, Marcus, and Amelia devised a new system that would allow them to rule the coven equally, I became more prominent in the coven. I was second in command to the Elders, and no one dared disobey me. I knew that Viktor lost Sonja that day, but in truth, he lost me too. The new Sophia was very much unlike the old one. I was ruthless, blood thirsty, and unmerciful. The other vampires credited me as "being Viktor"s daughter through and through". In a sense, I was. Of course, my father"s adopted daughter became as prominent as well. We were both lethal, and we led the guards during raids of the Lycan"s hideouts. I learned from Kraven that the reason my father spared her was because she reminded him of Sonja. Her name was Selene. I taught her the ways of the coven, and she was a promising student. She learned quickly, and there were times when she surpassed me. We developed a sisterly relationship, but I never told her of Sonja and Lucian. It had become taboo, and I was beyond disobeying my father. Of course, there was one thing that helped change my father"s former attitude towards me. That was when Marcus and I fell in love. It was during his second turn as the ruler of the covens when he told me he loved me. It was surprising, considering we hardly interacted back when Sonja was alive. Now, he said, he saw in me a woman in her prime, a force that could be reckoned with. A truly fiery spirit, he said. Our first century together was passionate, and it wasn"t long before the entire coven knew about it. When the time came for my father to rule, I was stricken. I didn"t want to face two centuries alone, not when I had found someone who loved me deeply and truly. Finally the Elders agreed upon themselves (through a series of memories that only they could fit into a coherent pattern) that Marcus and I would rule as husband and wife. In the rarest occasion, the three Elders awoke just long enough for me and Marcus to marry. Then Amelia and Marcus slept, and I joined them in a protected place of my own. It held a regal "S", and next to it was Marcus" "M", although he slept in a separate place. Selene was happy for me - she did say so in her calm and serious way - and I knew I would miss her in my own way. We only saw each other when Marcus was awake, and even during then I only saw her when I wasn"t with Marcus, which was rare. Now I"m sitting outside, allowing the moon"s rays to hit my bare legs, just like what I did before Sonja"s execution. "Such a lovely sight," Marcus said, coming up behind me and putting his around me. "My lovely wife, sitting out here in the moonlight with her legs bare and her skirt nearly up to her waist. Very tempting, my love." He stopped and became still. "What is it, Marcus?" I asked, leaning my head against one of his arms. "There are no Lycans about, love, so please, continue seducing me with your words." Marcus came to life again, and planted kisses on my neck. I smiled and reached up to entwine my fingers in his hair. "My love." I sighed. This was pleasure, and I never knew I would be here with him, the man who sired my father. If you told me then that I was to become the wife of the patriarch of all vampires, I would have laughed. Now, it was my reality. "And I am yours." I stood up and wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him close. His beard and hair smelled of horses, blood, and sweat, and I loved it. It was his scent and no one else"s. "How is Selene?" I asked, gazing into his icy blue eyes. He grunted. "She is well, as you might imagine." "Kraven still lusting after her?" Marcus laughed. "Like a male horse longing to mount a mare." I gently slapped him on the arm. "Marcus!" "Well, it"s true," he said, smiling down at me. "Although your friend isn"t giving in." "Why should she? He"s disgusting," I said, walking back to the house (my father"s) while maintaining a tight grip on his hand. "As I recall, he saved your life," he told me. I froze. "He did. He led me away from battle, but nothing more. He didn"t spill any blood on my account." "True, but he didn"t leave you." "He was too scared to face my father if he did. I"m the only daughter he has left." I stepped into the foyer, where I saw vampires lounging about. They leapt to their feet and murmured greetings, which Marcus and I acknowledged with curt nods. "And now you"re my wife. Anyone who tries to hurt you shall suffer badly," Marcus announced passionately. I smiled and pulled him into the library. It was deserted, of course. "Stay with me?" He nodded and didn"t resist as I pulled him towards our favourite spot in the entire house: the rug in front of the fireplace. We settled ourselves and just held each other, until one of my husband"s assistants came and announced the arrival of Lord Pennington. He was one of our contacts in England. He brought news of the Lycans slaughtering their livestock and driving the peasants out. Children and women had been massacred, and Lord Pennington hoped to have our assistance. Marcus and I were now perched on our seats. I had changed into a royal blue gown and wore a necklace bearing Marcus" and my letters intertwined. Lord Pennington"s gaze flickered from my husband to me, and it usually settled on my necklace, which was resting comfortably near my cleavage. I smirked, and I could see Selene had caught this little exchange. She gave me a grimace, and I gave her a covert wink in return. How I tended to miss her, my little protégé. "As you might as well know, Pennington, the coven in England can support your needs more. Why did you even make a trip to my house in the first place?" Marcus inquired. "Unless the problem is serious." "The - the Lycans. They"re not changing back to humans," Lord Pennington said in a hushed voice. "They stay as wolves." I saw Marcus stiffen, and I knew this could only mean one thing. "Those aren"t Lycans. They"re real werewolves. Unstained by Lucian"s genes." My voice rang throughout the entire hall. Lord Pennington trembled. "Am I to have no help, then?" "Oh you shall," Marcus intoned. "You shall. Go home and rest easy, Pennington. All will be taken care of." Lord Pennington bowed and left swiftly. I looked over to Marcus, who looked taken aback. I knew what he was thinking, and who he was thinking of. William. William is Marcus" brother, whom my father cruelly imprisoned in an unknown place, far from the one person he had left in this world. The news that there was still a werewolf from William"s line still living must have brought Marcus renewed vigour. He ordered the coven to prepare, as he was travelling to England to see to the matter himself. "I will go with you." "No, I want you to stay here. Manage the coven in my absence, my love. Please." I agreed, although rather reluctantly. He kissed me on the lips, and I, not caring whether there were other vampires around, kissed him back. Our lips moved with the same rhythm, and it took us a lot of effort to break apart. I ran my fingers lightly through his beard and inhaled his very scent. I wanted it to remain with me, so that I could always feel his presence. It was like that night when Sonja died; a feeling of helplessness. I watched him leave, and it was only when his carriage was no longer in sight when I went back inside the house. Selene was there, and she gave me a reassuring one arm hug. "I miss him already," I told her as we made our way up the stairs. "He"ll be gone for a few days. I"m more concerned about whether Viktor finds out about this," Selene said. "Marcus doesn"t give a damn what my father thinks," I said rather harshly. "He loves William, and it seems that this incident is the only thing that can tell him where his brother is." Selene nodded. "Still, would you want to be in the middle? Marcus and Viktor, baying for each others" blood? You have to admit, William is going to be a problem." I whirled around and faced her. "What do you mean? Marcus can control him, and I believe him. My father is blowing things out of proportion." We stopped in front of my and Marcus" room. I silently debated if I should allow Selene to go in, but I flung the door open and stepped inside. She maintained her place, but I motioned for her to come in. The bed was untidy, considering Marcus and I had made love a couple of times last night. Other than that the room was spotless. I made my way to my dresser and removed my gloves. I didn"t take my necklace off; I was determined to keep it on until Marcus arrived. Selene stood by the four poster bed and was looking at the sheets, amused. "I know, I know," I said, smiling a little. "Wild night." "This may seem too forward, but does Marcus expect the two of you to have children?" Selene asked slowly. I shook my head. "He fears that William"s genes will pass on to our child. He doesn"t want to risk the covens going against us." "But William was turned when they were adults," she pointed out. "I don"t think William"s genes are going to - " "He is cautious. He doesn"t want to have a child only to have it stripped away from him," I interrupted. "And who am I to go against my husband"s wishes?" Selene sighed but said nothing. In a way, I could see why my father adopted her. She looked a bit like Sonja, except now she had cropped her hair. But she had the same complexion, blue eyes (like everyone else in the covens), and the same preference for tight fitting clothes. I missed them both sorely. Marcus and Sonja. But I still had Selene. The days turned into weeks, and I grew impatient, worried, and anxious. Marcus had sent me letters, but they did nothing to comfort me. It sounded as if the battle was going awry, but I knew Marcus would pull through. He always did. "Viktor would have a fit once he learns that Marcus went after the werewolves," Kraven muttered one night. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. Ever since my father had appointed him as one of his representatives, he became more and more cocky and confident. Now he was addressing my father as if they were equals. "I"m sure my father will understand that my husband is always under protection," I said levelly. "Marcus is no fool." As the patriarch of the vampire race, Marcus held the key to the survival of us all. If he died, everyone under his bloodline would die too, which was why my father had him guarded every single second. Kraven bowed his head, but I could see he was annoyed. I knew why; it fell upon him to inform my father about the things Marcus did during his reign, those that my husband kept from him. I fingered the stem of my goblet thoughtfully. Centuries had passed since Sonja and Lucian died, but somehow, I felt something was off. It was as if they were still alive. But how? I saw my sister die before my very eyes. Lucian, on the other hand, was a different story. We all had Kraven"s word on it, and nothing else. The rest of the soldiers who went in with him to Lucian"s castle (my former home) died. Only he survived, brandishing the branded skin like a trophy of his bravery. If there was one thing Kraven wasn"t, it was being brave. I said nothing about my thoughts. First of all, he had proof. I had none. Second, if Lucian was indeed alive, then where was he? I knew the death of my sister turned him completely against my father, and he would definitely show himself if he were alive. Kraven stood up and walked towards Selene. She ignored him, like she always did. Kraven invited her for a walk in the garden, but she refused. When will he give up on his obsession with her? I thought. He will never give up on her though. He can be quite persistent. As soon as Kraven left, Selene rolled her eyes and stared at the ceiling. "You"d better find yourself a husband, Selene," I chided. "Otherwise Kraven won"t stop." Selene scoffed. "I can do so much better than him. I"m not interested in him in any way." I laughed. "That"s obvious to every person in this coven but him. He"s stubborn." We fell silent. I continued reading about the coven reports. One of the newest vampires, Erika, flitted in and out of the library, refilling my goblet and asking Selene if she needed anything. An hour before dawn, we all retreated to our coffins. I slept, but I kept seeing Marcus. This was the sixteenth day he was gone, and he promised to be back after a week. The only thing that consoled me was the fact that we were all alive; that meant he was, too. Time passes fast when you"re a vampire. The hours fly by like seconds, and days seem like hours. Marcus returned after three weeks, but his quest was a failure. They found the werewolf dead, but Marcus insisted on searching the area for any signs of his brother. They found none. My husband was in a foul mood when he returned, and I sensed his displeasure as soon as he entered the mansion. "How was it, my lord?" Kraven asked, handing Marcus a glass of warm blood. "A failure," Marcus seethed, drinking the contents of the glass in one go. "Where is Sophia?" "In her room," Kraven replied. "She"s been waiting for you to return." Marcus stomped up the stairs and strode into my room. I had just risen then, and I was still in my nightgown. One strap fell lazily from my shoulder as I brushed my hair, but I had heard his familiar stride and stood up as he entered the room. "My love," I called, rushing into his arms. He embraced me tenderly, and I looked up at him. "Oh no." He didn"t need to say anything; his eyes were full of sorrow and regret. I led him to our bed and helped him out of his heavy travelling cloak. His hand clamped down on my bare leg as I sat down beside him. "I curse the day your father took William away from me," he said scathingly. I nodded. "And he took my sister from me." Marcus leaned his head against my shoulder. I could smell the smoke mixed with his sweat. He had probably burned a few villages before returning. I expected him to make love to me - he usually did whenever he returned from a long campaign. But he didn"t. Instead, he looked deep into my eyes and asked me if I would side with him and rise up against my father. I hesitated. Viktor was my father; I could not deny that fact. But he never showed love and affection for me, except when Sonja was gone. It would only be natural if I helped my husband destroy the one who took my beloved sister from me. "Yes, I will," I said, and Marcus smiled. "No one must know about this, Sophia," he warned. "Not even your own father." "Of course. It will be just you and me," I replied, smiling. "And William." Marcus nodded. "William. Once I have my brother, we will be complete." I entwined my fingers with Selene"s. The time has come for us to part for two centuries, and I knew she would have a lot to tell me when I awoke. We were alone in my chamber, but any moment now Marcus would come for me and to ease me into my centuries-long slumber. "Remember, we will be sisters forever," I whispered. "Sisters," she echoed. Already her eyes were averted, as if she didn"t want me to see the sadness in her eyes. "Yes." "Don"t let Kraven get to you, Selene," I teased her. "By the time I awake you should have a husband of your own. And he isn"t the one I have in mind for you." She smiled. "You and your schemes of love." We both stopped talking; footsteps were heard on the hallway. I stood up from my armchair and gave her a tight hug. "I"m missing you already, sister." Selene said nothing, and when the door opened to reveal Marcus and Kraven, we broke apart. I looked at her one last time before leaving the room with my husband. Little did I know that the next time we did meet, it would be as enemies, not as sisters. Something wasn"t right. Although I was asleep, I could feel something bad was happening. Of course my weakened condition prevented me from doing anything, so I was left to lie and wait for someone to awaken me. When you"re out in the world, time flies quickly. If you"re encased in a tomb, however, two centuries can feel like an eternity. My only consolation was the thought that Marcus and I would execute our plans to overthrow my father"s rule by murdering him in his sleep.

The next few minutes were a blur: Dilios had quickly retaliated with a sword thrust of his own, which Aricia blocked with the handle of her sword. The two soon clashed all over the arena - the king, Captain Artemis, and Astinos even had to leave the training ground to avoid being caught in the furious swordfight that had erupted between the two. For every sword swing, an expertly placed sword block was given. Things seemed evenly matched, and everyone was waiting on tenterhooks to see who would emerge victorious. Twenty minutes into the fight, Dilios was able to grab hold of the leather strap of Aricia"s top, sending her sprawling on the ground. Cheers erupted again as Dilios pounced on Aricia, pinning her in place. She was stunned; not only due to the fact that she had been suddenly thrown to the ground, but also because she could feel Dilios" hard and erect manhood, despite the few layers of cloth that separated it from her skin. Her breathing grew heavy, and as she looked up at him she saw the unmistakable look of lust and desire in his eyes. Don"t think about that, a voice in her head persisted. You have never lost a battle; why start now? Aricia quickly arched her back and, using the small space that formed between her body and Dilios"s, bent her leg and slammed it against his groin. He gave a loud grunt and rolled off of her. She took the opportunity to grab his shoulders and pin him down, holding the blade of her sword against his throat. She tried to ignore the fact that she was practically straddling him; she tried desperately to ignore the increasing throbbing of Dilios" manhood. By Gods she hoped she wasn"t wet. Amidst the surprised cheers, Aricia heard the King laughing and congratulating her with her win. Aricia quickly stood up, eager to distance herself from Dilios. From the corner of her eye she saw Dilios stand. "Apparently you don"t have what it takes to beat her, Dilios," the King said. "But you do have the ability to make her feel the sands against her back... and more." Aricia was horrified, although her face still maintained a passive expression. Did the King notice? Was I that obvious with my feelings? she thought wildly, as she shook Dilios" hand and accepted his congratulations. The King then bade the warriors to continue their training, and Dilios joined the rest of the warriors. As he walked away, Aricia stole one last look at him. To her surprise, he was looking at her as well. "What influenced your decision, Aricia?" Queen Gorgo asked one evening. "I know I"ve been here for a week, Gorgo, but so far I have learned so much. The training here in Sparta surpasses that of Arcadia, and I know if I stay here for a little longer, I can improve my skills," Aricia replied, taking a sip of cherry wine. "But if it would be a burden to you and the King, I understand." "Nonsense," King Leonidas exclaimed. "You are free to stay here for as long as you wish, even if your training takes years. I"m sure Pleistarchus would be pleased to train by your side." Aricia blushed. "Thank you, my lord. I enjoy training with the prince as well. He is a fast learner." "Sparta has grown fond of you, Aricia. The people certainly wouldn"t object to your lengthy visit. Have you talked to your parents about this?" Queen Gorgo held out her goblet and waited as a servant poured cherry wine for her. "Yes, Gorgo. I sent them a letter, which they promptly replied. They don"t mind, and they even extend their best wishes to you and the king," Aricia said. "Excellent. So there will be no problems, I gather?" King Leonidas asked. "None, my lord. Except of course if Pleistarchus becomes the one who finally defeats me," Aricia said, smiling. "The day that he does will mean that he is ready to be king," King Leonidas answered, returning Aricia"s smile. For a few minutes they ate in silence. Finally the queen inquired about the state of Aricia"s rooms, and if she wished to have some things from Arcadia brought to Sparta. "No thank you. I"m just happy being here. This place... it already feels like home," Aricia declared. "Like I"ve been here all my life. I don"t understand why I feel like this, and somehow I don"t think I even want to." The king and queen merely smiled and nodded. Deep down they felt a conflicting mess of emotions. Although they were happy that they would get to spend more time with their daughter, they feared that the longer she stayed here, her memories would return. And when that happens, nothing and no one would be able to protect her from the Ephors. Two years later... Dilios. The very thought of her name made her smile, and she realized that she was losing track of Pleistarchus" progress. It took all of her control not to glance at Dilios every ten seconds, but she knew he was doing well due to the praises Captain Artemis threw his way. She loved him, that much was true. He was a Spartan warrior, while she... she was the only heir to the throne of Arcadia. The disparity between their status was very obvious, and Aricia knew that her mother and father would not allow her to marry a soldier. That didn"t stop her from loving him, and for the past two years she continued her training in Sparta while maintaining a passionate affair with the warrior. They were unable to consummate their love, however, for King Leonidas seemed to be keeping an unnaturally close watch on both of them. Perhaps he was acting on her father"s orders. Aricia didn"t know, but she was grateful that the King and Queen had allowed her to spend her free time with Dilios. "Excellent, Pleistarchus," Aricia said, beaming at her six-year old ward. "Most excellent. I can see you besting your father in a few years" time." "You"re bluffing," Pleistarchus said, wiping beads of sweat from his brow. "I need to be better than you to best Father." Aricia laughed. "Flattery will not get you out of tonight"s training, Pleistarchus. Now come. Let"s see your footwork." Pleistarchus immediately launched a series of fancy steps, and he twirled and lunged gracefully across the arena, similar to the fluidity of a panther. For a six-year old Spartan boy, Pleistarchus was talented indeed. Aricia didn"t doubt for a second that the young prince had been bestowed the same gifts the god Ares had given to the Spartans. "He has improved," Dilios said, coming up beside her. "Your training is certainly effective." Aricia slid her hand in his, and relished the feel of his rough skin against hers. She squeezed his hand gently and watched as Pleistarchus finished his demonstration with a flourish. Aricia smiled, and Pleistarchus stabbed his spear on the ground. "How was that?" he asked, seemingly oblivious to the electric connection forming between Aricia and Dilios. "Wonderful," Aricia replied, turning her smile on him. Pleistarchus smiled at her, and Aricia saw his eyes focus on someone behind her. She turned and saw King Leonidas, flanked by Theron and another Spartan Elder. "My lord," Aricia and Dilios said simultaneously, the latter bowing slightly. King Leonidas nodded once. "I see he has improved greatly under your tutelage, Aricia." "Thank you, my lord. He has always been an eager and talented student." Aricia slowly slipped her hand from Dilios" grasp; the action didn"t go unnoticed by the king and Theron. "Has he? We"ll see. Come with me, Pleistarchus," King Leonidas called, and the prince immediately took his spear and walked up to his father. "We will discuss this matter later," the king told Theron and the Elder, who both bowed and left. Theron snuck a glance at Aricia, who turned away from his gaze. Theron"s lusty gaze met Dilios" angry glare, causing the adviser to quicken his pace. "Theron still hasn"t dropped his subtle advances, then?" Dilios asked Aricia as he helped her fix the various weapons she and Pleistarchus had used during their training. Aricia shook her head. "He is very persistent. Sometimes I feel he is stripping me naked with that revolting gaze of his." "I"ll rip his heart out if he dares lay a violent hand on you," Dilios seethed, his hand immediately gripping the handle of his sword. "Cool your thoughts, love," Aricia said, kissing him on the cheek. "I can take care of Theron." Dilios chuckled. "You really are a fiesty one, Aricia." "Of course. That"s why you fell in love with me," Aricia teased. "That"s one of the reasons," Dilios corrected. "There are many reasons." "Would you care to tell me what they are?" Aricia smiled up at him. Their faces were mere inches away from each other; Aricia only needed to fill in the gap by stepping closer to him. She did. The moment their lips touched, Aricia felt jolts of electricity shooting through her body. It made her feel weak... pleasurably so. As she flicked her tongue in Dilios" mouth, he groaned and kissed her feverishly before pulling her away from him. Aricia looked at him, startled. "Dilios, what"s wrong?" "Nothing"s wrong. I just don"t want to do anything that would jeopardize your status." Dilios looked at me and then dropped his gaze to the floor. "I"m realistic, Aricia. I know that you and I can never be. We can never be married." "Why not? Why should we allow ourselves to be dictated by others? Dilios, these last two years with you have been something out of a fever dream. And I want to continue having that dream with you," Aricia told him. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you." "You"re a Princess. I am -" "The only man I will ever want to be with. Dilios, I am ready to forsake my claim to the throne just to be with you. I don"t need wealth or a kingdom; they don"t mean anything to me if I cannot be with the man I love. Please, Dilios." Dilios sighed. "I love you too, Aricia, more than words can say. But I have a duty to the king. I cannot betray my king." "What if my parents say yes? Will you marry me then?" "Yes," Dilios replied. "Only then." Aricia leaned her head against his chest, realizing only now that a few of the Spartan warriors were watching her and Dilios. They all knew of their relationship, of course, but apparently their short conversation had piqued their curiosity. When they saw her looking at them, they quickly resumed their training. For a few moments she and Dilios just stood there, wrapped up in each others" warmth. Little did they know that their lives were about to change. "This is madness!" Aricia looked from the dark Persian messenger to the King. She had never seen him this angry... this furious. He looked ready to tear the messenger"s heart out. Beside her Dilios watched the scene calmly, as if he had seen his king in darker moods than this. "Madness?" King Leonidas said, his voice shaking with fury. "This is Sparta!" With a fierce cry the king lashed out at the Persian messenger, hitting the man squarely in the chest with his foot. The messenger flew to gaping maw of the pit behind him; the messenger"s companions were killed and thrown unceremoniously by two other Spartan warriors. Aricia gasped and tried to approach the king, but Dilios held her back. "Not now," he whispered. Together they watched as King Leonidas stalked off the scene, followed by the queen. Both of their bodies were tense, and whatever message the Persian messenger had delivered was obviously not to their liking. The crowd slowly dispersed, all of them whispering about the events that had unfolded. A few feet away Theron and the Elders were discussing something in angry but hushed tones. Aricia glanced at them before turning to Dilios. "What does this mean?" "There is only one thing that can follow such an action," Dilios said, his expression neutral. "War." "Against Persia?" Aricia"s eyes widened. She had heard of the Persians, especially of their king, the flamboyant and sadistic Xerxes. She knew he had a large and powerful army, composed of beings neither human nor beast. If King Leonidas had provoked war with Xerxes, then Sparta would fall. The Spartans were skilled warriors, and they may be able to send the Persians trembling, but with the might of the Persian army they would be eventually defeated. "If Sparta is to go to war, where will they go?" Aricia asked as she and Dilios made their way to her room. "I am certain the king will not wait for the Persians; he will go to them." "Thermopylae, most likely. The Persians have camped not far from there," Dilios replied. "Aricia, you know that if our king is to go to war, I need to accompany him." "I know," Aricia said softly. "But I know you will come back for me, Dilios." Dilios smiled slowly but did not reply. Passion. That was the only word that could give them - or anyone else - a reason why they did it. Bodies shining with sweat, hushed voices and muffled moans filled the small room where they finally consummated their love. The threat of war was upon both of them, and they knew that they may never see each other again. The very thought loomed over them like Hades" shadow: constant, persistent, and terrifying. For every pleasurable thrust came a slight jolt of pain that came with the knowledge that such a sensation may never be felt. Each kiss was precious, for it may be the last kiss either of them would ever feel. Aricia slid her hands down Dilios" back, relishing the feel of his muscles. She arched her back to allow him deeper access, and a few seconds later he shuddered and released himself within her. As he laid his head on her breasts, his eyes closed, Aricia stared up at the ceiling. She wanted nothing more than to be wrapped up in his embrace, to bear his children, to see the whole world with him. And yet the Gods were clearly conspiring against their match by bringing war and death upon Sparta. Aricia hoped that the message she had sent to her father arrived in time, for time was short. Although she knew that she may not be allowed to accompany the King and his army to Thermopylae, she would not allow the king and her lover to go to war unaided. I love you, she thought, weaving her fingers through Dilios" hair. In this life, or in the next, Dilios, I will always love you. The night was cool, but Aricia didn"t mind. She liked feeling the sharp jabs of the chilly wind against her skin; it made her feel alive. She also liked her nightly strolls around the palace, especially when everyone was asleep. This night, of all nights, was different, however. Throughout the city, Aricia could hear the urgent cries of fierce and passionate lovemaking, and she surmised that it was due to the fact that the King - who had arrived from his visit to the temple of the Ephors in a foul mood - had asked for 300 of his best soldiers to accompany him in the morning. Dilios was one of those soldiers, which had prompted Aricia to entice him to her bed. They had already made love five times, and Aricia had slipped out into the night as Dilios slept. She could still feel the pressure of his hands on various parts of her body, the tingle of the flesh between her thighs, and the trickle of his sweat on her body. For the first time in her life, Aricia felt fear. Not for herself, but for the man who she loved. She tried to push that thought at the back of her mind, and focused on the path she was treading. "Aricia." Aricia looked up, startled to hear another voice in the darkness. Shadows shifted, and the half-naked body of the king appeared in a patch of moonlight. Like her, his body was slicked with sweat, and she knew that he had just made love with the queen. Aricia suddenly felt ashamed, and she averted her gaze. "What are you doing?" the king inquired. He stood still, as if he sensed her distress at seeing him in such a state. "I thought you were with Dilios." "I usually walk around the palace at night, my lord," Aricia explained, still looking down at the floor. "I didn"t know you were there." Aricia was surprised that the king did not comment about her making love to Dilios; it made her theories about him protecting her virginity seem invalid. Or perhaps he thought that she and Dilios deserved this night, of all nights, to spend in each others" arms. "No need to apologize, Aricia. I"m glad I saw you." The king hesitated, and Aricia dared a glance at him. He was staring at her, as if steeling himself to say something. "Is something wrong, my lord?" she asked, her brow furrowing. ""My lord". That is an address you need to change when you are around me," the king said softly. "Aricia, there really is no easy way to say this..." Curious, Aricia faced the king and waited. "Remember the time when you asked me and the queen if you had ever met us before?" the king said after a moment. Aricia nodded. "That"s because you have. Only you don"t remember who we were, exactly. Twelve years ago, I had my daughter, Dyna, brought to Arcadia. Gorgo and I wanted to protect her from the Ephors, who had begun to notice my daughter"s apparent beauty. She was only six years old then, and yet her beauty could already rival that of her mothers". I asked Vasilios to give my daughter a powerful draught that would erase her memories of her early childhood," the king related. "Vasilios and his wife raised my daughter as their own, and they planned to keep her out of Sparta, just to spare her the cruel fate the Ephors would have bestowed upon her. But she had grown to be a very talented warrior..." Aricia"s heart nearly stopped. The flashes she had been seeing.. were they her memories? Aricia knew that the Arcadians were skilled in magic and sorcery. She had seen her father perform complex rituals to ease the suffering of an ill child, or to help a barren couple conceive. It was not impossible to learn that Vasilios had created a drink that could erase a child"s memory. Hers? "So you"re saying that... you"re my... my..." King Leonidas nodded. "I am your father, Aricia." Aricia backed away until she bumped against a pillar. "I knew. Somehow I knew who you were. I"ve been seeing this images inside my head..." "Your memories," the king confirmed. "Vasilios wrote to me a year after you left, about the factors involved." "If you want to protect me from the Ephors, why are you telling me this now?" "I am going to war against the Persians, Aricia. I wanted to tell you myself before I left." King Leonidas had a small smile on his face, and he was looking at her fondly. No, not fondly - but with pride. "You are a true daughter of Sparta. I have never been proud of you." Aricia wanted to hug him, say that although she could not fully remember the time she had spent as his daughter when she was little, she didn"t. Instead, she asked him what her real name was. "Dyna," he replied. "My little Dyna." Something in the king"s tone told Aricia - rather, Dyna - that they had shared a very close relationship. But those times were gone and could never be returned. "Thank you... Father," Aricia murmured. "Thank you for protecting me from the Ephors." "You must not tell no one about this," the king warned her. "Only five people know of this secret. You, your foster parents, your mother, and myself. If the Ephors learned of your true heritage, they would proclaim you as their Oracle. Once they do, I cannot protect you." Aricia nodded. "I promise." The king smiled and began walking down the hallway. After a moment"s hesitation, Aricia called: "Father?" Leonidas turned his head and looked at her. Aricia smiled slowly. "Kill them all." Good-bye, my love. The words on the short piece of parchment blurred, and Aricia wiped her tears away. She was back in her room in Arcadia, and she had never felt so alone. A few hours before dawn, Leonidas had tasked Admus to bring her back to Arcadia. She never even had the chance to say good-bye to Dilios, although he had left her a short note on the bed that they shared. Good-bye, my love. Three words that mean a myriad of things. It could indicate the fact that he was simply going off to war and would be back soon, or it could mean that he was never coming back. Aricia didn"t want to think of the latter. Bring them both back to me, Gods, Aricia prayed silently, crossing the room to the small altar of Ares and Hera. I will do anything you ask. The small fire that burned in the small bronze dish leaped as Aricia sprinkled the ash of a serpent, and pearly white smoke curled into fine tendrils in the air. Aricia was not as skilled in magic as her father, but she knew enough to help her keep Dilios and King Leonidas - her father - safe. Or so she hoped. For the very short time she and Leonidas had talked, her whole life changed. She was no longer Princess of Arcadia, but the Princess of Sparta. She felt it to her very bones. The flashes of her memory became more persistent, and for a time she believed the Gods were giving her her former memory back. But still the flashes remained, and she was only given glimpses of Leonidas laughing as he tossed a toddler - her - in the air, and even of Dilios handing her over to her foster parents. No wonder we were so drawn to each other, Aricia thought. The Fates conspired to bring us together again. After murmuring an incantation, Aricia returned to her bed. The sky was beginning to darken, and she wondered what King Leonidas and Dilios were doing. She hoped that the spell she had invoked would keep them alive and safe.

"Is that what you do in Arcadia? I understand you have a whole army of servants to pander to your every whim. If you are worried about leaving the royal household short-handed, don"t be. They personally volunteered to attend to you during your stay here." Aricia bit her lip before nodding. "I just don"t want to impose anything unnecessary upon you or the King." The queen waved her hand dismissively. "You aren"t a burden, Aricia. You are a royal emissary, one who has the right to enjoy every comfort Sparta has to offer you." The queen smiled warmly at her, and Aricia found herself returning the queen"s smile. "I"ll be seeing you in the dining hall. Apparently you"ve made quite an impression with my son. He is eager to have you with him during his training," Queen Gorgo said before leaving. Aricia laughed softly and waited as the girls chose her dress - a dark blue Grecian dress with a gold belt that cinched at her waist - and washed and combed her hair. When they were done they left, continuing their conversation as if nothing special had happened. One of the girls lagged behind, and as Aricia stepped out of the room, the girl approached and smiled shyly. "Your Highness, I am Pelagia, your primary handmaiden." Aricia nodded, smiling. Pelagia had a slightly chubby face, with round cheeks and eyes that seemed too wide for her face. Nevertheless she was striking, and Aricia knew she could count on her. "It"s nice to meet you, Pelagia," Aricia said. "Could you show me the way to the dining hall?" "Of course, my lady," Pelagia replied, and they immediately set off down the hallway. A few minutes later Aricia saw the two doors that led to the dining hall. As she followed Pelagia inside, she noticed there were a number of men huddled close to the king. All of them wore gold cloaks that shimmered as they moved. They seemed to sense that she had arrived; as one they all looked up and at her, and Aricia gasped in surprise. All of them had wrinkled and contorted faces that could rival a shriveled raisin, and their tongues seemed to loll out of their mouths, causing thick globs of drool to dribble down their chins. Warts covered nearly every inch of their face, and Aricia found it hard to cover her disgust. "Is that her?" the tallest of the cloaked beings - Aricia couldn"t imagine them as men - asked the king, who nodded stiffly. Aricia saw the queen sitting beside the king, her eyes on the food in front of her. "A pity. Such a pity," another of the beings crooned. His gaze seemed to penetrate through Aricia"s dress, as if he were imagining her naked. Apparently he liked what he saw, and he laughed thickly. "She would have made a fine Oracle," a third added. "A very fine Oracle." The others murmured their agreement. "If you have nothing else to say, priests, I suggest you head back to your temple," the king told them. Aricia could tell that he was carefully structuring his words so as not to make it appear that he was ordering them around. "The princess needs to break her fast." "Of course, of course, my king," they exclaimed, bowing jerkily. Their backs bent slightly, as if a single bone from their spine had been ripped as they were standing there. "We trust the young princess will grace our fair city for a long time. A very long time." With that, they all filed out of the dining hall, their eyes never leaving Aricia"s face and body. Once they were gone, Aricia hurried to the empty seat beside the king, Pelagia following closely. "Who were they, my lord?" she asked, as Pelagia pulled her chair out for her. "The Ephors," King Leonidas replied, disgust finally registering on his face. "The priests of Sparta. They came here when word of your arrival reached their wrinkled ears. Apparently your beauty has far encompassed your fighting skills, and they wished to bear witness to it." "But.. why did they say they wished I could be an Oracle? I do not possess the powers of foresight." Aricia thanked Pelagia and chose a deep red apple and a few slices of cheese. A servant poured wine for her in a bronze goblet, and she drank the blessed liquid in one gulp. "They are extensions of the gods, my dear," Queen Gorgo explained. "They can give you the powers of foresight if they so wished." "Then why me? They have a lot of Spartan women to choose from," Aricia pressed. The king and queen exchanged looks, and Aricia wondered if she had been too nosy. "The Ephors" lust is the main factor why they chose you. They run a small brothel amongst themselves in their temple, using the current Oracle as their whore. Only the most beautiful Spartan girls are chosen as Oracles, and you, Aricia, are easily the most beautiful woman in Sparta... aside from my wife, of course," King Leonidas told her. Aricia remained silent. The idea of being left at the mercy of those repulsive and ugly lumps of flesh sickened her, and to know that they sexually abused the unfortunate women who were to be their oracles made them seem even less human. "Be thankful you are an Arcadian, Aricia. You are untouchable in their eyes." Queen Gorgo gave Aricia a reassuring smile. "Can the Ephors choose a member of the royal family to be an Oracle?" Aricia asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. The king stilled. "Yes, they can," Queen Gorgo replied, placing a comforting hand on her husband"s arm. "But they can only choose virgins, not those who have been bodily claimed by the King. I am the mother of the next King of Sparta, so I cannot be touched." "If they did dare lay a hand on you, I"m sure the king will wage war against them," Aricia said before taking a bite of the apple. The king laughed at this, and Aricia relaxed. She had feared that her questions were annoying the king, so his laughter was a welcome indication that all was well. They ate their breakfast in silence, and Aricia found herself wondering why she wanted so hard to please the king and queen. It was as if all she wanted was their approval, and that she loathed to think that eventually, they would realize that she was simply a nuisance and needed to be sent back to Arcadia. The words of her father, King Vasilios, echoed in her mind once more: Perhaps you may even find it to be more of a home. Well Father, I fear you may be right, Aricia thought. It"s only been a day since I arrived, but this place already feels like home. I am home. King Leonidas was not pleased. The visit by the Ephors ruined any chance he and Gorgo might have had in revealing Aricia"s true parentage. They wanted her so badly, I could feel their lust for her oozing out of their bodies, King Leonidas reflected. No, Aricia cannot know who she is. She needs to be safe. Gorgo and I can continue this little charade. I know that one mistake, one small revelation, and Aricia... Dyna will be taken to their hellish temple and violently raped. I cannot let that happen. Leonidas looked at Aricia and Pleistarchus, who were both on the training arena. The other warriors were on the other half, but most of them were quietly observing the Arcadian princess and the Spartan prince. Aricia certainly lived up to their expectations: she had easily bested Captain Artemis in a duel, and now she was teaching Pleistarchus the proper ways of using a spear. The young boy was clearly smitten with his parents" beautiful guest, not knowing that she was really his older sister. Leonidas felt pride swell up in his heart as his children trained together, now joined by the rest of the warriors in the arena. It was then when he realized that he missed having his daughter. He remembered the times she had sneaked up on him and tried to catch him off-guard, and the times when he tossed her carefully up in the air to make her giggle. The last time he had held her was ten years ago, when she was only six. Now, seeing the accomplished warrior she has become, Leonidas knows that she can fulfill a much greater destiny without having to fall at the lusty hands of the Ephors. "Watch your back! Now duck! Spear thrust! Shield!" Aricia shouted directions at Pleistarchus, who was facing an eight-year old opponent. So far the young Spartan prince showed plenty of promise, and Aricia felt immensely proud of him. It was three days after she had arrived in Sparta, but most of her time was spent in the training arena. Every so often, King Leonidas joined them and the rest of the older warriors, and Aricia was given the greatest honor of sparring with him. Although she was eventually defeated, the fight lasted no less than two and a half hours, and by then a huge crowd had gathered in the arena. Aricia had clearly won herself a legion of admirers, most of them males. Her most ardent pursuer was Theron, one of the advisers of Sparta. Aricia didn"t like the man; he reminded her of a wily fox. There were times when she caught him staring lustily at her, although there were times when she also caught him staring at the queen. Aricia wondered if the king knew about Theron"s hidden desire for the queen - but if he did, then Theron would have certainly been dead by now. "How am I doing?" Pleistarchus called out gleefully. As the prince turned to face her, his opponent took the opportunity to deliver a sharp blow to the prince"s head, which Aricia quickly blocked with her shield. Pleistarchus" eyes grew wide, and he stared at his opponent in horror. "Lesson number eighty-four. Never bring your guard down," Aricia told him as the other boy stepped back. "You may be distracted for even a fraction of a second, but that is certainly more than enough for your enemy to use to his or her advantage." Pleistarchus nodded. "Thank you." "You"re welcome, Pleistarchus. Now. Again!" Aricia thrust her hand down and the two young boys began training. She was so engrossed with watching the two boys battle that she failed to notice Theron sidle up to her. "You have certainly won the hearts of the Spartans, Princess," he said sleekly. "And just think: you have been here for less than a week. That is no mean feat." Aricia chose to ignore him. Theron was a man who didn"t give up easily however, and he whispered: "But you can earn a more valuable ally in me, Aricia, if you would only answer-" "I am the Princess of Arcadia. I answer to no mere adviser," Aricia said scathingly. "Now leave!" Theron stilled. "You will regret this," he hissed. Aricia looked at him evenly and waited until he had left the arena. Theron unnerved her. He and the Ephors were the only sore spots in Sparta, and she wished to be rid of them. Unfortunately they were there to stay, and Aricia was forced to put up with them. Thankfully the Ephors didn"t return to Sparta after their surprise visit, which meant that Aricia had to deal only with Theron. A few hours later, Captain Artemis and his oldest son, Astinos, entered the arena. While the captain observed the trainees, Astinos walked up to Aricia and winked. "Astinos," Aricia said, smiling. "Are you going to be bested by a girl this morning?" "If you wish me to, my lady," Astinos replied, thumping his spear on the ground. Aricia laughed softly. "Well, what are we waiting for, then?" She quickly walked over to Captain Artemis and whispered a few instructions. He looked at Aricia for a split second before stopping the training sessions. As the warriors slowly walked off the training arena, Astinos and Aricia took their positions in the center. Astinos stood with his feet slightly apart, before crouching and holding his spear up, against his body. Aricia twirled the spear a few times before taking a defensive stance. They both looked at the captain for confirmation. He raised his hand and then lowered it in one smooth motion. Astinos made the first move: he rushed at Aricia and aimed his spear at her head. Aricia quickly ducked and slammed the wooden handle of her spear on the back of his thigh. The impact was hard enough to splinter the wood. I barely heard Astinos cry out in pain and drop to the floor - the warriors had erupted into wild cheers. Aricia turned and saw Astinos lay sprawled on the ground. Although his thigh was bleeding, he grinned at her like she had given him a passionate kiss. Captain Artemis looked at his son, and then at Aricia. Finally he smiled slowly. "Well done. I don"t think anyone was able to best their opponent that quickly," he commented. "Indeed not." The king"s voice sliced through the air, and the arena fell silent. Arica and another warrior helped Astinos to his feet. "King Leonidas," Aricia said, bowing her head slightly. "Forgive me if I have injured one of your warriors." "They have had worse," the king stated. "And it seems that young Astinos was defeated by a girl. Is there no one who can make this lovely warrior taste the sands?" For a few minutes nobody spoke. Suddenly.. "I will, my King." A sandy-haired warrior stepped out from the shadows, his mud-caked cape billowing at his back. He was carrying the standard bronze shield of Spartan warriors, and a sharp sword was sheathed to his side. His brilliantly blue eyes stared at Aricia"s green ones, and for the first time in her life, Aricia felt weak in the knees. She gripped her spear tighter, hoping Astinos, who was slightly leaning against her, didn"t notice her shaking. "Ah, Dilios! Your mission to Troy has gone well, I trust?" King Leonidas gestured to the empty space in front of Aricia. "Let us see how well you will fare against the might of Arcadia." As Dilios approached, Aricia tried to calm her nerves. Every step he took brought shivers up and down her body. He looked eerily familiar, as if she had known him all her life. Images quickly flashed in her head: a young boy helping her walk across a gorge of sharp rocks, her lying next to the same boy in a small stone alcove with a bonfire crackling merrily a few feet away, and the young boy - with the same sandy hair and blue eyes as Dilios - hesitantly letting go of her hand as they stood near the marble doors that led to the throne room in Arcadia. "...seems to be in a trance, my King," Aricia heard Dilios say. "It may be all a ruse, Dilios," Captain Artemis interrupted. "She may be planning a stealth attack." A few seconds passed before Aricia realized that she was staring at Dilios. In order to cover for her brief trance-like state, Aricia quickly unsheathed her sword and swung it in Dilios" direction. She desperately hoped she wouldn"t hurt him, and when the loud clang of metal against metal echoed in the arena, Aricia breathed a sigh of relief. The next few minutes were a blur: Dilios had quickly retaliated with a sword thrust of his own, which Aricia blocked with the handle of her sword. The two soon clashed all over the arena - the king, Captain Artemis, and Astinos even had to leave the training ground to avoid being caught in the furious swordfight that had erupted between the two. For every sword swing, an expertly placed sword block was given. Things seemed evenly matched, and everyone was waiting on tenterhooks to see who would emerge victorious. Twenty minutes into the fight, Dilios was able to grab hold of the leather strap of Aricia"s top, sending her sprawling on the ground. Cheers erupted again as Dilios pounced on Aricia, pinning her in place. She was stunned; not only due to the fact that she had been suddenly thrown to the ground, but also because she could feel Dilios" hard and erect manhood, despite the few layers of cloth that separated it from her skin. Her breathing grew heavy, and as she looked up at him she saw the unmistakable look of lust and desire in his eyes. Don"t think about that, a voice in her head persisted. You have never lost a battle; why start now? Aricia quickly arched her back and, using the small space that formed between her body and Dilios"s, bent her leg and slammed it against his groin. He gave a loud grunt and rolled off of her. She took the opportunity to grab his shoulders and pin him down, holding the blade of her sword against his throat. She tried to ignore the fact that she was practically straddling him; she tried desperately to ignore the increasing throbbing of Dilios" manhood. By Gods she hoped she wasn"t wet. Amidst the surprised cheers, Aricia heard the King laughing and congratulating her with her win. Aricia quickly stood up, eager to distance herself from Dilios. From the corner of her eye she saw Dilios stand. "Apparently you don"t have what it takes to beat her, Dilios," the King said. "But you do have the ability to make her feel the sands against her back... and more." Aricia was horrified, although her face still maintained a passive expression. Did the King notice? Was I that obvious with my feelings? she thought wildly, as she shook Dilios" hand and accepted his congratulations. The King then bade the warriors to continue their training, and Dilios joined the rest of the warriors. As he walked away, Aricia stole one last look at him. To her surprise, he was looking at her as well. "What influenced your decision, Aricia?" Queen Gorgo asked one evening. "I know I"ve been here for a week, Gorgo, but so far I have learned so much. The training here in Sparta surpasses that of Arcadia, and I know if I stay here for a little longer, I can improve my skills," Aricia replied, taking a sip of cherry wine. "But if it would be a burden to you and the King, I understand." "Nonsense," King Leonidas exclaimed. "You are free to stay here for as long as you wish, even if your training takes years. I"m sure Pleistarchus would be pleased to train by your side." Aricia blushed. "Thank you, my lord. I enjoy training with the prince as well. He is a fast learner." "Sparta has grown fond of you, Aricia. The people certainly wouldn"t object to your lengthy visit. Have you talked to your parents about this?" Queen Gorgo held out her goblet and waited as a servant poured cherry wine for her. "Yes, Gorgo. I sent them a letter, which they promptly replied. They don"t mind, and they even extend their best wishes to you and the king," Aricia said. "Excellent. So there will be no problems, I gather?" King Leonidas asked. "None, my lord. Except of course if Pleistarchus becomes the one who finally defeats me," Aricia said, smiling. "The day that he does will mean that he is ready to be king," King Leonidas answered, returning Aricia"s smile. For a few minutes they ate in silence. Finally the queen inquired about the state of Aricia"s rooms, and if she wished to have some things from Arcadia brought to Sparta. "No thank you. I"m just happy being here. This place... it already feels like home," Aricia declared. "Like I"ve been here all my life. I don"t understand why I feel like this, and somehow I don"t think I even want to." The king and queen merely smiled and nodded. Deep down they felt a conflicting mess of emotions. Although they were happy that they would get to spend more time with their daughter, they feared that the longer she stayed here, her memories would return. And when that happens, nothing and no one would be able to protect her from the Ephors. Two years later... Dilios. The very thought of her name made her smile, and she realized that she was losing track of Pleistarchus" progress. It took all of her control not to glance at Dilios every ten seconds, but she knew he was doing well due to the praises Captain Artemis threw his way. She loved him, that much was true. He was a Spartan warrior, while she... she was the only heir to the throne of Arcadia. The disparity between their status was very obvious, and Aricia knew that her mother and father would not allow her to marry a soldier. That didn"t stop her from loving him, and for the past two years she continued her training in Sparta while maintaining a passionate affair with the warrior. They were unable to consummate their love, however, for King Leonidas seemed to be keeping an unnaturally close watch on both of them. Perhaps he was acting on her father"s orders. Aricia didn"t know, but she was grateful that the King and Queen had allowed her to spend her free time with Dilios. "Excellent, Pleistarchus," Aricia said, beaming at her six-year old ward. "Most excellent. I can see you besting your father in a few years" time." "You"re bluffing," Pleistarchus said, wiping beads of sweat from his brow. "I need to be better than you to best Father." Aricia laughed. "Flattery will not get you out of tonight"s training, Pleistarchus. Now come. Let"s see your footwork." Pleistarchus immediately launched a series of fancy steps, and he twirled and lunged gracefully across the arena, similar to the fluidity of a panther. For a six-year old Spartan boy, Pleistarchus was talented indeed. Aricia didn"t doubt for a second that the young prince had been bestowed the same gifts the god Ares had given to the Spartans. "He has improved," Dilios said, coming up beside her. "Your training is certainly effective." Aricia slid her hand in his, and relished the feel of his rough skin against hers. She squeezed his hand gently and watched as Pleistarchus finished his demonstration with a flourish. Aricia smiled, and Pleistarchus stabbed his spear on the ground. "How was that?" he asked, seemingly oblivious to the electric connection forming between Aricia and Dilios.

"By your hand, I assume." I spotted Kraven"s upper torso lying not far from me, his features frozen in one of shock and horror. "You must have given him something he didn"t want to have." "He pleaded for his life, saying he could be useful to me," Marcus revealed. "He was always a bad liar." "Did you learn anything useful from him?" I was referring to the ability of vampires to absorb the memories of those whom they"ve bitten. It was the reason why my father had learned of my sister"s fornications with Lucian. He nodded. "Lucian is alive. Or at least he was, until a few hours ago. Kraven murdered him." I hissed. My brother-in-law was dead by the hands of a filthy, useless, vile vampire like Kraven. Lucian had deserved better. Everyone from my past was gone. My theories about Lucian proved to be true, but I was too late to save him. I knew he hated my father more, but in a way, he still had his revenge. Viktor was dead, and apparently, Lucian had Amelia murdered. He always made mine and Sonja"s lives easier, I thought. Now you and Sonja can be together. Yes, my family was dead. But I still had Marcus, and we had a mission to fulfill. I changed into more modern clothing - a tank top and bootleg jeans were sufficient, since Marcus and I had to go on a rather long trek - before we entered the mansion. The events that followed were full of bloodshed and mayhem. Marcus and I slowly dispatched the vampires in the house. I bathed in their blood and relished the feeling of absorbing their lusty memories and thoughts, plus snippets of their pathetic human lives. I found Erika cowering in Kraven"s room, believing that he would come and rescue her. When she saw me in the doorway, her eyes widened. "Please, Sophia, I have served you loyally," she said. I knew she was going to beg for her life just like the others did, but it served her no purpose. I drained her dry, and from there I saw Selene learn of my father"s treachery and how she discovered that I, who she considered my sister, had kept it from her. I let Erika"s limp body fall to the floor and I left without a backward glance. Soon enough the mansion burned from a fire one of the vampires had started in an attempt to ward Marcus off. It did nothing to protect him, since Marcus used his wings to slash the vampire"s throat without moving an inch. Now, Marcus and I were walking along the road. I had changed my clothes a second time before we left the house. This time I was in a fitting tank top with a denim jacket. Marcus hated seeing other men gawk at me, and I knew that covering my torso was one way of thwarting unwanted attention. Marcus offered to fly to one of the hideouts our coven used to interrogate Lycans, but I refused. "You"d be too conspicuous, Marcus," I reminded him. "Don"t you want to enjoy a long walk with me?" He relented. We sauntered down the sidewalks, ignoring the blatant stares of the men and women who either took in Marcus" smooth, bare-chested appearance (the lovable fool declined to wear a shirt, although he had thrown on a black leather overcoat) or my lush hourglass figure. We reached the hideout in time, and Marcus transformed in case there were enemies nearby. There were none, and while Marcus examined something on what I believed to be called a computer, I looked at the body of a dead Lycan that was still hanging on metal chains. "There you are," Marcus murmured. I saw immediately what he was talking about: a light was flashing on one of the locations of the hideouts, meaning that that was where Selene and this Michael Corvin were hiding. "If we fly, we can reach them," Marcus said, turning to me. "Please, Sophia." I smiled. "You need not ask my permission, Marcus. As long as you promise not to drop me." "Never." Marcus carried me lovingly in his arms and leaped onto the window sill. A split second later he flew out onto the night. " Caught you!" I let out a small squeal of delight and jumped out of my hiding place. Sonja had her arms outstretched. "You"re it!" "No!" I cried, my mouth forming a pout. Sonja smiled at the look on my face and I couldn"t help but smile in return. She was always able to lift my spirits. "Lucian is it!" At the mention of his name, Lucian turned around. He was pounding away at one of the swords lying on the hot fireplace, and sweat trickled down his brow. "Oh don"t bother him, Sophia," Sonja chided me gently. "You know what happens if Father sees him slacking." "You can always defend him," I pointed out. Lucian looked away quickly and continued pounding at the sword. "Father likes you more than he likes me." "Oh sister, that isn"t true," Sonja replied quickly. She knew Father"s preference of her over me was a sore spot for me, and she was quick to hush any conversation about it. "Father loves you as much as he loves me." I remained silent. My happiness was gone, and Sonja seemed to blame herself for it. She suggested a horse ride, but I refused. Finally, Lucian approached me and held out his dirty, tar-stained hand. On it was a crudely wrought necklace with a jewel in the shape of an "S". "For you." I gasped in delight and surprise. "For me? Really?" Lucian nodded. His eyes always remained on the ground, but he glanced up a split second to see my reaction. "Thank you, Lucian!" I cried, throwing my arms around him. He seemed taken aback, but he gingerly returned the embrace. "Sophia!" my father"s sharp voice rang through the courtyard as he strode towards me. Lucian pulled away and stepped back. I, on the other hand, hid the necklace and slowly faced him. "Father." Without a word he struck me across the face. My cheek stung, and I bit my lip from crying out. "Father, please!" Sonja pleaded, grabbing Father"s arm. "She is still a child." "She is of higher rank than he and still she treats him as an equal," he seethed. "Give me that." I clamped my fist around the necklace and shook my head. Father"s eyes widened, as if he couldn"t believe my defiance. "How dare you shake your head at me, girl!" "It"s mine! Can"t I have it, Papa?" I said, casting a pleading look at him. It didn"t work. He struck me on the other cheek and I felt my neck crack a little at the force of the blow. Still, I did not cry out. "Do not let me repeat myself, Sophia." I reluctantly held my hand out and he snatched the necklace from me. The sharp edges sliced at my palm, and it was then when I winced. Blood flowed from my palm and onto the ground. "Enough, Father," Sonja said quietly. "Please, she is my sister." "Then tell her to act like it," Father said, crushing the necklace under his boot. "She is the princess of this coven and should adopt a more genteel attitude. Tell her to improve her fighting skills as well. She"s as useless as a lump of coal in the arena." With that he swept away, flanked by his guards and attendants. Sonja immediately enfolded me in her arms. "Hush, Sophia." Lucian was apologetic. "My lady, forgive me. I did not realize it would harm you." "You may leave, Lucian. I"m sure my sister knows it," Sonja said, and she dismissed him with a wave of her hand. I closed my eyes and felt the blood trickle from the wound on my palm. How I wanted to hate him then, but I couldn"t. He was my father, and all I wanted from him was a kind word and a loving embrace. His actions towards me during my childhood and his indifference in sending my sister and my niece/nephew to their deaths fuelled my hatred for him. The moment Sonja turned to ash, my love for him vanished. You could say that I lived now only to see the day he would die, which was eventually stripped from me by the woman I considered my sister. Perhaps Viktor was lucky. If Marcus and I did the deed, Viktor would have known unending torture and pain before his death. One simple slice through his head did the deed. If only Lucian had killed him so many years ago, then perhaps none of this would have happened. Perhaps Selene would still have her family. Perhaps Lucian wouldn"t have had to hide in the shadows, plotting his revenge. So many "what ifs" and "what could have beens". The wind whipped across my face and Marcus flew through the cool, inky black night. His leathery wings made a thick flapping sound as his greyish form sliced through the sky, seeking Selene and the elusive Michael Corvin. Every now and then a few strands of my hair laced across Marcus" neck, which he ignored. A few weeks after we were married he had commented on the silkiness of my dark hair, and how he loved the cool feel of it on his skin. I supposed he had missed the sensation, since he wasn"t complaining. "Are they close?" I whispered, drawing my head closer to his. "Yes," he said shortly, his eyes suddenly glimmering bright with excitement and anticipation. "Marcus, please, you must not kill Selene," I reminded him. "She means a lot to me." He looked at me then, but I held my ground. "And what if she attempts to kill me?" I smiled slowly. "Then, my love, you have my blessing to dispatch the little bitch." Marcus chuckled hoarsely and then kissed me fiercely. "No wonder I love you so much." We both heard the sounds of gunfire and humans shouting. "Selene." My vampire eyesight allowed me to see the scene clearly: Selene was single-handedly dispatching a group of humans (who, based on the clothes they were wearing, were soldiers) without gravely hurting them. As soon as they were all disarmed, she hurried to a young man who was writhing on the ground. "She has too much compassion for humans," Marcus hissed in disgust. "Though I"m not surprised, considering she fell in love with one." "A hybrid. Just like you," I said. "Can you fight him my love? You might not have the strength." Marcus growled, and I saw Selene whip her head up and spot us. She and the man, who I surmised to be Micheal Corvin, jumped to their feet and began running. Marcus dived down and gently released me, and we landed gracefully on the forest floor. "Selene, sister," I cooed, smiling. "Sophia." Selene was looking at me coldly, and I knew she no longer treated me as a sister. "Dearest Selene, I"d love to chat with you some more, but my husband would want a word with you," I said coquettishly, stepping aside so that Marcus would be more prominent. Of course, given my husband"s current appearance, he did so rather effortlessly. As he advanced, I saw Selene raise a gun at him. I hissed. "You have been very busy," he said calmly, as if he were talking about the weather. "If you are referring to the business with Kraven and Viktor, my lord, then yes, I have," Selene said, staring at Marcus warily, never lowering the gun. "Viktor has deserved his fate many times over. And Kraven has reaped the rewards of his treachery. However..." Marcus" voice trailed off, but he still continued to advance. Behind her Michael was already backed against a huge boulder, although I could see he was steeling himself for an attack. "A terrible business, the slaying of your family. Yet so much effort was used to conceal this matter from me. What do you suppose Viktor had to hide? Or perhaps, it is you Selene, as the last of your wretched family that has something to hide," Marcus intoned ominously, and I knew Selene knew what he was talking about. Selene"s family, most especially her father, was the one responsible for creating William"s prison, and my father had her family murdered to keep its location a secret. However, he did not count on finding Selene, who resembled my sister. Apparently my father did not learn his lesson centuries ago, when he ignored his gut feeling to kill Lucian. Now Marcus needed Selene"s blood to learn the location of William"s grave, but I knew she wouldn"t be so willing. Just as I expected, Selene responded by firing the gun at Marcus, who dodged the bullets and slammed her against the boulder, causing her to drop the gun. Michael, who up to then had remained silent, swiftly picked up the gun and fired at Marcus. With an angry wail I rammed against him, my fangs bared. "Learn your place, hybrid!" I raked my nails against his cheek but saw the wounds heal almost instantaneously. Michael shoved me away; underestimating his strength he caused me to fly straight across the clearing and collide against the thick trunk of a tree. A sickening crack echoed through the area and Marcus howled with fury. Although I was not hurt, Marcus rushed to my side, giving Michael and Selene enough time to run. "Sophia!" he said, but I waved him away. "Kill them both," I said, while squeezing his arm reassuringly. Marcus took one look at me before taking flight. I did not know what happened between Selene and Marcus, but apparently she had defeated him, based on the blood and wounds on his body when he returned. I had healed a few seconds after he left and had made my way onto a motorway. Every so often a vehicle drove by, but it wasn"t long before a rather flashy car screeched to a halt beside me, the heavily tinted window rolling down of its own accord."Hey there gorgeous," a silky voice crooned from inside the car. "What are you doing here all alone on such a night?" I smiled seductively and leaned forward, slightly exposing the curves of my breasts. I heard a sharp intake of breath and smiled a bit wider. "I was looking for a ride, actually," I replied. "Well hop in, I"ll take you wherever you want to go," the voice rushed, eager and full of unbridled lust. I made a move to go to the passenger side, but suddenly I grabbed the man by the scruff of his neck and flung him out the car. He barely had time to react before I buried my fangs deep in his throat. Michael clutched the steering wheel of the truck, careful not to take his eyes off the road. After escaping the hybrid and hiding out in an old repair shop just off the main road, he and Selene were now on their way to visit Andreas Tanis, the historian of Viktor"s coven. "Who is she?" Michael asked while Selene reloaded her gun. "The woman with the hybrid." Selene hesitated, looking out into the night. "She"s Sophia, Viktor"s younger daughter." "He has a second daughter? But I didn"t see her in Lucian"s vision," Michael said. "Sophia has kept to the shadows," Selene replied, and Michael could detect some sadness in her voice. "Viktor never really approved of her, although that changed when Sonja died. We were close, once." "What changed?" "She didn"t tell me who killed my family. She knew it was her father, and yet she refused to tell me the truth." Michael didn"t want to pry into Selene"s past, and yet Sophia intrigued him. The first time he saw her, he viewed her as someone who has had the rare privilege of being born to a powerful family and married to someone even more powerful, but who still seemed to carry the entire sorrows of the world in her eyes. Perhaps she was still searching for her father"s approval or mourning for her sister"s death, but Michael couldn"t miss the sadness behind Sophia"s eyes. "Do you still love her?' Michael asked. "You said you were close once. Would there ever be a chance that the two of you would be friends again?" Selene looked at him and shook her head. "We"ve gone too far, Michael. I fear we have wounded each other too much to be as we once were." "She was my sister, Marcus. I treated her like my own flesh and blood, and how does she repay me? By allowing her lover to hurt you like this!" My blood boiled at the thought of that Michael Corvin raking his sharp claws on my husband"s flesh. I was safely wrapped in Marcus" embrace, but I could smell and feel his blood. His wounds were healing quickly, but my temper flared. "I had thought to embrace her as a sister, but she seems determined to hold a grudge against me," I continued. "If that"s the way she wants it, then so be it." Marcus laughed thickly, pressing a kiss to my lips. I forgot my anger then, relishing the feel of his lips against mine and his tongue in my mouth. I gave a moan of delight, and wrapped my arms against his thick body. We slept until twilight, when Marcus decided that it was time to pay Tanis a visit. I, however, felt that it was too soon for him rushing back out, and wheedled that he stay with me for a few hours. "Tanis can wait," I told him seductively, as Marcus transformed to his normal form. "But your wife cannot." Marcus grinned as I pulled him deeper into the dark recesses of our hideout, my hands quickly releasing him from the burden of his clothes. "They"ve been here," Marcus said, observing the tire tracks on the snow-covered ground. "If they were, then they know the truth - the truth about the keys. Michael carries my sister"s necklace, one that does not belong around his neck," I hissed. Seeing Sonja"s most prized trinket on the hybrid"s neck had enraged me, although I tried hard not to let it show. Marcus knew that Sonja"s necklace acted as one of the two keys to William"s grave. Where the other one was, we did not know. Marcus and I made our way into Tanis"s lair, where we noted that he seemed to live in luxury. "I thought he was in exile," I said, sliding my hand across a silk tapestry. "I remember my father giving him drabbier living quarters than this." "We shall find out soon enough," Marcus stated. When we rounded on the corner, we saw Tanis standing just outside a large chamber. He gave a frightened squeak and slammed the doors closed. I nearly laughed at the stupidity of his move - how could he expect to keep me and my husband out with a few brittle planks of wood? Marcus gave the doors a push and they swung open. His coat swirled as he walked, his strides long and purposeful. I saw Tanis standing behind a mahogany chair, one of the few items my father had left him. "Hello, Tanis," I greeted, smiling at him coyly. "Long time no see." "Hello my lady," Tanis replied. I could tell he was fighting not to let his fear show. "What - what can I do for you both?" "The key," Marcus rasped. My husband was not a man to mince words; he quickly went to the task at hand. "The - the key?" Tanis stuttered. "I don"t know anything about a key." Marcus raised an eyebrow. I, on the other hand, began examining the items that seemed to be haphazardly crammed on the side. A small beam of blue light caught my eye and I approached, finally throwing back the curtains to see a small arsenal. "Radiation bullets," Marcus breathed, turning his head towards me. I looked at him quizzically. "Bullets, my love?" "I see it in Kraven"s memories. Those weapons can kill vampires using radiation as powerful as sunlight." Both of us suddenly heard a sharp sound, and I whirled around to see Tanis pointing something metallic at me. "Get back," Tanis said desperately, his eyes wide. "Get back, Sophia!" I felt a snarl erupt from my throat, one that was drowned out by the sound of my husband"s angry roar. "YOU DARE THREATEN HER?" One of Marcus" sharp wings suddenly erupted from his back, slamming onto Tanis"s shoulder with brute force. The item dropped to the floor and Marcus swung Tanis onto a chair. I knew Marcus was about to go into one of his rages, so I calmly strolled to his side and placed a restraining arm on his shoulder. "Hush, dear husband," I whispered in his ear. "We do not need him dead. Calm yourself." My words seemed to break through to him, for he quickly retracted his wing. "You will tell me all that I need to know, Tanis." His hand wrapped around mine as he said it, and I squeezed it gently. Tanis was now trying to staunch the flow of blood that slowly trickled past his fingers. He looked at me and Marcus, finally resting his head against the chair"s backrest. "I have already told Selene everything, Marcus. All of the coven"s secrets," Tanis said, his voice shaking. "I know no more than you." "You know the location of the key to William"s cage, Tanis!" I declared sharply. "You know, and you will tell us." Tanis jerked his head, which Marcus seemed to take as a "no". With another cry of fury, Marcus"s wings erupted, stabbing Tanis through the neck and torso, dragging him to the center of the table. "If you will not tell me yourself, your blood will," Marcus rasped, sinking his fangs deep into Tanis"s throat. I watched my husband idly, thinking of what Selene could be doing this very moment. I heard a wet squelch, and my husband"s hybrid form looked up from Tanis"s throat. The once proud historian of the coven was dead. I strolled over to my husband and wiped a smear of blood from his lips, tasting Tanis"s blood. "Have you found out what we need to know?" "Yes. We must pay my dear father a visit." My eyebrows raised. "Your father? So he"s still alive, then." "Apparently so. Come, my love." Together we walked out of Tanis"s hideout, both anticipating the encounter that was to come. Selene wound her way down to the docks, where Lorenz Macaro"s ship was moored. She could see a number of guards walking on deck, as well as a small checkpoint close to the wooden platform. Two guards spotted the incoming vehicle and walked over to meet it. "Halt," one of them commanded. In response, Selene slapped Sonja"s necklace on the window, which caused the guards to let them through without further delay. Selene and Michael stepped out of the car and were directed up a plank that led directly onto the deck. A guard with high cheekbones and an intense gaze met them there, and directed them straight into the main cabin.

His enhanced hearing picked up the sound of the scout he had sent to retrieve his father, as they called in to relay the success of their trip. "...lost Mishimoto, but the Chairman is with us!" the pilot said in a heavy Japanese accent. "He requests that his second-in-command be ready for a briefing!" Dryden smiled to himself and closed the book. A sudden briefing after the attack on the Tokyo base only meant one thing: the enemy was close. And Dryden was waiting. Wesker stepped off the helicopter and looked at the helipad. Several Japanese Umbrella employees had gathered for his arrival, and he even spotted the medical personnel he had requested. He had survived the small skirmish on the airplane with only a few cuts and bruises. Even as he walked across the tarmac, he knew that they were already healing. The T-virus did its work well. "Is he ready?" he asked one of the employees. "Yes, Chairman," the lab-coated employee - whose name tag read Aniko Hashito - replied, his eyes fixed on the healing wounds. Wesker walked briskly into the elevator that took him to the lowest floor in the facility. The trip took him only a few minutes, and he was soon striding into the chrome hallway where rows of guards in black bulletproof armor were standing. His shoes thudded on the floor as he made his way to the small conference room. As he opened the doors, he spotted the tall, dark-haired man standing in front of the table, making two cups of black coffee. "Dryden." Wesker"s voice penetrated through the room, and the man looked up. "Father," Dryden greeted, taking the two Styrofoam cups and placing them on the table in the middle of the room. "The Tokyo base has been overrun." It wasn"t a question. Wesker knew that Dryden was very perceptive, and that he had learned of the attack seconds after it had started. "The rebels launched their attack, as you said," Wesker told him. He sat down at the very head of the table, while Dryden took the seat to his right. "And they escaped?" "Only one. The rest were annihilated. Your idea of planting a bomb close to the elevator shaft worked," Wesker said, taking a sip of the coffee. "And your condition? Have the experiments proved fruitful?" Dryden watched him closely. He seemed to detect a slight shifting in Wesker"s eyes, for he leaned against the chair and nodded. "Ah. No progress." Wesker glanced at the boy and removed his sunglasses. Dryden looked at him again, but he did not flinch. Wesker knew what his son was seeing: his ruby red eyes. "The T-virus is taking over most of my body," Wesker revealed. "My ingestion of human DNA can only keep it at bay for short periods of time." "Perhaps you need a purer source," Dryden said thoughtfully. "If you were to take a sample of my DNA, it may halt the T-virus." Wesker fell silent. It was times like this when he marveled at the boy"s intelligence. His idea seemed plausible, and Wesker knew, somehow, that it would work. But he dared not tarnish the last successful experiment of the Umbrella Corporation - not when there was an alternative. Project Janus. Shizuoka Facility, JapanUmbrella Corporation Overseas Base1215 hrs_ "...and Arcadia has lost all of its men," Dryden reported. "They all left when you traveled to Tokyo." Wesker smirked. "They didn"t seem to like our experiments." "Apparently so. But you believe that there is a certain.. human who carries the right kind of DNA to stabilize your condition?" Dryden asked hesitantly. Wesker had mentioned a few minutes ago about a human whom he believed had the sufficient DNA that could help him stabilize the T-virus. However, he had yet to reveal the person"s name. "Yes. She was the only survivor of the attack on the Tokyo base." Wesker"s face was calm. "We can always re-acquire her." "How? She could be anywhere by this time," Dryden argued. Wesker allowed his son"s arguments and doubts slide. Dryden was the only person who could talk to him like that and not raise his ire. Instead, Wesker said: "Oh we will. I have extensive knowledge of her behavior and attitudes. We will capture her easily." Dryden acknowledged this with a tilt of his head. "Are you returning to Arcadia?" "Of course. It is paramount to the success of our plan." Wesker clasped his hands together. "And you will be close by, I trust?" "As you wish, Father." Dryden paused, and Wesker sensed that he had something else on his mind. "Is there something bothering you, Dryden?" Wesker asked, as the younger man stood up to fix themselves another cup of coffee. Normally there were attendants whenever Wesker called a meeting, but lately he preferred having the room to himself and his son. Sometimes privacy was the best way to keep their secrets from spilling out. "The survivor who attacked you," Dryden said, pouring coffee from the pot. "What is her name?" Wesker hesitated for a moment. "Alice. Alice Abernathy," he replied. "Hm." Dryden turned and set the coffee cups on the table. Wesker noticed Dryden"s growing anger, and he smiled to himself. It was highly doubtful that Dryden was angry at him; most likely the anger his son was feeling was being directed towards Alice. Many an Umbrella employee had fallen victim to Dryden"s fury. The first was a researcher who had refused to provide Dryden with the information he needed. Dryden was physically only seven at the time, and yet his psionic abilities were already fully developed. Without batting an eye, Dryden had crushed the researcher"s lungs. His second kill was as brutal. He had shoved one of the high-ranking officials who had attempted to flee prior to the global outbreak. Dryden had the said official captured, along with his family, and had him watch as his wife and two young children were fed to the hungry undead. Dryden didn"t use any of his abilities during that time, but his method of carrying out the punishment solidified his position as Wesker"s second-in-command. Now Wesker watched as Dryden sipped his coffee. The blow-up was coming, and Wesker wanted to be there when it happened. How dare she, Dryden thought angrily, sipping his black coffee. The hot water should have stung his tongue and throat as he drank, but Dryden was used to drinking piping hot coffee. The sting was completely forgotten as he dwelt on the fact that a woman - Alice Abernathy, Dryden thought with a sneer - tried to kill his father. Although Wesker was not his biological father, Dryden felt strongly for him. Dryden didn"t know who his real father was, and although there were times he hoped that he could meet his father, Dryden was more concerned with Wesker. With his coffee finished, Dryden looked at his father. Wesker had worn his sunglasses once more, so Dryden could see his reflection on the black lenses. "Father," Dryden said hoarsely. "Once we have this... Alice Abernathy, would you allow me to meet her?" Wesker"s smile never faltered. "Why should I, Dryden?" "Because I plan on punishing her for her attempt on your life," Dryden finished. "You know I never liked people who opposed you and your views." "Very well. Once I have ingested the DNA that I require, you may do with her as you will," Wesker agreed, finally lifting his cup of coffee to his lips, which covered any hint of a sinister smile. Shizuoka Facility, JapanUmbrella Corporation Overseas Base1230 hrs_ "You shouldn"t focus on her just yet, Dryden," Wesker said. "She will get hers in due course. Patience." "Of course, Father. Forgive me if my anger got the best of me." Dryden looked at his father apologetically; the corner of Wesker"s mouth twitched as he set his coffee cup on the table. "For now, we must prepare for her eventual capture. I fear that the T-virus may overwhelm me soon, and I do not want to delay my plans any longer," Wesker continued. Dryden waited quietly and watched as his father pressed a button that was hidden under the meeting table. The doors to the room opened, and a guard in full battle gear entered. "Send her in," Wesker told the guard, who nodded and left the room. Dryden wondered who their guest would be - surely someone who proved vital to their task? - and finished the rest of his coffee. The guard finally returned, followed by a young blonde woman in a dark blue and purple catsuit. Her hair was slicked back and tied in a severe ponytail, making her jawline seem more prominent than it was supposed to. Her catsuit had a semi-low neckline, exposing a hint of cleavage and a bright red control device. Her hands were clasped behind her back as she followed the guard further into the room. To Dryden"s surprise, the woman took the seat to his father"s left, so that he was right across the table from her. "Dryden, this is Jill Valentine," Wesker said. "She is a former Special Tactics and Rescue Services operative, and a previous ally of our dear Alice. Now she is our functioning leader of the Umbrella troops and will help us in the attack against Alice; an attack where I am fully convinced we will capture and detain her for the final phase of our experiment." Jill shifted in her seat slightly, and it was then when Dryden was able to observe the control device closely. It was shaped like a spider; the ends of its "legs" were embedded in her flesh, and the "body" was a hollow casing filled with red liquid. "Blood?" Dryden asked, tilting his head in the direction of Jill"s device. Wesker shook his head. "Pentatheromene. A liquid that, when pumped directly into the heart, will induce complete obedience to whoever controls the microchip placed in their brain." Wesker paused, and then said: "A liquid of my design. I created it during my early years as a researcher for the Umbrella Corporation. I haven"t used it... until now." "And should I be surprised to learn that you control her?" Dryden smiled wryly. "No, you shouldn"t." Wesker glanced at him before turning to Jill. "Are you ready?" "Yes, Sir," Jill replied, her eyes fixed at a point on the wall behind Dryden. "I have received the instructions and shall depart from the base on the designated time." "Excellent." Wesker then turned from Jill to Dryden, who was still studying Jill carefully. "Is something bothering you, Dryden? You don"t seem too eager to work with Jill." Jill"s eyes focused on Dryden as Wesker said her name, but she said nothing. Dryden shook his head. "Nothing"s bothering me, Father. I"m just feeling a bit apprehensive of her working with us." "Oh? How so?" "You said she was an ally of Alice. What makes you think she won"t renege on our plans?" Dryden was skeptical of using Jill, especially in a mission that required nothing but success. The fate of his father depended on it. "I trust my invention fully. I am sure Jill will do her part well," Wesker said thinly. Dryden must have realized that his doubt had upset his father, for he smiled. "Yes, I"m sure she will. If she doesn"t, I will do what I must." "Understood." They led me along, although every cell in my body protested. I felt like a puppet on a string, one that could be used in any way that they deemed fit. Jill sat placidly on the cool metal chair, her eyes fixed on Albert Wesker and the man named Dryden. Jill had heard stories about him from the Umbrella employees, such as how he was born shortly after the outbreak in Raccoon City, how Albert Wesker had adopted him as his own son, how he had aged twenty years in only two years, and how the T-virus raged through his veins but lent him none of its devastating side effects. Although Jill had only met him a few minutes ago, something about him felt familiar. Jill met Dryden"s eyes once more, and Jill remembered the time she first met Alice in Raccoon City. Although part of her persona was responding to Wesker"s questions and Dryden"s insinuations, Jill could still recall Alice"s brown, slightly reddish, hair, her lithe form, and her shockingly blue eyes. Jill mentally shook the image of Alice from her head, for she knew that it was impossible for Alice to be Dryden"s mother. He was tall, with deep black hair and a strong jawline. His eyes, however... Jill willed herself to look at Dryden again, only to see him talking to Albert Wesker, his head turned away from her. Look at me again, Jill pleaded silently. On cue, Dryden"s eyes focused on her again, as if he had heard her in his head. Blue. Dryden may not have Alice"s looks, but he certainly has her eyes, Jill realized. Whoever his father may be, Alice is, without a doubt, his mother. "...kill Alice," Dryden said. Jill"s eyes would have widened at this, but since the Scarab had been placed on her, she maintained a passive expression. "As you wish," she heard herself reply. "Do not put any mark on her body," Dryden added. "I want to have the pleasure of that myself." Jill nodded again. "Alice is to be my team"s top priority. She shall not be killed, but instead brought to the experiment facility in Los Angeles. From there, the required procedures will be conducted." Albert Wesker glanced at Dryden, who nodded in confirmation. "In case she slips through your attack, you must use all means necessary to recapture her. Her presence is essential," Dryden stressed. "Yes, Sir." Jill hoped that Alice would escape; whatever plans Albert Wesker and Dryden had in store for her, it didn"t bode well. Shizuoka Facility, JapanUmbrella Corporation Overseas Base2400 hrs_ "Submersion in 3, 2, 1.." Dryden watched as the virtually unrecognizable mass of flesh was lowered into the glowing tank. He and Wesker were situated on a platform that was directly above the tank; Jill Valentine was standing a few feet behind them. The alarm sounded as the mass was fully submerged, turning the liquid in the tank a mixture of sickly green and red. "T-virus injection in thirty seconds," the mechanical voice announced. Two mechanical arms, which were submerged inside the tank as well, were lifted. At the end of each arm was a thick syringe, filled to the brim with the T-virus. Unlike the T-virus that had caused the global outbreak, the T-virus in these syringes had been genetically manipulated until only the codes for regeneration and reanimation of dead tissue were left. Wesker and Dryden had developed the DNA strands themselves, in the hopes of using them to resurrect key allies who had died years before. The first on their list was Simon Beck, one of the world"s leading military strategists. He had perished in one of Umbrella"s underground facilities after Dr. Isaacs had contracted a bite from one of the advanced T-virus mutants. As the T-virus was injected into Beck"s remains, Dryden watched with apprehension. He had added a few last minute tweaks to the DNA strand, and he hoped everything would turn out as he had planned. A few seconds after the T-virus was injected, the mass of flesh shuddered. Dryden was strongly reminded of a quivering glob of red Jell-O, and he could feel bile coming up his throat. Although Dryden had a fairly strong stomach, he suspected that it was due to the rotting stench that emanated from Beck"s remains. Dryden recalled having to retrieve several mangled corpses from the main North American facility a few years ago. He was only physically fifteen at the time, but he recalls the smell that came from the already decomposing bodies. That same smell filled the room now, and Dryden fought not to cough. Wesker glanced at him before focusing on Beck, whose body was quickly regenerating. "A success, it seems," Dryden commented, as Wesker motioned for Beck to be taken out of the tank. "We shall see." Wesker said, clasping his hands behind his back. "Dr. Isaacs was confident that he had domesticated the mutants, but in reality he had created a whole new strain. We must wait and see." Dryden acknowledged this with a tilt of his head. By now, Beck"s body was already taking form, although some of his muscles were still exposed. Dryden and Wesker waited patiently, until the mechanical voice announced: "Regeneration complete." "Activate the restraints," Wesker called, and a worker standing behind the console pressed a few buttons. Thick chains whipped across the metal slab where Beck lay, and heavy manacles were shackled around his ankles and wrists. As the minutes ticked by, Dryden kept his gaze fixed on Beck, who was now a fleshy whole. Just as he was about to consider the experiment a failure, Beck"s body jolted up from the slab, his back arching and limbs shaking. This repeated for a few more minutes before Beck flopped back on the metal slab and became still. Seconds later, he sat up. "Beck." Wesker"s voice rang through the chamber. Beck raised his head. "Albert Wesker," he said slowly, his voice sounding a little slurred. Wesker shot Dryden a quick glance before turning back to Beck. "How are you feeling?" "Like I"ve been run over by an army tank. Whatever Isaacs put in that damn drink must have knocked me out." Beck groaned and swung his legs over the side of the metal slab. He teetered on his feet for a moment before successfully standing up straight. "What was the last thing you remember?" Wesker asked. Although the rest of the people in the chamber, save for Dryden and Jill, were murmuring their relief over the success of the experiment. Wesker was still making sure that the improved T-virus DNA that had been injected into Beck would hold. "Isaacs," Beck muttered. "That bastard became one of them, Wesker!" Wesker raised his hand, and Beck fell silent. "So did you." Beck"s eyes widened. "Impossible! How...?" Wesker turned to Dryden, who had a satisfied smile on his face. "It appears your experiment worked, Dryden," Wesker ccommented. "Excellent work, my son." "Son?" Beck"s voice echoed in the chamber. "You have a son, Wesker?" Wesker ignored Beck"s question and turned again, this time to Jill. "Take him to quarantine. We shall keep him there for a week. If he doesn"t turn in seven days, you may release him." "At once." Jill inclined her head and gestured to a couple of guards standing near Beck. They quickly clamped their hands over Beck"s wrists and led him out of the chamber, Jill at their heels. "If he doesn"t turn, what then?" Dryden asked in a low voice as he and Wesker exited the chamber. "We resurrect Special Operative Parks," Wesker replied. "I have his remains in lockdown. He will serve our purposes well." Nine days later_ Dryden stared at the newly resurrected form of Special Operative Percival Spence Parks. He had dark, messy hair, blue eyes, and a powerful, athletic build. It was understandable why the Umbrella Corporation had hired him to be part of their security agency. Dryden held the scarab-shaped control device in his palm as he surged forward. He hit Spence with such force that they both slammed to the ground. Spence"s palm smashed against his chin, but Dryden ignored the rivets of pain that sliced through his body. "Get the fuck off of me," Spence grunted, trying to snap Dryden"s head back. To the older man"s surprise, his opponent held firm. As Spence raised his other hand to slug Dryden on the side of the head, Dryden used the opportunity to slam the control device on Spence"s chest. Spence"s eyes bulged and he fought back a cry of pain. Dryden rolled off him and was up on his feet in one fluid motion. A second later Spence lay still, the control device now pulsing, the red liquid pumping through his veins. Dryden looked over his shoulder and saw his father, whose gaze was riveted on Spence"s now still form. Behind him was Beck, who was looking better than he had in days. The T-virus injected into Beck had fully restored his body and mental processes, although he had developed a keen taste for raw flesh. It was a setback that Wesker decided he could live with. "What are we to do with him?" Beck asked. Although the military strategist looked clean, Dryden could smell fresh blood coming from him. "He will be the leader of our remaining forces. His fighting prowess, coupled with your military knowledge, will certainly crush the resistance," Wesker answered. A slight spasm flashed through Wesker"s face, and Dryden frowned. His father was having difficulty controlling the mutation, and he knew that they needed to find Project Alice. Dryden glanced at the older man lying near his feet before looking straight at his father. Wesker was already talking rapidly to Jill, who had silently joined them. "Arcadia is the most likely place for her to go," Wesker said. "I want you to assemble a team and, once Percival has revived, brief him on the mission." "Understood." As always, Jill"s reply was limited. Something in her eyes told Dryden that the real Jill was lurking beneath the surface, although the liquid was keeping her in check. Dryden wondered how long Jill would fight the effects - based on what he"d heard about her, Dryden didn"t doubt that Jill was a fighter. "Dryden." His father"s voice jolted him out of his thoughts, and he quickly followed Wesker and Beck out of the chamber. "Bring him to his room," Dryden ordered the guard standing near the door. When the guard hesitated, Dryden shot him a wry look. "He"s no longer infected." The guard nodded and gestured to a couple of other guards. They hoisted Spence to his feet and dragged him out of the chamber, Dryden"s eyes never leaving Spence"s face.

"Then tell her to act like it," Father said, crushing the necklace under his boot. "She is the princess of this coven and should adopt a more genteel attitude. Tell her to improve her fighting skills as well. She"s as useless as a lump of coal in the arena." With that he swept away, flanked by his guards and attendants. Sonja immediately enfolded me in her arms. "Hush, Sophia." Lucian was apologetic. "My lady, forgive me. I did not realize it would harm you." "You may leave, Lucian. I"m sure my sister knows it," Sonja said, and she dismissed him with a wave of her hand. I closed my eyes and felt the blood trickle from the wound on my palm. How I wanted to hate him then, but I couldn"t. He was my father, and all I wanted from him was a kind word and a loving embrace. His actions towards me during my childhood and his indifference in sending my sister and my niece/nephew to their deaths fuelled my hatred for him. The moment Sonja turned to ash, my love for him vanished. You could say that I lived now only to see the day he would die, which was eventually stripped from me by the woman I considered my sister. Perhaps Viktor was lucky. If Marcus and I did the deed, Viktor would have known unending torture and pain before his death. One simple slice through his head did the deed. If only Lucian had killed him so many years ago, then perhaps none of this would have happened. Perhaps Selene would still have her family. Perhaps Lucian wouldn"t have had to hide in the shadows, plotting his revenge. So many "what ifs" and "what could have beens". The wind whipped across my face and Marcus flew through the cool, inky black night. His leathery wings made a thick flapping sound as his greyish form sliced through the sky, seeking Selene and the elusive Michael Corvin. Every now and then a few strands of my hair laced across Marcus" neck, which he ignored. A few weeks after we were married he had commented on the silkiness of my dark hair, and how he loved the cool feel of it on his skin. I supposed he had missed the sensation, since he wasn"t complaining. "Are they close?" I whispered, drawing my head closer to his. "Yes," he said shortly, his eyes suddenly glimmering bright with excitement and anticipation. "Marcus, please, you must not kill Selene," I reminded him. "She means a lot to me." He looked at me then, but I held my ground. "And what if she attempts to kill me?" I smiled slowly. "Then, my love, you have my blessing to dispatch the little bitch." Marcus chuckled hoarsely and then kissed me fiercely. "No wonder I love you so much." We both heard the sounds of gunfire and humans shouting. "Selene." My vampire eyesight allowed me to see the scene clearly: Selene was single-handedly dispatching a group of humans (who, based on the clothes they were wearing, were soldiers) without gravely hurting them. As soon as they were all disarmed, she hurried to a young man who was writhing on the ground. "She has too much compassion for humans," Marcus hissed in disgust. "Though I"m not surprised, considering she fell in love with one." "A hybrid. Just like you," I said. "Can you fight him my love? You might not have the strength." Marcus growled, and I saw Selene whip her head up and spot us. She and the man, who I surmised to be Micheal Corvin, jumped to their feet and began running. Marcus dived down and gently released me, and we landed gracefully on the forest floor. "Selene, sister," I cooed, smiling. "Sophia." Selene was looking at me coldly, and I knew she no longer treated me as a sister. "Dearest Selene, I"d love to chat with you some more, but my husband would want a word with you," I said coquettishly, stepping aside so that Marcus would be more prominent. Of course, given my husband"s current appearance, he did so rather effortlessly. As he advanced, I saw Selene raise a gun at him. I hissed. "You have been very busy," he said calmly, as if he were talking about the weather. "If you are referring to the business with Kraven and Viktor, my lord, then yes, I have," Selene said, staring at Marcus warily, never lowering the gun. "Viktor has deserved his fate many times over. And Kraven has reaped the rewards of his treachery. However..." Marcus" voice trailed off, but he still continued to advance. Behind her Michael was already backed against a huge boulder, although I could see he was steeling himself for an attack. "A terrible business, the slaying of your family. Yet so much effort was used to conceal this matter from me. What do you suppose Viktor had to hide? Or perhaps, it is you Selene, as the last of your wretched family that has something to hide," Marcus intoned ominously, and I knew Selene knew what he was talking about. Selene"s family, most especially her father, was the one responsible for creating William"s prison, and my father had her family murdered to keep its location a secret. However, he did not count on finding Selene, who resembled my sister. Apparently my father did not learn his lesson centuries ago, when he ignored his gut feeling to kill Lucian. Now Marcus needed Selene"s blood to learn the location of William"s grave, but I knew she wouldn"t be so willing. Just as I expected, Selene responded by firing the gun at Marcus, who dodged the bullets and slammed her against the boulder, causing her to drop the gun. Michael, who up to then had remained silent, swiftly picked up the gun and fired at Marcus. With an angry wail I rammed against him, my fangs bared. "Learn your place, hybrid!" I raked my nails against his cheek but saw the wounds heal almost instantaneously. Michael shoved me away; underestimating his strength he caused me to fly straight across the clearing and collide against the thick trunk of a tree. A sickening crack echoed through the area and Marcus howled with fury. Although I was not hurt, Marcus rushed to my side, giving Michael and Selene enough time to run. "Sophia!" he said, but I waved him away. "Kill them both," I said, while squeezing his arm reassuringly. Marcus took one look at me before taking flight. I did not know what happened between Selene and Marcus, but apparently she had defeated him, based on the blood and wounds on his body when he returned. I had healed a few seconds after he left and had made my way onto a motorway. Every so often a vehicle drove by, but it wasn"t long before a rather flashy car screeched to a halt beside me, the heavily tinted window rolling down of its own accord."Hey there gorgeous," a silky voice crooned from inside the car. "What are you doing here all alone on such a night?" I smiled seductively and leaned forward, slightly exposing the curves of my breasts. I heard a sharp intake of breath and smiled a bit wider. "I was looking for a ride, actually," I replied. "Well hop in, I"ll take you wherever you want to go," the voice rushed, eager and full of unbridled lust. I made a move to go to the passenger side, but suddenly I grabbed the man by the scruff of his neck and flung him out the car. He barely had time to react before I buried my fangs deep in his throat. Michael clutched the steering wheel of the truck, careful not to take his eyes off the road. After escaping the hybrid and hiding out in an old repair shop just off the main road, he and Selene were now on their way to visit Andreas Tanis, the historian of Viktor"s coven. "Who is she?" Michael asked while Selene reloaded her gun. "The woman with the hybrid." Selene hesitated, looking out into the night. "She"s Sophia, Viktor"s younger daughter." "He has a second daughter? But I didn"t see her in Lucian"s vision," Michael said. "Sophia has kept to the shadows," Selene replied, and Michael could detect some sadness in her voice. "Viktor never really approved of her, although that changed when Sonja died. We were close, once." "What changed?" "She didn"t tell me who killed my family. She knew it was her father, and yet she refused to tell me the truth." Michael didn"t want to pry into Selene"s past, and yet Sophia intrigued him. The first time he saw her, he viewed her as someone who has had the rare privilege of being born to a powerful family and married to someone even more powerful, but who still seemed to carry the entire sorrows of the world in her eyes. Perhaps she was still searching for her father"s approval or mourning for her sister"s death, but Michael couldn"t miss the sadness behind Sophia"s eyes. "Do you still love her?' Michael asked. "You said you were close once. Would there ever be a chance that the two of you would be friends again?" Selene looked at him and shook her head. "We"ve gone too far, Michael. I fear we have wounded each other too much to be as we once were." "She was my sister, Marcus. I treated her like my own flesh and blood, and how does she repay me? By allowing her lover to hurt you like this!" My blood boiled at the thought of that Michael Corvin raking his sharp claws on my husband"s flesh. I was safely wrapped in Marcus" embrace, but I could smell and feel his blood. His wounds were healing quickly, but my temper flared. "I had thought to embrace her as a sister, but she seems determined to hold a grudge against me," I continued. "If that"s the way she wants it, then so be it." Marcus laughed thickly, pressing a kiss to my lips. I forgot my anger then, relishing the feel of his lips against mine and his tongue in my mouth. I gave a moan of delight, and wrapped my arms against his thick body. We slept until twilight, when Marcus decided that it was time to pay Tanis a visit. I, however, felt that it was too soon for him rushing back out, and wheedled that he stay with me for a few hours. "Tanis can wait," I told him seductively, as Marcus transformed to his normal form. "But your wife cannot." Marcus grinned as I pulled him deeper into the dark recesses of our hideout, my hands quickly releasing him from the burden of his clothes. "They"ve been here," Marcus said, observing the tire tracks on the snow-covered ground. "If they were, then they know the truth - the truth about the keys. Michael carries my sister"s necklace, one that does not belong around his neck," I hissed. Seeing Sonja"s most prized trinket on the hybrid"s neck had enraged me, although I tried hard not to let it show. Marcus knew that Sonja"s necklace acted as one of the two keys to William"s grave. Where the other one was, we did not know. Marcus and I made our way into Tanis"s lair, where we noted that he seemed to live in luxury. "I thought he was in exile," I said, sliding my hand across a silk tapestry. "I remember my father giving him drabbier living quarters than this." "We shall find out soon enough," Marcus stated. When we rounded on the corner, we saw Tanis standing just outside a large chamber. He gave a frightened squeak and slammed the doors closed. I nearly laughed at the stupidity of his move - how could he expect to keep me and my husband out with a few brittle planks of wood? Marcus gave the doors a push and they swung open. His coat swirled as he walked, his strides long and purposeful. I saw Tanis standing behind a mahogany chair, one of the few items my father had left him. "Hello, Tanis," I greeted, smiling at him coyly. "Long time no see." "Hello my lady," Tanis replied. I could tell he was fighting not to let his fear show. "What - what can I do for you both?" "The key," Marcus rasped. My husband was not a man to mince words; he quickly went to the task at hand. "The - the key?" Tanis stuttered. "I don"t know anything about a key." Marcus raised an eyebrow. I, on the other hand, began examining the items that seemed to be haphazardly crammed on the side. A small beam of blue light caught my eye and I approached, finally throwing back the curtains to see a small arsenal. "Radiation bullets," Marcus breathed, turning his head towards me. I looked at him quizzically. "Bullets, my love?" "I see it in Kraven"s memories. Those weapons can kill vampires using radiation as powerful as sunlight." Both of us suddenly heard a sharp sound, and I whirled around to see Tanis pointing something metallic at me. "Get back," Tanis said desperately, his eyes wide. "Get back, Sophia!" I felt a snarl erupt from my throat, one that was drowned out by the sound of my husband"s angry roar. "YOU DARE THREATEN HER?" One of Marcus" sharp wings suddenly erupted from his back, slamming onto Tanis"s shoulder with brute force. The item dropped to the floor and Marcus swung Tanis onto a chair. I knew Marcus was about to go into one of his rages, so I calmly strolled to his side and placed a restraining arm on his shoulder. "Hush, dear husband," I whispered in his ear. "We do not need him dead. Calm yourself." My words seemed to break through to him, for he quickly retracted his wing. "You will tell me all that I need to know, Tanis." His hand wrapped around mine as he said it, and I squeezed it gently. Tanis was now trying to staunch the flow of blood that slowly trickled past his fingers. He looked at me and Marcus, finally resting his head against the chair"s backrest. "I have already told Selene everything, Marcus. All of the coven"s secrets," Tanis said, his voice shaking. "I know no more than you." "You know the location of the key to William"s cage, Tanis!" I declared sharply. "You know, and you will tell us." Tanis jerked his head, which Marcus seemed to take as a "no". With another cry of fury, Marcus"s wings erupted, stabbing Tanis through the neck and torso, dragging him to the center of the table. "If you will not tell me yourself, your blood will," Marcus rasped, sinking his fangs deep into Tanis"s throat. I watched my husband idly, thinking of what Selene could be doing this very moment. I heard a wet squelch, and my husband"s hybrid form looked up from Tanis"s throat. The once proud historian of the coven was dead. I strolled over to my husband and wiped a smear of blood from his lips, tasting Tanis"s blood. "Have you found out what we need to know?" "Yes. We must pay my dear father a visit." My eyebrows raised. "Your father? So he"s still alive, then." "Apparently so. Come, my love." Together we walked out of Tanis"s hideout, both anticipating the encounter that was to come. Selene wound her way down to the docks, where Lorenz Macaro"s ship was moored. She could see a number of guards walking on deck, as well as a small checkpoint close to the wooden platform. Two guards spotted the incoming vehicle and walked over to meet it. "Halt," one of them commanded. In response, Selene slapped Sonja"s necklace on the window, which caused the guards to let them through without further delay. Selene and Michael stepped out of the car and were directed up a plank that led directly onto the deck. A guard with high cheekbones and an intense gaze met them there, and directed them straight into the main cabin. An old man stood in the middle of the room, who had hair as white as snow and a pragmatic smile. He was wearing a dark coat and had his hands clasped behind his back. As Selene and Michael entered, he dismissed the guard with a curt nod. "Selene," he said, all traces of his smile now gone. "I was told you could help us," she said, walking towards the man and showing him Sonja"s necklace. The man smiled and took it in his hands, walking over to his desk and laying the trinket in front of him. He then ran a finger down the center, triggering the mechanism. "You"re familiar with this necklace?" Selene asked, surprised. "Intimately," the man answered, running his hand down the pendant. It was then when Selene saw that the man was wearing a ring, and that it had an insignia: that of the Corvinus clan. Selene frowned. There were only three possible people who could wear such an emblem. "You"re Alexander Corvinus," she said at last. He smiled thinly. "There was a time when I was known by that name. By any name, I am still your forefather." "Marcus and William - they"re your sons. Why haven"t you done anything to stop them?" Selene demanded. "Done "nothing"? I have spent my entire life trying to keep this war between the vampires and lycans a secret from the rest of humanity! I hardly think that counts as "doing nothing,'" Corvinus snapped. "I have stood back for centuries, watching the havoc that my dear William and Marcus have done to humanity - and to each other. But I cleaned their messes and did my best to hide my family"s rather unfortunate history." "But couldn"t you have stopped them?" Michael asked. He knew he was looking at his ancestor, and the knowledge that this man - who looked like a kindly grandfather - did nothing to stop his sons, infuriated him. "Could you kill your own sons?" Corvinus said, a shadow of pain passing through his expression. "I was there when they were born, I was there when my wife and I hoped that they would leave behind a legacy far different than the one they are doing right now." "You know what Marcus will do! If he finds me, he finds William"s prison! You have to help us stop him!" Selene took a few steps towards Corvinus, who stood his ground. Her statement seemed to amuse him, for he smirked. "You are asking me to help you kill my son. You, a Death Dealer? How many innocents have you slain in your six-century quest to avenge your family? Spare me your self-righteous declarations! You are no different from Marcus and even less noble than William! At least he cannot control his savagery!" "Everything I"ve done can be laid at your feet. Hundreds of thousands have died because of your inability to accept that your sons are monsters, that they create monsters!" Selene couldn"t believe her ears. Even now, the man was justifying his son"s actions by pinning it all on her. She knew they were running out of time, and her suspicions were right. Gunshots suddenly blasted throughout the ship, which were soon followed by the screams and cries of pain. Blood splattered across the small glass window. Selene took one last glance at Corvinus and dived out the window, with Michael close behind. Corvinus made his way to a wooden cabinet. Inside were sharp swords and battle raiment, but at the top was a circular metal disc that had a hollowed out center. He must not get the keys, Corvinus thought. The door to his cabin burst open, and in stepped his daughter-in-law, Sophia. Her long, dark hair flowed well past her shoulders, and her smooth pale skin spoke of her regal lineage. For a moment, Corvinus saw a bit of Sonja behind her features, as well as Viktor"s proud gaze. "Father," she said, tilting her head respectfully. "Where is my son?" Corvinus asked. He knew who Sophia was, despite this being their first formal meeting. Sophia smiled slowly, making her features appear more angelic than she really was. "He"s outside. He shall join us shortly, Father. Do not worry. I only made sure that I got to see you first. I have wanted to see you for so long." Corvinus watched her warily. "I had thought that you would be the one to curb my son"s violent streak," he admitted as Sophia ran her fingers idly across a mahogany table. "But now, it appears that I was wrong." "My husband only did the things he has done because of you," Sophia replied icily. "All he wanted was to find his brother." "Do you know the consequences of what you are about to do?" Corvinus asked. "What William could do if he was released?" "Yes, I do." Sophia"s reply chilled Corvinus to the very bone. She is nothing like her father, he thought. She is far worse. Lucius turned to see Kraven stride inside his lair, seething. "You went after the boy? You were seen! Selene is on the lookout for you, Lucian. You were supposed to stay hidden!" Lucian flinched. He had waited too long for his revenge, and to be told off by a useless vampire displeased him. "The plan wasn"t going as planned, so I had to take drastic steps," Lucian replied, turning away. "But we"ve succeeded. Soon we will have the one thing that Viktor fears: a blending of the species." Kraven made a derisive sound, which Lucian ignored. Memories of him with Sonja came flooding back, along with the times he spent playing with Sonja and her sister, Sophia. "Sophia," Lucian murmured. "Sophia? Or Sonja?" Kraven said from behind him. "Sophia is still in a catatonic state." "A catatonic state? Why?" Lucian whirled around to face Kraven, who was smirking. "She has married one of the Vampire Elders. Marcus." "Viktor must have been pleased with the match," Lucian said bitterly. "Naturally. He had hoped Sonja would be the one to marry him, but we all know what happened." Lucian snarled and watched as Kraven backed away. "Is there anything else you wish to tell me? If not, you are free to leave." "I pray for your sake Selene does not find out who you are," Kraven threatened, but it sounded feeble to Lucian"s ears. The lycan"s furious gaze followed Kraven out of the room. Once the vampire was gone, Lucian turned back towards the table, picked up a beaker containing lycan blood, and dropped some of Michael Corvin"s blood inside. Author"s Note: Sorry for the delay! I"ve been busy writing my Left 4 Dead fanfic (Left 4 Dying), which is THE longest fanfic I"ve written so far. I hope you"re all still with me! :) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading the fifth chapter. I don"t know when I can upload the next one, but in the meantime, leave me some reviews and comments, if you"ve got the time. Cheers! :D

"We"ve an early flight." Jean chided without heat, linking her arm with Lucien"s, not giving in to the threatening blush. "I"m sure." Matthew coughed into his fist and turned to inspect the ceiling. "Alright, you lot." She said, pointing at them with her glass. "Off with you." With wide grins they nodded, shook Lucien"s hand and kissed her cheek. She watched them walk away with an indulgent smile - three gently recalcitrant sons. Her grin shifted to interest as Matthew veered off in Alice"s direction but then Lucien was tugging her hand and she lost sight of the couple. It took far longer than either had anticipated to make it up to their room. So many well-wishers and cheek-kisses. Lucien was sure he would have a permanent handprint on his back from all the well-meaning slaps and his fingers ached from the multitude of handshakes. He was a lucky man, he"d heard so many times. "I know," he"d responded, watching his wife graciously accept the attention and deftly move them back towards the staircase. His wife. The word bubbled in his chest like good champagne and he wanted nothing more than to drown in it. To drown in her. They made their way to their room with a nervous energy, quiet tension building as they crossed hallways to the suite prepared for them. It had been a hushed conversation that led them to choose to spend their wedding night at the club. With everything that had happened in previous weeks the studio - their bedroom, she corrected herself - wasn"t quite finished. They also had to be up early to take a taxi to Melbourne for a flight. They didn"t want to wake the house before sun-up. Matthew had offered to stay away that night, a discussion that had three sets of cheeks flaming and speaking in general, clinical terms. In the end they decided the most logical choice was to stay at the club, and none of them had mentioned it again. By the time they reached the suite they were fairly trembling in anticipation. Lucien swung open the door and held it for his wife...his wife. She breezed past him, her fingers brushing his chest playfully. The room was simple and plain, meant to house members too drunk to make it home, not to serve as a honeymoon suite. However the soft glow of candle and firelight softened the harsher edges and Cec had filled every available surface with Jean"s centerpieces. Lucien knew he would forever connect the heady scent of roses with the happiest day of his life. Together they stopped in the middle of the room. Lucien stood behind her, close but not touching, breathing into her hair. She resisted the urge to slump into his arms and let him carry her to the bed. She had a certain nightgown that she"d been saving for just this very night and she wasn"t going to miss the opportunity, not again. She"d waited such a long time. She turned abruptly and placed a kiss on the corner of Lucien"s mouth before disappearing into the adjoining bathroom. With a shuddering sigh, Lucien removed his coat, setting the rose from his lapel on the bedside table. He undressed and folded his clothes carefully, mindful of his wife"s...his wife"s...inherent neatness. He took his time, relishing in the warmth of the room, looking over the turned down bed with longing. He was just about to divest himself of his pants when the door opened and Jean emerged from the bathroom with a wad of filmy fabric in her arms. Her expression was one of frustration and she looked at Lucien as she usually did when she found he"d taken to smashing the glassware. She stood before him sans hat and gloves, but still fully dressed. After several minutes of struggle in the bathroom she came to the belated realization that she couldn"t get the dress off without him. The furrows between her brows melted at the sight of her husband...her husband... bare-chested and barefoot in only his slacks. For reasons she couldn"t quite describe she stared at his bare toes, suddenly swamped with the intimacy of it. Her vision swam with a burst of emotion but she swallowed it back and met Lucien"s gaze. They watched each other warily - she still fully dressed and he well on his way to not. Firelight shifted the shadows and the red-gold glow made Lucien appear burnished. Bronzed. Something to be worshipped. Over the years she had seen him in various stages of undress but he was usually injured in some way and she kept her head by focusing on his care. She was, at heart, a nurturer although the rush of desire swept aside her need to care for him, pushing simple affection far out to sea. Need, hot and fast, hung between them and she followed the line of his shoulders, visually marking all of the places she would physically mark in the very near future. She swallowed drily, wishing for the drink she"d left behind downstairs, and brought herself back to the moment. She had no desire to be inebriated for what was happening between them - his very presence was intoxicating enough. "I need your help". She turned, shrugging her shoulders to indicate the line of delicate buttons in the lace. It had been an indulgence to choose such a dress for her wedding, but a stubborn streak had her absolutely determined to make this wedding more than a simple legalization process. She was marrying Lucien - a man she loved - and it would not be reduced to a mere business transaction. "Of course, my darling." He gestured her closer and nudged her shoulder to face away from him. Jean caught their reflection in the bathroom mirror. His expression was reverent - captivated. Overwhelmed, she dropped her chin to her chest and clutched the peignoir. Lucien followed the line of buttons with his fingertips, inordinately pleased he would be the one to open them so tantalizingly slowly. He"d been fixated on them all evening, the press of them into his palm as they danced. So lovely, so delicate. Briefly he imagined biting them off, giving in to a base urge to remove the garment as quickly as he could manage. But she had been so impossibly lovely in it, it would have broken his heart to destroy it. Instead he unlooped them slowly and carefully. He was unwrapping a gift he had no intention of returning. He parted each one with a kiss, following the gentle undulations of her spine to the top of the zipper. Ever so carefully he slid the zip down to her lower back. Jean"s breath cascaded past her lips. She hadn"t realized she"d been holding it until she began to feel light-headed. Once more she glanced at their doppelgangers in the glass and Lucien stared back at her, his hooded eyes lazy and dark. He kissed her neck, suckling and nibbling gently, pushing the dress aside to reveal more skin. Her bones dissolved in the heat of his gaze and she dropped the nightie, forgotten at her feet. Lucien"s fingertips brushed the dress from her shoulders and it dropped noiselessly to the floor.. "So beautiful," He whispered into her hair and she shuddered. She felt exposed, standing in only her underthings, but cherished. He touched her gently, the pads of her fingers whorling deliciously. She watched their reflection as Lucien dipped his head to her throat, swirling his tongue over the pearls. She was so chaste, all in white, and yet...she stood in only her stockings and underthings and was far more dangerous than he"d realized. His fingers tensed and released at her hips, holding her gently and allowing her a few moments to settle her skittering heart. Another shiver and gooseflesh rose across her arms. "Are you cold?" Lucien"s concern was touching. Not trusting her voice she shook her head still holding his gaze in the mirror. It was easier, less intense - somewhat removed, to look at him indirectly. Once they locked eyes for real, she was sure she would incinerate from the intensity. He was breathing in short bursts, nearly panting, his knuckles white from the exertion of not touching her. Wobbly with anticipation and desire, she leaned over to remove her shoes. "Don"t." He spoke so low it was more of a rumble against her skin than a sound. "Lucien-" "Leave them on." He dropped his forehead to her neck, his hot breath spilling over her skin. She was everything - a vision - and his need for her pressed hot against her spine. "Please." She only nodded and he reached around her to palm her stomach, skimming over the delicate skin of her navel. She was transfixed by the delicate brush of his hand across her abdomen and her fingers clutched at the material of his slacks. His pinkie slid beneath the waistband of her knickers, the barest of touch, and her knees buckled. She clutched the arm holding her against him before spinning and crashing their mouths together. Need, once slip free of its bonds, consumed her and raged quickly out of control. Lucien has suspected - hoped - that Jean"s prim exterior was a glamour meant to protect the soft, passionate, vibrant woman beneath and he was delighted - as she nibbled wantonly on his earlobe and slid her palm across the planes of his rear - that he had been correct. Months - years, really - of restraint turned to ash and they fumbled towards the bed, an inelegant tangle of limbs and need. He had intended to go slow - to worship her and savor the freedom to look and to hold. However the writhing heat of her in his arms would test the restraint of even the strongest man and where Jean Blake... Jean Blake...was concerned, he was deeply, unreservedly, unashamedly weak. They touched and tasted, swallowing groans and pleas, gripping one another until everything else - long months of agony, scandal and rumor, loss and betrayal - were distant memories. All that remained was the two of them, and the singular pleasure Lucien took discovering the last remaining hidden frontiers of Jean Blake, his wife. His wife. -(fin)- A/N.- This was actually part of a longer piece that I decided needed to be broken apart because the tone didn"t match between the first and second half. I haven"t decided if the other half will be chapter 2 of this piece or will stand alone. *shrug* Anyway. THOSE BUTTONS. It was torture to wake the next morning, loose and warm beneath the light quilt. The fire had burned down low and there was a sharp chill in the air. The sun had not yet risen when Jean kissed Lucien awake, prodding gently at his shoulder and whispering that they had to be ready in less than an hour. His response was to curl around her and bite sharply into the tendon of her neck. "London can wait." He grumbled and, for a moment, she was tempted to agree with him. The silken heat of him prodded at her belly and she thought it wouldn"t be the end of the world if they missed their flight. But there was time - so much time - the future rolling out in front of them, wide and open. Tempting as though it may be to become lost in the pleasures of the bedroom, there was so much more she intended to share with her husband. He was also her dearest, most treasured friend and she would enjoy experiencing new vistas with him by her side. It was the fluttering in her stomach at the prospect of adventure, the realization that she would leave this place for the first time and he would give her the world, that had her rolling resolutely out of his embrace. "Looooove," Lucien whined, flopping onto his back and staring at the ceiling with bleary eyes. Jean wrapped a robe around her and brushed her tousled curls out of her face. "Get up, Lucien." He shifted his eyes, a sly smile on his lips. With a flick of his wrist he tossed back the covers. "You"ll notice, I"m already up." "Then I suspect you"ll need the bathroom first." She said primly, removing her travelling suit from the garment bag hung on the back of the door. She turned just in time to see him loom out of the bed in her direction, and the squeal of laughter was cut short as he tugged her into the bathroom with him. They were, of course, running late. It was a mad dash to gather their carry-on luggage and they spilled onto the hallway with high color and rapid breathing. And they still needed to arrange for a cab. Jean had almost her entire head in her purse, searching for the room key to leave with Cec on their way out. She managed to misplace it in the hubbub - and activity - of the morning. "Perfectly good silk stockings." She grumbled good-naturedly, giving Lucien a side-eye. It was a continuation of their earlier conversation, as she had gathered her discarded underthings from the night before. "Jean," Lucien chuckled, not the least bit abashed. "I"ll buy you a new pair of stockings. I"ll buy you ten pairs." "That"s not the point," She huffed, frustrated. "They can be mended. But your teeth, Lucien? Did you need to use your teeth?" He longed to touch her but his hands were full so he settled on leaned over her shoulder, pressing his cheek to hers. She sighed with relief when her fingers closed around the key. "Don"t tell me you didn"t enjoy it," He nudged her ear with his nose, tongue darting out. He knew for a fact she had enjoyed it, as he"ll cherish the memory of her breathy cries as he knelt before her on the cold bathroom tile. "That is most certainly not the point." She reddened and jabbed him with her elbow. He opened his mouth to argue, to tell her it was exactly the point. That everything in their lives was replaceable except the heat they could manage between them. Making love to his wife...his wife... it was the only point worth making. He was about to tell her so when a door opened behind them. In unison they turned to see Alice stepping from a room. "Alice!" Jean"s hand immediately brushed at her hair, briefly concerned that they"ve been caught out. It will take a while for the guilt to leave her, to realize they are allowed to stand this close, her neck still damp from Lucien"s ministrations. "I didn"t know you were staying the night as well." If Alice was surprised to see them, she hid it very well. She held her shoes and purse, her coat tossed over her arm. She was only barely rumpled and looked awfully chipper for someone nursing a hangover. She wore her dress from the wedding still, meaning the decision to stay was one of convenience and not forethought. She was just about to speak when the door swung open behind her. Matthew fairly tumbled out, catching himself with his cane when he nearly barreled into Alice, surprised to find her still in the doorway. And possibly even more surprised to find Lucien and Jean staring at him with matching bemused expressions. "Your hat." He said lamely, holding it out to her. He was in his slacks and singlet and he was scarlet from his toes to the tips of his hair. "Thank you, Matthew." Alice took the hat but appeared mostly non-plussed. She stood, back straight, and glanced between the other three people in the hall. If she noticed the awkwardness, she didn"t let on. It was Jean who broke the stalemate. "Lucien," She addressed her husband, who appeared on the verge of saying something completely inappropriate. Her elbow jabbed at him again and Lucien"s attention finally shifted from Matthew to her. "See to our luggage and the taxi? Alice, can I interest you in a cuppa?" Alice nodded once and followed Jean down the hall and Lucien grinned even harder at his old friend. "Matthew Lawson, you old dog." "Shut up, Blake" Jean showed amazing self-restraint and waited until they have fixed their tea to their liking before she leaned forward with wide eyes. "How on earth...?" Alice shrugged. "I"m not sure, exactly. We went out for some air. We sat on the terrace and talked. He"s a very amusing man. At some point - I kissed him." Jean"s eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. "After that it gets all very blurry. He"s very good at it, you know. Matthew." Alice sipped at her tea, lost in thought for a few long moments. "Not that I"ve a lot of experience but it was quite pleasurable." Jean simply blinked at her. "And will you...see each other again?" "I"m sure we will. We work together." Had she not been familiar with Alice, Jean might have thought the neat prevarication was a ploy to shift the conversation. But Alice was not particularly adept at playing coy - she was perhaps the most literal person Jean had ever met. "What I mean is-" "I know what you mean." Alice"s voice was sharp and for the first time, Jean noticed the hint of worry in her face. It was a reminder that, like them all, Alice carried her own wounds, invisible though they might have been. "I don"t know if he would even want to. See me again. In that way." Jean considered, before pressing her fingers to Alice"s, a friendly, gentle squeeze. "I think he will. I think you should." Alice settled into a small smile. "That"s not very Catholic of you, Jean." Jean paled a bit and busied herself with drinking her tea, the topic a still-healing wound that would ache from time to time. "I"m afraid I"m not a very good Catholic anymore." Alice, unaware of Jean"s obvious discomfort, continued on. "Speaking of...what of your night, Mrs Blake?" Jean placed the cup in the saucer, twisting the handle back and forth, making a gentle clinking noise. Memories of the night rose with the color in her cheeks and she couldn"t lie. It felt so very good to have a woman to confide in, something she had been missing. "Very satisfying." She bit her lip and heat flared in her cheeks. "Very." "Well done, Lucien!" Alice clapped her hands and the women shared a conspiratorial grin. Cec approached the table, bending slightly in apology for interrupting. "Mrs. Blake, your taxi is here." "Oh!" Jean looked around and found Matthew and Lucien leaning against the bar, apparently deep in conversation. She could guess at the topic with the way Lucien"s devilish little smile seemed to push Matthew deeper into himself. She stood and kissed Alice"s cheek. "Let me know how it goes." She whispered to Alice and they clasped hands before Jean made her way to the gentlemen. One look at Jean"s arched brow had Lucien straightening and attempting to swallow back his grin. "I"ll go see to the luggage." He retreated hastily, saving one last look back at Matthew, who was almost green with discomfort. "You"re disappointed in me," Matthew was gruff. She was a very good woman who was far better than Lucien deserved. He had always been just a little bit in love with her, and the thought of disappointing her was a special kind of torment for him. "You all must think me an awful prude." She scowled, wondering if it hadn"t occurred to any of them that her disagreements with her church ran deeper than just her nuptials. It was a reality she would wrestle with for some time to come; that the faith she had come to rely on should denounce men and women with good hearts, would withhold from them God"s love and forgiveness...she"d heard of a crisis of faith. She never expected to experience one. "Whatever my convictions or decisions, Matthew, I"m not likely to impose them on anyone else. I hoped you would know that by now." Matthew grimaced and looked down at his hands, chastened. "I know it." "Besides, as far as the Church is concerned I"m basically a fallen woman. I"ll leave judgement to God - I find I haven"t the stomach for it." Matthew still avoided her gaze, finding deep interest in the lines on the backs of his hands. "She"s a good woman - Alice." "Better than I deserve," He agreed and looked over Jean"s shoulder to the woman in question, who sat reading the morning paper. "No," Jean stepped into his line of sight, forcing him to make eye contact. "You"re one of the best men I know. She"s lucky to have you." Matthew cleared his throat, inexplicably touched by her blessing. "Where is he taking you?" He said when he could finally form words. "London to start. After that, he won"t say." "He wants to show you the world." "Yes, he does." She stepped closer to Matthew and curled her hand around his neck, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek. She hoped, even as she departed on her own whirlwind adventure, that Matthew would allow Alice to draw him from his melancholy. She wished them the best of luck in her mind before heading out to where Lucien waited in the cab. "Everything alright?" Jean nodded and threw herself into his arms, burying her nose against his tie, breathing in the heady scent of him. He made smoothing passes over her back and when she pulled back, her eyes sparkled with the possibilities that lie before them. Matthew approached Alice at her table, ducking his head bashfully. "Alice-Dr Harvey -Alice." She glanced up at him, her eyes startlingly clear. She had looked at him - at all of him - and had not been repulsed or afraid. Now, in the cold light of very early morning he saw that she was as nervous as he was, her fingers trembling just so against the handle of her cup. He trusted her and knowing even the bare hint of her past, was humbled by the immense trust she placed in him. "What do you say to dinner tonight? Out at a restaurant and all." "A date?" She asked, a little breathless. "You could call it that." Matthew cleared his throat and looked around the room - anything to avoid looking at her. She stood, carefully folding the newspaper she"d been pretending to read before leaning forward to grip his elbow. She squeezed gently until he brought his eyes to meet hers. He was startled to find her leaning in, pressing her lips softly against his mouth.

"Leave it." She whispers and he can"t suppress a shudder. Slowly he crawls until he is hovering over her, his hands holding him above her on either side of her flat stomach. He is dumb enough to look to his left and catches a glimpse of them in the mirror over her dressing table and if he was hard before, he is steel now. She is almost fully naked, writhing beneath him with a determined look in her eye. He is almost fully dressed between her thighs. It is a wanton image that he knows he will not soon forget. She clutches his hips with her strong thighs and draws him down to her, hands slipping between them to undo the fly of his trousers completely. The facade of the seductress falters now, as hunger overtakes her carefully constructed persona. Jack can only grab at the bed sheets when he feels her hand close around his cock and free him from his pants. Having him at her mercy seems to give her a rush of confidence because she arches to nip at his chin before urging him down on top of her. A glance into the mirror again and he is almost finished right then. Phryne follows his gaze and a delighted noise bubbles in her chest. "Jack likes to watch." She tries to sound amused but it falls from her lips as more of a vow and then she loses the ability to speak as he starts to push inside her. His brain goes numb momentarily at the soft heat between her thighs, still not entirely trusting that this isn"t one of his spectacularly realistic dreams. But she rises up to meet him, her hips shifting in time and he is forced to leave all coherent thoughts behind as they rock into a frenzied rhythm. Sloppily Phryne reaches her hand to his face and turns his cheek until he meets her eyes in the mirror. "Harder," She pleads and bites her lip, staring into the reflection of him. The prolonged eye contact quickly becomes too much and Jack buries his face between her breasts, humming against the soft skin. Phryne hears him mumbling but cannot make out the words. "Whaaaa..." She asks ineloquently, not quite sure how he"s forming words with the way his body is moving so determinedly moving. "I," He raises his head just a bit and punctuates his words with a solid thrust. "Love." Another. "Your." She whimpers in pleasure. "Breasts." It takes a few more strokes for her to digest what he"s said and suddenly she is giggling. For a moment Jack is taken aback - many things have happened to him with women in bed. But he hasn"t yet had a woman laughing at him. Until now. He falters and Phryne responds with a gentle thwack against his butt cheek. When she can finally catch her breath (he has lifted her hips to change the angle and put a quick stop to her laughter, something he notes with a smug smile) she closes the distance between them and sucks his lower lip into her mouth. With one hand clutching his hips to her, the other slips between them to pluck at the nub of her clit. Her fingers brush him where they join and she can feel the tension in his body increase ten fold. Her toes curl into the sheets and her vision blurs just before she gives in to her orgasm, allowing it to crash over her with a somewhat unexpected intensity. She is just about coherent again when she lathes her tongue over Jack"s adam"s apple. On a final, pained groan he spill into her and collapses, completely boneless, on top of her. His warm weight is delicious, like a very cozy blanket, and she wants to curl beneath him for the rest of the night. But he rolls away and slides from her folds and she is instantly pouting at the cool between them. She had pegged Jack Robinson as a cuddler, something she was looking forward to. "Don"t go." The words are out before she can even think what vulnerability they give away. Jack turns to give her a strange look and then proceeds to step out of his pants. "I"m not. I"m just..." He sheds his dress shirt, socks and shoes - he still has his shoes on? - before falling back into bed beside her. "Overdressed." She lifts a lithe leg and her heeled shoe dangles from the toe precariously. With a wicked smile she kicks it off across the room followed quickly by the other. "Well," she drawls, looking him up and down with a satisfied expression that he returns. She is relieved to find no trace of regret on his beautiful face and when she draws her fingers down over his lips he kisses them as they pass. "That was fun." They"re not done because you know what? Jack is a cuddler and we know Phryne likes her pillow talk. So there"s that to look forward to. I went back and forth about having them discuss birth control but I went with the headcanon that Jack knows Phryne well enough to know she"s careful. But for all you kids reading (AND WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT? Get off my lawn!) - always discuss your protection. Don"t make it the other person"s responsibility. We are all responsible for our own bodies. I get to pretend it"s a mood killer in fiction but in real life it"s one of those Big Kid things you have to do. Ok? /end PSA I recently told Fi B that I write everything based on a single mental image, or perhaps a series of them. I leave you to guess which mental image spawned this chapter. OH MAI GAWD. Jack is not surprised to find that Phryne is quite handsy after making love. What does surprise him is the complete lack of seduction in her touch. It is as though she is creating a tactile map of his body. Her fingertips trace the bones in his shoulders; follow the tendons in his legs. Her attention is disconcerting as she runs her fingers through the sparse hair on his chest. She finds all the bumps, lumps, and tears that are souvenirs from the war and though he knows she feels them, she doesn"t appear to acknowledge them. Long minutes pass as she charts the territory she has been denied for so long, a half-smile curving her lips. Jack is fascinated by her single mindedness; the furrow between her brows and the intense concentration in her eyes. He has often been the subject of Phryne Fisher"s scrutiny, but never quite like this. Finally, with a satisfied huff, she settles beside him in the bed and curls her body into his warmth. Silence has reigned for long minutes and it begins to make Jack uncomfortable. Have they come to this place in their relationship and have found that, without unrequited attraction underpinning their interactions, they have nothing to speak about? Was he so much of a disappointment that she can"t find the words to let him off easy? Not usually a self-conscious man, nonetheless he finds his mind suddenly racing with scenarios that are all equally unflattering to his performance. Phryne"s finger pokes sharply between his ribs and effectively stalls his galloping thoughts. Her voice is low and amused when she speaks. "You are worrying awfully loud." "It"s just..." He finds himself tongue-tied, something he hasn"t experienced with her since those first awkward meetings. He cannot help but feel out of his depth but he knows with her it is better to approach all problems head on. So he voices the niggle of worry that is fast becoming a genuine concern. "Why did you laugh? Earlier." Phryne"s face registers honest confusion and her response was swift, with just a hint of an uncomfortable chuckle beneath the surface. "Why ever wouldn"t I?" He winces and her expression becomes even more perplexed. His hands, resting on the skin of her stomach, are suddenly clammy. He told himself, in rather stern tones, before he ever took her to bed, that he wouldn"t think on all the many (many many?) men who would have come before. Phryne lives in the moment, he is sure, and he doesn"t think her mind would move to compare him to anyone. But suddenly the specter of previous suitors are rather haunting. Once more she seems to sense his wandering thoughts because her fingers brush gently over his chin and turns his gaze to hers. Her expression is soft and her gaze holds his steadily until she is sure he is paying attention. Whatever she is searching for, she appears to find because she looks abashed and ducks her chin in wordless apology. She steeples her fingers beneath her chin and cocks her head before she gives way to a story. "After Rene," she begins, and immediately his muscles clench. One of his greatest regrets is that he did not do more harm to DuBois. Her elbow nudges into him gently and refocuses his attention. "I was frightened. Obviously. I believed on some level that his behavior was my fault. Whatever joy and freedom I"d found in the arms of men had been lost. With Rene it was serious. It was...ownership. "My response was not what you might expect." Her eyes glaze over in the remembrance, amusement and pain mingled together. "I didn"t withdraw. If anything, I was emboldened. Whatever helplessness Rene made me feel, I buried it in the arms of a series of lovers whose names I don"t even remember now. It wasn"t joyful. It wasn"t happy. Pleasurable, for sure. But..." She trails off and presses her cheek to Jack"s chest. The steady beat of his heart seems to settle her and he lets loose the breath he has been holding. He does not want to hear this, but she seems intent to share with him. "I met Julien at the salon of a friend of a friend. The war had left him wounded, disfigured even, but surprisingly joyful. He told us all that the war had filled him with enough agony to last three lifetimes. He would see only the good in life. He pursued me with a single-mindedness that left me breathless. Through Rene sex had become my sword and shield and Julien disarmed me." She smiles at the memory of him. It is a rueful grin, filled with memories of a time that is both haunting and defining. "He reminded me what it was like to make love. To enjoy the body of my partner. To find power, not in taking but in true connection and happiness. "With Rene, I had forgotten how to laugh. Julien taught me how again. We drifted apart as we did in those days. Paris is big and our paths ceased to cross. But I will never forget the way his chest rumbled with joy beneath me. To laugh in love, he said, is the best kind of laughter." When she finally looks up to meet Jack"s gaze again, his smile is tentative. He hadn"t realized how joyless his life had become until he met Phryne. When she swept past him out of the lavatory in the Andrews home, she brought with her a breeze that loosened the cobwebs of his existence. And now, once more, she sheds light on the things he doesn"t particularly care to see. For so long, loving with Rosie was a means to an end. Their youthful exuberance and pleasure in the act was replaced by the desperation of finding a connection even while feeling the other person slip further and further away. Each time they failed to produce a child, the wedge drove deeper between them. He knows he will have to rely on her to be his guide back to those things he thought lost forever. "I like to laugh with you." She says, and her voice is barely above a whisper. The words are heavy with emotion she doesn"t yet seem willing to express and her eyes, usually so clear and bright, are just a bit misted. Jack cups at her chin and draws her forward to press their lips together. There is apology in his kiss; apology for his self-consciousness and clumsiness and for his doubt. For making her feel she owed him an explanation. He allows the fingers of his free hand to skitter across the soft skin of her side and draw lightly over her ribs until she jerks in his arms and a giggle escapes her lips. "Ticklish, Miss Fisher?" He murmurs against her mouth and then buries his nose against her cheek. Crisis averted, he thinks to himself, then makes the decision to think no more. He takes the initiative to flip them until he is hovering above her, her silky black hair spread on the pillow. She eyes him appreciatively, following the sharp angles of his shoulders down to his trim waist and lower. Her tongue swipes at her lips in anticipation and Jack longs hear her laughter once more. Gentle fingers slip over her skin and seek out the spots that draw twitches and sighs. When he tickles at the back of her knee he is rewarded with a shriek and her entire body bows into his arms. It isn"t long until they are twisting around each other, seeking sensitive bits of skin, driving one another to laughter until they cannot breathe. When they finally settle again, she is astride his lap with her arms looped around his neck. She presses her forehead to his and bumps his nose with hers. "I like to laugh with you, too." He mumbles against her cheek. Are you still here? I lost my thread and just now picked it up again! It"s feast or famine with my muse, and she"s particularly disinterested in writing when I have so much good stuff to read. I started this story in present tense and - god - is that hard to keep up with. I have tried to find all my tense issues (I slip all over the place when I"m writing) but if I missed a few - sorry! I"m swearing off present-tense stories for a while. Pfft. Wasn"t entirely sure about Phryne"s story of Julien. I don"t know if she explained it very well. I wrestled with the idea of having them discuss previous lovers after the first time, but her story about Julien isn"t about him or even the other guys. It"s about her. ANYWAY. I also co-opted the fanon idea that Jack wrestled with the inability to conceive with Rosie. On my first write-through, jack was a mess of insecurity and it just didn"t set well with me. I hope I struck a good balance between his demons and his reality. And just to make things interesting, I"m going to start a wish list. I know there are a couple of other writers reading this and various stories have inspired these "prompts". I would like any of you - or all of you! - to fill these as you see fit. Because it"s all about what I want, and I am a lazy writer. :D - Jack and Phryne "parking" in the Hispano, preferably getting rousted by the police. - Rose and Phryne having a confrontation. Bitchy? Friendly? Angsty? Hilarious? Don"t care. Write it. - Burt and Cec roughing Jack up a little bit and playing the "don"t you dare hurt her" card. - JACK AND PHRYNE AT THE POLICEMAN AND FIREMAN BALL. HOLY CRAP, I WILL SEND YOU CHOCOLATE FOR THIS ONE. (this is a holdover kink from the days of the X-Files and the FBI Ball. Don"t look at me like that.) - a story in which Jack discovers that Phryne and Mac had a fling at least once and Phryne tells him it really had no real hope of becoming anything more because of what Mac called Phryne"s "unfortunate preference for cock". Triple bonus points if whiskey comes out his nose at that. My first born if Mac is there for the conversation and is completely unabashed. That"s it. I"m done. Carry on! It is really no surprise to Jack to find that Phryne sleeps with the same abandon she applies to life. She is sprawled carelessly beside him on her stomach, her fist tucked up under her chin. Dark hair spreads across the pillow and her face and is disturbed only on very deep exhalations. A strand is attached to her lips and Jack gently brushes away. He is rewarded with a sighing rendition of his name. His fingers linger on her lips and when she opens her eyes, they are muzzy. "Jack?" This time it"s a question, as though she is surprised to find him there. "You"re here." "Who else would it be?" He jokes, then realizes it could be any number of men and his expression settles to pinched. "Never mind. You said my name in your sleep." "Of course I did." She says as she stretches and rolls closer to him, throwing her thigh over his hips and burrowing against his chest. "It"s always you in my dreams." Her words start a fire in his belly and he is on the verge of giving in when a sound in the hall draws him up short. "I..." He trails off as her fingers slip over the ridges of his spine. He had not expected how easy it would be to touch her, after so long of denying himself. But her skin is warm beneath his fingertips and she arches into his touch. It is something he will find difficult to deny himself in the future, should it come to that. "I should go before Mr Butler and Dot find me here." He knows if he searches her expression he will find no shame for their nocturnal activities. And while he does not regret the choice to stay with Phryne, he also thinks it would be better if her companion and butler did not find out by discovering him naked in her bed. "They already know." Phryne"s words are muffled against his chest and he jumps when they sink in. "How...they were...when we came up here." He is fumbling, badly, but he hates to be found out without even knowing how. He is convinced he acted with all due discretion and he"s fairly certain that he didn"t make it known that this...development was a foregone conclusion. At least not to the staff or, heaven forbid, his Constable. Phryne"s lips curve up against his skin and she lets out just the lightest huffing laugh and curls even closer to Jack. "When Miss Williams came to live with me, she had a few....frights, shall we say. I never thought to warn her when I would be entertaining and she walked into a handful of embarrassing situations before we thought to work out a system." "A...system?" Jack parrots, trying to imagine the virtuous Miss Williams and Phryne having that particular conversation. "Simple, really. If I"m entertaining a guest in my boudoir," She draws out the word playfully and tickles her fingers along his ribs. "I leave the hallway light on." "So as far as Miss Williams is concerned, there"s a man in here." A thought occurs to him, one he"s contemplated a few times in drunken curiosity. It is a testament to the distracting nature of the woman in his arms that he speaks it aloud. He didn"t mean to. "Or woman?" Phryne"s giggle is free and she draws her arm around his neck, tunneling her fingers through his hair. "Once or twice." She admits, but says no more and Jack"s imagination explodes at the thought. "But as far as Dorothy is concerned, not just any man...or woman. You." It takes him a second to draw his mind back to the conversation at hand and refocus. He doesn"t voice his reservations about her words. He wonders how Dot could possibly know, when it"s never been before. And he himself wasn"t prepared for it to be tonight. "Because it"s only been you for some time now." Phryne says seriously although bluntly. She doesn"t believe in dancing around things better said plainly. "Dot knows me well enough to know that much." Her amorous peccadilloes seemed to have dropped off of late, but he hadn"t been sure if it was because she was losing interest in playing the field, or that she was better about not letting her love life interfere with their working relationship. It is startling for him to realize the former when he had simply assumed the latter. Startling and terribly - wonderfully - amazing. A grin splits Jack"s face and Phryne brushes a thumb over his heart, her lashes fluttering to shutter her gaze. He knows it is difficult for Phryne to heel to emotion and the vulnerability it presents. But he also knows that she would no sooner deny the existence of the moon, the steadiness of the ocean, the superiority of the Hispano Suiza than deny her own feelings. The conversation is cut short by a knock at Phryne"s door. She checks that Jack is fully covered and snags her robe from the floor. She seems at least a tiny bit relieved that the discussion has been derailed and she is just sliding the silk over her shoulders when she calls for Dot to come in. "The door is locked, Miss." Dot"s voice is muffled and Phryne lets out a bark of laughter. She"d forgotten. "The Inspector had no idea we had a system." She explains after opening the door and allowing Dot to breeze past her laden with a tray. "Good morning, Miss. Inspector." She is nothing but businesslike as she sets the tea service on the dresser. "It is a good morning, isn"t it Dot?" At this, Dot"s cheeks flame a bit but her expression is neutral save for the little smile dancing on the edges. She nods to her employer, then in Jack"s general direction. "We"ll be down for breakfast presently." "No rush." Dot says, the smile finally breaking fully as she closes the door. Phryne lets loose a bark of laughter. "My, she"s gotten fiery." "She works for you, after all." With a skip and bounce, Phryne lands beside him in the bed and pushes his shorts into his hands. "She approves, you know. Of you." He doubts quite emphatically that Dot approves of his sinful relationship with Miss Fisher. He can only guess that Dot finds him a vast improvement over Phryne"s other lovers. It is a dangerous line of thought to follow so instead he hooks a finger into the gaping silk of her robe. With an exaggerated leer he leans in as if to sneak a peek. He is rewarded with a smooth expanse of alabaster skin with the hint of a dusky nipple. "See anything you like?" Phryne asks when he grins up at her, and his response is to toss the shorts back over his shoulder and cover her body with his. "So," says the gentle reader. "What is your plan, Kris?" Well, Gentle Reader...I have no fucking idea. :) I don"t do plotty things very well because they require outlines and details and research and I"m too lazy for that. So this story isn"t finished, but neither do I have any plans to continue it. We"ll see where it goes. "k? Also, keep in mind I"m an American who lives in the dirty south so my grasp of Australian slang is non-existent. Sorry about that. I"M STILL HOLDING OUT FOR THAT PHRYNE/MAC STORY. COME TO MAMA. (ps to ABC - I have now ruined the lives of both of my best friends with this show. Our collective mental states are very fragile at the thought of no season 3. HOW MANY LIVES MUST YOU DESTROY? Just make a season 3. GOD.)

Yet it is a reality he can"t rightly deny, at least not to himself. Take now, for example. He would have been hard pressed to find his way into a Dance Hall convincingly, without the entire room pinning him as a copper as soon as he was inside. However with Miss Fisher"s swaying hips parting the crowd as she leads him through the smoky establishment, nobody gives him a second look. Her presence, powdered and jeweled and sinfully decadent in a dangerous dress, seems to counteract whatever staid, starched image he is projecting. A shadowed corner table is their final destination; one with a good view of the majority of the club. She seats them with their backs to the wall and pulls her chair close to his. When she wriggles under his arm, her breath is warm on his neck. "You"ll have to look at least somewhat pleased to be with me, Jack, or someone might..." She flicks her eyes to a swarthy character in the corner, who makes no secret of his perusal of Jack"s companion. "Attempt to steal me away." The thought of Miss Fisher leaving the dance hall on the arm of the man watching them makes Jack"s throat close. He tries - he really does - not to be jealous of her many lovers. It is part of the Phryne Fisher package. As he has no intention of unwrapping her for himself, it wouldn"t be fair for him to begrudge her fun. "You aren"t mine to steal," He responds, but nonetheless returns the other man"s look with a rude expression. The other man is just the type he imagines Miss Fisher would choose. Dark and mysterious and handsome. Vaguely dangerous. Miss Fisher"s silence is quite loud and when he finally turns to her, her face is inscrutable. "I would never hold you where you don"t want to be." He watches the glittering stones on her impossibly long lashes as she digests his words. For a split second he sees something shimmer through her gaze - something he cannot name. Then it"s gone and she is sliding closer to him, a hand slipping to his thigh. He wonders if he imagined the brush of lips against his throat, along the column of his neck to his ear. "I believe I"ve spotted our suspect." She whispers in what he could only think to call her bedroom voice. He is unprepared when she slithers into his lap, using the back of his chair to brace herself as she leans in close. He can see the entire room over her shoulder - well, he would be able to if his attention wasn"t riveted to the woman in his arms. "See him?" She asks. Jack can only imagine the vision they present to anyone looking and the thought distracts him until he hears his name on her lips once more. "Jack?" Strangely, it is by anchoring himself with his palms on her waist that he is able to focus on the task at hand. Their suspect is dancing wildly to the frenetic jazz of the band, carelessly flinging his dance partner to and fro. He is a bulky chap, meaty and jowly, and the other dancers leave a wide space around him and his hapless partner. "Brute," Jack doesn"t know he"s said it out loud until he feels Miss Fisher chuckle in his arms. He understands her amusement. This rough dancing is nothing compared to the way he brutalized the young woman lying dead in the morgue. "We should get a closer look." Miss Fisher stands and drags Jack up with her. For the most part he has stopped marveling at her fearless approach to any situation. Yet sometimes it still strikes him, the way she ignores her own personal safety to right a wrong. He is so consumed with his thoughts (and the sight of her, bobbing casually to the music) and it is only when they edge onto the dance floor that Jack realizes her intentions. "I don"t dance." He reminds her, for what feels like the umpteenth time. As always she ignores him and turns fully toward him, her hips bouncing to the heavy beat. She twines their fingers together and allows him to pull her close, her expression pleased at his willingness. Or surrender, which he believes is more accurate. Miss Fisher"s palm on his hip gently urges him to move with her. His steps are jerky beneath her guiding hand, but he follows as she leads him further into the press of bodies. "Watch me," She murmurs and sways, bounces and spins around him. Her smile is bright, but he can tell her attention is split on the suspect that they are slowly closing in on. She twirls until her back is pressed firmly to Jack"s front and she helps his hands slide over her hips to the tops of her thighs. He does not allow his thoughts to linger over the curves he is mapping, or the sound of her breath catching in her throat when he twists his fingers into the fabric of her dress. Danger spikes with the heat between them, and he feels her loose muscles brace as though with conviction. This time when she pirouettes away, she crashes firmly into their suspect, who turns on her with a roar. If there had been any question about the man"s capability of violence towards women, it disappears as he turns wild eyes onto Miss Fisher. Their suspect, for all his lumbering hulk, swings out surprisingly quickly and grabs Miss Fisher"s upper arm so hard it is likely to bruise. Jack hears the man holler something awful at her and then he remembers nothing until he is clutching his sore fist and standing over their unconscious subject. Miss Fisher appears beside him, breathless and grinning. "Well done, Jack." It should bother him that she finds it so thrilling when he becomes violent. Instead the sparkle in her eye and the way her chest heaves causes a ripple of anticipation up his spine. "How many times must I explain to you, Miss Fisher." Jack states again, even as he removes the cuffs from his pocket. But this time he is smiling. They do make a pretty good team. "I don"t dance." "But you"re learning." Miss Fisher beams. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to comment. I really appreciate it! This has been fun to write. In this chapter we go a little bit more on the side of angst and this is much more of a metaphorical dance. Their emotional dance, as it were. Written because I love love love love the scene where Phryne kneels beside Janie"s grave and holds out her hand. Without hesitation, Jack is there to hold her. We"re going to call that a paradigm shift, my friends. Waltz in Swing Time "First, hold your partner close: you can"t waltz with someone if you"re keeping her at arm"s length and trying to pretend she"s not with you." - . Jack cannot control his breathing as he carries Miss Fisher through the labyrinthine hallways that lead away from Foyle"s den. His pained pants fill the small space around them, the very sound of absolute terror. Jane is behind him keeping up with his long stride, her hand twisted in his jacket to keep close. Phryne"s face is pale when he looks down at her and he is momentarily terrified that she has stopped breathing. He stumbles over a step and crashes to one knee, pressing the unconscious woman to his chest. Jane yelps behind him, her cry sounding more like a sob, and Phryne shifts in his arms. It is just a small movement, and very weak, but it gives him the strength to stand and move again. It is the whoosh of fresh air that brings him to his senses, makes him aware that he has been talking this whole time. Asking, praying, begging, ordering. "Stay with me," He commands. "Phryne, you must stay with me. Come on, love. Open your eyes. Phryne. Phryne." Her name becomes a mantra until he is able to find the Hispano and put her gently in the seat beside him. He will ruminate on this terror later, under the cover of night. He will think about the ease with which she bartered her life for his - for Jane"s. He will examine what it means about her feelings, about the depth of her emotion. But for the time being he puts it all to the back of his mind. Saving her, making sure she is safe, is the first step. When Miss Fisher is lucid, the entire sordid tale is replayed for Jack and his constable. She is remarkably stoic as she recounts her conversation with Foyle, and her voice does not crack as she tells them where he buried her sister. Jack thinks she has taken the news of Janie"s murder fairly well. But her eyes are clouded with sadness and resignation and he realizes she knew - long before she had confirmation, she knew. None of this was not a surprise. He offers to go with her to look for Janie and a throat-clogging emotion crosses her fine features again. "Thank you, Jack." Her words are a low rumble. She is tired of talking, of hurting and of feeling. "I need you..." She doesn"t finish the thought. Her whole body jerks a little bit at her confession, as though she herself wasn"t prepared for it. Jack knows it is not in her nature to need anybody. She has built a carefree life and surrounded herself with people who need her. But she has done everything she can to avoid an attachment that will hinder her freedom. He wonders when she will realize that he is not the only one for whom this has happened. That should it come down to it, she needs Jane. And Dot. And Mr Butler. And even those two ruffians, Burt and Cec. She needs them all to complete her family. Maybe when she realizes this, it won"t terrify her so much to be loved. The day they exhume Jane"s body is deceptively bright. Birds sing in trees and there is a wonderfully fragrant breeze that ripples the leaves of the weeping willow. Phryne has been unusually introspective as they hike to the resting place Foyle outlined, and her features are schooled into studied blandness. To an outsider, she would appear as placid as the nearby water. However Jack has become accustomed to seeing past the Phryne Fisher exterior. He once likened her to a gift he had no intention of unwrapping. And yet each day, each case, each experience he has at her side has peeled away the artifice to reveal the woman inside. She is a fascinating and noble creature, and he finds himself enchanted by her more often than not. Not just physically, either. Something in her wounded soul calls to him and, more than once, he has thought she would be the one to understand him in a way that Rosie never would. Rosie, who"s life has been wonderfully and blessedly without terror and upheaval. Rosies biggest disappointment would always be Jack, and she deserved the chance to connect with someone in a more genuine way. Even if Phryne was not the one he would end up with, Jack knew that she was the one who changed everything for him. She kneels amid the dirt and looks into the chasm at what is left of her long lost sister. Everything spills out of her at once. Tears, a whimper of pain, and any bit of artifice she clung to. She is pain personified as she drops her forehead to her palm. When she reaches behind her, Jack is there waiting. He takes her hand gently at first, until he feels the tremble, and his fingers tighten. "I am here," He wants to tell her, but he can"t bring himself to intrude on this moment. Besides, she already knows. Collins and Dot ride together in the squad car and Phryne asks Jack to drive her home in the Hispano. She is sedate on the ride, sitting with her hands folded in her lap. Her eyes are hidden behind those wide sunglasses and her skin is even more pale than usual. "Thank you for being there." She says frankly when they are in front of her home. "I"m not sure I could have faced that alone." Jack turns to look at her, really look, but her eyes are still hidden. "Miss Fisher, if I am sure of one thing it"s that you can face just about anything." She tilts her head in acceptance. "Perhaps. I rarely have a choice." They sit in silence for a few minutes more, Jack trying to muster the courage to tell her how brave he thinks she is. He wants to tell her not to put herself at risk on his behalf again, because he"s not sure he would be able to face that without her. Alone. She starts to talk again and her words are pointed. He can feel her direct gaze even if he can"t see it. "I used to believe it was easier, better, to stay detached. But loneliness hasn"t solved anything. Jane is still dead. I"m still alone. And everything still hurts." He isn"t sure she"s looking for a response, but he feels as though she is speaking to a part of himself that he hasn"t revealed to her. It is unsettling. "I"m learning that lesson for myself." She says and reaches for his hand. Her touch is warm and soft; he had been expecting her skin to be icy. As she has so often, she is drawing him in. As the man, perhaps he is supposed to lead. But you cannot lead if you don"t learn to dance, and you cannot lead if you don"t have a partner. "I"ll be here when you do, too." He thinks of Rosie and the dissolution of that union. He thinks of his empty home; his cold bed. He thinks of the color Miss Fisher has brought to that existence. Color sometimes tinted with annoyance, but mostly tinted with friendship. "You"re an excellent teacher." He tells her and she smiles. "Come to my birthday party." It is not a request but a demand. "I want you there." Want trumps need every time with her. "I want to be there." He assures her. And she understands. A/N - Are you ready for this? I let it stew overnight, made some changes this morning and now I"m just gonna set it free in the world. I hope I"ve done this little arc justice. It was definitely of The Fun. More notes at end. Masochism Tango "At your command Before you here I stand, My heart is in my hand. It"s here that I must be [...] My soul is on fire, It"s aflame with desire, Which is why I perspire When we tango." It would be an embarrassment for Jack to reveal just how many times - and in how many ways - he has imagined this moment. The overwhelming majority began with a quiet seduction, long slow kisses and a tumble into her bed. Occasionally he fantasizes about shutting her up by sealing his lips over hers and kissing away any smart retort she might be thinking. More often than not, he allows his mental self to be ravished by her, fully under her control. For whatever reason, it never occurs to him that it could happen quite in this way. One moment they are standing at an empty crime scene. There is blood at their feet, a gory underscore to the tension between them. They have argued since they arrived, almost since the very start of the case. That in itself is not unusual, but there seems to be an edge to their irritation that is leaving deeper wounds than usual. She believes it to be one suspect. He believes it to be another. Perhaps he is too vehement in his objections. Perhaps she is too forceful in her rebuttals. Phryne crosses one foot over the other and they are circling like angry foes. She gesticulates wildly, accuses him of dismissing her. He is still smarting from her insubordination in front of officers from another division. Of course he dismissed her, he says. He is the only Detective Inspector who would have let her play at detecting for this long. It is exactly the most wrong thing he could think to say, and it registers on her face in a streak of scarlet over each cheek. He believes she might strike him and indeed she steps closer. Anger is radiating off her in waves and when her arm snakes out he doesn"t stop the slap he knows is coming. He closes his eyes and braces. Her first curls in his lapels and she shakes him until he opens his eyes. Blue fire greets his gaze and her impossible lips curve into a vicious, belligerent grin. "You"re beautiful when you"re angry." She says instead, and he is so disarmed he gapes. And then she stomps on his foot. She manages five long strides before he catches up with her, limping heavily and cursing a blue streak. "Don"t walk away from me." He grunts and makes a grab at her arm. She shakes him off and he grabs again, this time tighter. If his fingers leave marks, so be it. In a thousand different ways, almost since he has known her, she has been branding him. Little by little she has taken possession of him, until he doesn"t know where his life ends and hers begins. This woman, who makes no commitments and utters no promises, has co-opted his entire self. Every crime scene is theirs. Every report he writes bears her name. Her whiskey in his stomach, her perfume clings to his clothes. Her face fills his dreams. She is everywhere. Everything. A central character in his lonely life. He fears losing her - to fate, to danger, or to her own whim, every second of every day. And he"s had just about enough of loving her from a distance, of not possessing even a small part of her. Whatever angry words are on her tongue die before they"re spoken. His intentions must show on his face, because her lips part and she is sighing out a relieved "Oh," before his mouth descends. Perhaps a few years of teasing is too long, because Jack"s tongue is pushing between her teeth without preamble. What he assumed would be a gentle seduction on his part has become desperate. Possession, need, but most of all desire flood them both. She clings to him with her hands around his biceps. He holds her head steady, his hands gentle along her cheeks despite the fervor of his mouth. When he finally pulls away from her, her lips are swollen, her hair is mussed and her pupils have dilated fully. The reality of her is even more devastating to him than the dreams. "Don"t walk away from me." He growls but releases her, expecting her to do just that. Instead she slides her hands up his arms, to his shoulders. Her fingers burrow through the hair at the nape of his neck and she licks her lips. And still, she does not kiss him. Neither does she flee She watches him with darkened eyes, and once the fog clears he can see just the slightest hint of fear in her gaze. He is instantly remorseful of his actions and he fights against the desire to look away. She must sense the shift in his mood, because she makes a small sound of frustration and curls her fingers against his scalp. When it seems like they will stand this way forever, he studiously not touching her and she anchoring them together with her hands in his hair, she finally speaks. "I do want you." She says simply, as though it explains everything. "All of you." "You already have me," He responds immediately, though it sounds like a plea. Doesn"t she know, he thinks? Doesn"t she know how much he"s lost to her already? She shakes her head, the sharp points of her hair brushing her cheeks. He hasn"t seen her this conflicted since he told her to leave his life. Since he dis-invited her from his heart completely. And then realization strikes him. As sometimes occurs in the course of their work together, the freshness of her perspective has lent him insight he otherwise missed. Their investigations. Their quiet evenings sipping whiskey. Their laughter. Their friendship. She has, piece by piece, relinquished as much of herself to him as he has to her. This wild and wonderful woman has, while not clipped her wings, taught herself to fly close to home. She has invited him to her, gently and without agenda, trying not to frighten him away. She has accepted what he would offer, be it friendship or partnership, and made herself available for whatever he should need from her. She has waited and wondered, teased and cajoled. But she has never pushed. She will not demand of him, or even beg. She does not want his surrender; she requires his participation. It means that he has intent; that he has expectations. It means...well, that he means it. That he wants it. That he wants... "I do want you," He echoes her words, and steps forward into her. One hand slips over her waist to span over the small of her back and he draws her until they are touching from forehead to feet. The other hand reaches for one of hers and he threads their fingers together. Her smile is tentative until he runs his fingers up and down over her spine and drops his lips to her throat. A chaste kiss is anything but when placed against the pulse in her neck and she cannot swallow her throaty giggle. It doesn"t take much until their feet are shifting to a beat only they can hear. It isn"t about leading or following. It isn"t a matter of giving in, or giving up. He said he would never tango. He said didn"t dance. He said this wouldn"t happen. He lied. The tempo is about to change, and they will have to stumble together to learn new steps. He will step on her feet and she will try to change the rhythm. But, he realizes, they"ve already been dancing all this time. "I want all of you." He says, and means it. And then he takes her home. More A/N, likely to be longer than the story. SORRY. (not sorry) Masochism Tango is by Tom Lehrer. It is "literally" about masochism but I borrowed the phrase more because I felt like this "dance" that Jack and Phryne engage in is because they"re both afraid of being hurt. And they both injure themselves in the process. My sweet dummies. To write this chapter I listened to several solid hours of tango. Most specifically La Cumparsita and Por Una Cabeza, the most easily recognizeable tango songs. Who doesn"t love a good tango? Mmm, so pretty. To everyone who has left comments and encouragement - you"re the best. Writing in a new fandom is always kind of scary and this one is so full of *great* writers already. It has been a great experience and I can"t wait to write (and READ) more. And finally, because it needs to be said: Goddamn it, SEASON THREE. NOW.

It took far longer than either had anticipated to make it up to their room. So many well-wishers and cheek-kisses. Lucien was sure he would have a permanent handprint on his back from all the well-meaning slaps and his fingers ached from the multitude of handshakes. He was a lucky man, he"d heard so many times. "I know," he"d responded, watching his wife graciously accept the attention and deftly move them back towards the staircase. His wife. The word bubbled in his chest like good champagne and he wanted nothing more than to drown in it. To drown in her. They made their way to their room with a nervous energy, quiet tension building as they crossed hallways to the suite prepared for them. It had been a hushed conversation that led them to choose to spend their wedding night at the club. With everything that had happened in previous weeks the studio - their bedroom, she corrected herself - wasn"t quite finished. They also had to be up early to take a taxi to Melbourne for a flight. They didn"t want to wake the house before sun-up. Matthew had offered to stay away that night, a discussion that had three sets of cheeks flaming and speaking in general, clinical terms. In the end they decided the most logical choice was to stay at the club, and none of them had mentioned it again. By the time they reached the suite they were fairly trembling in anticipation. Lucien swung open the door and held it for his wife...his wife. She breezed past him, her fingers brushing his chest playfully. The room was simple and plain, meant to house members too drunk to make it home, not to serve as a honeymoon suite. However the soft glow of candle and firelight softened the harsher edges and Cec had filled every available surface with Jean"s centerpieces. Lucien knew he would forever connect the heady scent of roses with the happiest day of his life. Together they stopped in the middle of the room. Lucien stood behind her, close but not touching, breathing into her hair. She resisted the urge to slump into his arms and let him carry her to the bed. She had a certain nightgown that she"d been saving for just this very night and she wasn"t going to miss the opportunity, not again. She"d waited such a long time. She turned abruptly and placed a kiss on the corner of Lucien"s mouth before disappearing into the adjoining bathroom. With a shuddering sigh, Lucien removed his coat, setting the rose from his lapel on the bedside table. He undressed and folded his clothes carefully, mindful of his wife"s...his wife"s...inherent neatness. He took his time, relishing in the warmth of the room, looking over the turned down bed with longing. He was just about to divest himself of his pants when the door opened and Jean emerged from the bathroom with a wad of filmy fabric in her arms. Her expression was one of frustration and she looked at Lucien as she usually did when she found he"d taken to smashing the glassware. She stood before him sans hat and gloves, but still fully dressed. After several minutes of struggle in the bathroom she came to the belated realization that she couldn"t get the dress off without him. The furrows between her brows melted at the sight of her husband...her husband... bare-chested and barefoot in only his slacks. For reasons she couldn"t quite describe she stared at his bare toes, suddenly swamped with the intimacy of it. Her vision swam with a burst of emotion but she swallowed it back and met Lucien"s gaze. They watched each other warily - she still fully dressed and he well on his way to not. Firelight shifted the shadows and the red-gold glow made Lucien appear burnished. Bronzed. Something to be worshipped. Over the years she had seen him in various stages of undress but he was usually injured in some way and she kept her head by focusing on his care. She was, at heart, a nurturer although the rush of desire swept aside her need to care for him, pushing simple affection far out to sea. Need, hot and fast, hung between them and she followed the line of his shoulders, visually marking all of the places she would physically mark in the very near future. She swallowed drily, wishing for the drink she"d left behind downstairs, and brought herself back to the moment. She had no desire to be inebriated for what was happening between them - his very presence was intoxicating enough. "I need your help". She turned, shrugging her shoulders to indicate the line of delicate buttons in the lace. It had been an indulgence to choose such a dress for her wedding, but a stubborn streak had her absolutely determined to make this wedding more than a simple legalization process. She was marrying Lucien - a man she loved - and it would not be reduced to a mere business transaction. "Of course, my darling." He gestured her closer and nudged her shoulder to face away from him. Jean caught their reflection in the bathroom mirror. His expression was reverent - captivated. Overwhelmed, she dropped her chin to her chest and clutched the peignoir. Lucien followed the line of buttons with his fingertips, inordinately pleased he would be the one to open them so tantalizingly slowly. He"d been fixated on them all evening, the press of them into his palm as they danced. So lovely, so delicate. Briefly he imagined biting them off, giving in to a base urge to remove the garment as quickly as he could manage. But she had been so impossibly lovely in it, it would have broken his heart to destroy it. Instead he unlooped them slowly and carefully. He was unwrapping a gift he had no intention of returning. He parted each one with a kiss, following the gentle undulations of her spine to the top of the zipper. Ever so carefully he slid the zip down to her lower back. Jean"s breath cascaded past her lips. She hadn"t realized she"d been holding it until she began to feel light-headed. Once more she glanced at their doppelgangers in the glass and Lucien stared back at her, his hooded eyes lazy and dark. He kissed her neck, suckling and nibbling gently, pushing the dress aside to reveal more skin. Her bones dissolved in the heat of his gaze and she dropped the nightie, forgotten at her feet. Lucien"s fingertips brushed the dress from her shoulders and it dropped noiselessly to the floor.. "So beautiful," He whispered into her hair and she shuddered. She felt exposed, standing in only her underthings, but cherished. He touched her gently, the pads of her fingers whorling deliciously. She watched their reflection as Lucien dipped his head to her throat, swirling his tongue over the pearls. She was so chaste, all in white, and yet...she stood in only her stockings and underthings and was far more dangerous than he"d realized. His fingers tensed and released at her hips, holding her gently and allowing her a few moments to settle her skittering heart. Another shiver and gooseflesh rose across her arms. "Are you cold?" Lucien"s concern was touching. Not trusting her voice she shook her head still holding his gaze in the mirror. It was easier, less intense - somewhat removed, to look at him indirectly. Once they locked eyes for real, she was sure she would incinerate from the intensity. He was breathing in short bursts, nearly panting, his knuckles white from the exertion of not touching her. Wobbly with anticipation and desire, she leaned over to remove her shoes. "Don"t." He spoke so low it was more of a rumble against her skin than a sound. "Lucien-" "Leave them on." He dropped his forehead to her neck, his hot breath spilling over her skin. She was everything - a vision - and his need for her pressed hot against her spine. "Please." She only nodded and he reached around her to palm her stomach, skimming over the delicate skin of her navel. She was transfixed by the delicate brush of his hand across her abdomen and her fingers clutched at the material of his slacks. His pinkie slid beneath the waistband of her knickers, the barest of touch, and her knees buckled. She clutched the arm holding her against him before spinning and crashing their mouths together. Need, once slip free of its bonds, consumed her and raged quickly out of control. Lucien has suspected - hoped - that Jean"s prim exterior was a glamour meant to protect the soft, passionate, vibrant woman beneath and he was delighted - as she nibbled wantonly on his earlobe and slid her palm across the planes of his rear - that he had been correct. Months - years, really - of restraint turned to ash and they fumbled towards the bed, an inelegant tangle of limbs and need. He had intended to go slow - to worship her and savor the freedom to look and to hold. However the writhing heat of her in his arms would test the restraint of even the strongest man and where Jean Blake... Jean Blake...was concerned, he was deeply, unreservedly, unashamedly weak. They touched and tasted, swallowing groans and pleas, gripping one another until everything else - long months of agony, scandal and rumor, loss and betrayal - were distant memories. All that remained was the two of them, and the singular pleasure Lucien took discovering the last remaining hidden frontiers of Jean Blake, his wife. His wife. -(fin)- A/N.- This was actually part of a longer piece that I decided needed to be broken apart because the tone didn"t match between the first and second half. I haven"t decided if the other half will be chapter 2 of this piece or will stand alone. *shrug* Anyway. THOSE BUTTONS. It was torture to wake the next morning, loose and warm beneath the light quilt. The fire had burned down low and there was a sharp chill in the air. The sun had not yet risen when Jean kissed Lucien awake, prodding gently at his shoulder and whispering that they had to be ready in less than an hour. His response was to curl around her and bite sharply into the tendon of her neck. "London can wait." He grumbled and, for a moment, she was tempted to agree with him. The silken heat of him prodded at her belly and she thought it wouldn"t be the end of the world if they missed their flight. But there was time - so much time - the future rolling out in front of them, wide and open. Tempting as though it may be to become lost in the pleasures of the bedroom, there was so much more she intended to share with her husband. He was also her dearest, most treasured friend and she would enjoy experiencing new vistas with him by her side. It was the fluttering in her stomach at the prospect of adventure, the realization that she would leave this place for the first time and he would give her the world, that had her rolling resolutely out of his embrace. "Looooove," Lucien whined, flopping onto his back and staring at the ceiling with bleary eyes. Jean wrapped a robe around her and brushed her tousled curls out of her face. "Get up, Lucien." He shifted his eyes, a sly smile on his lips. With a flick of his wrist he tossed back the covers. "You"ll notice, I"m already up." "Then I suspect you"ll need the bathroom first." She said primly, removing her travelling suit from the garment bag hung on the back of the door. She turned just in time to see him loom out of the bed in her direction, and the squeal of laughter was cut short as he tugged her into the bathroom with him. They were, of course, running late. It was a mad dash to gather their carry-on luggage and they spilled onto the hallway with high color and rapid breathing. And they still needed to arrange for a cab. Jean had almost her entire head in her purse, searching for the room key to leave with Cec on their way out. She managed to misplace it in the hubbub - and activity - of the morning. "Perfectly good silk stockings." She grumbled good-naturedly, giving Lucien a side-eye. It was a continuation of their earlier conversation, as she had gathered her discarded underthings from the night before. "Jean," Lucien chuckled, not the least bit abashed. "I"ll buy you a new pair of stockings. I"ll buy you ten pairs." "That"s not the point," She huffed, frustrated. "They can be mended. But your teeth, Lucien? Did you need to use your teeth?" He longed to touch her but his hands were full so he settled on leaned over her shoulder, pressing his cheek to hers. She sighed with relief when her fingers closed around the key. "Don"t tell me you didn"t enjoy it," He nudged her ear with his nose, tongue darting out. He knew for a fact she had enjoyed it, as he"ll cherish the memory of her breathy cries as he knelt before her on the cold bathroom tile. "That is most certainly not the point." She reddened and jabbed him with her elbow. He opened his mouth to argue, to tell her it was exactly the point. That everything in their lives was replaceable except the heat they could manage between them. Making love to his wife...his wife... it was the only point worth making. He was about to tell her so when a door opened behind them. In unison they turned to see Alice stepping from a room. "Alice!" Jean"s hand immediately brushed at her hair, briefly concerned that they"ve been caught out. It will take a while for the guilt to leave her, to realize they are allowed to stand this close, her neck still damp from Lucien"s ministrations. "I didn"t know you were staying the night as well." If Alice was surprised to see them, she hid it very well. She held her shoes and purse, her coat tossed over her arm. She was only barely rumpled and looked awfully chipper for someone nursing a hangover. She wore her dress from the wedding still, meaning the decision to stay was one of convenience and not forethought. She was just about to speak when the door swung open behind her. Matthew fairly tumbled out, catching himself with his cane when he nearly barreled into Alice, surprised to find her still in the doorway. And possibly even more surprised to find Lucien and Jean staring at him with matching bemused expressions. "Your hat." He said lamely, holding it out to her. He was in his slacks and singlet and he was scarlet from his toes to the tips of his hair. "Thank you, Matthew." Alice took the hat but appeared mostly non-plussed. She stood, back straight, and glanced between the other three people in the hall. If she noticed the awkwardness, she didn"t let on. It was Jean who broke the stalemate. "Lucien," She addressed her husband, who appeared on the verge of saying something completely inappropriate. Her elbow jabbed at him again and Lucien"s attention finally shifted from Matthew to her. "See to our luggage and the taxi? Alice, can I interest you in a cuppa?" Alice nodded once and followed Jean down the hall and Lucien grinned even harder at his old friend. "Matthew Lawson, you old dog." "Shut up, Blake" Jean showed amazing self-restraint and waited until they have fixed their tea to their liking before she leaned forward with wide eyes. "How on earth...?" Alice shrugged. "I"m not sure, exactly. We went out for some air. We sat on the terrace and talked. He"s a very amusing man. At some point - I kissed him." Jean"s eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. "After that it gets all very blurry. He"s very good at it, you know. Matthew." Alice sipped at her tea, lost in thought for a few long moments. "Not that I"ve a lot of experience but it was quite pleasurable." Jean simply blinked at her. "And will you...see each other again?" "I"m sure we will. We work together." Had she not been familiar with Alice, Jean might have thought the neat prevarication was a ploy to shift the conversation. But Alice was not particularly adept at playing coy - she was perhaps the most literal person Jean had ever met. "What I mean is-" "I know what you mean." Alice"s voice was sharp and for the first time, Jean noticed the hint of worry in her face. It was a reminder that, like them all, Alice carried her own wounds, invisible though they might have been. "I don"t know if he would even want to. See me again. In that way." Jean considered, before pressing her fingers to Alice"s, a friendly, gentle squeeze. "I think he will. I think you should." Alice settled into a small smile. "That"s not very Catholic of you, Jean." Jean paled a bit and busied herself with drinking her tea, the topic a still-healing wound that would ache from time to time. "I"m afraid I"m not a very good Catholic anymore." Alice, unaware of Jean"s obvious discomfort, continued on. "Speaking of...what of your night, Mrs Blake?" Jean placed the cup in the saucer, twisting the handle back and forth, making a gentle clinking noise. Memories of the night rose with the color in her cheeks and she couldn"t lie. It felt so very good to have a woman to confide in, something she had been missing. "Very satisfying." She bit her lip and heat flared in her cheeks. "Very." "Well done, Lucien!" Alice clapped her hands and the women shared a conspiratorial grin. Cec approached the table, bending slightly in apology for interrupting. "Mrs. Blake, your taxi is here." "Oh!" Jean looked around and found Matthew and Lucien leaning against the bar, apparently deep in conversation. She could guess at the topic with the way Lucien"s devilish little smile seemed to push Matthew deeper into himself. She stood and kissed Alice"s cheek. "Let me know how it goes." She whispered to Alice and they clasped hands before Jean made her way to the gentlemen. One look at Jean"s arched brow had Lucien straightening and attempting to swallow back his grin. "I"ll go see to the luggage." He retreated hastily, saving one last look back at Matthew, who was almost green with discomfort. "You"re disappointed in me," Matthew was gruff. She was a very good woman who was far better than Lucien deserved. He had always been just a little bit in love with her, and the thought of disappointing her was a special kind of torment for him. "You all must think me an awful prude." She scowled, wondering if it hadn"t occurred to any of them that her disagreements with her church ran deeper than just her nuptials. It was a reality she would wrestle with for some time to come; that the faith she had come to rely on should denounce men and women with good hearts, would withhold from them God"s love and forgiveness...she"d heard of a crisis of faith. She never expected to experience one. "Whatever my convictions or decisions, Matthew, I"m not likely to impose them on anyone else. I hoped you would know that by now." Matthew grimaced and looked down at his hands, chastened. "I know it." "Besides, as far as the Church is concerned I"m basically a fallen woman. I"ll leave judgement to God - I find I haven"t the stomach for it." Matthew still avoided her gaze, finding deep interest in the lines on the backs of his hands. "She"s a good woman - Alice." "Better than I deserve," He agreed and looked over Jean"s shoulder to the woman in question, who sat reading the morning paper. "No," Jean stepped into his line of sight, forcing him to make eye contact. "You"re one of the best men I know. She"s lucky to have you." Matthew cleared his throat, inexplicably touched by her blessing. "Where is he taking you?" He said when he could finally form words. "London to start. After that, he won"t say." "He wants to show you the world." "Yes, he does." She stepped closer to Matthew and curled her hand around his neck, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek. She hoped, even as she departed on her own whirlwind adventure, that Matthew would allow Alice to draw him from his melancholy. She wished them the best of luck in her mind before heading out to where Lucien waited in the cab. "Everything alright?" Jean nodded and threw herself into his arms, burying her nose against his tie, breathing in the heady scent of him. He made smoothing passes over her back and when she pulled back, her eyes sparkled with the possibilities that lie before them. Matthew approached Alice at her table, ducking his head bashfully. "Alice-Dr Harvey -Alice." She glanced up at him, her eyes startlingly clear. She had looked at him - at all of him - and had not been repulsed or afraid. Now, in the cold light of very early morning he saw that she was as nervous as he was, her fingers trembling just so against the handle of her cup. He trusted her and knowing even the bare hint of her past, was humbled by the immense trust she placed in him. "What do you say to dinner tonight? Out at a restaurant and all." "A date?" She asked, a little breathless. "You could call it that." Matthew cleared his throat and looked around the room - anything to avoid looking at her. She stood, carefully folding the newspaper she"d been pretending to read before leaning forward to grip his elbow. She squeezed gently until he brought his eyes to meet hers. He was startled to find her leaning in, pressing her lips softly against his mouth. "I"d say it"s the least you could do. Seven o"clock?" "Yes. Yes. Seven. Is good." And then they lived. (fin) A/N - This second part didn"t exactly match the tone of the first, but the arc was always meant to go together so I decided to keep it at as one story. I wrote this in my head while I drove 300 miles on Sunday after watching the ep. A couple days to fine tune and... here we go. Title is a nod to "and they lived happily ever after" because the happy part is a given, if they allow themselves the living part. Peace out, friends.

"I should have known better to get so over sensitive about Elsa." "That little girl that"s right over there?" Horace asked, as Elsa walked up to them, with worry laced on her face. "Yeah, gramps." Elsa said with a wink. "Gramps!? How and when did this happen?!" "That"s a long story." Kaz stated. "Dad, what"s wrong with mom? And did I hear that you guys broke up?" "Yeah, Elsie. And your mom just saved my life. Here"s hoping she"s okay." "She will be, kid." Horace stated. "Listen, in a relationship, there will always be ups and downs, and all arounds. Believe me, I know what that"s like!" "How?" Kaz asked, now intriqued and looking right at Horace. "When I met Icelyn"s mother, I didn"t know what to think. She was so beautiful, and I couldn"t help but fall in love with her." "Wait...where does Icelyn"s sister fit into this, if all of this is based off of Icelyn"s existance?" Kaz asked. "Isabelle isn"t her real sister. We adopted her earlier on in our marriage, and then Icelyn was born." Horace answered. "Okay, go on." "When I met Marilee, she wasn"t cursed with this darkness she speaks of today at that time. She was just a normal girl that had learned about the superhero world by mistake, kind of like you and Oliver, and became my bestest friend. We were actually around the same age as you and Icelyn, and she was the only other Normo that was aloud to know of us superheroes." "Okay..." "16 years ago, I gathered up the courage to ask Marilee to marry me. And after that, she got pregnant with Icelyn. But..." "But what?" "When Icelyn was born, she was a definite Normo. She had no powers at the age of 5, which I was hoping she would considering I did. So I ran, and that was around the time Marilee got cursed with darkness." "So, Icelyn technically lost two parents, only to find out they ran away to protect her." Kaz stated. "If you put it that way, then yes." "Wait...grandma"s alive!?" Elsa exclaimed with a yell. "Yes, and I am not used to hearing that from such a tiny mouth!" "I"m 12 years old!" "Kaz..." Oliver"s voice sounded, making Kaz look up at his best friend. "Icelyn woke up." Lydia stared in a small fireball she made in her hand, only to see that Icelyn was sitting up in her bed at Mighty Med. She was hugging her mother for the first time in a while, and was happy to see that she was okay. She then saw Kaz and Oliver run in, with Horace behind them. But, the moment Lydia saw Elsa, she let the fireball go out and looked out the window she was looking out earlier before Marilee threatened her. "So, that little girl came and warned her "parents" about my attack on her father." Lydia stated out loud. Then, she grinned evilly. "Maybe I could use this knowledge to my advantage." She said to herself, with a big evil grin on her face. ~END OF CHAPTER~ Hey everyone! I hope you all are liking the story so far. I"ll let you guys in on a secret, I just make it up as I go. I don"t plan on certain things happen until it"s already written down. So, yeah, I have no idea what Lydia is going to do to Elsa. We"ll find out together. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter will be up soon. Thanks for reading and God bless! ~Brittany Bauer Chapter 6 *Anything italicized is someone"s thought or someone is singing. Bolded + italicized=flashback or memory *=lyrics have been changed to fit story Icelyn swung her legs over the edge of her bed as she stared at Kaz. "I"m glad you"re okay." She said as she got off her bed and ran to the Rec Room. "Me? She was the one hit!" Kaz exclaimed. "I"ll go talk to her, Horace." Marilee said before running after her daughter and into the rec room. That was when she saw Icelyn standing there, with a snowflake in her hand and a sad look on her face. She made it melt after a while and then just threw some ice onto the ground out of frustration. "You depressed?" Marilee asked, making her daughter look at her with a sad look on her face. "Mom, what do I do? I made a mistake breaking up with him. He just...made me so mad!" "I know, dear." Marilee stated as she touched her daughter"s shoulders. "But relationships are hard. They have ups and downs and all arounds. All it takes is patience to get to where you plan to go." Icelyn stared at her mother before walking away from her after a while. (SONG: "Where do I go from here?" - Pocahontas 2) [ICELYN sings this, in case you didn"t know...that"s actually pretty obvious, isn"t it? Sorry] The earth is cold/the fields are bare/the branches faught against the wind that"s everywhere/the birds move on/so they survive/when snow"s so deep/the bears all sleep to keep themselves alive/they do what they must for now/and trust in their plan/if I trust in mine somehow/I might find/who I am! But where do I go from here/so many voices ringing in my ear/which is the voice/that I was meant to hear/how will I know/where do I go/from here. My world has changed and so have I/I"ve learned to choose and even learned to say goodbye/the path ahead is so hard to see/it winds and bends/but where it ends depends on only me/in my heart I don"t feel part/of so much I"ve known/now it seems it"s time to start/a new life/on my own! But where do I go from here/so many voices ringing in my ear/which is the voice/that I was meant to hear/how will I know/where do I GO/from here. (End of song) "Icelyn, darling..." Marilee began as she turned her daughter around to face her. "...the world and future is a scary place. But just know, I will be there for you this time. I won"t run, I won"t let this darkness take over...I"ll be by your side until the very end." "Mom..." Icelyn began as she saw Kaz run into the rec room to see how she was doing. "...what am I to do though? Should I give him another chance?" She whispered the last part. "I would...he was worried sick about you." Marilee answered before kissing Icelyn on the forehead and leaving the room. Icelyn sighed before she looked at Kaz in the eye as she walked up to him slowly. "Kaz..." "Yeah?" Kaz began, before Icelyn forced a hug onto him, making him shocked. "I"m so sorry." She answered as a tear fell down her cheek, which made Kaz grin as he hugged her back. "No...I"m sorry. I shouldn"t have been so sensitive with spending time with Elsa." Kaz responded. "I wish I would have let you explain, because then none of this would have happened." Icelyn pulled herself away from the hug and just looked up at Kaz. "Lyn, if we never had that fight, we wouldn"t be here right now, together." Kaz stated before he kissed her forehead. "Kaz..." Icelyn began as she looked up at his deep brown eyes, and just went for it. She kissed him on the lips, and he kissed her right back. It was official after that...they were back together. Lydia stood by a tree in the park, waiting for her invitation to be granted. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her evil grin formed the moment she saw a sworm of a blackish gray dust circling around in the air before landing on the ground, showing two men standing there, wearing all black and with their hair in either pony tails or buns at the back of their heads. "Finally you two showed up." Lydia stated as she pushed herself off the tree and walked towards the two men. "What do you want, Lydia?" Roman asked not showing much interest in this visit. "Yeah." Ricker added unnecessarilly. "I"m working on a little plan, to destroy Kaz. I need him out of the way for me to rule the world." Lydia answered. "And his daughter from the future came here to warn him. That makes me pretty ticked off, if you know what I mean." "What do you want us to do?" Ricker asked. "Get rid of the one thing they love the most..." Lydia began. "Destroy Mighty Med Hospital!" Kaz walked out into the main lobby with Icelyn following behind him, which made Elsa run up and hug her "parents" instantly. "Yay! You guys are back together!" She yelled. "Yeah, sweetie. We are." Icelyn said, before she noticed Oliver"s face. "Oliver, what"s wrong?" "I just got a call. It"s my mom, also known as Mr. Terror...she"s causing trouble." He answered. "Oh, crap!" Kaz yelled as he punched a wall slightly. "You didn"t tell her, did you?" Skyler asked. "No." Kaz answered as he looked over at Icelyn. "What is it, Kaz?" Icelyn said, as Elsa pulled away from the hug. "I don"t just have the powers I got from kissing you, but..." Kaz began before making a fireball in his hand. "...I touched a rock known as the Octurian many days before Lydia came in to play, and gained these powers." "Seriously? Why not tell me this?" Icelyn asked. "I was going to, when all this heck broke loose!" Kaz stated. "Well, I"m glad I know now." Icelyn then looked at Oliver. "Let"s go stop your mom." She then ran towards the door, with Kaz and Oliver following suit. "Mom, dad, watch Elsa!" She yelled over to her parents before leaving the hosptial. Elsa just stood there, as she watched her "parents" run off to stop a villain together, before noticing the vision she was having. Which shocked her to the core. Her time, Kaz and Icelyn"s future, was going to be way different soon. It was going to be a future...without her knowing who any of the superheroes she knew growing up before. It was a future...without Mighty Med. Oliver, Kaz, Skyler, and Icelyn ran to the bank and stopped when they saw Oliver"s mom, Bridgett (AKA Mr. Terror), terrorizing citizens at the bank. "Mom!" Oliver yelled, making the woman look over to see her son and friends standing in fighting stances. "Oliver, dear! How nice of you stop by!" She said, before Oliver shot some water at her, which made her fall out of the air and to the ground. "That"s your mom?!" Icelyn yelled as she created an ice barrier around them, as Oliver"s mom started shooting green lazors at them from her hands. "Yeah, unfortunately!" Oliver answered. "How are we going to stop her?! She"s too powerful!" Skylar yelled the question [I"ve been spelling Skylar"s name wrong this whole time...my bad]. Icelyn watched as Oliver"s mom kept throwing green lazors at them. Thankfully, her ice barrier was pretty strong so it would break. But, she didn"t know that with the strongest blast Bridgett could come up with hit the barrier at full force, it was bye bye barrier. The ice barrier shattered into little pieces making all 4 friends fall backwards on the ground. Icelyn was the first to sit up and glare at Bridgett with venom in her eyes. Bridgett laughed evilly as she was about to take to the sky again, when Icelyn shot an ice pick at her, which caused her to fall back down. "There"s no way, I"m letting you leave!" Icelyn yelled as she stood up quickly. Kaz sat up after that, and looked to see what Icelyn was up to, only to see her shoot her ice at her. But when it hit Bridgett, it seemed to have been sucking the energy out of her. "Icelyn, what are you doing?!" Oliver yelled. "That"s my mom!" "I"m not killing her! I"m only making it easier for the Mighty Max Prison Guards to take her when I"m done. Which...is...NOW!" Icelyn yelled before her ice stream blew up, and made her fall down to the ground, as Mighty Max Prison Guards appeared, and took Bridgett away. Oliver stood up quickly, before helping Skylar up, and noticing that Kaz had stood up and ran over to Icelyn, before holding her in his arms. "Icelyn? Can you hear me?" He asked, worried. Icelyn had taken the impact pretty hard, and was unconscious. She may have been the daughter at a superhero, and had gained control of her powers, but there were certain powers that she hadn"t learned to use properly, and therefore, making her pass out after she uses them. "Is she okay?" Skylar asked, sounding worried too. Kaz went to answer when Icelyn"s opened up and she saw Kaz by her side. "I"m alright." She said as she sat up, only to receive a hug from Kaz right away. "Don"t ever do something like that again." Kaz stated as he hugged her tightly, with her hugging him back. "I don"t make any promises." Icelyn whispered into his ear, before hearing a cackle next to her ear, making her and Kaz pull away from each other, only to see Lydia standing there. "Well, well, well...I thought you"d 4 would be dead." Lydia stated as she had her arms crossed over her chest. "Why would we?! We have unfinished business with you!" Skylar yelled to her. "Oh, I just thought you were there...when Mighty Med came crashing down." Icelyn"s eyes widened when hearing this. Her mother, father, and future daughter were in there. Were they hurt, or worse? She had find out. She stood up with Kaz helping her, and just glared at Lydia. "What did you do to Mighty Med?" Oliver asked. "Oh, I didn"t do anything to it! But I did order 2 young recruits to be the big bad wolf and blow it to the ground." Lydia stated, smirking evilly. "I hope Elsa is alright." Kaz stated. "I hope my parents are okay." Icelyn began before shooting an ice pic at Lydia, only to see it get melted before it even reached Lydia"s hand. "Ice doesn"t phase me dear. Fire doesn"t either...considering I have the fire ability." Lydia stated with a smirk. Kaz went to use his moon abilities that he had gotten from his first kiss with Icelyn, but nothing was happening. "What happened to my first superpowers!?" He yelled. "Silly boy! Did you not know, that once you get new powers, you lose your old ones?" The pyro-villain stated, before shooting fire at them, and making both Kaz and Icelyn fall to the ground again. "This is for my mother." Lydia stated as a speck of water got on her, for Kaz had fallen into a puddle. "AH! Get it off!" She yelled as she desperately tried to dry off her arm. Icelyn had sat up at this moment, seeing her act this way...and had an idea. She needed water. "Oliver, use your water to put her out!" She yelled. Oliver nodded before shooting his water towards her, which soaked Lydia to the bone. "AHHH! IT BURNS! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Lydia screamed before she felt herself being the Wicked Witch of the West, and melted into a puddle of black goo. Blade saw this whole thing and was furious. He just lost his girlfriend to a bunch of teenagers. "Oh, I"ll get my revenge on you 4 yet. Just you wait." He mumbled to himself before disappearing in a bunch of electrical sparks. "We did it!" Oliver yelled. "Lydia"s gone!" Skylar jumped into Oliver"s arms for a hug of victory. "Kaz!" Icelyn"s voice spoke up loudly, making Oliver and Skylar pull away and look over to see what was going on. Kaz was still out cold. "Kaz, wake up, please!" Icelyn kept yelling his name and shaking him to wake him up, but nothing was happening. "No..." Oliver thought. "...he can"t be gone." "Kaz, please!" Icelyn was letting her icy tears fall down her face, as she thought back to when all the memories that aren"t going to come true now because the future has changed. Mighty Med was no more, a bunch of a heroes had been killed, and Elsa was probably dead along with her parents. "Mom?" A 12 year old voice spoke up, making Icelyn look up to see Elsa and her parents standing right there, which made her relieved. And to top it all off, Kaz woke up. "Uhg, my head." Kaz stated as he sat up, only to receive an attack hug from Icelyn. "I was so afraid I lost you." Icelyn stated, which resulted in Kaz grinning and hugging her back. "I"m fine, Icelyn. I"m fine." He stated, before reality struck him. The best place that had ever happened to him and Oliver...was gone. XXXXXXXXXX [I"m guessing they were seniors in high school and had graduated, because we don"t see them going to school in Elite Force) Months past, and Elsa had went back to the future to see what had happened there days ago. It was Senior Graduation day. Kaz shocked everyone. He graduated high school with, shockingly, B"s and C"s. Since he loved Icelyn, and she was good at school, he studied with her. Somehow, she just made studying a lot more enjoyible. When graduation was over, the group of friends went to The Domain for the final time. Kaz had shared with Icelyn that he was moving with Skylar and Oliver to a city called Centium City, and that she wasn"t aloud to come along. So, they were spending their final day together at their favorite hang out. "I actually, have a present for you, Kaz." Icelyn said before walking up to the microphone that Wallace and Clyde set up for her, as she pressed play on the radio. (SONG: "Flashlight" - Jessie J) As the song began to play, a tear almost fell down Kaz"s cheek (but he caught it in time), for he realized she was getting ready to sing for him...one last time. When tomorrow comes/I"ll be on my own/feeling frightened of/the things that I don"t know/when tomorrow comes/tomorrow comes/tomorrow comes/and though the road is long/I look up to the sky/and in the dark I found/last hope that I will fly/and I sing along/I sing along/and I sing along. I got all I need when I got you and I/I look around me and see a sweet life/I"m stuck in the dark but you"re my flashlight/you"re getting me/getting me/through the night/kick start my heart when you shine it in my eyes/can"t lie/it"s a sweet life/stuck in the dark but you"re my flashlight/you"re getting me/getting me/through the night/cuz you"re my flashlight/you"re my flashlight/you"re my flashlight. I see the shadows long/beneath the mountain top/I am not afraid/when the rain won"t stop/cuz you"ll light the way/you"ll light the way/you will light the way! I got all I need when I got you and I/I look around me and see a sweet life/I"m stuck in the dark but you"re my flashlight/you"re getting me/getting me/through the night/kick start my heart when you shine it in my eyes/can"t lie/it"s a sweet life/stuck in the dark but you"re my flashlight/you"re getting me/getting me/through the night/cuz you"re my flashlight/you"re my flashlight/you"re my flashlight. WHOA-OH-OH! I got all I need when I got you and I/I look around me and see a sweet life/I"m stuck in the dark but you"re my flashlight/you"re getting me/getting me/through the night/kick start my heart when you shine it in my eyes/can"t lie/it"s a sweet life/stuck in the dark but you"re my flashlight/you"re getting me/getting me/through the night/cuz you"re my flashlight/you"re my flashlight/you"re my flashlight. (End of song) Kaz smiled as he clapped his hands for her and stood up. He walked up to her and kissed her. When he pulled away, they hugged their last hug. "I will always think of you, Icelyn. Always." Kaz whispered in his ear before pulling away from her. "I just have to do this, you know? It"s the only way to protect the heroes that survived, and to protect the world from villains." "I know, Kaz." Icelyn said as a tear started to slide down her cheek, when Kaz wiped it away with his thumb. "Oh, Lyn." Kaz stated before hugging her again. He didn"t want to leave her behind, but he had no choice. Now or never. He thought as he pulled away from their hug. "I love you." He said, which made Oliver perk up slightly. He just said the three words he had been planning on telling her for days now. "I love you too, Kaz." Icelyn said, with a cracking voice from all the sobs she"s been shedding. And it had been like that for a little while, until they started talking about random crap. Icelyn mentioned that she was going to live with her mother and father again there in Phillidelphia, and that she was going to work on continuing being Ice Storm for the town. It may have seemed like a goodbye for them, with 3 of the 4 friends seperating from 1 of them, but in the end...it was a see ya later. For who knows, what the future holds. ~THE END!~ Epilogue is coming up next. Epilogue *Anything italicized is someone"s thought or someone is singing. Bolded + italicized=flashback or memory *=lyrics have been changed to fit story Icelyn walked through the double doors of the Davenport Tower in Centium City, with a smile on her face, and the hood of her balero jacket up. It had been years since her friends moved here, and she was finally able to come visit. She missed them so much, especially her boyfriend. So, she was excited to be seeing him again. "Hey, you going up?" A voice asked, making Icelyn spin her head as the hood of her jacket fell off her head, that revealed her French braid to the source, only to see a girl with brown hair (that had some red highlights and low-lights) and blue eyes looking at her. She was wearing a plain black v-neck t-shirt with a dark blue jean jacket over it, and dark blue skinny jeans with black strappy wedges on her feet. "Oh, yeah." Icelyn said with a smile. "You?" "Yeah. What floor?" She asked. "The 110th floor." "Same. Who are you meeting?" "Oh, just some old friends that I hadn"t seen in a while. You?" "I meeting my boyfriend." The girl smiled before holding out her hand for Icelyn to take. "I"m Harper Craig." Icelyn smiled as she took the gesture. "I"m Icelyn, Icelyn Diaz." She said before pulling her hand away from hers. "That"s a unique name." Harper said. "Thanks." Icelyn said, as the elevator doors opened, and they stepped in. This was it...Icelyn was going to be reunited with Kaz, and her friends. No turning back. ~END OF EPILOGUE~ That"s a wrap with this story. Now, on to the next story. I hope you liked how this one ended. Thanks for reading and God bless you all. Bye. ~Brittany Bauer

MELODY: "Oh holy night, the stars are brightly shinning, it is the night, of our dear Savior"s birth. Long lay the world, through sin and error pinning, till He appeared, and the soul felt his word. A thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices, oh yonder break, a new and glorious mourn. Fall, on your knees, oh hear, the angel voices. Oh night, divine, oh night, when Christ was born. Oh, night, divine, oh night, oh night divine. Oh, night, divine, oh night, oh night divine." Melody stopped playing the piano and stopped singing, as everyone cheered. "Wow...I didn"t know she could sing that well, Mick!" Oswald exclaimed, in disbelief. Mickey chuckled heartily and said, as he pointed at Corona: "She has a great vocal couch." Oswald looked at Corona and smiled. He forgot that she had an amazing singing talent, and a talent for instruments. But, he never realized that Melody got that talent too. Melody looked at her mom and dad, and her uncle as they all clapped for her and she smiled. "Thanks!" She said. Corona smiled at how well she teaching Melody to play the piano, guitar, and violin. She was even doing a great job at being Melody"s vocal couch. She could tell that Melody loved to sing and loved singing in front of her friends and family. "Hey Mel...tell Uncle Oswald what you recently received from Pete." Mickey said, with a smile. "What is it?" Oswald asked as Melody ran to the kitchen, grabbed the letter from the fridge, and ran back to the living room, showing the letter to Oswald. Oswald read it out loud. "Dear Miss Melody Mouse, We cordially invite you to perform in the Disney World Christmas Day parade on December 25th, 2026...' Oswald stopped there. "Melody, that"s great news!" He said, sounding excited for her. Melody just smiled at him, and ran back to the kitchen to hang the letter up on the fridge again. "I"m so proud of our little girl, Mickey. She surely has a talent that not even I have!" Minnie announced with a smile on her face. Mickey smiled at Minnie as he took her hand and kissed her cheek. Oswald started to miss Ortensia again, and wished she was there. "If-if you"d excuse me, I need some air..." He said, walking out of the house, not realizing that Melody was watching from behind the wall to the kitchen. He sat on the front steps and looked up at the sky, as he sighed. (SONG: "Sending you a little Christmas"-Jim Brickman ft. Kristy Starling) Oswald took a picture of Ortensia out of his jacket pocket and stared at her beautiful face on shinny paper. He remembered her beautiful singing voice as well. He missed her so much. OSWALD: "A photograph, a blanket, some mistletoe, confetti snow, an angel to put on a tree. Santa Clause in crayon, to make you smile today; while you"re so far, away. So I"m sending you a little Christmas, wrapped up with love, a little peace, a little light, to remind you of, how I"m waiting for you, praying for you, I wanted you to see, so I"m sending you a little Christmas, "til you come home to me." ~WITH ORTENSIA THE LUCKY CAT IN WASTELAND~ Ortensia placed a stocking with Oswald"s name on the fluffy white trimming at the top, in a box of stuff to move to the real Toon world with. She was packing her stuff to move away to Disney World to be with Oswald, because she got some great news from the doctor just 5 seconds ago, and she was almost done packing already (LOL). ORTENSIA: "Some gingerbread, a candy cane, a stocking I made with your name; I filled it, with your favorite things. A way to say, I love you, like kisses through the air, hoping you"ll feel me there. So I"m sending you a little Christmas, wrapped up with love, a little peace, a little light, to remind you of, how I"m waiting for you, praying for you, I wanted you to see, so I"m sending you a little Christmas, "til I come home to you." OSWALD: "Home into these arms of mine..." BOTH: "Home, where you/I belong! So I"m sending you a little Christmas, wrapped up with love, a little peace, a little light, to remind you of, how I"m waiting for you, praying for you, I wanted you to see, so I"m sending you a little Christmas..." ~BACK WITH OSWALD~ OSWALD: "Till you, Come home...! Home, till you come home, to me." (End of song) Oswald sighed again and looked back at the picture of his lovely cat wife in his hand. "Ortensia, I"m so sorry for leaving when I did. I should have stayed with you, in your final hours." He said to no one in particular. Melody over-heard him though and got an idea. She grabbed her music binder from the music area as Corona, Mickey, and Minnie were talking and catching up. She ran up to her room, sat at the keyboard by the window, and began to write her very first original song, about Christmas and lost loved ones...and where those loved ones could be. ~END OF CHAPTER~ 2 Oswald"s First Disney Christmas (A musical) Chapter 2: Melody"s Christmas present for Oswald *Anything italicized is someone"s thought bubble - NAME: "italicized"=singing - The next day, in Wasteland, Ortensia had finished packing and was heading to her new home with Oswald and her half-brother-in-law. She couldn"t wait. Melody was at the park that same day. Christmas Eve in the afternoon was full of hassle at all the stores she went to. So, she went for a walk by herself at the park. Considering she was 16 years old, she could do anything alone now. She was just walking, with her hands in her hands in her coat pockets when she heard a guitar being played by the lake. She followed the sound and saw her high school crush and best friend Mason Rat sitting on a rock, and playing her favorite Christmas song of all time. He tried to sing the song, but he was massacring the entire song. Melody giggled and walked closer as she heard him stop and sigh. "Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright..." Mason looked at Melody and was shocked at her voice. "Well, come on...play the song!" She yelled as she sat on the next rock beside him, ready to sing. Mason began playing the song again and Melody; began to sing. MELODY: "Silent Night, Holy Night, all is calm, all is bright, round yon virgin mother and child, holy infant so tender and mild, sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace." Mason continued to play the song as Melody sang the second verse. MELODY: "Silent Night, Holy Night, son of God, love"s pure light, radiant beams from thy holy face, with the dawn of redeeming Grace, Christ the Savior is born, Christ the Savior is born..." Mason stopped playing for that was all he knew and Melody"s voice was growing weak from the cold. But, everyone who stopped to listen clapped for them and then continued to do what they were doing. "Wow, you just saved me from embarrassment, Mel!" Mason said to Melody, making her blush a little. "Oh, it was nothing." She said in return, with a little giggle afterwards. "You have a beautiful voice." "Th-thanks..." Just when they thought they were alone still, and were about to walk away from each other, they heard giggling from behind Melody. Melody looked over and saw her 2 best friends Rachel Duck and Ebony Cat, and Rachel was holding a stick over the mouse and rat, giggling. Melody looked up and saw the mistletoe above them and blushed. "Rachel, Ebony!" She yelled. Mason just chuckled a hearty chuckle like Mickey. "I"m sorry, they are always trying..." She began to say as she looked back at Mason, when he just kissed her on the lips making her close her eyes and kiss him back. Rachel and Ebony smiled excited as Rachel pulled the mistletoe away from them, but stayed. When Melody and Mason pulled away, Melody"s eyes were sparkling as she smiled. Mason smiled too, for he felt the same way. "Did you feel...?" Melody began to ask. "You bet I did." Mason replied back kisses her cheek afterwards. "AW!" Rachel and Ebony sighed. Melody and Mason just chuckled at their friends as their foreheads touched. "Um...excuse me...?" A voice said. Melody looked over and saw someone she was hoping to see home. "Auntie Ortensia!" She yelled getting up and hugging her. "Oh, my, goodness...hello Melody...!" Ortensia said, hugging her back. Melody pulled away and said, excited: "Uncle Oswald has been a wreck ever since he got here! He"s been slumped on the couch at my house, just being quiet." Ortensia started feeling terrible. If only she could have called him before she left Wasteland. "Oh, my poor Bunny...I should..." Ortensia began when: "NO! I have a better idea..." Melody said, with her idea smile painted on her face. ~END OF CHAPTER~ Oswald"s First Disney Christmas (A musical) Chapter 3: Christmas Eve, with Mason Rat. *Anything italicized is someone"s thought bubble - NAME: "italicized"=singing - That night, Melody came home, and snuck Ortensia into the guest room, since Oswald just slept on the couch, and told her to stay. Mason had come with to her house, with his guitar. Minnie walked in at that time when Mason walked in and asked: "Who are you?" Mason looked at Minnie and smiled. "Hi, Mrs. Mouse...I"m Mason Rat...Melody"s boyfriend." Minnie smiled and looked for Melody. "Well, where"s Melody?" "Oh, she"s hiding her present for Mr. Rabbit, who is passed out on the couch." Mason replied, chuckling at the sleeping black rabbit on the couch. Minnie giggled and covered Oswald up with a blue blanket that Melody knitted herself. "Well, I look forward to seeing her gift for him tonight." "It"s not being given tonight, mom." Melody said when she came back into the living room. Minnie looked at Melody and looked confused. "What do you mean, Mel, dear?" "Auntie Ortensia came back just now, and Uncle Oswald doesn"t know that she"s here. So, we have to keep it a secret and wait until the parade tomorrow." Melody whispered quietly to Minnie and Mason. "Oh, you plan on announcing her on the float?" Minnie asked. "No mom. I plan on having her..." Melody began to explain when Oswald began to stir and woke up. "What"s going on?" He asked, as he rubbed his eyes and sounding groggy. "Nothing Uncle Oswald..." Melody said, smiling. Oswald smiled at Melody and then saw Mason and sighed. "Who"s the boy?" He asked. Melody giggled as Mason chuckled like Mickey, just as Mickey himself walked through the door. "Hello Mason! By golly, what are you doing?!" He asked, excited. "I"m here for Christmas Mr. Mouse. Melody invited me." Mason replied. "I take it he"s your boyfriend, huh, Mel." Oswald said, sitting up. Melody giggled as Mason put an arm around her. "Yeah, Uncle Oswald...he is." She replied. "When did that happen?" Mickey asked. "Tonight actually...Rachel and Ebony held a stick with mistletoe over our heads at the park. We kissed and...I felt something I didn"t know was really there." Melody explained. Mason just chuckled and Mickey chuckled too, and it felt like there were two Mickey Mouses in the room, making Melody, Minnie, and Oswald laugh. "Oh, boy...Mickey Jr. is in the house right now!" Oswald laughed, feeling a little better about the situation with Ortensia. Melody laughed as well and put her head on Mason"s shoulder. Ortensia was up in the guest room, with the knowledge of that Oswald didn"t know she was there. She sighed as she sat on the bed, thinking of just leaving the guest room just to show Oswald she was alive and well. But, she didn"t want to ruin Melody"s gift for him. So, she stayed. Ortensia took out a picture of Oswald from her purse and looked at her handsome rabbit husband on shinny paper. She sighed and really wanted to see him, but knew it had to be a surprise because of Melody. (SONG: "My Song for you"-Bridgit Mendler ft. Shane Harper) Just then, Ortensia heard music coming from down the hall. So, she peeked out the door and saw Melody with her boyfriend Mason, playing their instruments and getting ready to sing a song they both thought fit Oswald and her. [Mason has certain songs he can sing.] MELODY: "didn"t know what to get you, ordinary just wouldn"t do, but I just found the perfect gift, for you. Now I got it already, but it"s not wrapped in red or green, come and sit down beside me here, underneath the Christmas tree! We"ve got..." BOTH: "...mistletoe, and firelight, on this cold December night, the snow outside, will set the mood, as I sing my song for you." MELODY: "I hear church bells are ringing..." BOTH: "Carolers are singing, harmony with me now..." MASON: "You are looking so lovely...yeah..." BOTH: "Even if the lights go out! We"ve got mistletoe, and firelight, on this cold December night, the snow outside, will set the mood..." MELODY: "...as I sing my song for you." MASON: "You"re so beautiful; I only hope you see what I see..." MELODY: "Yeah..." BOTH: "every word; is meant to show you how much you mean to me..." MELODY: "We"ve got mistletoe, and firelight, on this cold December night..." BOTH: "...the snow outside, will set the mood, as I sing my song...We"ve got mistletoe, and firelight, on this cold December night, the snow outside, will set the mood..." MELODY: "...as I sing my song...." MASON: "Sing my song..." BOTH: "Sing, my song...for you..." (End of song) As the song ended, Ortensia couldn"t help smile and shed a tear. She saw Oswald looking proud of their little niece and her boyfriend. "That was beautiful, Melody!" Minnie said. "Thanks. I dedicated it to Uncle Oswald. You"ll get your present tomorrow." Melody said, looking at Oswald. Oswald smiled a little as a tear ran down his cheek. He was proud of Melody and couldn"t wait for his present. ~END OF CHAPTER~ Oswald"s First Disney Christmas (A musical) Chapter 4: Disney"s Christmas Day Parade, and Oswald"s gift *Anything italicized is someone"s thought bubble - NAME: "italicized"=singing - The next day, everyone was outside their homes, sitting on their lawns, or off to the side in Main Street. Oswald and Mickey with Minnie came a bit late. Melody went ahead of them with Oswald"s "gift" all ready to go. She was performing on the Cinderella Castle Stage and to her; that felt like a dream come true. After all, Disney World was the place where dreams begin. Oswald and his half-brother and sister-in-law, were standing on the sidewalk of Main Street. They couldn"t wait to see what Melody had in store for the parade. A float came down the street, with Austin & Ally"s Ross Lynch singing his Christmas song "Christmas Soul". Once he was done, he continued to walk down the street, waving to his fans. Melody was up next. Mickey and Minnie, made it to the front, Oswald stayed behind. To be honest, he just wanted his cat wife back and didn"t care anymore about it being Christmas Day, the first day of Christmas. He was about to head home when Melody spoke out. "I"d like to introduce my Uncle Oswald"s gift to come out here and sing with me!" Oswald stopped walking and turned around. He saw a cat girl, with a cute little green hat that had a red carnation on the side, a cute little red dress and her green winter jacket. Her eyes were a gorgeous ice blue and her fur...was black. Oswald knew right away who this was. "Or-Ortensia...?" Oswald said under his breathe. He ran up to the front and was standing next to Mickey now. "Since this is Uncle Oswald"s first Christmas here in Disney, I thought I"d give him a Christmas he"ll never forget. Auntie Ortensia, are you ready to sing?" Melody asked. Ortensia nodded her head and held a microphone as she sat down on a stool in front of Melody at the piano. (SONG: "Where are you Christmas?"-Faith Hill) Just as the music started playing, Mickey recognized it as one that he heard her writing in her room, 2 days ago. [I do NOT own the song.] MELODY: "Where are you Christmas, why can"t I find you, why have you gone away? Where is the laughter, you used to bring me, why can"t I hear music play?" ORTENSIA: "My world is changing, I"m rearranging, does that mean Christmas, changes, too?" MELODY: "Where are you Christmas, do you remember, the one you used to know?" ORTENSIA: "I"m not the same one; see what the time"s done, is that why you have, let me go?" MELODY: "Christmas is here, everywhere, oh..." ORTENSIA: "CHRISTMAS IS HERE, IF YOU CARE, OH!" BOTH: "If there is love, in your heart and your mind, it will feel like Christmas all the time. I feel you Christmas, I know I"ve found you; you never fade away! The joy of Christmas; stays here inside us..." ORTENSIA: "...fills each and every heart with love..." MELODY: "Where are you Christmas?" ORTENSIA: "Fill your heart with love." BOTH: "Ooooooooooooooooooo..." (End of song) As the song ended, everyone went berserk. Melody got off the piano bench and Ortensia got off the stool and they both bowed together. When the parade continued, Melody and Ortensia got off the stage and went down to their family. "Oh, you were great, Melody!" Mickey stated as he and Minnie hugged her. "Thanks!" Melody responded. She turned to Oswald and smiled at him. "Merry Christmas, Uncle Oswald." She added as she stepped aside with her mom and dad to reveal Ortensia behind her. Ortensia smiled at Oswald and he was in complete shock. "Or-Ortensia...?" He asked as he walked up to her. "Hey Ozzie...I"m home." Ortensia said. Oswald went from shocked...to excited and hugged her with a tight embrace. Ortensia returned that tight embrace, as a tear ran down her cheek. Oswald pulled away and wiped the tear off her cheek. "But, I thought..." He began. "I was cured in time for Christmas, Honey Bunny! I"m here to stay." Oswald smiled even wider at her little nickname for him and kissed her. She returned the kiss and Melody couldn"t help but jump and down in excitement. That night, was a little calmer than the morning and afternoon. The stars were shinning bright in the sky, and the full moon was glowing like the Star of Bethlehem. Melody smiled, as she looked up at the sky. She was lying on the snow with Mason, holding her hand. Corona and her boyfriend/best friend, Tommy Beagle (who really was a beagle) were standing around by a tree, with Mickey and Minnie, having a great time at the Christmas Party. Oswald couldn"t stop hugging Ortensia. He thought he lost her for sure. Just then, Tommy asked for everyone"s attention. Melody and Mason sat up and watched as Tommy began to ask something. "Okay, um...Corona, we"ve known each other ever since we were 5 and 6. You have made my life complete and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." He began. "Tommy, what are you...?" Corona began to ask when Tommy got down on one knee, pulling out a black velvet ring box. Corona new right then and there, what he was about to ask. Tommy opened the box and asked the question he was afraid to ask: "Corona Ann Pug, will you merry me?" Melody"s eyes widen and she smiled excitedly. "Oh, Tommy..." Corona said. She wiped away a tear and said: "Yes...yes I will merry you!" Tommy got up and put the ring on her finger. Corona just smiled and kissed him as he kissed her. Everyone went wild and berserk. Even Oswald stopped hugging Ortensia for a moment to go crazy wild for the newly engaged couple. "Congratulations Corona and Tommy!" Minnie said. Corona pulled away from their long kiss and wiped away another tear. She couldn"t believe he proposed on her favorite holiday of them all. "Merry Christmas, my white rose..." Tommy whispered in her ear. Corona kissed his cheek and smiled at her nickname from when she was 17 like Melody. Just then, Melody noticed the north star and smiled. She was smiling because, on this night, it reminded her of the Star of Bethlehem, from when our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, was born. MELODY: "Happy birthday, Jesus...I"m so glad its Christmas...all the tinsel and lights, and the presents are nice, but the real gift is You. Happy birthday Jesus...I"m so glad its Christmas...all the carols and bells, make the holiday swell, but it"s all about You. Happy birthday Jesus...Jesus I love You!" ALL: "Happy birthday, Jesus...I"m so glad its Christmas...all the tinsel and lights, and the presents are nice, but the real gift is You. Happy birthday Jesus...I"m so glad its Christmas...all the carols and bells, make the holiday swell, but it"s all about You..." MELODY: "...Happy birthday, Jesus...Jesus I love You." Melody closed her eyes and thought to herself: I love You, Jesus. -THE NEW YEAR- The New Year was filled with happiness and sadness. Melody died at the age of 18 in a car crash, along with her boyfriend and fiancé Mason Rat, who was 1 year older than her. Mickey and Minnie were devastated, but knew she was in a better place. The only problem was; it was too quiet around the house for Mickey and Minnie to handle. Ortensia would come over though and play some music for them so that way it would feel like Melody was still there, but it wasn"t the same. But on Christmas Eve 2027, at night, when Mickey was outside painting Pluto"s dog house yellow again because it was all pealed off, he heard her. He heard Melody"s voice singing again! MELODY: "Happy birthday, Jesus...I"m so glad its Christmas...all the tinsel and lights, and the presents are nice, but the real gift is You. Happy birthday Jesus...I"m so glad its Christmas...all the carols and bells, make the holiday swell, but it"s all about You. Happy birthday Jesus...Jesus I love You!" "Melody...?" He asked, looking around. "I love you daddy." Melody"s voice echoed through the air, making Mickey"s eyes water up and a tear fall down his cheek. He and Minnie both heard her singing every Christmas after her death from then on, and, when the time came, they would see her once again...when they were up there with here. THE END~ Merry Christmas, from Shadowsgirl3214 (Rebecca Monroe)

LYDIA: And we"re gonna be spiteful TOXIC: yes spiteful/that"s nice/in just an hour or two our future"s safe and sure/this mother-daughter act is going out on tour/if you wanna be evil and awful and free/then you should thank your lucky star/that you were born the girl you are/the daughter of an evilicious queen/like/ME! (End of song) After that, Lydia turned around, and saw that her mother was gone. She looked back up at her mother"s photo, and grinned evilly. For her plan, was going to happen really soon, as she walked towards the bed room, where Blade was waiting. ~END OF CHAPTER~ Chapter 3 *Anything italicized is someone"s thought or someone is singing. Bolded + italicized=flashback or memory *=lyrics have been changed to fit story "So, you mean to tell me, that you are my daughter from the future?" Kaz asked as they sat in the Rec Room of Mighty Med. "That"s right." Elsa responded. "And your name is Elsa?" "Yes, dad." Elsa replied again. "Mom was the one who named me. You got to name my little sister...even though you were dead when she was born." "How does Kaz die?" Oliver asked. "Well...Lydia destroyed him at work when I was only 6. I don"t know much after that." Elsa replied. "She would be around our age though. She is only 15 right now." Icelyn replied. "Yes! Exactly!" Elsa began as she stood up quickly. "But you were the one who told me that always keep a sharp eye out, for you never know who could be evil, and who can be good." "Wait, I told you that?" Icelyn asked, shocked. "Yeah!" "That"s weird, you"d think Skyler would have told her that." Oliver said. "Actually, she told me that to be a hero you have to be self sacrificing...dad would drill that into me everyday as well." Elsa replied before walking further into the Rec Room, with her arms crossed, and a tear falling down her face. "Elsa, dear." Icelyn began, as she placed a hand on her shoulder, making Elsa look up at her. "We want to help, we do! But we just don"t know how." "But you are Ice Storm! You can do anything!" Elsa said. "How"d you know that?" Icelyn asked. (SONG: "Stories" - Beauty and the Beast 2)* "You told me 6 years later after my dad died. That you and my dad would fight evil together and...found love along the way." "I did?" "Yeah. You did." ELSA: Once I was old enough/you told me everything/one day you were normal/the next, you were a hero/you had become Ice Storm/just to save my dad/now the future is set in stone/that is why I"m glad. You told me stories/about your life/all filled with wonder/a magic world where the impossible/became the everyday/we found a mountain top/and some moonbeams to sit under/you had lead, because you knew the way. Just then, Elsa opened a time hole in mid-air, and showed the battles that Icelyn and Kaz had shared throughout the years to come. ELSA: So much too discover/I do it all the time/I could live inside these periods/when the world was fine/you guys slayed a dragon/you had followed him around/and he smiled/yes he smiled/as his dream left the ground! Stories and stories/about mermaids, kings, and sunken treasure/magic worlds where the impossible/became the everyday/you knew a tiny place/just a dot to small to measure/you took me there/you knew the way! Stories about heroes/who overcame their deepest sorrows/they put hope into my heart again/I cherish them everyday... And that was when, the wedding showed up in the Time Hole, showing Kaz standing at the alter with a big smile on his face, and a beautiful bride walking down the aisle. ELSA: So you"ll find a better world/and the strength to face tomorrow/I"m sure that when you find the way... That was when Icelyn"s face showed up as she turned to face Kaz at the alter, making Kaz stand up and walk slowly towards it, and Icelyn"s eyes to widen. ELSA: ...you"ll want/to stay. (End of song) After a while, Elsa made the Time Hole close and looked at the young versions of her parents. "I"m your...?" Icelyn began to ask, but couldn"t find the words. "Yeah, you are...mom." Elsa said, before Icelyn smiled and just hugged her. Elsa hugged her back with a smile as well. "So that"s what you meant." Icelyn said as she pulled away from the hug. "You bet!" Elsa said with a smile, before grabbing her head while wincing. "OW!" "Elsa, you okay?" Oliver asked. "I"m fine." Elsa said, before her eyes widened with fear. "Oh, no..." "What is it, dear?" Icelyn asked. Elsa looked up at her teenage parents (that sounds bad, I know) with fear coding her face. "Lydia is already planning to kill Kaz." she said. The next day was weird, Kaz and Icelyn barely spoke to each other, and that was unsettling for Skyler and Oliver. Kaz and Icelyn always spoke to each other and hung out. But today, was different. "Do you think this has something to do with them finding out that they are going to get married and have two children?" Skyler asked Oliver. "I think it might be." Oliver answered. "Hey, guys." Icelyn said with a smile on her face. "Hey Lyn. Where"s Kaz?" Skyler asked. "I don"t know. I haven"t seen him today." Icelyn answered as the smile left her face. "Icelyn, is there something you want to tell us?" Oliver asked. "I just...I just feel weird...knowing I"m going to marry Kaz, and have a daughter or two, kind of makes me feel..." "Awkward?" A voice asked from behind, making Icelyn look and see Kaz standing there. "Kaz, where have you been?!" Oliver yelled. "I just got here. I missed the bus and my mom made me walk." Kaz answered. Icelyn could tell he was lying because he had a certain hand gesture he did every time he did. "Kaz, dear...where were you really?" Icelyn asked. "I"m sorry, but are you my mom?!" Kaz yelled. "Uh, no. I"m just the second most important girl in your life!" "Oh, no." Skyler said under her breathe. "Yeah, well, last I checked, what I do is my business. I don"t have to report to you with everything I do!" "You do if it has something to do with Elsa and everything that we learned last night!" "No I don"t!" Kaz yelled back. "Kaz, what"s gotten into you!?" "Nothing, mom!" "Hey, guys, stop it." Oliver interjected as Elsa walked in and hid behind a locker close by, for she saw that her parents were fighting. "Yeah, we"re all..." "Were you with Elsa?!" "So what if I was?! I just found out that I"m gonna have a daughter in the future! You really think I wouldn"t want to hang out with her?!" "You"d be able to when she"s really our daughter and I"m her mother!" "At least she"d have a mother!" Kaz yelled before smacking his hand on his mouth. "Kaz!" Skyler yelled in disappointment. "You-you didn"t just say that." Icelyn said as tears began to form in her eyes. "Icelyn, I"m so sorry. I don"t..." "We"re done." Icelyn said before running off out of the school. "Icelyn!" Kaz yelled after her but sighed in defeat when she was out of ear shot. "I can"t believe you said that!" Oliver yelled. "Guys, I swear, I don"t know what came over me. I was just so angry and it slipped out!" Kaz retorted. You could tell he felt really bad about what he said to his girl...ex-girlfriend. That"s when it hit him. "Did-did she say we were done?" "Yeah...I"m sorry, Kaz." Skyler said. "No...I can"t lose her." Icelyn sat outside, sitting on the curb crying her eyes out in her lap. But that was when she got so angry that she shot a piece of black ice at the ground. She looked at it and sighed. "Well, this isn"t how I wanted to unlock a new ability." She said before standing up and looking up at the sky. "Why did I say that?" They both said in unison. ~END OF CHAPTER~ Chapter 4 *Anything italicized is someone"s thought or someone is singing. Bolded + italicized=flashback or memory *=lyrics have been changed to fit story Icelyn stood in her room 6 days later, while looking at her reflection, as tears almost started streaming down her face. She wiped them away real fast before looking out the window, only to see that it had turned into a gloomy day. "Kaz, I"m so sorry. I should have given you a chance to explain yourself." She said out loud to no one specific. (SONG: "If this was a movie" - Taylor Swift) Last night I heard my own heart beating/sounded like footsteps on my stairs/6 days gone and I"m still reaching/even though I know/you"re not there/I"ve been playing back a thousand memories baby/thinking about everything we"ve been through/maybe I"ve been going back too much lately/when time stood still/and I had you. Come back/come back/come back to me like/you would/you would if this was a movie/stand in the rain outside till I came out/come back/come back/come back to me like/you could/you could if you just said you"re sorry/I know that we could work it out somehow/but if this was a movie/you"d be here by now. Icelyn walked to her bed and sat down on it, as she looked at a photo she kept on her nightstand, of her and Kaz together at the Mighty Med picnic. I know people change and these things happen/but I remember how it was back then/locked up in your arms and our friends were laughing/cuz nothing like this ever happened to them/now I"m pacing down the halls/chasing down your street/flashback to the night when you said to me/"nothing"s gonna change/not for me and you"/not before I knew how much I had to lose. Come back/come back/come back to me like/you would/you would if this was a movie/stand in the rain outside till I came out/come back/come back/come back to me like/you could/you could if you just said you"re sorry/I know that we could work it out somehow/but if this was a movie/you"d be here by now. Icelyn stood up from her bed and walked outside on her patio, thinking about the time she saved him from Toxic Flame. If you"re out there/if you"re somewhere/if you"re moving on/I think about you ever since you"ve been gone/I just want it back the way it was before/and I just wanna see you back at my front door. And I"d say come back/come back/come back to me like/you would before you said "it"s not that easy"/before the fight/before I locked you out/but I take it all back now! Come back/come back/come back to me like/you would/you would if this was a movie/stand in the rain outside till I came out/come back/come back/come back to me like/you could/you could if you just said you"re sorry/I know that we could work it out somehow/but if this was a movie/you"d be here by now. (End of song) Icelyn sighed before going back into the house and closing her patio doors behind her as her phone rang, making her walk over to it, and see that it was Oliver calling. So, she answered it. "Hey Oliver. Look, I"m fine. But I need to know where Kaz is." She said. "I was just about to ask you that. He hasn"t shown up to Mighty Med, and he was supposed to be here hours ago. He"s never late to show up here." Oliver said on the other line. That was when Icelyn"s eyes widened. "Oliver, grab Skyler and meet me at The Domain. Kaz might be in trouble!" Icelyn yelled as she hung up and ran out of her room and out the front door. Kaz began to walk down the street to get home from school. But which ever way he went, it was blocked off. So, he went to The Domain to think. He went for some comic books and grabbed one that looked interesting, then walked over to the couch and sat down on it, as he plopped his book bag on the floor. He then looked at the cover of the comic and grinned. The cover was of him in his Ghostly Moon outfit, and Icelyn in her Ice Storm look, with their hands clasped and smiling. The title of it said "The Adventures of Ghostly Moon and Ice Storm". Kaz began to read it before he could feel a tear run down his cheek. He closed the comic book and set it on the table in front of him before leaning back against the couch. "What did I do? I got angry for no reason." Kaz began before standing up and looking over at the door, only to see the ice was still there from when Icelyn first learned about her powers. "She was my everything." He stated before he realized... "I"ve always been a player...but with her..." Kaz grabbed his book bag before running out of The Domain, so he could go make things right with Icelyn, but found himself bumping into someone, and looking up. "Ghostly Moon, is it?" The man asked. "Who are you? And how"d you know that?" Kaz asked as he was getting ready to use one of his moonbeams on him. "I"m Blade...Lydia"s boyfriend." Blade answered before a full on fight began to play out. Kaz used his moonbeams to stop the evil man, while Blade just used his swords to try and destroy him for his beloved Lydia. But Kaz was way too quick with those. He tried his best not to get hit and to dodge the swords as he used his royal blue moon shield to protect him. But after a while... "AH!" Kaz yelled as he was thrown to the ground, with Lydia standing 2 feet in front of him now. "This is for my mother!" She yelled as she made a black fireball in her hand. Kaz braced himself for the impact...that never came. He heard a gasp, which made him open his eyes and look up, only to see Icelyn standing in front of him, with a burn mark on her stomach. His eyes widened as she fell to her knees, while holding her stomach. "Icelyn?" Kaz said, in a hushed tone, and afraid that she was hurt. "K-Kaz...I-I"m sorry for not giving you a chance...to explain yourself." She said before she fell completely to the ground, unconscious. "ICELYN!" Kaz screamed right as Skyler and Oliver showed up, only to see Icelyn lying on the ground, and Kaz, holding her in his arms. "Icelyn, come on, wake up. I need you to wake up." Kaz kept saying as he shook her, and patted her face to get her to open her eyes. But nothing worked. "Why would she do that?" Lydia said under her breathe before she disappeared with Blade following behind her. Kaz then quickly picked up Icelyn bridal style and turned around before running towards Mighty Med with Oliver and Skyler running after him. "Why would she sacrifice herself to save him!?" Lydia yelled as she threw some fire at a wall, thankfully missing Blade"s head. They had just returned to their castle to come up with a new plan to destroy Ghostly Moon. But, they were coming up empty. "Relax, Lydia." Blade began, before he saw his girlfriend create a fireball in her hand and giving him the evil eye. "Or don"t!" He said, as he put up his hands in defence. "Just a thought." Lydia let the fireball die down as she walked away from Blade and towards another room. She needed alone time. "Let me be for a while, Blade!" She yelled to him before she closed the door to the room she entered completely. She then turned on some of the torches and looked around the room. It was small, and dimly lit, with one single window that you could look out and see her planet in distress. She lived on Mars after all. "What am I to do now, mother? Their love is so strong, I don"t even think I CAN defeat them." Lydia said out loud before a big sigh came out of her mouth. "Oh, I know you can"t." A voice broke the silence, making Lydia spin around and see a young girl who looked like she was in her late 30s or early 40s, with medium length brown hair that had little streaks of gray and black in it, and hazel blue eyes. Her skin was pretty pale (she was almost an older version of Icelyn) and her outfit showed that she meant business. It was a black long-sleeved v-neck shirt, with a black leather mini-skirt and black leather high-heeled boots. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was leaning up against the wall. She was giving Lydia the evil eye practically. "What do you want, Marilee?" Lydia asked with her own evil eye. "Nothing. I just came to see you." The girl now known as Marilee began as she pushed herself off of the wall and walked towards Lydia. Why does that feel unsettling to me? Lydia thought to herself. "You hurt my daughter." Marilee stated with anger in her voice. "I was aiming for her worthless boyfriend. She was the one who ran in front of hi..." Lydia didn"t get to finish, for Marilee reached into her chest, and pulled out her darkened heart. "That may be...but you don"t mess with my family." Marilee stated as she held the heart of Toxic Flame"s daughter. "What now? You gonna kill me by crushing my heart?" Lydia asked, more like stated. "No...I"m gonna watch you suffer, as my daughter and her boyfriend turns you into ice and snow...just like your mother." Marilee began. "You"re only letting the darkness inside you win by doing this." Lydia stated with fire in her eyes. "At least I"m not the one trying to change my daughter"s future by killing the man she"s meant to marry." Lydia went silent at that being said. "Now, if you would excuse me..." Marilee began as she put the heart back into Lydia"s chest. "...I have to go see Icelyn. She"s in bad condition...THANKS TO YOU!" Marilee then swiped her right hand up her body, making black smoke go around her, and making her disappear. Lydia stared at the spot where Marilee Diaz used to stand, with her hand on her chest as she breathed heavily. Marilee was letting the darkness inside her take control. She had no idea what she was doing half the time now-a-days! It was like she was slowly turning into...a super villain. ~END OF CHAPTER~ Hey everyone, sorry for the late update. I"ve been busy with work now getting more hours than usual since it"s the Christmas season. So, forgive me. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, and I hope you like the little twist with Icelyn"s mom and stuff. See you guys in the next chapter. Hopefully I"ll be able to find time to write it. Thanks again for reading. Ba-bye! ~Brittany Bauer Chapter 5 *Anything italicized is someone"s thought or someone is singing. Bolded + italicized=flashback or memory *=lyrics have been changed to fit story Kaz, Oliver, and Skyler ran into Mighty Med, with Icelyn in Kaz"s arms, and straight for a gurney. Kaz sat Icelyn down on the gurney and held her hand tight. His face held that of worry as he pushed a strand of hair out of her face. Her face looking so peaceful, like she was just sleeping (which he was hoping was just the case). "Please, Lyn..." Kaz began. "...be okay." Horace walked in and almost freaked the moment he saw Icelyn on the gurney. "Icelyn!" He yelled as he ran towards her and looked as worried as a father would look if his baby girl was hurt. "What happened?!" "She saved me from dying by Lydia"s hand." Kaz said as he realized why she did that. "Because she still has feelings for me." He added that part under his breathe. "Like a true hero." Skyler stated as she placed a hand on Kaz"s shoulder. Kaz looked over at his two best friends and slightly grinned at them. He was grateful to have friends like them. They always showed him support. "You were supposed to protect her!" Horace yelled, making Kaz and them look at him, and Kaz"s expression to that of saddened. "I would have if I had known she"d do that for me..." Kaz began before he looked down at his hand interlocked with Icelyn"s. "...and that she was there." "Don"t take it out on Kaz, Horace." A voice spoke, making the group of friends look up to see the girl that appeared to Lydia earlier, Marilee. "It"s not his fault our little girl is hurt." Horace stared at her for a long while with that of shock, as he walked slowly towards her. "Marilee?" "Long time no see, dearie." Marilee said as she walked towards him and looked up at him. "I"ve missed you." "Mary, I thought you dead." "So did the girls. But I just ran." Marilee began as she walked around him and towards her baby. "The darkness inside me was getting too strong and I didn"t want Icelyn to witness my villainess. So I ran, and made her think I was dead." "Well, can I just say, thank you for doing so! Because than Icelyn wouldn"t have met Kaz if you didn"t!" Oliver yelled. Marilee giggled before touching her daughter"s other hand. "Icelyn...my baby girl." "You"re Icelyn"s mother?" Kaz asked. "Yeah, I am." Marilee stated. "It"s nice to finally meet my daughter"s boyfriend." "Ex, actually." Kaz stated before walking away. "Ex?" Horace said confused, before walking after Kaz. "Let me guess, he touched a scab that wasn"t entirely healed." Marilee asked. "Yeah. He mentioned you, her mother, and that broke her." Skyler answered. "I see..." Marilee began before looking at her daughter again and grinned before placing a kiss on her forehead. "Well, that wound will heal...once she sees that I"m alive." Kaz forced himself into the empty Rec room, and sat on the couch as he thought back to their fight. Their first fight actually. He should have never brought up that old scar. Cuz now, he was once again single thanks to his big mouth. Horace walked in and saw Kaz just sitting there. He grinned slightly before sitting down next to him on the couch. "Kaz, what happened? How did you guys break up?" "I mentioned her mother...and that opened a wound I guess." Kaz began. "And she broke up with you then?" Horace understood after that, very simple, explaination for Kaz. "I should have known better to get so over sensitive about Elsa." "That little girl that"s right over there?" Horace asked, as Elsa walked up to them, with worry laced on her face. "Yeah, gramps." Elsa said with a wink. "Gramps!? How and when did this happen?!" "That"s a long story." Kaz stated. "Dad, what"s wrong with mom? And did I hear that you guys broke up?"

King Boo stood up and charged at Luigi, making Mario fire some of his red fireballs at him, and making King Boo fly back again. Luigi charged up some of his green fire and electricity from his Mr. L years (I"ll write a story about another time when he"s Mr. L), and shot it all at once at King Boo, causing him to be pinned to the wall, screaming and yelling in pain. Evelle just stood there. She didn"t know what to do! King Boo was going to be too strong for just Luigi and Mario to fight off alone, even with the help of a ghost! But then it hit her: 2 ghosts are better than 1. She looked over at Ember"s body and ran up to her, kneeling down next to her. She knew what she had to do. King Boo shot through the fire and electricity and made his way to Luigi, punching him in the stomach. Luigi fell to the ground, coughing up blood and Mario starting punching at King Boo, but going right through him. "Did you forget Mario? I"m a ghost!" King Boo said as he hit Mario across the face, making him fall to the ground, with a big cut by his right eye. "I am also too powerful for you to defeat." King Boo laughed evilly, not paying attention to what Evelle was doing. Evelle placed a necklace around Ember"s neck. It was an ice blue heart shaped diamond on a chain. Evelle put one around her neck too. Hers looked the same, only it was a hot pink upside down heart shaped diamond. She closed her eyes as her diamond started glowing, along with Ember"s, as a melody poured out of them. Evelle was afraid they wouldn"t mix considering they were 2 different species: a ghost and a human/half-ghost. But to her surprise, they were the same melody. This had proved to Evelle that Ember was still considering her there with her on stage, singing their hearts out together. This made Evelle smile really big, as Ember"s breathing came back. The light had gotten brighter, making Mario, Luigi, and King Boo to take notice. (SONG: "Fearless"-Olivia Holt) EVELLE I"m stuck in your head; I"m back from the dead, Got you runnin" scared, I"m fearless. I"m callin" you out; I"m takin" you down, Don"t you come around, I"m fearless...I"m fearless... The melody began to get bigger at this point. "What are you doing, Evelle McKnight!?" King Boo yelled, getting scared a bit. Oh-whoa-oh-oh-oh-whoa-oh... Luigi didn"t even know what was going on, but he had a feeling what Evelle was up to. Luigi had then heard a voice he knew too well...making his eyes widen. I"m fearless... EMBER I"ve got the upper hand now, and you"re losing ground, You never had to fight back, never lost a round, You see the gloves are coming off, tell me when you"ve had enough...yeah... Just then, the light died down, showing Evelle standing back-to-back with...Ember. EVELLE Ready for a showdown, and we"re face-to-face, I think I"ll rearrange it, put you in your place, You don"t get the best of me, check it you"re afraid of me! Ember opened her eyes up, showing them to be hot pink and not blue, as she made some ice in her hand, and looked at King Boo. She shot the ice from her hand at King Boo right as she started singing the chorus with her twin sister. BOTH I"m stuck in your head; I"m back-back from the dead, Got you runnin" scared, I"m fearless! I"m callin" you out; I"m takin" you down, Don"t you come around, I"m fearless...I"m fearless! King Boo was terrified now. He had no clue that Evelle could bring back people from the dead...along with herself. EVELLE I"m fearless EMBER You used to make my heart pound, just the thought of you, But now you"re in the background, what"cha gonna do, Sound off if you hear this, we"re feelin" fearless...we"re feeling fearless! BOTH I"m stuck in your head; I"m back-back from the dead, Got you runnin" scared, I"m fearless! I"m callin" you out; I"m takin" you down, Don"t you come around, I"m fearless...I"m fearless! Evelle made an ice blue fireball in her hand, as Ember made some more ice in her hand, and they both shot it at King Boo at the same time, right as the song ended. (End of song) King Boo got hit and flew across the room the other wall, hitting it hard, and going unconscious again. "Now Luigi!" Ember yelled to Luigi. Luigi stood up and aimed the Poltergust 3000 at King Boo, sucking him up in one complete suction, and leaving his ruby crown behind. Mario ran up to the crown and picked it up. Luigi turned around and looked at Ember who was smiling at him. "Good job, Luigi." Ember said, before falling to the ground, weak. "Ember!" Luigi ran over to her side and held her in his arms. "Ember, stay with me now." Evelle had knelt down by her sister"s side too, smiling. "I"m sorry." She said, making Ember looked at Evelle. "I"m sorry for everything I"ve done to you after I died." "It"s okay, Evelle...I forgave you a long time ago." Ember said, smiling back. Evelle took her sister"s hand, making Ember"s eyes grow wide. "Evelle..." She began. "...you"re supposed to be a ghost. How can you touch me?" "Because of the necklace I gave you..." Evelle began, making Ember look at her necklace for a quick second then back at her sister. "...I get another chance at life." Ember smiled at hearing her sister say that, making her sit up some more and hug her sister, for the first time in forever...with Evelle doing the same. ~END OF CHAPTER~ Luigi"s Mansion the Musical Chapter 13: Together again *Anything italicized is someone"s thought bubble or someone is singing *Bold=flashback - Mushroom Kingdom was at peace at long last once again. Mario was home and Peach was no longer freaking out about his safety. Luigi too found his brave side throughout the whole adventure of saving his brother. He even found love along the way. Ember was backstage of the stage in Peach"s ball room with Evelle, getting ready to perform together for a crowd of people, toads, and toadettes for the first time in forever. "You nervous, Evelle?" Ember asked her twin sister. "A little bit." She replied. "Don"t worry, sis. Just think back to when we were younger and performing together." "Yeah...just like old times." "Just like old times." "Please welcome...Evelle and Ember McKnight!" A toad"s voice spoke through the speakers. (SONG: "Better in Stereo" - Dove Cameron) A single spotlight shined on top of Ember, who was ready to sing her song, with her twin sister. EMBER: I"m up with the sunshine/I lace up my high-tops/slam dunk/ready or not/yeah show me what you"ve got. A spotlight shined on top of Evelle now, cuing her to sing. EVELLE: I"m under the spotlight/I dare you come on and follow/you dance to your own beat/I"ll sing the melody. EMBER: When you say "yeah"/I say "no"... EVELLE: When you say "stop"/all I wanna do is go, go, go. BOTH: You (you)/the other half of me (me)/the half I"ll never be (be)/the half that drives me crazy/you (you)/the better half of me (me)/the half I"ll always need (need)/cuz we both know/we"re better in stereo. Ember took a quick glance over at Luigi who was in the crowd, so noticeable with the green cap on his head, and winked at him. EVELLE: And when we"re together (again)/a sweet harmony or solo... EMBER: If we could just agree/we would go major league. EVELLE: When you say "yeah"/I say "no"... EMBER: When you say "stop"/all I wanna do is go, go, go. BOTH: You (you)/the other half of me (me)/the half I"ll never be (be)/the half that drives me crazy/you (you)/the better half of me (me)/the half I"ll always need (need)/cuz we both know/we"re better in stereo. EMBER: You say it"s "wrong"/I say it"s "right"... EVELLE: You say it"s "black"/I say it"s "white"... EMBER: You take a left/and I take a right... EVELLE: but at the end of the day/we both know...we"re better...! BOTH: You (you)/the other half of me (me)/the half I"ll never be (be)/the half that drives me crazy/you (you)/the better half of me (me)/the half I"ll always need (need)/cuz we both know/we"re better in stereo. EVELLE: We"re better in stereo EMBER: Better in stereo BOTH: Better in stereo (End of song) Everyone went berserk for the two twins. Luigi was the loudest out of the whole crowd of people there. Ember and Evelle shared a touching sisterly hug, before Luigi came up from backstage, making Ember run up to him, and hug him and kiss him. Evelle looked over, and saw a boy with brown hair, that looks nothing like Mario, but he had the crisp blue eyes that she fell for right off the bat. After that day, everything seemed normal. Luigi and Ember would go back to the old mansion that the adventure they had took place every now and then. To Ember"s surprise, Luigi was never afraid to walk around the place after a few trips. Maybe it was because that there were no longer any ghosts haunting that place anymore. After a month or two, Ember and Evelle had be discovered by a record label and was made famous. But they had to move out of the Mushroom Kingdom and go to Hollywood, California in order to work on albums and such. Ember didn"t like saying goodbye to Luigi, but he knew that this was one of her biggest dreams ever. So, he let her fly. But every now and then, Ember would come back to the Mushroom Kingdom, just to visit her boyfriend and her friends. So, anything can happen when you least expect it. Luigi found love and his bravery, and Ember got her sister back. To them, nothing could take that away from them...but nothing good lasts forever. ~THE END?~ Sorry this took so long to update. But IT IS FINALLY FINISHED! I just want to say thank you all for reading my story and to say the reason why it"s "The End?" instead of "The End". I"m going to be working on a sequel of this story, and, of course, it will be a musical as well. I haven"t played "Luigi"s Mansion: Dark Moon" mainly because I don"t have a Nintendo DS or 3DS or whatever that one is for (should be for the Wii, because I have 2 of those), so it won"t be that type of story...it will be like a sequel of this one, but with a different premise. Anyway, I digress. Keep an eye out for the sequel of this story. Oh, and if you have any requests for a whole story, or a one-shot, just review or PM me to tell me your idea and I"ll think about it. Thank you again, Happy Halloween, and God bless each and everyone of you. ~Brittany Bauer Hey everyone! I know I had finished the original like 2 years ago by now, but I didn"t really like how it turned out now that I went back and read it from the beginning (it didn"t really make much sense). It will still be up so people can read it, but just note, that I have written a re-write of this story. I wanted to make it make sense, and change some of the story around, so it would be more entertaining than it just talking about backstories and what not for the characters (because we kept talking about Ember"s heart and backstory of how she lost her twin sister basically throughout the whole story...not good lol). Speaking of which, I realized as I was reading it, that it wasn"t possible to have half your heart die while the other half was still living and pumping blood. So, I"ve changed that in the re-write. I also wanted to change Evelle"s name to something more prettier, mainly because Evelle sounds like Evil. And I don"t want that (I guess at the time of writing the original I did, but whatever). So, now Evelle"s new name is Evanora McKnight (just a warning so you don"t get confused when you read it). King Boo will still be in it, along with E. Gadd (who I will just saying his full first name throughout the story, which is Elvin), but King Boo won"t be the main boss like he was in the game (yes, this is a game that I"ve played, unlike the Kingdom Hearts game series that I haven"t played...yet that is). I really hope you enjoy the re-write, I know I enjoyed writing it, because it took me back to when I first started writing on this site, and how it has helped me improve my writing. Because now, I"m starting to write originals. Like my story Water Lilly that"s a Webshows crossover with Sailor Moon, is being written as an original right as we speak. Anyway, thanks for reading this little update. I should have the re-write of Luigi"s Mansion: the musical up on the site soon, and hopefully, I can write all the chapters at one before publishing it, because I don"t want to make you guys wait for the next chapter for days on end (I still feel bad for making you all wait for the very last chapter of the original). So take care guys, God bless, and have a terrific day. ~Brittany Bauer P.S, I"m also making it seem more modern than the other one. Sorry if you guys don"t like that idea. Luigi"s Mansion the Musical Chapter 2: The Ghost of Ember McKnight *Anything italicized is someone"s thought bubble or someone is singing - "So, who are you two?" The old man asked before saying his own name, once they were in his laboratory. "I"m Luigi Mario." Luigi said. "The brother of Mario?!" The old man asked. "Yeah, he is." Ember piped in. "Oh, wow! I never thought I"d live to meet Mario"s brother!" The old man exclaimed. Luigi just blushed and Ember smiled. "Anyway, who are you, young lady?" The old man asked, turning towards Ember. "I"m Luigi"s best friend, Ember, Ember McKnight." Ember replied. The old man looked like he was about to pass out. Ember sighed. She knew he remembered her name from somewhere. "I remember that terrible car accident with a girl getting hit...are you that girl?" The old man asked. Ember felt a tear go down her cheek as she shook her head yes. "I"m glad that you survived, Ember." The old man responded. "Yeah, I"m not." Ember blurted out. "Ember..." Luigi said with shock in his voice. "Luigi, if I didn"t survive then..." Ember began but then sighed. "...then...I don"t know. But my life has been nothing but crap ever since that accident." The old man felt bad for Ember. "I"m sorry, Miss McKnight." He said to her. Ember looked at the old man and grinned. "Well, my name is Professor Elvin Gadd; or E Gadd for short!" E Gadd exclaimed. "HA! E Gadd, I should have known you were still ghost hunting around these parts!" Ember"s ghost yelled out. "Who-who was that?" E Gadd asked, shaken. Ember gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. She just had to speak out. She thought. "Alright you bitch, where are you!?" Ember yelled at the voice. "Who is she talking to, Luigi?" E Gadd asked in a quiet tone. "Don"t think I can"t hear you...because I can, E Gadd." Ember said as she looked at E Gadd with her florescent hot pink colored ghost eyes. E Gadd gasped at the sight. "Ember, your eyes..." Luigi mentioned. Ember realized that her eyes changed and she didn"t expect them to. She settled down and her eyes went back to their normal color. "You-you didn"t survive I take it." E Gadd mentioned. "Well, it"s a yes, and a no. Half of my heart died and I had to get a new half. But unfortunately my ghost was created and has been ever since. She"s been nothing but a pain in the ass." Ember exclaimed. "And she"s your best friend?" E Gadd asked, turning to Luigi. "She"s not just average punk; she"s a sweet girl who just needs someone to trust." Luigi explained. "Luigi, I don"t need someone trust. God is who I can trust, and that"s all that matters to me...but..." Ember began but stopped. "I"m sorry. I have to go." She finished as she ran out the door. "Ember, wait up!" Luigi yelled. "I"ll be right back." He ran after her to the front yard. Ember was leaning against the laboratory wall outside thinking of the accident and wishing it never happened. Luigi ran out and saw her. "Hey, what"s wrong?" He asked. "Nothing...just, leave me alone right now, Luigi." Ember replied, sounding like she was full of grief and sorrow-ness. Luigi looked at her beautiful greenish-blue eyes and just stared. "Ember, if something"s wrong, you should tell me." He added. "I"M FINE!" Ember yelled at Luigi. Luigi got startled at her voice and Ember was shocked too. It was dark and raspy, and loud. She growled and screamed, "DAMN IT!" "Ember, what has gotten into you?" Luigi asked, sounding angry and hurt at the same time. "My stupid ghost, that"s what! Ever since we got to this stupid mansion, she has been coming around at the worst possible times ever! Why does...why does she do that?" Ember replied, getting softer on the question. "Ember..." Luigi began. "She always makes my heart pound, just the thought of her, I always feel the cold wind, when she"s around, why can"t I just be strong, that"s really with me what"s, wrong...she"s stuck in my head, she"s back from the dead, got me running scared, I"m fearful, she"s calling me out, she"s taken me down, she always come around, I"m fearful..." Ember randomly sang different lyrics to her favorite song "Fearless". Luigi looked at her. He felt bad that the crash happened, and wanted to make it up to her somehow, even though it wasn"t him who hit her. (SONG: "Place to fall"-Jennette McCurdy) Just then, Ember walked forward towards the trees and stopped at one of them. She touched it and looked up at the crescent moon in the sky. She loved looking at it. It made her feel that her parents were still alive and not dead because of a fire at their house. Ember: Sometimes I feel so alone; sometimes I can"t stand the dark, Sometimes I just want to hold, someone who really knows my heart. Sometimes there"s tears behind, my smile... And I get lonely in a crowd, feels like I"m stuck, under a cloud, And I need somewhere safe, to hide away from it all, Sometimes I just need a place, to fall. Ember turned to Luigi and was singing to him. That"s when I run to you; you"re the one that I call home, You"re the only one, who sees, the broken part of me, You"re the only one who knows... Ember turned back around and looked at the sky again. That I get lonely in a crowd, feels like I"m stuck, under a cloud, And I need somewhere safe, to hide away from it all, Sometimes I just need a place, to fall...to fall... Sometimes there"s tears behind, my smile... And I get lonely in a crowd, feels like I stuck, under a cloud, And I need somewhere safe, to hide away from it all, Sometimes I just need a place, to fall...to fall... (End of song) Ember looked back at Luigi and smiled. Luigi walked over to her and smiled too. "Ember, listen, just because you feel alone doesn"t mean you are." Luigi began to explain. "I know that, Luigi. I just..." Ember sighed and then looked into Luigi"s sapphire blue eyes. "It"s like you said, Luigi...I"m a sweet girl who just needs someone to trust." Ember smiled as she said that and walked back to the laboratory. Luigi watched her walk in and sighed. "She"s just so pretty...but she needs help." Luigi said to himself. (SONG: "Somebody out there"-David Archuleta) Luigi looked to the sky and sighed once again. He stared at the stars and wished for Mario to be there right then and there. He needed his big brother by his side at that moment. Mario knew what to do when it came to girls. Luigi: Sittin" all alone in your room, thinkin" that the world let you down, All you ever wanted to do is trust, someone to always be around. You"ve had a lot of lessons to learn from; some of them hit you so hard, And I keep believing someday you"ll see, you don"t have to be alone. There"s somebody out there, somebody somewhere, To show you the tenderness you need, Somebody to hold you, when worries control you, I"d give anything thing, if only you knew it was me. Ember was listening with E Gadd. She smiled. I"ve been watching you go through, all of these things for a while, There"s gotta be a way, to bring you back, cuz these words sing when you smile. It doesn"t have to hurt you forever, it doesn"t have to last too long, And if you"re wonderin" where to turn to, I hope that you know. There"s somebody out there, somebody somewhere, To show you the tenderness you need, Somebody to hold you, when worries control you, I"d give anything thing, if only you knew it was me. Ember listened more intently and realized, Luigi Mario loved her the way she loved him. Her smile grew at the thought of it. E Gadd could tell Ember liked Luigi with all her heart. ...if you could only see...! There"s somebody out there, somebody somewhere, To show you the tenderness you need, Somebody to hold you, when worries control you, I"d give anything thing, if only you knew it was me. (End of song) Luigi sighed and went back to the laboratory as Ember and E Gadd ran back to the Ghost Portrificationizer. Luigi walked back into the laboratory and looked at E Gadd and Ember. "What?" He asked when he saw them staring at him. I won"t make him embarrassed. I"ll let him think I know. Ember thought as she looked at E Gadd. "Anyway, E Gadd, have you seen Luigi"s brother near the house?" Ember asked. "As a matter of fact, I did! Mario went inside without stopping to chat..." E Gadd explained. "Is he okay?!" Luigi practically yelled in Ember"s ear as he walked closer to them. "I don"t know. He never came out." E Gadd answered. "WHAT...?" Ember and Luigi yelled in unison. They looked at each other and Luigi had a scared look in his eyes. His brother was in trouble, and he needed him. "I have to save him." Luigi said, determined as he looked away from Ember. Ember looked at him still, scared that he"ll get hurt. "Well, then I"m going to help." Ember said. Luigi looked at Ember and was shocked. "I wouldn"t Miss McKnight. I mean, you"re heart probably wouldn"t be able to tax this adventure!" E Gadd exclaimed. "I don"t care, I"m going! There"s no way in hell that I"m going to let Luigi go in there alone!" Ember exclaimed as well. "Ember, please...I need you to be safe." Luigi said taking one of her hands.

I"m fearless EMBER You used to make my heart pound, just the thought of you, But now you"re in the background, what"cha gonna do, Sound off if you hear this, we"re feelin" fearless...we"re feeling fearless! BOTH I"m stuck in your head; I"m back-back from the dead, Got you runnin" scared, I"m fearless! I"m callin" you out; I"m takin" you down, Don"t you come around, I"m fearless...I"m fearless! Evelle made an ice blue fireball in her hand, as Ember made some more ice in her hand, and they both shot it at King Boo at the same time, right as the song ended. (End of song) King Boo got hit and flew across the room the other wall, hitting it hard, and going unconscious again. "Now Luigi!" Ember yelled to Luigi. Luigi stood up and aimed the Poltergust 3000 at King Boo, sucking him up in one complete suction, and leaving his ruby crown behind. Mario ran up to the crown and picked it up. Luigi turned around and looked at Ember who was smiling at him. "Good job, Luigi." Ember said, before falling to the ground, weak. "Ember!" Luigi ran over to her side and held her in his arms. "Ember, stay with me now." Evelle had knelt down by her sister"s side too, smiling. "I"m sorry." She said, making Ember looked at Evelle. "I"m sorry for everything I"ve done to you after I died." "It"s okay, Evelle...I forgave you a long time ago." Ember said, smiling back. Evelle took her sister"s hand, making Ember"s eyes grow wide. "Evelle..." She began. "...you"re supposed to be a ghost. How can you touch me?" "Because of the necklace I gave you..." Evelle began, making Ember look at her necklace for a quick second then back at her sister. "...I get another chance at life." Ember smiled at hearing her sister say that, making her sit up some more and hug her sister, for the first time in forever...with Evelle doing the same. ~END OF CHAPTER~ Luigi"s Mansion the Musical Chapter 13: Together again *Anything italicized is someone"s thought bubble or someone is singing *Bold=flashback - Mushroom Kingdom was at peace at long last once again. Mario was home and Peach was no longer freaking out about his safety. Luigi too found his brave side throughout the whole adventure of saving his brother. He even found love along the way. Ember was backstage of the stage in Peach"s ball room with Evelle, getting ready to perform together for a crowd of people, toads, and toadettes for the first time in forever. "You nervous, Evelle?" Ember asked her twin sister. "A little bit." She replied. "Don"t worry, sis. Just think back to when we were younger and performing together." "Yeah...just like old times." "Just like old times." "Please welcome...Evelle and Ember McKnight!" A toad"s voice spoke through the speakers. (SONG: "Better in Stereo" - Dove Cameron) A single spotlight shined on top of Ember, who was ready to sing her song, with her twin sister. EMBER: I"m up with the sunshine/I lace up my high-tops/slam dunk/ready or not/yeah show me what you"ve got. A spotlight shined on top of Evelle now, cuing her to sing. EVELLE: I"m under the spotlight/I dare you come on and follow/you dance to your own beat/I"ll sing the melody. EMBER: When you say "yeah"/I say "no"... EVELLE: When you say "stop"/all I wanna do is go, go, go. BOTH: You (you)/the other half of me (me)/the half I"ll never be (be)/the half that drives me crazy/you (you)/the better half of me (me)/the half I"ll always need (need)/cuz we both know/we"re better in stereo. Ember took a quick glance over at Luigi who was in the crowd, so noticeable with the green cap on his head, and winked at him. EVELLE: And when we"re together (again)/a sweet harmony or solo... EMBER: If we could just agree/we would go major league. EVELLE: When you say "yeah"/I say "no"... EMBER: When you say "stop"/all I wanna do is go, go, go. BOTH: You (you)/the other half of me (me)/the half I"ll never be (be)/the half that drives me crazy/you (you)/the better half of me (me)/the half I"ll always need (need)/cuz we both know/we"re better in stereo. EMBER: You say it"s "wrong"/I say it"s "right"... EVELLE: You say it"s "black"/I say it"s "white"... EMBER: You take a left/and I take a right... EVELLE: but at the end of the day/we both know...we"re better...! BOTH: You (you)/the other half of me (me)/the half I"ll never be (be)/the half that drives me crazy/you (you)/the better half of me (me)/the half I"ll always need (need)/cuz we both know/we"re better in stereo. EVELLE: We"re better in stereo EMBER: Better in stereo BOTH: Better in stereo (End of song) Everyone went berserk for the two twins. Luigi was the loudest out of the whole crowd of people there. Ember and Evelle shared a touching sisterly hug, before Luigi came up from backstage, making Ember run up to him, and hug him and kiss him. Evelle looked over, and saw a boy with brown hair, that looks nothing like Mario, but he had the crisp blue eyes that she fell for right off the bat. After that day, everything seemed normal. Luigi and Ember would go back to the old mansion that the adventure they had took place every now and then. To Ember"s surprise, Luigi was never afraid to walk around the place after a few trips. Maybe it was because that there were no longer any ghosts haunting that place anymore. After a month or two, Ember and Evelle had be discovered by a record label and was made famous. But they had to move out of the Mushroom Kingdom and go to Hollywood, California in order to work on albums and such. Ember didn"t like saying goodbye to Luigi, but he knew that this was one of her biggest dreams ever. So, he let her fly. But every now and then, Ember would come back to the Mushroom Kingdom, just to visit her boyfriend and her friends. So, anything can happen when you least expect it. Luigi found love and his bravery, and Ember got her sister back. To them, nothing could take that away from them...but nothing good lasts forever. ~THE END?~ Sorry this took so long to update. But IT IS FINALLY FINISHED! I just want to say thank you all for reading my story and to say the reason why it"s "The End?" instead of "The End". I"m going to be working on a sequel of this story, and, of course, it will be a musical as well. I haven"t played "Luigi"s Mansion: Dark Moon" mainly because I don"t have a Nintendo DS or 3DS or whatever that one is for (should be for the Wii, because I have 2 of those), so it won"t be that type of story...it will be like a sequel of this one, but with a different premise. Anyway, I digress. Keep an eye out for the sequel of this story. Oh, and if you have any requests for a whole story, or a one-shot, just review or PM me to tell me your idea and I"ll think about it. Thank you again, Happy Halloween, and God bless each and everyone of you. ~Brittany Bauer Hey everyone! I know I had finished the original like 2 years ago by now, but I didn"t really like how it turned out now that I went back and read it from the beginning (it didn"t really make much sense). It will still be up so people can read it, but just note, that I have written a re-write of this story. I wanted to make it make sense, and change some of the story around, so it would be more entertaining than it just talking about backstories and what not for the characters (because we kept talking about Ember"s heart and backstory of how she lost her twin sister basically throughout the whole story...not good lol). Speaking of which, I realized as I was reading it, that it wasn"t possible to have half your heart die while the other half was still living and pumping blood. So, I"ve changed that in the re-write. I also wanted to change Evelle"s name to something more prettier, mainly because Evelle sounds like Evil. And I don"t want that (I guess at the time of writing the original I did, but whatever). So, now Evelle"s new name is Evanora McKnight (just a warning so you don"t get confused when you read it). King Boo will still be in it, along with E. Gadd (who I will just saying his full first name throughout the story, which is Elvin), but King Boo won"t be the main boss like he was in the game (yes, this is a game that I"ve played, unlike the Kingdom Hearts game series that I haven"t played...yet that is). I really hope you enjoy the re-write, I know I enjoyed writing it, because it took me back to when I first started writing on this site, and how it has helped me improve my writing. Because now, I"m starting to write originals. Like my story Water Lilly that"s a Webshows crossover with Sailor Moon, is being written as an original right as we speak. Anyway, thanks for reading this little update. I should have the re-write of Luigi"s Mansion: the musical up on the site soon, and hopefully, I can write all the chapters at one before publishing it, because I don"t want to make you guys wait for the next chapter for days on end (I still feel bad for making you all wait for the very last chapter of the original). So take care guys, God bless, and have a terrific day. ~Brittany Bauer P.S, I"m also making it seem more modern than the other one. Sorry if you guys don"t like that idea. Luigi"s Mansion the Musical Chapter 2: The Ghost of Ember McKnight *Anything italicized is someone"s thought bubble or someone is singing - "So, who are you two?" The old man asked before saying his own name, once they were in his laboratory. "I"m Luigi Mario." Luigi said. "The brother of Mario?!" The old man asked. "Yeah, he is." Ember piped in. "Oh, wow! I never thought I"d live to meet Mario"s brother!" The old man exclaimed. Luigi just blushed and Ember smiled. "Anyway, who are you, young lady?" The old man asked, turning towards Ember. "I"m Luigi"s best friend, Ember, Ember McKnight." Ember replied. The old man looked like he was about to pass out. Ember sighed. She knew he remembered her name from somewhere. "I remember that terrible car accident with a girl getting hit...are you that girl?" The old man asked. Ember felt a tear go down her cheek as she shook her head yes. "I"m glad that you survived, Ember." The old man responded. "Yeah, I"m not." Ember blurted out. "Ember..." Luigi said with shock in his voice. "Luigi, if I didn"t survive then..." Ember began but then sighed. "...then...I don"t know. But my life has been nothing but crap ever since that accident." The old man felt bad for Ember. "I"m sorry, Miss McKnight." He said to her. Ember looked at the old man and grinned. "Well, my name is Professor Elvin Gadd; or E Gadd for short!" E Gadd exclaimed. "HA! E Gadd, I should have known you were still ghost hunting around these parts!" Ember"s ghost yelled out. "Who-who was that?" E Gadd asked, shaken. Ember gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. She just had to speak out. She thought. "Alright you bitch, where are you!?" Ember yelled at the voice. "Who is she talking to, Luigi?" E Gadd asked in a quiet tone. "Don"t think I can"t hear you...because I can, E Gadd." Ember said as she looked at E Gadd with her florescent hot pink colored ghost eyes. E Gadd gasped at the sight. "Ember, your eyes..." Luigi mentioned. Ember realized that her eyes changed and she didn"t expect them to. She settled down and her eyes went back to their normal color. "You-you didn"t survive I take it." E Gadd mentioned. "Well, it"s a yes, and a no. Half of my heart died and I had to get a new half. But unfortunately my ghost was created and has been ever since. She"s been nothing but a pain in the ass." Ember exclaimed. "And she"s your best friend?" E Gadd asked, turning to Luigi. "She"s not just average punk; she"s a sweet girl who just needs someone to trust." Luigi explained. "Luigi, I don"t need someone trust. God is who I can trust, and that"s all that matters to me...but..." Ember began but stopped. "I"m sorry. I have to go." She finished as she ran out the door. "Ember, wait up!" Luigi yelled. "I"ll be right back." He ran after her to the front yard. Ember was leaning against the laboratory wall outside thinking of the accident and wishing it never happened. Luigi ran out and saw her. "Hey, what"s wrong?" He asked. "Nothing...just, leave me alone right now, Luigi." Ember replied, sounding like she was full of grief and sorrow-ness. Luigi looked at her beautiful greenish-blue eyes and just stared. "Ember, if something"s wrong, you should tell me." He added. "I"M FINE!" Ember yelled at Luigi. Luigi got startled at her voice and Ember was shocked too. It was dark and raspy, and loud. She growled and screamed, "DAMN IT!" "Ember, what has gotten into you?" Luigi asked, sounding angry and hurt at the same time. "My stupid ghost, that"s what! Ever since we got to this stupid mansion, she has been coming around at the worst possible times ever! Why does...why does she do that?" Ember replied, getting softer on the question. "Ember..." Luigi began. "She always makes my heart pound, just the thought of her, I always feel the cold wind, when she"s around, why can"t I just be strong, that"s really with me what"s, wrong...she"s stuck in my head, she"s back from the dead, got me running scared, I"m fearful, she"s calling me out, she"s taken me down, she always come around, I"m fearful..." Ember randomly sang different lyrics to her favorite song "Fearless". Luigi looked at her. He felt bad that the crash happened, and wanted to make it up to her somehow, even though it wasn"t him who hit her. (SONG: "Place to fall"-Jennette McCurdy) Just then, Ember walked forward towards the trees and stopped at one of them. She touched it and looked up at the crescent moon in the sky. She loved looking at it. It made her feel that her parents were still alive and not dead because of a fire at their house. Ember: Sometimes I feel so alone; sometimes I can"t stand the dark, Sometimes I just want to hold, someone who really knows my heart. Sometimes there"s tears behind, my smile... And I get lonely in a crowd, feels like I"m stuck, under a cloud, And I need somewhere safe, to hide away from it all, Sometimes I just need a place, to fall. Ember turned to Luigi and was singing to him. That"s when I run to you; you"re the one that I call home, You"re the only one, who sees, the broken part of me, You"re the only one who knows... Ember turned back around and looked at the sky again. That I get lonely in a crowd, feels like I"m stuck, under a cloud, And I need somewhere safe, to hide away from it all, Sometimes I just need a place, to fall...to fall... Sometimes there"s tears behind, my smile... And I get lonely in a crowd, feels like I stuck, under a cloud, And I need somewhere safe, to hide away from it all, Sometimes I just need a place, to fall...to fall... (End of song) Ember looked back at Luigi and smiled. Luigi walked over to her and smiled too. "Ember, listen, just because you feel alone doesn"t mean you are." Luigi began to explain. "I know that, Luigi. I just..." Ember sighed and then looked into Luigi"s sapphire blue eyes. "It"s like you said, Luigi...I"m a sweet girl who just needs someone to trust." Ember smiled as she said that and walked back to the laboratory. Luigi watched her walk in and sighed. "She"s just so pretty...but she needs help." Luigi said to himself. (SONG: "Somebody out there"-David Archuleta) Luigi looked to the sky and sighed once again. He stared at the stars and wished for Mario to be there right then and there. He needed his big brother by his side at that moment. Mario knew what to do when it came to girls. Luigi: Sittin" all alone in your room, thinkin" that the world let you down, All you ever wanted to do is trust, someone to always be around. You"ve had a lot of lessons to learn from; some of them hit you so hard, And I keep believing someday you"ll see, you don"t have to be alone. There"s somebody out there, somebody somewhere, To show you the tenderness you need, Somebody to hold you, when worries control you, I"d give anything thing, if only you knew it was me. Ember was listening with E Gadd. She smiled. I"ve been watching you go through, all of these things for a while, There"s gotta be a way, to bring you back, cuz these words sing when you smile. It doesn"t have to hurt you forever, it doesn"t have to last too long, And if you"re wonderin" where to turn to, I hope that you know. There"s somebody out there, somebody somewhere, To show you the tenderness you need, Somebody to hold you, when worries control you, I"d give anything thing, if only you knew it was me. Ember listened more intently and realized, Luigi Mario loved her the way she loved him. Her smile grew at the thought of it. E Gadd could tell Ember liked Luigi with all her heart. ...if you could only see...! There"s somebody out there, somebody somewhere, To show you the tenderness you need, Somebody to hold you, when worries control you, I"d give anything thing, if only you knew it was me. (End of song) Luigi sighed and went back to the laboratory as Ember and E Gadd ran back to the Ghost Portrificationizer. Luigi walked back into the laboratory and looked at E Gadd and Ember. "What?" He asked when he saw them staring at him. I won"t make him embarrassed. I"ll let him think I know. Ember thought as she looked at E Gadd. "Anyway, E Gadd, have you seen Luigi"s brother near the house?" Ember asked. "As a matter of fact, I did! Mario went inside without stopping to chat..." E Gadd explained. "Is he okay?!" Luigi practically yelled in Ember"s ear as he walked closer to them. "I don"t know. He never came out." E Gadd answered. "WHAT...?" Ember and Luigi yelled in unison. They looked at each other and Luigi had a scared look in his eyes. His brother was in trouble, and he needed him. "I have to save him." Luigi said, determined as he looked away from Ember. Ember looked at him still, scared that he"ll get hurt. "Well, then I"m going to help." Ember said. Luigi looked at Ember and was shocked. "I wouldn"t Miss McKnight. I mean, you"re heart probably wouldn"t be able to tax this adventure!" E Gadd exclaimed. "I don"t care, I"m going! There"s no way in hell that I"m going to let Luigi go in there alone!" Ember exclaimed as well. "Ember, please...I need you to be safe." Luigi said taking one of her hands. Ember blushed as Luigi held her hand. Oh boy...my heart is fluttering. She thought as she blushed. Luigi saw her blush and giggled a little bit. "Okay, so, you guys are going to have to save Mario! I think you should train to fight ghosts before heading in there." E Gadd stated. "Then what are we waiting? Luigi"s brother needs us!" Ember stated as they all walked to the training room. ~END OF CHAPTER~ Luigi"s Mansion the Musical Chapter 3: Her ghost"s appearance *Anything italicized is someone"s thought bubble or someone is singing - Okay, so to those who are wondering why I named the character for this story after Ember McLain from Danny Phantom is because I love that name. It sounds so unique and different. And plus, Ember McKnight is my alter ego"s name. So, yeah, Ember McKnight is basically me, but I don"t look ANYTHING like her. That"s why she"s my alter ego. Anyway, so, yeah, that"s why she"s named Ember. Just so you all know. Enjoy the story and God bless! - After a long time of training to fight ghosts, E Gadd, Ember and Luigi decided who got the vacuum, and who got the game-boy like thingy. Luigi had the vacuum that E Gadd entitled the Poltergust 3000 and Ember had the Game-boy Horror. E Gadd thought that the Poltergust 3000 would be too heavy for Ember and would tax her heart to the point of shutting down. So, he gave her the lightest thing...the Game-boy Horror. Ember was waiting outside for Luigi, because he had to ask E Gadd something before they left, when she felt her ghost sense kick in. "Oh, boy...really?!" She yelled as her ghost appeared in front of her, but as a dark shadowy figure. "Yes...really...you should be dead right now!" Her ghost exclaimed. "Yeah, well...I"m not!" "But you should be..." "WOULD YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!?" "Sorry, but there"s no way I can leave you alone. I"m after what your little weak heart wants." Ember"s ghost said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "And what"s that?" Ember said, through gritted teeth and tensed up shoulders. "Oh, it"s not what...it"s who..." Ember gasped and relaxed her shoulders at the word "who". She knew who her ghost was after, and didn"t want him to get hurt. "No...you-you wouldn"t...you wouldn"t hurt Luigi, would you?" Ember stuttered the question. "Maybe, maybe not..." Ember"s ghost began. "...but the real question is...when you breaking up with that greasy boyfriend of yours back in Downtown Toad Town? He"s not right for you...and by "you", I mean me!" Ember sighed, as she rubbed the back of her arm. She had a big bruise there because of her abusive greasy boyfriend back in Downtown Toad Town named Kevin. He was a singer like her, but wasn"t really good at it, considering he drank all the time and tried to get Ember...you know where. After a while, Ember looked up at the sky and saw the L constellation she formed with her mind. She smiled at it. That illusion always comforted her. (SONG: "Somewhere that"s Green"-Little Shop of Horrors) EMBER: I know Luigi"s the greatest, but I"m dating a semi-sadist, so I had a black eye, and my arm in a cast...still that Luigi"s a cutie, well, if not, he"s got inner beauty, and I dream of a place, where we could be together at last...

"Again?! That is...AWESOME!" He said excitedly as he picked up his lovely wife and spun her around the room. "Daddy!" The young 6 year old yelled as she ran into the kitchen where her parents were and ran into her father"s arms. "Hey kiddo!" He said as he held her up in the air. "Can I come to work with you today?" She asked. "Oh, Elsie, you need to stay home and help mom around the house." Her father said as he set her back on the floor. "AW!" "Maybe you can go to work with him tomorrow. Okay?" "Okay!" She said. "Alright, I have to go. I"ll see you later, Elsa." Her father said as he kissed her forehead and then kissed her mom goodbye before heading out the door. That was the last time she ever saw her father. The girl, now known as Elsa, let a tear roll down her cheek, before looking up, and seeing Kaz, Icelyn, Oliver, and Skyler walk into a hospital. She smiled before running after them and sneaking in through the door. After the contest was over, everyone went to Mighty Med. Well, everyone consisting of Kaz, Oliver, Skyler, and Icelyn. Icelyn was holding the blue ribbon she won there at The Domain. "I am not surprised that you won." Kaz said as he kissed her forehead before heading over to a patient. "Yeah, you had it in the bag!" Skyler said. "Thanks guys. That really means a lot to me." Icelyn responded as she walked over to the front desk. But, right when Icelyn sat in her seat, an explosion happened, sending her to the floor. "Icelyn!" Kaz yelled before running over to her and kneeling by her side. That was when an evil laugh was heard, which sounded like a 15 year old, when, the villain showed herself. She had red hair up in a bun, and eyes to match in color. She wore a black mini-skirt with a red band around her waist, a black shirt with red trimming the top and red off the shoulder straps. She also wore a black pearl necklace, black boots with red accents, and red gloves...but those were in her left hand. Oliver looked up and immediately recognized her as someone he knew. She reminded him of...Toxic Flame. And apparently Icelyn saw this too, because she thought the same thing. "How are you alive again!? I froze you in a block of ice!" She yelled. "Oh, dearie, you have mistaken me as someone else." The villain said as she walked around the super hospital for superheroes. "Then who are you?!" Kaz yelled as well, sounding angry at the girl. "Oh, where are my manners. Oh, I don"t have any." The girl said, with an evil giggle. "The name is Lydia Flame, daughter of...Toxic Flame." And with what she said, Icelyn"s eyes widen as she stared at the daughter of her nemesis. (SONG: "Rotten to the Core" - Descendants - Sofia Carson cover) They say I"m trouble/they say I"m bad/they say I"m evil/and that makes me glad/a dirty no good down to the bone/your worst nightmare/can"t take me home/so I got some mischief/in my blood/can you blame me/I never got no love/they think I"m callous/a lowlife hood/I feel so useless/misunderstood. Mirror/mirror on the wall/who"s the badest of them all/welcome to my wicked world/wicked world. I"m rotten to the core/rotten to the core/I"m rotten to the core/who could ask for more/I"m nothing like the kid next/like the kid next door/I"m rotten to the (core)/I"m rotten to the/core. Listen up now. Kaz helped Icelyn stand up, but kept an eye on Lydia. Call me a schemer/call me a freak/how can you say that/I-I"m just unique/what me a traitor/ain"t got your back/are we not friends/what"s up with that/so I"m a misfit/so I"m a flirt/I broke your heart/I made ya hurt/the past is past/forgive, forget/the truth is/you ain"t seen nothing yet! Mirror/mirror on the wall/who"s the badest of them all/welcome to my wicked world/wicked world. I"m rotten to the core/rotten to the core/I"m rotten to the core/who could ask for more/I"m nothing like the kid next/like the kid next door/I"m rotten to the (core)/I"m rotten to the/core. Original/unusual/you can say what you want/but I will always be/rotten to the core/rotten to the core/rotten to the core/who could ask for more/I"m nothing like the kid next/like the kid next door/I"m rotten to the/I"m rotten to the...! I"m rotten to the core/rotten to the core/I"m rotten to the core/who could ask for more/I"m nothing like the kid next/like the kid next door/I"m rotten to the (core)/I"m rotten to the/core. (End of song) Just then, Lydia disappeared in black and red flames, leaving everyone there, shocked. "I guess the battle with Toxic Flame isn"t over after all." Icelyn said as she looked into her boyfriend"s eyes. ~END OF CHAPTER~ Chapter 2 *Anything italicized is someone"s thought or someone is singing. Bolded + italicized=flashback or memory Icelyn paced back and forth in the Rec Room with Kaz just standing there watching. "This is bad! If Toxic Flame had a daughter, then that means she is after revenge on you and me!" Icelyn freaked out. "Lyn, babe, relax. I"m sure she"s just...pretending?" Kaz said, trying to calm her down with his dumb nature. "Stop Kazzing around, baby!" Icelyn yelled. "And before you ask, yes, Oliver told me that joke!" "I knew that already." Kaz answered. "Look, babe, everything is going to be alright. I"m sure of it." He kissed Icelyn"s forehead, which made the smile he fell in love with spread across her face. "There"s that smile." He added. "What did I do to get a boy like you as my boyfriend?" Icelyn said as she looked up into Kaz"s eyes. Kaz just smiled as he pulled her closer to him and kissed her forehead again. That was when Icelyn kissed his cheek and began to pull away from their embrace when Kaz pulled her back towards him and they kissed each other with such passion, that you would think it was their last kiss. Once they pulled away from their kiss, they couldn"t help but smile at each other. (SONG: "You are the music in me" - High School Musical 2) ICELYN: Nanana-na/nanana-na-yeah/you are the music in me/you know the words "once upon a time"/makes you listen/there"s a reason/when you dream/there"s a chance you"ll find/a little laughter/or a happy ever after BOTH: You"re harmony/to the melody/it"s echoing inside my head ICELYN: a single voice (KAZ: single voice)/above the noise BOTH: like a common thread KAZ: hmm, you"re pulling me. ICELYN: When I hear our favorite song/I know that we belong KAZ: Oh, you are the music in me/yeah, it"s living in all of us ICELYN: and it"s brought us here because BOTH: You are the music in me/nanana-na (KAZ: Oh)/nanana-na (KAZ: Yeah, yeah, yeah)/nanana-na/you are the music in me. ICELYN: It"s like I knew you before we met/can"t explain (KAZ: Oh, oh)/there"s no name for it (KAZ: No name for it) BOTH: I sang you words I never sang KAZ: And it was easy (ICELYN: So easy)/because you see the real me (ICELYN: I see) BOTH: as I am/you understand/and that"s more than I ever known ICELYN: To hear your voice (KAZ: Hear your voice)/above the noise BOTH: And now I"m not alone! ICELYN: Oh, you"re singing to me! BOTH: When I hear our favorite song/I know that we belong/you are the music in me/it"s living in all of us/and it"s brought us here because/you are the music in me/Together we"re gonna sing/we"ve got the power to sing KAZ: What we feel (ICELYN: What we feel)/connected and real ICELYN: And keep it all inside/Oohhh! Nanana-na/nanana-na/nanana-na/you are the music in me (x2) BOTH: When I hear our favorite song/I know that we belong/you are the music in me/it"s living in all of us/and it"s brought us here because/you are the music in me/nanana-na/nanana-na/nanana-na/you are the music in me... KAZ: ...yeah. (End of song) Elsa ran through the double doors of the hospital she saw Kaz, Icelyn and their friends walk into, but, yet again, lost them. She took deep breathes before sitting down in one of the chairs, wishing she didn"t inherit her father"s A.D.D. The doctors never confirmed it, but that was her story and she was sticking to it. That was when she thought back to when she showed up, and why she did in the first place. 12 year old Elsa walked through the halls of her home and noticed her mother sitting in the living room with another man, laughing and having a good time. Elsa had met him not that long ago, and knew right away he wasn"t the right fit for mom. It"s been 6 or 7 years since the death of her father, and her mother was already dating other guys. That was when Elsa knew what she had to do. She ran to her room, making sure she caused noise to get her mother"s attention, and closed the door. She stood in the middle of her room, and concentrated on her power to control time. She felt it bubble up inside of her, and when she her eyes shot open, they were a neon green, indicating it was working. She clapped her hands hard, making a blue swirl of light go around her, and by the time her mother ran into the room...Elsa was already gone and in the past. "Little girl, what are you doing here?" Elsa looked up at the voice, and smiled when she saw Horace Diaz standing in front of her. "Hi! I"m looking for Kaz Gordon and Icelyn Schnee...have you seen them?" She asked as she stood up quickly. "I"m sorry. No I haven"t. Why, are they your parents or something?!" Horace asked as he began to laugh. Elsa laughed nervously. "You have no idea." She said with the nervous laughter. "Why don"t you...?" Horace began when he saw Elsa look over at the janitor closet door, only to see Kaz, Icelyn, Oliver, and Skyler walk out. Horace looked and saw them come out too, and was about to say something to Elsa, when she ran up to the gang. Kaz looked at her and knew right away that she looked too young to be at the hosptial alone. "Uh, who are you and why are you here all by yourself?" Icelyn asked. Apparently she had the same idea as he did. "I had to come alone! My father is in danger!" She yelled. "Who"s your father?" Kaz asked, as Elsa looked his way and grinned a little bit. "What?" "Nothing. It"s just...you look just like him." Elsa said, and taking a breathe before adding: "As a matter of fact...you are him." "Excuse me, what?!" Icelyn asked. "My name is Elsa Gordon, a 12 year old soon to be superhero." Elsa began. "And by the look of the reckage I can vision in my head in Mighty Med, you are going to need a lot of help to defeat Lydia." Lydia walked down the hall of her castle, with her boyfriend by her side. She may have said she had no love, but truth be told, she did. He was another new supervillain coming out to play. He went by the name of Blade. And if you could see him, you"d run for the hills before he had the chance to destroy you. He had golden yellow eyes, slightly tan skin, and midnight black hair that was spiked up. He wore normal black clothes really, with a white lightning bolt on the chest of his shirt. That was the indicator of what sort of power he had...electricity. "We need a plan to destroy Ice Storm and Ghostly Moon. They are the reason I am motherless right now!" Lydia yelled as they walked into the sitting room, with a fireplace, that is roaring with black and red flames, and red and black chairs in front of said fireplace. "I"m sure we"ll think of something in our sleep." Blade said as he kissed her neck and walked out of the room. (SONG: "Evil like me" - Descendants) Lydia sighed before looking up above the fireplace. She looked up at the photo of her mother. She was only 15, and didn"t know what she was supposed to do. Her mother was destroyed before she could teach her stuff about being evil. LYDIA: Look at you/look at me/I don"t know who to be/mother/is it wrong/is it right/just kill in the night/mother/tell me what to do... "Lydia! Are you okay!?" Blade"s voice called through the air. "I"m fine!" Lydia yelled back, before hearing her mother"s voice behind her and making her turn around. She motioned for her to come closer, which made Lydia obey and she walked towards her mother, with her black mini-skirt flowing as she did so. TOXIC: I was once like you my child/slightly insecure/argued with my mother too/thought I was mature/but I put my heart aside/and I used my head/now I think it"s time you learned what dear old mama said. LYDIA: And that was...? TOXIC: Don"t you wanna be evil like me/don"t you wanna be mean/don"t you wanna make mischief your daily routine/well you can spend your life attending to the poor/but when you"re evil doing less is doing more/don"t you wanna be ruthless and rotten and mad/don"t you wanna be very very good at being bad. LYDIA: But mother, I...! TOXIC: I had tried my whole life long/to do the worst I can/clawed my way to victory/built my master plan/now the time has come my dear/for you to take your place/promise me you"ll try to be/and absolute disgrace. Don"t wanna be evil like me/don"t you wanna be cruel/don"t you wanna be nasty and brutal and cool/and when you kill that boy that"s when your reign begins/who wants an evil queen/without a sack of sins/don"t you wanna be heartless and hardened as stone/don"t you wanna be finger licking evil to the bone. This is not for us to ponder/this was pre-ordained/you and I shall rule together/freedom soon regained/mistress of the universe/powerful and strong/daughter, hear me, help me, join me/won"t you sing along! BOTH: Yeah, we"re gonna be evil/it"s true never gonna think twice LYDIA: And we"re gonna be spiteful TOXIC: yes spiteful/that"s nice/in just an hour or two our future"s safe and sure/this mother-daughter act is going out on tour/if you wanna be evil and awful and free/then you should thank your lucky star/that you were born the girl you are/the daughter of an evilicious queen/like/ME! (End of song) After that, Lydia turned around, and saw that her mother was gone. She looked back up at her mother"s photo, and grinned evilly. For her plan, was going to happen really soon, as she walked towards the bed room, where Blade was waiting. ~END OF CHAPTER~ Chapter 3 *Anything italicized is someone"s thought or someone is singing. Bolded + italicized=flashback or memory *=lyrics have been changed to fit story "So, you mean to tell me, that you are my daughter from the future?" Kaz asked as they sat in the Rec Room of Mighty Med. "That"s right." Elsa responded. "And your name is Elsa?" "Yes, dad." Elsa replied again. "Mom was the one who named me. You got to name my little sister...even though you were dead when she was born." "How does Kaz die?" Oliver asked. "Well...Lydia destroyed him at work when I was only 6. I don"t know much after that." Elsa replied. "She would be around our age though. She is only 15 right now." Icelyn replied. "Yes! Exactly!" Elsa began as she stood up quickly. "But you were the one who told me that always keep a sharp eye out, for you never know who could be evil, and who can be good." "Wait, I told you that?" Icelyn asked, shocked. "Yeah!" "That"s weird, you"d think Skyler would have told her that." Oliver said. "Actually, she told me that to be a hero you have to be self sacrificing...dad would drill that into me everyday as well." Elsa replied before walking further into the Rec Room, with her arms crossed, and a tear falling down her face. "Elsa, dear." Icelyn began, as she placed a hand on her shoulder, making Elsa look up at her. "We want to help, we do! But we just don"t know how." "But you are Ice Storm! You can do anything!" Elsa said. "How"d you know that?" Icelyn asked. (SONG: "Stories" - Beauty and the Beast 2)* "You told me 6 years later after my dad died. That you and my dad would fight evil together and...found love along the way." "I did?" "Yeah. You did." ELSA: Once I was old enough/you told me everything/one day you were normal/the next, you were a hero/you had become Ice Storm/just to save my dad/now the future is set in stone/that is why I"m glad. You told me stories/about your life/all filled with wonder/a magic world where the impossible/became the everyday/we found a mountain top/and some moonbeams to sit under/you had lead, because you knew the way. Just then, Elsa opened a time hole in mid-air, and showed the battles that Icelyn and Kaz had shared throughout the years to come. ELSA: So much too discover/I do it all the time/I could live inside these periods/when the world was fine/you guys slayed a dragon/you had followed him around/and he smiled/yes he smiled/as his dream left the ground! Stories and stories/about mermaids, kings, and sunken treasure/magic worlds where the impossible/became the everyday/you knew a tiny place/just a dot to small to measure/you took me there/you knew the way! Stories about heroes/who overcame their deepest sorrows/they put hope into my heart again/I cherish them everyday... And that was when, the wedding showed up in the Time Hole, showing Kaz standing at the alter with a big smile on his face, and a beautiful bride walking down the aisle. ELSA: So you"ll find a better world/and the strength to face tomorrow/I"m sure that when you find the way... That was when Icelyn"s face showed up as she turned to face Kaz at the alter, making Kaz stand up and walk slowly towards it, and Icelyn"s eyes to widen. ELSA: ...you"ll want/to stay. (End of song) After a while, Elsa made the Time Hole close and looked at the young versions of her parents. "I"m your...?" Icelyn began to ask, but couldn"t find the words. "Yeah, you are...mom." Elsa said, before Icelyn smiled and just hugged her. Elsa hugged her back with a smile as well. "So that"s what you meant." Icelyn said as she pulled away from the hug. "You bet!" Elsa said with a smile, before grabbing her head while wincing. "OW!" "Elsa, you okay?" Oliver asked. "I"m fine." Elsa said, before her eyes widened with fear. "Oh, no..." "What is it, dear?" Icelyn asked. Elsa looked up at her teenage parents (that sounds bad, I know) with fear coding her face. "Lydia is already planning to kill Kaz." she said. The next day was weird, Kaz and Icelyn barely spoke to each other, and that was unsettling for Skyler and Oliver. Kaz and Icelyn always spoke to each other and hung out. But today, was different. "Do you think this has something to do with them finding out that they are going to get married and have two children?" Skyler asked Oliver. "I think it might be." Oliver answered. "Hey, guys." Icelyn said with a smile on her face. "Hey Lyn. Where"s Kaz?" Skyler asked. "I don"t know. I haven"t seen him today." Icelyn answered as the smile left her face. "Icelyn, is there something you want to tell us?" Oliver asked. "I just...I just feel weird...knowing I"m going to marry Kaz, and have a daughter or two, kind of makes me feel..." "Awkward?" A voice asked from behind, making Icelyn look and see Kaz standing there. "Kaz, where have you been?!" Oliver yelled. "I just got here. I missed the bus and my mom made me walk." Kaz answered. Icelyn could tell he was lying because he had a certain hand gesture he did every time he did. "Kaz, dear...where were you really?" Icelyn asked. "I"m sorry, but are you my mom?!" Kaz yelled. "Uh, no. I"m just the second most important girl in your life!" "Oh, no." Skyler said under her breathe. "Yeah, well, last I checked, what I do is my business. I don"t have to report to you with everything I do!" "You do if it has something to do with Elsa and everything that we learned last night!" "No I don"t!" Kaz yelled back. "Kaz, what"s gotten into you!?" "Nothing, mom!" "Hey, guys, stop it." Oliver interjected as Elsa walked in and hid behind a locker close by, for she saw that her parents were fighting. "Yeah, we"re all..." "Were you with Elsa?!" "So what if I was?! I just found out that I"m gonna have a daughter in the future! You really think I wouldn"t want to hang out with her?!" "You"d be able to when she"s really our daughter and I"m her mother!" "At least she"d have a mother!" Kaz yelled before smacking his hand on his mouth. "Kaz!" Skyler yelled in disappointment. "You-you didn"t just say that." Icelyn said as tears began to form in her eyes. "Icelyn, I"m so sorry. I don"t..." "We"re done." Icelyn said before running off out of the school. "Icelyn!" Kaz yelled after her but sighed in defeat when she was out of ear shot. "I can"t believe you said that!" Oliver yelled. "Guys, I swear, I don"t know what came over me. I was just so angry and it slipped out!" Kaz retorted. You could tell he felt really bad about what he said to his girl...ex-girlfriend. That"s when it hit him. "Did-did she say we were done?" "Yeah...I"m sorry, Kaz." Skyler said. "No...I can"t lose her." Icelyn sat outside, sitting on the curb crying her eyes out in her lap. But that was when she got so angry that she shot a piece of black ice at the ground. She looked at it and sighed. "Well, this isn"t how I wanted to unlock a new ability." She said before standing up and looking up at the sky. "Why did I say that?" They both said in unison. ~END OF CHAPTER~ Chapter 4 *Anything italicized is someone"s thought or someone is singing. Bolded + italicized=flashback or memory *=lyrics have been changed to fit story Icelyn stood in her room 6 days later, while looking at her reflection, as tears almost started streaming down her face. She wiped them away real fast before looking out the window, only to see that it had turned into a gloomy day. "Kaz, I"m so sorry. I should have given you a chance to explain yourself." She said out loud to no one specific.

What he was up against. He hadn"t ever really stopped to watch leaves as they fell, but Tatsumi was fairly certain that they usually reached their destination in five seconds at most. But as he gritted his teeth, and leaped forward again to find an opening-anything-in the girl"s defense, he had a feeling that he already knew what he would see the next time he looked in the direction of the leaf. Slash. Attack. Parry. Feint. Through it all, the girl"s blade was barely visible, moving in flashes of silver, only fully visible when her blade collided with his. He stopped thinking at all for a time, trying only to defend and to attack. His body moved-purely on instinct-for what felt like hours. So why was it, then, that as he pivoted around and saw the leaf still falling behind the girl"s shoulders, five seconds hadn"t seemed to pass yet? The answer was terrifying. Obvious, in hindsight. His ability had never deserted him-it simply wasn"t enough to overcome the enemy in front of him. Perhaps she possessed it as well. As Tatsumi parried a final slash from the girl, and leaped backwards, chest heaving, he saw the leaf speed up suddenly. Half a second later it curled to the ground, completing the journey it had started only four and a half seconds before. His body, on the other hand, came to a rest after an hour"s worth of work. What is this? Who are you? It wasn"t until he heard the words that Tatsumi realized he"d spoken the last question aloud. "You already know," the girl said. "My name is Akame." She paused, and there was some kind of delay-not necessarily hesitation, perhaps just caution-before she spoke again. "And yours..." Tatsumi almost lashed out again-anything to keep her from speaking further-but now he knew what the result of that would be. "Don"t say it," he growled instead. "Just shut up." "And why would I do that...Tatsumi?" "Shut up!" He swung his sword with all his strength, hoping that at least the words would stop coming, but the girl simply weaved around his strike and kept talking. "Fine," she said. "I won"t say that name. But what about Sheele? What about Bulat? What about Mein?" And, mid-swing, Tatsumi froze. He knew the names, of course, remembered when he"d seen them stenciled across the posters in that cowardly tax collector"s office. But it was more than that. He knew them-perhaps he always had. This girl, however much he hated to admit it, had shown him that much. What if... In that moment of hesitation, the girl kicked Tatsumi"s sword out of his hand in a single smooth motion. He watched, his senses flaring into action again, as the blade fell to the ground; embedded itself into the ground in a snail-like spray of dirt. Tatsumi took a single step in its direction, near-reflexively, and watched as the girl blurred into place in front of him. And as she did, Tatsumi felt that his senses slacken to normal once again-and knew they would be staying there for a while. "Where did those names come from?" the girl asked him, staring into his eyes with a blazing anger. "Where did yours?" Tatsumi licked his lips nervously, suddenly very aware of the edge of the girl"s blade, and the poison seething on its sheen. If he could distract her somehow, or weave around her, or even get his senses back for a second- "Listen to me!" Whatever calm had been on the girl"s face was gone. "You know those names. We both know that. So where did they come from?" The girl took a step forward. "Either you answer that question now, or I"m actually going to start using this sword." He narrowed his eyes at her. For now, it really seemed like she only intended to use the sword as a threat. But why? She hadn"t hesitated to apply its true use to any other of the men who had entered before him. Which raised another question- "Why do you even care?" The girl didn"t blink. "Answer the question." We"ll trade, Tatsumi almost said, before he clamped his mouth shut. What had he been thinking? This girl had killed his friends. She"d slaughtered the men lying around him. She would likely slaughter more, if Tatsumi let her pass. There was no mercy, no emotion to be found here. So why, then, had he just caught himself about to engage in banter? "Last chance." The girl took another step forward as she spoke. Tatsumi"s eyes flicked to his lost sword, then back to the girl, judging distances, calculating frantically... No. There wouldn"t be time. There weren"t any opportunities here, not with the girl"s eyes fixed directly on him. No opportunity to dive or to dodge, unless something happened to take her eyes off him for a second- And as he stared fixedly at the sword, trying his best to will it into his hand, the Group"s little entrance through Umeura"s back wall burst into a massive hole with a shower of splinters. "Let"s go! Tatsumi"s still in here!" "Spread out! Stay cautious!" The voices reverberated through the artificial fog, joined by the faint echoes of other men"s shouts. "Here"s Hayata! And Eiichi just found Jotaro. Fuck, what the hell happened to..." Through it all, the girl"s eyes never once left Tatsumi"s. "We"re out of time," she said finally. "If you"re not going to answer my question, then..." She didn"t finish her sentence. Instead, she simply began advancing towards him. Tatsumi took a step back, but he refused to turn tail and run. He could still hear the rest of the Group searching for him, but he knew in his gut that they would never find him in time. They had moved too far away from the entrance during their fight-perhaps intentionally, on the girl"s part-and the fog would prevent any speedy meetings with other Group members. Though maybe, Tatsumi thought, as he watched the girl move towards him, that"s better for them. And yet, as he watched his friends" murderer stride towards him, Tatsumi didn"t see malevolent triumph or even dutiful boredom on the girl"s face. No, instead he imagined that he saw-regret? Just barely, he imagined that he heard her whisper: "Sorry, Najenda. Guess you won"t have anything to root for after all." Tatsumi"s eyes widened. Najenda. A memory had come back with the name, something from a dream he thought he had forgotten- ...the two were walking towards his hiding place now, close enough for their muffled words to become clear sentences. "...jenda says...solo mission," the girl was saying. "She says you"re ready..." Jenda. Najenda. Could it be-? As the girl began swinging her sword, Tatsumi murmured, "...jenda. Solo mission." In that moment, even the sword approaching his neck was forgotten. His instincts, however, remembered it just fine. With a dull roar, everything in his sight slowed to half its speed, as if his body was desperately trying to give him one last chance to get out of the way of the sword ripping toward his throat. It flowed another two centimeters...and yet, all Tatsumi could do was look up at the eyes of its owner, remembering- Remembering a pair of red eyes exactly like them. Remembering a long-lost dream where they had gazed at a boy, crinkled with laughter, even widened with surprise-but maybe that last memory hadn"t been part of the dream. Maybe that had been reflected in the eyes gazing down at him right now. As he felt the first cold touch of metal against his neck, Tatsumi closed his own eyes. Any second now the blood-his blood-would come spilling out, the pain and the poison would start coursing through his body, and death would follow shortly. Half a second later, Tatsumi wrinkled his brow. The touch of the metal didn"t feel like that of a blade"s edge. It felt more like a bar, as if the sword had been turned at the last instant, as if the flat were touching his neck instead- Tatsumi opened his eyes to see the girl gazing down at him, an unreadable expression in her eyes- And a second later, with a blow to the solar plexus that hit him so hard he barely realized it had happened, darkness followed. Tatsumi"s "bullet-time" perception is based on the first episode of the anime, in which Akame is able to dodge the guard"s shots while watching them swirl by. I just extended it to all individuals of Night Raid"s caliber. This was the chapter I wanted to write when I first wrote the story, and it"s practically the reason Resurrection exists. Hopefully I did the moment justice. And now, as always-read and review, please...though I suppose that first request has already been covered. If you"ve enjoyed reading my voice, I wouldn"t mind seeing a bit of yours ;) 12 "Elbows in." For a second, Tomeo remained in his stance, surprise all over his face. Finally, he slowly pulled his elbows in. "Better," his teacher said, walking around him slowly. He stopped. "But your feet-" "Seriously?" Tomeo abandoned the stance and turned to look down at his teacher. "I"ve just been standing here and you"ve already picked at my stance about fifty times. I can"t believe there"s this much wrong with what I"m doing." "Believe what you want," his teacher said. He walked a short distance away from Tomeo before turning and pointing his sword at Tomeo-a challenge. "Take your stance." "Fine," Tomeo said, bending his knees and holding out his sword. "But if I hold my own here, you"re gonna have to ease up on me a bit, okay?" There was no answer. Instead, his teacher walked leisurely towards him. Then, in a burst of movement, his sword darted out-first in one gleaming streak, then another- And suddenly its point was at Tomeo"s throat. His teacher held the sword there for a second more, then grinned and lowered it. "Guess you"ll have to listen up a little more," he said, before turning and walking away. Tomeo stood frozen, disbelief and some fear warring in his mind. Finally, one thing registered. "Hey, wait!" he called. "Where"re you going? Aren"t we going to go over my stance?" There was a laugh. "I like that attitude," his teacher called back, "but I think that"s enough for today. And besides-I"m a little tired after last night"s raid. You can always get some more training later!" Was that even going to help? The way he had just been outclassed, Tomeo wasn"t sure he would ever be able to use a sword confidently knowing people like his teacher were out there. But then again...everyone had needed to start from somewhere, right? "Can I ask you something?" he said, as he ran up beside his teacher. His teacher looked up at him. "Hm?" "What was it like for you, getting trained? I can"t imagine you ever not knowing how to use a sword, but someone must"ve trained you, right? How did you get from there to-well-here?" They walked on; no answer came. Tomeo began to think he"d said something wrong, when a sigh came from beside him. "I"ll be honest," his teacher said. "I don"t know." He was in the forest, rushing through the leaves with a speed that he couldn"t imagine his uselessly fatigued legs achieving. Was he being carried? There was an oddly-shaped rock that kept digging into his side, but he barely felt it through the pounding ache in his head. His eyes slid shut again, and the dreams began anew. Only his grip on the short sword in his hand was helping him stand. Well, that, and the shoulder that was supporting his entire left side. And the girl that his arm was slung around. "I"m sorry," he said, as they stumbled along together. His head still ached-possibly from the exhaustion he felt, more likely because of the fact that he"d just gotten a karate chop in the middle of his skull-and the words came out more garbled than he would"ve liked. Still, he tried to continue. "I screwed up. I should"ve escaped from her earlier, hidden from Grand Chariot-" "Don"t worry." The girl almost sounded amused at this point. "As long as you"re with us again." She gave him a brilliant smile- And, once again, he was jolted out of sleep. For a second, he still felt the touch of the girl"s shoulder before it, too, faded away. The feeling was almost like the one that had swamped him when he"d awoken on that road two years ago. The bone-crushing fatigue, at least, was identical-again, Tatsumi felt incapable of moving, or talking; even, honestly, of thinking. His muscles themselves seemed nearly stuck, like they were during his more tumultuous nights, when he"d awoken in the middle of his more terrifying dreams. Tatsumi could only hope that he was in the presence of something friendly. There was no fighting in this state, no escaping. Really, the only obvious difference was that it wasn"t gravel he was lying on, this time. It was- A bed? It was hard to tell. Wherever he was, he had somehow ended up lying face up. About the only thing he knew for sure about his surroundings was that the ceiling was rough wood; some kind of log cabin, maybe? There was so little to see. So little to be sure of. But man, whatever he was lying on sure felt like a pillow. Not many other things felt as comfortable. His eyes closed again. "Long time no see, bud." He barely heard the words through the pain-the pain, which made his muscles scream and his bones crack. He barely saw the speaker through the blood in his eyes. The armor still crusted his body like a useless scab. He had been falling, seemingly only moments before, through a cacophony of voices and darkness. So, of course, it came as a surprise when the hand landed on his shoulder and the man"s face filled his vision- Along with the endless sea of white. "Bulat!" It was only after Tatsumi had opened his eyes that he realized he had been the one shouting. His hand was outstretched, reaching for some invisible goal-and somehow he was standing. For an instant, the fire that had been coursing through his bones seemed to burn even hotter. The pain made him drop to one knee, teeth clenched- Until suddenly it faded away, and Tatsumi was left staring at a dusty wooden floorboard. A bead of sweat splattered into his field of view. He was breathing hard, chest heaving with gasps. "You"re awake." Tatsumi froze at the sound of the voice. He knew who it belonged to, of course. He had heard it too many times to forget its owner-and then again, it was always harder to forget details about a person that you had tried to kill. Tatsumi had hoped that the voice, which had seemed so calm and cold, would change to one of regret and pain. There was nothing else that its owner deserved, after what had been done to his friends. To Tomeo. At least, that was how he had felt before his collapse. Only now, after waking, did Tatsumi understand how one could react to the voice with something other than abject hatred. In fact, he almost thought that it would be possible to hear it as the voice of a- No. Tatsumi gritted his teeth. The person in the room with him right now could never be a friend. Don"t worry, a phantom voice whispered. As long as you"re with us again... "Shut up!" Tatsumi roared, slamming a hand into the floor. He didn"t know why his mind had decided to dream this monster as a supporting figure, as someone he"d actually apologize to, of all things- But there was no way he"d ever let it happen in reality. She was sure to say something to him-something more about Bulat, or Mein, or Sheele, any second now. He would ignore her. There wasn"t any way he could let himself listen to any of those words. The floorboards beside him shifted, undoubtedly as the girl got ready to speak. He clenched his eyes shut, in preparation for the sound of... Silence. No names, or any words at all, came. When Tatsumi caved and finally glanced at the place that the girl"s voice had come from, it was to see an empty doorway. He was alone again. Warily, he got to his feet, listening intently for any sounds other than his own. But there was nothing to watch out for; nothing to hear. He was just in an empty room. The only other company was the bed, just resting against a wall as if it had just been dropped there, casually. And, Tatsumi realized suddenly, maybe it had. He"d been raring to find this girl, to finally avenge his friends. He remembered how their remains had been described-one with a oozing black smile in his throat, the other with his shattered kneecap, both bodies" veins swelling with poison. That, he would never forget. What he had forgotten until now was the fact that he"d already confronted this girl once...and failed. Now he remembered the sight of the leaf as it drifted slowly toward the ground, and the realization that-even at what he knew was his best-there was no way that he would ever defeat this girl. He"d been parried, almost casually, at every stroke he took. For someone like that, a bed can might really be a casual token, a simple frame to be dropped here and there. Would he really want to seek them out? At best, what awaited him was frustration and more failure. And at worst... But she carried you here, some part of him whispered. And sometime before that, it was her shoulders you were leaning on... "No!" Tatsumi whirled away from the door. Either way, it wouldn"t be a good idea to seek out this girl-if only because there was a part of him that seemed insistent on not shutting the hell up about her. He needed to get out of here. Tatsumi glanced around the room quickly, at the floor, the bed, the window... He blinked. Tatsumi was across the room almost immediately, forcing the window"s latch open and sliding its grimy panes up. Quickly, he surveyed the drop-two stories, only about two-and the ground-leaves, a whole drift of them-and made his decision, hoisting a leg up into the ledge- "Don"t do that." Slowly, Tatsumi turned around. A girl stood in the doorway now-a girl, yes, but not the one that he had been so fixated on. This girl was one he could never imagine seeing in a place like this. After all, what twelve-no, ten-year-old would shack up with a killer? "Kame said not to do that," the girl said, prompting another wave of shock in Tatsumi. She could barely speak. If he"d seen a picture of her, Tatsumi would have sworn it was from a fairy tale. This girl didn"t even seem to understand the implications of falling out a window. So once again-why the heck was she here? "Did she bring you here too?" Tatsumi asked urgently. "How long have you been here?" He started toward her, then stopped as she flinched back. "I won"t hurt you. If you need help getting out of here..." The girl watched him quietly for an instant. Without a sound, she turned and ran, back into the depths of whatever place they were in. "Wait-" Tatsumi moved forward a few steps, before looking back at the window. The sun looked like it was just setting; the forest leaves glinted gold. In a few hours it would be too dark to find his way without stumbling into trees and branches-or something worse. He took a single step towards the window. Then Tatsumi cursed, turned, and started for the doorway. He stopped one time, just to consider his empty hands. Then he kept walking-swords hadn"t done much good last time, anyway. Tatsumi would just have to hope that "Kame" had disappeared for long enough. So, of course, Tatsumi was greeted by a familiar voice the instant he stepped out the door. "I won"t hurt you." The words came almost contemplatively, from behind him. Tatsumi felt the back of his neck begin to prickle again. And with that prickling came the familiar urge to turn and eliminate its true source- But he couldn"t. She kept talking, apparently oblivious to his clenched fists and panting breaths. "I"ll help you get out of here," she said, still in that strange tone. "You know"-suddenly she was talking as calmly as ever-"the last time I heard those words, it was a murderer who spoke them." She snorted. "I guess nothing"s changed." Tatsumi ignored her. She could say what she wanted; as long as she kept playing her little game, she was the one at a disadvantage. He scanned the hallway of doors that lay before him-some open, some closed. Which,he wondered, would seem most appealing to a ten-year-old girl on the run? And the words kept coming from behind. "The first time we heard those words, we were too late," the girl said. Was there regret in her voice? Any emotion at all? "But the second time-oh, we let him go, all right, the same way he"d been letting go all the kids in that village. But I wasn"t the one who did it. The guy that was with me-the guy that cut off his leg and let him watch himself bleed out-he let him go. And do you know what he said?" Tatsumi could no longer pretend-not even to himself-that he wasn"t listening. "Some days, I can just accept that shit like this happens," the girl said. "But others..." I don"t get why they do it. Tatsumi thought the words as they fell from the girl"s lips, and almost wasn"t surprised as they matched-syllable for syllable. Though this was really because he was too busy being surprised by the images that were suddenly flashing through his mind, images so vivid they almost seemed to be in front of his eyes. Images, or memories? The bodies hung in the charnel house, almost indistinguishable from the pigs that dangled around them. Only their size betrayed the true difference, like sunflowers from a field. Some were so rotted as to be unrecognizable. But for one. The white headband around the corpse"s forehead had retained its color through rot and refuse. And the face that revealed itself as the body swung, slowly around, was just almost as preserved.

Mikoto suppressed a groan and picked up her violin. September...18th... The night before, she wasn"t even lucky enough to have a dream-not even a nightmare-to fill some of the hours in between. She simply closed her eyes and opened them seven hours later, with the sun streaming in through the windows, a snoring Kuroko to her left, and the calendar reading... September 18. "...and we are, of course, honored that all you could join us in celebrating your experiences and achievements..." Okay. This had to be a joke-or, more accurately, some kind of crazy plan to torture her. Mikoto had been so busy preparing for her recital that she hadn"t bothered to ask for the schedule of the event itself. Evidently the organizers hadn"t thought it was very important for her to know, either, as she"d been handed a copy just before the ceremony started and told to study it quickly. At first, she"d seen more or less what she expected: a commencement by the principal of Tokiwadai, a slideshow containing touching moments from some of the attendees" lives, some speeches from the honored guests about their experiences...and her performance. Fine. She"d probably get a little antsy waiting for her part, but she could handle it. Then Mikoto had taken a closer look. Commencement-1:00 PM. Slideshow, 1:30. Storytime, 2:00. And violin recital... 3:00 PM? She"d be waiting backstage for two hours? "A little antsy" wouldn"t even begin to cover how she would be feeling by then! There was already some sweat beading on the back of her neck, and she could feel her knees threatening to start knocking together. Mikoto managed to stay in her chair for another five seconds before she gave up. This wasn"t going to work. She stood up and headed for the attendant standing at the door. "If anyone asks," she said, "could you tell them I went to the bathroom?" "But you"re not supposed to be-" She held up the program. "I"m on at three." The attendant"s eyes widened with understanding...and, hopefully, a bit of sympathy. "I see." He stepped aside and nodded at the door. "Try not to be late, then. We"re all looking forward to your performance." "Thanks." Mikoto stepped past the attendant and started down the hall, trying to walk as quickly as possible without breaking into an outright run. The dress she was wearing helped a bit-it seemed even stiffer than the one she"d been made to wear last time, if that was possible. Eventually, she settled for some dignified speed-walking. What was she supposed to do now? She"d avoided going completely stir-crazy, at least, but she could still feel the nerves bubbling in her stomach. Backstage was definitely not the place to wait, but where else could she go? She supposed she could go and find a store somewhere, try out one of those fabled pills that were supposed to "block" nervousness, but she wasn"t sure how much she trusted Academy City"s science. Actually, now that she thought about it that way...definitely no pills for her. Even an Academy City stress ball would be too suspect. Where else, then? If she went too far, Mikoto wouldn"t just have the recital to worry about. She"d also have to worry about showing up fifteen minutes late. Come to think of it... There was one place she"d always gone when she was tense. What was more, it wasn"t too far away, she knew exactly how to get there, and-more importantly-she knew exactly how long it would take to get back. Mikoto smiled to herself. Who needed a stress ball when you had a vending machine? She got a few strange looks as she struggled down the street in her fancy white dress, but eventually Mikoto made it out of the School Garden, across the streets of District 7, and over to the little park and its battered red vending machine. Halfway through her trek, she"d realized that she couldn"t really pull off the high kick she was used to-her dress would end up looking very different if she tried. Still, that wasn"t important. The location itself was calming enough: as usual, there were nearly no people around, and a kick wasn"t really necessary in case she actually wanted something to drink. Mikoto would just relax here, wait for her heart to stop pounding, and then go back. As usual, the row of benches nearby was empty. Mikoto sat, took out her phone, and checked the display-1:25 PM. Plenty of time to pull herself together. She leaned back, let out a slow breath, and closed her eyes. It only took five minutes for Mikoto to realize that maybe the time she had wasn"t as plentiful as she"d thought. Her heart was still pounding just as hard as it had before, and now her knees weren"t just threatening to knock together-they really were, shaking like she"d dunked her feet into a bucket of ice. If anything, she actually felt more nervous than she"d been during the Festival. So maybe the calming presence of nature wasn"t going to be of help today. Fine. She still had time to figure something else out. Would it help for her to practice the song? No, she"d left her violin back at the recital hall. Mikoto suppressed a pang of regret-the thing would only have slowed her down, and she didn"t even want to think about what would"ve happened if she"d lost it somewhere. God, if she"d lost it... She could already imagine the expression on her violin teacher"s face, not to mention the dorm supervisor- No! Don"t think about that, idiot! Maybe it would help to actually get something from the vending machine for once. But then-no-the last thing she wanted was to be playing on stage with a terrible need for a bathroom break. Had she been this nervous last time? How the hell had she dealt with it? Oh, forget it. Mikoto got up and strode towards the vending machine, the stiffness of her dress forgotten. If she was going to be going down, she"d at least get a few good punches in before she did. She swung her arms a little, stared hard at the button for strawberry oden- "Uh, miss?" -and froze. No...it couldn"t be. Of all the people, of all the times...if she turned around and saw who she thought she"d see...that would be weapons-grade misfortune right there, almost on par with the aura surrounding... Mikoto turned. She saw. This idiot. "I think I should warn you," Kamijou Touma told her. That idiotically earnest expression she knew so well was plastered all over his face. "This vending machine really likes to take your..." His voice trailed off. He looked at her. She looked at him. "Don"t just stare at me like that!" Mikoto yelled, after he"d just stood and stared at her for at least ten seconds" worth of silence. Kamijou gave a jerk, as if someone had poured cold water on his head. He groaned. "Of course this happens to me. I see a high-class girl about to get swindled by an evil machine, try to do my one act of good for the day, and of course she turns out to be y-" "Don"t finish that!" Mikoto knew her face was red, but there was no looking away, not after a remark like that. "How did you not know it was me? You can"t just show up here and then act like you"ve got no idea what"s happening!" "I really didn"t! I still don"t!" Kamijou said, throwing his hands up. "I just didn"t recognize you in that dress!" "Oh, really!" Mikoto"s heart started pounding in a way completely different from before. "Is that why you came here? To make fun of my dress?" "Oh, give me a break! You said the exact same thing the last time something like this happened! I didn"t make fun of you then, did I?" "What do you mean, the last time this happened? There never was a last..." Mikoto stopped midsentence. No, now that she thought about it, this idiot had been at the Midsummer"s Festival too. He"d shown up with the same sort of timing too, asking her for directions while she was trying to calm herself down. And after that had happened... Mikoto"s eyes widened. She"d asked herself how she had managed to calm down, back then. Now, she remembered. And, best of all, Mikoto was in the perfect position to use her method again-right this instant. "Okay," she said slowly. "I hate to say it, but maybe you"re right." Kamijou gave a sigh that sounded a little too relieved, even for her liking. "Finally, a conversation without a single bolt of lightning," he said. "Now what"s going on? Actually, wait. Let me guess." "Is this another violin recital?" Now it was Mikoto"s turn to sigh. She gave a slight nod. "But...wait." Kamijou looked around quickly, before turning back to Mikoto. "I definitely don"t see any crowds or stage around here. If this is like last time, and your recital"s back at Tokiwadai, then why are you out here beating up this vending machine on your big day? Don"t tell me they don"t even give you ojou-samas drinks there." "If there were any, I didn"t see them," Mikoto said. "And I was the only "ojou-sama" they had to worry about anyway. But even if they"d actually put a cart of champagne there...I probably would"ve come out here anyway." Kamijou raised an eyebrow. "Why"s that?" "I..." Mikoto gave the ground a light kick, and stared at the paving tiles. "I just needed some fresh air." "Nervous, huh?" "What?" She looked up quickly. "Do you have any idea how terrible the air quality is backstage? Don"t just go and assume things!" Kamijou gave an understanding mm-hm. "So you came out here to calm down. I see, I see..." "Fine! Maybe I needed to calm down...a little." Mikoto felt her hands clenching into fists, but she was past caring at this point. Besides-it was time to execute her plan. "But guess what?" He was still standing there, blissfully unaware of what was about to come. "What?" "I just figured out the perfect solution." Mikoto didn"t even try to hide the wicked smile spreading across her face. "Uh..." Now, Kamijou finally seemed to be recognizing that something was amiss. He backed away slowly. "That"s great, then," he said, chuckling weakly. "In the meantime, I think I"ll be off-" "Oh, not so fast!" With a speed that surprised even Mikoto herself (hey, that dress was as stiff as ever), she managed to dart behind him, cutting off his escape from the park. "You"re not leaving until-huh?" It was doubtful Kamijou heard her...considering he was so busy running in the opposite direction. He yelled something as he ran, something that sounded suspiciously like "Such misfortune!" Mikoto decided to break out the lightning. There was no way she would be catching up with him on foot, not in what she was wearing. She stretched out her hand, closed one eye, focused on the electric potential between its tip and Kamijou, fired- And watched as he whirled, negated her attack, and ran straight towards her. "You know what? There"s no point in running away!" he yelled. "It"ll just mean that I won"t be able to see you trying to shoot me in the back!" "Hey!" Pointedly, Mikoto fired another shot at his feet. "I might want to beat you, but I"m going to do it fair and square!" Kamijou crouched, swatted away the bolt, and continued barreling in her direction. "What did I even do? One second we"re just talking about calming down, and the next"-he blocked another strike with a grunt-"you"re trying to turn me into a human lightning rod! Again!" He was getting a little too close for comfort now. Mikoto gave up on the lightning (which she hadn"t expected to work, anyway) and decided to take another approach. As Kamijou approached, right hand still outstretched, she focused on the buckle of his belt and grabbed it magnetically. Then, as he took another step, she jerked it backwards, in the exact opposite of the way he was running. The result was almost as if Kamijou had stepped on a particularly transparent banana peel. With a crash, he landed on the ground face-first, arms and legs splayed out like some spiky-haired spider. Mikoto grinned to herself-mission accomplished-and walked over to his prone form. "Okay," she said. "You can get up now." No answer. "Hey, did you hear me? I said, you can get up now!" If it was possible, the guy"s body seemed even more motionless than it had before. The grin slipped off Mikoto"s face. "Hey. Hey! If you don"t get up now, I really am going to send a lightning bolt into your back!" Still no movement. "W-well, maybe not a lightning bolt. But at least a good kick, you hear me? Or...or I"ll paint your hair bright red! Come on!" Nothing from Kamijou. Mikoto fought back the urge to nudge him in the side with a foot, and knelt as far down as she could in her dress. She hadn"t done that much, had she? Come on! She"d only thrown a few bolts here and there, tripped him at the end... Slowly, she extended a hand towards Kamijou"s shoulder. She wasn"t even sure what the point of the motion was. All she wanted was to be sure that the guy was okay- At which point said guy rolled over, took one look at her face, and burst out laughing. "I"m not even mad at you for trying to kill me anymore!" He started chuckling even harder. "That look on your face..." He took another look at her face and started laughing all over again. Mikoto was still frozen in a kneel, one hand still partially outstretched. Kamijou sighed and got up slowly, still chuckling now and then. "Man, I should"ve taken a picture of that. Something to save for a rainy day..." "Hey, you." He stopped talking and looked at her. With some satisfaction, Mikoto watched the smile on his face disappear completely. Kamijou blinked. "Oh," he said. "Shi-" Five minutes later, the park was back to being the quiet, domestic place it was most days, complete with a relaxed boy-girl couple sitting on one of the benches. Closer inspection would reveal, however, that the boy"s shirt seemed lightly fried and that he was sprawled on the bench as if he"d just outrun a massive boulder, while the girl was looking away from him, arms crossed. Perhaps not so relaxed, after all. "Honestly," Mikoto said, scowling into the distance. "I can"t believe I was ever worried about hitting you." Kamijou groaned and slid up to a sitting position, massaging his temples with a hand. "I feel sorry for anyone stuck around you on April Fool"s Day." "Don"t even talk about that." Mikoto had very vivid memories of that particular occasion, which had included Kuroko, a shower, and a rain of rose petals. She shuddered. "Please don"t talk about that." "Honestly, the way your face looks right now, I don"t want to talk about it either," Kamijou said. "So fine-just answer my original question." He paused for a moment and took a deep breath, then turned to look at her. "What the heck just happened? Because this"-he gestured at a burnt patch on his shirt-"wasn"t something I was planning on getting today!" Mikoto took a critical look at the patch. She scoffed. "Oh, come on," she said. "It"s not that bad. I bet you have a million more shirts lying around anyway. And something tells me half of them are in much worse shape than this one." "That"s not the point! Why did I, Kamijou Touma, have to be repaid for my attempt at kindness with a barrage of thunder and lightning?" "Actually..." Mikoto supposed it would be fair to let the guy know about the role he"d played-especially since he"d played it so well. "It wasn"t just an attempt." "What"s that supposed to mean?" "You said it before, right?" She could feel the blush forming on her cheeks, but she didn"t stop talking. "I came out here to calm down. Well..." Mikoto finally looked away, fiddled with her fingers. "I"m calm. Thanks." It really was true. Somehow, just having him here made the massive audience and complicated score she would have to face a little less threatening. And, no-she wasn"t going to think about what a statement like that would mean to someone else-Saten-san, for example. Kamijou just stared at her in silence. "You"re kidding, right?" he said finally. "Look, last time you saw me in this dress...I was just as nervous. Maybe even more, honestly," Mikoto said. She kept her gaze focused on her hands. "But then you showed up." "And you tried to brain me with a chair." "Well...yeah." Mikoto closed her eyes. Now that she was able to think about things clearly again, she was feeling uncomfortably similar to a stressed-out boxer using a punching bag for relief. "But after you ran away, I noticed that things weren"t as bad as they were a second before. So when you showed up here today..." Kamijou sighed. "I get it, I get it. You decided to try and take the "Kamijou effect" up another notch. Fine, fine..." "Shut up, idiot!" For the record: Mikoto totally didn"t see the small smile that appeared on his face, and she definitely didn"t stare at it for far too long. Nope. They stayed on the bench for a few minutes more. Mikoto was in the middle of feeling the most relaxed she had in weeks, when Kamijou suddenly sat up and said, "Hey, Misaka. About your recital." "Hm?" Mikoto murmured. She tried to ignore the thrill that ran through her when he said her name. Honestly, it had almost been a month since he"d stopped with "Biri-biri"-why was she still getting excited? "What time was it supposed to be?" "Three." She took out her phone, checked the time- (2:50 PM) -and bolted up from her seat with a despairing cry. "We"re going to be late! Come on, come on!" "You"d better hurry or you"re not going to make it-wait, what do you mean, we?" When the last speech had been given and the last of the senior citizens had been escorted back to their seats, everyone in the auditorium quieted and waited for the curtains to part. "And now, Tokiwadai"s very own...Misaka Mikoto!" There was a wave of applause as the Railgun walked onto the stage in her brilliant white dress. She bowed, put her music on the waiting stand, and then seemed to motion to someone offstage. A boy with hair so unkempt that it was almost spiky walked onto the stage...dressed in an uninspiring white shirt and jeans. He took up a position next to the music stand. Still, most of the audience didn"t really let up on their applause. Most of them would"ve been fine with both performers walking onstage in their pajamas; this was a violin performance, after all, not a fashion show. It was the principal of Tokiwadai and its head supervisor who seemed most bothered by the boy"s appearance, as they shot up from their seats-those closest to them would later wonder if they"d actually heard them say, "What"s a boy doing up there?" To some, as a matter of fact, it almost seemed as if the pair would rush up to the stage- And then Misaka Mikoto smiled, closed her eyes, and began playing. They sat down very quickly. By itself, the music was already good. Maybe it stumbled slightly at a few points, but it was already enough to make the seniors listen with contented smiles on their faces. The music had life to it, care and skill put into every note. But what really made those smiles widen, and what made the seniors burst into uproarious applause when the Railgun"s performance had ended, was what they saw onstage. The boy, it turned out, was just there to turn the pages-but that didn"t make his role in the performance any less significant. With every note that the girl in front of him played, his face grew more and more awestruck. Even those in the audience who knew that they"d heard better were able to appreciate her performance a bit more through the boy"s obvious appreciation of it. Such a situation might have been a little unsettling on its own-who had ever heard of a page turner staring at the performer instead of the pages? To some, it even seemed as if the boy was barely looking at-or turning-the pages of the sheet music at all. The way the Railgun was playing, however, dispelled any potential doubts as to the boy"s presence onstage. She wanted him there; that much was obvious to anyone who watched for more than a few seconds. The girl had been the one to wave him onstage, after all. But it went beyond that. As she"d played more of the song, her body had relaxed more and more, and she had started smiling happily-which was normal. Most performers did that when a song was going well, and this one most certainly was. What wasn"t quite normal was to open your eyes and smile at your page turner more often than you did your pages, or even the strings of your violin. And that, of course, wasn"t even counting the number of times the spiky-haired boy"s eyes dropped every time such a thing happened. The couples in the audience smiled to each other. They"d seen this enough times to know what was happening onstage...even if, after the performance, the girl bowed hurriedly and then practically shoved the boy offstage, cheeks aflame and with the expression of a person handling garbage. They weren"t worried. She was Misaka Mikoto, after all: Tokiwadai"s star student and the most powerful Electromaster the world had ever seen. She"d figure it out. Later, Kamijou tried to apologize to Misaka for how terribly he"d turned the pages, especially since she"d apparently needed someone to turn them so much. (Mikoto never told him that she hadn"t needed the pages anyway.) Fin I say this at the end of all my stories, but only because it"s so true - if you enjoyed my stories, please leave a review or a favorite! Both make my day and really keep motivating me to write! Thanks for getting this far, PythianPickles

"Will this suffice?" Xalah rasped as she held a few planks, her red eyes staring at him. "Yeah... Just plop them down in the back and I"ll get the fire started." She nodded before disappearing behind the door. Robert sighed as he finished cleaning out the deer before cutting thick chunks of meat, grabbing a small mess kit from one of his pockets as the aluminum folded out into a complete pan. Now was his favorite part, cooking what had been hunted. Later again He had placed the pan on top of the fire as it the meat chunks placed inside sizzled loudly. He experimentally prodded it with the fork he had before he reckoned it was good to go. He took two canisters out of his bag to act as makeshift plates, putting the venison in it was they sizzled. "Here... It"ll probably taste kinda bare without any spice, but it should still be good." Robert admitted as he handed her a plate. She sniffed it before taking an experimental bite, the scales on her face immediately lit up as her eyes widened. "This... This is... Incredible..." Xalah slowly pieced together as she took another bite. The black Viper that sat on the other side of the fire merely shrugged. "Eh, it"s okay." Robert rasped as he took a bite. "You don"t eat this type of food often... Do you?" Xalah paused as her red eyes looked down, "No... The rations ADVENT gave to me usually tasted bland." "Well there you have it." Robert hissed in a chuckle before he reached for his iPod, selecting My Way sung by Frank Sinatra. "Here, let"s get some music going." The female tilted her head at his words before she heard sound come from the little device, a man, human by the sound of it, talking rhythmically. Xalah raised an eye as she heard some form of percussion device follow along with his words. "What is this?" "It"s music." Robert rasped as he closed his eyes, slowly drifting his head to the beats of the song. Xalah paused as she looked at him, unsure of what to say. "What is the point of... "Music"?" She asked. Robert opened his blue eyes again as he smiled warmly, "Their is no point... Just listen." She listened intently before she hissed, "What is this human even speaking of?" "His end. Everyone die"s eventually, what"s important is that you go through life the way you want it to go." "Why?" "Because then what"s the point of living?" Robert asked, "-Oh! Watch it! Here comes the best part." The Viper hissed excitingly. Xalah was about to ask what he meant before she heard it, additional instruments being added to the crescendo as the man sung louder than before, displaying raw emotion despite only being a voice. Xalah felt her scales grow cold as the music struck her, almost making her freeze in place. It was beautiful to hear. She digested the song before looking at him, "Do you... Still consider yourself Human?" Robert paused at that statement, it took him a while before he answered. "No... At least not anymore." He stopped the song before he turned his blue eyes to her. "C"mon... Let"s go to sleep.". He was clearly avoiding any more conversation now. Xalah paused, perhaps that question she asked was too personal. She slowly nodded as she turned her head away from him and lied her head down, the cool air making her slowly fall asleep as she closed her eyes. She fortunately had a dreamless sleep. Morning Robert awoke first as daylight shone through the windows. He sat up before he stretched, cracking his scaly arms as he groaned. He turned his serpentine head to see Xalah, still sleeping peacefully as she gently lied on the ground. He was almost tempted to let her rest before he decided against it, they needed to move on. He took the leftover meat from the deer, freezing it solid with a wiff of his breath. He had slowly gotten better at controlling his new ability as he placed the veal inside the cooking pot. "Xalah..." Robert hissed, the female Viper slowly opening her red eyes as they looked up at him. "We need to get going, we can reach a resistance settlement by the afternoon if we hurry." She yawned before rising up, her scales shifting as she spoke. "Very well." Later The two slithered silently on the pathway, now taking an old trekking route. Although the pathway had been a shortcut, the trek was still long and hard as it mostly involved slithering up and down hill. Xalah was deep in thought again, her scales trawling across the ground as her tail moved her forward. She had purpose under ADVENT... But was she ever even happy? The only times where she was was when she could talk to her sister"s about her mission, or when she removed her armor after a long day. It seemed as if the times she was happy or enjoying herself was when the ADVENT weren"t involved. She hissed to herself before Robert put a hand in front of her. Xalah tilted her head as she looked at him, "What"s is it-" And then she saw it, two small black furred creature"s were playing in the nearby clearing. They grunted and snorted playfully as the other tackled one another, she wanted to speak out before Robert put a finger to his mouth in a gesture for silence. And then she saw why. A giant black four legged creature came out next, possibly it"s parent as it gently grunted, the two cubs looking at their mother before quickly following behind. Xalah had her eyes wide as Robert turned his head to her. "Black bear cubs... The mother would"ve attacked if we slithered too close to them." Robert rasped as he smiled. Xalah was unsure of what to say before the black Viper carried on, slithering up a rock as he reached a hand down. She gingerly took it, noticing how cool it felt before he helped her slither up. "By the way... I wanted to ask something." Xalah tilted her head, "Ask what?" "Why did you do it?" The female Viper was unsure of what he meant, "I need more clarificatio-" "Y"know... Why did you hold fire when we first met? Why did you save me when I was being crushed by that Berserker?" Robert asked as he slithered alongside her. She paused, before she slowly rasped, "How could I not? They Elders said that the males of our race died out, yet there you were..." Robert"s eyes widened, "Wait, your telling me that there are no males? Then how do you even repopulate?" "I-I"m not sssure. All I know is that I hatched in an incubation tank under the supervision of the ADVENT and they gave me training when I reached adolescence... And then monitored me in adult hood... And now I"m here." "Jesus... Sounds like the ADVENT controlled almost every part of your life..." Robert rasped. Xalah frowned as she opened her mouth to argue before she was hit with the hard realization, they did control every part of her life, almost as if she were some kind of machine. "Well, come on. The resistant settlement is just over this ridge line." Robert hissed before he slithered on top of a boulder. Xalah followed after him, watching him reach it as the sun met his eyes. However something was not right, his face twisting into shock as he immediately began to slither down. "Robert wait! What"s wrong!?" Xalah yelled as she climbed to the top. And then she saw it, ramshackle buildings burnt down as cremated bodies lied on the ground. She knew exactly what it was and what had happened. A Retaliation Mission. Whilst she never took part of one, but she had heard a few of her brethren being given an assignment to destroy insurgent havens. Needless to say, she reached Robert who was currently looking for survivors as he scanned the destroyed hamlet. "Robert." Xalah rasped as she slithered up to him, "If the bodies are out like this, then the ADVENT already wiped them out." The black Viper took a second as he peered inside a building before breathing out, slowly closing his eyes as he turned his head away. "I know..." Xalah tilted her head as she peered inside before she gasped, the charred corpse of a mother holding her daughter in her arms knelt in the corner of the burned building. They likely died in that position as the fire blazed around them. She looked back at Robert, the black Viper was peering out at the destruction as he simply stayed like that. Xalah slowly reached out as she gently touched his shoulder, he flinched a tiny bit, before turning his blue snake eyes to her. "Are you... Okay?" Xalah asked. Robert paused before he rasped, "No... I"m not. I used to know some of these people... And now they"re all dead." Xalah looked down, "I am sorry." The black Viper was surprised at her words as he stared at her, "Why are you apologizing? You didn"t do anything. It was ADVENT that did thisss." "That may be true..." Xalah sighed, "But I was still raised and taught everything by them." Robert shook his head, "Listen to me Xalah..." He wrapped his hands around hers as he gently squeezed, his scales feeling cool to the touch, "That"s not true. ADVENT didn"t define who you were! You yourself did it when you chose to save my life! Everything you did up to this point was by your own free will, and that"s all that matters." Xalah looked up before she smiled, her red eyes staring into the blue of his before she asked. "What will we do now?" Robert turned his head to look at the destruction one last time, the sun was already beginning to set again as he sighed. "Let"s get out of here... I"ll try to figure out a way to get in contact with X-com." She nodded as the two of them slithered away, leaving the burnt remains behind. Night This time they chose to camp within a cave, Robert had done a good job at concealing the front as he covered it with branches and leaves. They had set up another fire quickly after collecting a few twigs, and the ground was perfect as the rocks were smooth and flat. Robert looked down at his iPod as he slowly shifted through his play list as he finished his food. Xalah sat a meter away from him as she chomped down the last chunk, almost like how a snake would. The female Viper looked up as she watched him, his eyes seemed to droop as he looked down on the device with a frown. She could already tell that he was still haunted by the ruins. She decided to try and brighten him up. She couldn"t stand to see him so... Depressed. "Robert..." He looked up as his blue eyes stared at her. His hood tilting slightly. "Tell me, is there any good way to past the time?" "Well... We can listen to music-" "Music? Are you sure their"s nothing else?" Robert paused as he put a hand to his chin. His eyes lit up. "There is one thing... We can do." She tilted her head, "Really now?" "Yeah, how about I teach you a thing or two about dancing." "Dancing?" Xalah asked, "What is that?" Robert rose from the ground as he coiled upwards, brushing his head in a gesture for her to follow. "Follow me... I"ll ssshow you." Xalah reluctantly slithered behind him, her scales moving across the smooth floor as the two of them were at the edge of the cave. Robert turned his head to her before he took his iPod and pressed to play a random song. Can"t Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley began to blare as Robert cringed in embarrassment. His serpentine fangs gritting together as his eyes were wide. "H-Hold on. That"s not right. I"ll change it." Robert hissed as he attempted to switch the song only for Xalah to speak up. "That shouldn"t be needed... This soundsss nice." She rasped before she looked at him, "So what now?" "Um... Well..." Robert was shaking, never had he actually felt so nervous in his life. "We, uh... Move to the sssong." Xalah tilted her head, "Move to the song? How?" Robert paused before he straightened himself, gaining confidence as slithered in front of her. "Here, use your hands to grab onto my shoulders." She did as he ordered, her long fingers curling around the padding. "Now wha-" Robert placed his hands on her shoulder, touching the synthetic armor as he smiled. "Now, we move." They began slow, slightly moving their upper bodies left to right. Both of their shoulders connected by arms length as the black Viper guided her. "Shall... I... Stay? ... Would it be... A... Sin...? If I... Can"t... Help... Falling in love... With... You..." Robert felt as if they were in the basket of a snake charmer, losing themselves to the rhythm as he stared into her red eyes. Xalah falling under the same spell as she stared back at the blue of his. "Take... My... Hand... Take my Whole... Life... Too... For I can"t help... Falling in love... With... You..." His scaly hand drifted on it"s own, slowly disconnecting itself as it found itself placed on her scaly hip. She closed her eyes for a split second, letting out a silent hiss before she opened them again, slowly wrapping her hands further around his shoulder as Xalah closed the distance, her elbows know resting on his shoulders. Now the two of them were face to face, smiling as they drifted to the song. He was close enough to hear her breathing increase, just as her hands felt his heart beat on the small of his back. Neither of them wanting this moment to end as they slowly began to drift closer to each other, their faces almost touching before the song ended. Roberts blue eyes widened, as did the red of Xalah"s as the two of them separated, speechless. "Did we almost-" Robert attempted to speak before Xalah spoke. "I- Let"s just... Go to sleep... Please." Xalah hissed nervously, she harbored the same confused and shocked expression when they had first met, unsure of what to think. Robert paused before he slowly nodded, "Right..." She slithered away as Robert grabbed slowly grabbed his iPod, he turned his head to her as he watched her move to the fire. His body for the first time in a long time felt flushed. If he were still Human, then he would"ve been blushing like crazy. He didn"t know what exactly to make of it either as he put the iPod one of his packets before slithering up to the fire. Needless to say. It was a bizarre night. Next Day Ever since they had woken up the two Vipers didn"t speak of what happened last night. But it still hung fresh in both of their minds as they trawled and slithered there way through the peaceful woods. The two of them had their weapons holstered on their backs. Robert turned his head to Xalah as he spoke, "We"ll keep going north, I remember there was a radio tower on one of these mountains that we can reach before nightfall." Xalah nodded as she looked at him, "You seem to know a lot about this area." "Like I said, I used to hunt around here. Sometimes alone, sometimes with my Grandfather." "It must have been... Nice." Xalah rasped. "Yeah... But not everything lastsss." Robert slowly hissed, Xalah realized that he was hiding something. "What happened?" Robert paused as he looked out at the woods before sighing, "My Grandfather passed away when the ADVENT took over, and my parents wanted to willfully submit to ADVENT rule... I couldn"t. Not after what my Grandfather told me." Xalah tilted her head, "Told you what?" "That a life lived in fear is a life half lived. My parents live in fear of ADVENT, and now almost everyone on earth lives in fear too. If there was some way I could just-" Robert paused as he spotted something before he grinned. "What isss it?" Xalah asked. Robert turned his head as he spoke, "Have you ever been to a hot spring before?" Xalah shook her head before Robert lightly grasped her hand. "C"mon!" The two of them got down the slope as Robert guided her to the bottom. His black scales rustling through the leaves before he pushed them away, revealing a small pool of water that was halfway covered by a rocky outcropping. A waterfall fell from the top, right smack in the middle as warm vapors rose from the water. Xalah looked at the place before looking back at Robert. "Why did we-" Only to see discarded armor and his hunting rifle on the ground. Xalah quickly swiveled her head back to see the black Viper, his scales now exposed as he let out a whoop, propelling into the spring with a gigantic splash. She quickly slithered up to the side, her face plastered with worry as she called out. "Robert!? Can you hear me?!" There was no response as bubbles began to billow to the surface before Robert revealed himself with a great big splash, tracking water all over Xalah as she hissed in surprise before it turned into annoyance. "Robert!" "Ha! You should have ssseen the look on your face!" The black Viper rasped wryly as he nestled himself on the edge. "Wanna come in? The Waters warm and nice." Xalah paused as she pondered for a moment, "I could use some cleaning." Robert merely closed his eyes as he rested his head against the rocks, "Well whatever it is, you better make up your mind. We"re not going to be here fore-." He turned his hood to see Xalah. Without her armor. Her breastplate and gauntlets hung off her scaly arm before falling to the floor. Revealing her perfect bust as she closed her eyes and sighed out in relief. Of course they were nipple-less, but that barely even mattered if they gave the same impression. "Holy shit." were the only words the black Viper could think of as his blue eyes were wide with absolute shock. Her armor must have hid the fact that her breasts were actually big and weighty. How in the hell did she survive wearing that thing and hide the most perfect pair he had ever seen in his life without any serious damage? And it didn"t help that they actually responded to her sighing as her chest rose and fell, making them bounce a little. Robert attempted to cast his precise gaze else where, but it was no use. The familiar tightening of his groins symbolized that he was getting his first erection on his serpentine body as the reptilian sheath came to life below the water, pushing past his scales. "God damn it... They"re just poison glands, they"re just poison glands..." Robert kept repeating the words in his head before he sensed her slither next to the edge, slowly lowering herself tail first as she made the cutest hiss he ever heard. "Ah... You were right Robert... This is nice and warm." Xalah rasped as she looked at him. Robert tried to look her in the eyes, yet the top of her cleavage could still be seen on the surface. "Y-yep." Was all Robert could hiss as he tried to face his body away so she wouldn"t notice his arousal. He was merely a meter away from her as he stirred uncomfortably. "So tell me, how did you know of thissss?" Xalah asked as she leaned her back against the edge, putting her arms out on the rocks. Robert got a hold of himself as he looked up at her, "I- Well I mean, I didn"t really come across it... It more or less came across me." "How so?" Xalah rasped. "I was hunting after a wild turkey and I found this place. I tried to find it again at some point but I must"ve forgot the location." Robert looked at the waterfall, "And now here it is, I wasn"t even trying to look for it..." Xalah looked around as she smiled, "Perhaps that"s the point. This wondrous place only reveals itself when one isn"t looking for it." Robert chuckled a hiss, "Yeah... Sssounds like something out of a Greek legend." They both smiled at each other before Xalah shifted in discomfort, sighing in frustration. Robert tilted his good as he frowned in concern. "What"s wrong?" "It"s... My armor, I wore it for too long and now my scales feel numb." Xalah hissed as she stirred against the rocks, attempting to reach her back with her hand. Robert paused before he rasped without thinking. "I could give you a massage." It took him a second to realize what he had suggested to her as his mind immediately went into panic. "What the FUCK are you doing!? She"s going to find ou-!" To his dismay, she tilted her head. "A massage? What is that?" The black Viper attempted to come up with a response, "I- It"s a... A way to relieve tension in your muscles." Xalah seemed perplexed as she looked at him, "Really? Very well then. What must we do?" She asked. "Uh... H-here, let"s just go a bit further out." Robert rasped as he slowly slithered from the edge. He hung his head down as his eyes were wide, there was no way he could go along with this and yet here he was. His reptilian hard on was now brushing against the current, Robert thanking whatever god out there for making the water murky enough for Xalah to not be able to see below. He shifted his serpentine head to see her, slowly drifting to him as her upper body shifted side to side. She looked absolutely stunning as she sported a happy expression. Robert was trying to comprehend if it was just his new biology that was making him see her like this before Xalah spoke, "So, what now?" "Just-" His voice became a bit raspier then usual as he coughed, "Just turn around, I-I"ll do the rest." Xalah did so, turning around as she faced away. Robert gulped, air going down his throat as it trawled down his long neck. He slowly slithered up to her, making sure to keep a good arms distance away from her in fear of her discovering his excited package. He had noticed that looking at her back was almost like looking at a humans but with scales. He gingerly touched her shoulder as Xalah shivered, his hands were inexplicably cold as his fingers splayed themselves across her warm shoulders. "Ah..." Xalah hissed as Robert worked his hands on her scales, his long fingers now holding on as his thumbs dug into her shoulder blades. She slowly raised her head, closing her eyes as her mouth opened slightly.

Hill-Way House, Amos"s Room Amos slowly began to open his eyes as he stared blankly at the side of his pillow. His eyes drooping and tired as he put his hands to rub the sleep out of them, it was morning already as the sun shone through the curtains of the room. He blinked again before he heard someone knock at his door. "Hey Amos. You awake?" Hoshi asked behind it. The alligator stood up from his bed, grabbing his shirt and pants as yelled back. "Yep, what"s going on Hoshi?" She opened the door as she peered down at her phone, "Remember that Gregg guy we met at the Snack Falcon?" Amos nodded, "Yeah? What about him?" "He"s sent us about 100 messages in the past few minutes, saying that we need to meet up at some place called the Party Barn because an old child hood friend of his has popped up. Messaged me to bring our instruments too." The alligator paused, "Is Vlad up?" Loud Ukrainian music blared in the nearby room as singing was heard. Hoshi rolled her eyes, "Does that answer your question?" Party Barn Beatrice checked her phone again as she sighed, looking at the front of the Party Barn. It had been a while since she had been here, Greggory had randomly messaged before she opened the store, begging her to come to the Party Barn and bring her drum program for a "surprise". What this surprise exactly was, she had no idea. The crocodile opening the door as she went inside to see Margaret, standing in the front of the stage. "-Oh dude I don"t even think I even remember..." Margaret turned her eyes to see Beatrice enter. Angus was on top of the stage as the bear looked down to acknowledge the crocodiles presence. "Hey Bea. Uh. Mae"s back." She paused, looking at her former childhood friend as the cat looked back at her. "Wow. Hi." Margaret said, a little awkwardly. Beatrice responded, "Yeah. Hi." "SHE"S TOTALLY BACK!" Greggory yelled from the corner of the room as he dug through their old equipment. The crocodile paused again, wasn"t Margaret supposed to be in college? "Wait, what?" "Are you... Uh... Here for band practice?" Margaret asked. Beatrice wanted to sigh as she gestured to the laptop that was wrapped around her arms., "I play drums." Margaret looked at the left behind device, "That"s not drums. That"s computer." "It"s fine. She also does your bass parts." Angus pointed out. Beatrice deadpanned, "Well I understood them as the bass parts... But I can turn them off." ""Turn them off.' On your computer." Margaret said skeptically. "Mae we"re totally gonna play a song! You totally have to play bass!" Greggory said as he came running back, an old bass guitar in his hands. Margaret"s eyes widened as she looked at the instrument. "I don"t even remember! Those aren"t even drums!" "Doesn"t matter! We"re doing this right now and right here!" The fox said as he gave the cat her old instrument before climbing up on stage with his guitar. "Are we ready dudes?" Beatrice climbed up as she placed her computer on top of a speaker for her to easily use. So far this reunion was a let down for her, a few questions bubbling up on why exactly was Mae back? Greggory gave a countdown. "Alright! 1, 2, 3 Let"s-!" A honk sounded outside, everyone stopping as they turned their heads. "Who"s honking?" Margaret asked, "Like do people do that for no reason nowadays?" Greggory immediately put a hand to his mouth, "Oh shit, I ALMOST FORGOT! I invited a few more people over!" Angus looked at his boyfriend, "Who?" The door to the front slowly opened. Beatrice immediately paused, her eyes widening as she recognized who it was. The alligator with the same scar from yesterday as his reptilian head poked in. No effing way. He looked inside, turning his head as he opened the door fully, a stork and a lynx following in after him, the both of them checking out the place. "Sorry we"re late Gregg, we kinda overslept." "Ah it"s no problem!" The fox said before he turned his head, "Guys, I"d like you to meet Amos the alligator, Hoshi the stork, and Vlad the lynx. They"re from outta town! And they"re a band as well. A professional band!" "Woah..." Margaret said as her eyes were trained on them, "So playing music is basically like a job to you guys?" The alligator named Amos chuckled, "Depends on who you ask. It"s pretty fun to-... Perform..." His gaze peered at Beatrice who was sitting next to the speaker, his eyes full of surprise. Beatrice was apart of Gregg"s band? The crocodile shot a look back, snapping him back into reality as the fox spoke up. "Oh yeah! Meet my crew of dudes!" Greggory said as he pointed at the cat, "That"s Mae, she"s the awesome friend I was messaging about. She can play a killer Bass." "Stooop..." The cat said, "I"m like super rusty. I haven"t played in forever Gregg." "Aah, don"t worry about it." Greggory dismissed her complaints as he went up to the bear that stood on stage, "This is Angus! The piano Cap"n" "Hey." The bear said as he gave a casual little wave. A dark green sweater and a thick rimmed glasses adorned on the animal"s face. The fox then moved on to the last member. "And this is Bea! She"s on our drums." The alligator looked at her, "Drums? That"s sounds nice..." He paused as he realized something, "Um... are they on the computer?" She looked at him for a second before turning her head away, mumbling a "Yes" as she focused on the screen. Lori definitely wasn"t lying when she said the crocodile held a grudge. "And that"s the crew!" Greggory yelled, "I almost got too excited and started the song off without you guys here. Sorry about that!" "Not a problem Gregg, we wanted to come and hear you guys play. We should be thanking you for inviting us." Amos said as he crossed his arms, smiling. Beatrice wanted to puke, there was no way someone else could act this polite or nice without hiding some form of misintent... Right? "Awesome! Then let"s start!" Gregg said as he climbed back up on stage, "Get ready for your minds to be blown! We call this song, Die Anywhere Else. Hit it Bea!" One song later "An-y-where... Just not here! Oh no." The song was finished as Amos and his band stood at the front of the stage. The alligator had to admit, for not even having a band name, they played like experts so far. Other then the bass being a bit off from time to time, he could definitely tell that they could make great songs in the future. Margaret sighed, "Holy crap. That was hard to do!" Angus spoke out, "You"ll get back in practice." "Yep, practice makes perfect." Amos said as he chuckled, "It"s true on every occasion." Hoshi silently nodded in agreement whilst Vladyslav crossed his arms, "я згоден." "Huh?" Margaret looked at the lynx, "Was that Russian?" Angus looked as he adjusted his glasses, "No. Ukrainian." Vlayslav immediately smiled, pointing at the bear "Ah! Tak, You know well!" The bear simply gave a thumbs up whilst Amos chuckled, smiling as his friends got along quickly. Beatrice in the meanwhile grumbled to herself, silently glaring at Amos. She was supposed to accept this? How could they not have a problem with him? This guy was way too... Positive. Greggory jumped off stage. "Alright, you dudes should play a song now!" "Us?" Hoshi asked, "Where should we put our stuff?" "Just put it up here." Angus simply said. The three of them nodded as they went outside, opening the van door. Margaret turned her head to Greggory, "Where did you even meet these three?" "Like, yesterday. Before you came Mae! I was working in the Snack Falcon and boom! They showed up out of nowhere and I could tell they were out of town, so I just had to invite "em!" Amos came back in, holding an electric guitar as Greggory did a quick cheer. "Woah! You on guitar my dude?" The alligator nodded, "And lead singer." "Awesome!" Greggory yelled, "Classic position right there!" Beatrice rolled her eyes. Vladyslav helped Hoshi carry her keyboard as the stork carried her theremin, Greggory looked at the outlandish instrument as Margaret came up alongside the fox. "Woah... What is this thing?" The cat asked. "Theremin. It"s heavy as hell but it makes pretty dope noises. Here, listen." Hoshi said as she quickly turned it on, twiddling her hands next to the two outputs. Immediately a electro sound began to play out as it responded to her finger movements. Greggory immediately flapped his arms, "AAAAAAAAAAAAGH! THAT IS SO AWESOME! It"s like an invisible violin!" "Honestly, it kinda sounds like that sound that UFO"s make in those old B movies." Margaret pointed out. Hoshi paused before she scratched the back of her head, "Yeah... It actually does sound a bit like that... But when you change pitches, you can really go to work with this thing." "Huh... Cool." Vladyslav climbed up on the stage, plugging in his bass guitar as Amos went up as well, setting up the mic stand. Beatrice begrudgingly got off stage to stand next to her friends, her arms crossed as she stared disapprovingly. Amos finally finished as he put the guitar sling over his shoulder, looking over at the group in front of the stage. They had already decided on a song while they were outside. From their very own album, Light Side of the Sun. The song, Town. The Ukrainian started off, his bass guitar going off as the song begun. Hoshi soon adding her own addition as her hands twiddled around her instrument. Amos held the mic as he sung. "Ticking away, the moments that make up a dull day!" Greggory flapped his arms in excitement, whilst Angus had a hand over the foxes shoulder. Margaret seemed perplexed as she tilted her head and Beatrice... The crocodiles eyes widened. She did not expect that voice to come from that alligator. "Kicking around on a piece of ground, on your hometown! Waiting for someone or something to show you the way!" Amos rapidly strummed his guitar, "And then one day you find... Ten years have got behind you..." The alligator closed his eyes, "No one told you when to run... You missed the starting gun!" They reached a crescendo, with Amos leading as he did a solo, drawing his head away from the mic as he focused on the instrument. He finished as he sung again, "Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time." He strummed, "The time is gone, the song is over, thought I"d have something more to say..." The song concluded after a few verses before coming to a complete stop. Hoshi and Vladyslav finishing their own respective parts, as they stopped their playing. "So... What ya"ll think?" Amos asked. "Wow." Angus simply said, "That was pretty incredible." "Yeah! You guys are amazing!" Greggory yelled, Mae nodding in agreement. "It was kinda psychedelic and understandable at the same time... How do you even achieve that?" The cat asked. Amos chuckled in response. "Ask the people we met on our travels, you can turn any life story into a song with the right ideas..." Beatrice stood in the back, her reptilian face unreadable as she looked at the other band. She didn"t know what she hated more, the alligator being so optimistic for no reason, or the fact that the song they played actually hit way too close to home. Regardless, this whole reunion was starting to get on her nerves. "Effing hell..." Beatrice muttered under her breath, as if she needed to be reminded about how crappy her life had gotten, now someone just had to sing it to her. Amos came off stage, as did his band. "Right ya"ll, we"re gonna go eat now-" "WHAT!? You guys haven"t eaten breakfast yet?!" Greggory asked in shock. Hoshi shrugged, "We were kinda in a hurry. I mean, you did send about 100 messages to us, so we guessed it was pretty urgent." "Oh man! Then you guys should totally come with! We"re going to the Clik Clak Diner to celebrate Mae"s return!" Margaret turned her head, the cat"s face now full of enthusiasm. "YEAAAAAAH! I can"t believe it"s still open!" Amos tilted his head. "Wait... Uh, ya"ll fine with that? I mean, it"s your friend Mae"s decision." "I"m cool with it." Margaret admitted. "Alright then..." Amos said as he chuckled. "Ya"ll go on right ahead, me and the band are just gonna pack the instruments up." "Great! C"mon dudes! It"s literally just down the street!" Greggory said as he quickly ran out the door in excitement, with Margaret following closely behind. Angus paused as the bear looked outside. "I should probably tell them that they"re going the wrong way,-" Angus looked at Beatrice, "You coming Bea?" The crocodile looked at Amos one last time, "Yeah." She was still finding everything hard to comprehend. Her former child hood friend had dropped out of college for no reason which pissed her off to no end, and now they were going to the diner with someone she already had on her long mental blacklist. It was as if this day served as a giant middle finger to her. She sighed before following after her friends, casting a quick glance at Amos who was busy deconstructing the mic stand. Clik Clak Diner Amos grinned as he sat down next to his two friends, his true expression hiding itself as he sighed internally. If he was being truthful with himself, then he felt as if he was intruding in some way. This was a group of friends that was celebrating a return of a returning companion, yet here they were. But it wasn"t all bad, Greggory was great to be around, as was Margaret and Angus... What actually made it awkward was the fact that Beatrice was staying true to her grudge. Just out of the corner of his eye, he would see her looking at him as if he was the anti-christ. And all of this over a dropped cigarette. He was broken from his thoughts as Vladyslav nudged him with his elbow. Amos turned his head to see the lynx point at something on the menu. "What is it Vlad?" The alligator asked. "піргогі!" The Ukrainian said excitedly. Amos tilted his head before Greggory spoke up. "I think he"s excited about the Pierogis!" "Pierogis? You mean those polish dumplings?" Hoshi asked, "I thought this was a diner that sold pizza. Why would they have a European dish?" "The question is not why," Greggory said as he put a hand to his chin, "But why not?" There was a long pause before Margaret spoke. "Wow Gregg, that was super philosophical." "Hey! I can be pretty deep when I want to!" The fox said in glee before he looked at the menu, "So what do you guys wanna get because I"m paying!" "Oh, you don"t need to do that." Amos said. Greggory grinned as he took out a note. "Oh yeah!? Then what do you call this?" "A 50 dollar bill." Beatrice simply said. "I mean... Yeah it is, BUT!-" The fox pointed at the three that sat across from him. "-One of you guys left it at my store!" "Us?" Hoshi asked, "I think you got it all wrong, we didn"t-" The sound of low chuckle was heard as the stork turned her head to see Vladyslav with a hand over his mouth, attempting to contain his laughter. Hoshi immediately sported an angered expression as she tightly punched the lynx in the shoulder, the Ukrainian still laughing as he bawled over. Amos merely chuckled, "So, I guess that answers that. Vlad must"ve left it as a token of appreciation." Angus looked at the lynx before turning his head to the bill. "Uh, do you want it back?" The alligator shook his head, "Nah. Ya"ll can keep it for all I care. In fact, just use it to pay for the meal. Get some use out of it." Greggory was about to say something before the waitress came along, the owl pulling out a little booklet. "Can I get you something?" "Yep! One extra large pizza and a pierogi platter please." Greggory said. She nodded, writing in the order before walking off. Hoshi took her phone out as she looked at the screen as the table fell under awkward silence. Amos coughed as he decidedly broke the ice. "So... How long have ya"ll lived in this town?" "Pretty much our whole lives." Greggory said cheerfully. "Oh. Sounds nice." Amos said optimistically, Beatrice snorted as she reached into her pocket, producing a cigarette before lighting it. Amos turned his gaze away as he looked at Margaret. "And... Uh, what about you Mae? Gregg said that you were returning from college?" "Yeah..." The cat said before her head drooped down. "And why"s that?" The question didn"t come from him, instead it came from the crocodile as Beatrice as she blew a puff of smoke. Mae seemed to pause at the question, "Well... Because, uh-" "Aw check it! The food"s here!" Greggory said as the waitress set down the pizza and pierogis. Vladyslav seemed equally excited as the Ukrainian looked down on the platter. Hoshi looked up from her phone, "Wow, that was quick." "That"s probably because we cooked it before hand." The waitress simply said before walking off. "Mmmm..." Angus looked at the pizza as the bears mouth watered, Greggory turned his head to Margaret. "Hell yeah! Did you miss pizza Mae?!" Margaret looked at the food before looking back up, "They have pizza at school." "Oh cool." Greggory said before reaching for a slice, as did Angus and Beatrice. Amos turned his head to see Hoshi experimentally pick up a pierogi whilst Vladyslav consumed one on the spot. Amos took up one of the European dumplings before biting into it, the taste of potato filling and dough being prominent in his maw. The taste was... Okay. The alligator turned his head, "So... How"s the pizza?" "Not very good." Angus admitted as he took a bite out of his. Beatrice grunted in agreement, glancing at Amos. "It"s pretty horrible... For your information." The last statement sounded more condescending than informal as Amos noted before Greggory spoke up, "Dudes, haven"t you heard of the pizza scale?" "The pizza scale?" Hoshi asked as she bit into a pierogi. "What the hell is that?" Greggory paused before he used his hands to gesture the slice he was holding, "There"s a scale of pizza. On one end there"s the worst pizza, but like everything right above that is still really good." "Amen to that." Amos said casually as he reached for another pierogi, earning a laugh from Gregg as the fox placed a crust back onto the plate. The alligator paused, looking at the unfinished crust as he stared at it. Unwanted memories began to surface as his breath began to hitch, his eyes now unfocused. No one seemed to notice. Except for one. Beatrice briefly glanced at him again, this time noticing a change in his expression as she raised a brow. No longer was it the optimistic alligator from before, now it looked as if he was someone else completely. Amos immediately stood up from his seat, "I-I need to use the bathroom..." "It"s just down the hall-" Angus didn"t finish as the alligator left in a hurry. "Gee, guess he really had to go." Margaret commented. Beatrice paused before she contemplated, wondering what exactly did she see in him? Before his face held a positive look, but a few seconds ago he looked downright drained, as if he had remembered particularly unpleasant. Her curiosity was now admittedly piqued as she muttered under her breath. "What the hell is your deal?" Washroom He stood next to the sink as he looked down at the sink, his reptilian fingers idly tapping against the smooth white marble. It was a quirk he developed when he was young, and it stuck to him when he was older. He sighed, attempting to think about the day ahead of him. But it was no use, his locked memories always finding way"s to crawl out of the dark hole"s of his head. His blinked again, before images flashed. New Orleans "-Now don"t eat it too fast. You"re going to burn you"re tongue." Amos said as he sat down on the booth. His little sister was 4 now, the small alligator picking up a piece before biting down on the slice. "Owie-!" She yelped. Amos rolled his eyes, "I told ya so. Now look what happened." She hung her head down, "Sorry." He shrugged before grinning, "Nothin" to say sorry about. Just be careful next time." His sister nodded before carefully chewing on the slice. She gulped it down before slowly looking up, "Mmm... It"s tasty!" "That"s pizza for you." Amos said, "This is your second time eating it y"know." "I-It is?" Amos chuckled, "Yeah, Dad used to sneak pieces when you didn"t wanna eat." She smiled before it slowly turned into a frown. "I wish daddy was still here." The older alligator paused, "Yeah... I do too." He then smiled to brighten the mood. "But we still have mom to watch over us." "Mommy act"s funny..." Amos froze at that statement. "What do you mean by that?" His sister squinted her eyes as she went deep into thought, "She likes looking at the windows a lot." "I-" Amos paused, "She"s just... Stressed." "Stressed?" His sister asked. "Yeah. Mom"s just been through a lot... Just give her time." His sister tilted her head, "But she"s been acting funny for so long. Mommy even said she that bad people were lying about daddy being gone." He shook his head, "Just don"t think about it Sis. Everything will be fine... She"ll recover." "Even though it"s taken her two years." Amos sighed as his inner voice spoke up, "So, are you ready to go?" She nodded, climbing off the seat. Amos stood up as well, however not before noticing something. A piece of leftover pizza crust. "Hey, ya didn"t eat the rest of your slice." His sister looked back before she shook her head, "I don"t like it. It"s too bready..." "Bready? That makes no sense Sis." "Sorry..." She murmured. Amos"s expression softened.

Okay, so this was how they were going to play this, no problem. If Jim needed to pretend nothing had happened, then Blair could play along. See, he could already laugh about it. "That"s great man, that"s great, now you tell me." Blair stared at his friend. No matter what those damn doctors wanted to believe, he knew that he had been dead, and Jim had come after him, had stopped him from leaving. What words were there to make him realise the significance of that, to make him see that they were joined now. What *did* you say to a man who raised you from the dead? "Thank-you." "I couldn"t let you die, you owe me last month"s rent, you know." "Oooh that"s right, sorry about that." Blair frowned, Jim"s light mood beginning to wear a little thin. Here he was, lying in a hospital bed, one of those annoying little tube things stuck up his nose, and Jim hadn"t even asked him if... "Doing alright?" Oh, Okay, so he asked. "Yeah, you know, I"m alright. I saw it...the whole out of body experience. It wasn"t like that classic "light at the end of the tunnel" thing, it was just the jungle, and I was this wolf, and I was running towards a black jaguar, and we collided and there was this big burst of light. Next thing I knew, I was spitting up water, and the doctors were trying to tell me it was some kind of endorphin rush when the body starts to shut down, but it was...uuh..." "The same image, I saw the *same* image." "We had the same vision?" "Yes. It was Incacha who guided me on how to bring you back." Who knew it would be this easy to convince Jim of his vision? Blair couldn"t hold back his laughter as he realised what this meant. He and Jim had *shared* the same vision. He too had seen and felt the merging of their spirit animals, ergo their spirits. Even Mr.Repression wouldn"t be able to deny now what they were to each other. "I can"t believe this. Einstein said the greatest experiences we can have are the ones with the mysterious. We are definitely there, my brother. Come on in, man, the water"s *nice*." "Chief, I don"t know if I"m ready to take that trip with you." Oh god, he wasn"t going to accept the vision. *How* could he continue to be so pig-headed about this? It wasn"t as if Blair was implying that they should now leap into bed with each other and play chase the snake like crazed mongooses. In fact, he had been very careful to keep his responses platonic. Jim had made it perfectly plain that he had no physical interest in Blair whatsoever, and that was okay...not great, but okay. There were so many different kinds of love, if Jim would only acknowledge that he felt even *one* of them for him, then he could be happy without the rest. But it seemed that even that was to be denied him. Smiling sadly, he turned his head into the pillow. "Chief?" "I"m a little tired, Jim, so if you don"t mind..." "Look, I"m sorry if you were expecting me to..." "It"s okay, Jim, really. I"m just tired, it"s been a rough day, you know?" "Yeah, sure. So, if you don"t need me anymore, I"ll...uh..." "Fine, Jim. I"ll see you later." Blair watched his friend leave without even a single backward glance. He had hoped for so much, and now here he was, alone again. Why had Jim done it? Why bring him back at all when he was clearly not needed? Was it only guilt? There were so many questions, and he had so few answers. "I don"t know if I"m ready to take that trip with you". Not ready, not I don"t want to, but "not ready". Did that mean that one day Jim *would* be ready? It was a slim hope, but Blair grasped at it with both hands, after all, it was all he had. Blair turned his head fitfully on the hard pillows, his restless fingers picking at the stiff hospital sheets. Jim must be more upset than he had thought. It wasn"t like him not to check up on an injured friend, and surely they were still that, if nothing else. But he had not come, not since that first tentative visit. Maybe now that he had established that Blair would not die, he felt that his responsibilities were fulfilled. No, Blair refused to believe that he cared so little. There had to be something more going on, and he intended to find out what. Megan had been very evasive when she had dropped by last night, and she had promised to return today. He would find out everything from her. She may be a stubborn, strong willed woman, but she was no match for a determined Blair Sandburg at his most manipulative. Just wait, he would... "Sandy, how you doing?" "Oh, Megan...uh...hello. Good to see you." "Hey, what"s wrong?" "Nothing, I"m fine." "Come on, tell me." "No really, it"s nothing. Just...no, it"s nothing." "It"s obviously not nothing, you look like the dog ate your homework." "Well, I did just drown, Megan." "I know that, I was there." "I"m sorry, I didn"t mean to snap, it"s not your fault that...I mean, at least *you* took the time to come see me, unlike...oh, never mind." "That"s it, isn"t it? You"re upset because Jim"s not here. I *told* him he should fill you in before...uh..." "Before what, Megan? What"s going on?" "Nothing. Just work stuff, you know how it is, busy, busy, busy." "I died, I didn"t lose my mind. The only thing Jim"s working on right now is Alex Barnes, and if he"s gone after her, then I need to know. He might need me." "Need you for what? Sandy, what is it between you two, and how does it involve Alex Barnes?" "I"m his partner, I should be with him." "You"re an anthropologist, and Simon is with him." "He needs me." "Why, what can you do that Simon can"t?" "I"m surprised *you"re* taking this so well." "Sandy, are you trying to distract me?" "Would I do that? I just meant, you know, it was your case and all, and now Jim and Simon have gone off following a lead without you. I may not be a cop, but you are, so Jim could just have easily have taken you as Simon, to...uh...where was it again?" "Sierra Verde. You know you"re right. What right did they have..." "Sierra Verde? That"s where they are?" "You crafty little dingo, you"ve been playing me, haven"t you." "Sorry, but I had to know. Tell you what, I"ll let you come with me." "Oh no, no way am I letting you go off after them, Jim would kill me if I let anything happen to you." "Right now I doubt he"d even notice. Look, Megan, I"m going, it"s up to you whether you come with me or not." "Well, when you put it like that, I suppose the only sensible thing for me is to stay close and make sure you don"t do anything stupid." "Great, could you go by my office and pick up my bags. Everything"s still packed, so it shouldn"t be a problem. Bring the black duffle, that"s got the important stuff in it, oh and I need my backpack." "Your bags are in your office?" "Yeah, I left them there for safekeeping. I wouldn"t leave my garbage in that roach motel I"ve been sleeping in." "Sandy, are you sure you"re okay to leave the hospital so soon? It won"t help anyone if you get sick." "I"m fine, a little tired still but I can sleep on the plane. Please, I have to do this." "Yeah, I guess you do. I"ll be as quick as I can." "Thanks, Megan, this means a lot to me." With a wave she was gone, and Blair lay back, finally letting the fatigue show. Pushing himself up again he swung his legs from the bed, his breath rasping in his damaged lungs at even this limited amount of exertion. This was not good. Here he was all set to chase off into the wilds, and he couldn"t even stand without shaking. Maybe he should use the time he had to practice walking. Still, he really had no choice. Whatever Jim might think, he would need his Guide to deal with Alex Barnes. She was a Sentinel, and it was clear from the shared dreams that she had some kind of link to Jim. Blair could help him, and once this threat was gone, they could start working on their own relationship. Tossing uncomfortably on the hard church pew, Blair rubbed absently at his still bruised ribs. He had actually managed to sleep for awhile, much to his surprise. He still couldn"t see why they had to stay here, no matter what Jim said. So far, this trip had not gone as he had hoped. Far from being happy to see him, Jim had once again failed to recognise his scent and pointed a gun at him...man, was *that* getting old real fast. And he had never once asked Blair how he was, in spite of the fact that this was the first time they had seen each other since the hospital. And then there was the tank. An actual tank...was that overkill or what? At least Jim seemed receptive to talking about his visions now, not that Blair had been able to help much. All Blair could think of to say was that the visions were their advantage, how stupid was that? Obviously, seeing what their enemy was doing and where she was going to be was an advantage. Except of course that she, too was having visions, so presumably knew what *they* were doing...maybe not so good then. He wondered if Jim was asleep, and if so, if he had been having any of the strange dreams. He sat up, leaning over the bench in front, but got no further than taking a deep breath, ready to launch into a stream of questions, when he realised that the pew was empty. Jim was gone. He looked over to where Simon and Megan slept on undisturbed, then quietly left, heading to the beach in the hopes of finding his missing friend. He saw them near the surf, kneeling together in a tight embrace. He called out to his Sentinel in shock, but it was Alex who turned to look at him. She pulled Jim"s gun from its holster to aim it unwaveringly at him, quite prepared to kill him again. But at least this time, Jim stopped her. Stopped her from shooting, but not from leaving. Blair couldn"t believe what he had just witnessed. For a moment he thought that he was still caught in a nightmare. How could Jim kiss and caress the woman who had so callously drowned him? Even if *that* no longer mattered to him there was the fact that she had stolen, and was still in possession of, deadly nerve gas. Jim was a police officer, it was his sworn duty to apprehend her and retrieve the canisters. But he had done nothing. He had allowed her to escape. Jim seemed dazed, looking to Blair for an explanation of what had just happened. Pushing down the jealousy and anger, he took his friend"s arm and they began to walk along the beach. Blair was unsure of where to start; Jim"s behaviour was so far out of character. It was as if the man was being forced to take a back seat to the Sentinel, he could only hope that his actions were involuntary, because if he had deliberately chosen to make love to Alex Barnes, then Blair wasn"t sure that he had enough forgiveness in him to get past that. "Couldn"t you have shot her even a little bit...an arm maybe, or a foot...a toe even?" "I couldn"t, god, I couldn"t even point it at her. It was as if something held me back." "Something from the vision?" "I don"t know, maybe." "Jim, this could be the link that we"re looking for. Out on the beach, you and Alex were recreating something that you"ve already shared in the vision." "If that"s the case, then how far does it go?" I don"t know, I mean, you dreamt of the jungle temple, Alex mentioned having similar dreams. I mean, there"s a legend of a...a Temple of Light where Sentinels go to receive spiritual...guidance, and...uhm, there"s also a grotto with magical waters in it where...uh...those who bathe in it are transformed and they"d be allowed to see the Eye of God..." "I"ve seen it so many times in visions with her, always with her. She"s always in my dreams. I...even down on the beach I...it was as if something was controlling us." "The sentinels originated as part of a warrior culture, right? I mean...ah...there are specific codes of...of...behaviour...and...uh...there are mating rituals." "What are you saying, I"m being controlled by some primitive sexual desire or instinct?" "Possibly, yes." "Well if that"s the case I gotta learn to control it. *You* gotta help me get a hold of it or else I"m not going to be any good when I see her next time." For the first time, Jim seemed to focus on Blair, waiting for him to pull one of his rabbits out of a hat, as he had done so many times before. But this time, Blair was clean out of bunnies, as unsure of how to proceed as Jim. All he could offer was a shrug and some negative spluttering. "What do you mean you don"t know? This is supposed to be your area." "This is *way* beyond my area of research, I mean a...a doorway has been opened here into...beyond, you know? I think you"re being drawn back home." Blair watched his Sentinel walk away from him. He felt defeated. Every time that Jim had turned to him during this crisis he had been unable to help him, but what was he to do? He was flying blind here, well he was usually fairly clueless, but at least had enough knowledge that he was able to formulate *some* kind of plan of action, thus fooling Jim into thinking he knew what he was doing. This time was different. This time they were well and truly in the twilight zone. He was a scientist. His research was based on quantifiable data and observations. His upbringing had given him a willingness to accept the unexplainable, but that didn"t help him in knowing how to deal with it. He found himself wishing that Incacha had lived at least a *little* longer. All very well to pass on the way of the Shaman, but what exactly did that mean? It was like giving someone a new video recorder, but hiding the manual. Crouched down behind a fallen log, Blair watched in disbelief as Jim moved from his side, shouting out a warning to Alex Barnes as she walked across the clearing. She drew her gun, shooting the men who lay in wait for her, then ran to the helicopter still in possession of the nerve gas. Her escape ended the short but intense gun battle, her would-be buyers more interested in pursuing her than in continuing to fight. "Chief, you alright?" The shooting over, Blair picked himself up, staring at Jim. "Yeah, I"m fine, but *what* is *wrong* with you?" Jim simply shook his head in stunned disbelief at what he had done, then lead the way down to check out the clearing. This was getting worse and worse. Now, Jim seemed to be actively helping Alex. Where would this end? Jim was now fully focussed on tracking down Alex Barnes, but whether to arrest her or join her was debatable. Even so, when Megan questioned Jim"s loyalties, Blair pushed aside his own doubts to defend his friend, although he wasn"t sure that his words were not more to convince himself than her. Simon too was clearly unhappy with the way things were going, but Jim was impossible to reason with, so intent was he on tracking his prey that little else registered. Finally, the only option left was for Simon to return for help, while Blair and Megan stayed with Jim. That, really was all Blair *could* do...stay with Jim, and be ready to give his Sentinel everything he had to give. Blair had been getting increasingly worried about Jim throughout the long hike. He had been intense, becoming more and more withdrawn as the day progressed. Megan too, could be a problem; she was no fool and had already begun to question Jim"s abilities. Still, she was asleep now, giving Blair his first chance to discuss Sentinel stuff with Jim. Trouble was, he had no idea where to start, and wasn"t even sure that in his present mood Jim would be willing to talk at all. "Alex found the temple." Blair turned to Jim, surprised that he had brought this up so willingly. "How do you know?" "I saw it." "Man, that"s incredible...but...how are you feeling about Alex?" Blair"s first reaction was pure scientist, but it was quickly followed by concern for his friend. And not a little concern for himself, he really, *really* needed to know how Jim would react to Alex when the two finally confronted one another. "I know I need to stop her, but...I also feel like I have to protect her somehow." That was not good, because whatever Jim"s instincts were towards her, Blair was pretty sure her instincts would be totally selfish. She would take what she wanted and damn the consequences. And if Jim allowed his protectiveness to take precedence, then... "Which one"s stronger?" "I don"t know." "Look, you need something that you can focus on, something that you can control, because what happened at the riverbank today can *not* happen again, Jim." Because if it did happen again, if Jim had so little control left that he was unable to fight her, then they were truly screwed. Blair couldn"t believe it. Jim had left them. He had simply walked off and left them while they slept. How could he do that? He knew that there were bad guys with guns running around the jungle, and yet he had left them unprotected to go trailing after Alex Barnes. He was getting pretty tired of defending Jim"s behaviour, especially when he didn"t understand it himself. He had sincerely believed that Jim needed him, needed his Guide, but he had been wrong. Perhaps Jim had been right. Perhaps "guide" was simply a word Lee Brackett had come up with that actually meant nothing. If Jim had thought he was important to the whole Sentinel thing, then he would have kept him close, not taken off at the first opportunity. And now Megan knew. It had only been a matter of time, but that wouldn"t help when Jim found out that someone else was privy to his secret. Maybe it wasn"t such a bad thing though. If Jim *was* right, and all he needed was someone to back him up, and that someone could be anyone, then Megan would be an obvious choice. She was open to the mystical side of life, and was unlikely to be phased by Jim"s weirdness. What"s more, she was a cop, and would be able to back him up in a way Blair never could. Blair realised with a start where his thoughts were taking him. For the first time, he was seriously considering leaving Jim. He still loved him, that hadn"t changed, but there was a limit to long he could go on giving while getting nothing in return. Jim couldn"t love him, and now it looked like he didn"t need him either, so what else was left? It would tear out his soul to go, but would it really hurt any less to stay and watch Jim move further and further away from him? No, if that was going to happen, then it was best to go now, a clean break and a fresh start. Detach with love, that"s what Naomi had always taught him, and in the past he had always thought it an admirable policy, so why, now, did it hurt so much? Kneeling on the cold stone floor, hands still tied behind his back, Blair watched Jim kiss the woman who had murdered him. Again. When Jim had rescued them he had thought it was all over. And then Alex rose from the pool, the madness shining in her eyes. Jim had instantly gone to her, had tried to lead her back to sanity, but she had gone too far, her senses completely out of control. He should have been sad at the destruction of a Sentinel, but all he could feel was the pain of Jim"s betrayal. They carried her out on a stretcher, catatonic, not even a flicker of recognition in her eyes. As Megan said, her circuits were fried. She had sought the ultimate prize, the meaning of life, but had misunderstood everything she had seen and felt. She had thought that being a Sentinel put her above the laws of man and nature, refusing to listen when Jim had tried to tell her that a Sentinel"s duty was to protect, not destroy. Maybe it had never been in her to listen. So now it was over. She had seen the Eye of God and it had destroyed her. And still he couldn"t care. "That"s the difference between you two; she lost her way." But Jim hadn"t. He had found his true path alone, without a Guide. "I saw her, she was...it was like she was on fire...and the eye, it was so...intense, you know?" "Yeah." "What, that"s it, that"s all you"re going to say?" "What do you want me to say?" "I don"t know, some new age hippy mumbo jumbo." "Maybe later. I"m a little tired." "It has been quite a ride. It"ll be good to get home now that it"s all over." Blair watched Jim walk over to talk to Simon, smiling and laughing, obviously happy now that he felt in control once again. So, this was how it was going to be. They would go home, Blair would move back in, and they would carry on as if nothing had happened. As if Jim had never thrown Blair out of the loft, as if Blair had not died, and Jim had not all but made love to his killer. As if Alex had never been. Nothing would be talked about; nothing would be resolved. Okay, Blair could do that. He could push down the anger and the pain, hide it away out of sight and pretend he was fine. If he tried hard enough maybe he could even fool himself. The overwhelming feeling of betrayal, though, would be a lot harder to bury. He wrapped his arms around himself, suddenly chilled to the bone, the breath so loud in his congested lungs that even he could hear it. And yet Jim had not, or maybe he had and just didn"t care. That, ultimately, was what hurt the most. He had never expected Jim to be perfect...well, maybe at the beginning, but not once he had gotten to know him. But he had always trusted that Jim would protect and care for him, and now that trust was broken. He understood that Jim had been acting from instinct, but it still hurt that those instincts led him to reject his Guide, to push him away and disregard him. How was it possible that something that had seemed so strong and enduring as his faith in his Sentinel could be so quickly shattered? And he was afraid, so very afraid, that all the king"s horses and all the king"s men could never put it together again.

"But I don"t understand? What have I done wrong? I"ve tried so hard to be a good wife to you? Why don"t you want me?" Oh god, what had he done to this woman? All he had wanted was to keep everyone happy, and this is what it had led to. "Amira, you"ve done nothing wrong. You"re amazing; beautiful." "Then what?" "I"m gay, Amira. I"m so sorry. I"m gay." She pulled away, shaking her head. "No. No, you can"t be. Why are you saying these things? Stop it." He grabbed her wrists, trying to still the violent shudders that wracked her body. "I"m sorry, but it"s true." She shook her head in denial. "No. We"re married." "In name, yes." "No, in everything. You"re my husband. We share a bed." "Where I can"t even..." "Stop it!" She was screaming now, sobbing, clinging onto him. "It"s not true. It"s not true. No, it can"t be. I won"t believe it." "Amira, please, you have to listen to me. I"m gay. Surely you mast have at least suspected?" "No, no, how could I? It was all a lie? All of it? Have you never wanted me?" "Amira, I love you, I do." "Then you can"t be gay. You"re confused. That"s what it is. But it"s okay. We"ll sort it out. We can make it work." "You can"t mean that." "Why not? We"re married. Please. Let me try. I"ll be better. I can make you happy." "Amira, I"m gay. I"m sorry. I can"t live like this anymore. I wish I could be what you want, but I can"t be. Not ever." "And what about your parents? Do you really want them to find out?" "They already know." She pulled away from him, mouth falling open in shock. She put her hands over her mouth, stifling the keening wails that fought to escape. She moaned, then turned and ran. Syed dropped to his knees, face in his hands. It was done. Oh Christian, it was so bad. He sobbed, every cell of his body yearning for Christian"s touch. His voice. The comfort only Christian could give. He pulled out his phone with trembling hands, hit Christian"s number, waited anxiously. Why wasn"t he answering? Voicemail? He didn"t want voicemail. He wanted Christian. He pushed himself up, ran, pounded on Christian"s door. Where was he? Didn"t he know how much Syed needed him? He pushed his hands through his hair. What was he supposed to do? Oh god, it wasn"t supposed to happen like this. What was Amira saying to his parents? He looked longingly at Christian"s door, willing him to miraculously appear. But he didn"t. He had to go home, find out what was happening. How had this all gone so wrong? Chapter 3 He put his phone away with a sigh. It broke his heart ignoring the calls from Syed, but he couldn"t allow himself to be sucked back in. He realised now that Syed would never make the decision to tell Amira the truth, and he couldn"t face the lying anymore. If he turned back now, then it would go on and an endlessly. The promises, the backtracking, the eternal swing from hope to despair. No, it was enough. This was the right, the only, decision. He should have gone to see Jane though. Lucy, Peter and Bobby, too. Even Ian. Then there was Roxy and Amy. He owed them all a proper goodbye. The least, the very least he should have done was call to let them know he was leaving. But he couldn"t do it. Couldn"t face the concern. The questions. They would try and persuade him to stay, and, because the thought of leaving Syed was so completely soul destroying, he would have let himself be persuaded. He had to be strong. Be selfish. He had to go. He would send a text saying he was gone and would be in touch once he knew where he would be living. Jane could forward his things on to him. He need never go back to the square again. Need never see Syed again. The pain twisted his gut, a rat gnawing at his heart. He pushed it down ruthlessly. He couldn"t think of Syed. Not yet. It was all still too raw. Maybe it always would be, but he had to al least try to move on with his life. He stood as he heard his flight being called, striding determinedly towards the gate. Chapter 4 Where was all the screaming? He had expected to come home to total mayhem, but there was nothing. No shouting, no hysterical wife, no accusing parents. Just the party guests eating and talking and having a good time. Had Amira not come back here after all? But where else could she go? Oh god, bloody Bushra, what did she want? He pasted a smile to his face as his mother"s interfering friend descended upon him. "Syed, how dreadful. Poor Amira. She must be devastated." The smile vanished as he stared at her in horror. "What?" Oh god, had Amira told her? No, that was impossible. She was still smiling, in that annoying, condescending way of hers. All false sympathy and secret glee for another"s misfortune. No, if she knew the truth, there would be more yelling and arm waving. This had to be about something else, but what? "Yes, it"s terrible. She"s very upset." "You know, my cousin is a plumber. I could give you his number." A Plumber? What? "Uh, no, that"s fine." "Are you sure? He has very reasonable rates, and he could be here in an hour." "No, it"s fine, thank-you. Everything"s under control. I should probably go and, uhm, tell Amira that everything"s, uh, fine. You don"t happen to know where...?" "She"s in the kitchen with your parents." Finally, the woman was useful. "Right, thanks, I"ll just, uh..." He waved to the closed kitchen door, backing away from her. Three sets of eyes turned to stare reproachfully at him as he entered, Amira"s awash with tears, his parents" full of resentment. He swallowed hard. "I had to tell her." "You swore to us that this nonsense was over and done with, now this?" His father"s anger scorched him, filling him with self-loathing. "I had to tell her." "Well, it"s done now." Rubbing his face with his hands, his father looked sadly at Amira. "Right, we all know the situation. We only found out a few days ago, Amira, and we will deal with this. What matters is that you"re married and you love each other." "That"s the way it"s going to stay. It"s in everyone"s best interests, including your"s." His mother was looking at him, waiting anxiously for his response." He nodded to her. "I agree. For today at least, we should say nothing. For Amira"s sake we should keep up the pretence, and then when everyone"s gone, we can talk again properly." Really, what else could they do? "Just a stay of execution then? I"m so grateful." She couldn"t want to stay in the marriage, not when she knew he was gay, could she? "What, you want twenty more years of this?" "I just want my husband to love me like a man should love his wife." Well, duh! "You think I don"t want that too?" "Not enough." Amira"s bitterness tore into him, as his father tried to keep calm. "Okay, can we save tomorrow"s arguments for tomorrow? Now for today, we are as we appear. " Oh god, more lies. "We hand out food and we give out drinks, and you remember that those people in there wish you nothing but happiness." Syed nodded unhappily. Oh god, where was Christian? If only he could talk to him, this would all be so much more bearable. But what choice did he have? His father was right. What was done, was done. Now he had to get through it as best he could. The sooner this party was over, the sooner he could see Christian Chapter 5 Why wasn"t anyone leaving? They"d been told that visiting the new flat was off, which was the reason for the party in the first place, so shouldn"t they have started going home by now? But of course, he couldn"t be that lucky. Not him. With his luck, they"d probably make a night of it and end up staying for breakfast. This was torture. Passing around samosas and sweets when all he wanted was to get out of here and go find Christian. He really needed to see Christian. He had looked so sad when Syed had left him in the flat. He needed to find him, tell him that it was done. That Amira knew, and tomorrow it would all be over and they could be together properly. Well, maybe not right away. It would be disrespectful to Amira if he moved in with Christian before the dust had even settled. But soon. They would be together soon. Just thinking that warmed his heart, lessening the torment of this interminable party. He reached into his pocket for his phone, and then noticed his mother"s eyes, watching him. Judging him. He sighed. No, he couldn"t call, not yet. He hadn"t even been able to get close to Jane so he could find out if she knew where Christian was. Every time he headed her way with one of his trays, his mother would get there first, warning him away. Why couldn"t she be useful, and suggest that people start going home? Didn"t his parents realise how intolerable this situation was. Not just for him, but for Amira, too? Oh god, Amira. What had he done to her? Looking around, he saw her, standing lost and alone in a sea of people. She looked...destroyed. The guilt tore at him, propelling him towards her. "Amira?" She turned agonised eyes to him, shaking her head, arms wrapping around her stomach. "I can"t do this." Syed reached for her, rubbing her arm, but she pulled away from him. "I can"t breathe; I have to get out of here." "Okay, why don"t you go and lie down. I"ll tell them you"re upset about the flat, and..." She gave a hysterical laugh, backing away from him. "Amira, please." Syed saw his mother hurrying towards him, but Quadim was there first, holding Amira by the shoulders, looking at her in concern. "Amira, what is wrong? Has someone upset you?" She started to cry, hands covering her face. Then his mother was there, taking her from Quadim and comforting her. But Amira wouldn"t be comforted, only crying harder. They were surrounded now, the party silent as everyone witnessed his wife"s disintegration. Vultures. He saw Jane, her worried eyes fixed on him, questioning. He gave her a tiny nod, confirming what she had guessed, then returned his attention to Amira. His mother was talking to her quietly, trying fruitlessly to calm her, as Quadim continued to demand answers. He felt useless. He couldn"t even touch Amira for fear she would flinch away, and then how would he explain that? Finally, his mother"s soothing word seemed to be having some effect, Amira"s sobs lessening. Quadim stroked Amira"s hair, naturally wanting to know what had upset his daughter so badly, a question whose answer his mother wanted kept from him at all costs. She tried to lead Amira away, but Amira wouldn"t move, seeming confused. His mother gave her a little tug, wanting to get her moving. "Come, Amira. You should rest. This upset is not good for the baby." It was the wrong thing to say. Amira pulled away from her, the hysteria back, full force. This time, Quadim wouldn"t denied. He took his daughter in his arms, holding her tightly as she clung to him. "Amira, my daughter, what has happened?" "There is no baby. There was never was a baby. It was all a mistake. Stupid, stupid me. I couldn"t even get that right." She broke down completely, her legs giving way and only her father keeping her standing. His father had joined them and was looking at him in confusion. "Syed, what does she mean, there"s no baby." "She means there"s no baby, Dad. She thought she was, but then she took a test and it was negative." His father looked stunned. "She didn"t take a test before she told us all?" Before he could answer, Amira pulled away from her father, turning to glare at him. "No, she didn"t. Because she"s just a stupid girl who doesn"t know anything. Stupid, stupid, stupid. That"s what you think, isn"t it Syed? I deserve all I get because I"m too stupid to see what"s going on around me." Aghast, Syed stared at her, trying to find the right words. "Amira, I..." "And do you know what, I"m glad there"s no baby. I never wanted one in the first place, but you persuaded me that it was the right thing for us, and I believed you. How could you do that? When all the time you knew? How could you Syed?" He was horrified. All he could do was stare at her. He could feel his mother"s fear as she once again reached for Amira, trying to keep her quiet. "It doesn"t matter, Amira. You are both young. You can try again." Amira turned the accusing glare from him to his mother. "Are you serious? You want us to bring an innocent child into this mess?" "What mess?" Quadim demanded. "What is going on here? Syed, what does my daughter mean?" "Tell him, Syed. Go on, tell them all." Amira"s angry glare was back on him, and not just hers. They were all looking at him. Everyone. Syed felt as though he was standing in the eye of the storm, devastation all around him, waiting to be unleashed. This was it. The time to make the most important decision of his life. Did he tell the truth, or did he lie. Again. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his head, looking from Amira, to Quadim, his parents, around at the puzzled guests. "She means that I"m gay. I"m gay, and the marriage is a travesty Chapter 6 Breathing hard he kept his eyes on Amira, not daring to look around at the party guests for fear of what he might see. Then his mother was grabbing him, shaking him, so angry at him. "Tell them it"s not true, Syed. You are both upset because there is no baby. That is all. Tell them." "I can"t Mum. I can"t lie anymore. I"m sorry." "No, this isn"t you. You"re my good boy. This can"t be you. It"s him. That man. He"s poisoned you, forced you to be something you"re not. You have to stop listening to his lies. I am your mother. I know who you are, and you are not...this. Now tell all our friends that this is a mistake so we can get on with the party." "Mum!" Concerned, Syed looked to Amira; saw the question in her face. Oh no, she was starting to put it all together. The one thing he had never wanted her to know. Bad enough for her to know he could never be the husband she deserved, but to know, too, that he had betrayed her with one of her only friends? It was too much. She should have been spared this, at least. She was shaking her head, disbelieving. "What man? Syed? What man?" "Amira, please, I..." "What man!" He couldn"t say it, Couldn"t tell her. Why couldn"t his mother keep quiet, just once? As it turned out, he didn"t need to say a word, because she knew. Maybe, deep down, she had always suspected. "Christian. Oh god, it"s Christian, isn"t it?" "Amira..." "I should have known. He"s always wanted you." "No, it"s not..." "I"ve seen the way he looks at you, but I never thought he would go low enough to try to take you from me. I trusted him. Confided in him. And he used what I told him to take advantage of you." "No. it wasn"t like that. He wouldn"t. It wasn"t his fault, Amira. It was..." "How dare you defend him to me, after what he"s done?" "But he"s done nothing. It"s me. Amira. Me you should blame, not him. This is my fault, not his." "No, he knew you were married, and still he went after you." "But I wasn"t when..." "What? What do you mean, you weren"t? How long has this been going on?" Again, Syed couldn"t answer. The truth would destroy her, and to lie would destroy him. As it turned out, no answer was necessary, as Quadim lunged for him, picking him up bodily and hurling him into the wall. He collapsed on the couch as his father and Tamwar rushed to hold Quadim back. Amira was wailing in his mother"s arms, and Jane...Jane was coming to him, taking his hand and offering support. He wished he could tell her how much he appreciated it, but right now, words were beyond his ability. "You see Amira, I warned you about marrying this...abomination!" Quadim was ranting, still trying to break free and get at Syed. His mother let go of Amira, and for a moment, he thought that she was coming to defend him, but instead, she pulled at Jane, forcing her away from him. "You, why are you here? Do you see how that perverted brother of yours had ruined my son? My family? Did you come here to gloat? Go now, get out of my house." Jane looked apologetically at him, pressing a hand to his shoulder as she left. Amira shrieked. Tearing at her hair as she fled from the room, Quadim pulling free and racing after her. For a moment, no-one dared move, or even make a sound, then, quietly, the guests started to file from the room, until only his family were left. He stood, moving to the other side of the room, turning to face his brother and his parents. This was it. No more running and no more hiding. He was done with that now. He had just brought an end to the only life he had ever known. Now, it was time to find out what would replace it. Chapter 7 God, the silence was worse than shouting. "Someone, say something." His mother glared at him. "What you want us to comfort you?" "No, I..." "We"re ruined, Syed. You"ve destroyed us. Who"s going to buy any of our food? Who"s going to hire us for any kind of function now that you"re, now that the food is being prepared by..." Abruptly angry, he turned on her. "By what? Go on." But she didn"t. It was his father who calmly spoke the words that broke his heart. "By a tainted, sinful family. Don"t try and claim any self-righteousness, not when we"re paying the price for it." Well, that was it, then. He was to be outcast. "Then I"ll go. Leave. You can tell everyone you threw me out in disgust. Cleanse this house again. Make our business pure." "If only we could." And there was his mother getting in another dig. Of course. All his fault. Not like she would ever take any responsibility for forcing the fiasco that his marriage had become. It would serve her right if he told them all how deeply she was involved, but before he could speak, his father"s condemnation continued. "The stain you have left on this family is indelible. Don"t pretend you thought otherwise. These are the consequences of your actions." Well, of course he had known the outcome of his actions. Why did his father think he had kept things quiet for so long? He had tried and tried to protect them form his nature, but in the end, he had failed. The lies upon lies had become intolerable, and he had broken. "I thought it was really brave. What he did. As long as we"ve still got each other." Shocked, Syed turned to his brother. Well, he had never expected that. Who knew that of them all, Tamwar would be the one to understand. He smiled at him, reaching out to grip his arm. "I"ve got you. Don"t let them down like I have." He started to leave, but his mother"s anguished wail stopped him. "But why? I thought it was over. You told us it was over. What did he do to make you change your mind? How could you put that man before your family?" "I didn"t. It wasn"t him Mum. He wasn"t even there. It was me. Why will you never understand that? This is about me. About who I am. I love Christian, but this is my choice, not his." "Why now, Syed? You could have at least waited until after the party. Why did you have to be so selfish?" Syed stared at his father in shock. Selfish? "Selfish? Are you serious? I already gave up the man I loved to try to please you all once, and I was prepared to do it again, until I realized what I was doing to Amira. I thought it was just me that was suffering, but it wasn"t. I was destroying her, too." His father seemed confused. "I don"t understand. Why would she suffer? I thought you loved her? You said that you loved her." "I do, but it"s not...it"s different." "Different how?" Syed shrugged helplessly at his father. How could he make him understand? "Dad, I...Amira is wonderful. She"s beautiful, funny, just lovely. She"s everything I know I should want, but I don"t. I just...don"t. I love her, but...Dad, when she told me she wasn"t pregnant, all I could think was that I"d hurt Christian for nothing. That it was all for nothing. Then, she was so sad. Not just because of the baby thing, but because she knew I didn"t feel what I should for her. And she thought it was her fault. This wonderful, beautiful woman thought she wasn"t good enough because I couldn"t be attracted to her. I tried to make her feel better, told her I loved her, but she wanted proof. Wanted me to show her that I wanted her, there and then. And I couldn"t do it. I couldn"t lie anymore. I couldn"t cheat her anymore. I couldn"t deprive her of the kind of love she deserves but that I can never give her. So, I told her the truth. I had to Dad. I"m sorry. I know what I"ve done to this family, but I just couldn"t do it anymore." "You could have, if it wasn"t for that man." Exasperated, Syed turned to his mother. Would she never hear him? "How many times, Mum. It wasn"t Christian. I love Christian, and I want to be with him, but I did this for me." "Huh, Christian. Typical." Syed turned to Tamwar with wide eyes at his muttered comment. Was Tamwar turning on him now, too? "Tam?" Embarrassed, Tamwar shrugged. "Well, I just meant, you know, before you always got the best girls and now that you"re gay, you land Christian straight off the bat. It"s just so typically you." Syed laughed. Only Tam would come out with something like that. God, he loved his brother. Unfortunately, his parents were not amused, both giving poor Tamwar a filthy look that made him gulp apprehensively. Sadly, Syed headed for the door. This was it. It really was over now. Oh god, where was Christian? He needed him so badly.

"I know. It"s okay. I was a douche-bag. I probably deserved it. Still do... There"s one thing I miss about being you." Duke sighed, clutching his knee. "What"s that?" Nathan stood puzzled. "The fact that I could be dying, taking my last breath, gone at any moment... And I could nonchalantly drink and hold a conversation." Duke explained. "Yeah, and being you wasn"t so bad. At least I could feel again." Nathan agreed. "Why do you think he had that trouble anyways? The tattoo couldn"t have been it." Duke commented. "I don"t know. "Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes"... He said it was his family"s motto." Nathan told him. "Oh, that reminds me. Audrey phoned and told me some background info on him. Turns out his real name is Bartholomew Stills. Kids used to call him Barty. He was an orphan until about age 15 where he got adopted into a busy family. Dad was always working and mom was a drunk. They adopted him for the money..." Duke replied. "Tough life." Nathan said. "Yeah, I think the trouble started when he found out his girlfriend was pregnant." Duke suggested. "Oh?" Nathan questioned. "Yeah. The trouble was supposed to bring people together. Help them walk a mile in someone else"s shoes." Duke continued. "And the eyes?" Nathan asked. "Audrey had a suggestion." Duke answered. "Mirrors and eyes are a gateway to the soul. When they don"t match up-" "They explode. Yeah she told me." Nathan thought aloud. "It"s just a theory." Duke re-assured. "Guess we"ll never know." Nathan replied. "Let"s just forgive and forget. You forget what I did to you and I"ll forgive that you screwed up my leg." Duke suggested. "I can"t just forget something like that." Nathan told him. "And your leg is only screwed up because I was trying to save your ass." "Technically it was your ass." Duke joked. "Forgive and forget... I like that. But not for what you did to me. I don"t think I"ll ever forgive you for that." Nathan admitted. "Reasonable. So, forgive and forget what then?" Duke asked. "The day. What happened to us. It never happened. It was forgiven and forgotten." Nathan ordered. "It never happened." "What never happened?" Duke smiled. Nathan nodded and turned to go "Gotta tell you though... If you didn"t have that trouble, I don"t know how you"d have gotten out." "Yeah, well... My trouble sucks. I keep saying that and you never listen." Duke smirked. "But the trouble to end troubles, I mean..." Nathan mumbled. "Not as much fun as it sounds, huh?" Duke grinned. Nathan chuckled and continued walking on the dock. " Don"t think this means we"re going to be nice to each other!" Duke smiled and cuffed his hands over his mouth. "Wouldn"t count on it!" Nathan heard as he walked away. Not caring about what Duke would do next. Why would he? They"re not friends. Why would they be? Nothing changed. Nothing happened. Everything was completely back to normal in this completely abnormal town. Bens body was on a table in the morgue. His eyes had firey-red sockets just like Johns. Nathan looked at the face, seeing if there was any more marks or scars that could be useful. But, of course, zip. "What do they have in his evidence bags?" Nathan asked his partner. Audrey looked on another table where clothing and evidence bags were scattered. "Well, we got some jeans, a shirt, wallet, watch, a cell phone." Audrey grabbed the bag with his mobile in it. "Think this"ll give us some clues?" "Worth a shot." Nathan shrugged and stood beside Audrey. She unlocked the cell and went into VIDEOS. "This is from the night he died. Look at the date..." Audrey played the most recent video. In the video Ben and John were sitting on a park bench. Ben was the one holding the phone. "So, the weirdest thing just happened! It"s like... Freaky Friday shit here. So, we went to like... A bar... And we"re probably drunk... Shut up... So, we... I look like Ben right? Ben? No! I"m John. And John"s there. John"s Ben. Ben is John and Ben is John... I mean John is Ben and Ben is gone.. John.. No, but it"s like... It"s like a sci-fi thing... I wonder if it had anything to do with what weve been smoking... Shut up. Um, so.. Yeah... Ben over here wants us to go to the hospital but uh... We-We"re probably high." Ben said. "We"re not high!" John interjected. "Shut up. So... So.. So, we"re not going to the hospital. I vote we go for another round of brewskies! What, what! Uh.. So, i believe i"m going to throw up.. I don"t know why i believe that but I-" Ben started laughing. "Look, John. I"m going to the hospital or Cathy"s." John stood up. "What? No! Why Cathys? She- She said she didn"t want anything to do with me." Ben replied. "True. And she has good reason to. You cheated on her. With a 2 dollar skank." John sighed "She deserves better." "What? So you"re going to run up to her Cassanova? No, you"re not! Because right now she"s probably pissed off at me and I-" Ben began to say. Just then a raincloud formed above John. "See, see what i mean. That chick is crazy." "But this is a sign! A sign that we really need to go to the hospital! Don"t you see?" John tried to persuay. "No!" Ben stood up and began walking away. "No! I don"t!" He walked to a car. "Look, i"ll settle this right now! I"ll look at the mirror, and if i"m you, some magic voodoo crap has happened. If i"m me, then everythings fine!" He looked into the rearview mirror and his eyes began to turn red. They began to bubble and explode. He fell to the ground. "John!" John ran to his friend. "I-I"ve got to tell Cathy, she"ll-" VIDEO CLOSED. "So, a body-swap trouble? But how does that explain the eyes?" Nathan asked. "Well, they say that the eyes and a mirror are gateways to the soul. Maybe when they don"t match up, it causes a massive explosion in the eyes." Audrey shrugged. "Well, who"s the troubled person?" Nathan looked at his partner, knowing full-well who she was going to say. "The one that ties both of these two together." She explained. Duke walked into the shabby, run-down bar. Buisness was adverage for the afternoon run. A drunk here and there, empty bar stools, couple of employees working around the joint. Duke didn"t think this bar was a big deal but, hey, there"s a reason why it"s in buisness. He walked up to the bartender, a man who looked around Duke"s age. He examined the collection of booze and beer on the shelves and counter. Reasonable amount, not too few, not too many. Duke sat on a solitary barstool and the barkeeper approached him from behind the counter. "Heya, what"ll it be?" The man smirked, trying to look friendly. "Just a cold one, thanks." Duke nodded, looking around more "new place, eh?" "Yeah, just opened a month ago." The mans hands were jittery while manning the tap, he dropped the glass, breaking it into tiny pieces. "Crap!" "Nervous?" Duke asked. "Stressed." The man answered from under the table. "I own and manage this place. The stress gets to you." "Yeah, i know the feeling." Duke huffed. "You know what... That was my fault. How "bout some nachos on the house?" He asked, throwing glass shards in the trash. Duke didnt want to take him up on that offer, but it was lunch-time and who wouldn"t turn down free nachos? "Pich in some sour cream and we"ve got a deal." Duke answered. "Alright, on it." The bartender ducked under the table again, no doubt to get a bowl. "By the way my name"s Duke." Duke said, examining the interior of the building again. "Bart." The man replied, placing a bowl with chips in it on the table. "Bart?" Duke smiled "Bart the bartender?" Bart laughed "Yeah. Funny how those things work, huh?" "Well, Bart, do you remember two guys who came here yesterday? Uh... John and..." Duke tried his best to remember but the other name slipped his mind. "Ben?" Bart huffed "Yeah, they were cool, until they broke a chair. In fact, we drank together. I had to kick them out though, they were too aggressive and obnoxious for my liking." "Did anything weird happen with those two?" Duke asked. "Weird? Well, they caused a bar fight and broke a chair on my head.. If you call that weird." He finished with the nachos and started on getting another glass for duke. "Ouch." Duke bit into a chip. "Yeah, but hey, first bar. First bar fight." Bart told him, handing him a glass of beer. "And how was that for you?" Duke asked, taking a sip of the beer. "It hurt. But, i let them off easy, knew they were wasted." Bart replied. "What"d you do?" Duke dipped a chip in sour cream. "I sat them down and gave them a glass of water. And i let them out the way. But they just.. They started acting really drunk and wild. They started causing more fights, throwing glasses and stuff. So i banned them from the pub." Bart sighed. "Long day, then?" Duke took another sip. "Try long week." Bart sighed again. "Hungry?" Duke pushed the nachos towards Bart. "Thanks." Bart took a chip and dipped it. "So you think Cathy"s troubled?" Nathan asked his partner. "Looks like. I mean, it makes sense. Cathy loves John, John cheated on her, Ben loves her so she swaps their bodies to get what she wants." Audrey answered. "A John that won"t cheat." Nathan finished. "Exactly. I"ll go take Cathy in for questioning, also explain her trouble and try to help her control it." Audrey sighed. "It"ll take some time.""I can help. You don"t have to do it alone." Nathan told her. "I know... But you"ve got to get Duke. He"s at the Pub N" Glub." Audrey responded. "Why do i have to get Duke?" Nathan asked. "In case my plan doesn"t work." Audrey sighed. Audrey approached Cathy"s house, knocking on the front door. "Cathy? It"s Audrey Parker. We need to talk." Cathy opened the door, crying. "What about?" She snuffled. "Have you ever heard of the troubles?" Audrey asked. "Yeah.. Why?" Cathy wiped her eyes. "Cathy, we believe that there is a trouble. One that caused John and Ben to temperarily switch bodies. We also believe that this trouble causes those people to die when shown their reflection." Audrey explain. "What? Wait... So.. When John came to me.. He was really Ben?! Oh my god! I said such awful things to him! He was telling the truth!" Cathy put her head in her hands and wept. "We believe that the person with this trouble is you and i want to help you. I can help you control it." Audrey replied. "What? No.. Why would you think i"d want them to switch bodies?! You"re insane!" Cathy accused. "Well, maybe you didn"t mean for them to swap bodies.. Maybe you wanted Ben because... He wouldn"t cheat.. On you.. You didn"t?" Audrey asked. "No!" Cathy exclaimed. "Besides, people can"t have two troubles, right?" Cathy responded. "You"re already troubled?" Audrey remarked. "Yeah, i don"t like to flaunt it but y"know... I um.. My family can.. I"ll show you." Cathy sighed. Suddenly, a rain cloud formed around Audrey, causing her to be drenched in the downpour. "I can choose a single person and make a cloud form above them. Sort of like in cartoons.. Oh my god, i made John... But it was Ben... And I-" She cried. "I-I"m so sorry to bother you. I swear we"ll find the bottom of this." Audrey assured. She began to walk away and pull out her cell phone. Nathan was not in his car when Audrey phoned, however, his cell phone was. Nathan was already inside the Pub N" Glub. "Damn it. Nathan, it"s not Cathy. She already has a trouble. Call me when you get this message." Audrey closed her mobile and sighed, she began to walk in her car. Nathan entered the Pub N" Glub and immeaditly noticed Duke and. Bart looked at the officer and quickly stood from the bar stool which he sat."Welcome to the Pub N" Glub. What"s your poison?" Bart asked. Nathan flashed his badge at the man. "What"s the problem, officer?" Bart said innocently. "Nathan! Hey! Oh, this is Bart the bartender! Don"t worry! He didn"t kill those two guys!" Duke smiled, taking slight pauses between some words. "You"re drunk. Great." Nathan groaned. "Well, it"s 10 o"clock somewhere right?" Duke laughed. "You need to sober up. We might need your help with a trouble." Nathan told him. "Everytime you need my help i end up killing someone." Duke complained. "Yeah, well that seems to work." Nathan looked at Bart. Bart looked around akwardly, as though wanting to leave the conversation. "Oh, un.. I"ll just.. I"ll finish packing." He began to walk away. "Packing? Where"re you going?" Duke asked. "Boston, for the weekend. Visiting my girlfriends parents. I hope that won"t be any trouble." Bart looked at the two. "No, it shouldn"t be." Nathan assured. "When will you be back?" "Oh, tomorrow night or Sunday morning. It"s a short trip." Bart answered. "I just need your contact information in case we need to question you." Nathan told him. "What? Why would you need to question me?" Bart replied. "The two guys that came into your bar last night, they"re dead." Nathan explained. "What? Oh my god... How?" Bart asked. Nathan responded, "That"s what we"re trying to find out. We think the girlfriend"s troubled. So Duke, we need to go." "I uh.. I walked here." Duke blurted. "I"ll drive you." Nathan groaned. In the car it was completely quiet. No radio, no talking, just silence. Silence which made Duke uncomfortable. He wanted to break it. He just.. Didn"t know what to say. He was a little drunk, he was aware of that. "So..." Duke finally started to say. "Hey! Remember when we were in middle school and I was dating Nicole Adamson and you were so jealous." "I wasn"t jealous, Duke. I was mad. Mad and scared." Nathan sighed. "Though you wouldn"t understand." "Scared?" Duke asked. "Yes, Duke, scared. Scared of waking up and finding a mark somewhere on my back from where you stabbed me with forks and knives and thumbtacks. My dad took me to doctors and hospitals to reveal several scratches and dried blood. They"d ask me how i got them. And do you know what i"d say? I"d say "I don"t know, I didn"t feel them." Nathan explained. "Yeah, but you turned out good. I mean, you"ve got Audrey now." Duke replied. "Do I?" Nathan questioned. "What?" Duke protested. "I see the way you look at her Duke. You can"t let me have one thing... One thing!" Nathan exclaimed. "Nathan, you"re making a big deal out of nothing!" Duke yelled. "Nothing? I want you to tell me the truth Crocker!" Nathan demanded. "I like Audrey! Is that what you wanted to hear?" Duke admitted. "You don"t get it Duke. You just don"t get it. You"ve got the power to end the troubles! You don"t know how lucky you are! Damn it, Duke! You"re normal! Normal besides one stupid thing! Boo hoo! Suck it up." Nathan declared. "Me? Suck it up? You"re the one who"s emotional all the time! "Uh, i can"t feel a knife in my back, oh i just got shot, whatever i didn"t feel it!" Duke yelled. "Some people would kill for that!" Nathan tugged on the steering wheel, causing the car to swerve along the road, he was trying to pull over the car. When it came to a stop, Nathan opened the car door. "Oh and now we"re pulling the car over." Duke commented sarcastically, then he opened his car door and followed Nathan outside. The two were standing in front of the parked car. "What are you going to do?" Duke asked. Nathan took a deep breath and began to walk away. "Thought so." That little 2-cents caused something inside Nathan to snap. He quickly turned back to Duke and punched him right in the face. Duke fell to the ground from the blow. A beat. Nathan looked around, confused, it seems. He looked at his arms, his hands, his hair. Then he noticed Duke laying on the ground. A slight silence and an expression of shock on Nathans face as he saw Duke getting up from the ground. "N-Nathan?" Duke awoke faced-down on the cement. He pushed himself up from the floor. Blood oozing from his face. "What?" He placed a hand on the blood. "That-That hurts.. What the hell?" Duke cautiously and carefully got up from the ground. Looking around, confused. "Nathan?" He heard. Duke looked behind him, turned around and saw Nathan. Duke examined him in shock "Duke?" Suddenly, Dukes cell phone began to ring. He listened for the ring and checked the jean pockets. He pulled out an I-Phone. The caller I.D was AUDREY. He clicked the answer button and placed the phone up to his ear. "H-Hello?" He asked. "Duke, Nathan should be with you, is he there?" Audrey replied from the other line. "Yeah." Duke answered, looking at Nathan who was walking around Duke, examining him. "That"s weird." Audrey replied. "I called his cell, he didn"t answer." "... Right... Right." Duke face-palmed with his free hand. "It"s in the car, sorry." "Why"re you apologizing? Look, just tell him that Cathy"s not the troubled person." Audrey explained. "Yeah we.. We kind of figured that one out." Duke responded. "You did?" Audrey asked, shocked. "Oh.. Oh, okay... Can you tell Nathan to meet me at the station? We"ll have to go over a list of people they could have come in contact with before they died." "We already have an idea... Uh, Parker.. We"ll need a ride... And blindfolds." Duke replied. "Parker... Duke, can you put Nathan on the phone?" Audrey ordered. "He already is." Duke admitted. "Oh.. Oh, Nathan. Where do i pick you two up?" Audrey asked. "On the side of the road. A few miles past the Pub N" Glub. My car"s here, you can"t miss it." Duke explained. "Alright, i"ll be there in 15. Nathan, just... Remain calm, okay? We"ll get you two back to normal." Audrey assured. "Yeah, i hope so. We can"t avoid reflections for long." And with that Audrey hung up the line. Without looking at the screen, Duke placed the phone back in his pocket. "Wait, what"s that about reflections?" Nathan questioned. Duke sighed "John and Ben, they died because.. Well, we believe they died because when they saw their reflection in the mirror their eyes.. Exploded out of their sockets.." "What? You didn"t think that would have been useful information?" Nathan remarked. "Well, Duke in case you haven"t noticed this little incident wasn"t part of my agenda. In face, i wasn"t even supposed to pick you up at that stupid bar." Duke sat on the ground and felt the cement and rocks. "Then why did you?" Nathan knelt beside him. "Because Audrey told you to?" "Yeah, because she told me to. And i know, if i argue, she"d get mad at me and... If she"s mad she"ll avoid me." Duke sighed. "So?" Nathan remarked. "You don"t understand." Duke continued to feel the ground. "No. What i don"t understand is... Why are you stroking the cement?" Nathan chuckled. "Because I can." Duke replied bluntly. "And it"s the most wonderful feeling in the world." "The pavement?" Nathan asked. Duke stood up and wiped his hands on his knees "Forget it." Nathan felt the ground "I don"t feel anything." "Exactly." Duke began to walk to the road. "Try living like that. Not being able to feel anything. Ever." Nathan looked up at Duke. "Except Audrey." Duke stopped in his tracks, after a few seconds of silence he sighed "Yeah, except Audrey." Audrey drove along the route to the Pub N" Glub. Looking for her friends she would sruely find later down the road. She oversaw a man pushing a suitcase in the back of a truck. No law breaking there. Even if there was, Audrey has other thing to worry about. She looked over on the passengers side and saw the bandana/ blindfolds that shw bought at a gas station, messily placed on the seat. When she finally reached Nathan and Duke, she couldn"t help but chuckle."This is not going to be fun." Audrey grabbed the blindfolds and exited her car. "What"d you guys get into?" She asked. "Appearently, each other." Duke replied. "Dude, you don"t say things like that!" Nathan exclaimed. "So, it"s true then?" Audrey handed Duke a blindfold. "Unfortinuately." Duke said, grabbing the blindfold from Audrey"s hands, feeling the ever-so-common feel of her hands but also the fabric of the blindfold itself. It was unlike anything he had ever felt. He had to stop fooling around, he needed to focus on the task at hand but... Being able to feel was... Amazing. Audrey looked at Nathan "Duke?" "Yeah." He looked at himself and shrugged "I know." "How"re you two doing?" She asked, helping Duke with the blindfold. "Peachy." Nathan said sarcastically. "I can manage." Duke told her while she was behind him, tightening his blindfold. "I can"t." Nathan remarked approaching Audrey. "Not as much fun as it sounds, huh?" Duke smirked. "Careful smart-ass, you"re blindfolded. I can easily punch you in the face. And you"ll feel it. And it"ll hurt." Nathan threatened. "Well, since it"s your face, I don"t think that"s a good idea." Duke was lead inside Audrey"s car in the front passenger seat. Audrey opened the car door for the blinded Duke.. Nathan. Blindfold is on Dukes body but Nathan is the one who"s blinded... "This"ll be complicated.' Audrey thought. She handed him the seat belt. "I"ll be right back." Audrey began to leave the car. "Thank you, Parker." Duke said, trying to find the seat belt- buckle. "Parker... It"s Nathan. Just remember that, Audrey. That"s Nathan. Weirder things have happened in this town.' Audrey thought while walking away from the car. After a beat, she turned around and walked back to the car. She took the seatbelt from Dukes hands and placed it in the buckle. "You"re welcome, Nathan... Now let"s just try and get you two back to normal again." Duke gave a slight smile as Audrey closed his car door.

"Yes but someone has to stay here and look for clues. Maybe there"s something we missed on the tape recorder. I"ll go over it... Alone. If anyone strays from your group to kill me, they"re the murderer. If someone in your group dies mysteriously, it couldn"t have been me because I"m in this room." Improv is easy for me, after having years of leaping and trying to figure out peoples lives and personalities "Makes sense." The man in the yellow suit mumbled. "Okay Wadsworth... But remember, this makes you a suspect." The elderly woman in the odd apparel replied. "Aren"t we all suspects?" I reminded. "Now you all should comfort Yvette, make her feel safe. Do whatever to make her in less of a shock." "No complaints there." The man with the pipe smiled. "Do we have to?" The green suited man whined. "Hey pal, I"ll take your place if you don"t want to." Al grinned, checking out Yvette. "Sooner you people "do what their supposed to do"" I looked right at Al while saying this "sooner I can figure out what happened here." While exiting, some people mumbled things like "He already knows what happened here, Mr. Boddy was killed with the handgun in the study." I closed the door when everyone was definitely out of the billiard room. "Al!" I exclaimed, but the hologram was nowhere in sight. "Al?" Al entered thru the door and smiled "sorry, I was eying that maid. She has a nice pair of-" "Al!" I yelled, trying to cut him off. "But you should see her legs, and what"s above her legs." He started to exit thru the door again but I stopped him. "Al! What am I doing here?" I sat on the billiard table. "What? Oh yeah, let me see." He looked at the handheld and smacked it "you"re in New England in 1954... Um... Oh." "Oh? What "oh?" I didn"t think this leap would be easy. "Well... Ziggy can"t access the date-date... Oh I hope it"s with the maid." He looked at the handheld again. "Data... Oh, Ziggy can"t access the data." "Why not?" I sighed, leaning against the billard table. "Well it seems the FBI tackled this case. And Ziggy isn"t programmed with all FBI records. She could access the files but she"d have to hack into the FBI data whatever." Al informed me, shaking the handheld a little. "Database." I corrected. "Right. Database, and that"d take a while." He told me. "Okay anything you can gather from this Wadsworth guy?" I asked, knowing this would be one of my more difficult leaps. "Bits and pieces. He"s the butler and this is a dinner party. The guests are: Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock, Professor Plum, Miss. Scarlet, Mrs. White, Colonel Mustard and the employees are Yvette the maid and the cook..." I must have interrupted Al because a sudden realization came to me, "The cook!" I almost bolted out the door but Al stopped me. "Aren"t you forgetting something?" He pointed to the tape recorder. "What about it?" I approached the device. "If people listen to it, they"ll think you"re nutty. Talking to yourself. That"s how you end up in an insane asylum." Al reminded me. "Okay so... What do I do?" I rubbed my forehead, trying to think of a way to dispose of the tape. "One thing to do." Al replied. I took the tape out of the spools and hid them under the desk. "I should meet up with the guests. And tell them about the cook." Al stopped me, "Oh Sam, one more thing... The guy in the waiting room said he called the cops." "All the guests had weapons in their hands and motives... So you"re saying I have to figure out who killed a man in a house full of suspects?" I sighed again. "You"re good at mysteries, Sam. Think of this as... As a whodunit." Al joked. "Cept if I dont guess right, I might be next." I closed the door and headed to the Study. I returned to the study in the ground floor, but I had a feeling there was more to this leap than telling the group that the cook is a suspect too. I heard the man I assumed to be Mr. Green saying "Is there no indication of how he died?" The professor shook his head, "no." "Look, we all have a motive." The attractive woman I profiled as Miss. Scarlet sighed. "We were all being blackmailed by this creep." Mr. Green though aloud "I wonder why he didn"t just report us to the authorities." I blurted out, "if he knew information about you guys, why not make some money off of it?" Professor Plum stood up from the couch he shared with some guests, "And what was your role in this?" "Me?" I knew I had to think fast, no sign of Al. No information about this Wadsworth guy whatsoever. I had no answers. "I"m the butler. Yvette"s the maid... Isn"t there anyone I"m missing?" I hinted at the French maid. "Vell no-one. Only ze cook." She replied. The lightbulb clicked for the group and they all stood and exclaimed "The cook!" Like an army of ants, we all followed Yvette to the kitchen, well everyone I could see. I was only focused on keeping up appearances. The kitchen seemed spotless, no sign of the cook. Mr. Green entered the room, "Well, she"s not here." Just then, the freezer door opened. Miss Scarlet let out a gut-wrenching scream. The body that I assumed belonged to the cook tumbled out of the freezer and into the arms of Green, who defensively yelled "I didn"t do it!" I assisted Mr. Green on carrying the plus-sized woman. Mrs. White reached for the knife, which was piercing the cook"s back. "Hey," I told her, "don"t touch that, it"s evidence." Mrs. White sassed back, "Well not for us. We have to find out who did this. We can"t take fingerprints!" She had a point. "Okay. Who had the dagger?" Colonel Mustard asked the group, then suddenly realized. "It was you Peacock! You know, if I was the killer I"d kill you next!" There was an awkward silence among the lot. "I said if... If!" The Colonel laughed his previous sentence off. "I put it down in the study." Peacock answered. "Do you remember when?" I sighed, trying to figure out the whole leap. "I don"t know. Before I fainted, after I fainted... I don"t know!" She was hysterical. I huffed, "So any of us could have picked it up... We can"t keep the cooks body here." Mr. Green struggled with holding the womans arms, "You"re telling me." "We should put her with the other dead body." I suggested. "Back to the study." Professor Plum lead the group as we all exited the kitchen. Green and I was still carrying the cook. I didn"t have a good view of the study, but I was startled when Mr. Green dropped the poor womans upper body. "What?" I asked, trying to keep the woman"s legs from falling. "The body"s gone!" Professor Plum exclaimed. I admit, I lost myself and dropped the cook. The women of the group entered and the curious Mrs. Peacock was asking questions again. "What are you all staring at?" She inquired. "Nothing." Mr. Green answered. Another question, "Well, who"s there?" "Nobody... No body. Mr. Boddy"s body is gone." I replied. "Maybe he wasn"t dead." Mrs. White pointed out. "He was." The professor insisted. "I should have made sure." I shook my head. "It"s not your fault Wadsworth." Miss. Scarlet informed me. "He couldn"t have been dead." "He was!" Plum yelled. "At least I thought he was. What difference does it make now?" A familiar voice made me smile "Makes quite a difference to him." He nodded at me and I returned the favour. Mr. Green pitched a theory "Maybe Mr. Boddy killed the cook!" More than one person cheered "Yes!" "How?" I asked, "We were all in the kitchen, we would have seen him." The room grew quiet. "Check the washroom." Al told me, "Ziggy says there"s a 98% probability that Boddy"s in the washroom." "Do we want to check the house as a group or split up?" I asked the lot. They all seemed to answer in synch "Group!" I began to take me leave from the room, "Okay, I say we check the bathroom first." "Why?" Yvette looked around at the confused people. "In case anyone needs to go before we start looking at the rest of the house." I bluffed, sometimes being smart comes in handy. Especially when I have no idea what I"m doing. "Good thinking Sam." Al nodded. We approached the main floor washroom. I was the one who had to open the door. When I did, the dead body of Mr. Boddy fell in front of me. His head was covered in blood. I looked at Al who was hitting the handheld. "98% probability that *the* Body"s in the washroom... The..." He chuckled. "He has new injuries. Massive head trauma.... He"s certainly dead now... Given the assumption that he wasn"t dead before." I said to the group while examining the body. "What"s the difference?" Prof. Plum crossed his arms. Al laughed "That"s what you"re here to figure out, Sherlock." "Don"t you see? We need to figure out who killed him, where and with what. Given his injuries I think he was hit hard with something blunt. Can everyone look around for an object that possibly has blood on it?" I told the group. After a few moments of looking around, Miss. Scarlet pointed above me. "Wadsworth, the candlestick!" She exclaimed. I grabbed the bloody candlestick from atop the bathroom door and examined it. "Yeah, this would have done it." I sighed once more, "Let"s return Mr. Boddy to the study." The men took the dead body and placed it on the couch. The women (and myself) grabbed the cook and placed her over the arm of the couch. "Now." I stood and straightened my back. "Who had access to the candlestick?" "I did. But I dropped it on the table, anyone could have picked it up." She defended. "Okay. Are all the weapons on the table?" They all nodded. I proceeded to gather the weapons and place them inside a cupboard. "Good thinking Sam, the key is in the lock already. Nobody else dies, badda boom, you"ve changed history!" Al grinned. "All the remaining weapons are in the cupboard. I"ll put the key in my pocket so I know I"m safe." I stated. Mrs. Peacock angrily ranted to me, "That means you can open it whenever you want!" "But it also means the murderer can"t!" I explained. Peacock began stirring a frenzy, "But you could be the murderer!" "Me? I"m not." I shook my head. "They won"t believe you... You should throw away the key. Open the door and just-" Al simulated a baseball pitch with the handheld. "I"ll tell you what I"ll do. I"ll throw it away." I said, grabbing the key from my pocket. Noticing signs of approval from the group, we all headed out to the front door where I was supposed to throw the key into the abyss. But there was a man standing in the doorway, dripping wet from the rain and looking in dire need of a ride to his home. "Excuse me, my car broke down and I was wondering if I could use your phone." He asked politely. It was hard not to take pity on the man. But adding another person to the party would be illogical with a murderer running around. I dropped my head in despair and mumbled "Oh boy." I smiled politely and gritted through my teeth, "What do I do here, Al?" "Wait, Sam. This could... this could actually be a good thing." "A good thing?" I said a little louder, the group obviously heard me. "Good thing?" The man in the doorway repeated. "It"s a... it"s a good thing you"re here." I smiled. "It is?" Mr. Green asked. "It is." I repeated. "Of course it is." He nodded. "Right. It is a good thing you"re here because... " I mumbled "Because with a new person in the house, an innocent, trusting person. The murders would probably stop, right?" Al replied. "really?" Al shrugged, "I"ll go check out with Ziggy about this situation. See if he was a part of the original history." He proceeded to phase out, leaving me to deal with this mess. "Really what?" The man asked. "Um, we"re really in need of new eyes." I smiled, allowing the man inside. "We are having a disagreement at the moment and we"d really need someone to give a fresh take on it." "Yeah, no problem. No problem at all. I"ll help settle whatever, just after my phone call." The motorist explained. "Phone call... phone. There"s a phone in the..." I looked to the group for help. "Lounge." Yvette helped. "Lounge. Yes." I walked the group to a door with another key in it. I peered into the room and noticed a telephone in a space that I could only assume was the lounge. "Lounge." I gestured to the door. Al appeared suddenly as the man thanked me and entered the room. "Sam! He dies too!" Al yelled. I quickly locked the door behind him and hid the key in my pocket. "For his protection." I sighed to the group. "Now for our protection, throw away the key." Colonel Mustard crossed his arms. I looked at Al who nodded, "throw away the key, Sam." I took out both keys from the pocket. "They both look the same, Al." "Which one is the key to the weapons?" The hologram asked. "I don"t know!" I exclaimed. The group seemed puzzled. "I don"t know... which key is which." "Some butler you are." Mrs. White huffed. "Throw away both!" Professor Plum stated. "I can"t, we need to let the poor man out sometime. We can"t just leave him in there forever." I told them. "Why not? At least he"s safe in there." Scarlet said. I tilted my head, "Yeah, you"d think so." "Here"s what I"m going to do." I decided. I led the group back to the study. "I"m going to place both keys on the table in front of the bodies. Clear as day. Whoever grabs them, we"d know." "Sam this isn"t a smart idea." Al sighed. "Anybody object?" "Wadsworth this isn"t a smart idea." Professor Plum shook his head. "So, you object?" I asked. "No..." He told us. "There, then it"s settled." I placed both keys neatly on the end table. "Oh, no." Mr. Green let out a spark of realization. "Oh no? What oh no?" Mrs. Peacock gasped. "What if the motorist calls the police?" Green asked. "I"ve already called the police." I informed them. Apparently, this was news to the group as they all seemed shocked. "The police are coming and there"s dead bodies in the study with five suspects?" Colonel Mustard bellowed. "Don"t forget the butler or the maid." Al reminded. "Actually, all of us are suspects." I said. "So eight. There are eight suspects." Mr. Green shook his head. "Or maybe more. We don"t know who else might be in this house, do we Wadsworth?" Mustard asked. "Um... no?" "No there are more people in this house?" I looked at Al, he shrugged again. He"s been a real big help so far. "No... meaning yes?" "No meaning yes? Are there other people in this house yes or no?" "I don"t know!" He nodded, "Alright, there could be a stowaway. I suggest we handle this in proper military fashion, we split up and search the house." "That"s actually not a bad idea, Sam. You all could split up in pairs. I volunteer to go with Yvette." Al smiled. "That could work." I smirked. Plum interjected "If one of us is the murderer if we split up into pairs whichever one is left with the killer might be killed!" "Then we would have found who the murderer is!" Mustard exclaimed Peacock yelled "But the other half of the pair would be dead!" "Calm down. Now I"m not one for putting innocent people in danger but we need to try something. We don"t have a lot of choices here." I explained. Mr. Green sighed, "I suppose you"re right." "How do we figure out the pairs?" I asked. Yvette pranced to the fireplace and grabbed matchsticks. She handed them to me "zese could work." "Thanks.." I ripped pairs of four to different lengths and placed it in my hand. "Now, two shortest are together and next two shortest. And what length you get signifies where you search, the shortest get the cellar and so on up." There was a big commotion around the table in the study where I placed the matchsticks. I paid no attention to the keys or any of the dead bodies, I just focused on the lots. Colonel Mustard and miss Scarlet are the first pair, searching the ground floor.Yvette and Mr. Green are the next pair, in charge of the attic.Professor Plum and Mrs. Peacock are the next pair, headed to the cellar.I"m off to the upper level with... Mrs. White. "She"s hot too, good job Sam." Al winked. "Thanks." I rolled my eyes. "I"m gonna go get some more information on these people, maybe I can squeeze their actual names from the guy in the waiting room." Al waved bye to me. "Bye Al." "Bye Sam. Bye Mrs. White." He noticed the maid walk past him "Oh and bye Yvette." He began to follow her. "Al." I sighed. "Right, right. Going." He exited through the hologram door. Mrs. White and I headed up the stairs. "You know, Wadsworth. I trust you as far as I can throw you." She told me. "Really? Well I don"t blame you. I don"t trust anyone." "Yeah but you. The butler. You must know all the secrets of the house. Hidden doorways, secret passages. You are the most suspicious of the group." I laughed, "Yeah, I guess. But I have no idea about this stuff. I"m as lost as the rest of you." She stopped in her tracks. "really?" "Really." "I"m gonna check this room." She opened a door right in front of her and closed it behind her. "I"ll check... somewhere else." After a few seconds of walking, I reached for a doorknob. It was then that the entire house was engulfed in complete darkness. When the lights finally flickered on, I exited the room and found Mrs. White at the top of the staircase. We all head down the stairs and hear yelling. Coming from... the lounge? But the only person in the lounge was the motorist guy. Those yells don"t sound like his voice though. We were meted by Green, Peacock, Yvette and Professor Plum. But... Colonel Mustard and Miss Scarlet were nowhere to be seen. "Who"s yelling?" Green asked the lot. "It"s coming from the lounge!" Mrs. Peacock exclaimed. "It"s gotta be the other two." Mrs. White pointed out. "It is us!" Colonel Mustards voice was heard from the other side of the door. "Let us out!" Scarlet yelled. "Okay." I ran to the study to grab the two keys. But there was only one key on the table. The other... was in the opened weapons cabinet. And it looked like the wrench was gone. I open the door calmly and, once the door opened I informed the group of the missing wrench. "We think we found it." Miss Scarlet sighed, pointing to the motorists body on the ground beside the bloody wrench. Mrs. Peacock yelled "Which one of you two did it!" "No, we just found him together." Scarlet defended. "The door was locked. How did you get in?" Mrs. White crossed her arms. Scarlet revealed a fireplace exit, or a "secret passageway from the conservatory." "And the wrench got here from the weapon cupboard?" Mrs. Peacock looked at me. "Yeah, it was opened. I guess having both keys wasn"t the brightest idea." I sighed. "Hey, I know! lets relock the weapons cupboard and actually throw away the key, since we know which key belongs to which door." Scarlet suggested. "That"s the best thing I"ve heard all day." We had only just made in in the study, we surveyed the weapons. The gun, rope, and lead pipe remained. "Okay good, now we just need to keep track of-" The familiar sound of the doorbell. "Oh no." I mumbled. "I"m going to open it. I have nothing to hide, I didn"t do it. I didn"t do anything wrong." Mr. Green proceeded to leave the room, us as a group followed. Mr. Green led us to the front door where he opened the door. Standing in the doorway was a policeman. The cop seemed friendly enough, greeting us with "Good evening, Sir." Mr. Green slammed the door in his face. "What are you doing? It"s the police, we were expecting them." I shook my head and reopened the door. "Hi officer." "Oh, um. I found an abandoned car near the gates of this house. Did anybody come in here for any help?" He asked. The group looked at eachother. This would be a real good time for Al to help out. "No?" The group stated, and I looked at eachother. Nobody should lie to cops. We both said yes. "Yes?" The rest of the group asked us. "Yes." I concluded. "Okay, can I use your phone?" The policeman asked. Why does everybody need to use our phone on this day? Was there a shortage of phones in the 50"s? "Sure." I rubbed the back of my neck. "You can use the one in the stu.... Not the lounge either... library. We have a library, right?" The group agreed. "Library." "Zere is no phone in zee library." Yvette informed me. "Oh... then if you can wait in the library that"d be great." I smiled. "Y... yeah, sure." The cop stared at Yvette "Do... do I know you?" The girl shrugged. "You all seem very anxious about something" He said. Oh if only he knew. "Do we?" I chuckled. "I don"t think so. Right guys?" The group met this remark with "No, no absolutely not." "No, anxious? Us? Whaaat?" and various comments like that. After letting the policeman in, some people in the group decided to close the many open doors. I"d say it was a good idea except the loud slams that the action created wasn"t exactly conspicuous. I led him to the library. "Here. There"s books. There"s drinks. It"s a nice time. Relax... please." I locked him inside once he was comfortable. "Wadsworth, is the brandy poisoned?" Professor plum asked me. "Right." I yelled to the cop "Don"t drink the brandy! I repeat don"t drink the brandy!" I sighed. "Okay. Now that he"s locked in there we can finish searching the house. Any objections?" "Fine by me." Mrs. Peacock replied. Mr. Green crossed his arms. "Why would I have objections, I didn"t do anything wrong." "I mean, as long as we don"t get trapped in another room with a dead body I"ll be okay." Mustard confirmed. "What"s so bad about that?" Mrs. White remarked. "You would know." Scarlet chuckled. As we all went back to our designated searching places with our partners all I could think of was wanting Al here. I"m all for murder mysteries. But not if I"m the one who might get murdered.

Now up until the day I met the love of my life, I helped my mother and aunt clean houses for a living. I can"t say I liked it very much or how much I wished I could be doing something other than cleaning up after other people. I found myself often saying that I hated my life. And cleaning up after other people was not exactly my definition of doing great things with my life, but who am I to complain. At least I was making a paycheck even if it was a small one and that"s more than I can say for most illegal aliens in my adopted country. Now you may ask how and when did I meet this great love of my life. Well, it all started when I decided to buy a telescope that was similar to the one that once belonged to my father. Having searched for years, I finally found it on Ebay of all crazy places. Of course, with my salary, I would have had to save forever to even think about purchasing it. It would have cost me around four thousand dollars to buy it and I just didn"t have that kind of money, even if I did save every penny I earned cleaning houses. Then my cousin had an idea and I sorta went along with it. The idea you ask... well, it was to sell my eggs to a fertility clinic for cash. Stupid idea I know, but I was desperate. I really wanted that telescope. It was a link to the father I had never known and I just knew that if I had it I would feel closer to him though I can"t really say how I knew this... only that I did. I used one of my employers names on the application, with her permission of course, and that is how my love found me. Now I probably have confused you right? You may be asking yourself how my using a false name on a application led my love to me. Well, you see my love is not exactly human. He"s a lycantant. And he found me through his sense of smell. What"s a lycantant you ask? Well, he is a genetically modified hybrid human who has been spliced with a wolf. In his world he is simply a Splice. Bred for the military, a genetic killing machine as it were. To me he is the one who saved my life on more than one occasion, my protector and the love of my life. But wait I am getting ahead of myself. Now where was I... oh yes, where I met him. Like I said before he saved my life and that is how I met him. I was at the fertility clinic about to go through with the procedure when weird things began to happen. And I mean weird. First off, I changed my mind at the last second and was told by the nurse it was just my hormones, then the doctor said he could perform the procedure with his eyes closed. Not that that made me very comfortable but then they put strange straps on my ankles and my wrists. I had a vague memory of my friend in this same situation, though I could not be too sure. All I had was a picture on my phone that I did not recall taking of strange creatures around her floating body. Before I knew what was happening I began to float into the air. They had flipped me over and I heard the doctor say something about getting a sample and making sure I was the right one before they stuck me in the back of the neck with something and then confirming that it was a match. I heard the doctor tell the nurse to kill me. Now you can imagine the panic that went through me at those words. I had no idea at the time what was going on but these people were trying to kill me for no apparent reason! I saw one of the nurses turn the oxygen off and then... he appeared out of nowhere. I thought I heard the door burst open and some sort of gunfire but I was not sure as I was losing consciousness rather rapidly. Plus, I was in full panic mode, which was not helping, what with the oxygen machine having been cut off. I"m not sure if what I saw was real or not, but before I completely passed out the mask was pulled off my face and I was flipped over and was being held by my rescuer. I heard him ask if I was alright and all I could ask was who he was. He did managed to tell me his name before I passed out. Caine. My rescuers name was Caine Wise and he would end up being the love of my life. But it"s how we got there...that"s where the true story lies. A/N: A basic retelling of the movie but completely from Jupiter"s POV Chapter 1 So, onto the rest of my story...I came to sometime later in an abandoned building (well what I thought was an abandoned building. It was actually the hundredth floor of the Sears Tower that was being remodeled.) I was confused at first how I got there, before the memory of what had happened came back to me. I had almost been killed! But then this man came swooping in like some avenging angel and rescued me, a complete stranger. I had to wonder why but any thoughts of what had happened at the clinic made me cringe. I did, however, recall his name. Caine. Looking around I spotted a gun not far from my hand and grabbed it after seeing a man standing at a table near the window with his back to me. Not knowing if this was my rescuer or not I sat up and pointed it at him. I was a little surprised that he admitted to letting me have the thing in the first place and told me how to activate it. Some part of me wondered why he would do that if he was kidnapping me but I pushed the thought away. That"s when I noticed that I was once again in my street clothes and not the hospital gown I had been in when he had rescued me. I inwardly blushed just knowing that this man had seen me naked and I had not even been conscious at the time. When he admitted to dressing me, the inward blush deepened. I wasn"t about to let him know how that thought affected me. Still training the weapon at him he began to explain that earth was not the only inhabited planet in the galaxy and that he understood and knew that I would most likely not believe him. I have to admit it was a shock to learn something so fanatical but it still intrigued me somehow. Almost as much as the man before me. It was then I asked if he was an alien and he told me exactly what he was. A genetically modified human hybrid. A Splice. A lycantant is what he is known as in his world. Well, I guess that would explain the ears I told myself before mentally shaking my head to clear out any thoughts that should not be there. As the conversation continued I begged him to tell me that it was all a big mistake but when he replied that the people who had sent those things after me didn"t make those kinds of mistakes, I really did want to cry. Why me? What did they want with me? I was a nobody. I finally agreed to go with him if only to keep my family safe since it was me those things were after. After getting my bearings, I walked to the window with him to await our ride. I wondered what he meant by that but I didn"t ask not sure if I wanted to know. It was then he showed me a few interesting gadgets. I think my favorite had to be the flying boots. They were so strange but cool at the same time and I so wanted a pair. He tried to explain how they worked and whatnot but I couldn"t focus on the explanation, all I really heard was gravity and surf. Moments later he told me our ride was there and asked me if I was ready. I looked at him and asked him if I was ready to walk out a hundred-story building with nothing but him and his flying boots but before I could finish my sentence he picked me up bridal style and walked out the window. I couldn"t help the shriek I gave when I felt us fall a few feet before being pulled upwards and I leaned my head into his neck to hide my face. I apologized a moment later and looked down at the city below. I should have been scared witless but somehow I felt safe in my rescuers arms. I can"t explain it even now, it was like I had come home and it was not a feeling I had ever felt before. Suddenly I heard him swear and then told me to hold tight and I immediately wrapped my arms around his neck and he pulled me closer to his body shielding me from the shrapnel that began raining down on us a moment later. The explosion a second later pulled us apart and I began falling. I screamed as I fell. I was so sure I was going to die right then. I should have put more faith in my rescuer because the next thing I know I am being hauled into his arms once more as he skated, literally, through the sky and around buildings trying to lose our attackers. If we weren"t being chased, I probably would have been enjoying myself immensely. I was, after all, being held tightly to a very handsome man while literally flying through the air. However, because we were being chased, I was frightened and held onto Caine as tightly as I could manage. He soon moved me to his back so as to give himself a better range in defending us and I tried to hold on. I somehow knew that even if I were to fall he would catch me. I don"t even know how long we flew through the air before landing on top of one of their ships. Caine managed to get us in and then we were off once more. I was impressed to say the least with his skill. Not only could he fly through the sky, dodging blaster fire, on boots no less, but, he was also an impressive pilot to boot. I began to wonder if there was anything this man could not do. When the battle was over with and we were both safely back on the ground I tried to catch my breath. So many things were running through my head at that moment I didn"t even know what to think. Downtown Chicago was in shambles. I didn"t even know how no one seemed to notice the battle that had just occurred either. Oh, I knew they had to of noticed. It was kind of hard not to, but it just seemed as if no one had. Except for a select few who had seen Caine flying through the air with me on his back as he jumped over cars and trains. I wanted answers and I wanted then at that very moment. Before I could ask though, Caine had commandeered a vehicle and we were soon leaving the city. I couldn"t hold back my questions any longer and began asking him what was going on. He told me that we had stumbled upon a war within the Abraxas family. He explained that they were one of the most powerful families in the universe. I found myself mentally adding to his explanation "and for some reason they wanted me dead". I then told him that that doesn"t give them leave to blow up a bunch of buildings and get away with it. He returned by telling me that those buildings would be good as new by morning. I scoffed at that truly not believing him when he saw my disbelief and told me to have a look. I just had to see if he was right and turned around in my seat to look. Sure enough, right before my very eyes buildings were being repaired almost magically. I could not believe what my eyes were seeing. There was just no possible way buildings could magically repair themselves. I turned back to him in utter disbelief and asked about all the people who had witnessed the battle...what about them? He told me that I had a picture on my phone of a Keeper that I didn"t remember taking. I wondered how he knew that, then remembered he had had my personal items on him when I awoke so of course he had gone through them trying to figure out who I was. He explained that I had been blanked. A procedure that erased the memory of anything intergalactic that people just would not believe. Why was this happening to me? I am a nobody and I told him so. He told me that the eldest of the Abraxas family, a man named Balem, who just happened to also own my planet, was the one that wanted me dead for some reason. I tried to tell him I had never even met this man and he told me that Balem would not hire mercenaries for a nobody. I began looking to see who owned the car in order to let them know that we were sorry and that it would be returned as soon as possible when I looked over and noticed that he was bleeding. I managed to place a maxi pad on the wound despite his protests and told him thank you for his help. We began talking and I wanted to know why he was hired in the first place since he didn"t help damsels in distress ever. He told me he was hired because he was good at finding people. I asked if he was taking me to Titus, the man who had hired him to find me, and he answered softly, "No." I accepted the answer but he wasn"t all that forthcoming with where he was taking me. It wasn"t until we pulled up in front of a rundown house and stopped did I ask where we were. He explained that a long time ago the man he knew who lived in that house was a friend of his. I asked what he was doing way out in the middle of nowhere and Caine told me he was a Marshall for the Aegis. He went on to say that they were like cops. I could not help but say, "Space Cops... Sure." I suppose that made sense. You can"t have thousands of planets in the universe and not have some sort of law enforcement to ensure justice is carried out. What happened next was unexpected to say the least. Caine knocked on the door only for a man holding a gun straight at Caine answered. Caine addressed the man as Stinger. I figured that was a last name since it would be a very strange first name unless of course it was a nickname. The next thing I know, this Stinger guy punched Caine and I gasped in shock. As I stood there on the porch watching the two of them fighting a young woman came to the door and told them not to drag her into their male mating rituals. I thought that was an odd thing to say before she introduced herself as Kiza. I shook her hand and told her my name as I swatted at the bees that kept flying around me. At first there were only a few of them but then their numbers grew after Caine and Stinger fell into the hives on the porch. I ran off the porch as I was swarmed by them. However, they were not stinging me. In fact, they were moving with my every movement as if a part of me. Suddenly I laughed. It was just impossible but I have since learned that nothing was impossible and so just accepted it, that is until Stinger knelt before me and called me your majesty. Now that really stunned me. I looked over to Caine but his expression was completely unreadable. I am sure he was just a shocked as I was but it was impossible to tell by his facial expression. Stinger finally invited us in and as we sat the bees continued to buzz around me and I found it fascinating. Kiza brought me some tea and addressed me as your majesty just as her father had. I didn"t know what to say but thank you. It was unnerving that they would address me so. Kiza left the room and that left the three of us alone. Stinger told Caine that he needed to have a look at him and Caine pulled off his shirt turning slightly as he did so. I saw two distinct scars on his upper back and gasped. Stinger said they were the scars of a court marshaled Skyjacker. Apparently, Skyjackers had wings that were surgically implanted and when court marshaled they were stripped of them leaving scars. Stinger pulled off the pad I had placed on Caine in the car and both men turned to look at me and I could only grin and shrug before Stinger applied some sort of spray to the wound on Caine"s side. At first I didn"t think anything of it but when the wound closed up before my very eyes... to say I was shocked would have been an understatement. I was amazed by what I saw and couldn"t help but walk over to the two men to examine the nonexistent wound up close. Stinger said something about the miracles of science that human beings were capable of and I had to ask why those humans wouldn"t share something like this? After all something like that could save millions of lives. He told me that sharing had never been a strong suit of my kind. Again, he addressed me as your majesty and I had to ask what was it with the your majesty. He asked if I had ever been stung by a bee? When I answered no, he explained that bees were genetically designed to recognize royalty. Okay, I could understand that but I was a nobody, a cleaning lady. There was no way I was royalty. I mean there was no way. He went on to explain that bees were not like humans who question an d doubt everything, bees don"t lie. That had me wondering if that was the reason this Balem guy wanted me dead. Was I a competitor for Earth"s planetary ownership? Is that why he wanted me dead? Besides that, it still amazed me that earth could even be owned. Just then I felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket and I walked away to answer it. It was my cousin who had talked me into his get rich quick scheme and I had to break it to him that I didn"t go through with it. The two Splices, for that is what Stinger was, were talking about getting me to some place called Orous. They went back and forth and I was beginning to sense that there was an undertone of urgency in their words like they both needed to protect me from something. Caine seemed withdrawn all of a sudden. Before he was friendly and mostly talkative but now he wouldn"t even say two words to me at all and it made me wonder if I had done something to make him upset with me. I didn"t understand why him being upset with me hurt but it did and I didn"t like the feeling. As soon as he left the room I asked Stinger if Caine was mad at me. He told me that when he"s mad I would know. Stinger then told me some things about Caine that I didn"t know. I found out that he had been the runt of his litter but also was half albino. It had caused Caine to be an outcast among his own kind. He had been sold to the Legion for a loss. He was without a pack. I soon found out that without a pack he had no center of gravity. Lycantant"s were pack oriented just like their counterparts the wolf they had been spliced with. Stinger told me that alone a lycantant would waste away and die unless they become like Caine. Fearless. Relentless. Perfect hunting machines. Well, that explained why Titus had hired him to find her. He was a Hunter. Stinger went on to say that Caine had been the best soldier he had ever gone into battle with. I finally asked, "Why did he get court marshaled?" When Stinger only looked at me like he truly wanted to know if I wanted the answer to my inquiry, I hastily told him he didn"t have to tell me. "He attacked someone. An Entitled. He bit him. Tore his throat out." Okay, I was a little dumbfounded by that. Was that why Caine was suddenly distant? Was it because he was afraid he was going to hurt me? My thoughts were interrupted when Stinger continued, "There is something about the royals for Caine. Its instinctual. They tried to put him down but since I was his C.O. I took the blame. Two scars across my back as a reward." I just couldn"t believe it. Caine had never once tried to hurt me so why would he now? I mean come on the man had practically made himself my body guard for goodness sakes. I could not see him hurting me ever. But if what Stinger said was true then Caine was a ticking time-bomb, yet I was sure I was safe with him. That feeling of home still resided deep within just at the thought of him. I knew I was attracted to him even if he was some alien hybrid. I sat thinking about everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours. I had been almost assassinated, been rescued by an alien, almost killed again, saved again by same said alien, learned I was royalty, found out that my self-appointed body guard had attacked someone and almost killed him and that he had been court marshaled for the deed. It was a lot to take in. It was then I noticed the mark on Stinger"s neck. I had seen a similar mark on Caine"s neck and asked Stinger about it. He told me what I wanted to know and I then told him that I wanted to know the truth even if no one else would ever believe it. He gave me a crooked grin and then leap out of his chair and led me to his study. The room, like the rest of the house, was filled with junk and covered in dust. He then began telling me the history of mankind. It was a shock to know that earth had been seeded over a billion years ago and that the humans that had seeded the world had killed off the dinosaurs. It almost made me laugh but I held my tongue. Everything I used to know about history was suddenly turned on its head and it was making my own head spin. He explained what seeding a world means and then I learned about the Harvest. Before he could explain anymore to me the bees that had been hovering around me went crazy. At that moment Caine returned and said that they were here. I didn"t know what they meant by that but I knew it wasn"t good. Stinger grabbed my arm and pulled me through the house. I found myself crying out Caine"s name as I was pulled through the house and out the back door. I tried to stay as close to Stinger as possible but some guy came out of the corn field carrying some kind of cannon and literally blasted Stinger back before turning it on me. Apparently, the bees were not happy about them messing with their friend and began swarming the guy and I made a run for it into the field hoping to lose the attackers. What I didn"t count on were those Keepers. They followed me into the field chasing me and coming ever closer. I paused for a moment and tried to stay as still as possible before turning around and making my way back the way I had come. Unfortunately, the guy with the sonic cannon thing steeped into my path and even though I did try to get away he blasted me with it. I felt my body lift into the air as it was flung into the field. My hearing was almost nonexistent at that point and I found myself holding me head in agony before passing out.

"I don"t think we are in any danger from four unarmed women," Zane said sarcastically. "No, but appearances can be deceiving. We may not seem armed but we are more powerful than we look, much like the four ladies before you. They do not seem like anything but normal young humans yet they are so much more than that. So much more, is that not right Lisa and Bethany." The two women had the grace to blush and their daughter turned to them questions swimming in their eyes. "What are they talking about Mom?" Bella asked. "Well, honey there is something that we have kept from you, in fact, we never even told our own husbands or the fathers of the other two girls this but you four were found on Mako Island eighteen years ago beside the same pool you described to us earlier. However, you were not human then. You all were actually mermaids then too. We were shocked at first, its true, but then these four ladies came and told us that we were needed to keep you safe and protected until it was time to reveal your true heritage to you. They made you human somehow and gave you into our keeping." "So why did it take so long for us to change back?" "Well, originally you were not to change back until you mated. At the time we had no idea the Moon Pool held such power. When it was discovered we had to return to your true parents to find out what was to be done as you were still able to return to your humanoid form when it should not have been possible to do so once you changed. The spell should not have allowed it to happen." "So we were all mermaids to begin with?!" Emma, Rikki, Bella and Cleo cried out in shock. "Yes. In fact, you are each the heir of one of the four mer kingdoms. In reality you are all cousins." The girls looked at each other and then had to ask, "So do all mermaids get moonstruck?" This question took the four older women back a bit as they were not expecting that question. "Well, no, actually they don"t, which is one of the reasons we were so confused as to what was happening with you four in particular." "What do you mean moonstruck?" Neil asked confused and feeling a bit betrayed. "When there is a full moon a mermaid who looks at the moon or its reflection becomes moonstruck. Any number of strange things can happen it they do. For example, Cleo becoming a Siren, Rikki nearly burning down the forest on Mako, Emma crashing her dad"s birthday party. The three of them gaining new powers and creating a massive storm and sending me flying literally. The only problem is they don"t remember any of it once the moon sets," Lewis explained purposely leaving out the near seduction the month prior. "But isn"t tonight a full moon?" Don asked. "Yes, that is why they are all here. We have taken to staying together during a full moon and we guys stay with them to make sure they don"t look at the moon. As you can see the place has been boarded up so that no light can get in. It is for their own protection," Zane said. "So that is why the house looked the way it did the time we came home early," Lisa exclaimed. "Yes," Emma answered her mother. "Wait that storm that mysteriously started over Mako was the three of you!" Don exclaimed in shock. "Yes, Dad. That was the night of not only a full moon but also a planetary alignment. We were in the Moon Pool when it happened and because of it we gained a new power. I could now control the wind and air, Emma could control ice and snow and Rikki could control fire and electricity," Cleo answered. The four ethereal beings looked at the girls and then at each other before a shocked looked crossed all of their features, "Elemental"s! That"s what you four are! Now it makes since. The reason behind you being able to hold your humanoid forms. Only elementals can change from one form to the other at will. But they are so rare that there hasn"t been one born for thousands of years and never four at one time!" the four women spoke excitedly. "Four? I"m sorry, but unlike them, I don"t hold that kind of power," Bella told them. "No, but you will. If the other three already hold the power over air, fire and water then you are the earth elemental. You will gain the power in time. It just hasn"t awaken in you yet, but it will." The four young men listened as the women told the girls about their life when they wanted to know more. Ash asked, "What do you mean they are the heirs of mer kingdoms? How is that even possible? "Well, to answer your question we would have to tell you the story of how the merfolk came into being and that is a rather long and drawn out tale. But to make a long story short so to speak, the girls are the daughters of the sea. Their story is a complicated one and if you truly wish to hear it then you might want to get comfortable for it is a long one. There is one thing you must know before we start this tale. Merfolk are nearly immortal. Though we can die we are extremely long lived." The group sat at the booths and waited to hear what the tale was, as each was curious as to the outcome. "This story starts with the legendary city of Atlantis. And before you say anything, yes, the city actually did exist at one time. Most think that the city was built by humans and was just a technologically advanced culture but that is not true. Atlantis was the land dwelling of the Holders of the Elements. A powerful race of merfolk. The rulers of that kingdom had four children yet none of them were born with a power over a particular element. When it was discovered their parents cast them out, as no mer that did not hold a element could live in the city. This enraged the four and they vowed to get their vengeance on their parents." " Hundreds of years went by and they each founded their own little kingdoms all vowing to help the other in times of need. Soon they had amassed a huge army and they advanced on their parents kingdom. Using their combined powers they conquered their parents kingdom and caused it to sink beneath the waves. Nearly everyone who lived there fled the fallen city. Their parents were killed in the fight." "The fighting done they each returned to their own kingdoms unaware that a lone survivor had placed a curse on them. For thousands of years they were unable to bare any children. The four sought out any who could help them but there was nothing to be done." "Then it happened four girls were born each now the heir of their respective kingdom, yet the happiness of their parents was overshadowed by the threat of war. The lone survivor wanted to be the sole ruler of the mer and attacked each of the kingdoms in tandem. The girls parents fearing the worst gave the girls over to their advisers and were told to hide them until such a time as it was safe to bring them home." "We were chosen to take the girls as far from the fighting as possible. We swam until we came upon Mako Island. Seeing that it had no mer presence and after finding the Moon Pool and were going to stay there with them until it was time to return home when we heard voices coming. Fearing the humans we hid leaving you girls on the edge of the pool. It had been a last minute decision on our part knowing that if you were on land then it would be harder for the enemy to get hold of you. We saw two women come into the cavern and we saw the exact moment they spotted the four of you. They talked amongst themselves for several minutes before pulling back the cloth that we had wrapped each of you in. You can imagine their shock at what they found and it was then that we knew that we were going to have to reveal ourselves to them if we had any chance of saving you." "We assured them that we meant them no harm and were only there to guard the children as they were very precious to our race. We then cast a spell on the four and changed them to their human form. The spell was supposed to make it so that it would not change you back until you mated as it would also change your mate if he were human. We asked them to take you and keep you safe. Since then we have each kept an eye on you. We also asked that they change your names we wanted you to blend into the human world and that is the reason we asked them to do us this favor." The four guardians looked at their charges and could see that they were curious as to what their names had been. Continuing on, "Emma the eldest of the four was named Lasya, Bella the second eldest was named Aranyani, Cleo the third eldest was named Eurybia and Rikki the youngest was named Alectrona." The girls turned the strange names over in there minds wondering if they liked them or not. "So your saying the we all are princess"s?!" "Yes, and it is time to return home." Rikki, Emma, Cleo and Bella all looked at each other and then back at the four older mermaids. "We can"t at least not right now," they all said together. The four guardians smiled for they knew why the girls didn"t wish to return home just yet. They had known for some time that the young men that were by their young charges sides were their mates. Though no one else could see it they could and they could each see the aura surrounding the four couples. They nodded in understanding. "So that"s it?" Terry asked "What more did you want to know?" "You said that they would have eventually remained a mermaid after they mated what exactly does that mean?" "It means exactly what we said. Once they have mated or married they will revert back to their mermaid form permanently although they can change their appearance they will never be able to live far from the water. Their mates will also share this ability it seems." The boys upon hearing this grew jealous and demanded to know what they meant by that. "It means that when they come together with their mate he will also share in her power. It"s strange really for that has never happened. Normally he would gain his own power, but their mates will share all the same powers as them." Zane who had been observing the conversation finally realized that the guardians knew who the girls mates were. Zara, Rikki"s guardian read his mind and smiled, "To answer your unasked question, yes, we do know who their mates are." "So, their mates are human?" "Yes, and they are all in this very room though after the mating is complete they no longer will be," she returned with a gleeful laugh at all of their shocked faces. H2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2O The parents all returned home still overwhelmed by everything that they had learned. They left the four couples to talk about what had just happened somehow knowing that their daughters were in safe hands. H2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2O After their parents left the girls turn to their guardians who had stayed behind. "So what happens now?" Rikki asked curiously. "Nothing. We can not force you to return home. You are essentially our superiors and we must obey your command." "Okay, so what do we do now? I mean it"s still a few minutes til moonrise are we ready for this?" "Actually a swim is in order," Lyra, Cleo"s guardian said with a grin for she knew what this full moon would bring. "Wait. What?!" the eight of them said in shock. "Oh no, there is no way they are going out there tonight. We have had just about enough of moonstruck mermaids," Will stated stepping in front of Bella protectively. "But it is the only way they will receive their full power. This full moon will grant them that." Lewis who had been on the receiving end of a new mermaid power was very hesitant to allow them to go. "So they wont be moonstruck tonight? How?" he asked, his scientific brain trying to understand how it would be possible. The four guardians smiled at him ignoring his question before shaking their heads. "No, tonight they will not be effected by the moon. Every mer gains their full power sometime during their eighteenth year." "Is that how our grandparents found out that our parents didn"t have the power of an Elemental?" Emma asked. "Yes," they answered. "But how did they find out?" the girls asked confused. "You will see if you go to the pool tonight," was all the information the older mermaids would give. The guys looked at each other then at the four guardians. Each was wondering the same thing. How could they possibly know that the girls would not be effected by the moon. Zane finally voiced the thought aloud. "But you yourselves said that the full moon effects them even though they are natural born mermaids which is unusual according to you. So how can you tell us they won"t be effected by this full moon?" "Can you not just accept that we know without questions?" "No," came the four couples collective answer. The four older mermaids tried not to smirk at the answer. It was almost as if they had known what their answer would be to their question. The four girls on the other hand looked at each other wondering if they should go to the Moon Pool or not. They were curious as too what other powers they would receive but they were also wary of going. Besides that the pool had seemed to lose its power because of the explosion and it had yet to gain it back. They each wondered if the cavern had somehow healed itself since they had seen it that afternoon. "If we go to the pool, and we"re aren"t saying we will, how do you know that it will work? The pool has lost it"s power. We would know since two moons ago we pulled the boys in with us and nothing happened to them," Bella, Rikki and Cleo said together. The guardian smiled and decided to tell the girls their little secret. "That is because right before we showed up tonight we went to the cave and we healed the pool as it had indeed lost its magic." The four couples could only stare at the four guardians in shock. They couldn"t believe that their sanctuary had actually been healed and the girls were anxious to see if it were true. Before the young men could stop them the four girls ran out into the night, too late realizing their mistake. The elder mermaids had been wrong just as the boys had feared. Before them stood four moonstruck mermaids. The girls turned to the boys with a smile and then ran for the water diving in and then after changing quickly making their way to the Moon Pool. The boys looked at each other then ran for their respective boats to go after the girls. The guardians were shocked. The girls were not supposed to have been effected by the moon that night. They all wondered if their seer had been wrong on that account seeing as how they had become moonstruck when they were not supposed to. Shrugging they too made their way to the Moon Pool though they stayed back and didn"t enter the pool while the girls were in there knowing that they needed privacy. Lewis, Zane, Will and Ash followed their girlfriends to Mako. Once there they pulled their boats onto the shore and made their way the pool. When they entered they were awestruck by what they saw. The mermaids had been right about at least one thing; they had healed the cavern. It looked the way it had before it had been destroyed. They found their girlfriends sitting in the sand beside the pool each still in mermaid form even though they appeared to be completely dry, which normally would have changed them back to their human form, but what really got their attention was the fact that the girls entire forms were changing right before their eyes. The girls who had arrived a good ten minuted before the boys had made it to the pool just as the moon was coming overhead. They had experienced the magic of the pool once more as the water bubbled and sparkled above their heads. When it was over they pulled themselves out of the pool and Rikki had used her powered to dry them off only to find that they weren"t changing back to their human selves. There was a slight moment of panic in each of their faces before they remembered their guardians had said that they might not change back until the moon set. They heard the boys enter the cavern but they were too distracted by what was happening to their tails to pay them any mind. Their tails were flickering from the golden orange that they were used too to different colors. "Uh, not to alarm you but what exactly is happening right now?" Will asked awestruck by what he was witnessing. "We don"t know," the girls whispered together still staring at their tails in wonder. The guardians who had held back to give the girls some space had telepathically contacted the girls parents asking them for information. They revealed that the girls had become moonstruck even though they had been told that they wouldn"t be and that the girls had pulled the boys into the pool with them two months prior when the pool had lost its power and they wanted to know if the girls transformation that night would somehow trigger the boys own transformations as well. They were told that nothing about the girls seemed to follow the rules that guided the mer and that anything involving them was possible. Back inside the cavern the boys, who had been more focused on the girls than on the moon overhead, walked over to their respective girl. Moving to sit beside them hesitantly, each knowing that they could easily be pushed into the pool. "Are you girls alright?" Lewis asked concern lacing his voice as he put an arm around Cleo. Before the girls could answer him their tails finished flickering and their colors were now different for each girl. Emma"s tail had turned nearly white except now her back fin and tail fin were now a light icy blue. Cleo"s had turned royal blue with lavender back and tail fins. Rikki"s tail had turned a deep red with orange and yellow swirls throughout; her back and tail fins had turned a pale yellow. Bella"s tail had turned a pale green with aquamarine back and tail fins. Each of the girls hair had also seemed to lengthen to their waists each with a hint of their tail fin color highlighting it. Their tops had also changed. Where before it had been a halter-top it was now strapless and the color of their respective tails. The boys looked at their girls in awe and then before they knew what was happening they had each been unexpectedly pushed into the pool. When they surfaced they saw that the pool had once more begun to bubble they tried to scramble out of the pool but even as they tried the pool seemed to pool them back in. They each begged the girls to help them but one look at the girls and they saw that their faces were looking up at the moon which was still overhead. They each knew that they were not going to be the same once they got out of the pool. When the pool stopped bubbling they quickly exited the pool, each glared at his girl. Before they could say anything though the girls changed back to their human form but unlike the times before they each fainted. Alarmed by this changed the boys rushed over to the girls pulling each of them into their arms. The guardians sensing that something was not right swam into the Moon Pool. Seeing their charges passed out in the arms of their respective mates they hurriedly pulled themselves out of the pool changing back as soon as the were out of the water. The each went to their charge laying their hands on them and began chanting in their native tongue. Moments later the girls awoke confused as how they had gotten to the moon pool when they had just been at the cafe. It was then they realized that the boys were soaking wet and were holding them but they were not changing back into a mermaid. The each looked at each other and then at their guardians clearly wanting and explanation. "We can"t answer your questions right now. We are as confused as you are by this turn of events," the guardians said in unison. Just then the boys felt a tingling and before they could say anything each of them transformed. The girls could only stare and then began to apologize profusely instinctively knowing that they had caused this change in their boyfriends. The guys tried to reassure the girls that it was okay but they kept apologizing over and over again. "Hey, Cleo don"t cry. We were told it would happen sooner or later; preferably later but I"m okay with it really," Lewis said pulling Cleo awkwardly into his arms. The other girls were shocked that the boys were so accepting of their new tails but what shocked the girls the most was the fact that the boys tails almost matched theirs. Whereas theirs were two or three toned (in Rikki"s case), the boys" were solid colored. Ash"s tail was completely ice blue, Zane"s was a solid red, Will"s was aquamarine and Lewis"s was a medium blue. Though unlike the girls they did not posses the highlights in their hair. The change in the boys made the four older mermaids wonder what else was going to change. True they had told them that the girls mates were human and that once they had mated the boys would change permanently to mer but they had not foreseen the boys becoming mer before that moment in time. As they had already been told that nothing went according to plan when it came to the four mer princesses they shrugged it off simply accepting that what happened happened and they would leave it at that.

They spent a week in Florence -though they had taken a side trip to see a castle in another city- and then took a taxi to Rome. They arrived late in the evening and found the hotel they were going to be staying at. After being shown their room they got ready for bed and then after making love they fell asleep in each others arms. The next week flew by as they visited many of the famous sites in Rome like the Coliseum, the Pantheon, and the Trevi Fountain. Finally it was time to return home, though they were sad to be leaving they couldn"t wait to tell their friends and family about the trip. Sorry this took awhile to post. I had a bad case of writer"s block, anyway I"m over it -I think. I have to thank h6p8gv and hippogreiff-tamer for reviewing and also with their help thus far than you guys so much for all the ideas you threw my way it really helped though i could only chose one. Anyway I have to say, You guys rule! And there is a section here written especially for h6p8gv and he knows what I"m talking about! R/R and Enjoy! Tracy walked out of the docter"s office in shock! She really hadn"t though that she could be...Pregnant! After all she had only been married for a month. Walking out to the car she continued to mull over how to tell her husband the news. So, many different ways came to mind but none of them seemed to be right. Shrugging she got into the car and headed home. When she arrived she found him standing in the living room with Penny and Seaweed. "Hey guys" she greeted the group. Penny and Seaweed turned and greeted her back as she made her way over to them. "Hi, there handsome" she said as she wrapped her arms around Link. "Hi, there yourself, Doll." he returned hugging her. "So, how did your doctor"s appointment go?" Not yet ready to tell him she replied, "Fine." hoping that he wouldn"t question it further. "Trace, what"s wrong?" Penny asked concerned "Nothing but a slight headache, that has been coming and going ever since we got home two weeks ago, that"s all." she told her friend Penny then noticed that her friend was glowing and knew why instantly, she also knew that Tracy wouldn"t tell anyone until she had told Link, so she kept quite, though a secret, knowing smile appeared on her lips. "So what brings you two here today?" Tracy asked "Oh, we wanted to tell you that I am being induced this Friday if I don"t go into labor by then. Seeing how I am three weeks over due." Penny laughed "Shouldn"t you be resting?" Tracy asked her friend concerned. "The doctor told her to walk around as much as possible. I guess he"s hoping that by doing so she will go into labor." Seaweed told them, though the concern was evedent in his face as he looked down at his wife, who had carefully sat herself down on a nearby chair. "I bet you can"t wait." Link said to Penny "You"re right I can"t. This isn"t exactly easy you know." she grinned at her best friend"s husband as she rubbed her protruding belly. "Have you decided on a name yet?" Tracy asked "Not yet." they admited The rest of the afternoon was spent talking about their respective jobs, friends, family and anything else that happen to come to mind. After Penny and Seaweed left, Link went and sat down next to his wife(who happened to be spaced out). "Trace" he whispered in her ear, bringing her focus back to the present. "Yes" she asked after brushing a kiss across his cheek. "I"ve been thinking" he began "About what?" "We haven"t really talked about this and well seeing as how we have..." he wasn"t exactly sure how to continue She saw his hesitation and knew what he wanted to talk about so she took the plundge, "You want to talk about us possibly starting a family?" He looked at her in surprise. He knew that she could read him like an open book, but how had she known what it was he had been struggling to say? He could only nod as an answer. Tracy couldn"t help the smile that crossed her face then. "So, what were you saying?" she asked playfully "I don"t know.... Maybe the fact that they(Indicating their two best friends) are having another baby is just making me think that"s all." "You want to try for a baby, don"t you Link?" she asked seriously Again all he could do was nod and she almost told him right then, but she wanted to make it something he wouldn"t forget, so she held her tongue and grinned. Still grinning she stood and walked towards the stairs only to turn and look back at him. "Well, aren"t you coming" she said teasingly. He only glanced at her and upon seeing the mischief in her eyes he stood and followed her up to their bedroom. The next morning she was the first to awaken and seeing that he was still asleep carefully got up and quickly dressed. Silently she walked out of the room and down to the kitchen. She had some major planning to do. She was so deep in thought that she nearly jumped out of her own skin when she felt him wrap his arms around her from behind. "Morning beautiful" he whispered agaist the soft skin of her neck. "Morning" she said as she turned within his embrace and then captured his lips in a fiery kiss. He pulled back only when it became necessary to breath and said "Have I told you that I love you today?" She grinned and shook her head and he said "I do you know." "I know" then added "I have a surprise for you, but you"ll have to wait for tonight too get it." Link was instantly intrigued. "What could she have for him?' he thought to himself then grinned. She saw the grin and knew that he was going to try and weasel it out if her. "NO. You will just have to wait." she said sternly. "Oh, alright. But do I have to dress up for this surprise?" "You can if you like, though it"s not necessary." After breakfast he left to go to the studio as he worked as the station manager now, and Tracy still worked there as the dance instructor. So he would be seeing her later that afternoon. He walked to the studio cause he needed time to think. He was wondering what she had planned for him that night. Deciding that he would dress up reguardless of what they would be doing, he smiled as he walked into the studio. "Morning Corny" he greeted his mentor. "Morning Link. So how are you liking married life so far?" "I am loving it." "Good. You two belong together and I for one can"t wait till you start your own family. Have to keep the singers and dancers in the family you know." Corny said jokingly. "I know what you mean." Link replied laughing goodnaturedly with his friend. As the day wore on he continued to wonder what it was she was going to give him. (It never occurred to him that she could already be pregnant). She had already come and gone by the time he was ready to leave. When he arrived home he found the lights out. Now he was curious as to what she was up too. Just then he felt her wrap her arms around him and give him a slight hug. "Trace?" "Link there is something I need to tell you." By the tone of her voice he wondered what it could be. She sounded so nervous. However, before she could say anything the phone rang and he picked it up. "Hello?" "Cracker Boy is that you?" "Yeah, Seaweed what is it?" "It"s Penny. Her water just broke and she wants Tracy to be there when she has the baby so could you two please come to the hospital as soon as possible?" "Of course. We"re on our way." He said as he hung up. Then he turned to Tracy. "What did he want?" "Pennys" water just broke and she is requesting that you be present for the birth." Tracy didn"t say anything she just walked to the closet and got her jacket and waited for him. Soon they were on their way to the hospital to meet Penny and Seaweed. When they arrived they found Seaweed pacing. He spotted them and then quickly took them to Penny"s room. "Tracy!" Penny called out desperately. "I"m here Pen." Penny then asked in a hushed whisper so that their men wouldn"t hear, "Have you told him yet?" Tracy simply shook her head in answer to her friends inquiry. Penny then made up her mind and said "You"re going to have to tell him soon. Especially since I have asked that both you you be present for this birth." Link happened to hear the last part of Penny"s sentence and wondered what it was that Tracy had to tell him. Tracy turned to look at her husband and said, "Link what I was going to tell you earlier-before we got the phone call- was that I am going to have a baby." Link and Seaweed both looked at her with shocked expressions on both of their faces. Link then looked at Penny and asked ,"How did you know?" Penny could only grin and then took pity on him and said, "A woman knows, though I am surprised that you didn"t see it." "See what?" "Link! Can"t you see that she is absolutly glowing?" He then looked over at his wife and did see that she did indeed have a certain glow about her and mentally kicked himself for not seeing it before. Now he understood why she was not all that taken aback by his request the night before. "Link are you okay?" he heard her ask from right beside him He turned towards her and pulled her into a gentle embrace. "Yes, lil darlin. I am perfectly fine. You just surprised me is all. But in a good way." Nine hours later Penny gave birth to a baby girl whose skin was as pale as her mothers and her hair as black as her fathers. They had agreed to name their daughter Allissa Jade. And had named Tracy and Link as her GodParents. They both stayed until visiting hours were over and then returned home. The minute they were in the house Link pounced. Pulling her into a tight embrace and kissing her passionately. She returned his kiss just as passionately pushing herself as close to him as possible and moaned in pleasure. He walked her backwards towards the stairs never once breaking the kiss. Her back hit the bedroom door and she pulled back only to breath his name huskily into his ear. "Link" Thinking he might have hurt her he pulled back only to see her smile. She opened the door and pulled him through with her. Griining through the kiss he push the door shut and walked her back towards their bed. "You have no idea how happy you"ve made me, Trace" he whispered as he lowered he to their bed. "Then tell me" she teased coyly. "Oh, I plan to do more than tell you, my love." he stated lowering himself upon her. Starting with her forehead he began to slowly draw his lips downward until he reached the top of her dress. With a steady hand he steadily began to unbutton the front of it. Tracy writhed beneath him silently begging him to continue. As he worked the buttons of her garment, she was steadily unbuttoning the buttons of his dress shirt. She managed to get it unbuttoned and pushed it off of him so that she could feel his bare skin against her hands. "Trace" he breathed out her pet name as she ran a finger down the middle of his chest. She knew that he was especially sensitive to that particular touch, and grinned slyly and then did it again. She was rewarded by his groan of pleasure. "Trace" he whimpered just before he yanked the garment- he had managed to unbutton-off her, leaving her in just her undergarments. She shivered slightly as the cold air caressed her bared flesh then broke out in goosebumps when she saw the fire in his gaze. Reaching down she slowly began to undo his belt as he attacked her mouth yet again. Together they pushed the garment off then removed the last of their remaining clothes. He sat up and stared down at her and grinned before getting up and walking over to the closet. She watched him wondering what he was up too. He returned holding a silk scarf in his hands. She knew then what it was he wanted and she complied willingly, holding out her hands as he gently tied them together and then pushed her back onto the bed coming up over as he did so. He then began to explore her body to his leisure all while she sqirmed and writhed beneath his every touch. "Link... Please!" she begged needing him badly "Not yet darlin" he whispered against the skin of the stomach, before giving it a loving kiss. He continued to torture her till she was screaming out his name over and over again. Tracy wanted-no needed- to touch him but because she had allowed him to tie her hands she couldn"t and she was getting increasingly more needy as he continued his slow assult on her highly sensitive skin. She begged him to fill her but her refused. Then just when she thought she wouldn"t be able to take anymore he filled her and she cried out his name in bliss. Each inward thrust of his hips against hers had her crying out in ecstasy. Moments later they both flew over the edge crying out the others name. Coming down from their combined high they waited for their breathing to return to normal. Tracy then turned and smiled, "I think you did more than just tell me how happy you are." she said softly. "I think you"re right" he returned as he pulled her into his arms and they both fell into an exhausted slumber. OH and I would like to thank hippogriff-tamer for giving the idea for telling Link. She actually threw this one at me for the last chapter and I didn"t use it so because I loved the Idea I decided to use it here. Also thanks You TWO for heling me with the names in this chapter! Thanks again to H6p8gv and hippogriff-tamer for reviewing the last chapter. It was now two months since she had told Link that she was pregnant and now she was going too-she was possitive-give him heart failure. She still couldn"t beleive what the doctor had just told her. She walked to the studio in a daze wondering how she was going to tell him(and she thought simply telling him that she was pregnant was difficult). She arrived at the studio and put on a smile, though Corney was not going to like the news she was going to have to tell him, then again, neither would anyone else. She saw Link standing beside the studios" owner Mr. Spritzer and pasting the smile on her face she walked over to Corny- who was just coming out of his office. "Corny. May I have a word with you please?" she asked as she walked up to him. "Of Course Tracy. Lets go back to my office and you can tell me what"s on your mind there ok?" She followed him back into his office and then sat down as he leaned against his desk. "So what"s that long face about hmm." She fidgetted as she tried to get the nerve up to tell. Taking a deep breath she spilled, "Corny I have to take a leave of absence. My doctor doesn"t want me to over work myself and has demanded that I rest for the remainder of my pregnansy." "Well, if that"s what your doctor has told you too do then that"s what you need to do. I am sure Link wouldn"t mind stepping in and taking your spot while you take the time off." Corny told her reasurringly. "Corny you are the best." Tracy cried as she hugged her friend before turning to leave. Link saw his wife walk in and instantly knew that she was hiding something though he just couldn"t figure out what. He saw her walk up to Corny and then the two of them walked back to Corny"s office. He knew that he shouldn"t be jealous but he suddenly felt that very ugly emotion rear it"s head. He shook his head trying clear it of images that he knew were false. Moments later Tracy walked out of the room looking a little bit happier than when she had walked in. "Trace, My office now." he all but growled at her as she walked up to him. She was taken aback by his demeanor. He had never acted this way with her. She walked into his office and nearly jumped when she heard the door slam loudly behind her. She then turned to face her glowering husband. "Link?" she whispered somewhat frightened by his actions. "What...IS...Going....ON....Between .....You....And.....Corny." he bit out each word harshly tring to reign in his anger. She just stared at him like he had just lost his mind and then doubled over in Laughter. She just couldn"t help it, the very thought that he was actually jealous was hillarous. "Trace this isn"t funny." he growled his blue eyes flashing. "Link...You....Don"t.....Have....Anything.....To....Worry....About."she managed through her laughter. "Oh, I don"t do I? Then tell me why did I see MY WIFE walk in a few minutes ago a fake smile on her lips and then walk into another mans" office only to reamerge moments later wearing a genuine smile well." She quieted finally and then said, "Link Larkin. I can"t believe you, you"re jealous. One Corny is my friend and I had to tell him not to expect me to come in again until after the birth and Second I still am not sure how to tell you this." she stopped before she said anything more. "Tell me what?" "No, You will have to wait till tonight." "Trace." he growled She smiled then kissed him. "Tonight." she said before opening the door and walking out of the office a bewildered Link following close behind. Tracy left shortly thereafter and rushed home and then called the restraunt that had served as their first Date. After making the reservations for that evening she went and took a relaxing bubble bath. After her bath she felt a lot better and then went about deciding on what to wear for the "Big Reveal" as she had dubbed her news. Much later she heard him come in the front door and went to greet him. "You need to get ready for dinner Link" she whispered in his ear after greeting him with a kiss. He went and changed and then returned to the living room. "So what are you planning on telling me?" "Later" was all she would say as she lead him out the the car. He helped her in and then asked where she would like to go. She told him and he smiled. The drive there was silent as each of them was trying to find something to say. They arrived and went in and Tracy was glad that she had called earlier. When the host asked if they had a reservation Link started to say something only to be interupted by his wife. "Yes we do. A table for two under Larkin." "Ah yes, this way." the host said as he led them to their table. After they were seated Tracy turned to Link. "So, you wanted to know what it was that I wanted to tell you right?" He nodded. "Link, in seven months, if not sooner, we are going to be welcoming not one or even two liitle ones" she began and then noticed his confusion and smiled, "We are having triplets." Link sat there in stunned silence. "I sure wasn"t expecting that" he thought "Link are you ok? I know that it is a bit of a shock" she rambled He snapped out of it and looked at her in wonder. He then stood and Tracy thought that he was going to walk away and she could feel the tears beginning to sting her eyes. He walked up to her then knelt down beside her. "Triplets?" he asked carefully-having seen the shimmer of tears begging to form. She nodded and then placed her hands over his as they rested on the slight swell of her abdomen. "I am sorry I got mad earlier today" he whispered softly. "I know." They were oblivious to the stares they were recieving from the other patrons, so wrapped up in the moment of discovery. They only came to their sences when the waiter came and cleared his throat. "Is something wrong?" the waiter asked. "No" Link answered standing "Then what were you doing just know?" "I was in shock." Link answered honestly "Why?" "I just found out my beautiful wife is carrying triplets." he said with a wide grin and a sparkle in his eyes. "WOW" the waiter exclaimed then turned to Tracy "Are you ready to order?" getting back to business. "Yes, I am you Link?" "Yes" "Well, then I will have the House Steak with the Baked Potato" "I"ll have the same" "Very good" the waiter said and the left. "Link? Are you going to make it a habit to order the exact same thing as I do everytime we go out?" "No" he grinned After dinner they went home. "Trace, have I told you that I love you today?" "Well, you told me before you left this morning but not since." He turned her in his arms and said, "I love you Mrs. Larkin." "I love you too Mr. Larkin" One month later... Maybelle, Penny and Amber were all discussing what to give Tracy for the shower they planned to throw her that Saturday, and which of them would pick her up. They wanted to keep it a surprise and after much thought they decided that Amber would be the one seeing as how Penny couldn"t keep a secret to save her life. Tracy stood trying to decide if the living room was clean enough. She just couldn"t figure out why she had the strangest urge to suddenly clean every surface in the house. Shrugging she decided that she needed to talk to someone who might understand what was going on. "Hello?" she heard her mother say when she answered the phone. "Hi Ma. I need you to tell me something." she began. "Yes, what is it dear?" "Why do I have the strangest urge to clean every thing in my house?" Smiling Edna answered, "Trace, Hon your nesting." "What exactly is nesting?" "You are preparing the house for the babies. It"s natural. An Instinct. Don"t worry it will pass dear." "Your sure?" "Yes, Your father sure was glad when I stopped cleaning everything when I was pregnant with you." "Thanks Ma. That makes me feel better. At least I know I"m not going completely crazy." "Anything else?" "No. You answered my question. Thanks Ma." she said again before hanging up. Just then she heard a knock on door and she went to answer it.

"Hi," was all she could manage to say when they stopped in front of her. Emma looked Bella up and down and then turned towards her two best friends, "Hey, can I have a moment alone with Bella?" Cleo and Rikki nodded and turned to go order something from the bar. Meanwhile Emma turned to Bella. "I heard how you came to be friends with Cleo and Rikki and there is something that I would like to give you. I know that you gave them the moon crystal necklaces as a sign of friendship and I want you to know that I don"t mind. But here," she said handing a small box to the startled girl before her. "We thought that you should have one of these too." Bella opened the box to find a locket exactly like the ones Cleo and Rikki used to wear only with a light green gem. "Emma, I..." then she remembered the gift she had gotten for Emma. She quickly retrieved it and handed the equally small box to Emma. "What"s this?" Emma asked opening the small package. "Just a little something to show you that even though we just met I consider you a friend." Emma looked at the blue crystal on the white cushion, "Bella, I...thank you so much." Just then a young man walked into the cafe. He seemed a bit shocked to see just how changed the place was. He looked around and spotted the young woman that he had not seen in a little over a year. He didn"t realize just how much he had missed her until the moment he saw her again. He slowly made his way towards her. He stopped right behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. Emma felt someone behind her and turned to see who it was. She gasped in shock when she saw the young man whom she had not seen in a year. "Ash...you"re here!" she cried as she threw her arms around him and pulled him into a tight embrace. "I missed you too," he whispered trying to hold back the chuckle that threatened to get out at her enthusiastic greeting. Meanwhile Zane had cornered Rikki and was practically begging her to take him back. "Rikki please," Zane begged "Zane, why can"t you get it through that thick skull of yours that I can"t trust you. Every time I turn around yet another girl is throwing themselves at you and you do nothing to thwart their advances. How do you think that makes me feel? You were the first boy to understand me. I thought that you cared about me but I guess I was wrong." "Rikki, I do care for you. I love you. And no matter how much you try to deny it you love me too. And I will will always try to get you back. You"re it for me." Rikki having turned away from him quickly did an about face and stared at him like he had grown another head. "What did you just say?" she managed to whisper. He warily stepped forward and ran a gentle hand down her soft cheek. "I love you Rikki Chadwick and I will never stop no matter what you say or do. I love everything about you." "Then why?" she asked for the first time in her life letting her guard down. "I don"t know. But I promise you from now on no one is ever going to come between us again." "How can you promise me that, Zane?" she asked a hint of vulnerability lacing her voice. "Because it"s a promise I have every intention of keeping and you will just have to trust me," he answered. She stared at him trying to see if he was being sincere. She looked into his chocolate brown eyes and could see the love he claimed to feel for her. She sighed, "Fine, but I" only saying yes, because you won"t stop hounding me until I give in. But be warned, you do anything to mess this up again and I will roast you alive," she said with fire in her eyes. Zane grinned and grabbed hold of her hand, "Thank you, Rikki, I promise you will not regret this." He had no doubt in his mind that she would follow through with her threat. They walked back to were the group was sitting all together. After saying hi to the newcomer and welcoming him back they began to talk about old times. Cleo who was leaning against her boyfriend Lewis suddenly sat up and asked, "Guys, do you think we should tell our parents at least about our secret? I mean it"s getting harder for me to find excuses to not touch water at home and I know that Dad is getting suspicious." They all looked at each other. Each was wondering the exact same thing. They talked about it and then it was decided that on the full moon they would tell the parents their secret. H2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2O That Saturday the girls asked their parents to meet them at the cafe at closing time. When each parent was asked they all asked, "Why?" and the answer was the same each time. "Because there is something I need to tell you and it would be easier to do it there because it doesn"t involve just me." After each girl told their parents they each met back up at the cafe. "So, how did it go?" was the unanimous question asked when they had all sat down. "Ugh, don"t ask. Dad practically demanded that I tell him what was so important right then and there," Cleo said laying her head on the table in frustration. "Well, I got an earful from both of mine. They wanted to know what what I have been keeping from them, as we have a no secret policy in our house," Emma stated equally frustrated. "I suppose it went alright with mine. They agreed to come and didn"t really ask why," Bella said. "Dad said he would be there, even if he has to be at work early tomorrow. He seemed really curious as to what it is I need to tell him," Rikki finished. "Guys do you think we are doing the right thing? I mean what if they look at us differently or disown us or..." Cleo began worry etching her voice. "Cleo, this was your idea. Besides these are our parents we are talking about. You know the ones that are supposed to love and protect us no matter what. It will be fine. The most that it will do is shock them," Emma said laying a comforting hand on Cleo"s back. Cleo sat up and looked at her dearest friends. They were right of course nothing bad was going to happen in giving their secret up to their parents. The most that could happen would be a bit of yelling and demanding to know why they had not been told sooner. "You guys want to go for a swim before moonrise?" she asked. They nodded and headed out of the cafe. As soon as they found a secluded beach they raced toward Mako and the Moon Pool. H2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2O "Tonight"s the night. Tonight their history will be revealed," four older women said together watching the four young women leave the cafe. They smiled knowingly. H2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2O Don and Sam Sertori, Nathaniel and Bethany Hartley, Neil and Lisa Gilbert and Terry Chadwick walked into the cafe coming face to face with their daughters and their boyfriends. "So, what is so important that we all had to be here tonight?" Don asked his daughter. Cleo looked around and then stepped forward. "Dad, you know how I have been acting kind of strange for the past few years especially around water." She stopped and allowed him time to answer before continuing, "Well, a few years ago Emma, Rikki and I were trapped on Mako Island and we had no idea how we were going to get home. Any way we fell into a cave and upon exploring it we found a pool that led out into the ocean. However, when we stepped into the pool the full moon came over head and something happened, something...magical. At first we thought nothing of it but the next day when I when I went to take a bath I discovered that well... I discovered that I had become a creature of legend; a mermaid. It was then discovered that anytime water touched me and it was not dried of after a ten second period I would turn into a mermaid. Bella became a mermaid at the age of nine in Ireland when she was exploring the sea caves there. We were also gifted with certain powers over water at the time too. I can control water, Rikki can heat water, Emma can turn it into ice and Bella can congeal it. Dad, the reason I was paying Kim to do all my kitchen chores for me was so that I would not reveal the secret." Don stared at his daughter and then to the boys that were standing close to each of the girls. "So you"re telling us that you four are mermaids?" Don asked the four young women before him before continuing after their collective nods, "And you" he said addressing the four young men, "all knew about this?!" Zane, Will, Lewis and Ash could only nod as they faced the angry man before them. "Cleo, how could you tell them this secret and not your own family?" he finally asked. "Well, we didn"t exactly tell them, they kind of found out on their own with the exception of Ash. Emma told him after he demanded to know what was going on with her. And we kept it a secret because we were afraid of what would happen. We have seen what an adults reaction to what we are is and it wasn"t pretty. We didn"t want to be taken away to be experimented on and we almost were too. We tricked the one person who tried." Her revelation infuriated all of the parents and they demanded to know who would do such a thing. The girls told them after much persuasion. "So you have kept this a secret all this time?" "Yes, but it was getting harder to keep the secret and so we decided that it was time to tell you all." Lisa and Bethany listened to their daughters tell about how they themselves had become mermaids and the powers that they had gained when it had happened. As they listened they became lost in thought. Eighteen years prior they had discovered that mermaids actually did exist but they had kept it a secret not only from their husbands but from their daughters too. They both wondered if the girls had not actually been accidentally changed but that it had been a right of passage or a coming of age thing for them. They looked at each other and then back at their precious daughters and decided that it was time to reveal their biggest secret. Lisa was about to say something when the door of the cafe opened and in walk four ethereal looking women. Each was dressed in what appeared to be an ancient Greek toga. "Greetings," the four said together. Lisa and Bethany knew these women. They were the ones that had charged them with raising the girls eighteen years ago. "Who are you?" Rikki asked "We are your guardians and have been watching over you these past eighteen years." Confused the girls looked at each other and then back at the four beings in front of them. "Do not worry, we mean you no harm." "I don"t think we are in any danger from four unarmed women," Zane said sarcastically. "No, but appearances can be deceiving. We may not seem armed but we are more powerful than we look, much like the four ladies before you. They do not seem like anything but normal young humans yet they are so much more than that. So much more, is that not right Lisa and Bethany." The two women had the grace to blush and their daughter turned to them questions swimming in their eyes. "What are they talking about Mom?" Bella asked. "Well, honey there is something that we have kept from you, in fact, we never even told our own husbands or the fathers of the other two girls this but you four were found on Mako Island eighteen years ago beside the same pool you described to us earlier. However, you were not human then. You all were actually mermaids then too. We were shocked at first, its true, but then these four ladies came and told us that we were needed to keep you safe and protected until it was time to reveal your true heritage to you. They made you human somehow and gave you into our keeping." "So why did it take so long for us to change back?" "Well, originally you were not to change back until you mated. At the time we had no idea the Moon Pool held such power. When it was discovered we had to return to your true parents to find out what was to be done as you were still able to return to your humanoid form when it should not have been possible to do so once you changed. The spell should not have allowed it to happen." "So we were all mermaids to begin with?!" Emma, Rikki, Bella and Cleo cried out in shock. "Yes. In fact, you are each the heir of one of the four mer kingdoms. In reality you are all cousins." The girls looked at each other and then had to ask, "So do all mermaids get moonstruck?" This question took the four older women back a bit as they were not expecting that question. "Well, no, actually they don"t, which is one of the reasons we were so confused as to what was happening with you four in particular." "What do you mean moonstruck?" Neil asked confused and feeling a bit betrayed. "When there is a full moon a mermaid who looks at the moon or its reflection becomes moonstruck. Any number of strange things can happen it they do. For example, Cleo becoming a Siren, Rikki nearly burning down the forest on Mako, Emma crashing her dad"s birthday party. The three of them gaining new powers and creating a massive storm and sending me flying literally. The only problem is they don"t remember any of it once the moon sets," Lewis explained purposely leaving out the near seduction the month prior. "But isn"t tonight a full moon?" Don asked. "Yes, that is why they are all here. We have taken to staying together during a full moon and we guys stay with them to make sure they don"t look at the moon. As you can see the place has been boarded up so that no light can get in. It is for their own protection," Zane said. "So that is why the house looked the way it did the time we came home early," Lisa exclaimed. "Yes," Emma answered her mother. "Wait that storm that mysteriously started over Mako was the three of you!" Don exclaimed in shock. "Yes, Dad. That was the night of not only a full moon but also a planetary alignment. We were in the Moon Pool when it happened and because of it we gained a new power. I could now control the wind and air, Emma could control ice and snow and Rikki could control fire and electricity," Cleo answered. The four ethereal beings looked at the girls and then at each other before a shocked looked crossed all of their features, "Elemental"s! That"s what you four are! Now it makes since. The reason behind you being able to hold your humanoid forms. Only elementals can change from one form to the other at will. But they are so rare that there hasn"t been one born for thousands of years and never four at one time!" the four women spoke excitedly. "Four? I"m sorry, but unlike them, I don"t hold that kind of power," Bella told them. "No, but you will. If the other three already hold the power over air, fire and water then you are the earth elemental. You will gain the power in time. It just hasn"t awaken in you yet, but it will." The four young men listened as the women told the girls about their life when they wanted to know more. Ash asked, "What do you mean they are the heirs of mer kingdoms? How is that even possible? "Well, to answer your question we would have to tell you the story of how the merfolk came into being and that is a rather long and drawn out tale. But to make a long story short so to speak, the girls are the daughters of the sea. Their story is a complicated one and if you truly wish to hear it then you might want to get comfortable for it is a long one. There is one thing you must know before we start this tale. Merfolk are nearly immortal. Though we can die we are extremely long lived." The group sat at the booths and waited to hear what the tale was, as each was curious as to the outcome. "This story starts with the legendary city of Atlantis. And before you say anything, yes, the city actually did exist at one time. Most think that the city was built by humans and was just a technologically advanced culture but that is not true. Atlantis was the land dwelling of the Holders of the Elements. A powerful race of merfolk. The rulers of that kingdom had four children yet none of them were born with a power over a particular element. When it was discovered their parents cast them out, as no mer that did not hold a element could live in the city. This enraged the four and they vowed to get their vengeance on their parents." " Hundreds of years went by and they each founded their own little kingdoms all vowing to help the other in times of need. Soon they had amassed a huge army and they advanced on their parents kingdom. Using their combined powers they conquered their parents kingdom and caused it to sink beneath the waves. Nearly everyone who lived there fled the fallen city. Their parents were killed in the fight." "The fighting done they each returned to their own kingdoms unaware that a lone survivor had placed a curse on them. For thousands of years they were unable to bare any children. The four sought out any who could help them but there was nothing to be done." "Then it happened four girls were born each now the heir of their respective kingdom, yet the happiness of their parents was overshadowed by the threat of war. The lone survivor wanted to be the sole ruler of the mer and attacked each of the kingdoms in tandem. The girls parents fearing the worst gave the girls over to their advisers and were told to hide them until such a time as it was safe to bring them home." "We were chosen to take the girls as far from the fighting as possible. We swam until we came upon Mako Island. Seeing that it had no mer presence and after finding the Moon Pool and were going to stay there with them until it was time to return home when we heard voices coming. Fearing the humans we hid leaving you girls on the edge of the pool. It had been a last minute decision on our part knowing that if you were on land then it would be harder for the enemy to get hold of you. We saw two women come into the cavern and we saw the exact moment they spotted the four of you. They talked amongst themselves for several minutes before pulling back the cloth that we had wrapped each of you in. You can imagine their shock at what they found and it was then that we knew that we were going to have to reveal ourselves to them if we had any chance of saving you." "We assured them that we meant them no harm and were only there to guard the children as they were very precious to our race. We then cast a spell on the four and changed them to their human form. The spell was supposed to make it so that it would not change you back until you mated as it would also change your mate if he were human. We asked them to take you and keep you safe. Since then we have each kept an eye on you. We also asked that they change your names we wanted you to blend into the human world and that is the reason we asked them to do us this favor." The four guardians looked at their charges and could see that they were curious as to what their names had been. Continuing on, "Emma the eldest of the four was named Lasya, Bella the second eldest was named Aranyani, Cleo the third eldest was named Eurybia and Rikki the youngest was named Alectrona." The girls turned the strange names over in there minds wondering if they liked them or not. "So your saying the we all are princess"s?!" "Yes, and it is time to return home." Rikki, Emma, Cleo and Bella all looked at each other and then back at the four older mermaids. "We can"t at least not right now," they all said together. The four guardians smiled for they knew why the girls didn"t wish to return home just yet. They had known for some time that the young men that were by their young charges sides were their mates. Though no one else could see it they could and they could each see the aura surrounding the four couples. They nodded in understanding. "So that"s it?" Terry asked "What more did you want to know?" "You said that they would have eventually remained a mermaid after they mated what exactly does that mean?" "It means exactly what we said. Once they have mated or married they will revert back to their mermaid form permanently although they can change their appearance they will never be able to live far from the water. Their mates will also share this ability it seems." The boys upon hearing this grew jealous and demanded to know what they meant by that. "It means that when they come together with their mate he will also share in her power. It"s strange really for that has never happened. Normally he would gain his own power, but their mates will share all the same powers as them." Zane who had been observing the conversation finally realized that the guardians knew who the girls mates were. Zara, Rikki"s guardian read his mind and smiled, "To answer your unasked question, yes, we do know who their mates are." "So, their mates are human?" "Yes, and they are all in this very room though after the mating is complete they no longer will be," she returned with a gleeful laugh at all of their shocked faces. H2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2O The parents all returned home still overwhelmed by everything that they had learned. They left the four couples to talk about what had just happened somehow knowing that their daughters were in safe hands. H2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2O After their parents left the girls turn to their guardians who had stayed behind.

"Yes, but it was getting harder to keep the secret and so we decided that it was time to tell you all." Lisa and Bethany listened to their daughters tell about how they themselves had become mermaids and the powers that they had gained when it had happened. As they listened they became lost in thought. Eighteen years prior they had discovered that mermaids actually did exist but they had kept it a secret not only from their husbands but from their daughters too. They both wondered if the girls had not actually been accidentally changed but that it had been a right of passage or a coming of age thing for them. They looked at each other and then back at their precious daughters and decided that it was time to reveal their biggest secret. Lisa was about to say something when the door of the cafe opened and in walk four ethereal looking women. Each was dressed in what appeared to be an ancient Greek toga. "Greetings," the four said together. Lisa and Bethany knew these women. They were the ones that had charged them with raising the girls eighteen years ago. "Who are you?" Rikki asked "We are your guardians and have been watching over you these past eighteen years." Confused the girls looked at each other and then back at the four beings in front of them. "Do not worry, we mean you no harm." "I don"t think we are in any danger from four unarmed women," Zane said sarcastically. "No, but appearances can be deceiving. We may not seem armed but we are more powerful than we look, much like the four ladies before you. They do not seem like anything but normal young humans yet they are so much more than that. So much more, is that not right Lisa and Bethany." The two women had the grace to blush and their daughter turned to them questions swimming in their eyes. "What are they talking about Mom?" Bella asked. "Well, honey there is something that we have kept from you, in fact, we never even told our own husbands or the fathers of the other two girls this but you four were found on Mako Island eighteen years ago beside the same pool you described to us earlier. However, you were not human then. You all were actually mermaids then too. We were shocked at first, its true, but then these four ladies came and told us that we were needed to keep you safe and protected until it was time to reveal your true heritage to you. They made you human somehow and gave you into our keeping." "So why did it take so long for us to change back?" "Well, originally you were not to change back until you mated. At the time we had no idea the Moon Pool held such power. When it was discovered we had to return to your true parents to find out what was to be done as you were still able to return to your humanoid form when it should not have been possible to do so once you changed. The spell should not have allowed it to happen." "So we were all mermaids to begin with?!" Emma, Rikki, Bella and Cleo cried out in shock. "Yes. In fact, you are each the heir of one of the four mer kingdoms. In reality you are all cousins." The girls looked at each other and then had to ask, "So do all mermaids get moonstruck?" This question took the four older women back a bit as they were not expecting that question. "Well, no, actually they don"t, which is one of the reasons we were so confused as to what was happening with you four in particular." "What do you mean moonstruck?" Neil asked confused and feeling a bit betrayed. "When there is a full moon a mermaid who looks at the moon or its reflection becomes moonstruck. Any number of strange things can happen it they do. For example, Cleo becoming a Siren, Rikki nearly burning down the forest on Mako, Emma crashing her dad"s birthday party. The three of them gaining new powers and creating a massive storm and sending me flying literally. The only problem is they don"t remember any of it once the moon sets," Lewis explained purposely leaving out the near seduction the month prior. "But isn"t tonight a full moon?" Don asked. "Yes, that is why they are all here. We have taken to staying together during a full moon and we guys stay with them to make sure they don"t look at the moon. As you can see the place has been boarded up so that no light can get in. It is for their own protection," Zane said. "So that is why the house looked the way it did the time we came home early," Lisa exclaimed. "Yes," Emma answered her mother. "Wait that storm that mysteriously started over Mako was the three of you!" Don exclaimed in shock. "Yes, Dad. That was the night of not only a full moon but also a planetary alignment. We were in the Moon Pool when it happened and because of it we gained a new power. I could now control the wind and air, Emma could control ice and snow and Rikki could control fire and electricity," Cleo answered. The four ethereal beings looked at the girls and then at each other before a shocked looked crossed all of their features, "Elemental"s! That"s what you four are! Now it makes since. The reason behind you being able to hold your humanoid forms. Only elementals can change from one form to the other at will. But they are so rare that there hasn"t been one born for thousands of years and never four at one time!" the four women spoke excitedly. "Four? I"m sorry, but unlike them, I don"t hold that kind of power," Bella told them. "No, but you will. If the other three already hold the power over air, fire and water then you are the earth elemental. You will gain the power in time. It just hasn"t awaken in you yet, but it will." The four young men listened as the women told the girls about their life when they wanted to know more. Ash asked, "What do you mean they are the heirs of mer kingdoms? How is that even possible? "Well, to answer your question we would have to tell you the story of how the merfolk came into being and that is a rather long and drawn out tale. But to make a long story short so to speak, the girls are the daughters of the sea. Their story is a complicated one and if you truly wish to hear it then you might want to get comfortable for it is a long one. There is one thing you must know before we start this tale. Merfolk are nearly immortal. Though we can die we are extremely long lived." The group sat at the booths and waited to hear what the tale was, as each was curious as to the outcome. "This story starts with the legendary city of Atlantis. And before you say anything, yes, the city actually did exist at one time. Most think that the city was built by humans and was just a technologically advanced culture but that is not true. Atlantis was the land dwelling of the Holders of the Elements. A powerful race of merfolk. The rulers of that kingdom had four children yet none of them were born with a power over a particular element. When it was discovered their parents cast them out, as no mer that did not hold a element could live in the city. This enraged the four and they vowed to get their vengeance on their parents." " Hundreds of years went by and they each founded their own little kingdoms all vowing to help the other in times of need. Soon they had amassed a huge army and they advanced on their parents kingdom. Using their combined powers they conquered their parents kingdom and caused it to sink beneath the waves. Nearly everyone who lived there fled the fallen city. Their parents were killed in the fight." "The fighting done they each returned to their own kingdoms unaware that a lone survivor had placed a curse on them. For thousands of years they were unable to bare any children. The four sought out any who could help them but there was nothing to be done." "Then it happened four girls were born each now the heir of their respective kingdom, yet the happiness of their parents was overshadowed by the threat of war. The lone survivor wanted to be the sole ruler of the mer and attacked each of the kingdoms in tandem. The girls parents fearing the worst gave the girls over to their advisers and were told to hide them until such a time as it was safe to bring them home." "We were chosen to take the girls as far from the fighting as possible. We swam until we came upon Mako Island. Seeing that it had no mer presence and after finding the Moon Pool and were going to stay there with them until it was time to return home when we heard voices coming. Fearing the humans we hid leaving you girls on the edge of the pool. It had been a last minute decision on our part knowing that if you were on land then it would be harder for the enemy to get hold of you. We saw two women come into the cavern and we saw the exact moment they spotted the four of you. They talked amongst themselves for several minutes before pulling back the cloth that we had wrapped each of you in. You can imagine their shock at what they found and it was then that we knew that we were going to have to reveal ourselves to them if we had any chance of saving you." "We assured them that we meant them no harm and were only there to guard the children as they were very precious to our race. We then cast a spell on the four and changed them to their human form. The spell was supposed to make it so that it would not change you back until you mated as it would also change your mate if he were human. We asked them to take you and keep you safe. Since then we have each kept an eye on you. We also asked that they change your names we wanted you to blend into the human world and that is the reason we asked them to do us this favor." The four guardians looked at their charges and could see that they were curious as to what their names had been. Continuing on, "Emma the eldest of the four was named Lasya, Bella the second eldest was named Aranyani, Cleo the third eldest was named Eurybia and Rikki the youngest was named Alectrona." The girls turned the strange names over in there minds wondering if they liked them or not. "So your saying the we all are princess"s?!" "Yes, and it is time to return home." Rikki, Emma, Cleo and Bella all looked at each other and then back at the four older mermaids. "We can"t at least not right now," they all said together. The four guardians smiled for they knew why the girls didn"t wish to return home just yet. They had known for some time that the young men that were by their young charges sides were their mates. Though no one else could see it they could and they could each see the aura surrounding the four couples. They nodded in understanding. "So that"s it?" Terry asked "What more did you want to know?" "You said that they would have eventually remained a mermaid after they mated what exactly does that mean?" "It means exactly what we said. Once they have mated or married they will revert back to their mermaid form permanently although they can change their appearance they will never be able to live far from the water. Their mates will also share this ability it seems." The boys upon hearing this grew jealous and demanded to know what they meant by that. "It means that when they come together with their mate he will also share in her power. It"s strange really for that has never happened. Normally he would gain his own power, but their mates will share all the same powers as them." Zane who had been observing the conversation finally realized that the guardians knew who the girls mates were. Zara, Rikki"s guardian read his mind and smiled, "To answer your unasked question, yes, we do know who their mates are." "So, their mates are human?" "Yes, and they are all in this very room though after the mating is complete they no longer will be," she returned with a gleeful laugh at all of their shocked faces. H2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2O The parents all returned home still overwhelmed by everything that they had learned. They left the four couples to talk about what had just happened somehow knowing that their daughters were in safe hands. H2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2OH2O After their parents left the girls turn to their guardians who had stayed behind. "So what happens now?" Rikki asked curiously. "Nothing. We can not force you to return home. You are essentially our superiors and we must obey your command." "Okay, so what do we do now? I mean it"s still a few minutes til moonrise are we ready for this?" "Actually a swim is in order," Lyra, Cleo"s guardian said with a grin for she knew what this full moon would bring. "Wait. What?!" the eight of them said in shock. "Oh no, there is no way they are going out there tonight. We have had just about enough of moonstruck mermaids," Will stated stepping in front of Bella protectively. "But it is the only way they will receive their full power. This full moon will grant them that." Lewis who had been on the receiving end of a new mermaid power was very hesitant to allow them to go. "So they wont be moonstruck tonight? How?" he asked, his scientific brain trying to understand how it would be possible. The four guardians smiled at him ignoring his question before shaking their heads. "No, tonight they will not be effected by the moon. Every mer gains their full power sometime during their eighteenth year." "Is that how our grandparents found out that our parents didn"t have the power of an Elemental?" Emma asked. "Yes," they answered. "But how did they find out?" the girls asked confused. "You will see if you go to the pool tonight," was all the information the older mermaids would give. The guys looked at each other then at the four guardians. Each was wondering the same thing. How could they possibly know that the girls would not be effected by the moon. Zane finally voiced the thought aloud. "But you yourselves said that the full moon effects them even though they are natural born mermaids which is unusual according to you. So how can you tell us they won"t be effected by this full moon?" "Can you not just accept that we know without questions?" "No," came the four couples collective answer. The four older mermaids tried not to smirk at the answer. It was almost as if they had known what their answer would be to their question. The four girls on the other hand looked at each other wondering if they should go to the Moon Pool or not. They were curious as too what other powers they would receive but they were also wary of going. Besides that the pool had seemed to lose its power because of the explosion and it had yet to gain it back. They each wondered if the cavern had somehow healed itself since they had seen it that afternoon. "If we go to the pool, and we"re aren"t saying we will, how do you know that it will work? The pool has lost it"s power. We would know since two moons ago we pulled the boys in with us and nothing happened to them," Bella, Rikki and Cleo said together. The guardian smiled and decided to tell the girls their little secret. "That is because right before we showed up tonight we went to the cave and we healed the pool as it had indeed lost its magic." The four couples could only stare at the four guardians in shock. They couldn"t believe that their sanctuary had actually been healed and the girls were anxious to see if it were true. Before the young men could stop them the four girls ran out into the night, too late realizing their mistake. The elder mermaids had been wrong just as the boys had feared. Before them stood four moonstruck mermaids. The girls turned to the boys with a smile and then ran for the water diving in and then after changing quickly making their way to the Moon Pool. The boys looked at each other then ran for their respective boats to go after the girls. The guardians were shocked. The girls were not supposed to have been effected by the moon that night. They all wondered if their seer had been wrong on that account seeing as how they had become moonstruck when they were not supposed to. Shrugging they too made their way to the Moon Pool though they stayed back and didn"t enter the pool while the girls were in there knowing that they needed privacy. Lewis, Zane, Will and Ash followed their girlfriends to Mako. Once there they pulled their boats onto the shore and made their way the pool. When they entered they were awestruck by what they saw. The mermaids had been right about at least one thing; they had healed the cavern. It looked the way it had before it had been destroyed. They found their girlfriends sitting in the sand beside the pool each still in mermaid form even though they appeared to be completely dry, which normally would have changed them back to their human form, but what really got their attention was the fact that the girls entire forms were changing right before their eyes. The girls who had arrived a good ten minuted before the boys had made it to the pool just as the moon was coming overhead. They had experienced the magic of the pool once more as the water bubbled and sparkled above their heads. When it was over they pulled themselves out of the pool and Rikki had used her powered to dry them off only to find that they weren"t changing back to their human selves. There was a slight moment of panic in each of their faces before they remembered their guardians had said that they might not change back until the moon set. They heard the boys enter the cavern but they were too distracted by what was happening to their tails to pay them any mind. Their tails were flickering from the golden orange that they were used too to different colors. "Uh, not to alarm you but what exactly is happening right now?" Will asked awestruck by what he was witnessing. "We don"t know," the girls whispered together still staring at their tails in wonder. The guardians who had held back to give the girls some space had telepathically contacted the girls parents asking them for information. They revealed that the girls had become moonstruck even though they had been told that they wouldn"t be and that the girls had pulled the boys into the pool with them two months prior when the pool had lost its power and they wanted to know if the girls transformation that night would somehow trigger the boys own transformations as well. They were told that nothing about the girls seemed to follow the rules that guided the mer and that anything involving them was possible. Back inside the cavern the boys, who had been more focused on the girls than on the moon overhead, walked over to their respective girl. Moving to sit beside them hesitantly, each knowing that they could easily be pushed into the pool. "Are you girls alright?" Lewis asked concern lacing his voice as he put an arm around Cleo. Before the girls could answer him their tails finished flickering and their colors were now different for each girl. Emma"s tail had turned nearly white except now her back fin and tail fin were now a light icy blue. Cleo"s had turned royal blue with lavender back and tail fins. Rikki"s tail had turned a deep red with orange and yellow swirls throughout; her back and tail fins had turned a pale yellow. Bella"s tail had turned a pale green with aquamarine back and tail fins. Each of the girls hair had also seemed to lengthen to their waists each with a hint of their tail fin color highlighting it. Their tops had also changed. Where before it had been a halter-top it was now strapless and the color of their respective tails. The boys looked at their girls in awe and then before they knew what was happening they had each been unexpectedly pushed into the pool. When they surfaced they saw that the pool had once more begun to bubble they tried to scramble out of the pool but even as they tried the pool seemed to pool them back in. They each begged the girls to help them but one look at the girls and they saw that their faces were looking up at the moon which was still overhead. They each knew that they were not going to be the same once they got out of the pool. When the pool stopped bubbling they quickly exited the pool, each glared at his girl. Before they could say anything though the girls changed back to their human form but unlike the times before they each fainted. Alarmed by this changed the boys rushed over to the girls pulling each of them into their arms. The guardians sensing that something was not right swam into the Moon Pool. Seeing their charges passed out in the arms of their respective mates they hurriedly pulled themselves out of the pool changing back as soon as the were out of the water. The each went to their charge laying their hands on them and began chanting in their native tongue. Moments later the girls awoke confused as how they had gotten to the moon pool when they had just been at the cafe. It was then they realized that the boys were soaking wet and were holding them but they were not changing back into a mermaid. The each looked at each other and then at their guardians clearly wanting and explanation. "We can"t answer your questions right now. We are as confused as you are by this turn of events," the guardians said in unison. Just then the boys felt a tingling and before they could say anything each of them transformed. The girls could only stare and then began to apologize profusely instinctively knowing that they had caused this change in their boyfriends. The guys tried to reassure the girls that it was okay but they kept apologizing over and over again.

"Besides as the song said I only have eyes for you baby doll." "As I only have eyes for you Link." The last song was sung by the boys in the council. The couples one the floor danced to it with flourish. They left shortly thereafter. They were leaving in the morning for a destination that only Link knew about and he refused to tell her where they were going. A/N Well there"s the reception. Not sure if I should write about their wedding night or the honeymoon that follows or not. If I do the rating will most likely go up! Well, let me know! I love hearing from you guys! Yes I fixed the spelling errors in this chapter. A/N well people this one took a little while to write. I was up half night writing it and most of the day, but I think you will find the end result was well worth it. It took a while to write because I had to literally visualize the scene before I could even write it.( that"s just the way I tend to write I have to visualize it before I write it) Well, here"s their Wedding night. I still might write the honeymoon, but only if you review me and then only if it is demanded by a slew of you. Anyway this one"s going out to h6p8gv, who asked for this especially. I also want to thank hippogriff-tamer for their help with this one as well. Well onto the Wedding night.(Fans self) Oh and the RATING WENT UP BECAUSE OF THIS CHAPTER! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL! I am sorry that this is so long there were just so many details that needed to be put in here. Have fun reading and I hope you enjoy. They left the reception and Link drove them, not to a Hotel, as Tracy had thought he would. Instead, he parked in front of a lovely little house and got out. Tracy was confused and slowly got out of the car to ask him what was going on. However before she could ask him anything, he swooped down on her and gave her a kiss that neary stopped her heart. When he finally pulled back he said with a grin, "Well, welcome home Mrs. Larkin." Tracy couldn"t even find her voice, all she could do was, watch as mischief danced in his gorgous blue eyes. Moments later she found her voice and asked "Link? What are you talking about?" He just smiled and began to lead her towards the front door. He couldn"t wait to get her inside, because this was his wedding present to her. Weeks ago, he had driven past it and noticed that it had been for sale, he had fallen in love with it and knew that she would too and decided to buy it for them. With help from his dad and her parents as well as all their friends, he had gotten the entire house furnished so that it would be prepared for her. He had spent most of that morning getting their room ready for this moment and he couldn"t wait to see the look on her face when she saw it. Unlocking the door, he lead her inside and then attacked her lips with a desperation that had been building all day long. Tracy was surprised by his aggression. He had never been this way with her before, and it stunned her momentarily. She then began to respond to his kiss with one of equal longing. He slowly began to walk her back towards the staircase, though he never let up on the kiss he was giving her. As the kiss progressed his hands began to wander up her arms to her shoulders then on up to her neck then finally into her hairspray free hair. He pulled her closer-if that was even possible-deeping their heated kiss. His hand had not been the only one"s moving, she had moved her hands up his side and then under his jacket, lightly caressing his side as she did so. With her caress, he groaned and pulled back, as he lead her to their bedroom. He wasn"t sure he would last much longer if he didn"t. Opening the door he let her enter the room first and instantly knew that she liked what he had spent hours preparing. Tracy stood in the middle of the room completely transfixed by the sight before her. Not only, was it tastefully decorated, the room premated a very romantic vibe. The room was softly lit and the bed was covered in rose petels. There was a record playing softly in the background. Next to the bed there was a table that held an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne with two glasses sitting beside it. (She wondered who had prepared this since it couldn"t have been him) She then noticed an envelope resting between the glasses and she walked over and picked it up. Noticing that it was adressed to her she opened it. Trace, I wanted to write this to tell you that one I love you secondly to thank you for loving me even when I don"t deserve it. And thirdly to say welcome home. You have no idea just how much I love you and want to make you happy. When I saw this house several weeks ago I fell in love with it and knew you would too so I bought it. This is my wedding gift to you Darlin". And no you don"t have to give me anything this extravagant. You don"t have too because you have already given me the greatest gift I could ever have wish for. I know that you are probably asking yourself what that could be well, it"s your love Trace. I thank you with every fiber of my being for loving me and never giving up on it or me. I don"t think that I will ever stop saying it because it is so true. And I can"t wait for every tomorrow that we will share. Just knowing that I get to spend them all with you makes me smile. I hope you like the room I prepared for our evening. I had a little help from Penny and Seaweed with the final touches though. I"ll Love You always and forever. Love Forever and always, Link After reading the note she slowly turned to face her husband just as he was closing the door. "You set all this up?" she asked in wonder, as he stalked her across the room-there was just no other way to describe the way he made his way towards her-his eyes revealing the desire, longing and love he held for her. She felt a slight shiver run down her spine, yet she knew it wasn"t from the cold. She may be a virgin, but she knew that what she was feeling was pure and unadulterated desire. She felt her stomach flutter in anticipation. When he finally stood before her he reached out and speared his fingers through her hair and bent and captured her lips again in yet another blazing kiss, running his tongue along the seam of the lips and then slipping into her mouth. She allowed him entrance and stepped closer to him pressing herself as close to him as possible. He pulled back and with the contol he had over her head he gently tipped it back and then returned only not to her mouth, he began to slowly draw his lips down the curve of her neck till he reached her shoulder. She sighed in contentment then let out a soft moan as he nipped her neck only to run his lips back over the spot to ease the temporary pain he had caused. As he kept her mind occupied on the pleasure he was inflicting upon her he meticulously began to remove the dress she had changed into after the reception before they had left. He slowly pulled the zipper down the back of the dress with shacky fingers, then very, very, slowly pushed it off her. It landed at her feet in a pool. He looked down at her only to see her gaze rivited on him. He then felt her hands on his shoulders as she pushed the jacket off. He let it fall unheeded to the floor- something he would not normally allow. Then her fingers began to caress him through his shirt and it ilicited a deep groan from him. "Trace" he whispered reverantly, as his breathing hitched. She looked up at him from beneath her lashes and smirked. If he could pleasure her then she should be afforded the same opportunity. She then slowly ran one finger from his neck to the top of his slacks and then back again, inciting yet another groan from him. "Trace" he breathed, as the pleasure she was inflicting, tore through him and he shuddered. "What? Can"t I have a little fun?" she asked innocently, seconds before his mouth crashed upon hers. This time his hands were not quite as gentle as before. His touch became possessive and she was thrilled that she had brought out the possessiveness in him. She giggled as he ran his hand down her side tickling her. She saw him grin right before he did it again causing the same reaction from her. Realizing that he still was completely dress and she was nearly naked, she hurriedly began to unbutton his shirt needing to feel his bare skin. She finished unbuttoning his shirt and pushed the garment off of him, then stepped back to admire what she had uncovered. Suddenly she laughed and he looked at her queerly, wondering what was so funny. She couldn"t help it though, a line from one of her favorite songs had suddenly poped into her head and the similarities were just funny, especially when she realized that he had been the one to sing those words, all those years ago. Link was still looking at her queerly, when he realized what had her laughing so gaily. He walked over to the bed where she had gone to sit down and purred sexily in her ear,"You"ve taken me home and can unwrap me when ever you like" which only caused her to laugh harder. Finally reigning in her compossure, she looked up at him and then said, a twinkle in her brown eyes, "Oh I will, you know that Mr. Larkin" before she brushed soft kiss to his lips. She pulled back and looked at him intently, then watched as he stood and took the few steps to the side table and opened the bottle and poured two glasses then turned back and handed one to her. "To my beautiful bride, who has made me the happiest man on earth" "Link can I ask you something?" she asked after taking a sip. "Anything baby, you know that" he answered softly. "How did you know what I was laughing about anyway?" "I didn"t. I just was thinking about that song and when that line came to mind I realized what had got you going" he said grinning then added, "I meant what I said earlier, you can unwrap me anytime you want Trace. I am yours forever, love." "I know" she said putting her glass back on the table and he followed suit. "Are you nervous love?" he asked turning back towards her. "I should be, yet strangely enough, I"m not. You?" she asked "Yes." he answered honestly. "Why?" she asked perplexed. "I...I"m just not looking forward to causing you pain, any kind of pain, even if it is inevitable." he stated "I know Link." she said understanding completely. "But as you said, it is going to be inevitable, it can"t be helped, but we both have waited nine years for this and I know you well enough to know, that you"ll make sure my mind is focused on something more pleasant when the time comes." she said not quite believing that they were even having this discussion. She had done it again. She had made him feel better about what he knew he had to do with a confidance that astouned him. It was one of the reasons he loved her. Just then a song came on and he had an urge to dance. Standing before her he held out his hand, "Dance with me?" he asked softly. Smiling she stood, trying hard not to let the strangeness of their combined unclothed state get to her, and put her hand in his. He moved them in graceful circles around the room as he caressed her back. He smiled when her head rested against his bare chest and he pulled her closer as the song continued. He heard her sigh when he began singing the words along with the artist. When the song ended he brushed his lips agaist the top of her head and she lifted it off his chest and captured his lips once more. How long they stood there neither of them knew, but they both had decided that they were going to make this a night to remember. Tracy felt herself being lowered onto the bed and she went willingly. What she had told him was true she knew he would do this at his own pase and she was going to force herself to let him, though what she really wanted was him, completely and beautifully uncontroled. She wanted him to take her over completely, but knew that, that fantasy would have to wait till a later time. He followed her down never breaking contact. He rolled to the side and held her as he let his clammering emotions subside. He refused for them to rush this moment. He wanted it to be beautiful as it was meant to be. Tracy stared at him for the longest time, understanding his need to go slowly. So she waited for him to continue, though she did continue to caress his side and chest softly as she waited. He finally allowed his hand to roam, to explore every part of her that he could reach in their position. He allowed his lips to trace the contours of her beloved face. Then he turned her so that he could lean over her and she went willingly. trailing his lips down herneck for the second time that night he reached the silky fabric of her slip. Very slowly he ran his left hand down to the edge of the fabric and slowly brought it up and over her head tossing it away. His lips then returned to her now heated skin, trailing them lower with every pass. He had to surpress a grin when he heard the mewing sounds she began to make as he got closer and closer to her breasts. He swiftly removed the barrier that prevented him from seeing his prize. He watched in fascination as the tips of her breasts hardened under his intense stare. "Trace, you are gorgeous" he breathed in awe "and all mine" he thought possessively. He watched as she blushed scarlet at his statement and smiled softly. While keeping eye contact he bent and placed a light kiss to the tip of one breast and heard her whimper in need. He then repeated the act on the other breast causing her to squirm beneath him. He was fully aware of the fact that there was only four garments seperating them fully. Grinning wickedly up at her, he shimmied lower placing chaste kisses upon her bared skin as he made his way down her body. Still placing kisses along her flushed skin he rolled her stockings down her legs, hearing her breathing become more labored as he did so. Tracy"s hands went straight for his prefectly coifed head as he nipped her inner knee. She shuddered as desire races through her and she felt her stomach clench. "Link" she groaned out his name He looked up at her and grinned, "Yes, love?" She removed her hands from his hair and brought them to the waistband of his pants, "Pants... Off... Now" she demanded harshly. Still grinning he pulled away from her and then stood, "You want them off then remove them yourself" reminding her of his earlier statement. She heard the challenge and quickly say up then knelt on the bed in front of him. "And what if I don"t?" she challenged right back. He could only groan. She wouldn"t be that cruel would she? Hearing his answering groan she took pity on him and swiftly undid the belt, but before she got any further her pulled her into a heated kiss. One she returned wholeheartedly. Before he knew it she had pushed the garment of his hips and they landed with a thud on the floor. Pulling away from her he felt her begin to explore his near naked form. "Trace...Baby... I don"t..." he shuddered as she ran a finger down the center of his chest. "Don"t what" she whipered against his neck. He faced her and said honestly, "I don"t think I can take anymore. I need you now." She sensed his underlying meaning in his words and wordlessly pulled him back onto the bed with her. He landed directly atop her and she adjusted herself beneath his welcomed weight. He made quick work of their remaining garments and then caressed every inch of her making sure that she was fully prepared for his imminent invasion. Tracy arched up into his touch, needing it almost as much as she needed to breath. "Link.. Please." She began to beg as her desire rose to impossible heights. He ignored her plea and continue to torture her body, pushing her closer to the edge with each stroke upon her heated skin. He skimmed over her lightly and she came apart crying out his name as she did. He knew she was now ready. Positioning himself he eased into her tight passage stilling her instantly. "Baby, relax please" he managed to gasp out. She tried to but it hurt. She then took matters into her own hands and as he was pushing in she arched suddenly crying out in pain as she did so. He instantly stilled, he didn"t dare move lest he hurt her more. She finally looked up at him a single tear falling from her eye. "I"m okay." she tried to reasure him. Still he waited for the mucsles that held him to relax before he retreated. At her whimpering protest he kissed her and slowly regained entrance. He kept it slow at first, letting he get used to it before neither of them could take the maddening rhythm any longer. He quickened his movements and that was all it took she came apart again only this time screaming his name over and over as the pleasure assulted her. He followed moments later. He collapsed beside her breathing hard. "I love you" he said a little while after regaining his breath. "Love you too." she said grinning. He finnally pulled the covers over them and both fell asleep cradled in each others arms. A/N: Well there it is folks. I know it was long sorry about that again. Anyway I would appreciate any feed back. well till next time. A/N Well here it is. Origianally this was going to be the end of the story but as I was Corresponding with H6p8gv and Hippogriif-tamer I realized that I just couldn"t stop it here that would just have been cruel to leave you all wondering what would happen next. So in the next chapter you, Tracy and Link will all get a big surprise. Keep me posted I am always open to any ideas you guys have. I do use them so send them my way. I also want to thank H6p8gv for allowing be to use a few things from his story "you should have known better" If you haven"t read it I recommend that you do, its a great story. So anyway onto the story... Link was the first to awaken the following morning. He glanced down and couldn"t stop the smile that overtook his features. He couldn"t believe that she was finally his. That he would wake up every morning holding her just like he was now. Moments later, he heard her softly murmer his name as her eyes fluttered open. "Good morning" he said still smiling. "Good morning too you" she returned as she nuzzeled his neck. He knew that they needed to get up, they had a plane to catch, but with her doing that he couldn"t find the will to move. "Trace we need to get up." he finally managed to say. He could feel his desire for her building but he refused to allow it to surface. He had planned this for a long time and he would not ruin it. "Do we have to?" she asked running a finger slowly down his chest. "Unfortunately yes we do. We have a plane to catch." he sighed frustrated. "About that. Where exactly are we going?" she asked "I told you. It"s a surprise." He said finally getting up. She liked surprises but this one was driving her crazy. She had been asking him since he had told her that they would be leaving the morning after the wedding and that had been months ago. She knew that he had had Penny pack her bag for the trip, though she still had no idea as to where they were going. She hadn"t even been able to draw it out of her best friend, knowing that Penny couldn"t keep a secret to save her life. She watched as he began to dress trying hard not to blush at the sight. When he turned back towards her she was still staring at him. "What?" he asked smirling. "Oh nothing" she returned smiling inwardly. He then walked back over to the bed and leaning down kissed her deeply before straightening and heading for the door. He knew that she needed some privacy and he was going to give it to her. Not that he had not seen her naked before but he also knew that she needed time to adjust to this intimacy. As he walked out of the room Tracing wondered what was going through his mind. "Why had he left?' she asked herself. shrugging she got out of bed and dressed in a dark blue sundress with a white lightweight sweater over it and then went to find her husband. She found him in the kitchen fixing breakfast.(Yes he can cook- quiet well actually) She walked up behind him softly and wrapped her arms around him placing a light kiss to his shoulder. "So Mr. Larkin what are you fixing?" she asked cheekily. He turned slightly and said "Your favorite" "Ah."She said before asking where everything in the kitchen was located. He showed her and she went about setting the table for the two if them. After they had eaten they made sure they had everything and then left. They arrived at the airport and checken in their luggage. Link had to make sure he distracted her enough so that she wouldn"t figure out where they were headed. He knew that once they were on the plane she would find out but he wanted it to be a surprise till then. As they waited to board the plane they talked about any and everything. She thanked him for the house especially. When the time came to board the plane he took her and and held it within his, giving it a light squeeze of asurance. He knew she was nervous about flying and he tried to aleavate that nervousness as much as poosible. Once they were in the air Tracy-who had taken the windowseat- looked out the window "Every thing is so small" she gasped in wonder. She also said "Link how long have you been planning this trip anyway?"

Horus had no time to continue attending to his wounds, he reached for his rifle. "Eh?" The rifle wasn"t there holstered to his leg, he was completely defenseless. He turned around and scuffled around the rucksack containing the peculiar weapons that were found in the old derelict Skyranger. Pulling out the pair of axes, he wasn"t sure what the other weapons did but he had no time to fix or figure out how they worked. The axes didn"t require a manual though. A walking dead was already upon him, so he swung the axe to lob off its head. The axes weight was good for delivering heavy blows and the blade wasn"t bad either. More of the zombies converged to him after he killed one of their kind. He needed to think of a plan fast, at this rate if he just concentrates on killing them the normal way he would get overwhelmed. The cavern was spacious and the stalagmites offered cover from the grabbing hands. He snatched the rucksack and ran through the zombie horde to the supposed safety of the stalagmites. But it didn"t hold against the massive pressure they exerted from the stampede, although some were minced into pulp from squeezing. Horus ran again. He looked around for places to hide or at least high ground. His right arm was not responding the way he wanted it to, because it had just been set back into its socket so he couldn"t wield the heavy axes much more with just his left hand. He saw a ledge overlooking the entire cavern and began his desperate climb to safety, regardless of the pain in his arm and body. Compared to being flayed by the massive horde this was his only chance at safety. The ledge was 10 metres above ground and there were little contact surfaces to plant his feet or hands on to boost him up. He stumbled a few times when the gravel gave way, but the through of death kept him going. He reached the ledge panting and collapsed fainting from exhaustion. Time passed quickly and the night had settled in, the zombies" wails were still present and the visibility was surprisingly good for nightfall, an unknown substance radiated the entire cavern from the rocky walls, some form of luminescent rock embedded into the walls of the cavern. He now had the luxury to think about his circumstance. First, why was he here? He had gone back to rescue that ungrateful prick and had gotten stabbed in the back in the end and tumbled down the mountain. He woke up in a cave from which he fell through the sky light that dominated the entire cavern. Then there was that voice, the ethereal voice that resounded in the recesses of his head every time it spoke. But it said I trespassed into its domain, and there was a commencement of a...trial? He looked down at the zombies reaching out for him, certainly they began to appear the moment the voice declared the start of some sort of trial. Horus spent more time attending to his wounds and checked his inventory, his drone was nowhere to be seen, his rifle was absent but his datapad and ammunition were still on him. Everything else he packed on the combat harness was also present, food for a 72 hours. Food was the only concern he had now, he had no idea where he was and the trek through the jungle could take him more than his supplies can handle. He had to get out of here, looking around the cavern for clues to exit. The visibility was low but he could still make out the ends of the walls encompassing the cavern. "There"s-...no exit..." Horus"s heart thumped wildly as the thought of being trapped in this cave forever crept into his heart. He sat against the wall of the ledge. Was he really going to live out his days in the recess of this cavern? Five days was tops that he could live without food and water. The zombies continued wailing infuriated him to the point that he wanted to do to them what they would do to him. It was like an audience laughing at his pathetic existence all over. "Shut up!" The zombies were mindless so his words did not influence them. He took up one of the axes and flung it at the horde out of anger. The axe spun in the air and lodged itself into the head of a zombie. "Ha...hahahhhahaHAHAHAHAHA...!" His end was coming and he could see it, he laughed at his own existence once again. Two days had passed, as he squandered the time he had left. If anything, he found the constant wailing of the zombies to be incessantly noisy, he couldn"t get a moments peace. If he had one wish now, it would be to destroy them all to return tranquility to the once quiet cavern. "Since... I"m going to die anyway... I should at least go down the way I want to." He resigned himself. He took out the strange weapons from the rucksack, their design had a reminiscence of hunting weapons, due to their wooden-like furniture. They weighed almost lighter than the ADVENT weapons and their own weapons. One of the weapons looked like some sort of nail gun, the other was like a steampunk flintlock pistol. The nail gun had been found with eight stakes made from some alien dense metal. Horus fiddled around with the controls and two metal sections on the front of the gun deployed, making it look like some sort of vertical crossbow. Curious to find out the power of the weapon he loaded one of the stakes into the gun and walked to the ledge where the zombies were. He pulled the trigger and the stake flew with immense force and speed that it ripped through several zombies in a row, it was just that powerful. Horus dropped the gun as he was stunned by the devastating power of the crossbolt. He immediately picked up the weapon and examined it once again, there was a lot of mechanisms he couldn"t reach inside because of its overall complexity so he left it alone. His findings were on the controls of the weapon, how to manipulate the gun to load and the safety. The gun would not fire unless the bow was deployed, that was the most important element. He was definitely 90% sure the weapon operated on some kind of railgun concept, the energy used to power it was that alien fuel recovered from dead aliens for their plasma weapons, Elerium. So there was no real worry of whether the gun would fail in firing or shut off from power consumption yet, he turned the weapon off just in case to conserve its energy. The other firearm was the flintlock-like pistol, because it wasn"t a flintlock exactly. The weapon fired using gunpowder but the ammunition for it didn"t seem to be present, he took out a cartridge from his magazine and pulled the bullet out of the case to use the smokeless powder. Personally he wasn"t sure of the effects of using smokeless powder in a flintlock but this pistol wasn"t a flintlock. He pulled out more cartridges to fill the gun"s magazine. The weird thing he noticed about the gun was that there was no hole from which the bullet would come out from but there was some sort of criss cross mess on the end like on a mincer. He took the pistol to his live targets and pulled the trigger. A massive flash from the gun blinded the front of him but he heard flesh being shredded from the shot. Something had managed to come out from the gun through the mesh, the gun had also seemed to be powered in some way. But the most peculiar thing happened after he fired the gun at the zombies. The horde seemed to disperse throughout the cavern, like they had just lost sight of him. Could it be the enormous flash from the ignition had broken their sight of him? This meant that he could kill someone and sneak off undetected. This pistol was just as effective as the nail gun. He had one last axe with him he didn"t throw away at the horde. The axe too had unusual properties, it too was somehow powered by the internal Elerium battery for some function. The axe seemed to cleave through flesh and rock like paper. He dare not touch the blade due to its sharpness but he could guess why it had this unusual ability of cutting through hard objects with general ease, from the quiet humming of the blade. The power of the internal Elerium was used to energized the blade at a high frequency, that meant the axe head was a vibrating frequency blade able to cut through other metals without problems or heavy wear to the blades sharpness because it will be sharp indefinitely as long as power is provided to it. Luckily the blade only vibrates when in contact with something, one of the great energy saving features that were on it. Horus had decided after having an hour of contemplating, he would make his final hour the best time he could have, if he died prematurely that was fine as long as he didn"t die of hunger. Horus slung the weapons onto his body and climbed down the ledge. His noise from climbing down alerted some of the horde to his presence and they began to limp towards him in greater strides. He walked towards the horde and pulled out the axe he had thrown at the zombies earlier and readied himself for the greatest fight his life would ever encounter! "HAH!" He brought the axe down upon the closest zombie to him and comboed with his pistol which sent another bright flash blinding the zombies. He found it useful in providing him with breathing seconds. He ran around the place to gather the horde en masse, his intentions were to bunch as many as possible to use his nail gun to pierce as many as possible. He only had seven bolts with him left but he found out a convenient thing about the weapon that was it was able to reuse its ammunition. He fired the bolt at the horde taking away tens of zombies away from the horde and he repeated the process until he was out of bolts. There were a few that came to him from other angles but they were finished of with the axe. Unfortunately, he had no time to collect the bolts scattered throughout the cavern. Slinging the bolt caster, as he now called it on the back he drew one of the axes and the pistol. He began to charge at the group of zombies and began hacking at them and sending gunpowder spraying at them. The zombies were now in close proximity to him, clawed and bit at him, a few were successful. Horus initially wondered where contact would result in him joining the living dead eventually like those zombie movies. But he was about to die anyway so why should he care. While the numbers had dwindled, there was still a sizable amount that could overwhelm him at any time. His strength was fading fast but it didn"t slow him down because he was determined to make his last fight the greatest by throwing every ounce of energy into his body. His body was succumbing to the pain of the bites and scratches but also his previous wound that might have opened up. Is this the end? He asked himself, his strength had waned considerably with his constant fighting. Let"s see if I can take every single zombie down with everything I"ve got, he challenged himself. The hours passed as his fighting continued. He should have been down long ago but the sensation, the rush of combat was getting to him, he grinned madly at achieving his own perfect death. "Just...ten more..." the last remaining zombies wailed to him as they reached out to bite him to dead. But his use of the axe had become more streamline than before, after swinging the axe a few hundred times he learnt to strike with the least amount of energy but achieving the same or greater force exerted from the blade. He now dual wielded the axes into and awesome display of fighting style. And then finally, after four straight hours of fighting he cleared out all of the zombies within the cavern. He collapsed with a satisfied smile on his face as he had achieved his own limit, he could die ha- [First trial complete, proceed to the second trial] The cavern rumbled and the rocky wall parted near him revealing a secret passage he had not known about before. "That"s right, I finished its trial..." He murmured too tired to get up. Wait! A glimpse of hope came over him. "Hey! If I finish your trials, can I leave this place?" He called out to the voice. The voice did not reply immediately but answered anyway. [A path will be provided for you if you survive and inherit my legacy.] Legacy? Whatever! It offered me a way out, I should be grateful. I can"t stand a single second more in this place! Horus lay back to rest for a moment then got up to collect his things, more importantly the bolts for the bolt caster. It had shown to be a formidable tool in removing heavily armed targets, he managed to recover all eight bolts. He ate his supplies of food and clean water then proceeded further after applying more of the medikit paste to his abdomen covered with bite marks and scratches. He heated a knife on him to seal the cavity wound that had opened as the biofoam couldn"t do its job of keeping it closed. Taking a rest again was important for him because he was unsure of what lay ahead in the secret opening. "How many trials are there in total?" [You have succeeded the trial of Limbo, ahead lies the blood trials of Binding followed by the final trial of Fortitude. If you are worthy, the legacy of the blood boa falls to you, you may go back into the world to do great deeds both terrible and magnanimous.] "Trial of Binding? Would it be something like that zombie horde I put out of its misery?" He looked back at the bodies lying around, he was having a hard time believing he was actually capable of doing that. He walked into the exit towards the second trial determined to return to the AVENGER. "How can you speak English?" Horus had just realized this place was still Argentine so there shouldn"t be any English present. [I am speaking to you from your heart. It is a trait endowed to myself so that as the ages go by and the native tongues change I will still be able to communicate with the participants.] After considerable walking distance they arrived in another similarly lit up cavern only this time there were man-made structures in it, mostly columns with stone engravings of serpents wrapping around them. It wasn"t just the columns, the stepping stones, the walls and the roof was decorated with a common theme, and that was serpents. "What is this place?" [You entered by mistake it seems, without the intention of attending the age old ceremonies that once took place in this holy site. This is the temple of the bloody serpent god.] He had heard from the voice that he had fallen into and ancient temple to some local deity, he just wanted to get out before offending the occupant further. Up ahead was an elevated altar up the long steps. The ever present luminous stones were there to light up his way, he wondered how this place seemed to be filled with them. Perhaps this was a mine that the ancient civilization built their sacred ritual ground it from. He could hear the trickling of water from where the altar was too. "What are you?" The most important question, who was this who was speaking to him? From the voice alone he knew no person could even hope to replicate. [I am the caretaker of the blood serpent trial grounds. And you are an aspiree hoping to become a spiritual flame user.] "I just wanna get out of this place, I"ll deal with your trials then I"m off!" [Do you not seek power?] Horus stopped in his tracks. [That is why you have come here isn"t it. Fate had a comical way of bringing you here to change it. The question is, do you want it to change?] "... I do, every second I spend here I think of how I could have done better, how if only I was stronger, faster, more intelligent than people I only begin to start caring for won"t die abruptly!" [Then proceed. Take a chance at attempting the trials, succeed and you will have the strength that you so desire. Fail, and you will join the thousands who had failed before you!] "I"ll die if I don"t get out, I might die if I attempt the trial. Obviously I would attempt it, I have nothing to lose now." [So be it. Let the trial of binding begin!] "What does this trial consist of?" But the voice no longer answered him. He reached the altar, there was a chalice sitting in the middle. He took up the cup and examined it. He could see the blood stains in the walls of its vessel, at the back of the altar was a fountain but there was one key feature that distinguished it quite clearly from any ordinary fountain. Because it was flowing with blood, he could tell because of the iron smell that permeated the air around it. [Drink...] That"s all the guardian told him. Unhesitant, he dipped the chalice into the pool and retrieved a cup full. "I can"t believe I"m really doing this!" He said to himself. Leaning the cup against his lips he took in the flesh blood into his system. He waited but nothing happened. "Am I done with the trial- urgh!...AHHHHHH!" An unseen flame burnt his insides from the liquid he took into his stomach. The chalice dropped from his grasp and rolled down the steps as he collapsed on his knees then finally he crawled into a fetal position. [Endure my blood legacy and you shall continue. Fail and you shall immolate from your insides and you will become but ashes.] The pain was like being impaled by hot iron stakes throughout his body. He let out a blood curdling scream, but the agony was ever present. It circulated his body roasting his organs and veins, mucus and tears rolled out from his extremities uncontrollably. Steam was emanating from his skin to signify the boiling temperature his body was in. But to escape from this place he would do anything, he had too much at stake back home. And yet the pain and suffering he was going through made him want to end his life that every instant. How long did it last, how long had gone by he didn"t know although it felt like an eternity? It was too much. Too much! "God!... Kill me now!" He suddenly declared hoping someone would respond, it was at that moment that his medallion fell off from around his neck in front of him. He stared at the medallion with bloodshot eyes, then that memory started to unfold in front of him. The oldest most treasured memory burnt into his mind. "Hold this medallion and treasure it with your life. And one day we may reunite with you." His mother told him. But for that to happen he had to return, he had to survive! SURVIVE! Bismarck had once told him the same thing to leave with his live, but it ended in an unforeseen saga. "Rune Barbatos!" He cursed the name out loud. The man who had taken his friends from him. That"s right, I still need to survive. I still need to avenge them! If not, everyone will suffer because of me! There was Alicia in danger of the machinations of William! Horus grabbed the medallion and gazed at it feverishly to stem the notions of suicide and remember why he needed to survive this trial. He could feel his vitality burn away but if he didn"t get out then it was meaningless. Survive. Survive. Survive. Survive... He repeated in his head as he grasped the medallion till his palm bleed staining it with his fresh blood, steam rose from his spilt blood, he was still boiling inside but it didn"t matter. Survive. Survive. Survive. Survive... Blood poured from his eyes, ears and mouth from the damage it caused. And after seemed like an eternity... "I will...SURVIVE!" He shouted with all his might. The pain vanished quickly and a comfortable sensation took its place. Horus fainted from the sudden change. A smile planted on his face. He had done it. [Finally, after millennia. A worthy successor...] The case was never officially settled. Horus was listed as KIA as according to William"s account and from his fire team members. A ceremony was held in hangar with participants from engineering, the science team and the combatants and general staff. There were a few people not present at the ceremony, one was Alicia. Since the mission she had not come out of her room, leaving Heather to deal with her work load, but her friend understood what she was going through and took it up willingly. "Once again he threw his life for his fellow man! Each and every one of you here are because of something he had offered you without demanding anything in return. And that is a rare caliber of man even throughout the ages..." The commander gave a funeral speech personally and left because there were matters to attend to immediately after. Steph was the other one who took the weight of his death the heaviest. She was out and about but would often forget things right in the middle of doing her duties. The chief medical officer handled her case and had her come to here infirmary for checkups and to monitor for changes. "Alicia! Child! Open the door this instant!" Madam Lee demanded. But there was no reply. She was sitting in her bed against the wall hugging her knees. Her room was a mess, as if she had been flinging everything upside down. Madam Lee heard hands touching the door on the other side. "You were right, Nanna! In the end I was really too late!" Referring to the time she had mentioned about her relationships. "Child...open this door. So I may console you." Hye Gi changed her tone to her loving mother tone she had used on her all those years ago. The door slides open and Madam Lee caught sight of the dried up tears along her face. "Come here." She requested as she opened her arms to receive Alicia.

"I beg forgiveness for my rudeness! And my own jealously!" He cried out just as Hitoshi released his arm lock upon him. He cradled his bruised arm after nearly reaching the point of breaking a bone. Hitoshi squatted in front of the gang leader to the latter"s dismay and dread. "Remember, these words came from your own mouth. If you ever break them, I will undertake the responsibility to remind you in Master Vinho"s place. You will not sully the Imperial Kitchen"s name before your own mistakes." Hitoshi stood up and stepped back as he didn"t care for them any longer. "What"s going on here-iie-..." The familiar Kitchen Head boomed as he waddled through the crowd and stopped as he came into direct contact with the person he feared the most. "Ah, Master Vinho. It"s nice to see you. I was just reminding your staff of the boundaries of our Kitchens. Your staff member here is quite the eager chap, you should really pay more attention to him from now on. Just in case he says too unsavoury comments to the wrong people, even if it is true." "Uh-...Y-Yes! You"re right!" He turned to the Kitchen Hand who caused this commotion with a harsh glare hidden behind his forced smile. "Why haven"t you thanked Master Furuta?!" Porto"s shouted enraged at his own staff member, the leader of the gang that tried to harass Patch. Porto"s did not realise this, but it was his reaction that cemented Furuta"s authority and Patch"s place with this response which acknowledges it. Once again, Hitoshi had manipulated Porto"s into doing something for him unintentionally. "T-Thank you, Master Furuta! For showing me the proper way!" The Kitchen Hand unhesitantly thanked him, even if his heart was a mess from the reversal of their situations. "Most happy to help." He said with the most convincing of smiles which only served to frighten the group after witnessing his true demeanour. "Master Vinho, perhaps I can invite you to a cup of tea while the rest of the Palace Kitchens arrive?" When Porto"s heard this invitation from Hitoshi, he sweated internally underneath his thick garb. "Um- I am sorry. I just remembered that I have an appointment to handle with the adminstratum! Have yourself a good day!" He quickly dismissed himself before Hitoshi could say another word. Seeing that their own Kitchen Head had retreated in front of Hitoshi, the group naturally dispersed. With that out of the way, he went over to the assembling area for the South Kitchens shop which Patch had half setup. Patch did not move at all from his place, he simply stared at Hitoshi whilst he unpacked the crockery from the bags and placed them on a table provided to them. "Are you gonna leave everything to me, Patch?" Hitoshi asked with a smile. Patch hesitated for a moment before hastily coming over to bring out the tools to put in their place. In his haste, he became careless. Handling the knives came next and it was no surprise when he pulled them out from the wrong end that he cut himself. "Ow!-." A deep graze appeared on the length of his palm due to his unfounded strength in the grip. Patch was left in a state of stupor, unsure of how to handle the blood flowing from his wound for the first time. Until a clean towel was wrapped around his hand with pressure applied from a pair of hands keeping the blood from flowing to fast. "Sit down." Hitoshi demanded as he pulled a stool over. "Uh-... but-." "Sit." Hitoshi insisted to which he listened and sat as instructed. Hitoshi knelt in front of him, bringing forth a small pouch bearing a red cross. He poured water over the cut to wash as much blood away from the wound as possible. "This is gonna sting." Hitoshi warned in advance as he took some sort of paste and applied it onto Patch"s wound. "Ssssss!" Patch reacted to the short pain of the anticeptic binding agent searing his wound closed. "For someone as big as you to show the reaction of a child, means you probably haven"t grown up. Huh, Patch?" Hitoshi joked. "That- That is not funny..." He took up the straightman routine. "But it is." Hitoshi opposed him with an unfair smile on his face that made the situation awkward for him. Hitoshi carried on with the next step to treating the wound with gauze bandages, wrapping them firmly around his hand. "A child with such big hands, he might be clumsy. But these hands that have suffered don"t hide one"s earnesty to do good for those he cherishes." Patch had words from his mouth taken from him as Hitoshi became metaphorical with him. "That"s why, Patch. You should never grow up or you"ll lose the only trait that defines you apart from everyone who laughs at what makes you a good person." Hitoshi had yet to finish the bandaging when Patch"s hand clenched and shook. ".... What is that suppose to mean....?" The other hand of his rested onto Hitoshi"s to stop him from treating him further. Patch"s head was lowered, he dared not show the face he had on him now. Just as he didn"t wish to feel this way. But how could he prevent it, these tears that fell to the ground. Carrying years of struggle alone up the echelons. The struggle that a young Parsley Romuli had endured for a future that would not show itself to one who acted honestly in a den of thieves. Until the final moment when he had cracked under the pressure to commit sin for the sake of advancement. Patch could never forgive himself for it, even if it gave his growing family a better tomorrow. He would forever be cursed with the knowledge that he used someone"s life for gain. In a reversal of fortune, the tides were turned against him as he deserved. When Hitoshi held them all at gunpoint. Yet for some unknown reason, Hitoshi spared him. A whim, he concluded. But one that Patch took as a second chance to make things right. If possible, he would make it up to Hitoshi for the attempt to kill him by serving alongside him for the rest of his life. Patch had not declared this, for there was no need to gratify himself with taking responsibility to atone. He soon realized that Hitoshi had a frightening ability to turn the odds of those that wish ill upon him against them. He truly didn"t need someone like him by his side, it could be seen with the rest. Tequila, Chive and Basille. Hitoshi showed the same level of charity he did to him because there was nothing that truly differentiated them from Patch in his eyes. Patch was willing to accept that. Yet, when he was troubled by his former colleagues. Why did Hitoshi stand up for him? Why did he threaten them at the possible expense of his reputation and the possibility of making new enemies? Why did he declare Patch his successor who would inherit all he"d accumulated out of his own efforts alone?... ... Why did he bandage these big clumsy hands... and tell him they were kind? His eyes would not stop watering, his nostrils became heavy with dampness and his mouth could not control itself as his body naturally felt the need to cry. Hitoshi said nothing and lend his hand which Patch held together with both of his, holding it as if it were a treasured existence above his lowered head. Why was he being rewarded with such blessing when he clearly deserved punishment for the act of murder and betrayal of friendship no matter how short? How could Hitoshi still call him a friend after all that had happened? The more he thought of these, the more he poured his heart out with tears and weeping. He didn"t deserve this kind of friendship, yet it was given readily. Patch understood that in the continuation of his struggles to survive and live, he was not alone. Now, he had a friend worth dying for. It was a surprise to the newer staff who returned from their briefing to find Patch weeping tears before their new master. Yet, it didn"t seem like he was crying out of pain, but elation. Besides the happiness of the occasion, there was only one person who wore an expression that expressed his disdain and disbelief in all that was occurring tonight. Things had turned for the worst, the officials he had invited had all excused themselves due to pressing domestic matters in maintaining their armies and keeping the bureaucrats at bay. These were all pretences in light of their fear of carrying through with Zorzal"s plans for the Empire. And the biggest contributing factor to this ultimate decision was the severed head of the Flame Dragon at the arch of triumph. Found this morning lying on top of the structure which represented their victory in war for their soldiers to march through. While no one was claiming responsibility for the act, most if not all had a good idea of who was capable of slaying the nye invincible Flame Dragon. It was precisely why they sought to attend tonights" banquet, to determine if the rumours were true. That the Men in Green were the ones responsible for killing the Flame Dragon, and who better to ask than Princess Pina and Japanese Envoy Suguwara. "Why must I go to meet Japan"s Envoy!?" Zorzal angrily stomped his way to the entrance of the designated banquet hall. "It"s one of your duties, now that His Highness, are the crown prince." Tyuule, moving quickly behind him informed him. "Damn it!... It"s so annoying." He grumbled as he continued on. "M-My apologies!" The warrior bunny apologized out of habit whilst trying to catch up with Zorzal"s pace which was inconsistent with her ability to walk in heels. "Hya!" Applying insufficient pressure to the ground perpendicular to her feet caused her foot in heels to slide off the smooth marble surface. Losing her balance ensured that she would topple backwards. Bracing for that fall that never came, as Zorzal"s hand grasped hers to give her support. "Watch your footing, you fool..... And I"m not blaming you." He said to her after pulling her up and releasing his hand. "But it"s my fault the sabotage plan faile-." "What are you talking about? You just passed on the order, it"s the spies that turned out to be completely useless." "....." What was she expecting? How coy of him, to show small acts of kindness to make her think he cared for her. Zorzal was clearly not able to see that she was beyond small childish tricks like these. "Enough of the tricks for now, it"s more important to gather support from the military and pro-war factions." Tyuule was a little amused internally, even he was not foolish enough not to let this sort of opportunity go to waste. Perhaps it was because, like those sons who had been imprisoned in Japan, he had suffered a similar humiliation at the hands of their mortal enemy. It was this sort of decisive fool that would all the more bring calamity to the Empire in foreseeable ways. Zorzal blabbered on in how Japan seemed incompetent in knowing how to accept victory and have become complacent enough to believe they can ask for peace. It was more like they had the luxury to ask for whatever they wanted, after all, peace ensured some degree of cooperation. Japan clearly saw some potential in having the Empire as an ally than a vassal. They coincidentally bumped into the Emperor, his father along the way in. Where Zorzal expressed his ultimate belief that they could win in a fight against Japan"s Army. To no apparent change in decision by the Emperor. Emperor Molt left him a few words of caution and advise on his actions before entering. "Father!" Emperor Molt along with his guards stood silently by the door as he contemplated his moves in advance "Your Highness, you can be heard from inside. Please calm yourself." Tyuule acted out her part to maintain his dignity in the presence of the Imperial subjects. "Tsk! Shit!" He wrestled with his rising emotions, once inside the hall he could not show this unruly behavior. Seeing that she need not console him further, Tyuule begun to plant ideas into his head that he would take as his own. "Tonight is the ceremony to celebrate the return of the prisoners. Official, that is. However, everyone"s attention will be upon Princess Pina and the Japanese Envoys." Zorzal listened attentively as she dropped hints. "As the crown prince, you should offer them words of appreciation on the publics behalf." Zorzal was quick to see the potential of his interactions, to win the downbeaten hearts of those who had lost and been humiliated. They would become such powerful supporters to his cause. "I know." He replied as a matter a fact. The crier announced the arrival of Emperor Molt and Crown Prince Zorzal as they walked into the brightly lit banquet hall to be received by their subjects. The doors closed behind Tyuule who stayed behind for obvious reasons. "What a simple man." She said too softly for the Praetorian Guard standing by the door to hear, even though they stared at her cautiously. Tyuule returned their glares with a smile before she left. She walks along the quieter of paths where there is no presence besides those that had sworn loyalty to her. To think that this sort of scenario would happen. Even she would never imagine the Flame Dragon"s defeat. However, this only served to accelerate her plans. "Is everything prepared?" "Yes, work is coming along, we just need time to complete the finishing touches. Miss Tyuuuule." "I will not tolerate another failure, Bouro. Noriko is still alive because you left it to someone else." Her original plan to have the Japanese Government respond to the death of their citizen at the hands of Pina"s subject was foiled because the assassin Bouro had manipulated had not carried through with her mission. "I have no excuses. This time, I have called for the elite bands from the Haryo." No sooner did the hidden presence announce this did three figures drop from the roof and knelt before Tyuule in unison. "Theres are Ukushi, Kakushi and Korume." Bouro introduced the so-called "elite" of his depraved tribe. Robe and hooded figures with a heavy air of death around them. How well would they perform, only time would tell. "Then get going already." With her approval, they dismissed themselves as quickly as they appeared. "I want everything to become more interesting." A grin leaked from her lips, turning her beautiful complexion into one of malice and calamity. Tyuule walked off into the direction of the pavilions, she wanted to pay a visit to a certain someone. Along the way, she saw the head of the once-magnificent Flame Dragon resting on a carriage being pulled up by orcs under the supervision of the Praetorians Guards. She was curious to know what he thought about this whole situation or if he had anything to say about it. The crisis in the Kitchens would stay in the Kitchens. Even though it became a crisis no longer. What should have been kitchen staff working tirelessly to sate the hunger of the guests was now a cooking lesson, brought to you by Hitoshi Furuta, the Kitchen Head of the South Palace. It was rare for Kitchen Heads to even pick up cooking utensils, they were more of managers than they were of chefs after their decades of service. So the Kitchen staff paid special attention to the dish he was cooking up for them to see. A dispute followed between a well-known chef with his company from outside and the administratum of the Palace who outsourced him. Where they refused to give him the agreed payment when he arrived, they also did not follow through with his request to lead the whole team in cooking up the entire course which was agreed upon in contract. Yet, who were they to refuse to serve the Emperor, the adminstratum thought. Being betrayed by the administratums" stinginess and dishonesty, the chef left his part to play at the most inconvenient of times. The administratum was in anarchy when they failed to get hold of him again and re-negotiate. Leaving the banquet Kitchen staff with a humungous gap, and with no one to do the starters. Porto"s was shouting out dispatches to the nearest restuarants with chefs who specialized in appetizers to come forward, in vain. No one could assemble as quickly to undertake this task. Nobody asked him to do stand in, but Hitoshi could not let the organization fall while he was a part of it. Surrounding his preparation table, Hitoshi schooled the chefs and Kitchen Hands alike on a very simple dish that could be completed in but minutes without real expertise required. He sliced bread and toasted them to resemble crackers or bagel chips as the base. Using Patch"s strong arms to beat cheese blocks into whipped cheese which he spread along the improvised crackers. Extracting the egg yolk carefully into a bowl with Dijon mustard, lemon juices and vinegar, he whisked the blend along with salt whilst adding oil in gradually. After a few minutes, he was rewarded with a creamy white paste which he placed under the cold stone for a quick chill, and voilà. He had instant mayonnaise, but this was not the final product he wished for. He threw in tomato ketchup sauce, pickle relish, some freshly cut onion and garlic along with vinegar, salt and a few dashes of some red bottle they were not aware of but had a name written on it they did not understand. Before he left the mixing process to Patch once more, he collected the Mayonnaise and poured it in together. "Take the cracker and spread a generous portion of the whipped cheese. Remember, it"s this that makes up most of the appetizer, the rest is just accessory and contributes to exotic taste." Hitoshi gave instructions to the small active workshop which were mimicking his steps with precision. After they had completed their task, Hitoshi showed them the boiling and rapid chilling of shrimp in a bowl of ice water. The cooked shrimp became vibrant orange in colour due to having its flesh thoroughly cooked. "Now, apply some of the "thousand island" sauce which my colleague has just finished preparing to your shrimp on top of the cracker and we"re done." Hitoshi took off his apron and walked out to check of his "students" performance. "That"s it?" The chefs expressed their surprise at the level of simplicity to his appetizer dishes. Hitoshi had a brief read through a recipe book he found tucked away in the corner of the cabinets back in the South Palace Kitchen. It was an anthology of all the compiled recipes collected over the ages since the South Palace had been erected. Empire cuisine in regard to Appetizers had always been almost as elaborate as the main course. And they were always cooked. "Have a bite." There was no use explaining, Hitoshi held out a tray of his recently made shrimp cocktails. The chefs reached out and took one each, placing them in their mouths. Hitoshi and Patch watched the familiar trend of wide eyes and subtle shows of ecstacy from the rich taste flowing into their stomachs. "Wha-...what is this?!" "So simple-..... yet such complex taste!" "Mmm!" The last of the chefs just continued to finish his sample than give his opinion, showing how much he enjoyed it. "Gentlemen, we must remember that appetizers are only to promote our patrons" appetite for the main course, which you will be handling. I have no doubt that once they have experienced your hard efforts that they will be going home with a good aftertaste. I wish you the best of regards." Hitoshi dismissed himself from their presence after bowing as he went back to do the course which he was supposed to in the beginning. "Such humility...." "Is he really Lord Zorzal"s chef?" Being part of the arrogant prince"s retinue, one would have thought they shared the same traits. "He has already garnered our guests" attention to the main course, we cannot let them down." Their evaluation of Hitoshi grew, soon forgetting that a week ago he was nothing more than a foreign cook in the lowest position. However, in this time of need, he"d saved all of them from humiliation and he did not once brag about it. They had heard rumours of Master Vinho"s fear of Hitoshi as well, someone who held the highest appointment amongst their trade. He even receded the credit of the day to them, so how could they not be impressed. Just as Hitoshi went back to work, so did they. This workshop he held was merely for the Kitchen hands to carry out the preparations of the appetizer on their own. However, the chefs were quite interested when he said that no chef was required to attend to the appetizers and the Kitchen Hands could do it on their own. He even negotiated with the adminstratum to have their wages for the banquet increased. So the Kitchen hands of various palaces worked with extra care and effort to bring out more of these "Shrimp cocktails" to the banquet halls. Patch had returned ahead of him and watched over the process of their desserts, several batches of cake that had alcohol similar to Rum inside of it. "How are things going here?" Tequila was only happy to report they were halfway through with the cooking process after finishing the preparations. They were the finishing course of the banquets so there was no rush. "Brilliant, that strange pan you gave us was quite fantastic. We didn"t have to worry about unevenly cooked portions with that centre hole." Normally, cakes of a certain size would have to be careful about its consistency especially in the middle. The bundt pan, back in Earth originated from the bundt cakes unique ring shape. But the pan which served as the mould for the baking shape could also be used on other types of cake. Unfortunately, Hitoshi could not find such a pan here in Falmart. That, however, didn"t limit him from making one. He took a rounded baking pan, placed a remodelled tin can in the centre which would isolate the cake mix from the centre. He also used hardened paper into moulds which gave a distinct curvulate shape to it with eccentric designs.

Her bare feet did their best not to make a sound as she ran through the Kurosawa mansion in an attempt to follow the group. She ran down one pathway hiding in the bushes to avoid being seen by the priests as they walked in rows on the two sided bridges. Crimson butterflys fluttered about as Itsuki and Mutsuki entered the doors first. Ducking in just as the door was about to close she gasped. Following them down a large tunnel an endless corridor of rocks filled with fear as she saw the rows of corpses bound through a small crack. The group had gone forwards but she found herself not able to move at the sight of these gruesome ornaments. "Wh-What"s going on?" She cried her voice shaky and breaking as she struggled to stand and continue one hand supporting her as she moved along the wall. She triped losing her footing and falling into a small pond a few feet ahead. She struggled to stay silent listening for a sign that she had been spotted. She stood shakily frowning at her ruined grey Kimono. But somehow she thought she had greater things to worry about. Like what was going on with Itsuki and Mutsuki, why were they being taken down here? A few feet further, down a flight of stairs and she froze at the opening. The large group focused on one point. Two people in an ornate circle. The beautiful twins she had been facinated with since she had came to teh village. Mutsuki smiled at his brother knowingly and mouthed a few words of encouragement. More specifically "Remember this is for Yae and Sae.' as Itsuki"s hands slipped around his throat and she gasped covering her eyes at the sight of what was happening. She slipped and fell against the wall. She didn"t care if anyone heard her as the tears whelled in her red eyes. She choked out one word: "Why?" There was a clank of rock hitting the ground signaling movement. But Itsuki was the only one who heard it. He looked over to the corner as he hands slowly losened his grip on Mutsuki"s neck. There wasn"t a mark. As they hurled his brothers body in the abyss. He felt over come by grief and a desire to tell whoever was hiding to run that they would be killed or blames for the ritual failing. She had ran as fast as she could away from there. Out of the cave, out of the mansion, down the river banks where she proceeded to purge herself of the sickness. Nothing came of course, but bile, after the first few times her voice sobbed weakly as she rocked softly back and forth, she had just witnessed a an act of murder. Those rituals were suposed to be banned! "What"s going on?" She asked herself her voice shaking weakly. The weeks went by, months passed, no one spoke to Itsuki anymore. Chistose sighed softly as she held onto her brothers hand, another market day, her brother didn"t talk much anymore either. Mutsuki didn"t come back that night a few months ago, she guess Itsuki missed him alot. She knew she did. Another market day, she skipped happily along clutching her brothers hand she loved watching all the other people. The other people Itsuki"s age were already married but no one seemed to have any intrest in Itsuki. They respected him, he heard someone tell him, but he was a "remaining" and that meant he would be feared. Well there was that red headed girl who lived next to Yae and Sae. But she rarely ventured out of her house, and she was an outsider. Chistose didn"t like outsiders. Danielle walked through the streets getting several odd glances from the villagers. They whispered things, as her ankle attempted to give out and she fell landing on her face. A few of the children laughed as they ran by and she stood up. Her skin was now solid white, what few freckles she had had faded, her glasses rested on nose as usual, her hair was now strung just over her face the rings under her eye"s giving her a rather ghostly appearance. Her Kimono"s once perfectly fitting no hung losely on her shoulders as she continued to walk. The folklorist and his assistant were seen with the Family Master, and she walked past them her face deathly pale. Itsuki said they were taking her place, but as what? She pondered over this her thoughts messing up her concentration on where she was going as she walked. This resulted in her walking strait into the side of a nearbye building. Several of the village children laughed as he vision cleared and she found herself staring strait into the face of The Kurosawa Family master. "Sir.. Oh I"m sorry, I guess I had just gotten lost in thought." SHe said shyly shaking her head. Several of the villagers glared, but said nothing as Itsuki walked by a look on his face that told her something was wrong. The family master said nothing as he was soon joined by the folklorist, and motioned for him to walk back towards the mansion with him. Itsuki appeared shortly after. The crowd parted and several of the village women made comments about him. Offering his hand to the red haired outsider he mouthed words quietly. Just loud enough for her to make sure of what he had said. "Come with me." They arrived at Itsuki"s home as he handed a Small bell key to his younger sister and told her something that made her truly afraid. "Chistose, I"m going to lock the door, Don"t open it for anyone! Understand?" His sister nodded quietly as he gripped Danielle"s Wrist tightly and began to pull her towards the door to his room. She knew it..She was going to die.. Urg...Yep I feel bad..Bit of Itsuki bastardization at the beginning of this chapter, but then again if you had just watched him strangle his brother and then he locked the door to his room and told the only person with a key not to let anyone in then threw you into a table wouldn"t you be scared sh*tless too? Also I"ve begun to incorperate the events of then and now into it, As the final days of the ritual, come into play, so does Mio"s encounter with Danielle. She knew it...She was going to die.. At Itsuki"s hands, the very one who"s attention she craved was going to be the one to end her life. Just as he had done his brothers. She struggled and tried to run out of the room as Itsuki grabbed her wrist and threw her back she landed with a thud as the door clicked shut and several of the glasses on the table, fell as it flipped from the weight of the teenager who had just landed on it. "No! No! Itsuki! I"m sorry! Please don"t! Please---please--please..." She beggeed to the now white haired boy, who said nothing from his position at the door. "Please don"t what?" He asked his brown eye"s narrowing coldly. "Please--please don"t kill me! I won"t tell anyone about Mutsuki please! Spare my life!" She begged as his eye"s softened slightly and he knelt beside the girl. "Your in danger here you know?" He said softly brushing a few strands of red hair out of her face. "I know why my ritual failed, but they don"t, and if they find out you were there then they"ll blame you." He said softly she nodded in a confused fashion. "B-but the rituals were banned! You shouldn"t even be doing them!" She almost yelled but the white haired teenager covered her mouth as she attempted to rise up. "Maybe not, but I was raised in this village and whatever the religeon states is what we do. Unless we want to end up dead." He said softly as though whispering. "Promise you won"t tell anyone that you were there alright? It"s best not to worry about it." Itsuki said softly releasing his hold on her mouth. "Itsuki..." Her voice cracked as she rose slowly resting on her elbows "I"m..sorry." She said softly, as suddenly she felt soft yet firm lips covering her own. Her first kiss...Was with exactly the one she wanted it to be with.. There was knock on the door of Itsuki"s room. as he looked up confused "Itsuki it"s me Yae!" He frowned as he rose to his feet, and walked towards the door. There was a soft click and the youngest of the Kurosawa twins walked into the room. She looked to Danielle who rose to her feet brushing off her Kimono. "Hello." she said softly, Danielle said nothing only bowed polietly. "Chitose has the key you know Yae." The black haired girl nodded softly as the door clicked shut once more. "But she ran and hid on me." She answered before looking to the the red head. "What"s she doing here?" Itsuki frowned softly looking to the red haired outsider. "I was about to tell her something..." He frowned "She saw the ritual." Yae"s eye"s suddenly widened as she looked to the girl in fear. He frowned at the black haired girl "Now the question is what are you doing here?" he asked the older of the twins. "It"s about your ritual. Father sent me." Itsuki turned and looked to the girl as though she were the most vile thing on the planet. "Yes Yae what is?" Somehow she felt like he already know the answer as there was a gentle proding on the roof. "It"s raining." She mouthed softly to herself, it seemed strangely appropriate. "Itsuki...It failed." Yae said softly Itsuki remained silent, before turning around and walking to his desk, picking something up and staring at Danielle for a moment. "Deliver this to Ryozo Munakata." He said firmly handing her a sealed scroll, "And don"t let anyone else see you. Yae, tell him to meet her at the Kiryu house, no one"s there anymore, no one will expect you to be there." Mio walked down the path, her footsteps eerily loud, Mayu had managed to evade her again, how she had no clue. She felt rather pathetic, her sister, who was handicapped always seemed to outrun her. She stepped forewards eyeing the rubble that was the front of the Tachibana house wearily, before a loud bang sounded, several of the delapigated boards fell from their place one at the same time she assumed was a door, drawing the Camera Obscura into her line of vision she prepared for the worst. As ghost, emerged as she had expected, but it did not attack her, but instead froze in her place. As her line of vison greyed, and Mio once again saw the past in hazy black and white... Yeah I know short and it took me forever to get up...Forgive me! Ryozo Munakata stared dully out the window the old house, There was very little said between himself and his sensei as he waited for the messanger to arrive in the house. Yae had informed him, without her sister being present, that he was to recieve a message from Itsuki, the messanger would arrive shortly before the sun set. So he sighed as he watched the rain fall in sheets through the window before he noticed a figure running dressed in a black kimono shielding something with the sleeve"s the person"s own form soaked in the oncoming storm. He ran down the stairs as the door opened. Danielle opened the door, her hand softly touching the edge of the closet...it was then that everything seemed to go blank on her. The grainy image presented before her, of a small girl her blue eye"s wide with fear as she pointed to something lurking behind the red haired girl. "Get out now! Akane leave her alone!" Something creaked behind her, the clunking of wood hitting wood and footsteps. "Kill her.." A light voice said behind her as she turned her green eye"s wide with fear, another girl stood, her eye"s blank her face ghostly pale, along with another girl, her hair covering a set of what appeared to be glass eye"s her skin seemed to perfect, china perhaps? either way it"s stiffly jointed legs creeped along as it whispered again. "Kill her." The little girl standing next to her looked emotionlessly to the red head "I don"t want to kill her." She said still steping foreward. As she did so Danielle took a step back, and another until she bumped into something a screamed. The girl in front of him shrieked and jerked away almost in hysterics, she looked like she had seen something but what? there was nothing there but she was backing away from something an almost terrified look in her green eye"s. "Easy." He said softly to her as she began to sob softly. "Nothing"s there, nothing"s going to hurt you." He gestured to the area where she had been looking but her attention had suddenly turned to the staircase. "Are you the one who Kurosawa-chan said would be here?" She looked slightly confused. "Oh you mean Yae, yes, um..." She handing him and envelope with his name written on it neatly. He recognized the handwriting as Itsuki"s. "It"s from Itsuki?" He seemed slightly confused as she looked around. "Perhaps I Should go now?" Ryozo frowned, she was soaked and any more time out in the rain would make her deathly ill. "Stay here for a while, at least wait until the rain stops or you dry out a little." She sighed softly, perhaps getting idea that he wasn"t going to let her go without a fight. "I guess." Nothing moved in the house, everything was still as they sat in what at one point had been the family altar room unmoving, she looked to the altar her hands clasped softly around a cup of tea. Everything in the house was outdated but it still functioned. It had been abandoned for at least ten years she asumed. "So Itsuki think"s I should get out?" She nodded "But you can"t see him. He rarely comes out of his room anymore." She said softly "It"s best if you just left him alone." He sighed softly as looked into the reflection of his own cup. She sighed as well. "Do you...know anything about the people that lived in this house?" He looked to her slightly confused "Why?" "Because something feels...wrong..." Ryozo looked slightly confused,"Wrong?" She nodded, "ever since I was a young girl I"ve been able to see things that other people can"t see, ghosts I guess you could say....I saw, Were there a set of twins who lived in this house?" She asked her green eye"s softening, her figure outline by the lantern he had lit in the corner of the room. "Yes I think so. " She sighed softly and looked at the confused teenager "Their spirits still remain here. One lost and lonely never knowing her true sisters prescence, so she bids the commands of what seems like a doll of the girl who died. The other twin, the beacon of warning for her sisters insanity. She told me to run away...and that"s what I was trying to do when you found me." He watched her green eye"s intently he seemed almost fascinated with her story. "What"s your name?" "Danielle." "Danielle I think you should meet with Sensei, he would be fascinated with you. If you can really see all this then perhaps you could help him." She nodded slightly. "Or perhaps he would be the one to explain things to me." Ryokan Kurosawa frowned slightly. One of priests stood silently at the doorway. "The mourners are causing a fuss...That girl...would she serve as a decent Kusabi?" The priest frowned slightly behind his mask, "There"s more chance that she would die during the ritual, we cannot risk another failure." "You have a point, the time of repentance for Tachibana"s failure is almost upon us, we must make sure our next Kusabi going to survive the ritual..." He sighed softly pressing his fingers to his temples trying to relieve the headache all of this was causing. Certainly his ritual had not been this difficult? "We will us Makabae as our Kusabi, and if his does not apease the abyss before Yae and Sae"s ritual then we shall use her as our fail safe. If she fails then the ritual must be preformed early." The priest nodded before turning around towards the door. "How long should we wait?" "Seven days." Danielle looked around the area tenatively as they now sat near the fireplace in the Kiryuu house. There was nothing more that bothered her than silence. It was usually the sort of hated silence that occured when people found out about her sixth sense. Or when she had just had one of her episodes from said sixth sense. Now It was simply because as she stared at Ryozo"s sensei she could think of nothing to say. Her abilities already explained, and no trace of the young childs spirit in the room, everything remained silent. "I see..." Muttered Makabae silent to himself. "Your saying that one cannot simply achieve this state unless born with some power? That there is a ghost in this house, but it will not make itself present?" She nodded. "Very well then. Perhaps another time when things have calmed down, after the festival I"ll talk with you again." She nodded once again softly as he finished this statement. "Yes sir." She looked to Ryozo who was sitting in the corner "Will you show me the way out? I"m afraid that I"ll get lost." She said softly and the boy rose and walked out with her. The Rain had halted. As A matter of fact the sun was now shining as she emerged from the house breathing a sigh of relief. "Tell me, Danielle." Ryozo paused "Did you ask me to "Show you the way out because," "Because I was afraid that girl would attack me? Yes. Wouldn"t you be?" He nodded at this returned question. "Yes actually I would be....It"s getting late, You"d better get home quickly." She smiled softly at the boy who seemed to be concerned with nothing but her safety and bowed waving afterwards. "Goodbye Ryozo. Perhaps I can visit you tommorow." She added but then her heart shrunk at the relization that visiting the boy would also mean entering the Kurosawa mansion. Something the red haired girl had never been keen on doing. The house was a maze, and the Servants all had an odd Aura about them. This also told her that several people had perished in that house, and that for some reason or another many more would as well. Elsewhere in the village, Chitose eyed her brothers room contemplating wether or not the small child should open the door or not. The bells attached to the key jingled around her wrist as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feat. It had been almost a year since Itsuki had gone off with Mutsuki and one of them had not returned. Since then her brother had isolated himself in his room. Only to start associating with that weird red haired girl that lived only a few homes down from theirs. She was an outsider, and their parents had always warned them not to get close to any outsiders. Getting close to outsiders meant that you would get hurt, because after a while they left. One way or another. Chitose frowned and then turned around stalking off. She was bored, she wanted her brother to play with her. But that probably wasn"t going to happen. Itsuki never played with her, and he only spoke to her when she needed to let someone in. But she never liked letting anyone in. People scared her, for some reason. Or Perhaps she was only afraid because she couldn"t truly see them and that she didn"t really want anyone to come in and torment her brother. So she hid. The sound of the sliding door alerted her to an intruder in their home and she quickly darted towards the nearest closet. What if this time it really was someone that wanted to hurt her? or Itsuki? A Shadow rounded the corner and looked through the bars into Itsuki"s room alerting the boy of a precense and he quickly turned. "Danielle." He nodded in recognition."Itsuki. I Took Ryozo your note. " She said softly, "And it nearly killed me." The White haired boy turned to face the window curiously, "The house that Ryozo"s mentor was in, it"s haunted." She answered the questions asked through his confused glance. "Severly, and she"s not a friendly ghost either." She muttered. "I Think I"m gonna go home...and sleep for the next two days...or at least take a nice hot bath." She said in a sigh. Then bowing she left the white haired boy behind to ponder his next move. He had to get Yae and Sae out of this place before the ritual, as well as Danielle before the repentance, otherwise the girl from Kyoto would surely be the next Kusabi. Danielle closed her eyes as she slipped into the warm water and sighed. She had a headache, and usually the only thing she could manage to do with these kind of stress induced headaches was to simply relax until it went away. "That"s the last time I go into that house...Ever." She made this vow silents as she douced her slightly tangled red hair with hot water. PRESENT TIME Mio looked behind to Mayu, making sure the girl was still there. She wasn"t quite sure if the girl had wandered off, she should have been frustrated, her dear sister never behaved like this usually. However she wasn"t, it was clear that Mayu was sick, as she got the feeling that as long as they stayed in this village that she would get even sicker. That girl, Sae, the girl had scared her beyond all means of describing it, and she prayed silently that the ghost never made her precence known in front of her sister. In the weakened state the girl remained in, that she would not escape with her sister alive. She continued walking until she heard Mayu"s voice filled with fear. "MIO! LOOK!" She pointed up to the steps leading to the house next to the Kurosawa mansion. She was never really sure who had lived there in all the documents she had read about the families of the village. Standing there was a ghost, a womans ghost, but it made no move to attack them, and it did not simply vanish either. She was a short thin young woman in a red Kimono decorated with patterns of Butterflys and Dragons and various other golden designs a large gold Obi tied around her waist. A nonexistant wind blew lose strands of hair into her face as several cuts decorated the sold white "Skin" of the female, Green eye"s narrowed softly and then closed as she climbed up the stairs the folds of the silk in her Kimono looking elegant until she noticed one thing. The girls bare arm was also covered with cuts, as it twitched slightly, it looked as though the woman had been beaten to death. The womans ascent stopped as she looked downwards once more. A voice seemed to ring in her ears as she looked at the woman. "Perhaps it really is, all my fault...Poor itsuki...' Mio watched as the spirit vanished with this, snapping a quick photo of the woman. She then noted the soft glow of a gem again the light of her flashlight. "An Emerald?" She looked puzzled and turned around to address her sister. Except Mayu wasn"t there, she turned just in time to see the door that the ghost had walked through close. "MAYU! where are you going!?" She yelled towards the door but there was no reply. Sighing softly and lifting the Camera from the black bag and into her hands she walked up the steps and through the door as well.

room as quickly as she could, so that the creatures could not follow her, and she wouldn"t run the risk of going through that again. Something about being filled with such rage scared her more than anything possibly could have. She saw Nephilim run into a set of double doors labeled "2nd grayd" and she quickly followed. Through one hallway into a set of double doors to find the gnome getting attacked by Card guards. Though she was fending them off fairly well for one of her small size Shion felt the need to help and threw her knife in the direction of the second one, just as Nephilim finished off the first. "Your fortunate I passed by." She said with a light chuckle. Nephilim crossed her arms looking rather angered by this "Meaning what?" She asked looking rather childish "I was just about to say you were lucky to have found me!" She said raising up a small flask for Shion to see "Look! I found the last ingredient, Sugared spice drops!" Shion frowned in distaste once again noting that she did not care much for sweets, those were the sort of things that children enjoyed and much to Shion"s dislike, she was no longer a small child. She crossed her arms as she watched the small gnome place it on the table with the Mushrooms and looked about in disintrest. "Whenever we meet up I seem to find a bit more trouble, seen any Jumbo grow about?" She asked looking around the room for the flask the liquid was usually contained in. Nephilim nodded to this "There"s a bit in the flask in the sideboard. See we"re set!" She proclaimed looking rather pleased with herself "Just bring me some poppy blooms and we"ll mix up the potion." Shion nodded and left the room rather quickly. She would be thankful when she was once again united with the Rabbit instead of wandering around this absolutely terrible "skool" searching for the way to find him. She turned the corner walking through the door to the right of the hallway only to find that it lead to the same place as the left door in this hallway, this place was a set of double doors, this time labeled "3rd Grayd" instead and she ran through to find herself in the schools Garden. There in the dead center were a whole box of Poppy blooms, however they were mere buds. But that of course was what the Jumbo grow for which she used on one of the buds and watched as it grew into a flower. A flower that looked much like a Lollipop on a giant stick. It was pink with white around it and she picked it up and left the room once again rather quickly. She was far to eager to leave this place to linger anywhere. She re-entered the room where Nephilim was waiting, the gnome was sitting at a table looking rather bored but ran foreward as the brown haired woman entered the room. Taking the flower from her hands she looked at the machine on the table where the various ingredients lay and quickly began mixing them together in the machine. "This condenser can mix the potion," She stated with a frown "But it doesn"t look like it"s good for much else." She said as Shion watched the potion drip into a small flask. In a mere matter of minutes to potion was Done and Nephilim handed the flask to the girl. But along with this she placed a small Star. "Now, time to leave." She said softly to Shion "But not as you came, Go by way of the observatory." She said softly as she folded Shions hands around the small Star "This Star is for your Stellar effort..." She smiled broadly "May open some doors for you." She said softly before vanishing before Shions eyes. Shion nodded as the Gnome vanished from her sight. Remembering seeing a door marked Observatory in the Library she ran back into the main hallway of the building rather quickly. Up the stairs and through the door, up a few floors on the moving staircase, and quickly found herself at the door which stood out from all the rest. It was a big set of Red double doors, a Star shape in place of a keyhole and the word "Observatory" written in large ornate letters above it. "Probably the only thing they"ve spelled right in this awful place." Shion said to herself as she placed the Star Nephilim had given her in the place that would serve as the keyhole. Inside was an elevator which Shion stepped on and soon it started to take her up at a steady pace. When she reached the top and opened the doors to look around the observatory she frowned. The place was rather ill kept, there was very little to the room except for a few bookshelves A large globe in the center of the room, and one Lone, rather large, telescope sitting in the middle of the room, just above the Globe, was a large telescope. She walked up the steps to look at the Telescope, looking into it to find that when she did the Globe opened up. This revealed an area surrounding a small door, much like the one the Rabbit had entered. She quickly Drank the potion, and jumped into the door. She looked around her with great fascination to find that she was in what had probably once been quite a lovely little forest. Surrounding her were tall blades of grass and Mushrooms. In front of her was a tall set of cliffs, a lovely waterfall going down these cliffs, and running towards a small opening at the bottoms of the cliffs face was the skinny young man with dark hair and white rabbit ears. She ran to follow after him, but something pushed, what was probably no more than a mere pebble had she been her actual size in front of the opening by throwing it down the cliffs face. She growled clinching her fists. More of the Queens minions she assumed...trying to bar her path...but this time she would not allow anyone to stand her way. For should they, she would make sure that they would die horribly... Shion growled slightly as she climbed up the face of the cliff. It seemed that someone did not want her to get to the top of the large cliff and was hurling rather large, and unplesant bolders at her on occasion. Which in turn meant that she had to run back down the cliff to hide in a suitable corner where the Rock wouldn"t reach when it went down the slopping hillside. As she neared the top she found that her legs were getting very tired, and she was growing rather irritated at whatever was hruling the stones. As it turned out these things, she found once reaching the top, were ants. Ants that, much like the card guards, were easily disposed of. She saw in front of her a small stream. A rather smaller path wound it"s way beside that stream and she walked up it. At the end of this path was a rather large pool. She couldn"t see the otherside of it from where she was standing, but the water didn"t appear to deep it seemed. Sitting to the side, the origin of the lake, A large Statue of a girl resembling herself greatly, The figure was sitting on it"s knees A hand covering the statues face as two torrents of water poured from the eyes of the statue. The entire image, with this realms grey sky, and murky surroundings was quite depressing and Shion frowned in distaste at it as she stepped into the water. Seeing no other way to cross the lake. Swimming halfway she relized soon that she no idea of which way she was suposed to be swiming. "Cat!" She called out reluctantly "Could you provide a little help here?" There was no response to this. "CAT!" She called out once again sounding rather irritated "CAT!" She growned as she swam back to shore wondering if perhaps he was there and simply not answering. Sure enough the Cheshire Cat sat on one of the large mushrooms, his legs crossed a bored expression on his pale face, Grey ears twitched slightly, He was filing his nails. "CAT!" She growled from her spot, still in the water keeping herself afloat her hair clinging to her shoulders and the back of her neck. The white haired boy looked over to her smirking slightly but didn"t move from his spot. "Yes Shion?" He asked something causing his ears to flatter themselves to the side of his head in discontent. "I was asking for your help!" She said crossing her arms with a frown. "Oh yes." He said calmly still filing his nails in a bored manner "To put it quite simply, I don"t do water." He replied with a frown. "What do you mean you don"t do water! I might have really needed your help!" She said with a glare developing on her pale face that would have killed any normal person. "WILHELM! I ASKED FOR YOUR HELP!" She yelled once again standing on her tip toes. The White haired boy winced visibly at this "Please do refrain from calling me that in the near future." Shion frowned at this looking slightly confused "But it"s your name isn"t it?" "Exactly, and I"d prefer to be called it, if people could pronounce it correctly." He replied wincing again. "Something wrong?" She looked concerned slightly as he winced again. "Such an Awful racket." He muttered putting his hands over the ears that were already almost totally flattened to the side of his head. "Reminds me of your Violin lessons." Shion growled slightly at this. "Hey! I play the Violin fairly well I hope you know!" She said with a frown. "What "Racket" are you talking about anyways!" He shushed her at this and it was then that she noticed a rather loud wailing sound coming from a small distance across this pool. She frowned slightly and then began to swim off in the direction of the sound. About halfway across the pool she began to see another shore. On this shore sat a boy maybe a bit younger than her, He was sitting on the ground sobbing miserably. It was also to be noted, that he was not fully clothed, he was instead wearing a white muscle shirt and a pair of white boxers...the embrassing kind, with the little hearts on them. Though not quite so curious about his choice of clothing as she was his reason for crying. Shion neglected this fact and she climbed onto the shore and walked over to him, placing her hand on his shoulder softly. "What"s wrong? Did someone die? Did you lose your family?" She asked feeling rather sympathetic for the boy who shook his head brown hair shaking with it as he looked at her miserably. "No it"s my shell!" He proclaimed something in Shion automatically caused to lose intrest. "The Duchess stole it from me and tried to eat me for lunch!" He sobbed "Nobility must be served I supose." He said and looked to Shion for some form of consolement only to find the girl was simply staring off into space. "Ahem." He cleared his throat. Shion looked down at him a little suprised "Oh, Did you say something." He sighed frustratedly at this. "Yeah I said..." Shion cut him off at the moment "Tragic I"m sure, but I"m a bit pressed for time." She said with a frown "Have you seen a Rabbit go by here?" The boy scratched his head in through "Twitchy nose? Shifty eyes? Constantly consults his pocket watch? Most perculiar character indeed." He said. "He"s very dear to me." She said softly "I must find him quickly." The brown haired boy nodded "The Caterpillar could help." He started "I"m quite certain. He knows everything there is to know!" He proclaimed. Shion frowned slightly. She remember the Caterpillar, he was quite an irritating character if she remembered correctly, always secretive, sitting there on his mushroom behaving in a rather annoying manner. "And just where does that smushy layabout hang his hookah these days?" She asked crossing her arm slowly. "Since the troubles began, he"s in hiding," He stated with a frown "I couldn"t divulge his secret..I couldn"t risk telling you..." He paused looking at her slightly suggestively "without something in return." Shion sighed rubbing the bridge of her nose in annoyance "Risk nothing gain nothing I supose." She said. "His whereabouts then, in exchange for my shell." He said holding out his hand to shake on the deal "The Duchess won"t part with it willingly." He added in with a frown as Shion raised her own hand taking his in acceptance of the deal "Then She must do it unwillingly." She said with a slight smirk rising on her pale face. The boy Nodded as a stray leaf fell in front of them and the brown haired boy shuffled over to a tree taking out a small twig that resembled a boat ore. "Your brave." He stated "But I"m going to warn you, she treats everything as prey." He said motioning for her to step on the leaf. Shion did so, hopping onto the leaf suprised that it held her weight though she reminded herself that she was alot smaller than she usually was. The boy followed shortly after using the stick to shove the leaf off much like one would do a boat. As they set off down the stream. They pushed down the stream without problems it seemed. Shion gazed into the water with a frown as she took notice of the small fish like creatures in the water that did not look the least bit friendly. The grey sky above her was of little comfort and the silence that was occuring around them seemed none to plesant as well. "Brace yourself." Warned the boy suddenly sitting down to stop pushing the leaf and let his hands grip the edge of the leaf. Shion looked confused. "Why?" She asked, looking around him to try to see what had him worried. "Waterfall." He said simply as she noticed it herself grabbing hold of the leaf"s edges, just as they went over. Er...I have drastically shortened this section...forgive me...but that area is a pain and I"m not good with the details of Combat so... There was a rather high pitched Scream as Shion went over the falls. Struggling to hold onto the leaf but feeling it fall from her grasp. It seemed that Allen had already abandoned Ship before they had managed to get even halfway through the Falls, but Shion hadn"t noticed simply because she was to busy screaming. She Gasped as the Water rushed over her in one Icy cold wave and she struggled to swim to the surface. The water itself was Rather deep and she couldn"t begin to see the bottom of it, Looking up towards the shore Allen stood frantically waving his hands back and forth. "GET OUT OF THE WATER NOW!" He yelled at the girl frantically jumping up and down. She looked rather confused at this and looked around to see if perhaps there was any insuing threat but seeing none she floated in the water confused. "Why?" "GET OUT! NOW! SHION!" He yelled with a frown and she once again looked around confused when something caught her eye...a Ripple. Not just a ripple caused by her, but by something moving under the water. Slowly...closer towards her..Her eyes widened suddenly as she paniced and began to swim rather quickly towards the shore. Suddenly a huge wave washed over her and she felt herself being propeled into something...or someone as a large fish hit the water again obviously thinking that it had earned itself a good meal Shion looked at the thing she had landed on. Unfortunately it wasn"t a thing it was a person and this person was looking both rather dizy and far to pleased for her to do anything but smack him across the face and call him a pervert. She had landed on Allen...more specifically her chest area has landed on Allens face area. She sighed slightly slapping a hand against her forehead as she stood up brushing her dress off. "Stupid Fish...I hate fish.." She muttered to herself as she looked in front of her...there in the hazy Fog was a rather large cottage, a makeshift one at that, amoungst several ruins that were probably the remains of some childs attempt at a sand castle. It had a steep looking roof off to one side, and the doors were made out of playing cards, the first door being the King the second door being the Queen, they were both stacked against eachother, and both cards were of the hearts suite in the deck. She smirked slightly as she tapped her foot against the ground almost agitatedly. "So I take it that"s the Duchesses house?" He nodded gulping slightly in worry. "Nows the time to turn back if your scared." He said softly and she looked around at him "Did you say something?" he shook his head rather quickly at this "no ma"am." She nodded and walked towards the house. Everything remained silent as she looked at the porch, half expecting the door to move and perhaps suck her into it. But it did not, as a matter of fact the door didn"t move at all, after struggling with it Shion looked around in confusion wondering if perhaps this house was just for show. "Psst," the sound caught her ear in the silence, the absense of the Mock Turtles winning as a man dressed in a plain black T-shirt and Pants with a hat that read "Caution: I am a Boozer, Banzai!Banzai!' on it "Over here!" He proclaimed and Shion looked rather confused, "Do I know you?" She asked hoping silently to herself that she did not sound rude to the man but slightly agitated that she could not get this over with sooner. "Names Matthews, but you can call me larry..." There was a rather stunned silence at this to which Shion longed to bang her head into the side of the nearby building, he cleared his throat breaking the ackward silence and spoke again. "...or not, You wouldn"t happen to have any Brandy would you?" She shook her head "I only have my wits." There was a sort of mocking laugh from the Man in front of her "Then you have nothing, Wits are useless here, everything is downside up!" Shion tilted her head to the side in confusion...didn"t he mean upside down? shaking it off she continued "I must see the Duchess," She said calmly noting that man shivered slightly at the mention of the name "Impossible!" He spat "She only see"s those who do not wish to see her!" Shion felt rather confused and suddenly agreed with Matthews when he said everything was upside down...or downside up..or however he meant to say it. "That"s not right," She said softly, not knowing that she had said it aloud. He shook his head "It"s perfect," He confirmed rather joyously "She"s suposed to be hiding from the red queen, who wants her dead." "Her head?" Shion asked wondering if perhaps all that water had damaged her hearing. "That too." He said crossing his arms and nodding matter-o-factly "Ruins my home! Builds that Monstrosity," He gestured to large house in front of them, shion had to admit, it was rather hideous looking. But then again this entire place seemed rather unplesant to live in, what with the Ants with Guns and killer fish that had tried to make a meal out of her. "She"s as mad as Monkey mash and just as tasteless," Matthews spat rather coldly "well, nevermind that...we"ll perish soon enough," He said hopelessly looking to the ground as though it might provide some sort of comfort "Sure you don"t have any brandy?" He asked probably to provide some little smear of hope in his dismal mind. She crossed her arms hoping that she provided some image that was either admirable or threatning enough for him to help her get into the duchess"s home. "I"m here to retrieve the turtles shell, I won"t leave without it!" She proclaimed rather boldly. There were a few moments of silence after this to which the man looked rather stunned at the girls display of something he wasn"t sure was bravery or stupidity. The duchess was a cruel and glutonous woman though her figure didn"t quite show it. She would certainly make the unfortunate girl into a meal the moment she set foot into the monstrosity she called her home. "Won"t you indeed?" He began gruffly sounding slightly amused "Stick your thumb in her eye won"t you?your a devoted servant Ma"am, I owe her a bad turn myself! Follow me." He motioned walking towards the doors. They opened slowly and the man in front of her developed a terrified expression as a great breeze blew from inside the building much like that of a vaccum and he jumped to side as Shion was sucked into it. She didn"t have time to scream as she hit the ground with a thud. Looking around at the small dirty cottage as she dusted her dress off. The Duchess was nowhere to be seen but a large picture of a pig hung to the side of the room, and a jack in the Box sat on the table in front of her. She picked up the jack in the box and looked at it curiously just as there was a great rumbling sensation. The fire in the fireplace in front of her sprung up as she shoved the jack in the box into her pockets rather uncomforatbly. There was a cloud of smoke as a tall woman in a black dress her slim figure obviously not showing how glutenous she was. She weilded a pepper shaker much like the stories of old housewives weilding rolling pens in her hands, as though it were a bat. There was a moment of ackward silence between the two woman as her blue eyes displayed just how serious she was, before suddenly. "ACHOO!" The woman sneezed blowing pepper everywhere and Shion struggled not to sneeze herself. She then surveyed Shion calmly before laughing "Come closer my little chick!" another sneeze punctiated the word chick and Shion winced slightly "Mmm, Properly seasoned you"d make a HANDSOME dish!" She proclaimed to which Shion responded almost dully "I"m not Edible." She stated to which the blonde woman laughed "Not a full meal certainly, but a light snack I should think." Another sneeze. "I merely wanted to ask," Shion began hoping that the woman could be reasoned with but she was merely cut off "Speaking of Axes, Chop off her head!" She said with a smirk "I will have the turtles shell back now you disgusting ogre!" She proclaimed now seeing that reason was not something the duchess was good at.

"I feel like a mom when I look after Lucas and Marco, I love that feeling. It felt great last night but then Max had to make a threat about taking that chance of becoming a mom away. I guess he did. I remember it being a deep wound." "No, he didn"t take that chance away. It was a deep cut but it wasn"t deep enough to stop you from becoming a mom. I didn"t know you felt that way when you looked after Lucas and Marco. You should"ve told me." "I can still have children?" "Yeah. You can still have children." Demetri brushes away a few stray hairs. "I want a child, Demetri." "Now?" He stares at me. "Yeah." I admit. He smiles, shaking his head. "It"s the wrong time to get pregnant, Tenebrae. Maybe once all of this is over including Max and Jay, then yeah, we can start a family." "I want that feeling of mom to stay. I love that feeling." "I can arrange for us to look after Lucas and Marco more often if you want. I"m sure Isis and April won"t mind. They"ve both seen how we could be good parents." Demetri presses a kiss to my forehead. "Get some rest. You lost a lot of blood last night; you"re weak at the moment." He places his head on my heart. It was a steady drum beat. I close my eyes and take deep breathes. "Will that mean we"ll be using condoms now?" I let out a dry chuckle. "Yeah, we"ll be using condoms now. You have to be on the pill." Demetri chuckles too. I don"t reply. "Demetri, can I get up now?" I ask, it was two days after my stomach had been badly cut into. The stitches have come out and I"ve got a scab over the place. Demetri pops his head out of the bathroom, his hair wet and his shoulders bare. Yum. Naked Demetri. I joke in my mind. Demetri studies me. I had my left leg bent, sitting up. I lower my leg since it was aching. "I suppose so. You have to ask Quinn, he"s the doctor around here." Demetri turns off the shower and walks out, a towel hung low on his hips. I throw the covers to one side, getting up like nothing was wrong with me and smile. "No need. I feel fine, it doesn"t hurt and I still love you." "Glad to hear that. You going to change into a different top of mine?" Demetri asks as he takes out jeans and a top. "No, I"ll be happy in my underwear for now." I bend over and get out a new, clean pair of underwear. "I won"t be long." I excuse myself from Demetri"s side and get into the shower. "There won"t be any training for you for a while. The rest of us are going to train to fight and build our skills up. You"ll be looking after Marco and Lucas while we train. Are you okay with that?" Demetri tells me above the noise of the shower. I stare at the wall in shock. "Yes." I manage. I get to feel like a mom for a little while as they train. I smile to myself before getting out of the shower, a towel around me only. "I kept in mind how much you liked feeling like a mom until you actually become one. I told Isis and April that, they said that we can look after Lucas and Marco more often and, we"d be good parents when we have our own children." Demetri goes on. I run out of the bathroom, swing my arms around his neck and kiss him deeply. He has hold of my thighs quickly, holding me against him. "I have to repay you in someway for making that happen." I break away; he smiles and shakes his head. Soon, I get to be a mom. Until then, I"m going to act like a mom to Lucas and Marco. My heart begins to beat quicker. "No, it"s my pleasure. I want to see you happy." He lets go of my thighs, letting me down slowly. "I want everyone to be happy, especially you." "Demetri, you are doing the most wonderful things to me. I don"t know how to give you the most wonderful things back." "Only you being alive is the most wonderful thing to happen to me. As long as you stay alive, it will always be the most wonderful thing you can do." Demetri turns his head. Isis and April were standing in the doorway. "We did warn you about him being a die-hard romantic." Isis tells me. I laugh. "I"d better let you go." I tell him. "Afraid so. Soon, you"ll be able to train with us." Demetri places a last kiss on my lips before going with April and Isis. Sighing deeply, I get dressed. I hear running on the stairs. Lucas rushes into the room, throwing himself on me. "Hello you. Are you better now?" He"s been a bit off since the night Max came. "Yeah! How are you?" He asks me. "I"m better too. I"d be down in two minutes." "Promise?" "Promise. Once I"m down, we can play a game or watch TV or watch the others train." "Demetri said that you and I can cook today." "Did he now? Let"s cook some cookies, yeah?" "And a big chocolate cake!" "Alright then. We will need to go to the store for some ingredients though. Which means go and put your shoes on and I"ll be down in a minute. Is Marco down there?" I get Lucas off me as I finish doing up my jeans. I put my shoes on as he watches. "Yeah, he"s asleep. He"s not dressed though." Lucas runs into the wardrobe and gets Demetri"s shoes on. "I"ve got my shoes on." "Go and get your own on before I come and eat you." I run towards him. He goes downstairs. I grab a top before jogging downstairs. I pull my top over and Lucas waits for me, waving his shoes in the air. "Good boy." I bend down on one knee as I do up his shoes. Lucas was so much like Demetri. I stand up, seeing a carrier bag and a pram next to the fireplace. I search inside the carrier bag, bottles, diapers, baby wipes, baby grows and Marco"s own pair of jeans and shirt. "Lucas, can you pass me a diaper, the baby wipes, one of his vests and his clothes please?" I ask when I get Marco lying on the floor, still not awake. I undress him, trying not to wake him at the same time. Lucas places them next to me. I change his diaper and got him dressed. He wakes up once he was dressed. He smiles at me instantly. I pick him up and put his clean diapers, baby wipes and bottles into a messenger bag and put it on. "Come on Lucas, let"s go to the store." Lucas takes my hand; I make sure I have my cell and my purse. I do. We go outside. Demetri and April stops, looking at me. They come over. "Hey little man." Demetri says to Marco. April laughs. "Where are you going?" Demetri says, placing his hands on my waist. "Just going to the store to by ingredients. Aren"t we, Lucas?" "Yeah! We"re going to cook today." Lucas was so enthusiastic. "Apparently, you said that we"re cooking today. We"re going to bake some cookies and maybe, something else." I inform Demetri. "Is it alright if I take Marco with me? I"ve got his stuff so, I"m prepared." "Yeah, he"ll like going to the store." April nods. "Sounds good. Have you got any money? Your cell?" Demetri asks, pulling me closer. "Yes. I"ve got my purse and my cell. I"ll call if I need anything or I"m in trouble." "Aren"t you going to take Marco"s buggy?" "No, I"ll be alright carrying him. Also, I"ll just put him in the trolley." "Okay. Have a good time. Make sure they are plain cookies. Only Lucas likes chocolate chip cookies." Demetri kisses me again. Lucas pretends to be sick at the sight. "See you later then." He turns and gets back to training. "Is there anything you want me to get, April? It"s not a problem." I ask her. "Just a loaf of bread please. The seeded one. I"ll repay you when you get back. Please look after these two." April places a hand on my arm. "Don"t worry I will. I"ll see you later." I go to the Jeep which had the child seats in. Isis throws the keys. I make sure Lucas and Marco are firmly belted in before driving off. The store was over two miles away. It was reasonably crowded. I push the trolley, watching Lucas. "Can I have this?" Lucas suddenly shouts. I turn and he was holding up a racing track. I shake my head. "No, Lucas. We only came here to buy ingredients. Come on, sweetheart." I hold out my hand. Lucas takes it. Marco stares at the surrounding. We reach to the cooking area. I get the cooking book and flour and all that. Lucas picks out the chocolate chips and the cooking chocolate and the chocolate cake icing. Okay, he has a thing about chocolate. I place the book and the ingredients (including what Lucas"s desire of chocolate stuff). I grab Marco before he could even try to reach the shopping. "Do you want to push the trolley, Lucas?" I ask him. Without a second"s thought, he starts pushing the trolley. We go to the book section. I get a book and Marco a baby book. Seeing Lucas is cooking, I"m treating Marco and myself. We go to the bread section and I pick out a loaf of bread April wanted. "Tenebrae, is that you?" A man"s voice asks. I turn around and I have no idea who the bloke is. Tall, blond hair, green eyes, baby face and slim. "I"m sorry. Who are you?" I ask. Lucas takes my hand again. "Don"t you remember me? I"m Harvey. Your first boyfriend." "Oh God, yes Harvey. I"m sorry, I didn"t recognize you. My life has been busy, I"m forgetting everything. How have you been?" "I"ve been good. How about you? Look at him. He"s adorable." Harvey points at Marco. I smile. Marco hides his head in my shoulder. "I"ve been busy. No rest for me. This is Marco and this little shy boy, is Lucas." "You have a family. Who with?" "Oh no, these aren"t mine. I"m looking after them while the rest of their family"s out for the day. I said I would so... doing some baking with Lucas and I"m going to try to read to Marco." "How old are they? Who are you with? I heard you were with somebody." "Lucas is about five and Marco is nearly three months." "Who are you currently with?" Harvey reaches out to Marco, rejected again. "I"m with Demetri Cicada. Do you remember him? The Quarterback for our football team. Yeah, me and him are currently together." "Oh yeah, Demetri. I"m glad you"re happy. What are you doing up here? Where have they gone for the day, why didn"t you go?" "It"s a trip. I didn"t feel too well today so, I offered to stay behind and look after the kids. I don"t mind, I love playing mom." "Lucas and Marco look so much like you. That"s why I thought they were yours." Harvey goes down to Lucas"s level and holds out a lolly. "If I get a hug, you can have this lolly. Deal?" Lucas hugs him. Harvey gives him the lolly. "You can have it now but don"t run around with it while it"s in your mouth. You"ll choke." I tell Lucas. He places it in my pocket. "He wants the mixture." "What are you baking?" "Some plain cookies and some chocolate chip ones. And, a big chocolate cake as a surprise though for Demetri." "Hey. It"s been good catching up. I"ll see you some other time. Enjoy your day. Tell Demetri I said hey. See you later." Harvey says before leaving. "Yeah, you too. Tell your mom I said hi. See you later, Harvey." I look down at Lucas. "Come on, let"s pay for this and get home so we can start our baking." Lucas pushes the trolley towards the checkout. I get out my purse and begin loading the groceries on. Marco begins to cry. "Do you want any help?" Lucas asks. "No, I"m fine. Carry on loading the stuff on please." I tell him once I had Marco in the trolley and a bottle in his mouth. Lucas carries on loading the ingredients on. I wait at the end, packing the stuff away. The woman stares at me. "You have a very well behaved little lad there, miss." She says. "Thank you. He"ll be my brother-in-law soon. The little baby is my sister-in-law"s son." I let loose. She laughs. "They look so much like you. A little young to be having children though." "You"re the second person to say that. They"re not mine though. I"m waiting until I"m older to have children." "Do you want any help packing?" She begins to stand up. "Er... no thanks. I"ve got a little helper already." I place the bags in the trolley for Lucas. "We"re baking and he loves chocolate. That"s why there"s so much of the stuff." I joke. Lucas holds onto the trolley, ready to push it. I grab Marco out of it and pay. "Nice speaking to you. Have a good day. See you." I tell her as we leave. I place my purse in my pocket again and hold Marco tightly. I hold onto the trolley with one hand as Lucas pushes it. Up ahead, I see a black haired guy who looked a lot like Demetri. As we draw closer, I recognize him. It was Demetri. He holds out his arms and Lucas abandons the trolley to race into his arms. "Hey sport! Did you enjoy shopping?" I hear Demetri exclaim. I reach him. He gets Marco and hugs me quickly. "Yeah, we got lots of stuff!" Lucas pushes the trolley out of the store, us in tow. "How come you"re here? I thought you were meant to be training." I question. Demetri wraps an arm around my waist. "They sent me to come and get you. I swear. I"m going to train when we get back, leaving the three of you to get on with your cooking." "Why did they send you? I see why they did. Lucas! Wait at there!" I shout quickly before Lucas could get near the road. Demetri smiles. "I don"t know. You have to ask them. Anyway, what are you baking?" "You already know. Cookies. Some chocolate chip ones and some plain ones for you all." "What else? Aren"t you cooking anything else?" He leans close to my face, his breathe warming my skin. "No, just cookies. Why? Do you want me to cook anything else?" "Not at all, of course not. I just wondered what else you were cooking." I turn my head quickly to place a kiss on his lips before reaching the road. Chapter 12 Demetri thrusts Marco into my arms and rush towards the road. There was a horn and screeching of tires. I risk at look. The trolley was at the side of the road, crashed and twisted. I see Demetri lying in the road. Lucas runs towards me and cries. I rush to Demetri"s side, kneeling down next to him. I place my free hand on his shoulder. "Demetri?" I ask, hoping that he isn"t...isn"t...gone. "Uncle Demetri?" He sobs, I hold my arm out. Marco begins to scream into my ear. "Uncle?" He shouts. I begin to sob too. No, he can"t be dead. He can"t be! "Demetri, dear? Answer us, please." I feel hands on my arms. I look up and everyone was crowding around us. There was blood spilling over the ground and Demetri had a cut across his jaw, eyebrow and cheek. There was only trickling blood. "Somebody call an ambulance!" I scream. I hear a murmur in the crowds. "One"s already on it"s way." Someone tells me. I look to Lucas, wiping my tears away. "Lucas," I begin. "Stay here while I make a call, okay?" I stand up, Marco still wailing. I call Isis, trying to keep back my sobs. "Hey, Tenebrae. What"s wrong?" Isis answers. "Just get to the store as quick as possible. There"s been an accident." I hang up, knowing them; they"ll be here within five minutes. I go back to Lucas, hearing the ambulance. "Don"t worry, Lucas. Everything"s going to be okay. Demetri"s going to be fine." I tell him, holding him tightly. Everybody backs away and the ambulance arrives. They rush to Demetri. "Be careful with him. He"s bleeding badly but I don"t know where from." I tell the paramedics. One of them comes up to me and Lucas. "Miss, do you know what happened?" He asks. "I think so. I was walking with him, he was holding the baby. Lucas was waiting for us at the sidewalk and suddenly, Demetri, the injured person, gave Marco to me and ran towards the road. I think he pushed Lucas out of the way and he took the full impact of the car." I explain, holding Lucas and Marco even tighter. "Do you know who was driving the car when it happened? Are you the only related person to the injured?" "No. I didn"t. His sisters and brothers are coming now." "It was the bad man." Lucas tells me, trying to stop the crying. "The bad man? Lucas, are you sure about this?" "I can"t forget his face. It was the bad man." "Who is the bad man?" The paramedic asks, I watch them as they place Demetri on the stretcher and then, onto a trolley. "Max Woods. He was one of my mom"s first boyfriends after the murder of my dad. He attacked the place we were staying yesterday night." I run a hand through my hair. "Max Woods. We"ll get a police officer on this case. Looks like it was a potential case of murder or attempted murder." "Here"s his siblings." I spot them running towards me. "What"s happened, Tenebrae? What happened to Demetri?" Kyle asks softly. I break down into tears. Isis takes Lucas and April takes Marco away. Kyle hugs me. "You"d better go with him. We"ll follow behind." The paramedic who I"ve been talking to gets into the back of the ambulance with me. I see them climb into both Jeeps and following. I hold Demetri"s hand. "Will he be alright?" I ask. "We don"t know. We don"t know the extent of the damage." He tells me solemnly. "What relation are you to this person?" "I"m his girlfriend." I stare at Demetri. He has an oxygen mask on and he looked terrible. I shake my head, unable to keep the tears back. When we reach the hospital, they immediately take him to the ICU. I wasn"t allowed to go inside. I go outside and meet his siblings. This is my entire fault! "Tenebrae, why aren"t you in there with him?" Isis has disgust and hate on her face. She hates me now. "They won"t let me in the room. I fucking hate myself! I should"ve been watching! I shouldn"t have been outside today! This is my entire fucking fault! I wish I never ran away on that night, if I didn"t, Demetri wouldn"t be in this shit and I wouldn"t be entangled in your lives! I"ve always been a shit person, now I"m a shit girlfriend and I"m going to be a shit mom! I can"t do anything right!" I shout. April shakes her head. Isis softens her face, but not by much. "I"m such a fuck up and everything I touch or love becomes fucked up too!" I break down and cry against the wall. "Tenebrae, it wasn"t your entire fault. You didn"t know it was going to happen. Demetri"s going to pull through, he might die for you but he won"t leave life without you too. He really does want to be with you for all eternity. He loved you that much and he will still love you. You are a great person, you"re a great girlfriend and you"re going to be a brilliant mom when you have children of your own. Look at you with Lucas and Marco; I"m beginning to think they"re thinking you"re their mom. If you didn"t enter our lives, it"d be boring. You are defiantly not a fuck up. We all love you and we all know it"s not your fault." Quinn tries to calm me and change my mind. I shake my head. "No I"m not or ever will be! Isis hates me at this moment! I can see by her face! I wish I"d never enter your fucking lives! I"d be living out on the streets because Daniel didn"t have enough room in his house, my mom still would"ve ran away and Max still would"ve got me. If I didn"t run away on that damn, motherfucking, bastard night, Demetri wouldn"t be in hospital and none of this would"ve happened! This is my entire fault!" I run away from them, running across the road and to the park. There were children laughing. It fills my heart with ache. I"d never be able to have children with the man I love because I either killed him or he hates me! I eventually lie on the grass underneath a huge Sycamore. I let the tears flow and my hopes lower. This had to happen to me like every fucking other event in my life. I stare up through the leaves, the sunlight beams through it like spears through my heart. I feel a churning in my stomach and I turn over onto my hands and knees, ready to puke. Nothing. My stomach feels like its being squeezed, the pain was worse than any other I"ve experience since my broken leg. "Oh God," I mutter. I hiss in pain, not wanting to scream. I sit back against the tree, waiting for the pain to ease. Good Lord, what was that and where did it come from? I take deep breathes before standing up, leaning against the tree still. My stomach still hurt. Why was it packing up now? I take it step by step towards the other tree, the pain eased. I carry on struggling to walk. I almost keel over when I reach the park gates. "Oh God, Tenebrae!" I hear April shout, running towards me. I hold my hand up. "Don"t worry about me. Worry about Demetri. I"m fine, absolutely fine. Any news on him yet?" I stand up straight, I see Lucas holding Isis"s hand tightly. "No, not yet. I do hope he"s going to be alright." April glances towards the hospital. I nod, letting a tear trickle down my cheek. "So do I." Their Kind Is In Danger But Will They Overcome It? "This isn"t real, I tell myself. This is all just a dream. A bad, vivid dream which came along because I watched a rotten horror film with Daniel and fell asleep." After being kidnapped from her beloved and finding herself in a bit of a situation, Tenebrae finally comes to realization of how serious her life has become. She thought her life was bad enough before Demetri became a permanent reminder and savior, only now she has realized that she"s in a world full of danger and secrets, living in the same time as our own world. Tenebrae still has lot to learn with her new life and the ways of her species live. She discovers her new family has secrets, dark, deep secrets wish they wish to keep hidden. She also learns about the Elders, the first of their species. With her whole family learning that the only female Elder could be alive, and in peril, they decide to race towards the female. During their quest, they face choices which could decide the future of their kind. Tenebrae and Demetri are the only ones who can stop their future becoming bleak and separated. Will they achieve their goal and save the female elder, or will time run out?

"Hey, honey! Not heard from you in a while. How are you?" My mom didn"t sound any different. "I"m fine, mom. Can I stay at your house for a couple of days until I get back on my feet?" I need to get this sorted. "Of course, honey. Why are you coming to California?" "We"re coming to California because... I"m in trouble. I"ve got two people who are after me and my ex-boyfriend betrayed me." "Who"s "we"?" My mom speaks to someone else in the background. I take a deep breathe. "Your grandson." "My grandson?" She was shocked. "Yes. Your four year old grandson. I"ll explain why you don"t know about him once I get there. Can you meet me at the airport please? I"ll explain everything, I promise." "Sure. When are you planning on arriving?" "I don"t know. I"ll let you know as soon as possible." I need to call Kayla. "Okay. See you then, Clara. Love you." "Love you too, mom." I hang up and dial Kayla"s cell phone. She picks up thankfully. "Kayla, where are you?" "At home, Clara. Why do you ring at stupid times?" "I"m just checking in on you. You came to my house and you were scared." I explain. "I don"t remember that. Why was I scared?" "Because someone tried to kill you." If she was at home and she doesn"t recall tonight, that means Kyle took her home and wipe her memories of tonight. My heart ached again. "Nope, don"t remember. Is this some sort of joke?" Shall I lie to her? "Yeah, sorry to wake you." I hang up and I sit back. "Is it alright if Legion and I have a bath in the morning?" I feel so dirty and used. Like when Harrison, Lucifer and Kyle kept me for their own pleasures. "Sure. I"ve got some clothes you can try on. Old clothes. Legion can have some of Derek"s old clothes if they fit him." "Thank you so much, Mrs Hayes. I"ll repay you somehow." I sit in front of Legion. "No, you won"t. You"ve always been a valuable part of our family." She yawns. "Do you want a coffee or a tea?" "No, thank you. Go back to bed, Mrs Hayes. Make up for the sleep I made you miss." I smile gently, my face hard and cracked. "Are you sure? I can stay down here with you." She holds onto the door frame. "If you"re staying awake, you can put on the TV. Derek will be the first up, he usually is." "Yes, I"m sure. Thank you for your hospitality. We are grateful, we really are." I turn on the TV to some cartoon channel. "Okay. Call me Willow." Willow tells me before going upstairs. I sit at the chair facing the window. I keep a watch out for Aiden, Lilith or Kyle. Why did Kyle lead me on like that? That"s the only thing I can"t understand. Why did he tell me he loves me, made me pregnant and reacted to anything that he didn"t care about? To trick me, perhaps. To make the wound deeper? Footsteps awake me. Legion was still asleep and I must have dozed off. I stand up. Derek and Willow would be up. It"s their voices I can hear. They enter the living room. Derek smiles and hugs me tightly. "Hi, Derek. Long time, no see." I mutter as he lets go of me. "Clara, what"s happened? You look a right state. Who"s this little man?" Derek smiles at me and Legion. "Derek, meet my son. Legion." I tell him. Derek"s eyebrows raise. "Son?" He chuckles lightly. "Yeah. Legion"s my son." "I didn"t expect you to have a family yet, Clara. No offense. So, who"s the dad?" Derek sits down. "Kyle is." I had to make it up. "Why are you here?" Derek leans forward. "Kyle betrayed me. He tagged me along his stupid game along with his friend and his girlfriend. Last night, they told me the truth and mocked me. They threatened to take Legion away and kill everyone I love. So, I ran here. I didn"t know where else to go." It still stung. "He doesn"t look like the kind of man to do that to you though." Derek shrugs. "Don"t judge a book by the cover, hey?" "Yeah. I"m just going to wake Legion up now so we can have a bath." Derek rushes to his feet and pulls out some clothes from the cupboard. "These should fit him, underpants included. And, some clothes for you too. I hope they fit." Derek hands them over to me. "Thanks." I shake Legion gently. "Legion, wake up darling." I tell him. Legion turns around and wakes up. "Mommy, what are we doing today?" "We"re going to go back home and pack a few things. Then, we"re going to come back here and try to go to grandma"s." I tell him. "Your mommy"s?" "Yes but my mom is your grandma. Come on, we"re going to have a bath now." I hold his hand and fold up the blankets. "Take as long as you want." Derek tells me as we go up stairs. Legion is too tired to notice Derek yet. I start running a warm bath. I close the bathroom door as Legion takes off his clothes. "Mommy, what things are we getting from home?" Legion asks, getting in the bath. I wash his hair thoroughly. "Pictures, your suitcases, my clothes and what I call treasures." "What are your treasures?" Legion splashes the water and laughs. "Your baby scans, your first teddy bear, grandma"s jewels and a few photo albums." "I"m not your treasure?" I pass him a flannel with some body wash on and he washes himself. "You are my world, Legion. I won"t let anyone harm you or take you away from me. I love you too much." I get a towel and wrap it around him once the body wash was off. He holds the towel around him as I quickly have a bath. I don"t bother washing my hair. I pull the plug and wrap the towel around myself as I dried him. "I love you too, mommy." Legion gets himself dressed once I dried him. The clothes fit him perfectly. I dry and change. The clothes were a little big but I don"t mind. We walk out of the bathroom after making sure everything was back in it"s place and it was how it was before. The clothing I was wearing was a summer dress. I love the style, it"s just a little big. Derek whistles playfully when I appear. "Stop it, Derek. Thanks for the clothes, they fit perfectly." "Glad they fit. Now, introduce us." Derek kneels down on the floor. His smile at Legion. "Legion, this is Derek. I went to school with him, he"s an old friend. He"s great to play with. Derek, meet my son, Legion." I push Legion towards Derek. "Go on, he"s safe." "Hi, Legion. I like your name." His eyes go to me, smiling. "Do you fancy riding next to me in the car?"Derek looks at me again, then at Legion. "I want to ride with mommy." Legion hides behind me. I smile. "He isn"t used to being surrounded by strangers so he"s a little shy. Give him a little time to warm up." Derek nods and stands up. "Shall we get your things then?" Willow asks, heading out of the front door. I hold Legion"s hand tightly. "You must stay with mommy all the time, Legion. Don"t go off wondering in case Auntie Lilith, Aiden and Kyle is there." I tell him as we park outside my house. It looks empty but, I know there"s a chance it isn"t. Aiden could be waiting for all I know. "Okay." His grip tightens. We get out of the car, Derek follows us. I enter the front door, it was open unsurprisingly. Legion keeps a look out. We go upstairs and into my bedroom first. I pack all my clothes, underwear and shoes. I notice the bed was a mess. Next, I pack Legion"s clothes and underwear into the suitcase he bought with him. I rush downstairs before any three of them or all of them find out I"m here. Legion runs to the car with Derek and I turn around to close the front door. I go back inside and walk around. I have a lot of memories in this house and, now, I"m just going to leave it. I run my hand over my mom"s CDs" and records. I can"t leave them here. I open my suitcase and pack as many records as I can in it before getting a carrier bag to put her CDs" in. I get the pictures of my family too. The photo albums. Too many captured memories can"t be left here. I zip up my suitcase and grab the two carrier bags full of CDs" and captured memories and make my way out. My mom"s family heirloom, the family crest. I grab it before anyone can steal it from me. "Clara," Kyle"s voice shocks me as I pick up my bags. Fighting with my desires within, I storm out of the house, slamming the door. "Clara, please let me explain." He begins to beg, following me to the car. I turn around and give him my hardest gaze. I still loved him. "What is there to explain? It"s obvious that your mind is made up and, so is mine. Bye, Kyle." I spit before getting in and Derek driving off. "Clara!" I hear Kyle shout behind us. I won"t go running to that... thing. He betrayed me and, it"s something we can"t work through. I clutch Legion close to me as I can hear his shouts still. "Are you alright, Clara?" Derek asks. "Yes, I"m fine." I tell him. I glance back and I can"t see him. Legion comes running to me when I enter the front door. Willow appears around the corner. "So, how did it go?" She asks. "They"re going to ring me back. I hope I get this job. I"m running out of things to do around here." I had recently applied for a job as a waitress. It has been two weeks since my heart breaking discovery. "You disserved a good paying job. You also have a chance of finding a man." Willow has been at me for not having a man, a father figure for Legion to look up to. "I don"t want to find love. I"m still having dreams about him, I"m still crying myself to sleep when I do sleep and I keep thinking about him. I"m not ready to move on yet." I pick Legion up and go towards her. "Ooh, lasagna. Legion, go and wash and sit at the table." I put him down and he rushes off to wash his hands. "Go and sit down yourself, Clara." "No, I need something to do, to take my mind off him." I take over and Willow goes upstairs. Derek enters the kitchen, getting a beer out of the fridge. "Don"t think about trying to distract me from my cooking, Derek." I warn him as he stands behind me, his hands slithering onto my hips. He"s always been like this. He laughs as he strolls to the door frame. "Sorry, you"re so damn irresistible. You know me too well." He says. "I know I do and I"m glad I do know you too well. Go and sit down at the table, it"s almost done." I open the oven and get the tray of lasagna out. I take it to the table and put a reasonable sized piece of lasagna on mine, Derek"s and Willow"s and, a smaller size for Legion. Willow and Legion sits down at the table. Legion sits next to me. I place a napkin on him before we turn our attention to Derek. Since I got involved with ghosts and demons, my belief in God has vanished. I didn"t have any to begin with but, the recent years has made me more of a non-believer. We say the grace still, just to be respectful. I cut Legion"s up a little bit. There was a knock on the door. I begin to attend it but, Willow beats me to the punch. "Clara, it"s for you." Willow comes back in. I nod. "Stay here, Legion. I won"t be long." I go to the door, Willow reassures Legion. Derek keeps an eye on me. I open the front door and it was Kyle. I slam it shut but he sticks his foot in the way. He pushes the door back open, grabs my hand and closes the door. "What are you doing here? How did you find me?" I didn"t need him. "Clara, please let me explain the events that happened two weeks ago." He begs me again. I shake my head, snatching my hand out of his. "What is there to explain? It was obvious. Kyle, I don"t want to see you anymore, I don"t want anything to do with you anymore and I don"t want you to any of our lives. Just go and forget about me. You"ve got Lilith to keep you happy and you"re new best friend, Aiden." I reach for the door handle. "You"ve betrayed me and went with my mortal enemies. That"s something I can"t forgive you for." I slam the door in his face again. I run upstairs, feeling the tears coming again. I run to the front window and watch him walk away. Head bowed and hands in pockets. Lilith meets him at the lamppost. I can hear my heartbreaking again. "Mommy," Legion hugs me tightly once more. "Go and eat your dinner, Legion. I won"t be much longer." "Was that Kyle?" I love the way how Legion has stopped calling him "Uncle Kyle". He knows Kyle has hurt me. "Yes, it was. Come on, let"s eat our dinner." We go back downstairs. Derek shakes his head and storms towards the front door. I follow him. "Kyle! Come back here!" He shouts, storming towards him. "Derek, no! He"s much stronger than you!" I shout after Derek. Derek reaches Kyle and forces Kyle to face him. Derek punches Kyle. Lilith looks at me angrily as Derek punches Kyle repeatedly. "How dare you come to my house and try to contact Clara? It was obvious how she took her clothes, her valuables and Legion away from you. I don"t like to see anyone hurt and you"ve just made the wound bigger. It was healing until now." Kyle gets up from the floor onto his hands and knees. Derek kicks him in his stomach again and again. Kyle falls back onto the ground. Lilith mutters a few words and Derek flies back the wall. He starts screaming out in pain. "I told you not to do this! Now, you"ve gotten yourself into trouble." I shout at Derek. "Stop, Lilith! He doesn"t mean to do this. He"s only protecting me like he would with you! Please!" I scream. Derek falls to the ground and hisses in pain. He crawls inside. Kyle coughs up blood as he gets onto his hands and knees. My breathes become ragged and short. Lilith skips up to me, her hand touching my cheek. "Clara, I"m glad you"re giving up Kyle. I"m loving the fear and pain you"re giving off. I want more of it." Lilith laughs as I hiss in pain. I can feel her looking through my memories of Kyle. "Lilith, stop." A hand pulls her away and back towards Kyle. I collapse into arms. Strong, hot arms. Lucifer, it had to be. "Leave now and don"t come back. You"ve gotten what you came here for." His voice demanding and soft. "No, I want her pain. I want Legion. I want her soul too." She hisses at him. Lucifer pulls me to my feet. "You cannot have anymore than you"ve got. You"ve got her love and that should be enough. Go, now!" He orders. Lilith turns on her heal and grabs Kyle. He thrusts his arm out of her grasp. "Cheitan, what are you doing?" She spits. Kyle wipes the blood from his mouth and comes towards me. I stand my ground. "Clara, I hope you and Legion a good future and I hope you find a man who won"t betray you and who will love you as much as I still do." Kyle mutters, turning away to Lucifer. "I would like to be brought back down to Hell but with the freedom of going between worlds and, I"d like to be listed as "a special girl has stolen my heart"." He glances at me when he announces that. Lucifer shakes his head. "You shall stay on Earth for ever but with the freedom of going between worlds. Lilith does not. Lilith, you are staying in Hell with the condemned souls without the freedom to go between worlds." Lucifer takes Lilith by the arm and disappears. Kyle looks at me one more time before turning and walking away. I bite my bottom lip. Kyle snaps his fingers and disappears. I wait outside the pre-school"s gates for Legion. My heart beats for Kyle, I still love him. I was foolish. I haven"t found a new man in my life yet. I"ve got a house of my own though, Legion"s happy. It"s like my old house. I haven"t put anything up because it"s not permanent, I"m going to California soon with Legion, to make a new start. I do see Kyle sometimes. In the mall when I am able to. He catches me but he doesn"t come towards me or talks to me. He just walks off. I have thought about going up to him and talking but, why should I? He was the one who betrayed me and teamed up with Aiden and Lilith. I smile when Legion comes running out of the building, a bag in his hand. A hand touches my shoulder. Lucifer. "What has our son been up to?" He asks me, picking Legion up. "Daddy, mommy"s been through a rough patch. She needs your help." Legion tells him. Lucifer laughs. "Is that so? Shall we go home and talk there? What"s in the bag?" Lucifer puts Legion down on his feet. "A present for mommy. I"ll have one for you tomorrow, daddy. It isn"t ready yet." Legion gives me the bag. "Can"t look at it yet." "Sorry. What did you do today, Legion?" I hold one hand and Lucifer holds the other. We lift him up as he runs ahead. "We painted little pictures. They"re drying though. We also had a competition. You have to come in tomorrow." "Sports day tomorrow." I tell Lucifer. He nods. "Yeah! There are races for all the mommies and all the daddies. Can you come tomorrow, daddy?" Legion looks at Lucifer. "Sure, I don"t want to miss your victories!" Lucifer swings Legion, almost making me trip over. "Yay! We"re going to be together for the first time!" He shouts, Lucifer chuckles as Legion"s feet touch the ground again. "We sure are, champ. Go ahead and meet us at the house." I let go of Legion"s hand. He races off in the street. "How has your life been since a month ago?" Lucifer asks, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "Better. As you heard, we"ve got a house of our own. It"s not a permanent house though. I"ve got a job as a waitress while Legion"s in pre-school then school." I take his arm from around my shoulder. "Why isn"t it permanent residence?" "Too many bad memories and when your sister took my true love away, I knew I needed a new start." I admit. "Where are you going? I can see you whenever but, I still like to know. I"ve got some news for you too." Lucifer half smiles. "To my mom"s house. We"re going to put up there until I get another job and get enough to pay for a house and so on." I turn my head towards him. "What news is that?" "You won"t like it but..." "Spit it out, Lucifer." "It"s about Cheitan." He spits out. I stop in my tracks and face him. "What about Kyle? I hope it"s nothing bad or serious." I place my hand on my heart. "He came to me today, begging for me to get rid of the memories of him you still have to stop your pain. He is suffering badly. Clara, this is the truth. Lilith had cast a spell on Cheitan and that affected his memory. She had replaced any memories of you with her so, he thought he loved Lilith but he did actually love you. Clara, I"m not making anything up. He is seriously paying for what he"s done, he"s head over heels in love. He loves you so much that he wants me to wipe any memory of him from your mind. He wants you to be happy and he wants you to be free of him." "Kyle actually said all that?" I can feel tears come to my eyes. "Yes, he did. I"m wondering if you will give him a chance to clear himself and a chance for you both to have happiness together again. I know you"re pregnant with his child, Clara. Just give him a chance. He didn"t betray you and he can prove that." Lucifer doesn"t say anymore when we reach my house. We go inside. "Go and wash before you play with your toys." I tell Legion before he disappears upstairs. I go out to the kitchen and pick him some tea. "Clara, I need an answer from you." Lucifer continues to press. "Yes, I"ll give him a chance to explain and prove to me. If he doesn"t make the cut, then it"s a no. If he does, I"ll give him another chance." I give in. Lucifer gives me a half hearted smile. "I"ll tell him. Tomorrow at eight in the evening at the Italian Restaurant on Eves" Avenue. Booking for two." "No. I don"t want you to arrange it. I want him to. If he still loves me, he would book a table for two at Bella"s Restauranto on Eves" Avenue." "Hey, that"s what he told me." Lucifer holds up his hands. I face him. "What"s up?" "Kyle really said a booking for two, tomorrow at eight at Bella"s Restauranto?" Kyle couldn"t have said that. He doesn"t know me yet. "He did. He"s trying really hard, Clara. Cheitan loves you so much that he even wanted the memories of him wiped from your memory so you could live a happier life." Lucifer places his hands on my hips as he budges past me. I stand up, placing Legion"s dinner in the oven, and face Lucifer. "You seem dumbfounded, my dear." "I still can"t believe that Kyle would go to all that effort." "He still loves you, that"s why." Lucifer places a hand on my stomach. I tense under his touch. "Don"t touch my stomach. Last time you did that, Kyle"s child became Legion." I shift his hand away. "I can tell you that your child is a son. Are you twelve weeks? You seem to be showing a little." He smiles at me. "How do you know that just from touching my stomach?" "Clara, that"s a stupid question to ask." He strolls towards Legion. I follow in behind him. Legion gives me the bag from earlier. "Will I love it, Legion?" I make sure. Legion jumps in between me and Lucifer. Lucifer"s arm was around my shoulders again. "Yeah." Legion stares at me as I take out what"s inside. "Oh Legion, look how handsome you are." It was his pre-school photo. Legion looked so handsome in his little suit, combed hair, blue eyes and smile. "Thank you." I press a kiss on his forehead. Legion goes back upstairs. "Look, Lucifer." I give Lucifer the photo. "He must take after one of us. He"s just so dashing." Lucifer notices when my lips go in a straight line. Dashing is one of the words I described Kyle months ago. "Clara, look at our son." "He takes after you. Legion looks so alike. He"s got your eyes, smile and face structure. He"s also starting to get your build as well." "I"d like to know how you know what my build is. You"ve only seen me in suits." Lucifer"s voice was full of curiosity and, challenge? I smile. "Just an instinct. I can"t believe he"s four soon and going to infant school, then big school then secondary school." I shake my head.

"No but it"ll be nice if you did. The medicine must be affecting you again." "Okay. I"ll see the sunset but I want to go bed after." "Sure. Do you want me to carry you up the hill and down?" "I thought you said that as long as I"m in this house, you"ll carry me." "A challenge? I"ve always liked challenges." He picks me up and I scream out of surprise. He walks out and goes to the end of the back yard. There was a hill, not a very steep hill but a high hill. "Can you carry me up this without falling yourself?" I wrap my arms around his neck in fear. "Yeah, of course I can." Demetri begins to climb. "Get in there, Demetri! Carrying her up the hill to see a sunset then giving her a bit of your VA VA vroom!" Thorn shouts up. "She has a broken leg; she can"t climb up by herself. And, of course not. I"m not like you; I don"t go into places unless invited." Demetri replies. "Whoa! She"s inviting you alright!" "Just ignore them. Let them think what they want to think. They"re childish." I tell him. He places me down and the view was wonderful. It takes my breathe away. The view was of the sun setting, trees and a few buildings. The sky was slowly going from color to color till it reached the space blue. Demetri sits next to me. I shake my head, feeling my eyes fill with tears. "What are you crying for?" He asks, placing a hand on my back. "It"s just; no one"s done anything like this for me before. Thank you. It"s a breath-taking view." I wipe the tears away with the back of my hand. "Hey, you disserve the best after what you"ve been through. You have nothing to thank me for." He places his arm around my shoulders and squeezes. "I do. I"m sorry for being snappy towards you. Thank you for giving me this chance. Thank you for doing everything no one else could." I lean my head against his shoulder. He shakes his head for a moment before raising two fingers up. I look down and I see the triplets making sex signs and taking photos. Isis, Kaleb and April were lost in conversation. "Bastards. I wish they could understand that you hate me and we"re not together and not going to have sex or anything like that." "Ignore them and they won"t carry on." "They"ll see it as a confirmation from me if I do ignore them." "Let them think what they want to think." I turn back to look at the sunset. "How can I? They"re hurting my pride." "Is pride all you lads" think about? Think about other things than pride and sex." I don"t take my eyes away from the sunset. "Not all of us think about sex and pride. I"ve thought about your safety. It"s only my brothers that think about sex and pride." He rests his head against mine. "Do you think we"ll become a couple like Isis and April said?" "I highly doubt it. You hate my guts and I"m sick of your questioning. We won"t work." He raises his head at a sound of cars pulling up. "Your parents" have arrived, I take it." "Yeah. Lucas has just run into the house, expecting to find somebody there. Sucker." Demetri laughs. "How old is the triplets, your sisters and Lucas? I forgot to ask." A yawn cuts off most of my sentence. He runs, catching something that was about to hit my head. "That"s not nice. Tenebrae"s our guest, Kyle. You shouldn"t throw a football at her." Demetri shouts back down. "Just wondered if she was fast enough to catch it." Kyle answers, half mocking. "Well don"t in the future." He throws it back down to him. I glance up at him. Oh God, that ass! I force my eyes to go back to the sunset. "Relax, Demetri. Sit back down." I mutter, barely keeping my eyes open. "They piss me off so much when they do shit like this to me." He hisses as he sits down and wraps his arm back around my shoulders. "You never did answer my question." I feel comfortable in Demetri"s arms, like I belong in them. I"ve never felt like this before. "What question was that? My mind was filled with their taunts." "How old are the triplets, your sisters and Lucas?" "The triplets are twenty six years old, my sisters are twenty-two and Lucas is just twelve years old and a smart ass, thinks he knows everything." "How old are you? You seem to be older than seventeen and eighteen." "I am in fact, nineteen in four months." "You shouldn"t be in high school then. Too old." "They don"t know that, do they? Shush, I want to keep it a secret. Only you knows my true age, I don"t want everyone else finding out." Chapter 9 "What age do you hope to get married and have children?" "I want to be married and a Dad at the age of either my early twenties, late twenties or early thirties." "Early in life." "You"ve only got one life; you might as well live it. What about you?" "I"m hoping to get married in my late twenties and become a Mom in my early thirties." "You want to get married in your late twenties? Why not earlier?" "I don"t know. I seem to see myself ready for the big change in my late twenties." "If you have children, what sex do you want them, how many and what names?" "I want two boys and a girl, and I would want to call them Fabian, Luke and Julia. I"m not sure if my future husband will agree with all of them but I will have to wait and see, won"t I?" The sun eventually goes down and darkness succumbs the sky. "Demetri, Tenebrae! Get your asses down here now!" Isis shouts. Demetri smiles and picks me up. "Looks like it"s time to go in and get mocked and questioned by the whole family. You"ll easily see my parents and you"ll know where we all get our qualities from." He goes down the hill in normal stride, I anticipate Demetri to trip but he doesn"t. He places me on my foot and I follow him inside. There was a load of chattering and laughing. I"m overwhelmed with the atmosphere because it was filled with laughter, happiness. "The atmosphere is hugely different to what I"m used to." I speak aloud by mistake. Demetri laughs and walks ahead. "Mom, Dad. It"s nice to see you again." He acts cheerful but I know that there"s something different behind his shell. "How have you been?" A high pitched woman"s voice asks. I hop in, Demetri places a chair next to the couch I was sat on before and leads me back to my place on the couch, he sits on the chair. "And, who"s this?" "I"ve been fine. Just a few ups and downs here and there but, I"ve been fine. This is Tenebrae Amethyst; I saved her last night from Jay. Got a broken leg and a nice bite mark. Jay was a wolf. I didn"t know such things could exist." "Jay? Why is he showing his face around these parts after I told him not to?" A man with a light shade of brown and dark brown eyes to match stands up. He looks like Kyle but with different colored hair and eyes. Dad, I take it. "I don"t know but he"s after Tenebrae. If I didn"t show up last night, only God knows what he would"ve done to her. I don"t like to think about it also." I close my eyes and keep my breathing easy. "Would you like to go to bed now and face the questioning of my parents" in the morning?" "You make it sound like a bad thing. What are the sleeping arrangements anyway? Most of us need to unpack." His Mom says, half bemused. "Kyle, Thorn and Quinn are sleeping in the biggest bedroom. Lucas and Isis are sleeping in the smallest room, April and Kaleb are sleeping in the third biggest room. You and Dad will be sleeping in the only room left. Tenebrae will be sleeping in my bed and I will be sleeping down here." He announces the change of plans. I inhale deeply and try to pry my eyes open, no luck yet unfortunately. "No, you"re not. I"m not going to kick you out of your own bed." I rub the sleep from my eyes and try to focus on anything but him. "I"m going to sleep on the floor; he"s going to sleep in his own bed." I correct him. He shakes his head. "I"m not. Hosts give up their bed to the guests. It"s only polite. Now, shush. The arrangements have been decided." "No they haven"t. I"m not sleeping in your bed, you are. I"ll be alright on the floor." I push myself up so I can sit properly and Demetri smiles. "You two fight like an old married couple. Can"t agree with one thing." His Mom says, laughing. "You"d make the perfect couple I"d have ever seen." "We"re not going to be in a relationship. She hates my guts because she has a bad vibe against me and I saved her out of pure instinct. Tenebrae"s only staying because her best friend doesn"t have enough room, her Mom"s running off with some bloke and she has sold the house, so I offered her a place to stay." "Whatever! You only want to give her some of your VA VA vroom and she wants to receive it! You two are so a couple!" Kyle shouts out. Demetri lunges at him again and they fight. "Kyle, stop provoking your brother and Son, sit back down!" Their Mom shouts. Demetri skulks away with a cut eyebrow and a burst lip. Kyle has no wounds on him. "Why do you have to provoke your brother every time you"re here, Kyle? Isis, go and see where he is, will you love?" Their Mom sits next to me as Isis goes after Demetri. She takes my hand. "I don"t mean to provoke him though. I just want to have a little fun." Kyle finally answers. I rub my forehead. "You know how he is though. You know his temperament also." Her voice was calm and full of pain. "I"m sorry, Mom. I try and not to do it again." "No, you won"t." She turns her eyes on me. Deep like fall and warming. "So, Tenebrae, what did you see last night?" "I saw a gray wolf comes towards me, Demetri blocking him and then running. I heard Demetri growl and I felt he had inhuman strength. Jay chased after us and bit into my leg. I think Demetri was hurt somewhere. A circle of wolves surround me, Jay turns back into his human form and then we had a little chat. Demetri came again, carried me towards his car and started driving..." I close my eyes and try to remember the rest, I know there was more. "I...I..." I stutter. "I can"t remember the rest apart from breaking my leg and Demetri taking me to the hospital." "You saw Jay turn into a human from a wolf?" She sounds like she didn"t believe it but her eyes told me I was in deep shit. "Yes. Demetri told me that Jay told him his secret about it." "Okay. I"ll let you go off to bed now. You look at exhausted as you a should be." "Not exhausted, just tired really. Been up most of the night and day." "Go to bed and we"ll talk more in the morning, okay?" "Sure. See you." I get up and hop to the stairs. I"m about to sit down on the bottom step when Demetri appears in front of me. "I think you and I need a little talk." His voice is filled with warning. I gulp hard. "It"s about what I told your Mom, isn"t it?" I slowly lower myself onto the step and push myself up two, Demetri staying close. "Yep. And a lot more." "I"m in deep shit, aren"t I?" "Not exactly. Just a little trouble." "With you, that"s a lot." "Not entirely." He takes my crutches and goes up the stairs with them. I keep on concentrating on getting up the stairs rather than trying to figure out how I"m going to retrieve my crutches. I balance myself against the wall when I reach the top, Demetri hands me my crutches and picks me up for the twentieth time today. "Can you please stop picking me up? I"m getting rather tired of it and it"s making me look like I"m a lazy bitch." "If you want." He puts me down suddenly and strolls ahead towards his room. "Thank you. I"m grateful for everything you"re doing for doing for me but I want to do some of it myself." He scoffs back a laugh. I shake my head and come to a stand still. "Why do you find me helpless so funny?" "I don"t. I find what you say funny." "Is it because I"ve only gained some independence and now look at me? Dependent of the person I hate! I still want some independence despite being crippled for at least six to eight weeks. I might as well stayed at home until there was a buyer." I"m already irritable because of him and his family but with the added tiredness, that is not a good combination for me. "I would"ve forced you to come here anyway. Jay would"ve found you if you stayed at home. I know you would like some independence back a little but I"m telling you now," He comes right in front of me. "While you are in my house, you will not be doing anything unless I want you to. Got it?" His voice was an almost growl. I daren"t speak after that. I"m too scared to even make a little noise. I"d like to know why he was so ferocious at the moment. Sure, I told his Mom what really happen but leaving out the extra detail but she was his Mom for Christ"s sake! I stare at him, scared. He storms off and disappears inside his room. "Fucking Hell!" I hiss to myself. "Are you coming in or not?" He pops his head out of the door and stares angrily at me. I gulp hard and begin going towards him. I so hate his guts right now. I enter his room and he"s standing at the window, the sky was now completely black. I lean against the wall, waiting for his shouts. "I"m sorry for telling her some of the story and not sticking to the one you told me to. So, vent your anger out on me, I"m ready." Chapter 10 "Why did you have to overreact when Daniel confessed? If you didn"t, we wouldn"t be in this mess." He questions without facing me. "I don"t know why. My instinct was to run away from him. I went into a state of shock and panic because... because no one told me they loved me before. Not even my Mom." I turn my head away. "Nonetheless, you should"ve gone home." "My Mom was picking me up and I wasn"t prepared to ask anyone for a lift." "You could"ve walked home. You"d been safe enough," There was a pause. "I think." He finally admits. I shake my head. "You saw how far away I live. Even if I did walk, Jay would"ve found me and raped me because you would"ve been too late to save me. I might have a broken leg if things were different but Jay still would"ve gotten his hands on me and who knows? I might have even fallen pregnant with his baby if I didn"t tell anyone or if you arrived. Any type of forest is dangerous, it"s just the danger that lurks inside." "Don"t speak of Jay here, don"t even speak his name. He doesn"t disserve to be my friend, nor does his friends. If he"d done that to you, I would"ve found out either way. I"m like a detective, I find out things easily. If he did that to you and you fell pregnant with his baby..." He shakes his head this time. "I would"ve skinned him alive and made you have the abortion." "It didn"t happen and that"s all that matters. So, when does your family go to bed?" I want to change the subject ever so badly. Why so protective all of the sudden? "Don"t change the subject. If you were raped by him and you fell pregnant with his child, what would you do?" "What do you mean?" "Would you keep it and when it gets older, tell it the truth or abort it?" "I...I..." I raise my eyes towards him; he was only a few strides away from me. "I don"t know. He would find out and he would make me keep it, most defiantly." "What if he never finds out? What would you do?" "I don"t know that answer." "You have to, in case it did happen. Who would you tell if you really wanted some one to talk to?" "If it did actually happen, I would pick to keep it and tell it the truth. And for the second question, I wouldn"t. There isn"t anyone for me to speak to. I"d write it down in a diary or something." "Why would you keep it, knowing that one day, asking who its Dad is is and where is he?" He sits down on the bed and pats the side next to him. "I believe that everyone has a right to live in some way. So, if I had the abortion, I was taking away an unborn person"s right to live and that isn"t fair." "What would you tell it when that fatal day will come? An excuse?" "I would explain to my child in detail what happened when it"s older." "What if the person is a teenager or a young adult?" "I would explain what happened when he/she was conceived." I rub my eyes. "I don"t want to talk about this any further." "Okay, okay. You"re sleeping in my bed, that"s it, no arguing about it." "I thought we both were going to sleep in it. I"ll sleep on the right, I can"t kick you otherwise." I am trying to lighten the mood but my joke doesn"t work. "No, you"re sleeping in my bed on your own. I"m going to sleep downstairs." "I refuse you to do that. I"m not going to kick you out of your own bed; I don"t care if I am a guest or a cripple." "You"re in my house and I"ve made the sleeping arrangements. Don"t argue with me. You are sleeping in my bed and I am sleeping on the couch." "What if Jay invades and tries to rape me like he tried to last night?" "He won"t. We have enough protection to stop him and anyone else who isn"t part of my family or hasn"t been invited." "How can you be sure that will work though? I"m scared shitless and you"re going to leave me alone in your bed with a deep sickly feeling in my stomach that Jay will come after me?" "Jay will come after you but he won"t be able to find you for a while and he can"t enter the house without any of us giving him permission to. If it makes you feel better, I"ll get my Mom or Isis to sit outside your room." "No, I don"t need a watcher or a babysitter!" "Then why do you want me to keep you company? Unless..." "No, I do not want you and I do not like you in a single way! I know you can keep me safe, that"s all." I keep my chin up. "Whatever. Admit it, Tenebrae. You"re beginning to warm up to me and you"re beginning to fall in love with me, I can tell by the way you"ve just blushed." "Don"t be so stuck up your own ass. I do not like you and I still hate your guts! I"d much rather have gotten raped than love you!" "It"s not too late for you to get raped by Jay, you know. All I have to do is take you to where he will mostly likely to find you." He crosses his arms. "You wouldn"t." "Is that a dare, Tenebrae?" "Of course not." "Aw. I never get asked to do a dare." "Why isn"t that such a surprise to me?" A dry laugh lightens the mood for a moment. The corners of Demetri"s mouth rises a little. "I don"t know. I haven"t got a bad reputation as far as I"m concerned. I"ve heard rumors about me like I"m a player but not a bad reputation." "No, you haven"t got a bad rep. I"ve heard that you"re gay, you were born in Australia and raised by wolves by the way you move." "By the way I move? How do I move?" "Gracefully, majestically and you act almost like a wolf. Protective and ferocious and very brave." "Is that from you or from what you"ve heard?" "Both. I"ve seen you around school and I know how you move." "That"s a compliment and a half. I"m not going to forget that compliment." "I hope you do. I regret saying that now." I cover my forehead with my hand and hide a grin. "I won"t. I"ve got a memory like an elephant." "Whatever. Is there anything else I should be warned about before I go to sleep on the floor?" I can feel myself sway from side to side. "My grandparents" arrive early and just keep an eye out about April. We all will be hearing for any signs of her going into labor. She might only be eight months but she can still go into labor at any time." "Okay. Grandparents" arrive early. Listen out for any sign of April going into labor. Got it." "And whatever you do, don"t go outside on your own during the night." "That"s a strange thing to tell me." "It"s not, you"re a girl, think about it for a minute then add Jay or some other bloke into the equation. There"s your answer." "I see. I can protect myself." "Not in that state, you can"t. Just stay inside the house when it"s dark, okay. Even during the day, get one of us to go with you." "Because of Jay or some other bloke tries to kidnap me?" "Yeah, exactly that." "Alright. I get the message. Don"t go anywhere on my own. I might as well be in a prison. You go nowhere on your own in a place like that." "But here, you don"t have fellow prisoners staring at you and wanting intercourse." "Thanks for that. I think." I think it over and shake my head once more. "That"s true. At least I"ve got five men to protect me from the harm." "Don"t forget my Mom and Isis. April"s in no fit state and my Mom"s a good fighter. As for Lucas, he"s too young to know how to fight at the moment." "Speaking of Lucas, where is he? I haven"t seen him all night." "Er...no, neither have I. I"ll have to ask my Mom when I go back down." "You sound like you have no intention of asking." "I wonder where my smart-ass of a brother is now and again. This is a rare occasion where he doesn"t turn up the night before. Usually, he loves staying here when we have this event. Strange really." "Probably he"s ill." "No, he"s never ill." "Has something other planned?" "Nope, he never plans on weekends because he"s here." "Oh, I don"t know then. I"m sure he"ll arrive tomorrow." "I hope he does. I don"t want Mom, Grandma, Grandpa, Dad, Isis, April and Lucas getting worried. We"ve already got enough on our plates with you and April." "Calling us inconvenient?" "No. I"m ecstatic that my sister"s pregnant. As for you, yeah, I"d call you an inconvenient." He laughs. I place my hand over my heart and gawp. "I"m sorry. Probably I should leave." I hold my chin up high and hop towards the door. I burst out laughing and face him. "Okay, go. No clue where you"re going to crash." He jokes back. He throws a pillow to the floor and reaches up on to of the wardrobe to pull down a bag. The bag opens up to reveal a quilt. I"m mesmerized by his biceps, how they move in a rhythm unknown to me and just tells me more about his physique.

I go up the stairs quickly and into Macy"s bedroom. All pink. Pink king-sized bed, pink walls, pink curtains, pink stereo, pink TV and a pink dresser full of make-up and perfume. I rush towards it and I quickly spray perfume all over the room away from me. There was thrashing from the hallway downstairs. I duck under the bed and beg that it wasn"t my Dad. "She"s not here, Jarvis." I hear Macy defend. "I know she"s here because I saw here come this way." My Dad"s voice was barely recognizable to me. It was almost a snarl. "She probably jumped over the fences and hedges; she isn"t in my house, that"s for sure." I can hear Macy trying to hard to get rid of him. "My daughter can"t climb a tree, never mind jump over a fence or tree. Why are you hiding her, Macy?" "You"ll be surprised what Clara can learn while you"ve been on the inside. How do you know that she can"t jump over fences and tress? Maybe she can climb trees now. You wouldn"t know, of course." "Oh trust me, I"d know." "How?" "I have people who inform me about my daughter"s progress and update me on what she can or can"t do." "She"s not here, okay? I"m going to go now." "Clara is here alright. I can see it in your eyes." I can hear him smile. He pushes Macy against the wall and his heavy footsteps climb the stairs. Footsteps that seem to shake the world from my point of view. I try to keep my breathe steady, my heart as close to normal I can and I pray that he doesn"t find me. "Clara, sweetie. Come out of hiding, I know you"re up here. I"m going to take you home now." My Dad smirks. The door opens slowly and purposely. "I can sense you." He murmurs, smelling the air. I prepare to bolt from under the bed and downstairs if he looks under the bed. "Jarvis! I"m going to call the police!" Macy shouts from the bottom of the stairs, she sounds like she"s been hurt. "I"ll be gone before the police are here and I don"t leave empty handed, trust me." He comes towards the bed. Adrenaline pumping through my veins to cover up my fear. Don"t let him smell your fear. A voice inside my head tells me. I don"t see my Dad anywhere now. It"s clear. Run for your life! Before thinking twice, I rush out from under the bed and head towards the stairs. Macy wasn"t there. Two arms wrap around my waist and I scream. "Clara," Oh God, it was my Dad. He puts me on his shoulder and goes down the stairs two at a time, whistling cheerfully. "Put me down, Jarvis! Put. Me. Down. Now!" I see Macy in the kitchen, a knife in her stomach, and her eyes on the doorway. The blood spills all the way down her nightgown and dead. Macy was dead. I thrash and scream. Neighbors came out of their houses and rush inside quickly. "Oh Clara, I"m going to make up for those six years in the next year or so." A hint of amusement stains his voice. I scream again. "No! I want nothing to do with you!" I shout, I look up and I see Aiden. "I"m your Dad; you want everything to do with me." My Dad forces me against a car bonnet, still warm, and places a gag around my mouth. He then ties my wrists together behind my back. I use my legs to kick him in the shin and in between his legs but he didn"t even flinch. I look around. Why wasn"t anyone helping me? Aiden was nowhere to be seen. I start to cry. My Dad places me in the passenger seat and plugs the seat belt in. He gets in next to me and I see a blade shine in the streetlight. My heart pounds against my rib cage. He looks at me and makes the blade run smoothly down my skin. My pulse jumping when he skims it over my collar bone. I moan and try to keep calm. Not working. "Clara, I think I should tell you this. I"m not your real Dad. Your Mother slept with too many men and one night, she was so wasted that she forgot to use a condom and decided to keep you. Me? I was keeping her in a forceful relationship until the coppers took me away. So, since I"m not your Dad, I think it"s appropriate to tell you this. I"ve always imagined raping you. I"ve imagined you naked, bleeding on my bed. The scent of your blood filling my nose. "So, tonight, I"m going to make my dreams come true. Tonight, I"m going to make you bleed and I"m going to make you plead me for mercy. In the end, I"ll kill you. And then, I"m going to kill your whore of a Mother and the bloke who she slept with to make you." He unties the bathrobe I burrowed off Macy and places it firmly apart. "Such a beautiful body, such wonderful memories of hitting you when you wouldn"t be aroused as much as I was." He lets the blade glide across the bare skin of my stomach. He wasn"t going to cut me yet. I moan again. I look out of the window and I saw Aiden. Help me here! I shout at him, knowing he couldn"t read my mind. His eyes open with fear and he steps through the back door. I shake my head again. "Now, now Clara. Keep calm. It"s going to be an enjoyable night." He pats my thigh. I turn my head, Aiden wasn"t there anymore. Jarvis starts the car and we drive through the streets. The streetlights flashing overhead and no one was around so they could see what kind of distress I was in. Jarvis pulls over and smiles at me. We were at an abandoned warehouse near the docks. The warehouses were used to store fish when the docks were still in use, now; it was a paradise for drug paraphernalia. "Home for now, until I get somewhere more... disserving for such a beauty as yourself." Jarvis strokes my cheek with the forefinger. I shake my head and struggle as he pulls me up out of the car. I try to spit out the gag but it wouldn"t bug. The smell of old fishing nets and the old fishermen markets burns my nose and I try to hold my breathe. Failing badly, I try to ignore the smell. There were a few blokes outside the warehouse we were heading to. All look like Jarvis. "Well, well, well. You"ve caught the catch of the day, Jarvis mate." The male in dark blue tracksuit says, walking up to me. He eyes me up and down and his hands press my breasts. "A juicy catch at that." He smiles and he has trouble taking his hands away from my breasts. His right hands travel down my body, past my navel and I struggle again. Jarvis grabs a handful of hair and tugs hard. The man"s hand reaches my panties and slips his hand inside. I moan and sob again. His smile widens. "Shall we take her in and she what she"s like?" He takes his hand away and opens the warehouse. I feel so violated. His hand was caressing the part I wanted him to go nowhere near! Inside, the big lights were off but I could see from the moonlight there was an office at the rear of the building. The space between was full of tables, dart boards, pool tables and TV sets with camcorders. The man in the blue tracksuit picks me up and carries me over to the office. A single light flickers on as a switch is pressed. It was a desk lamp. The glass was painted black. I see my worst fears confirmed. There was a bed angled at forty five degrees with ropes at every corner. A camcorder was on a tripod and on, ready to film. The man in the blue tracksuit makes me lean against the bed and presses his body against mine. His hands untie the rope at my wrists and quickly takes off the bathrobe. He places my hands in the ropes which were connected to the top right and left corners of the bed. I have no more tears to cry, I have no more fear running through me and I have no more hope. He lets his mouth trail down my chest, then my stomach and unties my legs. He quickly slots the ropes which connected to the bottom right and left corners to my ankles. I was spread out like a slave on the rack. He stands back and smiles. "Right now, let me get comfortable before I start recording, love." He tells me, taking off his jacket, revealing a tight tee underneath. He takes that off, revealing a hairless chest and a flat stomach. He had no stubble and looked remarkably young. He takes off his bottoms. He wore no underpants. He presses record on the camcorder and walks up to me. His mouth connects on my neck at first. His hands clasp my breasts and I feel him get a boner. His hands go behind my back and undo my bra. He laughs against my skin and I try to struggle out of the ropes and try to stop him doing this to me. He undoes the straps and tears away my bra, kissing them lovingly. "Nice juicy breasts you"ve got." He tells me. I moan. His hands reach down towards my panties. I try to shout but I couldn"t. I feel him rip away my panties, leaving me bare. He plunges two fingers into my pink flesh and I try to cry out again but it was no use. His free hand did the job of squeezing my right breast. Oh God, how did I get myself into this? Why do I disserve this? I ask myself. Next, he picks up the camcorder and brings it forward. "This is Kitten; she is my favorite pussy ever. Isn"t she beautiful?" He turns the cam towards my breasts. "With lovely big plump breasts enough to make any man happy for the rest of his life and perfect long legs which hide the treasure." He bends down and forces my legs apart as far as the rope would let him. "She is a wonderful pussy, don"t you agree?" He places the camcorder back on the tripod and brings it to the side. He kisses my cheek and I thrust it to the side, facing the camcorder. I try to speak, but again, the gag. "Feisty too." He steps between my legs and turns the camcorder around, turning it off for a minute as he tries to get inside me. I sob loudly. He turns the camcorder back round and smiles slightly. "And I"m in." He tells me before making my whole body shake and shiver with disgust. "Look at those breasts, perfect. Feel good too." He informs the camcorder. I sob again and he locks gazes with me. I feel like my life is shattering right in front of my eyes. Everything"s a blur from the tears in my eyes, my body grows numb with each second the coldness of the office hits me and as he continues. He bellows the name he gives me, Kitten if you don"t remember, and he occasionally talks to the camcorder. I shake my wrists and ankles to see if I could loosen them but no luck. I can"t feel anything anymore. Blue Tracksuit stops and gets dressed. "Ah, Kitten. I"ll let you rest before I send Kyle up. You"re a good un, a really good un." He smiles. He leaves the room. I groan quietly, my body aching with pain he inflicted on me by using me as a punching bag in my stomach and biting into my skin, almost breaking my skin. I feel like a dirty dish clothe. Ragged, used and unclean. My body aches to be back home, to have none of this happening to me nor anyone else. No one should go through this, no matter how much they disserved it or an idea of fun. What will they do with me once I"m done being used as a sex toy? Will they kill me and dispose of my body? Will they keep me to create meals and clothes and all that? I shake my head, not wanting to think about that kind of stuff. I flutter open my eyes and Aiden"s leaning over me. His eyes firmly on my face. He pulls the gag away from my mouth. He plants his hands either side of my head. I take deep breathes before coughing. "Aiden, what are you doing here?" I ask him, my voice hoarse. "What have they done to you?" He daren"t move his eyes from my face. "Help me please. I will carry on trying to help you but I need to get out of here." "Clara, I wish I could but I can"t. I"m not allowed to mess with fate." His eyes are steady and boring into my eyes. "I won"t be able to help you otherwise. Oh God, please Aiden. Please." "I"m so sorry, I really am but I can"t. You will get help. I"ll send for help but that"s about as much as I can do." He places his forehead against mine. "I"ll send the police around as soon as possible." "Hurry, please." I plead. There are footsteps outside. Aiden quickly places the gag back in my mouth and disappears. I turn my head away and the door opens. "So, you"re the minx my boys have been talking about." This must be Kyle. I turn my head towards him. Black Tracksuit. "My, my. You are exquisite." His blonde hair hung freely just past his ears. "I"m Kyle by the way in case the last didn"t tell you. So, let"s see what on the tape so far and then I"ll know what to do, other than entering you." He goes over to the camcorder. I forgot it was on. Oh God. Aiden. I moan and try to lurch off the bed, no good. He pulls up a chair and watches the tape. He nods a few times. He suddenly frowns. "Now I know how to pleasure you but, I"m going to ask you a few questions." He pauses a moment, standing up. "How did that gag from your pretty mouth get pulled out?" He pulls my gag out to answer his questions. I keep quiet. "Come on, Love. Tell me." "If you let me go, I"ll answer." I say, thinking I can bargain my way out. "No chance. I"m not letting you get away until we"re finished with you." "Then I won"t answer." I can feel a smile tug at my lips. Kyle places the gag back in my mouth and smiles. "I"ll pleasure you first and see you if answer after." He places his forefinger on his right hand in my pink flesh between my legs. I moan and sob again. Soon after, I stop. Finally seeing that I can"t carry on because they won"t let me go. He smiles and, using his left hand, worries my left breast nipple between his thumb and forefinger. His finger plunges deeper into the flesh and my nipples stiffen as an initial body reaction. "You feel in the mood to answer yet?" He asks, I turn my head away and close my eyes. "I guess I"ll have to go to torturing if pleasuring you isn"t working." He takes his hands away from me. I snap my eyes open and he shows me a knife. He pulls my gag out. "As you can see, this is a knife. A very sharp bladed knife to be exact, just as sharp as an axe." He places it to my stomach and I feel it slice into my stomach. It wasn"t a deep gash. I scream out in pain. "Now tell me, how did the gag get removed from your mouth?" He asks again. I see Aiden over his shoulder, staring at my face, trying hard not to look down. He shakes his head. "I don"t know how." "Who"s Aiden?" "My Guardian Angel." I lie. I feel a breeze and I look to my right. A feather lands softly on the floor. "Yeah right. Your Guardian Angel would"ve stopped you from getting here. So tell me, who is Aiden? Did he remove the gag?" "Aiden is my imaginary friend and I don"t know how the gag got removed." I shout. Another slice in my stomach. "You better start telling the truth or your body"s going to have more scars than it has already." I see Aiden shake and take a step forward. I shake my head. "Please, I am telling the truth. Please let me go!" "Oh Love, if it was a simple as that." Kyle smiles again, the knife cutting my flesh again. I hiss in pain. The numbness coming back. "Why isn"t it?" "You are a woman. Jarvis and Harrison have been in prison for years and I haven"t seen a woman in years. We came out or back with the feeling of finding a girl who will fill the category and who we can pleasure with ourselves with. That happens to be you. We can"t let you go just like that" He clicks his fingers. "Until our desires are filled." "How long will that take? I have to get back home!" I scream when he cuts slightly deep into the top of my stomach. "As long as it takes. Hey, my pleasures are filled. It"s just up to Jarvis and Harrison. I"ll see you around though. Do you want the gag to stay off?" He places the knife down and faces me again. "I have a feeling you"re going to put it back in my mouth." "I won"t. So, do you want it off?" "Yes please. Can I get a drink of water at least, please?" He takes the gag from around my neck and smiles at me. "Thanks." "Of course you can have a drink of water. I"ll bring it up in a minute." He walks out of the door. Aiden was gone. I look towards the feather and it wasn"t there. A boy stood there instead. Tall, dark and handsome is the category I"d fit him in. His eyes were like a cosmic blue, I swear I can see stars in them. His short hair was hidden under a Chicago Red Socks red baseball cap and a well structured face. "Who are you?" I ask, seeing his wings were golden behind him. "Your Guardian Angel." He sounds amused. "But... but..." I can"t think. My mind was a huge pile of mess. "Why are you here? You shouldn"t be here!" "I"ve always been watching you, Clara." "Answer my question!" "I couldn"t help but show myself when you said the ghost boy was your Guardian Angel. It amused me so much." He walks to the camcorder and turns so it faces the wall. "It won"t capture any sound while I"m down here of us talking so you have nothing to fret." "Aren"t you supposed to stop me from getting into mess like this?" "We"re supposed to lead the way. We"re not like Patch from Hush, Hush or any of the follow up books." "Pardon? I don"t read books often." "Never mind." He lifts his gaze to me. "Didn"t you get the signs of how to stay out of this kind of trouble? I sent you loads." "What signs? If you give me a few, I might recognize them." "Like the signs of the wind and all that. I even replied to the message on your mirror." He steps up to me. "I didn"t go back in the bathroom. And how is the weather a sign of danger? Hey?" "If the weather is bad, you"re in trouble. If the weather is good, you"re not in trouble. Common sense should"ve told you that." The door opens at that point. The Angel disappears and Kyle comes in, laughing and a bottle of water in his hand. I feel like I"ve been in a desert for days and the bottle of water is like a miracle. My eye follows where the Angel went and I give the direction the finger. "Here, Love." He opens the bottle and slowly pours the liquid down my throat. I feel refreshed. "Oh God, that"s nice." I say, he smiles and pulls the bottle away. "It should do. You"re been here for at least a week now." He pours the liquid back into my throat. "You need to eat as well. I"m sure there some food around here, if not, we"ll get you a burger." "I"m a Vegetarian." "We"ll get you fish "n" chips, then. Need to fatten you up. Almost able to see your ribs." The bottle finishes and he places it on the desk. "A week? Are you sure?" "Yeah. You"re on the news as well." "It doesn"t seem like a week." I look down at myself and I see he was right. "You"re right. Can I tell you something?" "Sure." "I don"t want the camcorder to hear it. Come closer, I want whisper it into your ear." I smile when he leans close. "What do you want to tell me?" He turns his face slightly towards mine. "What if I fall pregnant? You haven"t thought about that, did you?" "I have actually. It"s called protection." "What if the condom split though?" "Both of them?" I look at him as if to say; I don"t understand. "One inside you and one covering us." "You put a condom inside me?" A shock and disgust mix. "Yes, did it while you were asleep." "I can"t think of a suitable word to describe all of you." "It"ll stop you getting pregnant at least." He smiles and Blue Tracksuit enters the room again. Kyle pushes away from me. "Why are you in here?" Kyle asks, turning his back to me. "Cheitan, Jarvis wants to see his daughter so he can, you know." Blue tracksuit informs Kyle. Kyle nods. "Okay. He will soon but I want to spend sometime with her at this moment." He waves his hand and Blue Tracksuit goes. "What did he want?" I ask. "You heard what." He faces me again. He pulls up a chair and sits on it the wrong way. His arms on the back and legs at each side. He sits at the right side of me. "So, you want anything to eat? I"m peckish so, you better make up your mind now before I leave." "If you don"t mind." I look at my stomach. "Are the cuts deep?" "No. They"ll heal pretty quickly." He stands up and places the chair back at the desk. "If I untie you, will you stay in here and behave?" "Yes. I can"t go anywhere, can I?" I let out a sarcastic laugh. "What if they come in while you"re gone?" I nod towards where my Dad and Blue Tracksuit might be. He laughs. "I"m going to lock the door so they won"t be able to enter. While I"m gone, there"s a shower in the back room so if you want, you can have a shower. There"s some towels in there and soap." "Thanks. Please don"t take too long, I don"t like being alone long." What was I staying? His company has been good and I"m alone for too much. He gives a lazy smile, half his mouth going up and he unties the ropes. I rub my wrists; he stays standing next to me. "I shouldn"t be long. Take a shower, you disserve one." He turns and leaves. The door clicks shut and I"m alone. No Aiden and no Guardian Angel. I take a few painful and wobbly steps, hissing in pain and I make it to the shower. It was around the corner and a little way down the corridor. The bathroom was a dull white and looks like it was used seldom. There was a sink which was very dirty. The taps were covered in lime-scale. The mirror above was spotless surprisingly. In the corner near the door, was a cubicle which I think contains a toilet. A bin was next to the door. I take a deep breathe and reach between my legs and feel for the condom. It wasn"t there. I sigh in relief. Next to the sink, there was a toilet rack which consisted of a blue towel, a peach colored towel and a meant to be white towel. The window was a tall, slightly wide window which was also painted black. Just to the right of it, there was a big cubicle. The shower. The smell of bleach lingers in my nose and makes me feel light headed. I take step by easy step towards the mirror. Bruises all over me, my black eye has gone down dramatically and the cuts on my stomach will leave scars.

He smiled. He really liked those kids; they were some of the better children she had governed over the years. Of course, Bert always made sure to be nice to the children Mary Poppins brought to see him (it meant more time with her, and he"d never say no to that). Naturally there were some he didn"t like; the family with four daughters were positively bratty, and the redheaded triplets stole things. But Jane and Michael Banks were two he didn"t mind looking out for. They were relatively good-a little lazy and a little flighty, perhaps, but they were just children. "I assume you"re goin" to go and talk to Missus Banks tomorrow?" "Or Mr. Banks, if he still insists on running the management of his household." She smirked and put the paper down on his coffee table. Mary Poppins leaned back and started to relax a little bit. He grabbed her an afghan off the back of the couch and covered her up, hoping that she would drift to sleep quickly and quietly. The next day, Mary Poppins woke up to the sound of a piping tea kettle on the stove and Bert shuffling into the kitchen half-awake. His shirt still wasn"t buttoned or tucked in, so she assumed he was running later than usual. She got up and pulled on her dress and helped get out cups, saucers, and biscuits out of the pantry. He grabbed the kettle, took it off the eye, and poured some tea for the both of them before hurrying off into the other room to finish getting dressed. She took the cue to do the same and let the tea cool a little before sipping. If she recalled Bert"s schedule correctly, today should"ve been the day he went into the park to sell kites to families. She wasn"t entirely sure based on how he was dressed, but it was certainly a good guess. Mary Poppins had given herself a goal for the day: go to visit the Banks family, and if it seemed like a good fit, ask for her old position back. After a quick breakfast of tea and biscuits, Mary Poppins and Bert went their separate ways in pursuit of making a living. Mary Poppins had walked this way before, but she had never done so by herself. Usually she was chasing after her charges as they walked past Bert"s building. Jane and Michael walked with her all the way from Mrs. Correy"s sweet shop, past Bert"s building, through the park, and back to their own home (and by the time they made it back they were out of gingerbread). She figured she could retrace that same path to make it back to number 17 Cherry Tree Lane. She stood on the porch of the home that last offered her employment, debating on whether or not to actually go through with her plan and knock on their door. What if George Banks opened the door and wouldn"t take her back? What if a new nanny was taking care of the children and she was back to scanning the paper in Bert"s apartment hoping a home had an opening for her? Things could go horribly wrong. Did she want to risk it? She didn"t have much of a choice. Mary Poppins knocked on the door and held her breath until someone opened it. Luckily enough, she was greeted by the cheery smile of Winifred Banks. Though a little perplexed by her being there, she looked thoroughly thrilled to see her again. "Mary Poppins, what are you doing here?" She asked with her grin still perfectly in tact. Mary Poppins gulped, not wanting to be too forward in her work request. "Oh, please come in; sit down, have a bite to eat. I insist." Mary Poppins came in and, as indicated by Mrs. Banks, sat down on the designated couch. Winifred Banks sat down across from her, poised and prim as ever. "Thank you, you"re too kind." Mary Poppins started. Winifred Banks continued to speak before she could think to make requests. "It"s very good to see you again, Miss Mary Poppins. You were an excellent nanny to my children... did you come back to pick up your last wages? I"m afraid George might"ve-with all the commotion that day-" "No, no, nothing like that." Wages, thought Mary Poppins, is that what she thinks this is about? Unpaid wages from months ago? Winifred continued. "George is now a partner at the bank, you see. It keeps him very busy. When he"s home he spends his time with Jane and Michael... unfortunately, he"s home much less now than he was even then." She gave a slight laugh, making light of the situation. "I suppose that"s just how it goes, isn"t it?" Mary Poppins smiled as well. "I suppose so." She took a deep breath. If she was going to ask for a position, she needed to do it sooner rather than later. "Mrs. Banks, do you by chance have a new nanny?" "Heavens, no!" Winifred laughed loudly. "The children speak of your many adventures during your time here, they"ve said no other nanny could ever compete!" Well that answers one question, Mary Poppins thought. "George wants to put another advertisement in the paper-he"s afraid that with him at work as long as he is, and women"s rights becoming a more pressing topic that the children need someone here full time... Cook"s not terribly fond of being with them all the time, see..." She looked up at Mary Poppins. "Are you wishing your post back? I"m sure George would be willing to have you again, you were very good with the children." "Then I will go up to the nursery and-" "Oh my," Winifred grabbed her arm before she could get up the stairs. "George has made it clear he wants to be the one to hire staff." She smiled, knowing she would probably regret saying what she was going to say later. "But I suppose this isn"t me hiring you, you are just returning to your position. Oh, head on upstairs!" Mary Poppins was halfway up the stairs before Winifred stopped her the second time. "Same wages, every second Tuesday off?" She nodded to the chipper woman. "As you were, Mary Poppins. I"ll have Cook set you a seat at dinner with the children. I"m sure George will be very excited." Mary Poppins continued up the stairs and to the familiar nursery, knowing that she was back where she belonged. Jane and Michael didn"t ask many questions when they saw Mary Poppins unpacking in the nursery. "Perhaps the wind has changed again." Jane suggested to her brother, who shrugged in reply. They sat silently in the doorway and watched her pull the mirror, hat stand, and potted plant out of her carpet bag and place them exactly where they were before. It was almost as if she had never left... everything seemed to be falling right back into place the way it was. But something was different. The children didn"t know what exactly, but there was something different about Mary Poppins. She didn"t quip or snap or greet them with a game or measurement the way she did when they first met... that made sense, of course, as this was not their first time meeting her. She knew them quite well. Once she was done decorating her room she turned to the children, smiled, and said "Good morning". They said the same thing back and continued to watch her in puzzlement. "Shouldn"t you children be in school?" She asked, arching an eyebrow. The children looked at each other and then back at Mary Poppins. "It"s Saturday." Of course it is, thought she, I really should invest in a calendar one of these days. Jane and Michael both quickly got off the floor and sat on her bed, ready to ask her questions. "What will we do today?" "Will we have a ceiling tea party with your Uncle Albert again?" "What about going to the fair?" "Oh, Bert must have a lot of drawings we could go into!" "I like the one with the fair, and the carousel horses, and the race!" "But maybe we could try his circus drawing just as well, that tightrope looked like a lot of fun!" "Just please don"t take us back to the bank, Mary Poppins?" "We could feed the birds if we went to see father!" "Maybe we could dance on the rooftop with the sweeps!" "Michael, the sweeps aren"t up there in the daytime." "Right... we never got fish last time! Maybe we could get fish?" "We don"t need fish now, maybe another day..." "How long are you staying for this time, Mary Poppins?" That was the last question either of the children asked her. She took a deep breath. "As long as you need me, I suppose." That was fishy. In the past she had told them that it wasn"t up to her, that it was the wind that made her choices. Was that a joke all along, that she chose to leave when she wanted to? No, that wasn"t it. She must"ve loved them dearly, or she wouldn"t have come back. But something strange was going on, they just didn"t know what. "Now, your mother says we will be having dinner downstairs at six o"clock tonight, isn"t that correct?" "We always wait for father to come home for dinner now." Michael said softly. "He always tries to make it home for family dinner, but sometimes he just misses it." Mary Poppins couldn"t tell how exactly he felt about that, but she assumed he was at least a little bit happy about his father wanting to spend a little bit of time with them, even though it didn"t always work out according to plan. It certainly must"ve beat having dinner in the nursery by themselves, or being on their own for dinner. At long last it sounded like they were behaving like a relatively functional family. She checked the time. It wasn"t even noon yet. "There is a lot of day left. Why don"t we go to the park?" The children were practically beaming-they weren"t particularly big fans of the park, but they knew any trip with Mary Poppins was an adventure. "It"ll be just like last time!" The children started to spin about her like she was a maypole. They half expected a witty statement from her that would stop them, but instead she just asked them to get their hats and coats so that they could go on. Fishy indeed. The park was, in all honesty, not the adventure they had in mind. She took the two children out with the kite that their father fixed for them and agreed to help them fly it if they needed to. She sat on a bench and watched the two of them play for a little while, then she walked with them in search of something, but they didn"t know what. Jane and Michael got bored with this adventure quickly, but they knew that the day couldn"t be over yet. Michael requested to go to the fish market and pick up those prawns they didn"t get last time, so they hurried across town to see the fish monger. They were in and out almost immediately, with Mary Poppins holding a handkerchief over her mouth to prevent gagging (which she couldn"t really seem to help, and the children were having troubles with the smells as well). To complete their trip they went to Mrs. Correy"s for sweets (though not enough to spoil their dinners) and just to sit and rest their feet. By the time they made it back to the nursery, Mary Poppins looked more exhausted than the children had ever seen her. "Are you alright, Mary Poppins?" Jane asked quietly as Mary Poppins removed her coat and put it away in the chest of drawers. Mary Poppins nodded. "Wash up before dinner, Jane." Jane hurried to the water closet without another word. Before joining the children downstairs, Mary Poppins looked herself over in her mirror. What had happened to her today? She felt so tired, and the excursion to the fish market nearly had her spewing. This was going to make her job unpleasant, that she knew. She put on more face powder and took a look at her silhouette. There wasn"t a drastic swell around her stomach, nothing that was terribly noticeable if you just glanced at her, but she could see a tiny bump forming. Her hand went to it as if by instinct, but she put it down quickly and put on her apron before heading down the stairs and to dinner. Days went by without any commotion or anything terribly special. She took the children on outings, and while they were fun, they weren"t the kind of fun they remembered having with Mary Poppins. It was more relaxed, more ordinary... less magical and a little more real. Jane and Michael still loved Mary Poppins and were very glad to have her back, but this time they could tell something was different though they didn"t know what. The good news was that Jane and Michael were in school a good portion of the week, so by the time they were done with homework there wasn"t much time or energy left for adventuring. They kept asking her where Bert was and when they would get to see him, and she shrugged and answered, "When the time is right." The time proved right two weeks after Mary Poppins had started working for the Bankses again. It was one of Bert"s days as a screever, one of the best jobs for her to take the children to see him at. She introduced it as another mundane trip to the park, and they got dressed and ready just as they had the rest of the time she had been working. They started to dread the walk to the park, waiting for something interesting to happen. And as soon as they saw Bert, they knew that the good times they had with Mary Poppins were about to start up again. "Bert! Bert!" Jane and Michael shouted, running towards him and leaving Mary Poppins in the dust. "Jane and Michael!" He greeted them and tipped his head as if he was wearing his hat (placed in a separate square, in hope of making some money off of people walking in the park). "And Mary Poppins, beautiful as ever." She blushed. "You"re too kind, Bert." He continued, circling her quickly. "Are you feeling alright, Mary Poppins? You look tired, are you still sick-" "I"m fine, Bert." She quipped, glaring in his direction. The children looked up at her with concern. She dismissed them as best she could. "Bert, I think we should take the children to the fair. What do you think?" Jane and Michael were grinning from ear to ear. The fair would be an excellent time for all four of them, that was for certain! "Are you sure you"re feeling up to it?" Bert asked, pulling Mary Poppins slightly to the side. "I mean, if you"re not, I can take them off your hands and you can rest... I"d hate for something to-you know-I couldn"t imagine if-" "Is something wrong?" Jane asked, juvenilely tugging on Mary Poppins" skirt. Michael appeared on the other side of Mary Poppins. A little flushed in the face, Mary Poppins let out a sigh and stepped toward the drawing. "I"m feeling much better now, thank you. A little under the weather, that"s all. Now let"s go to the fair, I"m sure there will be candy apples and carousel horses with your names on them." She took each of the children"s hands with her own and Bert held onto Jane"s free hand. They jumped through the drawing and landed in the countryside wearing the clothes they came in (unlike the time before, when they got a magical chalk-drawing makeover) and hurried toward the cafe with the penguin waiters. Jane and Michael ran ahead of the adults and turned to see them walking slowly after them, hand-in-hand, chatting and smiling and blushing like two young fools in love. The children thought to ask so many questions, letting curiosity get the best of them, but instead they listened to Mary Poppins" sound advice. They"d know what was going on just like when they"d see Bert again: when the time was right. Time went by, and little changes started to happen around the Banks house. Very subtle things, like the staff decorating for Christmas and George Banks talking about a Christmas party that he would host for the men in his office (with his lovely wife playing the hostess and his adorable children put on display then whisked back up to the nursery and out of sight for the rest of the evening). Mary Poppins outgrew several of her outfits over a very short amount of time, and she started to wear heavier clothes to distract from her growing belly and no one really seemed to notice for quite a while. But Winifred Banks was much more perceptive than Mary Poppins gave her credit for. One day, after the children left for school, Winifred called Mary Poppins downstairs for a little meeting and a light breakfast. Mary Poppins got ready as she did every morning, dressed as she always did, and went down the stairs to meet the mistress of her household. She had planned everything she was going to say in regards to Mr. Banks" party for the bankers, and how long the children would stay, and what she would do with them afterwards. What else could Winifred Banks want to talk about other than the party her husband had been jabbering on about for the past couple weeks? As soon as Mary Poppins sat down on the sofa, Winifred came into the room with a pot of tea and two cups. "Allow me to help you with that." Mary Poppins offered, starting to stand up, but Winifred put the cups down and gestured for her to stay put. Winifred sat down, smoothed out the front of her dress and began to pour some tea for her and the nanny. "Mrs. Banks, may I ask what the nature of this meeting is?" "Oh, dear, please call me Winifred." Winifred insisted, but continued before Mary Poppins could ask any more questions. "Cook will be out with toast, eggs, and sausages in a few minutes. You are hungry, aren"t you?" Mary Poppins nodded, still slightly confused. "I hope you know I consider my staff close friends." None of what she was saying was adding up. Mary Poppins was very perplexed but picked up her teacup anyways. "Mrs. Banks..." Winifred opened her mouth. "Sorry, Winifred, what is this regarding?" Winifred tilted her head from side to side uneasily. "As long as you"ve worked here, I"m afraid I don"t know you very well at all. Of course you"re phenomenal with the children-there"s no arguing that-and George and I are very fond of you, but we know very little about you." Mary Poppins swallowed her tea a little louder than she had intended. "Why don"t you tell me a little bit about yourself? Your husband, your... family." Ah. "Yes, well, I had a younger brother who unfortunately passed before me; I practically raised him, I was twelve years older, and my parents died not long after he turned five..." Winifred was sitting on the edge of her seat, eying her and waiting. "But that"s not what you wish to hear about, is it?" Winifred looked down at her teacup. "If you have something to say, go ahead and speak your mind. You said it yourself; you consider your staff close friends." Mary Poppins sipped her tea and waited for a few seconds. Winifred finally set her teacup on the table and folded her hands in her lap, ready to say what she was thinking. "Mary Poppins, I"ve been meaning to ask you for quite a while-well, I suppose it"s really none of my business... well, are you-" Mary Poppins arched an eyebrow at her. "What I"m trying to ask is if you are expecting a child. A child of your own, I mean." She nodded. The only person she had told was Bert, and now it was so apparent that a woman she saw very rarely noticed? "How did you-?" Winifred let out a little giggle. "Oh, dear, most ladies add more layers when it gets cold but they"ll remove their coats indoors." Mary Poppins noticed that she was, in fact, wearing her coat while sitting inside the house. "Go ahead and take off your coat, Mary Poppins, you must be burning alive!" She did as she was told, and removed her coat to reveal her little baby bump right below her skirt. She folded the coat beside her. "Aren"t you more comfortable now?" She nodded, raising her shoulders and slowly relaxing the tension she had been holding for so long. "Mary Poppins, you have been so good with the children, but you must be positively exhausted! When I was expecting Michael, chasing after Jane was a chore and she was hardly crawling... I can only imagine how you"re doing with two older children..." Mary Poppins wanted to inform her that being a nanny that was just a part of her job, but she didn"t want to be rude when Winifred was being so kind to her. Jane and Michael were actually great children, very respectful to her and obedient, and since they were in school most of the time she had a good deal of time to herself. She sipped her tea coolly and let Winifred go on. "You"re so good with my children, I can only imagine how good you will be with your own. I"m sure Mr. Poppins is a very happy man." Mr. Poppins, thought Mary silently, is nonexistent. Was Bert happy about the whole situation? She could only assume he wasn"t offended by it; every time he saw her and the children he was so happy to see her and always asked how she was doing and if she was feeling even slightly under the weather he insisted on her resting and him taking the children on an adventure (which she always still went on, but that was beside the point). "I hope Jane and Michael aren"t giving you any trouble... you have told them, haven"t you?" Mary Poppins shook her head. "Well you must tell them! I recommend sooner rather than later." She nodded, realizing that Winifred was right. She didn"t want to talk to the children at all about this-it was a delicate subject, and one she felt was too personal to share with her charges-but if Winifred believed it was a good idea, it must"ve been a good idea. "I mean, you don"t want to be halfway through delivery when the children find out, do you?" She hadn"t even thought that far ahead. Delivery? That felt years away to her. She had been focusing so much on her life with the Banks children where she only saw her own child"s father on her own terms. How often would Bert see his own child? How could she equally take care of the daughter and son she was being paid to take care of and an infant of her own? No, she told herself, I"ve still got plenty of time.

The woods were very different once you were in them than they were when you were just looking at the trees from a window. She heard howling of wolves and questioned whether or not to turn back. No, there was nothing for her if she turned back. She had written out the reason for her departure-Father, I have realized there is nothing for me at the palace and soon Rachel will be married, and I no longer wish to be a hassle for you, your older daughter, Laurel-and left it for her unfortunately illiterate father. Certainly they would understand that a written note meant that she wasn"t coming back... Laurel watched the branches above her head break in space to reveal the moonlight shining all around her. Not too far from where she was she saw a little house in the woods, a quaint little cottage right between the palace and the nearest village. There was a little tuft of smoke coming from the chimney and she wondered if, perhaps, she could charm her way into the person"s home just long enough that she was protected from this ever-howling wolf she heard. She knocked on the door and hoped that someone would answer. An older woman with white hair and a red robe opened the door, looking at Laurel with a smile and adjusting her glasses. "Can I help you, my dear?" She asked, looking at the blonde teenager carrying a small carpetbag. "Have you lost your way?" Had she lost her way? I had no way to lose... "I"m sorry, ma"am, I shouldn"t have bothered you... I haven"t anywhere else to go, and there"s something howling out there..." The old woman looked around, checking for the wolf, and quickly ushered the teenager inside. She took her bag and threw it on the kitchen table, locked the door, and pulled her towards the fire. The heat was refreshing to Laurel, sending a chill up her spine unexpectedly. "I"ve got some extra soup on the fire, and an extra bedroom." The woman said without much introduction. Laurel wondered why a woman would be so prepared as to have so much extra space. "You must stay the night. That wolf"s always prowling the woods for a little lady to lunch on. It won"t be safe to go out again until tomorrow morning... follow the path, don"t stray... it"ll lead you to the next village." The woman came over and served Laurel a bowl of soup, and she inspected it before eating. Tomato soup, with a crust of bread to sop up what she couldn"t get with her spoon... it smelled delicious, but it was only right to make sure the food wasn"t poisoned. What was this woman, and did she know she was passing through the woods and would seek shelter with her... "Oh, I hope my daughter followed the path... she"s so forgetful sometimes..." "You have a daughter?" Laurel asked the old woman. She nodded, sitting in her rocking chair and stitching some ribbons onto some red fabric. "Yes, not too much older than you, and she visits me from time to time. She and her husband live two villages away. She came by just yesterday, and I guess I still cook like she"ll be coming back every meal... she has her own family take care of now." The old woman seemed disheartened by her daughter"s unfortunate aging. All children grew up, Laurel had watched the little princesses since they were infants, and now they were five and three. The real question was would Laurel"s mother have been proud of how she grew up? She couldn"t help but wonder. The subject quickly turned on Laurel. "And what of your family? Do you have one?" Yes, Laurel thought, and tried to figure out the right things to say. I have a sister that"s bound to marry a prince, a dead mother who left me her job, and a father that believes I need to do everything on my own and my sister needs to be doted on. "No." She lied, choosing the simpler answer. "I mean, I"m sure they"re-you know-" The old woman just nodded knowingly. Laurel took a sip of her soup. "Thank you, by the way. How kind that you took in a stranger for an evening." "I"ll appreciate the company." The old woman grinned. Laurel continued to drink her soup, not really wishing to break the silence. She didn"t want to say something to offend the woman, and she wasn"t a particularly great conversationalist it seemed. She spoke well, but what was appropriate to speak about? There were so many things she still didn"t know: she had read as many books in the palace library as she could get her hands on, she knew many little skills that she figured would be useful, but she didn"t know anything about the real world. The woman watched her eating and was ready to break the silence herself. "You must be famished, aren"t you? You look like you"ve been running for a week. Where did you say you"re from?" I didn"t, Laurel realized and then began to think. "Not that far away, actually... I was a servant to a wealthier family not too far from here... I"ve been gone a day or so." The woman nodded and pretended to understand. Laurel just figured she didn"t really get it, but was it possible that she did? Was it possible that there was more to this woman than there appeared to be? There was more to Laurel than what was on the surface. Certainly there had to be someone else who saw that beauty was just skin deep... Not too long after she had finished her soup, the woman showed her to the guest bedroom. There was a nice bed with a metal headboard and a thick feather mattress, a homemade quilt, and a fluffy pillow at the head of the bed. The chest-of-drawers, once she looked into it, were filled with mostly unworn clothing. Looking into the bright glass mirror she saw herself as she was instead of how she saw herself in the castle pans and plates. She was a mess, and she could finally see that. The woman closed the door and left Laurel with a candle to light the room. What a sight am I, Laurel thought, disheveled and dirty... Laurel reached into her bag and pulled out one of her mother"s old nightgowns, tucked herself into bed and tried to go to sleep. Her mind wandered. What was to become of her? She couldn"t return home now that she had left. She refused to go crawling back to the palace to be treated like dirt when she could actually make money for doing half the work she was doing. She wouldn"t have to do the work of her and her sister while her sister pretended to flit around like a fairy. Laurel had no doubt that everything would be fine-her father could take care of Rachel, it"s what he had been doing for a long time. And Rachel would be fine, she didn"t need Laurel to protect her. No one needed Laurel... did they? The prince made it very clear she wasn"t wanted. She wasn"t pretty like a princess should be, she talked too much, and she didn"t take directions as well as she should have. For some reason she stumbled upon this old woman"s house in the woods and out of kindness the woman let her in. Was it fate that she was supposed to meet this woman? Was this where she was meant to be? No. She was meant to do something great, she just didn"t know what yet... If she slept on it, she figured, she would have strength to continue her journey and find her place in the world. It wasn"t in a cottage in the woods, she knew that, but it had to be out there somewhere. AUTHOR"S NOTE: Here"s the second installment of the story! I"ve decided that it was very possible that the Baker"s Wife, before she became the Baker"s wife, possibly met some of the other characters before her beloved Baker. Please review, I"d love to hear more feedback on the story! I hope to have the next installment up speedily! It was early in the morning and Laurel was ready to continue on her way. The old woman stood in the doorway while she packed her bag. "You weren"t planning on leaving without saying goodbye, were you?" Laurel shook her head and brushed her hair, looking at herself in the mirror. With a little cleaning done the night before she was looking a little healthier, actually looking like a decently pretty girl. The old woman watched her keenly and sat down on the bed while she continued to primp. "You could take the other dresses with you, you know. The one you have now won"t do... my daughter"s not coming back for them...and if she has a daughter, well..." The woman threw them into the bag and helped Laurel tie back her hair with a black ribbon. The ribbon perfectly matched the fabric of the black and red corseted dress that the old woman picked out for Laurel from the chest-of-drawers. She helped lace her into it. Laurel had never been in a dress quite that nice, and she didn"t recall ever being properly laced into a corset. The woman had her twirl around and smiled as she caught glimpse of herself in the mirror-for the first time in Laurel"s life, she felt beautiful. "Well you must keep going, mustn"t you? I think I"ve got some bread or a sticky bun for you to take as breakfast..." Laurel smiled and wrapped the kind old woman in the biggest hug she could muster. The woman nearly fell back. Laurel detached herself from the kind soul, smiling hugely and darting into the kitchen. Laurel took two of the sticky buns off of the plate on the table. "I think there"s leftover soup in the pot, too, if you want to take it. I won"t be eating it..." "Thank you, ma"am, but I will be fine. You"ve already been so kind to me." Laurel, although her morals were weak enough to allow her to impose on an old woman, was strong on one belief-she didn"t need help as much as other people needed her help. She was helpful, hardworking... that"s what she always was. She could help herself. The old woman saw Laurel in her doorway and, for a moment, she saw her as someone different. She saw Laurel as a younger girl, with less of a figure, and brown curls on her shoulders. Her eyes were hauntingly brown, and around her shoulders hung this bright red cape, much like the one she had been sewing the day Laurel came in. She didn"t look like Laurel, only the innocence in her face, but she actually reminded the old woman of her daughter. The old woman came to her senses and realized she was just staring at Laurel. "Yes, well, I suppose you should be on your way. If you need anything, you know where to find me." Laurel nodded, and with a small smile continued on her way through the woods. The woods weren"t frightening in the daytime. Laurel saw the flowers along the path and wondered how some place so beautiful could be so terrifying in the darkness. The sunshine painted more vivid colors than the shade. How did people find themselves living in the woods, was it because they had no fear? She had been so afraid in the darkness, but in the light she forgot all the fear she had. There were signs pointing her in the direction of a close village, and she walked as quickly as she could carry herself. The bag was growing heavier and heavier, and she continued to carry it as best she could. Eventually she saw the trees begin to clear and a farm-like community filled with hustle and bustle. Everyone was running to and fro, and animals were running through the streets just like the children. She walked down the little street and came upon a small butcher"s shop. Oh, the food looked delightful, but she realized she had no money. She"d need to find a job, and quickly. Somehow she would make money so she didn"t have to depend on the fleeting kindness. The further Laurel walked down the street, she realized that she was walking towards an old farmhouse where she could hear the bickering of the people inside. Why, she wondered, am I heading over here? There"s no business here, it"s the edge of the village. But for one reason or another she was walking towards the house, like she was being pulled by some force. Suddenly the argument stopped and there was only a woman screaming and a man leaving. He had a flannel shirt on with the sleeves rolled up, suspenders holding up his dirty brown pants. He glared at Laurel and continued to mutter things to himself. The door to the house was still wide open and Laurel went to close it, only to find that the woman was sobbing and there was a child crying and sitting on the floor. The lady was not particularly beautiful, but she was not an unattractive woman. Her son had sandy hair and was lying on the floor and crying, slamming a stuffed cow on the floor angrily. The sobbing woman looked incredibly stressed, but also relieved to see Laurel in the doorway. "Young miss!" The woman called, looking at her through her blurring tears. "Would you do me a favor? Come in, please." Laurel looked at her cautiously, mostly focusing on the child. "What can I do for you, ma"am?" The woman picked up her child and handed her off to Laurel. She grabbed her shawl off of the hook on the wall and started to wrap it around her shoulders. "Just for a few hours, miss, I"ll reward you as best I can... Jack"s a good boy, little ditzy, won"t cause you any trouble. I"ve got to go after his father... oh! I needed to go get some bread too, would you mind? I"ll reward you generously. Please..." The frazzled woman looked into Laurel"s eyes and she saw nothing but determination and honesty. She couldn"t refuse her. There was too much that the woman needed, and the boy needed a father. Every child needs its parents...until the day they don"t need you anymore, she thought spitefully. The woman, on her way out, threw some money at Laurel. "For bread, and anything else you need." She ran out, closed the door, and left Jack with Laurel. Maybe, thought she, this is my purpose. ...later... Laurel coddled the little boy and played with him and his stuffed cow. The boy was so fascinated by the toy that he hardly noticed his mother was gone and had left him with her. Besides he didn"t mind Laurel much to begin with. Now that all the shouting had stopped, he had stopped crying. Jack, well, he was a well behaved child. He was so much better than the princes and princesses, at least as far as Laurel could tell. "Wanna go to the bakery?" She asked him and he nodded without probably understanding what she said. He wasn"t the most intelligent of toddlers, but he seemed to understand the concept of go. He was probably the same age as the littlest princess, and he had a lot of similar mannerisms (maybe it"s the age, she thought): grabby hands reaching up for her to pick him up. She picked him up and slung him on her hip, clutching his stuffed cow with the other hand. As they exited the house she handed him the cow and he started to pet it. He loves his cow, Laurel observed, what would he be like with a real one? That would provide them with milk, cheese... Laurel, with Jack on her hip, headed back into the woods with a new motivation-she was no longer running from her job, she had found one (no matter how temporary it was) and she was ready to help Jack and his mother as best she could. For now, all she was needed for was to watch the boy and get the bread from the baker. AUTHOR"S NOTE: Yay! The woman in the woods, in case this chapter didn"t help clear it up, is Red"s Grandmother... I hope that this installment went over well with you all, and I want to keep posting speedily! Next time we will be meeting the baker... please review and let me know if you have any ideas! Boyd sat on a stool by the fire, his cheeks dusted with flour and his apron covered in dough. No one came into the shop on a Monday. Why didn"t I just close the shop for the day, he asked himself, knowing he wouldn"t get an answer. His mother and father had the store open six days a week-all but Sunday, and that worked well for their business. I"m not my mother or my father. But he had a tradition to uphold, he was the new baker. All the bread he had baked fresh for the day, and all he really carried was bread. He wasn"t an expert baker-given he had no one to teach him. Each day he woke up at dawn to get baking, and before sunset he"d close the shop with all his bread sold and a little left for him. Recently he had enough money to go over to the next village and get some meat, fixing himself a little sandwich to have for dinner. Although he lived on his own and had since he was a child, he loved his business and found it difficult to be lonely. His parents had died when he was a baby (or so he was led to believe) in a baking accident. The woman next door, an infamous and ugly witch, watched him grow up and made sure he was on the right path. By the time he was seven he was working hard as a baker and learning how to make (actually quite awful) bread. As he grew older his bread got better, and people always came to him to buy bread. Now he was twenty years old, a hardworking business owner, and an honest man. He only hoped he was someone that could make them proud. Boyd watched the flames, wondering when something interesting would happen. He knew they had to happen-they seemed to happen to everyone else. The customers told him about them: engagements, new babies, weddings, promotions, new jobs... he didn"t know any of that. He had heard that things like that were magical and miracles, but it seemed like he didn"t know anything but, well, bread. Bread was his life. Boyd knew that there must"ve been more. He saw a woman approaching his store wearing a black cape, with a calf on a rope and a little boy on her hip. She opened the door as best she could and he stood up from his stool to see her a little better. "Livestock has to stay outside." He informed her as she took off her hood. She was striking. Boyd had never met a young lady quite like this one. Her long honey blonde hair was tied up in a braid and thrown over her shoulder, and her green eyes stared into his soul. She looked young, but not quite too young to be the child she held"s mother. A girl like that must be married, he figured, all pretty girls are... "I-um-come in, bring the cow. We really should have a way to tie them up out there." He said nervously, scratching his head. Laurel smiled and helped the cow over the doorway and looked at the baker. He seems a little young to be a baker, she thought. He was tall... tall enough, taller than her, and he had a decent build. His eyes were very blue and he smiled at her. He was positively covered in flour (perhaps that came with being a baker, though) and he even had some flour in his scruffy beard. "What"s a young lady like you doing with a cow anyways?" He asked, toweling off his face with his apron. She looked at the cow and then at the child. "A cow provides food, Jack and his family will always need food..." She looked at the bread. "And a loaf of bread, please." He tried to find the prettiest loaf of bread he had. On Mondays he didn"t worry as much about the appearance of the bread, mostly because no one ever came in on Mondays. "Jack, what a strong name. Your son, I presume?" She shook her head. Thank god, thought he. Boyd continued to try to find some pretty bread. "So what"s your name?" He asked, then tried to backtrack. "Part of my job, you know, I like to know my customers by name." "Laurel." She answered him softly, then asked a similar question. "And you didn"t tell me your name. I like to know my baker by name." She was sarcastic and had quite a bite to her, and somehow he found that charming. He dusted off his hand and offered for her to shake it. "Boyd Baker." Of course, thought Laurel, the baker"s last name is Baker. Did she have a last name? If she did she assumed it was Butler... she never was called with a last name, so she never asked... "And Jack... that"s what you said the boy"s name was, correct?" She nodded. "Well, it"s a pleasure to meet you both. And your bread..." He handed her a decent loaf. She started to reach for some of the money that Jack"s mother gave her... "No no, it"s free. Don"t worry." "I must pay you." She continued to reach for money while the boy grabbed the bread and starting gnawing on its leathery exterior. He shook his head and grabbed her chin, gently scooping it up so she looked at him. Boyd didn"t know why he did what he was doing, but it just came... natural. "Don"t worry about payment. Head back home to your mistress, and get the child inside before dark." She reluctantly started out the door. "I will find a way to repay you, someday." She continued out and closed the door. He watched her through the dirty windows. I"m sure you will, Laurel. He thought, putting his elbows down on the floured counter. But next time... I"ll clean up shop. So he started to dust up the flour, locked the door, and sat down to a loaf of bread for his dinner. He watched the witch next door tending her garden, as she did every night, and he knew-just for a moment-that his routine had changed forever because of that girl. The witch, when Boyd looked away, smirked to herself. She had found the last piece of her puzzle. AUTHOR"S NOTE: I hope this short little chapter was alright... please let me know! Review please! Laurel and the cow both found themselves welcomed into the home and lives of Jack and his mother. "I didn"t know I needed a cow," the woman told her quite honestly, taking her toddling son back into her open arms, "nor did I know I needed some help around the house. I suppose I now need both."

There were signs pointing her in the direction of a close village, and she walked as quickly as she could carry herself. The bag was growing heavier and heavier, and she continued to carry it as best she could. Eventually she saw the trees begin to clear and a farm-like community filled with hustle and bustle. Everyone was running to and fro, and animals were running through the streets just like the children. She walked down the little street and came upon a small butcher"s shop. Oh, the food looked delightful, but she realized she had no money. She"d need to find a job, and quickly. Somehow she would make money so she didn"t have to depend on the fleeting kindness. The further Laurel walked down the street, she realized that she was walking towards an old farmhouse where she could hear the bickering of the people inside. Why, she wondered, am I heading over here? There"s no business here, it"s the edge of the village. But for one reason or another she was walking towards the house, like she was being pulled by some force. Suddenly the argument stopped and there was only a woman screaming and a man leaving. He had a flannel shirt on with the sleeves rolled up, suspenders holding up his dirty brown pants. He glared at Laurel and continued to mutter things to himself. The door to the house was still wide open and Laurel went to close it, only to find that the woman was sobbing and there was a child crying and sitting on the floor. The lady was not particularly beautiful, but she was not an unattractive woman. Her son had sandy hair and was lying on the floor and crying, slamming a stuffed cow on the floor angrily. The sobbing woman looked incredibly stressed, but also relieved to see Laurel in the doorway. "Young miss!" The woman called, looking at her through her blurring tears. "Would you do me a favor? Come in, please." Laurel looked at her cautiously, mostly focusing on the child. "What can I do for you, ma"am?" The woman picked up her child and handed her off to Laurel. She grabbed her shawl off of the hook on the wall and started to wrap it around her shoulders. "Just for a few hours, miss, I"ll reward you as best I can... Jack"s a good boy, little ditzy, won"t cause you any trouble. I"ve got to go after his father... oh! I needed to go get some bread too, would you mind? I"ll reward you generously. Please..." The frazzled woman looked into Laurel"s eyes and she saw nothing but determination and honesty. She couldn"t refuse her. There was too much that the woman needed, and the boy needed a father. Every child needs its parents...until the day they don"t need you anymore, she thought spitefully. The woman, on her way out, threw some money at Laurel. "For bread, and anything else you need." She ran out, closed the door, and left Jack with Laurel. Maybe, thought she, this is my purpose. ...later... Laurel coddled the little boy and played with him and his stuffed cow. The boy was so fascinated by the toy that he hardly noticed his mother was gone and had left him with her. Besides he didn"t mind Laurel much to begin with. Now that all the shouting had stopped, he had stopped crying. Jack, well, he was a well behaved child. He was so much better than the princes and princesses, at least as far as Laurel could tell. "Wanna go to the bakery?" She asked him and he nodded without probably understanding what she said. He wasn"t the most intelligent of toddlers, but he seemed to understand the concept of go. He was probably the same age as the littlest princess, and he had a lot of similar mannerisms (maybe it"s the age, she thought): grabby hands reaching up for her to pick him up. She picked him up and slung him on her hip, clutching his stuffed cow with the other hand. As they exited the house she handed him the cow and he started to pet it. He loves his cow, Laurel observed, what would he be like with a real one? That would provide them with milk, cheese... Laurel, with Jack on her hip, headed back into the woods with a new motivation-she was no longer running from her job, she had found one (no matter how temporary it was) and she was ready to help Jack and his mother as best she could. For now, all she was needed for was to watch the boy and get the bread from the baker. AUTHOR"S NOTE: Yay! The woman in the woods, in case this chapter didn"t help clear it up, is Red"s Grandmother... I hope that this installment went over well with you all, and I want to keep posting speedily! Next time we will be meeting the baker... please review and let me know if you have any ideas! Boyd sat on a stool by the fire, his cheeks dusted with flour and his apron covered in dough. No one came into the shop on a Monday. Why didn"t I just close the shop for the day, he asked himself, knowing he wouldn"t get an answer. His mother and father had the store open six days a week-all but Sunday, and that worked well for their business. I"m not my mother or my father. But he had a tradition to uphold, he was the new baker. All the bread he had baked fresh for the day, and all he really carried was bread. He wasn"t an expert baker-given he had no one to teach him. Each day he woke up at dawn to get baking, and before sunset he"d close the shop with all his bread sold and a little left for him. Recently he had enough money to go over to the next village and get some meat, fixing himself a little sandwich to have for dinner. Although he lived on his own and had since he was a child, he loved his business and found it difficult to be lonely. His parents had died when he was a baby (or so he was led to believe) in a baking accident. The woman next door, an infamous and ugly witch, watched him grow up and made sure he was on the right path. By the time he was seven he was working hard as a baker and learning how to make (actually quite awful) bread. As he grew older his bread got better, and people always came to him to buy bread. Now he was twenty years old, a hardworking business owner, and an honest man. He only hoped he was someone that could make them proud. Boyd watched the flames, wondering when something interesting would happen. He knew they had to happen-they seemed to happen to everyone else. The customers told him about them: engagements, new babies, weddings, promotions, new jobs... he didn"t know any of that. He had heard that things like that were magical and miracles, but it seemed like he didn"t know anything but, well, bread. Bread was his life. Boyd knew that there must"ve been more. He saw a woman approaching his store wearing a black cape, with a calf on a rope and a little boy on her hip. She opened the door as best she could and he stood up from his stool to see her a little better. "Livestock has to stay outside." He informed her as she took off her hood. She was striking. Boyd had never met a young lady quite like this one. Her long honey blonde hair was tied up in a braid and thrown over her shoulder, and her green eyes stared into his soul. She looked young, but not quite too young to be the child she held"s mother. A girl like that must be married, he figured, all pretty girls are... "I-um-come in, bring the cow. We really should have a way to tie them up out there." He said nervously, scratching his head. Laurel smiled and helped the cow over the doorway and looked at the baker. He seems a little young to be a baker, she thought. He was tall... tall enough, taller than her, and he had a decent build. His eyes were very blue and he smiled at her. He was positively covered in flour (perhaps that came with being a baker, though) and he even had some flour in his scruffy beard. "What"s a young lady like you doing with a cow anyways?" He asked, toweling off his face with his apron. She looked at the cow and then at the child. "A cow provides food, Jack and his family will always need food..." She looked at the bread. "And a loaf of bread, please." He tried to find the prettiest loaf of bread he had. On Mondays he didn"t worry as much about the appearance of the bread, mostly because no one ever came in on Mondays. "Jack, what a strong name. Your son, I presume?" She shook her head. Thank god, thought he. Boyd continued to try to find some pretty bread. "So what"s your name?" He asked, then tried to backtrack. "Part of my job, you know, I like to know my customers by name." "Laurel." She answered him softly, then asked a similar question. "And you didn"t tell me your name. I like to know my baker by name." She was sarcastic and had quite a bite to her, and somehow he found that charming. He dusted off his hand and offered for her to shake it. "Boyd Baker." Of course, thought Laurel, the baker"s last name is Baker. Did she have a last name? If she did she assumed it was Butler... she never was called with a last name, so she never asked... "And Jack... that"s what you said the boy"s name was, correct?" She nodded. "Well, it"s a pleasure to meet you both. And your bread..." He handed her a decent loaf. She started to reach for some of the money that Jack"s mother gave her... "No no, it"s free. Don"t worry." "I must pay you." She continued to reach for money while the boy grabbed the bread and starting gnawing on its leathery exterior. He shook his head and grabbed her chin, gently scooping it up so she looked at him. Boyd didn"t know why he did what he was doing, but it just came... natural. "Don"t worry about payment. Head back home to your mistress, and get the child inside before dark." She reluctantly started out the door. "I will find a way to repay you, someday." She continued out and closed the door. He watched her through the dirty windows. I"m sure you will, Laurel. He thought, putting his elbows down on the floured counter. But next time... I"ll clean up shop. So he started to dust up the flour, locked the door, and sat down to a loaf of bread for his dinner. He watched the witch next door tending her garden, as she did every night, and he knew-just for a moment-that his routine had changed forever because of that girl. The witch, when Boyd looked away, smirked to herself. She had found the last piece of her puzzle. AUTHOR"S NOTE: I hope this short little chapter was alright... please let me know! Review please! Laurel and the cow both found themselves welcomed into the home and lives of Jack and his mother. "I didn"t know I needed a cow," the woman told her quite honestly, taking her toddling son back into her open arms, "nor did I know I needed some help around the house. I suppose I now need both." Jack"s mother soon realized that Laurel was excellent with children. She didn"t ask the young lady for any back story about herself-and she requested that she not ask anything about her or Jack or especially Jack"s father-but she couldn"t help but wonder where she came from. She did imagine a little scenario: she must"ve come from a ridiculously large family, maybe ten or twelve children, and she must"ve been the oldest and therefore a major caretaker for the younger children. Or perhaps she was an orphan who behaved as mother for the others... she couldn"t have been very old, no older than sixteen. Jack"s mother never asked Laurel about her past because she didn"t want to run her off. She didn"t ask for much money-only what she could afford to give-and she cooked, clean, took care of Jack and the cow (Milky White, named after its color, although not terribly creative). The cow stayed in the barn most nights, and Laurel tended to sleep in the hay loft with the cow. On especially cold nights Jack"s mother allowed both Laurel and the cow to stay in the house, warm themselves by the fire, and avoid the chill that would certainly make everyone sick. Although Jack"s mother only planned on keeping Laurel around for a little while, she didn"t realize how long she had been there until Jack was a year older and she started to notice the house deteriorating around them all. The floors were starting to go slack, and the bricks on the chimney were crumbling around the corners. She had even seen a few mice darting in the shadows. And she was really starting to miss Jack"s father. She was somewhat of a hermit since he left her; of course, she also had Laurel to run errands for her. Laurel loved going into town, especially when it meant going to get bread. Every Monday she insisted on going to get bread. Jack"s mother didn"t know why the bread was so important: maybe it was a family member she was meeting. Per her usual, Laurel primped herself for her Monday trip into town. She braided her hair again and tied it back with a piece of frayed ribbon. Maybe today he"ll wrap the bread up in parchment and twine, she thought, then I wouldn"t have to buy ribbon. Her dress from the kind old woman in the woods was getting very old but since it was the only one she had that fit she didn"t want to sell it. All she had was her mother"s nightgown as a change of clothes, and that was not worth selling for anything. Laurel didn"t want to ask Jack"s mother for more money or any money-she had used the money that she had given her to get groceries and a blanket last time, and it would be a long amount of time before she would have enough to get anything else. Jack"s mother, with Jack in tow, walked into the barn to find her sitting in the loft. "Laurel, are you in here?" "Yes, ma"am!" Laurel called as she climbed down the ladder. She curtsied to her mistress and then the grabby child latched onto her hip. "What can I do for you today, ma"am? A trip into town for groceries, or any other errand? I don"t mind." Jack"s mother shook her head. "A loaf of bread, as always... it never hurts." The part of the conversation she was dreading was coming up; there was never an easy way to tell someone hardly more than a child this kind of information. "I have no idea how we"ll pay for it. I actually... don"t know how I"ll pay anything." Laurel looked confused but not truly phased. Jack"s mother took her son back. "I haven"t paid you in weeks, months even. I don"t think I can pay you anything." "Oh." A new dress can wait, Laurel told herself, you don"t need anything new anyways. What matters is that you"re alive and you"re doing alright. "Well, a roof over my head is payment enough. I can"t thank you enough for that, ma"am." "That"s what makes this difficult." Jack"s mother gestured for Laurel to sit down on the milking stool. "Without Jack"s father around I can"t afford to keep the barn... or you." She watched the light drain from Laurel"s eyes. It was not something that brought her pleasure; she was hardly more than a child, quite possibly young enough to have been her own daughter. "In town there must be a shop that needs help. You"re an excellent seamstress and maid and you"re great with children. There must be someone who can use your services: someone who can pay you." Choking back tears, Laurel spoke quickly. "I"ll be out of your hair just as soon as I gather my things." She climbed back up the ladder and grabbed her bag, tossing the nightgown in it and not bothering to clean out the hay. "I"ll go into town and-I"ll find a place. Don"t you worry about me." "You can stay another night, if you need to." Jack"s mother offered. "At least stay for dinner, or wait until Jack goes to sleep." "I"d rather not drag this out, ma"am." She realized she was leaving just as quickly as she"d left everywhere else. She was leaving another child with no explanation. "Jack"s too young to remember me, and if I don"t make it into town before nightfall I won"t find a place to stay until tomorrow." Now it was Jack"s mother to look concerned. "I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for me, but I must find my next place." Without another word, Laurel walked out of the barn and down the path toward the town and maybe a new opportunity. ...later that day... Boyd looked out the window and waited for his visitor. Every time she came to visit she had little tips to improve his bread, and occasionally offered ideas to make other things. His bread continued to get better, and the old hag next door sometimes came to sample his improving cooking. He watched the town around him get busier as the sun rose higher in the sky. His visitor hadn"t come yet, and he hadn"t heard the coo of the little boy that came with her who always watched the fire in amazement. Maybe she forgot, or the rain is causing her to be late. He paced. Not like anyone else comes to get bread on Mondays. Disheveled and a little frazzled, he saw his visitor bounding down the street. He looked into a shiny pan in the storeroom to make sure there was no soot of flour on his face. He took off his apron and hung it up on a hook, waiting by the door. "Did you shave for this visitor?" The hag next door teased him, bending crookedly over a large walking stick. "Must be love, boy. I hear wedding bells." He ignored her words as nonsense. Laurel came into the room and threw her bag on the ground, closing the door behind herself. She didn"t say anything, just sat on the stool by the fire. "You know, usually customers come in to get bread, not sit by the fire." He joked, expecting a snarky reaction from her. She sat quiet. "You"re not going to make jokes about how young I look without my beard? You usually do. Or try some of this scrap bread! It"s harder than stones, and it"s black all the way through... I didn"t remember that I put it in until I smelled the smoke." She didn"t even look at him. "Are you alright, Laurel?" "I"ve nowhere to go." She said quietly. It was finally sinking in. He looked at her slightly reddened eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Boyd thought he had a brilliant idea. "You can stay with me." "With you? I have no money to pay for a room, and I"ve no job to make money." "You don"t need a job to stay with me." Boyd"s offer, though sincere, was not satisfying to her. "What do you see me being, a housewife? I will not sit idly by and watch you burn through loaves of bread like you do. And I will not be an unmarried housewife, thank you." Boyd had an answer to every little rebuttal she could think of. "Then marry me. Isn"t that simple?" Though he was serious as the grave, she did not believe a word he said. Her laughing made him believe it was anything but simple. "You have nowhere else to go, and I have no one here with me. I see nothing more convenient." "I am not marrying out of necessity or convenience, no." Laurel said adamantly. "And if you think that little of me I don"t know why I even bothered coming here-I thought you"d understand that I lost my job with Jack"s mother-you"re worse than Rachel and the-" Laurel stopped before she gave too much away. She had told no one about her past so that she wouldn"t start to miss her home. Before Boyd could ask her any questions, a family charged into his bakery. A tall and wealthy looking brunette with two brown-headed daughters, and a poorer looking man with a daughter of his own... they didn"t look exactly like a family, more like two small families who coincidentally came in together. Laurel took charge when the five came in. "Hello, how may I help you all?" "We need a wedding cake." The woman insisted. "We"re getting married in three days time." She gestured to the man. "A big cake, money doesn"t matter." Boyd sassed back at the woman. "I don"t do cakes." Seeing the scorn on the woman"s face Laurel backpedaled a little. "What he means is that he isn"t in charge of cakes. I am. And I"m more than willing to do a cake; how much will you pay?" "How much do you ask?" The man asked, holding his little girl close to him. She was probably about ten years old, fair and thin, but not seeming too similar to her terribly beautiful future stepsisters. "Eight gold pieces seems reasonable." Laurel thought out loud. "You two did say you needed a big cake, did you not?" The woman nodded and the man pulled out a small bag. "I will have it finished and here for you to pick up that Saturday, don"t you worry." "Thank you, Mrs. Baker." The man"s little girl said, offering a smile to Laurel before she walked out. Laurel saw a bit of herself in this little girl, the grief of losing a mother perhaps, but a type of sadness she couldn"t forget even if she tried. The woman and her daughters hurried out but the man came back in for his daughter who just stayed and started at Laurel for a few more seconds. "Come along, Ella, don"t be rude." The man and his daughter were gone, and Laurel realized what she had done. "Oh, Boyd, I"m so sorry, I didn"t even ask-" Boyd saw this as a golden opportunity. "You can bake cakes! You can be in charge of sweets, I can make bread. And you can make money! I"ve got extra space in this house-it"s a double bed, but the room has plenty of space for two. You won"t have to worry anymore, Laurel. This house is your house now too." The old hag watched from the frosted window at the two sharing a pleasant embrace. It was all falling into place so well. AUTHOR"S NOTE: I"m so sorry this has taken me so long to update! I hope to update as soon as possible, but please keep reviewing. This chapter we met Cinderella, and who knows what will happen next? Let me know what you think!

"No!" The nanny lost her calm and cool tone with that. She tried very hard to regain it, but it was already a lost cause. She could feel tears welling in her eyes without any real cause. These must be the pregnancy hormones everyone was telling me about, she thought, not remembering that things like this had happened before but she managed to control them. "Jane, Michael, I care about you both like you"re my own children. I want what"s best for you both just like I do for this child. I cannot say that enough." Jane ran up to her beloved nanny and wrapped her in a big hug. Michael still looked a little stunned. "Well what are we going to do today then?" He asked, changing the subject altogether. Jane pulled away from the hug she had wrapped Mary Poppins in, walking back over towards her brother. "Now, Michael, we shouldn"t expect too much now. When mother was expecting you she hardly left the house." "I don"t see why that has to change anything." Michael commented, glaring at his sister. "This is Mary Poppins, after all. She"s magical." The children looked at her as if they were waiting for her to have some sort of comeback. What could she say in reply to that that wouldn"t upset one of her charges? Jane was suddenly so certain that Mary Poppins was too dainty and delicate to do anything; Michael was dead set on the fact that nothing was going to change. Were things going to change? She hoped not. She sighed and clasped her hands together. "Well, I think we can do at least one more big adventure, don"t you think?" The children grinned gleefully. "What do you both want to do?" Jane spoke before Michael could even think of a response. "We should go to the park, just like we did when you were our nanny the first time! Maybe Bert can conjure us up another fair to go to." Michael shrugged, realizing that was better than his idea. All he wanted was to go and get gingerbreads; that was not very adventurous. "Very well." Mary Poppins agreed to, leading the two children out of the nursery, down the stairs, and out the door. True enough to their plan, Bert was in the front of the park drawing up some new images and collecting the coins he could in his hat. She stood silhouetted over one of his squares and he started to trace her quickly. "Hold still." He said without looking up. He traced diligently, careful to get every curve of the silhouette. Based on the face he thought he recognized the woman before him, but the figure was almost unrecognizable... Bert saw the two pairs of shoes on either side of this woman and looked up to find his beloved before him. "Mary Poppins!" He stood and wrapped her in a warm embrace, which she did not decline. Odd, thought he, but he didn"t want to speak of it. "What brings you all out to the park today?" "Mary Poppins is having a baby!" Michael piped excitedly, grinning as if he had just told Bert the biggest secret in the world. Bert let out a little snicker and watched as Mary Poppins folded her hands over her slightly rounded stomach. "Well I can see that." She scowled at him briefly before returning her face to its natural position. It was easier to tell now that she wasn"t wearing her heaviest winter wear even on relatively warm days. "Beautiful as ever, Mary." She smiled gleefully, blushing slightly. Jane and Michael looked slightly puzzled. "Mary Poppins, how did Bert already know? You didn"t even tell us until about an hour ago." Bert, always good at coming up with amusing little stories to tell the children, thought quickly and came up with something small to tell them in order to keep them from badgering their nanny. "Sometimes adults just know these things, kids." It wasn"t as clever as I"d hoped it would be, he thought quietly, but it"ll have to do today. "I"ve known Mary Poppins since I was a lad, I"ve always known what was going on with her." "Well, children, don"t you have something to ask Bert?" Mary Poppins nudged them forward, certain they"d pick out a chalk drawing and ask to jump. Jane stepped forward and spoke clearly and confidently. "Are you the father of Mary Poppins" baby?" Mary Poppins" jaw dropped and Bert couldn"t help but laugh at her bluntness (or perhaps the embarrassed look on Mary"s face, or a combination of the two). Jane looked up at Mary. "Mary Poppins, it"s a fact that every child has a mother and a father." "That"s true!" Bert agreed, looking across to Mary Poppins. This look conveyed the I won"t tell them anything you don"t want me to message, to which she mouthed back Go on. "I have known Mary Poppins for a very long time, and there is no one in the world I"d rather spend my time with. She"s a real treat, kids. This kid has the proudest parents in the world." "So you"re in love!" Michael grinned, looking at the two for some kind of symbol of a romantic relationship. The two still kept a comfortable distance. Neither argued with him, but nothing confirmed his statement. "Parents are always in love!" Jane looked positively puzzled. "You are in love, aren"t you, Mary Poppins?" Mary Poppins was wonderful at changing the topic of conversation. "Pictures, Bert. The children were wondering if you could pop them into one of your pictures." He nodded and grinned, then got ready to take them on a tour of his wonderful chalk sketches. Jane tugged on Bert"s jacket. "Where did you and Mary Poppins meet? I"d like to go there!" Bert thought long and hard on this. "Oh, well you must remember!" He did remember, and with an approving nod from Mary Poppins he got down on his knees and started to sketch. It looked hardly different from the meadow that they first jumped into, the only difference being that the fair was rather apparent. He drew three small children: a girl and two boys, with the girl in between. They were walking towards a merry-go-round. The girl, the children realized, must"ve been a young Mary Poppins, but the boys were unclear. One of them must"ve been Bert, but who was the other? They were terribly puzzled, but without any explanation Mary Poppins, Bert, and the children jumped right in. The fair whirled around them. The sights and the smells were rich though it was rather obvious that this side of the country was not as wealthy as western London. Mary Poppins had Jane on one side and Michael on the other, making sure to keep them close. People ran past them and towards this carousel with a very loud barker in front of it beckoning people. The young Mary Poppins gave two coins to the barker and led the boys up to the horses. But there was a little trouble: one of the boys, the older boy, was stopped and not permitted to get on. The boy had to leave and he was digging in his pockets for a little bit of money, but there was none to be found. The girl went back to the barker after getting the other boy on the horse, gave him another coin, and took the other boy to a horse. The three rode giddily around on the merry-go-round and the relationship between the boy and young Mary Poppins was visibly forming. Bert put his hand on Mary Poppins" waist, and for the first time in public she didn"t shy away. She had never watched them meet: it was incredible, even at that age they behaved similar to how they do now. She was always so demure and nurturing, Bert was always so kind and warm. For the first time in forever she saw her precious little brother... "You always picked that purple merry-go-round horse." Bert said sentimentally, smile beaming. Jane and Michael looked up to see the two. "And you always picked yellow!" Mary Poppins grinned, realizing this memory. Every time they went to this carnival-which was every year, and whenever they went to Bert"s sketched fairs as well-he always rode the gaudy canary yellow horse. Bert smirked. "Well, I knew Oliver always picked the red horse." Mary"s smile fell. She had been trying not to think of Oliver for so long. Bert saw tears welling in her eyes. "Mary, he"s in a better place now. He was very sick, and you couldn"t help that." She took a handkerchief out of her pocket and dabbed her cheeks. "I know." She said, her voice breaking a little. "You were so good to him, he cared very much for you." "He was a good kid." Bert said, trying to revive her smile. "And I bet that our little girl is going to be a lot like him, I"m sure of that." Daughter? Thought she. "What makes you think we"re having a daughter?" Was it the end of the world to have a daughter? No, she quite enjoyed being a girl. But in her mind she was better with taking care of boys; Jane was the girl she had taken care of the longest and she was the primarily well-behaved older child. "Any child lucky enough to look like you had best be a beautiful girl." Mary blushed, but Bert couldn"t stop smiling with these words. He had been imagining what their child would look like and every time he saw the same thing: a beautiful little girl toddling beside her mother in a pale pink sundress, wavy brown hair, and eyes blue as the sky. Bert actually saw very little of himself in this child, he just saw what he imagined Mary Poppins must"ve been like as a tiny child (as he didn"t meet her until Oliver was at least five or six). It was nothing like what Mary Poppins had pictured at all: a strong, strapping boy with a mind like Bert but a little better behaved. They had very different thoughts on it... the more she thought about the little girl Bert had talked about them having, the boy she imagined started to fade... "Well what"s wrong, Mary? You look like you"re about to cry." She shook her head and smiled, getting ready to speak when Jane and Michael came running back toward them. "I-well, we should get these two home so that they can get some rest, shouldn"t we?" The four of them walked out of the fair and back through the park, then went their separate ways. And for the first time in a long time, Mary wished that she was going home with him instead of the children. Mary never took her days off lightly, but she very rarely did much on them. Ever since Winifred Banks had given her the extra Tuesday of the month off, she had so much free time out of the month she tended to let it go to waste by lounging about (which, Winifred told her, was hardly a waste of time; she wouldn"t likely be doing that with an infant). She did, however, start just about every other Tuesday having breakfast with Winifred after the children were ready and going off to school (and Mr. Banks was heading to work, as he did not see Mary Poppins often, and she was slightly embarrassed to inform him what had been going on). Mrs. Banks had a lot of information about raising children though she did hire people to take care of her own. "They"re only little for a little bit," Mrs. Banks warned while sipping her tea. "I hope you treasure every moment with him or her." One of those Tuesday morning breakfasts, Mr. Banks walked in and saw his wife and Mary Poppins just chattering away. He wasn"t terribly observant, or he likely would have noticed that Mary Poppins was expecting a child (which likely he would"ve said something about, and that was the only reason she was sure he hadn"t been paying her attention). "Why, Mary Poppins, you must bring your husband to the Christmas party. The young chimney sweep, the one who covered my children in soot." Mary Poppins just smiled but said nothing, as she did not want to correct her boss on the fact that she was not married. "You will likely be spending the entire party with the children, but it is Christmas, and you should spend it with your family if you can." She thanked him kindly, and he tipped his head and left. That particular Tuesday Winifred had made a phone call on Mary Poppins" behalf. She made sure she was dressed and ready to go just as the children were. Mary Poppins knew she was getting ready to have to buy a new dress-especially if she was to go to the Banks Christmas party with Bert-and though Winifred had kindly offered her some of her clothes from when she was expecting Michael, Winifred was still far wispier than Mary Poppins had ever been and would ever be. "You"ve got many errands to run, Mary Poppins, and they"re all very important." Winifred told her as she wrapped up her breakfast to go. "Take your time and rest but remember that everything you"re doing today is necessary and that time is of the essence." Without another word, Winifred walked her to the door, where Bert was waiting on the stairs. The way Bert looked at her was the way most women want to be looked at. He was completely in awe of her, and the fact that even completely exhausted on a cold Tuesday morning she could look as radiant as she did. He looked at the little chicken-scratch note that Winifred had given him over the phone to decide his plan of attack. Mary Poppins didn"t know what was on the agenda. Bert took her hand and he really took control for the day. First was a doctor"s appointment where the doctor told them both that the baby was going to be healthy and born in the spring (which Mary Poppins felt was worlds away and feared how big she would get by then, it was only December and she felt off-balance). Bert knew how much longer that gave him to have enough money to be a decent father to this child, though Mary Poppins kept reassuring him that the child wasn"t going to need money. The second stop was a dress shop for Mary Poppins (who didn"t want to say that she needed a new dress, or even a few, but she got a couple that were far more comfortable and had more give to accommodate her changing figure), where Bert saw the mother of his child as the grand and glorious woman that she was rather than a young woman dressing older than she was in order to hide her shape. Lastly he took her to a furniture shop to look for a pram for the baby and a crib as well (she insisted that their baby wouldn"t need a crib, but he knew she was lying because she didn"t want to cause any financial strain for either of them). They didn"t get anything at the last store, but she was exhausted by the time she should"ve been trying to head home. He helped her wearily walk up the stairs to his apartment so that she could rest a little before heading back to Cherry Tree Lane. She started to put tea on the stove for the two of them, but nearly fainted as she entered the kitchen. Bert came in and caught her. "Oh no you don"t." He said, assisting her over to the couch and helping prop her up with pillows. "I"ll be back with a blanket, you take off your shoes and rest. I don"t want you getting off of that couch until I"m back." Mary Poppins did as he said and leaned back, resting her hands on her stomach. And that"s when she felt it: the first established kick at her stomach. She had been feeling flutters for weeks, possibly even months, but she had never felt a kick so sharp she knew exactly what the baby was doing. "Bert!" She squealed excitedly. He came running out and rushing to her side to see what was the matter. She grabbed his hand and placed it on her baby bump so that he could feel it too. Sure enough, one more little jab and the baby seemed to be done moving. Bert was completely in awe. "You feel that too?" He asked, realizing it was a stupid question. Of course she felt it, the baby was inside her; if he could feel it, she most certainly could. Mary Poppins nodded and grinned, unable to control her glee. "Has that ever happened before?" She shook her head but the smile remained. He gave a pat to the baby bump. "That"s my girl." He stated so proudly, lowering his lips to the bump and giving a small kiss. He soon lifted himself up off of his knees and, remembering how Mary Poppins was usually against romantic physical contact (though, he knew quite well, there were some times when that was certainly not the case), acted as though it never happened. "I"ll get you some tea, and a blanket, you just rest some and then I"ll take you home." Without much thought as to what had happened that day, Mary Poppins drifted into a short nap while Bert hurried to get everything he wanted to get done before she woke up. Usually if she fell asleep at his apartment (which was rare despite how many Tuesdays prior she had spent there) it was in very short bursts before she remembered that she wasn"t at home and was staying with a man. He had been watching her in this habit for so long that he assumed she would be asleep for roughly an hour at the most. He had so much to do and so quickly, so he walked with cat-like tread behind the couch and the sleeping nanny to the back room where he diligently worked away. It had to be practically perfect for her. He kept eyeing his pocket watch and watched the hand move around the circle, waiting to hear Mary Poppins jolt awake and try to hurry out without saying goodbye. But he watched the hour run up as he finished his job and the living room was still silent. He even peeked in to make sure that Mary Poppins hadn"t left already. She was just napping peacefully, rolled over and curled up under the blanket. Bert didn"t wish to wake her, but it was starting to get darker and he knew she"d be so embarrassed to get back to the Banks house after the children had gone to bed and only the adults were still awake. As it neared 5 o"clock, he went back into the living room to wake her. "Mary?" He asked, questioning himself as to how exactly wake her. She didn"t even stir at the calling of her name. "Mary, it"s time to wake up." Not a budge. "Mary, the Bankses will wonder where you"re at." She gave a little whimper and curled up even tighter under the blanket. She didn"t want to move at all, and he really didn"t want to make her. She was always on her feet, always running about with the children and going on each and every little errand while they weren"t in classes (and while they were in classes she kept the nursery tidy, did basic household chores, and provided Winifred Banks company). What harm could more rest do? Mary Poppins was working herself to death, and Bert simply couldn"t have that. At the very least, he wanted to make sure she was comfortable. He carefully lifted her and carried her into the other room, her arms wrapping around her neck as he carried her toward his bedroom and tucked her back in under his quilt, propping her head up with a couple pillows. She was still fast asleep (obviously, or she would have stubbornly insisted on leaving his flat semi-instantaneously) and he couldn"t help but be glad to see her resting in his bed. Bert still found it almost insane that just a few months ago Mary Poppins told him he was going to be a father. It almost baffled him (though it shouldn"t have; it was entirely possible with their frequent summer trysts) how time had flown, and now he could see-though still easily hidden-the maternal figure she was adopting. A few months ago he could never imagine anything more beautiful than this poised and polished nanny he had grown so fond of many years ago and fonder by the day, but he found himself quite wrong. There was nothing quite as lovely as what was before him: hair hardly mussed, sleeping soundly in his bed, and starting to show that she was with child through her new red dress. She was stunning yet so simple, and Bert saw that she wasn"t exactly the goddess he saw her as before; she was completely, and wonderfully, human. He quietly started to leave the room and go downstairs to ring for the Banks household and let them know that Mary Poppins wouldn"t be returning that night, but he was stopped before he could leave. "Stay." A soft voice said, hardly a whisper. Mary Poppins patted the pillow beside her. Bert wasn"t about to turn such an offer down. He kicked off his shoes, got on the bed beside her, and gave her a kiss on the forehead before he too started off into dreamland. All he could hope for was that whatever he dreamed was as good as what was happening right where he was. Only a few hours later, Mary woke up and realized what time it was. Far too late for her to return home (perhaps only nine o"clock, but later than she was usually out) without an escort, as it was dangerous at this hour for her to walk through the park on her own. To her side was Bert, pleasantly napping. "Bert, I must go home." She said, and as if instantly he sat up out of bed and started to put on his shoes. No questions asked, he stood up and started for the door to grab his coat. Mary Poppins got up gently and smoothed her hair down before walking towards the door. Before she could open it, Bert grabbed her arm. "Wait, follow me." He led her towards that spare room that she remembered he kept all of his work equipment in. "Close your eyes." He said, putting his hands over them to make sure she wouldn"t peek. He cut on a light and waited to see her reaction. "Open." Her jaw almost instantly hit the floor. His little room that he filled with all of his tools was suddenly something entirely different: a living space. In the corner he had a rocking chair with a cobalt cushion on it, and he had a crib in front of the window with new chiffon drapes. There were little drawings (like his chalk sketches) painted on the drawers of the white dresser, and on top of it was a stuffed yellow horse. She had lots of questions for him-how did he afford such a lavish nursery, where did he find all these things, how long had he had this room set up, and why-but she couldn"t manage to ask any of them.

Jane spoke before Michael could even think of a response. "We should go to the park, just like we did when you were our nanny the first time! Maybe Bert can conjure us up another fair to go to." Michael shrugged, realizing that was better than his idea. All he wanted was to go and get gingerbreads; that was not very adventurous. "Very well." Mary Poppins agreed to, leading the two children out of the nursery, down the stairs, and out the door. True enough to their plan, Bert was in the front of the park drawing up some new images and collecting the coins he could in his hat. She stood silhouetted over one of his squares and he started to trace her quickly. "Hold still." He said without looking up. He traced diligently, careful to get every curve of the silhouette. Based on the face he thought he recognized the woman before him, but the figure was almost unrecognizable... Bert saw the two pairs of shoes on either side of this woman and looked up to find his beloved before him. "Mary Poppins!" He stood and wrapped her in a warm embrace, which she did not decline. Odd, thought he, but he didn"t want to speak of it. "What brings you all out to the park today?" "Mary Poppins is having a baby!" Michael piped excitedly, grinning as if he had just told Bert the biggest secret in the world. Bert let out a little snicker and watched as Mary Poppins folded her hands over her slightly rounded stomach. "Well I can see that." She scowled at him briefly before returning her face to its natural position. It was easier to tell now that she wasn"t wearing her heaviest winter wear even on relatively warm days. "Beautiful as ever, Mary." She smiled gleefully, blushing slightly. Jane and Michael looked slightly puzzled. "Mary Poppins, how did Bert already know? You didn"t even tell us until about an hour ago." Bert, always good at coming up with amusing little stories to tell the children, thought quickly and came up with something small to tell them in order to keep them from badgering their nanny. "Sometimes adults just know these things, kids." It wasn"t as clever as I"d hoped it would be, he thought quietly, but it"ll have to do today. "I"ve known Mary Poppins since I was a lad, I"ve always known what was going on with her." "Well, children, don"t you have something to ask Bert?" Mary Poppins nudged them forward, certain they"d pick out a chalk drawing and ask to jump. Jane stepped forward and spoke clearly and confidently. "Are you the father of Mary Poppins" baby?" Mary Poppins" jaw dropped and Bert couldn"t help but laugh at her bluntness (or perhaps the embarrassed look on Mary"s face, or a combination of the two). Jane looked up at Mary. "Mary Poppins, it"s a fact that every child has a mother and a father." "That"s true!" Bert agreed, looking across to Mary Poppins. This look conveyed the I won"t tell them anything you don"t want me to message, to which she mouthed back Go on. "I have known Mary Poppins for a very long time, and there is no one in the world I"d rather spend my time with. She"s a real treat, kids. This kid has the proudest parents in the world." "So you"re in love!" Michael grinned, looking at the two for some kind of symbol of a romantic relationship. The two still kept a comfortable distance. Neither argued with him, but nothing confirmed his statement. "Parents are always in love!" Jane looked positively puzzled. "You are in love, aren"t you, Mary Poppins?" Mary Poppins was wonderful at changing the topic of conversation. "Pictures, Bert. The children were wondering if you could pop them into one of your pictures." He nodded and grinned, then got ready to take them on a tour of his wonderful chalk sketches. Jane tugged on Bert"s jacket. "Where did you and Mary Poppins meet? I"d like to go there!" Bert thought long and hard on this. "Oh, well you must remember!" He did remember, and with an approving nod from Mary Poppins he got down on his knees and started to sketch. It looked hardly different from the meadow that they first jumped into, the only difference being that the fair was rather apparent. He drew three small children: a girl and two boys, with the girl in between. They were walking towards a merry-go-round. The girl, the children realized, must"ve been a young Mary Poppins, but the boys were unclear. One of them must"ve been Bert, but who was the other? They were terribly puzzled, but without any explanation Mary Poppins, Bert, and the children jumped right in. The fair whirled around them. The sights and the smells were rich though it was rather obvious that this side of the country was not as wealthy as western London. Mary Poppins had Jane on one side and Michael on the other, making sure to keep them close. People ran past them and towards this carousel with a very loud barker in front of it beckoning people. The young Mary Poppins gave two coins to the barker and led the boys up to the horses. But there was a little trouble: one of the boys, the older boy, was stopped and not permitted to get on. The boy had to leave and he was digging in his pockets for a little bit of money, but there was none to be found. The girl went back to the barker after getting the other boy on the horse, gave him another coin, and took the other boy to a horse. The three rode giddily around on the merry-go-round and the relationship between the boy and young Mary Poppins was visibly forming. Bert put his hand on Mary Poppins" waist, and for the first time in public she didn"t shy away. She had never watched them meet: it was incredible, even at that age they behaved similar to how they do now. She was always so demure and nurturing, Bert was always so kind and warm. For the first time in forever she saw her precious little brother... "You always picked that purple merry-go-round horse." Bert said sentimentally, smile beaming. Jane and Michael looked up to see the two. "And you always picked yellow!" Mary Poppins grinned, realizing this memory. Every time they went to this carnival-which was every year, and whenever they went to Bert"s sketched fairs as well-he always rode the gaudy canary yellow horse. Bert smirked. "Well, I knew Oliver always picked the red horse." Mary"s smile fell. She had been trying not to think of Oliver for so long. Bert saw tears welling in her eyes. "Mary, he"s in a better place now. He was very sick, and you couldn"t help that." She took a handkerchief out of her pocket and dabbed her cheeks. "I know." She said, her voice breaking a little. "You were so good to him, he cared very much for you." "He was a good kid." Bert said, trying to revive her smile. "And I bet that our little girl is going to be a lot like him, I"m sure of that." Daughter? Thought she. "What makes you think we"re having a daughter?" Was it the end of the world to have a daughter? No, she quite enjoyed being a girl. But in her mind she was better with taking care of boys; Jane was the girl she had taken care of the longest and she was the primarily well-behaved older child. "Any child lucky enough to look like you had best be a beautiful girl." Mary blushed, but Bert couldn"t stop smiling with these words. He had been imagining what their child would look like and every time he saw the same thing: a beautiful little girl toddling beside her mother in a pale pink sundress, wavy brown hair, and eyes blue as the sky. Bert actually saw very little of himself in this child, he just saw what he imagined Mary Poppins must"ve been like as a tiny child (as he didn"t meet her until Oliver was at least five or six). It was nothing like what Mary Poppins had pictured at all: a strong, strapping boy with a mind like Bert but a little better behaved. They had very different thoughts on it... the more she thought about the little girl Bert had talked about them having, the boy she imagined started to fade... "Well what"s wrong, Mary? You look like you"re about to cry." She shook her head and smiled, getting ready to speak when Jane and Michael came running back toward them. "I-well, we should get these two home so that they can get some rest, shouldn"t we?" The four of them walked out of the fair and back through the park, then went their separate ways. And for the first time in a long time, Mary wished that she was going home with him instead of the children. Mary never took her days off lightly, but she very rarely did much on them. Ever since Winifred Banks had given her the extra Tuesday of the month off, she had so much free time out of the month she tended to let it go to waste by lounging about (which, Winifred told her, was hardly a waste of time; she wouldn"t likely be doing that with an infant). She did, however, start just about every other Tuesday having breakfast with Winifred after the children were ready and going off to school (and Mr. Banks was heading to work, as he did not see Mary Poppins often, and she was slightly embarrassed to inform him what had been going on). Mrs. Banks had a lot of information about raising children though she did hire people to take care of her own. "They"re only little for a little bit," Mrs. Banks warned while sipping her tea. "I hope you treasure every moment with him or her." One of those Tuesday morning breakfasts, Mr. Banks walked in and saw his wife and Mary Poppins just chattering away. He wasn"t terribly observant, or he likely would have noticed that Mary Poppins was expecting a child (which likely he would"ve said something about, and that was the only reason she was sure he hadn"t been paying her attention). "Why, Mary Poppins, you must bring your husband to the Christmas party. The young chimney sweep, the one who covered my children in soot." Mary Poppins just smiled but said nothing, as she did not want to correct her boss on the fact that she was not married. "You will likely be spending the entire party with the children, but it is Christmas, and you should spend it with your family if you can." She thanked him kindly, and he tipped his head and left. That particular Tuesday Winifred had made a phone call on Mary Poppins" behalf. She made sure she was dressed and ready to go just as the children were. Mary Poppins knew she was getting ready to have to buy a new dress-especially if she was to go to the Banks Christmas party with Bert-and though Winifred had kindly offered her some of her clothes from when she was expecting Michael, Winifred was still far wispier than Mary Poppins had ever been and would ever be. "You"ve got many errands to run, Mary Poppins, and they"re all very important." Winifred told her as she wrapped up her breakfast to go. "Take your time and rest but remember that everything you"re doing today is necessary and that time is of the essence." Without another word, Winifred walked her to the door, where Bert was waiting on the stairs. The way Bert looked at her was the way most women want to be looked at. He was completely in awe of her, and the fact that even completely exhausted on a cold Tuesday morning she could look as radiant as she did. He looked at the little chicken-scratch note that Winifred had given him over the phone to decide his plan of attack. Mary Poppins didn"t know what was on the agenda. Bert took her hand and he really took control for the day. First was a doctor"s appointment where the doctor told them both that the baby was going to be healthy and born in the spring (which Mary Poppins felt was worlds away and feared how big she would get by then, it was only December and she felt off-balance). Bert knew how much longer that gave him to have enough money to be a decent father to this child, though Mary Poppins kept reassuring him that the child wasn"t going to need money. The second stop was a dress shop for Mary Poppins (who didn"t want to say that she needed a new dress, or even a few, but she got a couple that were far more comfortable and had more give to accommodate her changing figure), where Bert saw the mother of his child as the grand and glorious woman that she was rather than a young woman dressing older than she was in order to hide her shape. Lastly he took her to a furniture shop to look for a pram for the baby and a crib as well (she insisted that their baby wouldn"t need a crib, but he knew she was lying because she didn"t want to cause any financial strain for either of them). They didn"t get anything at the last store, but she was exhausted by the time she should"ve been trying to head home. He helped her wearily walk up the stairs to his apartment so that she could rest a little before heading back to Cherry Tree Lane. She started to put tea on the stove for the two of them, but nearly fainted as she entered the kitchen. Bert came in and caught her. "Oh no you don"t." He said, assisting her over to the couch and helping prop her up with pillows. "I"ll be back with a blanket, you take off your shoes and rest. I don"t want you getting off of that couch until I"m back." Mary Poppins did as he said and leaned back, resting her hands on her stomach. And that"s when she felt it: the first established kick at her stomach. She had been feeling flutters for weeks, possibly even months, but she had never felt a kick so sharp she knew exactly what the baby was doing. "Bert!" She squealed excitedly. He came running out and rushing to her side to see what was the matter. She grabbed his hand and placed it on her baby bump so that he could feel it too. Sure enough, one more little jab and the baby seemed to be done moving. Bert was completely in awe. "You feel that too?" He asked, realizing it was a stupid question. Of course she felt it, the baby was inside her; if he could feel it, she most certainly could. Mary Poppins nodded and grinned, unable to control her glee. "Has that ever happened before?" She shook her head but the smile remained. He gave a pat to the baby bump. "That"s my girl." He stated so proudly, lowering his lips to the bump and giving a small kiss. He soon lifted himself up off of his knees and, remembering how Mary Poppins was usually against romantic physical contact (though, he knew quite well, there were some times when that was certainly not the case), acted as though it never happened. "I"ll get you some tea, and a blanket, you just rest some and then I"ll take you home." Without much thought as to what had happened that day, Mary Poppins drifted into a short nap while Bert hurried to get everything he wanted to get done before she woke up. Usually if she fell asleep at his apartment (which was rare despite how many Tuesdays prior she had spent there) it was in very short bursts before she remembered that she wasn"t at home and was staying with a man. He had been watching her in this habit for so long that he assumed she would be asleep for roughly an hour at the most. He had so much to do and so quickly, so he walked with cat-like tread behind the couch and the sleeping nanny to the back room where he diligently worked away. It had to be practically perfect for her. He kept eyeing his pocket watch and watched the hand move around the circle, waiting to hear Mary Poppins jolt awake and try to hurry out without saying goodbye. But he watched the hour run up as he finished his job and the living room was still silent. He even peeked in to make sure that Mary Poppins hadn"t left already. She was just napping peacefully, rolled over and curled up under the blanket. Bert didn"t wish to wake her, but it was starting to get darker and he knew she"d be so embarrassed to get back to the Banks house after the children had gone to bed and only the adults were still awake. As it neared 5 o"clock, he went back into the living room to wake her. "Mary?" He asked, questioning himself as to how exactly wake her. She didn"t even stir at the calling of her name. "Mary, it"s time to wake up." Not a budge. "Mary, the Bankses will wonder where you"re at." She gave a little whimper and curled up even tighter under the blanket. She didn"t want to move at all, and he really didn"t want to make her. She was always on her feet, always running about with the children and going on each and every little errand while they weren"t in classes (and while they were in classes she kept the nursery tidy, did basic household chores, and provided Winifred Banks company). What harm could more rest do? Mary Poppins was working herself to death, and Bert simply couldn"t have that. At the very least, he wanted to make sure she was comfortable. He carefully lifted her and carried her into the other room, her arms wrapping around her neck as he carried her toward his bedroom and tucked her back in under his quilt, propping her head up with a couple pillows. She was still fast asleep (obviously, or she would have stubbornly insisted on leaving his flat semi-instantaneously) and he couldn"t help but be glad to see her resting in his bed. Bert still found it almost insane that just a few months ago Mary Poppins told him he was going to be a father. It almost baffled him (though it shouldn"t have; it was entirely possible with their frequent summer trysts) how time had flown, and now he could see-though still easily hidden-the maternal figure she was adopting. A few months ago he could never imagine anything more beautiful than this poised and polished nanny he had grown so fond of many years ago and fonder by the day, but he found himself quite wrong. There was nothing quite as lovely as what was before him: hair hardly mussed, sleeping soundly in his bed, and starting to show that she was with child through her new red dress. She was stunning yet so simple, and Bert saw that she wasn"t exactly the goddess he saw her as before; she was completely, and wonderfully, human. He quietly started to leave the room and go downstairs to ring for the Banks household and let them know that Mary Poppins wouldn"t be returning that night, but he was stopped before he could leave. "Stay." A soft voice said, hardly a whisper. Mary Poppins patted the pillow beside her. Bert wasn"t about to turn such an offer down. He kicked off his shoes, got on the bed beside her, and gave her a kiss on the forehead before he too started off into dreamland. All he could hope for was that whatever he dreamed was as good as what was happening right where he was. Only a few hours later, Mary woke up and realized what time it was. Far too late for her to return home (perhaps only nine o"clock, but later than she was usually out) without an escort, as it was dangerous at this hour for her to walk through the park on her own. To her side was Bert, pleasantly napping. "Bert, I must go home." She said, and as if instantly he sat up out of bed and started to put on his shoes. No questions asked, he stood up and started for the door to grab his coat. Mary Poppins got up gently and smoothed her hair down before walking towards the door. Before she could open it, Bert grabbed her arm. "Wait, follow me." He led her towards that spare room that she remembered he kept all of his work equipment in. "Close your eyes." He said, putting his hands over them to make sure she wouldn"t peek. He cut on a light and waited to see her reaction. "Open." Her jaw almost instantly hit the floor. His little room that he filled with all of his tools was suddenly something entirely different: a living space. In the corner he had a rocking chair with a cobalt cushion on it, and he had a crib in front of the window with new chiffon drapes. There were little drawings (like his chalk sketches) painted on the drawers of the white dresser, and on top of it was a stuffed yellow horse. She had lots of questions for him-how did he afford such a lavish nursery, where did he find all these things, how long had he had this room set up, and why-but she couldn"t manage to ask any of them. "Now you don"t have to say anything right now." He started, taking her hands in his and peering into her eyes. "I just wanted to show you the nursery. Missus Banks gave us some clothes and things for the baby, and the horse was mine when I was a kid. She said the baby would need her own room, so I did the best I could... Missus Banks said that you"d be able to take the spring off to spend time with the baby and you could come back when Jane and Michael got out of school..." Mary Poppins looked confused. "Why would I leave the Banks? After the baby is born she-or he-will stay in the nursery with me, Jane, and Michael. I don"t see why I"d need to take any time off." She saw his smile drop. "Bert, this is terribly sweet, but there"s a job that must be done. I"m sure, however, that the baby will love spending his or her Tuesdays in here, just as much as I do." She wrapped him in an embrace she had been holding back so long, resting her forehead on his chest. "I hope you know I am very fond of every moment I spend with you." He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. "I know." They started out the door and down the street, walking arm-in-arm toward the Banks house in the dim light of the street lamps. He bid her adieu on the porch of her residence with a curt handshake (though not exactly what he had hoped for, but he understood), heading back home with a little spring in his step. And he noted that she didn"t shy away from his home nursery entirely, and maybe when the time was right it would be used by their little girl.

With new determination, her sister"s dress now hanging in the cottage and a note on her father"s bedside table, Laurel headed into the woods. AUTHOR"S NOTE: Okay, so this was the first installment of my first story for Into the Woods. I"ve been fascinated with the Baker"s Wife since I first heard the music, and I"ve always wanted to write her back story. Please review and let me know what you think of it! The woods were a dangerous place for a young lady to be alone. Laurel had never been afraid of the woods; they were just trees. In the daytime she had watched through the palace nursery window at the horses that charged towards the castle. Every now and then she imagined that one of the people on the horses had been coming for her, and that they were taking her away to another kingdom, where she would be treated like royalty. Of course those follies died in her mind and looking back on them she realized how foolish they were. Instead of working she had spent time wishing. The woods were very different once you were in them than they were when you were just looking at the trees from a window. She heard howling of wolves and questioned whether or not to turn back. No, there was nothing for her if she turned back. She had written out the reason for her departure-Father, I have realized there is nothing for me at the palace and soon Rachel will be married, and I no longer wish to be a hassle for you, your older daughter, Laurel-and left it for her unfortunately illiterate father. Certainly they would understand that a written note meant that she wasn"t coming back... Laurel watched the branches above her head break in space to reveal the moonlight shining all around her. Not too far from where she was she saw a little house in the woods, a quaint little cottage right between the palace and the nearest village. There was a little tuft of smoke coming from the chimney and she wondered if, perhaps, she could charm her way into the person"s home just long enough that she was protected from this ever-howling wolf she heard. She knocked on the door and hoped that someone would answer. An older woman with white hair and a red robe opened the door, looking at Laurel with a smile and adjusting her glasses. "Can I help you, my dear?" She asked, looking at the blonde teenager carrying a small carpetbag. "Have you lost your way?" Had she lost her way? I had no way to lose... "I"m sorry, ma"am, I shouldn"t have bothered you... I haven"t anywhere else to go, and there"s something howling out there..." The old woman looked around, checking for the wolf, and quickly ushered the teenager inside. She took her bag and threw it on the kitchen table, locked the door, and pulled her towards the fire. The heat was refreshing to Laurel, sending a chill up her spine unexpectedly. "I"ve got some extra soup on the fire, and an extra bedroom." The woman said without much introduction. Laurel wondered why a woman would be so prepared as to have so much extra space. "You must stay the night. That wolf"s always prowling the woods for a little lady to lunch on. It won"t be safe to go out again until tomorrow morning... follow the path, don"t stray... it"ll lead you to the next village." The woman came over and served Laurel a bowl of soup, and she inspected it before eating. Tomato soup, with a crust of bread to sop up what she couldn"t get with her spoon... it smelled delicious, but it was only right to make sure the food wasn"t poisoned. What was this woman, and did she know she was passing through the woods and would seek shelter with her... "Oh, I hope my daughter followed the path... she"s so forgetful sometimes..." "You have a daughter?" Laurel asked the old woman. She nodded, sitting in her rocking chair and stitching some ribbons onto some red fabric. "Yes, not too much older than you, and she visits me from time to time. She and her husband live two villages away. She came by just yesterday, and I guess I still cook like she"ll be coming back every meal... she has her own family take care of now." The old woman seemed disheartened by her daughter"s unfortunate aging. All children grew up, Laurel had watched the little princesses since they were infants, and now they were five and three. The real question was would Laurel"s mother have been proud of how she grew up? She couldn"t help but wonder. The subject quickly turned on Laurel. "And what of your family? Do you have one?" Yes, Laurel thought, and tried to figure out the right things to say. I have a sister that"s bound to marry a prince, a dead mother who left me her job, and a father that believes I need to do everything on my own and my sister needs to be doted on. "No." She lied, choosing the simpler answer. "I mean, I"m sure they"re-you know-" The old woman just nodded knowingly. Laurel took a sip of her soup. "Thank you, by the way. How kind that you took in a stranger for an evening." "I"ll appreciate the company." The old woman grinned. Laurel continued to drink her soup, not really wishing to break the silence. She didn"t want to say something to offend the woman, and she wasn"t a particularly great conversationalist it seemed. She spoke well, but what was appropriate to speak about? There were so many things she still didn"t know: she had read as many books in the palace library as she could get her hands on, she knew many little skills that she figured would be useful, but she didn"t know anything about the real world. The woman watched her eating and was ready to break the silence herself. "You must be famished, aren"t you? You look like you"ve been running for a week. Where did you say you"re from?" I didn"t, Laurel realized and then began to think. "Not that far away, actually... I was a servant to a wealthier family not too far from here... I"ve been gone a day or so." The woman nodded and pretended to understand. Laurel just figured she didn"t really get it, but was it possible that she did? Was it possible that there was more to this woman than there appeared to be? There was more to Laurel than what was on the surface. Certainly there had to be someone else who saw that beauty was just skin deep... Not too long after she had finished her soup, the woman showed her to the guest bedroom. There was a nice bed with a metal headboard and a thick feather mattress, a homemade quilt, and a fluffy pillow at the head of the bed. The chest-of-drawers, once she looked into it, were filled with mostly unworn clothing. Looking into the bright glass mirror she saw herself as she was instead of how she saw herself in the castle pans and plates. She was a mess, and she could finally see that. The woman closed the door and left Laurel with a candle to light the room. What a sight am I, Laurel thought, disheveled and dirty... Laurel reached into her bag and pulled out one of her mother"s old nightgowns, tucked herself into bed and tried to go to sleep. Her mind wandered. What was to become of her? She couldn"t return home now that she had left. She refused to go crawling back to the palace to be treated like dirt when she could actually make money for doing half the work she was doing. She wouldn"t have to do the work of her and her sister while her sister pretended to flit around like a fairy. Laurel had no doubt that everything would be fine-her father could take care of Rachel, it"s what he had been doing for a long time. And Rachel would be fine, she didn"t need Laurel to protect her. No one needed Laurel... did they? The prince made it very clear she wasn"t wanted. She wasn"t pretty like a princess should be, she talked too much, and she didn"t take directions as well as she should have. For some reason she stumbled upon this old woman"s house in the woods and out of kindness the woman let her in. Was it fate that she was supposed to meet this woman? Was this where she was meant to be? No. She was meant to do something great, she just didn"t know what yet... If she slept on it, she figured, she would have strength to continue her journey and find her place in the world. It wasn"t in a cottage in the woods, she knew that, but it had to be out there somewhere. AUTHOR"S NOTE: Here"s the second installment of the story! I"ve decided that it was very possible that the Baker"s Wife, before she became the Baker"s wife, possibly met some of the other characters before her beloved Baker. Please review, I"d love to hear more feedback on the story! I hope to have the next installment up speedily! It was early in the morning and Laurel was ready to continue on her way. The old woman stood in the doorway while she packed her bag. "You weren"t planning on leaving without saying goodbye, were you?" Laurel shook her head and brushed her hair, looking at herself in the mirror. With a little cleaning done the night before she was looking a little healthier, actually looking like a decently pretty girl. The old woman watched her keenly and sat down on the bed while she continued to primp. "You could take the other dresses with you, you know. The one you have now won"t do... my daughter"s not coming back for them...and if she has a daughter, well..." The woman threw them into the bag and helped Laurel tie back her hair with a black ribbon. The ribbon perfectly matched the fabric of the black and red corseted dress that the old woman picked out for Laurel from the chest-of-drawers. She helped lace her into it. Laurel had never been in a dress quite that nice, and she didn"t recall ever being properly laced into a corset. The woman had her twirl around and smiled as she caught glimpse of herself in the mirror-for the first time in Laurel"s life, she felt beautiful. "Well you must keep going, mustn"t you? I think I"ve got some bread or a sticky bun for you to take as breakfast..." Laurel smiled and wrapped the kind old woman in the biggest hug she could muster. The woman nearly fell back. Laurel detached herself from the kind soul, smiling hugely and darting into the kitchen. Laurel took two of the sticky buns off of the plate on the table. "I think there"s leftover soup in the pot, too, if you want to take it. I won"t be eating it..." "Thank you, ma"am, but I will be fine. You"ve already been so kind to me." Laurel, although her morals were weak enough to allow her to impose on an old woman, was strong on one belief-she didn"t need help as much as other people needed her help. She was helpful, hardworking... that"s what she always was. She could help herself. The old woman saw Laurel in her doorway and, for a moment, she saw her as someone different. She saw Laurel as a younger girl, with less of a figure, and brown curls on her shoulders. Her eyes were hauntingly brown, and around her shoulders hung this bright red cape, much like the one she had been sewing the day Laurel came in. She didn"t look like Laurel, only the innocence in her face, but she actually reminded the old woman of her daughter. The old woman came to her senses and realized she was just staring at Laurel. "Yes, well, I suppose you should be on your way. If you need anything, you know where to find me." Laurel nodded, and with a small smile continued on her way through the woods. The woods weren"t frightening in the daytime. Laurel saw the flowers along the path and wondered how some place so beautiful could be so terrifying in the darkness. The sunshine painted more vivid colors than the shade. How did people find themselves living in the woods, was it because they had no fear? She had been so afraid in the darkness, but in the light she forgot all the fear she had. There were signs pointing her in the direction of a close village, and she walked as quickly as she could carry herself. The bag was growing heavier and heavier, and she continued to carry it as best she could. Eventually she saw the trees begin to clear and a farm-like community filled with hustle and bustle. Everyone was running to and fro, and animals were running through the streets just like the children. She walked down the little street and came upon a small butcher"s shop. Oh, the food looked delightful, but she realized she had no money. She"d need to find a job, and quickly. Somehow she would make money so she didn"t have to depend on the fleeting kindness. The further Laurel walked down the street, she realized that she was walking towards an old farmhouse where she could hear the bickering of the people inside. Why, she wondered, am I heading over here? There"s no business here, it"s the edge of the village. But for one reason or another she was walking towards the house, like she was being pulled by some force. Suddenly the argument stopped and there was only a woman screaming and a man leaving. He had a flannel shirt on with the sleeves rolled up, suspenders holding up his dirty brown pants. He glared at Laurel and continued to mutter things to himself. The door to the house was still wide open and Laurel went to close it, only to find that the woman was sobbing and there was a child crying and sitting on the floor. The lady was not particularly beautiful, but she was not an unattractive woman. Her son had sandy hair and was lying on the floor and crying, slamming a stuffed cow on the floor angrily. The sobbing woman looked incredibly stressed, but also relieved to see Laurel in the doorway. "Young miss!" The woman called, looking at her through her blurring tears. "Would you do me a favor? Come in, please." Laurel looked at her cautiously, mostly focusing on the child. "What can I do for you, ma"am?" The woman picked up her child and handed her off to Laurel. She grabbed her shawl off of the hook on the wall and started to wrap it around her shoulders. "Just for a few hours, miss, I"ll reward you as best I can... Jack"s a good boy, little ditzy, won"t cause you any trouble. I"ve got to go after his father... oh! I needed to go get some bread too, would you mind? I"ll reward you generously. Please..." The frazzled woman looked into Laurel"s eyes and she saw nothing but determination and honesty. She couldn"t refuse her. There was too much that the woman needed, and the boy needed a father. Every child needs its parents...until the day they don"t need you anymore, she thought spitefully. The woman, on her way out, threw some money at Laurel. "For bread, and anything else you need." She ran out, closed the door, and left Jack with Laurel. Maybe, thought she, this is my purpose. ...later... Laurel coddled the little boy and played with him and his stuffed cow. The boy was so fascinated by the toy that he hardly noticed his mother was gone and had left him with her. Besides he didn"t mind Laurel much to begin with. Now that all the shouting had stopped, he had stopped crying. Jack, well, he was a well behaved child. He was so much better than the princes and princesses, at least as far as Laurel could tell. "Wanna go to the bakery?" She asked him and he nodded without probably understanding what she said. He wasn"t the most intelligent of toddlers, but he seemed to understand the concept of go. He was probably the same age as the littlest princess, and he had a lot of similar mannerisms (maybe it"s the age, she thought): grabby hands reaching up for her to pick him up. She picked him up and slung him on her hip, clutching his stuffed cow with the other hand. As they exited the house she handed him the cow and he started to pet it. He loves his cow, Laurel observed, what would he be like with a real one? That would provide them with milk, cheese... Laurel, with Jack on her hip, headed back into the woods with a new motivation-she was no longer running from her job, she had found one (no matter how temporary it was) and she was ready to help Jack and his mother as best she could. For now, all she was needed for was to watch the boy and get the bread from the baker. AUTHOR"S NOTE: Yay! The woman in the woods, in case this chapter didn"t help clear it up, is Red"s Grandmother... I hope that this installment went over well with you all, and I want to keep posting speedily! Next time we will be meeting the baker... please review and let me know if you have any ideas! Boyd sat on a stool by the fire, his cheeks dusted with flour and his apron covered in dough. No one came into the shop on a Monday. Why didn"t I just close the shop for the day, he asked himself, knowing he wouldn"t get an answer. His mother and father had the store open six days a week-all but Sunday, and that worked well for their business. I"m not my mother or my father. But he had a tradition to uphold, he was the new baker. All the bread he had baked fresh for the day, and all he really carried was bread. He wasn"t an expert baker-given he had no one to teach him. Each day he woke up at dawn to get baking, and before sunset he"d close the shop with all his bread sold and a little left for him. Recently he had enough money to go over to the next village and get some meat, fixing himself a little sandwich to have for dinner. Although he lived on his own and had since he was a child, he loved his business and found it difficult to be lonely. His parents had died when he was a baby (or so he was led to believe) in a baking accident. The woman next door, an infamous and ugly witch, watched him grow up and made sure he was on the right path. By the time he was seven he was working hard as a baker and learning how to make (actually quite awful) bread. As he grew older his bread got better, and people always came to him to buy bread. Now he was twenty years old, a hardworking business owner, and an honest man. He only hoped he was someone that could make them proud. Boyd watched the flames, wondering when something interesting would happen. He knew they had to happen-they seemed to happen to everyone else. The customers told him about them: engagements, new babies, weddings, promotions, new jobs... he didn"t know any of that. He had heard that things like that were magical and miracles, but it seemed like he didn"t know anything but, well, bread. Bread was his life. Boyd knew that there must"ve been more. He saw a woman approaching his store wearing a black cape, with a calf on a rope and a little boy on her hip. She opened the door as best she could and he stood up from his stool to see her a little better. "Livestock has to stay outside." He informed her as she took off her hood. She was striking. Boyd had never met a young lady quite like this one. Her long honey blonde hair was tied up in a braid and thrown over her shoulder, and her green eyes stared into his soul. She looked young, but not quite too young to be the child she held"s mother. A girl like that must be married, he figured, all pretty girls are... "I-um-come in, bring the cow. We really should have a way to tie them up out there." He said nervously, scratching his head. Laurel smiled and helped the cow over the doorway and looked at the baker. He seems a little young to be a baker, she thought. He was tall... tall enough, taller than her, and he had a decent build. His eyes were very blue and he smiled at her. He was positively covered in flour (perhaps that came with being a baker, though) and he even had some flour in his scruffy beard. "What"s a young lady like you doing with a cow anyways?" He asked, toweling off his face with his apron. She looked at the cow and then at the child. "A cow provides food, Jack and his family will always need food..." She looked at the bread. "And a loaf of bread, please." He tried to find the prettiest loaf of bread he had. On Mondays he didn"t worry as much about the appearance of the bread, mostly because no one ever came in on Mondays. "Jack, what a strong name. Your son, I presume?" She shook her head. Thank god, thought he. Boyd continued to try to find some pretty bread. "So what"s your name?" He asked, then tried to backtrack. "Part of my job, you know, I like to know my customers by name." "Laurel." She answered him softly, then asked a similar question. "And you didn"t tell me your name. I like to know my baker by name." She was sarcastic and had quite a bite to her, and somehow he found that charming. He dusted off his hand and offered for her to shake it. "Boyd Baker." Of course, thought Laurel, the baker"s last name is Baker. Did she have a last name? If she did she assumed it was Butler... she never was called with a last name, so she never asked... "And Jack... that"s what you said the boy"s name was, correct?" She nodded. "Well, it"s a pleasure to meet you both. And your bread..." He handed her a decent loaf. She started to reach for some of the money that Jack"s mother gave her... "No no, it"s free. Don"t worry." "I must pay you." She continued to reach for money while the boy grabbed the bread and starting gnawing on its leathery exterior. He shook his head and grabbed her chin, gently scooping it up so she looked at him. Boyd didn"t know why he did what he was doing, but it just came... natural. "Don"t worry about payment. Head back home to your mistress, and get the child inside before dark." She reluctantly started out the door. "I will find a way to repay you, someday." She continued out and closed the door.

Smiling, Maeve reached out and took Dermott from his perch, stroking his breast feathers gently with her fingers. "Yes, he certainly is." One can not miss the fondness in her voice, her the softening of her eyes as she gazed upon the beautiful bird. "Come, come," Master DimDim called to their attention, waving his arm expressively, beckoning them toward the small cottage on the hill. "We shall have tea before you are on your way." "On our way?" Sinbad asked incredulously, his eyes turning to search out Maeve once more. They held for a moment before Sinbad turned back to his old mentor. "But we"ve only gotten here." "Yes," Master DimDim nodded his head wisely. "But one must not linger if one is to accomplish what one sets out to do. And I, my dear friends, have much to do to right certain things." Confusion was in the eyes of the crewmembers that looked to Maeve for answers. A sly grin graced her mischievous face. Her eyes sparkled with suppressed laughter as she replied, "What Master DimDim means is that he misses his wife." That was certainly understood by the men. "Why Master DimDim, you old seadog, why didn"t you tell us that Caipra was your wife? Quite embarrassing to have found out the way we did. If she hadn"t rescued me and..." Maeve smiled and tuned out the teasing tones as Master DimDim and the crew bantered lightly as old acquaintances were wont to do, instead she turned to her feathered companion with intent. It was he that started this chain of events that lead to this day. "How are you, my brother?" "Well now that we are together again. I have missed you since you"ve been gone." "As I have missed you." He beak bobbed for a moment. "Has Master DimDim made any mention as to what will happen now? Rumina will have figured out that someone has raised the isle once more." She knew that this would be his first concern. Maeve was convinced that he will always think of her first and foremost. "Yes, that witch is certainly her father"s daughter. But it matters not; I shall deal with Rumina when the time is right." "And is it?" Even as a hawk, Dermott expressed much with those all-seeing eyes of his. "I do not wish to see you hurt, Sister. If I must live as I am, I am content." "But I am not," the tone brooked no arguments. It is a disagreement of old but appears to need reiteration once more. The time apart has not softened her on this all-important topic. "She must pay for what she"s done, not just to us but for all those that have fallen under her vindictive nature. I promised you that." There was almost an odd resignation in Dermott"s eyes. "Do not allow your anger to cloud your judgment, sister of mine. You have much to live for. Rumina is powerful enough to take all that from you should she choose." "I am not the weakling that I once was." "You were never weak, Maeve. Anything but that." She acknowledged the compliment with a smile knowing that he meant it as both as a good quality and one that he had always felt would be her downfall. "I will deal with Rumina, Dermott. Make no mistake, I have not forgotten." "That is what I fear." He let out a squawk that was sharp and piercing before taking flight to follow Sinbad and Master DimDim to the cabin. "He"s upset," Bryn said quietly from just behind Maeve"s right shoulder, startling the sorceress who had been so involved in her conversation with the bird that she had forgotten Bryn"s presence. "It takes a great deal to upset him these days." "Not when he"s with me," she answered with a sigh. "I seem to have a gift for ruffling his feathers... literally." The subject of Rumina will forever be a contention between the two, despite their common goals. "Were you arguing?" though she already knew that answer to that question. "Just repeating the usual stuff," she shrugged her shoulder and looked over at the laughing crew and smiled. Something big and immeasurable seemed to have settled on her chest, making breathing a little difficult. "It"s so good to see them again." Bryn turned to follow her gaze, noting that Sinbad"s eyes continuously strayed toward them... no, toward Maeve. It didn"t take magic to know that he feared she would disappear once more from him if he didn"t keep her in his sights. Telling herself that there was nothing to be jealous of; it"s not as if Sinbad was ever hers to begin with, not when the handsome captain pinned after the ghostly memories of a woman Bryn hadn"t seen until now. "They"ve missed you. He"s missed you." "Who?" she asked even as the blush rosied her cheeks. "I think we both know who." Maeve said nothing, her mind wondering to places she had no right to wonder to. "The man is a rogue. Women come easily to him." "But he only wants one." And that was perfectly true. He only truly ever wanted one; the one he could not have. But now... Heart pounding, not daring to ask but nevertheless wanting to know, "That"s what they always way." Though it hurt her to say it out loud, Bryn knew that she deserves to know. He deserved happiness. "No, he means it. You are all he ever talks of though he says little of anything when we are at sea. This past year has weighed heavily upon him, and every member of the Nomad knows why. The others, they tiptoe around your name in hopes that they do not stir his pains." And lord knows they try never to upset their usually easy-going captain. But whenever her name was mentioned, it was as if a dark mask fell over his face. "I don"t think you realize how important you are to him." Hesitating, Maeve sat down on a stone bench just within view of the cabin doorway, where the men had stopped to await them. With a quick wave of her hand, she motioned them in and patted the seat next to her, asking Bryn to sit. "You were sent to replace me on the ship because Master DimDim knew that..." Letting a soft chuckle of amusement escape, Bryn shook her head at the other woman"s naiveté. "Replace you? Weren"t you listening to me at all? Poseidon"s teeth girl, did you honestly think your shoes could be filled when you"ve stole the heart of every man on that ship?" She watched the sky, blue like the ocean but so much gentler. "Every time I step foot on that deck, everyone turns to me and expects you. I see the disappointment on their faces though they try to hide it." She acknowledged it without bitterness. There was a long silence as Maeve absorbed what was being said to her. "I miss the sea," Maeve said quietly. Acknowledging Maeve"s need to let the subject of their captain go, Bryn nodded. "She is a hard mistress to serve." "Yes, but her temperament suits me well." "Are you returning to the Nomad then?" Green eyes told nothing. "I have much to learn if I wish to fulfill my mission." "Learn from Master DimDim?" "Yes." She smiled at the name. "He is a great sorcerer," and an even better friend to have kept her secret and her safety for so long. It has cost him much she was sure. "I can see that. But then, so are you." She shook her head slowly. "Not good enough." "Not good enough for what?" Bryn asked. Maeve lifted her eyes and watched Dermott in the sky. "To right a wrong." Long has Bryn known that Dermott was no ordinary pet. There was too much intelligence in those golden eyes for a mere bird. And though she does not speak to Dermott as she suspected Maeve does, Bryn knew a being trapped when she sees one. "What is he to you?" "The only thing that matters," came the response that was so practiced and natural that she hadn"t even given it a thought. "Is he?" her eyes straying to the cabin. Maeve was either too blind to see or just simply outright lying to herself. "I would say different." Maeve"s eyes followed the dark haired beauty"s gaze just as Sinbad"s head popped through the doorway. "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?" Grinning because she wanted to, "Trading horror stories of your exploits!" "And there are plenty!" Bryn added. The girls traded looks before bursting into laughter. "She looks happy," Sinbad murmured as he watched the two women giggle hysterically. The contrast between the two was astonishing. Bryn was mystical moonlight while Maeve was the firry sunset. Bryn knew nothing about her past while Maeve lived each day trying to forget the pains of hers. But both were towering strengths and both searched for answers that they may not find. And while he cared for both, he knew there was only one. "Is she staying?" Master DimDim"s eyes searched Sinbad"s face. This young man, with his lusty appetite for life and his insatiable search of adventure, had been all but a son to him. And in him, DimDim was reminded that there was more to life than simply living it. A missing part of Sinbad"s life was now in his hand. "Do you want her to?" "Master DimDim," Doubar"s voice held astonishment. He may lack his younger brother"s good looks, charm, agility and way with the ladies, but he was no dummy. Any fool can see that Sinbad"s heart has not been with him for longer than he cared to remember. "I cannot help but notice that you have a new woman in your life, Sinbad," he pointed out quietly as he too watched the women outside. "And while others may willingly share your affections, I fear that Maeve cannot." She was like the daughter he never had the privilege of having. Perhaps the Gods had hoped that by keeping him childless, he will share his knowledge with the world at large. "I do not wish to see her hurt." Sinbad"s dark eyes read the warning on his mentor"s face. "I miss her. But I will not pull her away from her studies if her life will be placed in danger because of it." DimDim understood the man"s willingness to give up his own happiness; it gave him great hope for the future. "Rumina will do well to give Maeve a wide path. The child has learned much this past year, and taught me a thing or two as well." "So, she is ready then?" Firouz asked hesitantly. He may be a man of science but he easily bow to the forced that he had no understanding of. Looking out at the woman, DimDim nodded. "Yes, she is as ready as she can be under my tutorage. With myself by her side, she shall always be reliant upon my and will grown no more. It is time she be free of her own restraints and bloom like that flower that she is." He smiled as he watched her stand, reaching into the sky for her feathered friend. "And she will have you all to watch over her." "So she is coming?" Doubar asked, unable to hide his grin as he nudged his little brown. "Hear that, Sinbad? Hear that?" Shoving his brother"s less than subtle hints away, Sinbad took a deep breath and attempt to calm his thundering heart. Maeve was coming home. She was finally coming home. That thought resounded in his head as he vainly tried to suppress the giddy grin blossoming across his face. He wasn"t sure what his feeling that made him want to shout at the world is, but he knew that it was a good kind of emotion as he turned and looked through the window... just in time to see something that wasn"t suppose to be. "Sinbad." The name was expressed with a mixture of utter disgust and blatant want. The man had the singular ability to make a woman want and hate him all at he same time, part infuriating, part charming, he"s been a thorn at her side one too many times. But still, life would be so much less interesting with him gone. Rumina stared into the gazing pool and pursed her prettily paint lips of ruby red. "He"s finally rid of himself of that silly red headband, looks like that boy has finally grown up," she muttered with a curling of her lip. To say that she was enjoying the new look upon Captain of the Nomad was the understatement of the century. "Nothing like leather to bring out a man"s good looks," she tilted her head and smiled at the picture that reflected up at her. If only the man wasn"t so annoyingly stubborn... of course, that was only one of the reasons that made him so irresistibly fascinating. Breaking such a wild spirit would be a terrible shame. If there were more men in the world as daringly annoying, Rumina was sure she won"t be so bored all the time. But being that there is only one, it made him all the more enjoyable to have. And that smile... she could certainly see why other women adore that horrid man. What a woman won"t do to put that radiant smile on that pretty face? "But we must allow you to be too happy Sinbad," she cooed as she leaned forward to wave her hand over the water, expanding the picture out. What the pool showed her almost unbalanced her. "What"s this?" Eyes wide with disbelief, a winkled formed upon her forehead as she waved her hand over the water once more to show her more of what she wasn"t sure she was seeing. "It can"t be!" standing somewhat awkwardly, hindered by the heavy embroidered dress she wore. But sure enough, full picture of the Isle of Dawn was thrown back at her. "NO!" Red hot fury consumed her. That isle had been destroyed, destroyed by her father over two years before. How could it now be sitting... wait! Rumina"s eyes fixed itself to the gazing pool once more. It was not so long ago that she had been fell by something that drew power all around, something that concentrated energy to a single focal point to... she never did learn what all that power was for, too weak for the week that followed to do no more than sit up. But apparently, the answer had made its way to her. It would appear that it was staring her right in the face. "DimDim must have resurrected that island once more," she muttered, her face screwed into something horrifying ugly. "But for what purpose?" That question didn"t linger long as she watched the joyous reunion between mentor and student. There was chattering she couldn"t hear but could guess by the delight in their face. "So DimDim brought the island back to call to Sinbad," she mused softly. It would stand to reason; the magician had never made it a secret of his fondness for the adventurous sailor. "What are you planning, old man? What do you have in..." The picture had shifted to show Rumina the rest of the occupants of the isle. "The redheaded wench," she muttered watching as the women raised her hand to the sky, waiting for the descent of the majestic bird that came to her. "And her feathered friend," she finished with narrow eyes. She didn"t understand the connection of the woman, who has never once hide the fact that she knew Rumina from a time in her past. Who she was, Rumina knew not. Only that she doesn"t recall anyone such person in her life. But the woman had the added advantage at the moment of being important to both DimDim and Sinbad; which made her a perfect player in this game. "Let"s see what they"ll do if they were to lose you?" Rumina asked with smile that was pure and unadulterated evil. "MAEVE!" Sinbad"s voice shot through the stillness of the day, echoing over the garden. Rolling her eyes, Maeve turned toward the cottage. "What are you..." "Get back!" Bryn cried out as she crashed into Maeve, shoving the woman out of the way of a fold of darkness that had suddenly descended upon them. She didn"t think, didn"t had the luxury of time to think things through before she was rolling onto her back and away from the sweeping darkness in space. It was like a giant black hand had swept the place where the two women had just been. Dermott screeched his own fears as he dove from his flight toward Maeve and Bryn. "Look out!" Firouz shouted as he followed Sinbad and Doubar out the door. They had all seen it once Sinbad made a mad dash for the window, where he had first spotted the beginnings of a spell. "It"s coming back!" The sun reflected on the dagger that left Rongar"s practiced hand. The wicked blade disappeared into the darkness, never to be seen again. From the other side of the vortex, Rumina wasn"t quick enough to duck the dagger that caught her shoulder at its way to the wall. "Ouch," feeling her skin break and the blood ooze from the lesion. She glanced at her shoulder, staring in disbelief as her wound. "Oh, the wretched man!" turning back to the looking glass. Bring her hand back, she let loss a fireball of a brilliant blue. "Duck!" Doubar shouted as the blue ball of flames appear through the opening in the sky and hit the cottage, nearly taking himself and Rongar with it. Coughing up the dirt that had been kicked up by the explosion, he turned to his silent and now dusty friend, "I think you made it mad." "Everyone scatter, don"t let it have a concentrated target to hit," Firouz suggested as he ran away from the rest of the group. "What the hell is that thing?" Sinbad asked to no one in particular as he watched it turned in mid air and hovered for a moment. His heart flew to his throat as the black hole in the sky made another sweep at Maeve, who wasn"t ducking. "Get down!" sprinting toward her, fear spurring his feet on. The red fireball left her hand just a blink of eye before Sinbad"s body crash into hers, sending them both tumbling into the bushes by the elegant red perfume roses that DimDim has so lovingly restores only the day before. Stunned at having been thrown in that manner, it took her a minute to figure out what had happened. "What are you doing?" she shouted at him, pushing none too gently on his shoulder. Grunting, "Trying to keep you alive, though why I bother," he replied hotly as he rolled to her side but didn"t let go right away. His heart was pounding something fierce as he took inventory of her. "Are you all right?" "I was perfectly fine until you decided to...," she argued with heat in her eyes and touched by the fact that he had been afraid for her. "Maeve..." he began to warn. "Sinbad..." Neither of them got to complete whatever it was they had begun to say when a screech rendered the stillness of the air. For a moment, neither one knew what had caused the disturbance. Then... "Dermott!" Bryn stared in helplessness as the darkness chased the bird through the air. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched her faithful companion of the last year desperately flapped his wings as he made a mad dash around several taller trees. "Someone do something!" "Rongar!" Sinbad called out a second before the moor had let loose another dagger that was swallowed by the hole. "That didn"t work the first time either!" Rongar shrugged his shoulder at that. "A little magic would be nice right about now!" Sinbad suggested at his former mentor, who had been watching with stunned disbelief. Having never considered that anyone would attack his island once more now that Turok was gone, the old sorcerer had been stunned still for a moment. But shaking himself off, he retrieved his magic staff from the rubbles of his ruin home. Yet something else that will have to be rebuilt once more. "Be gone!" DimDim shouted as he raised his staff, a bolt of red lightning erupted through the space, hitting the rip in space just as he closed around Darmott"s in-flight body sending another screech of panic through the air. "Release!" he called through the air, as a shaft of blue replaced the red spark of power. But it was too late. Darmott was gone, along with the hole in space. "NO!" Getting to her feet, Maeve swept the garden with her eyes, catching the tale tell signs of a fading spell. Bringing her hand up, "Tractus!" feeling the white hot magic burst from her fingertips, catching the tail end of the rapidly dissipating spell and latching on for what she was about to do next. Bracing herself for what is to come, Maeve"s hand came up once more, a sliver of something unknown appeared between her palms. "Retournen Incantatus." From the tips of her finger came a curl of smoke that snaked its way across the plain that was hidden from the naked eye. Invisible fingers pulled on the remnants of a spell that had once been there and tugged at it, bring forth what had once been. The rip in space appeared once more, only this time Maeve was in control of it. From somewhere within that gloom, her beloved Dermott called out to her. "Maeve!" "Dermott!" her eyes wide with fear. "I"m coming," and she leapt without thought, disappearing into the darkness. "No, wait..." Sinbad"s hand belatedly reached out to catch hold of her but she was already gone. "Maeve!" His heart in his throat as he watched her slipped through the darken portal of nothingness and away from him once more. "Not again. Not this time," and leapt into the unknown after her. "Little brother!" Doubar"s voice was all that carried through before the rip disappeared once more, taking two more of their own with it. "Master DimDim..." Firouz"s face reflected everyone"s concern. "They"re on their own now," DimDim replied quietly, impressed by Maeve"s ingenious use of spells that he had long since forgotten in his old age. "But I think it is safe to say that it would be difficult for anyone to combat those two together. Indeed, they make quite a formidable force." "I hope you"re right," Bryn murmured softly as she glazed at where the two had disappeared to. "And at least their together," she said with a smile and then added to herself, "As they were meant to be." Fin... (kind of) Not how I envisioned this sequel going but hey, I gave it a shot and let Sinbad and Maeve be together... kind of.

"My dear, I"m hardly one to throw stones with my own more colorful youth," she patted Amber"s arm again and sighed. This has just gotten more complicated than she thought. "Do you know who the father is?" At least in this Amber can be completely and truthfully honest. "No." She smiled helpfully. "But that"s okay. I"m completely all right with that. It"s probably better actually. I"ve decided that I needed to turn a new leaf, a real one." She grinned and made a self-deprecating motion with her arm. "From now on, it"s me and my baby. No more get rich quick schemes, no more chasing after men that don"t want me, no more crazy plans... nothing that"s going to put this baby at risk." Touching her tummy, "This is my future." Kay leaned back and looked at Amber a little more carefully, seeing the glow of life radiating from her. "You know, I think you"re absolutely right. This is a good beginning for you." She smiled and touched Amber"s blonde locks. "You come talk to me if you need anything all right?" "We"re doing fine, Mrs. Chancellor." "I can see that." And she can. Amber was at peace and it was a beautiful sight to see. Kay was happy for her... she just wasn"t sure how her grandson was going to feel. "But just in case you and the baby need anything..." "I"ll come see you," Amber promised and felt all warm and fuzzy inside. She really did love the grand old dame. Katherine Chancellor was simply marvelous. "Thank you." The twisting sensation hit him first, before he even turned around to figure out what it was, and then the laugher struck through him like a knife. Adam didn"t need to turn to know that Victoria and Nick were behind him, sitting there like the affectionate pair of siblings that they were; he"d recognized their voices anywhere. Soft giggling joined their voices and Adam felt his stomach sink even more as his curiosity got the better of him and he turned. It really should be a taboo for Victoria and Nicolas Newman to be so close and so wonderful to each other. Adam felt the stabbing pain of jealousy as he leaned back and watched the scene for a moment. Sitting in the corner was Victoria, her arms cradling her baby boy in manner that reminded Adam of a painting he once saw in the Metropolitan Art Museum: Madonna and Child. She was holding little Reed Hellstrom up like he was the greatest gift she has ever received - and he probably was. Sitting beside Victoria was brother Nick, his own arms full as he bounced his precious little girl on his knees. Summer Newman looked exactly what she was: a strawberry blonde cherub delighted with the world. She giggled as Noah Newman tickled her toes and made faces at his baby sister, begging his father to let him hold her. Phyllis laughed as her stepson"s antics and gently draped a soft blanket around Victoria and Reed, touching her godson"s little hands with the soft tender look she bestows upon her own child. She looked up in time to thank JT as Victoria"s husband return with a tray of coffee for all the adults and some Italian soda for Noah. Wrapping one arm around his wife"s shoulder, JT leaned down to admire his child, his face wreathed with delight at life in general. Just one big happy family. The bitter taste in Adam"s mouth had nothing to do with the coffee in his hand. Turning to leave, he almost got through the door of the coffee house except for a flash of sunshine yellow that caught his eyes. Turning his head for a better look, he smiled to spot a familiar face, dispelling the heaviness of his own thoughts for a moment. Sliding into the seat next to her, Adam offered Amber a genuine smile when she looked up, surprised to see him. "Hello." He glanced at her orange juice and small salad with a frown. "Please tell me that"s not all you"re having for dinner." Amber laughed and glanced at her meager meal. "Hey times are tough, girl has to make do with what she"s got," she placed her sketch book on the table and dropped her pencil in the process. He stopped her before she could bend down to retrieve it, picking it up himself and offering it to her on an open palm. "Thank you." "You are very welcome," he sat back and sipped his coffee, watching her peer at the his cup longingly. "Doesn"t my brother pay you enough to feed yourself?" "Your brother has been more than fair with my salary," she informed him with a smile. If it weren"t for the money she was starting to squirrel away for her baby, she"d have a great deal more to spend. As it was, she was considering picking up a second job so that she would have something stash away... just in case. "Really?" Adam looked surprised by that. "A start up magazine doesn"t really have a whole lot to begin with. I just assumed..." "Don"t," Amber sighed and sipped her tea. "I don"t want to talk to you about your brother"s business or whatever dysfunctional issues you Newmans have with one another. This is me keeping my nose clean." Holding up his hand in surrender, "All right, no more Newman talk tonight okay?" "Thank you," she smiled and suddenly looked up over his shoulder. Her eyes went wide. "Hi Mrs. Newman." Adam didn"t turn around, it was better if he didn"t provoke anyone tonight. He wasn"t up to it; not after watching that scene earlier. Plus he just got through promising Amber that there would be no more Newman shenanigans this evening. Phyllis held onto her smile with some difficulties. "Hi Amber... Adam." "Phyllis," Adam greeted vaguely over one shoulder. He didn"t need to look to know that his sister-in-law was probably carrying... "Oh my god," Amber gushed with delight, "Look how big she"s gotten!" Summer clapped her little hands together and laughed. "She"s so adorable," Amber got up and reached out to hold the baby"s hand and subtly kicking Adam in the ankle telling him to behave. "Hello there little one!" Phyllis smiled indulgently, never one to miss an opportunity to show off her little girl. "Amber, I came over to ask if you wouldn"t mind coming into the office early tomorrow, say around seven? I need someone on the phone for the overseas calls in the morning." "Sure," Amber agreed while shaking the baby"s hand. "I could use the extra hour." "Great, thank you," Phyllis smiled and felt a little more cordial toward the young woman now that Amber and her son wasn"t shacked up together. "I do appreciate your help Amber." She glanced down at Adam then back at Amber, watching them with a speculative eye, then leaned forward slightly to whisper the warning, "Don"t let him get too close. He"ll only take advantage of you." "I don"t have to worry about that," Amber replied gratefully and truthfully, "but thank you all the same." Having offered her two cents, Phyllis can only nod and return to her party. "Boy," Amber said as she retook her seat, "You really know how to make friends with your family." "Hey, I was totally on my best behavior," reaching down to rub his ankle with more dramatics than pain, "I didn"t bait her, didn"t argue with her, didn"t even look at her." "Yeah, way to be friendly!" she shook her head and stabbed her fork in some wilted carrots. "Give me that," taking the fork from her and tossing it aside, "Come on, I"ll buy you dinner." "That"s not necessary," trying to grab the fork back. "Yes it is," he said picking up her three-ton purse. He stared at it for a moment in disbelief. "Oh my god, what do you have in here?" "Everything plus the kitchen sink," she quipped as she sat back in her chair stubbornly. "And what exactly do you think you"re doing?" "Taking you to dinner," Adam replied eyeing her overly large blouse with a critical eye. "You"re losing weight and you"re not eating anything remotely healthy," offering her tiny salad and juice a disdainful look. "What you need is an actual, genuine meal; steak and potatoes preferably." He poked her experimentally in the arm and hit nothing but skin and bones. "When was the last time you had a full meal?" "What are you? My father?" she rolled her eyes and made a grab for her purse. "I"m just a guy that wants to make sure you"re not starving yourself because of a bad economy," Adam reached down and grabbed her hand. "Come on, let"s get some dinner." "That"s what I was doing," she reminded him as she got up. Amber wasn"t sure if he would let go if she didn"t comply. "No," he sneered at her supposed meal, "that"s rabbit food." Amber laughed, a sound that carried a little. "Come on," Adam said in a pleading tone, "You"re not going to make me eat dinner alone, are you?" he gave a puppy dog look that use to work on his mother even though she"d never seen his face. She had once said it was the intonation of his voice that did it; even blindness couldn"t disguise that. Rolling her eyes at him, Amber smirked, "Right, "cause you can"t find a dinner companion easily by just crooking a finger. How many women out there won"t love to be seen with Victor Newman"s heir apparent?" Jaws dropping, "You wound me, Amber," and made a mocking attempt at pretending to have been delivered a mortal injury. She didn"t take the bait. "You"ll get over it." He laughed. "Everything okay Amber?" Daniel asked suspiciously as he gave Adam the evil eye. Adam, for his part, gave Daniel a smile that was just this side of a smirk. He was more than amused by Daniel"s obvious possessive/protective stance when it came to the women in his life... even the one he isn"t related to and wasn"t with anymore. "Hey Daniel," Amber greeted evenly and gave Adam a look that conveyed an world of meaning. "What are you doing here?" "Dinner with Mom and the new family," Daniel replied, tilting his head to the little group gathered behind them, watching with curious eyes. "Oh great," Adam muttered under his breath then winced when the heel of Amber"s shoe landed on his toe. "Okay, okay..." he whispered back and eased his foot out from underneath. "Is he bothering you?" Daniel asked, more than a little eager to do something about it if that was the case. "No, I"m fine," Amber answered, praying that Nicholas doesn"t come over, which he looks about to do. Eager to avoid an outright Newman confrontation, "Adam and I were just leaving." Daniel stepped aside to let them pass but gave Amber a look that said enough. She answered it with a shrug and a "don"t worry" kind of nod. If it weren"t for the fact that Daniel knew Amber can take on just about anything, he would have been tempted to stop her. But this was Amber and Amber can take on the world if she had to. So he did what any friend would do, he gave her the "call me later" signal and went back to his table. Adam would have thanked Daniel if Amber hadn"t looked about ready to breath fire if he didn"t tow the line. "Guess this means you"re having dinner with me then?" "Oh shut up." Really, the guy was incorrigible. "Would the lady care for some dessert?" Amber shook her head politely but eyed the dessert cart that had been rolled in front of her longingly. She needed to watch her sugar intake, the doctor had give her strict order about that. "Thank you but I think I"ve had enough." "Oh come on," Adam urged with a grin as he watched her wavered a moment. He had thoroughly enjoy watching her consume the food set in front of her. "There"s always room for dessert." "I can"t," she groaned though she was definitely tempted. "Damn him." She peeked at the try again and winced. "No, no... too much sugar. Not good at all." Making a mental note of that, Adam waved the dessert tray away and shook his head at the approaching steward with the coffee tray. Caffeine wasn"t a good thing either; at least he knew that much. "Feel better now?" She made a face at him and sipped the sugarless ice tea she had ordered then reluctantly said, "Yes, thank you. I do feel much better." "Anytime," he replied and meant it. It wasn"t just that he wanted to make sure she ate right and took care of herself; Amber was good company. She was non-demanding, easy laughter and teasing manners. He didn"t have to watch his guard when he was around her. It made for a much nicer evening than he had expected. "No, this is not going to become a habit," Amber said as she touched her lips with her napkin. "I can take care of myself." And she was going to have to learn how to do it in a hurry. She was only going to have six more months to learn how to stand on her own and take care of herself and her child while making really crappy salary. "I see nothing wrong with relying on a friend every once in a while." "You and I are friends?" she gave him a dubious look. "I think we can be," Adam admitted quietly, watching her with sad eyes. Though Amber hated to admit it, the eyes always got to her. There was something very sad about Adam"s eyes... like he had been alone for too long and was just a touch out of synch with the rest of the human race. From what she could see, Adam didn"t have too many friends in Genoa City. Maybe he lashed out because he was angry and lonely and just simply needed someone he can turn to. And his family... the Newmans were close when they want to go; and as far as Amber can see, they don"t seem to want to be close to Adam. Perhaps that why he makes a point to goad and spar with them: it seem the only time they willingly interact with him. A outsider inside the family. That"s got to hurt a lot. Amber certainly understand that feeling all too well. "What are you thinking?" Adam asked, watching the emotions make its way across her pretty face. She smiled suddenly and leaned back in her chair. "I"m thinking that it"s always good to make new friends." He smiled back suddenly, a beautiful smile that didn"t get seen much. "Seriously though, are you sure you don"t want dessert? Maybe they can get you a fruit plate or something - light, sugarless?" "No, I"m stuffed, thank you," she laughed and glanced at the ringing phone by Adam"s hand. "Duty calls?" knowing that the Newman business was a 24/7 operation. She"s overhead Nick and Victoria talk about it enough to realize that. Glancing at the phone, Adam offered her a smile and excused himself with a whispered, "I have to get this. It"ll be quick." "Take your time," she replied shrugging her shoulders. Stepping into a quiet corner, "What do you have for me?" "You didn"t hear it from me because how I got it is considered an illegal action." "For what I pay you, I don"t particularly care how you get the information," Adam hissed back, glancing over his shoulders. "Well?" "She"s definitely pregnant," was the terse reply. "Almost eight weeks along." Something in Adam tightened and something else released. "Okay, thanks," and was about to hang up... "One other thing." "What?" "There was a note in the file about being referred to a specialist." "A specialist? What kind of a specialist?" "You want me to check the doctor?" "Yes," Adam replied with a weird sense of urgency, Amber"s concern over sugar intake echoing in his head. "I"ll drop another thousand into your account by tomorrow morning. I want the information ASAP." "I"ll have it for you by tomorrow afternoon." "Good," Adam hung up the phone and looked across the way. Sitting there in her sunshine yellow dress was the soon-to-be mother of his child. Amber was pregnant. And he"s about to become a father. Cane closed the door quietly and headed toward the front room, eager for the stress less atmosphere of his grandmother"s company. The tense dinner with Lily and Devon had not been conductive to his appetite. Lily leaves for Belgium in two days and Cane felt guilty for not being sorry to see her go. The shouting voices from within almost had him turning around and leaving before anyone detected his arrival. But his grandmother"s irritate tone stopped him. "This is my house and I will invite whoever I please into it!" Katherine shouted and gave a furious huff as she sat down. Exerting herself these days becomes too much of a strain at times. "This is my house too and I will not have that little tramp in here!" Jill shouted back with equal furor and indignations. She was pacing the living room and had to glance at her mother when Kay suddenly sat down. "Oh for crying out loud, don"t tell me you"re going to have a heart attack right now in the middle of an argument!" That got Cane"s legs moving forward. "Oh course not, you ungrateful child! I would never be so accommodating," Kay spat back with a great deal of scorn. "Now get me some water." As angry as Jill was, she couldn"t ignore that fact that Kay looked pale and was breathing a little harder than usual. Making an animalistic noise, Jill stalked out of the room. "Stay there and keep your heads between your knees or something; and don"t you dare keel over on me, old woman. I"ll get the damn water. ESTHER? ESTHER! Where are you?!" Cane shook his head at his mother"s strange antics. For as long as he lives, he"ll never quite understand the dynamic between mother and daughter... which is just as well. He wasn"t sure he wanted to; it might make his head explode. Thinking now would be a good time to see to his grandmother, Cane almost made it to the door when the quiet shuffling of feet distracted him. He managed to hide before the esteemed Esther spotted him. "Really, Mrs. Chancellor," Esther admonished gently as she placed two pills and a glass of water into Katherine"s hands. "You should not allow Mrs. Abbot to get you all worked up like this." "Blah," Kay waved it away, "it"s nothing new with Jill and me. We"ll be fighting until the day I hit my grave and she"ll probably still be yelling at my coffin." "Now I don"t want to hear that kind of nonsense from you," Esther said patting her long-time employers on the back with grave concern. "I think I"ll go lock Mrs. Abbot in a broom closet somewhere until you"ve had a chance to calm down." Katherine chuckled, glad for Esther"s loyal company. "What were you two arguing about now? Can"t be about the company, I heard it was doing fantastic under Mrs. Newman"s... Mrs. Chow"s rule." "It"s got nothing to do with business. Jill has some objections to my idea of inviting someone to stay with us, at least for the time being." "Really? After she unceremoniously invited Jeffrey Bardwell into this house? That"s a bit hypocritical of her." Esther didn"t exactly make her dislike of Jill Abbot a secret but put up with her for Kay"s sake. "Who did you invite?" Laughing, "I wanted Amber to stay with us for a while." "Amber?" that certainly surprised Esther. Not to mention the eavesdropping Cane. "Oh Mrs. Chancellor," Esther frowned. "I like Amber, she"s a sweet girl even if she makes very bad decisions sometimes, but even I don"t think that"s a wise idea. Mrs. Abbot hates her; no, no... Mrs. Abbott despises her after everything that happened with your grandson." Cane silently nodded his head in agreement, wondering what his grandmother could be thinking off. For one angry second, he questioned what Amber had done to manipulate his grandmother into such kindness but dismissed it almost immediately. Katherine Chancellor was nobody"s fool and Amber was an amateur compared to the esteemed lady; no way in hell would Amber be able to pull something over on his grandmother. So that only begs to the questions of... "I know Jill doesn"t like the girl." Esther gave a gentle snort of amusement. "That"s an understatement." Kay ignore the commentary. "I know that Cane doesn"t particularly care of her company either," though she had some doubts to that as well, "but the girl has no one she can turn to right now and I would hate for her to be alone... especially now." "What does that mean?" Cane wondered. "What do you mean?" Esther echoed out loud. Holding her own counsel, Kay shook her head and sighed. "I was that girl once, Esther; and I didn"t always have anyone to turn to either. Amber stayed with me in Clear Springs when it would have been wiser and safer for her to escape on her own. She"s a good girl at heart; she was simply taught to survive however she can in this world that isn"t always kind to those that aren"t born into privilege. And she"s come a long way on her own - I respect her for that." While Esther personally agreed, "But to invite her here..." "Amber took care of me when I was in trouble, I think it only right to reciprocate." "And what kind of trouble is that little guttersnipe in now? Swindled another man, has she?" Jill asked as she hurried back with a glass of water. "And where have you been Esther? I"ve been calling for you all over the house?" "I was right here Mrs. Abbott," Esther said, standing up and taking the empty glass from Mrs. Chancellor, "giving your mother her heart medication since you thought it was a good idea to get her all worked up over nothing." "Nothing?" Jill bellowed indignantly as she thrust the water glass into her mother"s hand. "You call inviting that two-faced little tramp into my house, nothing?" "Enough Jill," Kay interrupted with a sigh as she leaned back on the sofa and took a sip of water. "Are you all right?" Jill asked urgently as all arguments are forgotten. "Should I call a doctor." "Stop fussing," Katherine snapped as she glared at her daughter. "And we"ll have no more arguments over this issue. If you can invite Jeffrey Bardwell into my home, I can very well invite Amber. She"ll be good company for me."

"There"s a little cottage," Victor began, sipping from his coffee, "that sit just on the edge of my property. It was the old hunter"s cottage when the ranch was still a functioning ranch. It"s not much, a loft and bath overlooking the living quarters. But it is safe and clean and quiet." "What?" confused by the sudden change in subject. She had been so certain she was about to get the same spiel that Jill had delivered to her only this morning. "I"ve taken the liberty of having painted and repaired today in hopes that I may persuade you move into the cottage." Blinking rapidly, "What? I"m sorry what?" "There"s security on the ranch and, if need be, extra help when the baby arrives." Amber shook her head to try to clear it. "I"m sorry, Mr. Newman. Are you asking that I move onto the Newman Ranch?" "Yes. As the mother of a Newman child, you are privileged to..." "No," she smiled and got up. She can see all sorts of things bad happening now. "Thank you for the generous offer but I"m fine where I am." "The offer is for my grandchild and..." "This is not your grandchild," she informed him, feeling herself panic again. Outright attacks the way Jill deals with things she can handle. Money and material things she might be able to deal with; leopard and spots and all that... but what Victor Newman was offering was something else. Something dangerous... to her. "I"m sorry but this is not Adam"s child; this baby is mine. I don"t know why you and Adam are..." she horrible flash back of a courtroom and the judge ordering her to hand over her child to Deacon... It wasn"t going to happen again. "I... I have to go." Victor stood, "Amber..." but it was too late. "What the heck did you say to her?" Adam demanded, arriving too late to stop Amber from fleeing. "What did you do?" "I offered her a safe place to live," Victor replied with a chilling calm. "That is one very frightened young woman." "Oh my god," Adam rubbed his face and almost gave into the urge to howl in frustration. "What the hell did you..." "It was almost," Victor said quietly as he continued to see the face on that poor young woman, "as if she was afraid we were trying to take her baby from her." He turned and faced his sons. "Now why would she think that?" To be continued... 2nd Note: Hopefully this will be wrapped up in few more chapters. I"m so off the map now it"s not even funny. Best of YouBy Didi Timeline: Nowhere in this universe. Start reading for the beginning if you want to know. Summery: Adam gets advice, Amber gets some necessary orders, Cane gets a headache and Katherine gets the upper hand. Author"s Note: With the exception of the campy Gloria and Jeff (and I"ll even add the ever ambitious Kevin), there"s pretty much nothing on the show I like right now. Mac and Billy are boring. Victor and Jack"s feud is old. The missing Nikki isn"t even missed. Sharon and Nick is re-treading the same grounds... yet again. I"m not even going to tell you how much I don"t like what they"re doing with Victoria and JT (though I"m glad JT finally found his backbone again). There"s definitely not enough Katherine or Jill, especially Katherine and Jill together. The Amber, Deacon and Daniel story is watch-able in that weird kind of way. And thank goodness there"s very few Winter family ridiculousness lately. (sigh) Okay, I did enjoy the scene where Katherine confronts Amber with the wedding invitation. I love that relationship! And on a side note: Chance = cute. Can we have more of him please? Alright, I"m done now. Back to the story. Chapter 16 Victoria hurried down the stairs, one shoe on and one shoe off, with her handbag, briefcase and several documents she hadn"t been able to get to the night before. "I"m sorry honey, I know that you wanted to have breakfast and I should have been up like an hour ago but..." "Relax," JT assured her as she flew pass him to get to the coffee he had set on the table for her. "I figured since you worked so late..." "You mean when I was goofing around with the baby?" she asked with a quick grin. Only half the stuff she had brought home had been even looked at because she had been so content to sit with little Reed and play peek-a-boo. Sipping her coffee once, she leaved over and kissed her adorable baby boy"s cheek from where he was resting comfortably in his father"s arms then kissed her adorable husband where he sat so contently feeding their son. "I know, I know, I"m a terribly disgusting new mom." JT grinned unabashedly happy with life. "Yes, but you"re my terribly disgusting new mom so it"s all okay with me. Say bye-bye to mommy, Reed. We won"t be seeing her for a while because grandma Nikki is probably going to keep her at the office tonight because she was a bad executive and didn"t do her homework last night with you around." "Thank you, husband of mine," she whacked in him the rear then gave his cheek a solute. "I"ll be back late so don"t wait up. If I can get home in time to put the baby down..." "Wishful thinking, Vickie," JT said rather sympathetically. "I"m just hoping you come home period." She sighed. "Once things are little calmer around the office..." "And that would be when?" "Come on," she laughed with good humor, "It"s not been that bad." "Between your brother and your mother, I haven"t had a decent night"s sleep in..." the pounding on the door following by a bellowing greeting from Adam had JT rolling his eyes. "See what I mean?" "He sounds upset," Victoria noted as she headed for the door. "Hey, where do you think you"re going?" when her husband made to take the baby upstairs. "I"m going to make myself scarce. I don"t know my kid traumatized." "Oh no you don"t," she snagged his arm. "For better or for worse," she quoted as she pluck the baby from his arms. "Besides, Reed has a good effect on my idiot of a brother." "Come on!" Adam called through the door like an impatient teenager. "Open up already. I know you"re in there, your car is still in the driveway." "Will you pipe down?" Victoria demanded as she finally threw open the door. "And why are you here so early in the morning." Slapping the folder he had brought with him into Victoria"s unsuspecting hands, "Victor is offering you"re your job back with the usual stuff. I need to talk to you about the other issue." "You and Amber?" JT asked as he took his son back. Victoria was trying to hold the baby and read at the same time. "You told him?" Vickie shrugged. "You said I could." "True," he admitted, "I just thought that..." he shook his head and sighed. "Doesn"t matter now anyways since Victor knows." "What does Victor say?" JT wanted to know as he decided that it was safe to hand Reed over to the distracted Adam, who was watching the baby with the same fascination as the baby was watching him. "God he"s growing so fast," Adam murmured as he snuggled the baby close, breathing in the scent of fresh baby powder. "Look how big he is already." "So what did Dad say?" Victoria asked, slipping her shoes on still reading the folder she had just been handed. There was very little doubt that she"d go back even if she would miss working with her mother. She belonged at Newman. "You mean before or after he lectured me about being irresponsible?" Reed tugged on his necktie with little chubby hands. "After," JT picked up the toys around the living room. Like his wife, he had to get to the office soon for too much stuff he"s been putting off in lieu of spending time with the family. "He offer Amber the hunter"s cottage on the ranch to stay in. Had the place outfitted and repainted yesterday." "Whoa..." JT raised a brow in surprise and packed up his briefcase. "Now there"s something you don"t hear about everyday. How"d we miss that?" Adam made a face. "That"s probably because you and Victoria live in your own little universe these days... lucky bastards that you are." "Don"t knock it "til you tried it," JT replied with a grin. "I"m hoping," Adam replied as he gingerly sat down on the couch with the baby. Little Reed cooed sweetly and grabbed Adam"s nose. "Amber lit out of the Athletics" Club like a bat out of hell. Can"t reach her since. Nick said he"d try to catch her at the office but I don"t want her feeling pressured by all this." "When did you and Dad..." "Yesterday. Took her to see the house too. Didn"t get a chance to propose before she started calling me crazy but at least it"s something. Then Dad hit her with the cottage idea and she just bolted." "Amber doesn"t seem like the run away type to me," JT observed quietly as he packed up his bag. "She looks like a survivor... a fighter." Oh great, now he was going to have that Christina Aguilera song stuck in his head. Adam paused in his playing with little Reed, "Jill got to her yesterday." "Oh no," Victoria groaned and sat down by Adam"s side. "What did she do?" "I didn"t hear the conversation but whatever it is she said to Amber shook her up something bad." "I can well imagine," she muttered and sighed. The damage is done, that means they"ll simply have to move on from there. "But maybe we can work this to our advantage." "What do you mean?" JT asked as he sat down as well. One advantages of working for your father-in-law was all tardiness is excused if you simply mention their grandson"s name. "Knowing Jill, she was probably her usual charming self. Threats are her favorite weapon of choice. If she"s spooked Amber, we can walk in and offer Amber a nice safe alternative to whatever it is Jill hit her with; play the good guy in this." "I see where you"re going," Adam mused thoughtfully. "But Jill is offset by Katherine." "Katherine"s not here," Victoria pointed out. "If we can get to Amber because she has a chance to run into Katherine..." she allowed the idea to hang in the air. Adam nodded. "I gotta go," handing Reed over with a quick kiss on the baby"s fluffy head. "Where are you going?" JT asked as they watch Adam hurried to the door. "My baby and my baby"s mama needs breakfast," he grinned and left with a silent salute to Victoria and an quick nod of acknowledgement to JT. "See you guys at the office!" and shut the door behind him. "Boy..." JT shook his head with a sigh. "No idea what you were getting into when you married me, did you?" Victoria smiled and hugged her baby. "My poor darling..." she gave him a pitying look then announced quite cheerfully, "Too late now!" -&-&-&- "You need to get more rest," Dr. Taylor announced with a serious frown. "Your blood pressure is elevated and I don"t like these dark circles under you eyes." He made a few more notations in his chart. "You"re weight is suppose to be going up, you know. That"s what happens when you start growing a life inside of you." "Have I lost weight again?" Amber asked, frightened by the prospects. "No but you haven"t gain any either." He shook his head at her. "Are you getting enough proteins? Soy? Carbs?" "I"m eating," she assured him. "But are you eating enough?" he asked curiously. "You should be doubling the number of calories you usually eat. I know girls like to stay nice and skinny but..." "I"m eating as much as I can get," she sighed and shrugged her shoulders helplessly. "I don"t usually gain a lot of weight until about the sixth"s month. We should see an increase soon." "Well at least you know your own history," he muttered and made another note in her chart. "How many hours are you getting a night?" "Six? Seven maybe?" she made sure she was in bed at a reasonable time every night. Whether she actually got any sleep was on a day to day basis. It"s been rather stressful lately. Taylor offered her a look then pointed to the wall. "See that thing over there in the frame? All nice and pretty and protected with glass and wood? That"s a degree in medicine with my name on it. It is a document that says that I"m smart and that I have taken an oath to protect heal those that come to me for help, people like you. What it doesn"t say that is that I can"t protect and heal those that lie to me to the detriment of their own health and the health of the child they carry. Now," he gave her a glare of impatience, "are you going to start being blunt and honest with me?" Feeling like a chastised child, Amber nodded slowly with a lowered gaze. Satisfied that he"s made a point, "How many hours of sleep are you getting a night?" "Three? Four maybe?" she admitted with an wince when he gave her a look that scolded her. "I"ve tried, really I have. I usually get into bed as early as I can but I just end up staring at the ceiling half the night." Taylor made a face and continued to notate in her chart. "Food? Are you getting enough fibers and proteins? You were underweight before but now..." "I"ve been eating more lately," Amber replied carefully and rather truthfully now that she thought about it. "I have. There"s these guys that thinks it"s their job to take care of me so they"ve been feeding my face every day. I"m just not gaining any weight, not for the lack of trying." "Well you need to continue the food intake," he pulled out a prescription pad from his lab coat pocket. "I"m going to give him a very mild sedative to help you sleep at night." "Will it hurt the baby?" "No," he ripped off the page and handed it to her. "It"s commonly used on pregnant women that experience anxiety and insomnia; it"s harmless to the child. I"d feel better if you had a little more meat on your bones but you should be fine. And I"m ordering two week"s bed rest for you." "What?" "Amber, you need to get more rest. Your body is run down and your running on fumes. I don"t want you compromising your immune system and ending up in the hospital with the flu or worse." "But I have to work." "You can take some time off." "I can"t," she argued. "I need the money." "Money isn"t as important as take care of this baby, is it?" She hesitated. "But if I can"t pay rent, it"s not going to do my baby any good." That gave Taylor pause. He knew she was going to be a single mom and that she was struggling but... She was right and he knew it; it just really sucked. "Alright. But you need to take at least the rest of this week off. Put up your feet, take lots of naps, get full night"s sleep, watch some bad soaps on daytime television." Amber considered it for half a second before she nodded. She come compromise on that. It was already Thursday anyways, two days isn"t going to drive her to the poorhouse. "Okay, I"ll take the rest of the week off and the do nothing for the weekend. Sleep, eat and watch TV." She smiled at the doctor and crossed her heart. "Promise." "I guess I"ll take what I can get," he muttered and showed her out. "Bed rest," he emphasized sternly. "Yes, sir," she saluted him with a grin. -&-&-&- "Thank you Esther," Cane smiled and took the heavy picnic basket from Esther"s struggling arms. "You"re the best." "She"s barely adequate," Jill muttered into her coffee. "Ignore her," Kay replied from across the breakfast table where she was enjoying a late breakfast in relative peace. "Did you make sure to put that special jam in there?" "Of course," Esther tucked a stack of thick paper napkins into the basket and patted the side of the wicker with satisfaction. "Now you make sure she eats every bite of that. I slaved all morning to make that and you tell her so." Cane looked up from his examination of the contents, "Esther, you didn"t need to do that. I could have gone and have the kitchen at the Athletic club make up a basket." "Oh please," she waved it away with a grin. "Healthy goods and nice clean greaseless stuff is what"s needed here. I won"t have you feeding that girl mass produced oily products that she"s not even going to like. That baby is being raised on health foods." The paper Jill had been holding up hit the dining room table noisily. She stared at her son in complete and utter disbelief. "Are you telling me that you"re packing lunch for that little trollop?" "Don"t call her that, Mother," Cane warned sternly as he latched the basket. "Esther, is there any juice in here?" Esther held up a finger and smiled, "I"ve got that right here," running to the kitchen again and returning with a heavy red bag. "Insolated so it stays nice and cold. There"s also a canister of skim milk in there. Tell Amber she can call me any time she needs a meal or two. I"ll be more than happy to..." "We are not running a boarding house or a cafeteria here," Jill slapped her open palm on the table in indignation. "We don"t even know if that little tamp is really carrying your child. How do we even if that child is yours? Have we seen a sonogram? A DNA test? What possible proof do we have that..." "Mother," he said it warningly, "stay out of this." "We need to discuss our options here. We can get a DNA test as early as 10 weeks into the pregnancy. How far along is she? We can be in with the judge this morning and have an order by the afternoon." She got up and reached for her phone. "I"ll get Michael on the phone. I"m sure he can...." "You will do no such thing!" Cane snatched the phone out of her hand before she could even flip open the phone. "No judges, no lawyers, no DNA tests. I know what I know Mother and I know that that baby is mine." He turned those icy blue eyes of his on the woman that gave him life. "I have no doubts. Ihave no doubts that that baby is mine." Unrepentant, Jill shook her head. "That"s because you are too kind and too soft hearted for your own good. A pretty face, a few crocodile tear and you"re ready to pack her up and move her in here." "Not here, that"s for sure," Cane muttered feeling a headache developing behind his eyes every time he spoke of Amber with his mother. She was as unforgiving as granite and a sharp as doubled edges sword. Amber would never survive more than a day under the same roof as Jill; the stress would kill her. "Well I"m telling you," Jill continued getting up to get more coffee, if you can call decaf coffee, "I"m not going to stand for it." "It"s my house too," Katherine interjected sternly, "and I welcome that child and my great-grandchild into this house with open arms." "We don"t even know if she is carrying Cane"s child," Jill spat out venomously. "And if, god forbid, she is, she can court on us being there in the delivery room with court order and..." "What?" Cane was horrified by what he was hearing. "No wonder Amber wouldn"t tell me about the baby. Just listen to yourself. What kind of woman would advocate taking a baby from their mother? You of all people should know what that"s like!" Reaching out, he closed his hand over his grandmother"s shoulder, letting her know that he directed none of this at her but he"s got to make his mother see reason. "Jill, you better get your act straight," Katherine warned darkly, "because that child is coming here with that baby and you will not put undue stress on her, do you hear me? We cannot endanger that child because you refuse to..." "I won"t live in the same house as that woman!" Jill announced with resolve. "It"s bad enough that run into her getting coffee in the morning because I can"t have coffee in my own house..." "What?" Cane asked sharply, "What did you say?" Turning to the maid, "Esther absolutely refuses to make regular coffee because she thinks that Katherine will..." Esther looked indignant. "You know perfectly well that Mrs. C can"t have...." "Forget the coffee, Mother," Cane interjected with a shake of his head, a headache settling in behind his eyes. "What did you say about running into Amber?" but he could already see the answer in Jill"s eyes as she rived up for another round of Amber bashing. "Oh god..." "She was there, standing bold as day, and just smug as you please looking for an..." "What did you say to her?" Cane wanted to know. Horrible scenarios were working their way through his brain, all of them ending up with Amber in the hospital and another child lost. "Mother, please tell me you didn"t do anything that could make Amber..." "A woman like her does not get to raise my grandchild," Jill more or less informed the room in general. "Oh my god," Cane grabbed his keys off the buffet behind. "I"ve got to go," he picked up the basket Esther had lovingly prepared for Amber and leaned to down to kiss his grandmother"s cheek. "If you hear from Amber or about..." "I will call you," Kay assured him with concern clearly written in her eyes. "Go take care of this because it becomes worse. Tell her that I"m here if and when she needs me." "Thank you grandmother," he rushed toward the door. "Mother, we"ll talk later." "Where are you going?!?" Jill called after him in anger. "Please tell me you are not..." "I"m going to do damage control," Cane informed her as he rushed out. This was going to require a face-to-face; god knows what kind of harm his mother has inflicted on Amber already. And the doctor had said no stress... "If anything happens to Amber and the baby..." Esther hurried after him. "You forgot the juice and milk!" -&-&-&- Adam walked in, arm loaded with what he cleaned out at the bakery, and found Amber"s desk empty. Glancing at the gilded, geometrically funky clock on the wall, he was puzzled. It was almost ten o"clock now and Amber should have been stationed at her desk. Unless she was puking her guts out in the bathroom, in which case she gets none of the half dozen donuts he brought.

The battle was ahead and I can only hope the maneuvering of the last two days would pay off. I may have always stayed within the shadow of my late husband, but as the alpha female of the clan, I"m not without some influences. Tonight, I"m about to put my power to the test. Willard, wherever you are, I pray that you will give me the strength to save our family. TBC... The Normal Life By Didi Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of. Timeline: Hum...this is a toughie. Okay, Eyes was written after the cancellation of Wolf Lake from CBS. I had assumed that it was never coming back again so I can do whatever I wanted with the story without interfering with the show"s canon. Note: For those of you that read my first Wolf Lake fan fic, this story will follow a similar but slightly altered format, you"re get it when you read it. And for those of you that have not read my first, it"s pretty easy to pick up once you start. Acknowledgement: Hooray for the return of Wolf Lake!!! Thank you UPN for your wonderful taste in programming. And thanks to everyone that read my first Wolf Lake fan fiction. I hope you all like this one too. ~~~~~~~~~~ -Sophia"s POV- The helmet was a little small but I wasn"t complaining. The wind against my face as the motorcycle roared through town did much to calm my nerves. I was scared; there was no denying that. I was more than scared; I was terrified. Forget the fact that my father and quasi-boyfriend may be walking into their deaths tonight, forget the fact that half this town will be at war by midnight depending on who the next Alpha is, we can even forget the fact that I"m sitting on a bike going eighty miles per hour around a bend that could kill me.... You know what"s got me worried the most? Me. The night no longer seemed like night anymore. You know how when you go to the movies, the scenes nighttimes scenes were always just clean enough for you to see everything that"s going on, like the killer coming up behind the helplessly pathetic heroine that can"t hear a mac track coming up from down the street with is horns blazing. Well, take that scene, put a big old spotlight on it and you might be close to what I"m seeing now. Luke was right. Everything is so much more intense when you"re on the brink. The night was sharp with images and sounds. The cold was filled with fragrances that were indescribable. It was like the air was alive. "You all right, back there?" Kanin asked over his shoulder as he raced down the road. There was something about the way he drove that made me just a tad bit nervous. Maybe it had something to do with the intensity in which was doing everything at the moment. "Just peachy," I yelled back against the wind. "You think you might want to slow down to mach 3 or something? I think we just passed a concord." He turned his head to look at me, which only made me more nervous. "EYES ON THE ROAD! EYES ON THE ROAD!" He grinned and gunned the engine of his bike, lifting the vehicle onto its hind wheels. I think I screamed but I can"t be sure of that. The thrill and chill of the moment blanked out my mind. For that half a minute where I thought I was flying; I forgot all my troubles. It was the first time in several days now where I was not occupied with thoughts of doom, gloom and death. Holding on tight, I let Kanin race down the highway at top speed. When we arrived at his little cabin out in the middle of nowhere, he grinned and pulled off his helmet. "Not the greatest hiding place, but I honestly don"t know where else to go this time of night that isn"t going to make us stick out like a sore." "It"s fine," I walked up the door, touching the small handgun in my jacket pocket. There was a strong scent of pine, oak and man. Kanin really made this place his in such a short time. "I don"t think anyone would be looking for me here." He unlocked the door and stepped in first. For a second, I thought it was rather ungentlemanly of him to do so, but then I realized he was checking to make sure it was safe. I had forgotten for a moment that he was a cop. Manner or not, his first priority was to secure the premises. Dad use to do that when I was a kid, check everything first. "So," he shut the door and dropped his keys on a hook. "Think it"ll be safe for us to turn on a light?" "Do we have to?" I asked, moving slowly into the living room. It was dark, with only the full moon peeking though the curtains to illuminate the place. "I think it may be better if we leave them off." "Am I allowed to ask what the big secret it?" Kanin murmured as he moved about with ease, picking up mugs and soda from the cabinets. "Or is this another something that you"re not going to tell me?" "You"re going to learn everything soon enough," I asked, thanking him with a nod for the carbonated beverage. "But I think it would be better if Ruby be the one to..." I jumped as something crashed and rolled. Kanin"s turned his head, eyes reflecting the moonlight giving them almost a golden glow, and listened to the sounds of the night that once again dropped over the place. "Raccoon or something, tipped over a trash can. Probably looking for food. " I nodded in agreement, catching the sound of small-clawed feet on foil. "Sounds like they found something." "Yeah," he grinned, turning toward the room at the back of the house. "I"m going to get the better hardware. Stay here and don"t go near the windows." He walked away without any trouble in the darkness. As I continued to listen to the sound of the annoying animal searching through trash, it hit me. Kanin"s cabin was a good half a block from the end of the town, just on the out skirt of the woods. His nearest neighbor, if I remembered correctly, was a good ten-minute walk from here. Yet he heard and knew that an animal had knocked over trash and was searching through them. Now, normally, I would chalk it up to good guessing or even good detective work considering what he does for a living. But this would be the second them he"s exhibited traits that were... hum... how should I put this? Traits that were too much like "them.' Maybe being around the others was somehow effecting him, but that would just be a really lame theory and totally beneath me. But how can I even begin to explain this? Not sure and definitely wanting to know, I whispered as quietly as I could, "Kanin?" "What?" came the reply from the back. I swallowed hard. He should not have been able to hear that. There was no way he could have... "Sophia?" "Yeah?" I answered, eyes on the doorway. "You called me, what did you need," he asked as he came out again with a fully loaded shotgun in one hand and rather interesting looking handgun in the other. "Don"t worry, the safety is on." "That"s good to hear," not sure what else to say. "You okay?" he asked, eyeing me cautiously. "You"re acting kind of weird suddenly. "Really?" I wanted to swallow my tongue and asked all sorts of questions but nothing came. This made no sense to me. No one outside the pack could possibly have that ability to...to... be so animal like. Yet... "I can"t imagine why?" Am I scared now? Oh yeah. God, I wish Luke was here. TBC... -Luke"s POV- The Normal Life By Didi Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of. Timeline: This story picks up some where after the first five episode on the show. Note: For those of you that read my first Wolf Lake fan fic, this story will follow a similar but slightly altered format, you"re get it when you read it. And for those of you that have not read my first, it"s pretty easy to pick up once you start. ~~~~~~~~~~ I wish Sophia were here. Just having her around would make this a whole lot easier to bear. She could always seem to make things better just by being. It was strange how I"ve come to need that in the past few days. They say that death changes you, they weren"t kidding. Poor Sophia, look at all the trouble I have caused in your life. I really do have to wonder why I was so stupid to have placed her in harms way like this. Of course, as long as she doesn"t flip, she"s still got a chance to making through this with all her limbs attached. Then again, Ruby did just marry a human. Man, that is just like a trip and a half. I part of me is still shocked that Ruby went through with it. Don"t get me wrong; I don"t doubt her love for Kanin. But the kind of risk she"s taking to be with this guy.... I wonder if I can be that strong. "Don"t slouch, Lucas." My mother was frowning at me with displeasure. That"s nothing new. But there was something glowing in her eyes tonight. Just because I"m the Alpha"s kid, they think I don"t know what they say about my mom behind my back. Ice Queen, that"s what they call her when they think I"m not listening. I can see the absolute fear in her eyes, fear for me. Yeah, I know she loves me, every kid knows that their parents love them, but you really don"t "know" until you look in their eyes and see that they are willing to do anything, and I do mean "anything,' to protect you. "This is not the time fo ryou to show that you are a mere boy." Normally, I would probably have a snappy comeback. But tonight, with her eyes dark shielded from everyone but me, I couldn"t. "Yes, Madam." "And don"t let them rattle," she advised her, head high, eyes straight ahead. "Never let the enemy know you are afraid." "Are you?" I had to ask. "Never more so than now," she murmured before touching my arm. "Luke, if this doesn"t work, I want you to run." "What?" that certainly startled me. Running had never been an option before. No one leaves Wolf Lake, no one. "You wouldn"t be the first," she smiled ironically. "And I"m sure you won"t be the last either, no matter what the others tell you. You and Ruby get out if this fails, you understand me? Don"t look back, just run." "What about you, Mom?" "Don"t worry about me, just run." She turned and walked away, playing nice with the salivating dogs that hunt the banquet hall tonight. I stood there unable to move. It wasn"t what she said or the way she said, so causal and unconcerned; it was what she didn"t say that bothered me. She didn"t say a damn thing. Without being a mind reader, I knew that my mom would do anything to let me escape. What that would entail is anyone"s guess. "If one more guy tries to pretend that they"re not interested in an alliance, I think I"ll hurl," Ruby picked up the champagne and down it with a tip of her hand. "I want to go home." "Me too," I answered, picking up the bottle to refill her glass. "How are you holding up?" "Better than you, I"m guessing." She grinned at me. "Anyone guessed yet?" "No," she rolled her big gray eyes and laughed, almost cruelly. "Everyone has been painfully successful in avoiding the subject of my wedding ring. They just don"t want to see it." "Isn"t that a good thing at the moment?" I asked, hoping that she understood my delight in that no one has yet to figure things out completely. They"re probably all wondering which of the contenders managed to snag themselves the white wolf while the others weren"t looking. "For the moment," she conceded and looked around. "Luke?" "Yeah?" watching Tyler Creed make friendly with his opponent. Man, I could almost see their thoughts of tearing each other"s throats out. "Ruby?" She was watching group of Creed"s groupies by the doors. "If this goes south on us, you get to John and Sophia and get the hell out of town." Okay, why is it that both women in my family feel the need to protect me? With dad gone, aren"t I the man of the house? "I"m not leaving you and Mom here while I turn tail and hide." "I"m not asking you to," she turned to me, her eyes filled with knowledge. "I"m asking you to get my husband and your girlfriend out of town before someone decides to do them in. I do not want John used as a weapon against me when the fighting starts." It was logical; Ruby loves John Kanin more than anything else in this world. "And what will happen to you and Mom?" "V and I know what needs to be done here." She sled her eyes toward me and nodded her head toward Donner. "The Sheriff knows that if anything happens to him, you"d take care of Sophia." "Does he?" I almost laugh at that. The ironies of life never cease to amaze me. "A month ago he couldn"t wait to lock his fair daughter away in a tower, as far from me as he could." She grinned and raised her glass at me. "Desperate times call for desperate measures." "Thanks a lot," I"m glad to see she could at least retain some of her sense of humor, even though the others were just dying to break us. "Hey, you"re looking at the girl that almost married Tyler Creed to protect the man she loves. If that"s not desperation, I don"t know what is." I had to grant her that. The wolves were dressed in some pretty fancy sheepskin tonight. Everyone was out in his or her finest, each hoping to catch the glory of what is to come. The women were cooing and mewing, hoping to keep their stations in life comfortable and well connected. The men were busy allying themselves to those they think will be coming into power now that my father was gone. And for those few individuals that have chances of becoming the next leader of the pack, they were here to pull the votes. Yes, you heard right, Donner and Blackstone"s idea. We"re going to be civilized this time around and choose the democratic way. There were plenty of grumbling over it but hey, everyone figures that we could always go back to battle to the death ways if this doesn"t work out. Too many eyes on me, makes me want to throw my head back and howl before running out of here. But no, I"m needed here tonight, among my enemies, any one of whom could have killed my father. Wish Sophia was here. At least then, I wouldn"t feel so alone. "Settle down, people. Settle down!" Blackstone is going to play the mediator tonight. Being the Keeper, he is considered neutral. I have to wonder about that though. He seems pretty chummy with the sheriff. Some would say too friendly, may sway the votes. But then, since this would definitely work to our advantage, I"m certainly not going to say anything. "Sit by me, Luke," Ruby pulled the chair out and folded herself into the seat, ignoring the stares she was receiving. This is the first pack meeting she"s been to in over three years now, and now at the eve of the most important meeting this century, she shows up in full regalia. The sight of her probably gave many of the women pause. I pulled a chair out for my mom first - I was raised to be a gentleman - and then took a seat between the two women in my life that would do anything for me. They were going to play tonight and I was going to be the reason why. And as much as I wish Sophia were here, where I can keep an eye on her, I knew that she was safer with Kanin. At least my sister"s human husband can"t do much more than talk her to death. "Okay people," Blackstone looked astonishingly calm for a man that was about to conduct the biggest game of his life. "Let"s get this show on the road. We"re all here for a purpose, so lets hop to it so I can go home and jump in the Jacuzzi." He rubbed his hands together, gleefully. "Okay, the floor is open for nominations. And remember, seconds are needed for a nominee to make it to the ballot box." "I nominate, Tyler Creed," Matthew Juscur yelled out loud, his eyes bright on the verge of a change. He was going to the edge with excitement making me wonder what drugs he was on. Ruby rolled her eyed discreetly. "Like that"s a big surprise." "I second it," Franklin Curser murmured. He looked none too happy. "Okay now," Mr. Blackstone was grinning ear to year, no doubt from some private joke only he knows. The man has so many secrets. The Keeper isn"t just the Keeper of the Lore, but of all the secrets that have threaded through this pack for centuries now. I wondered what he knew about me. "Mr. Tyler Creed is on the ballot. Anyone else?" And the nomination began in earnest with every which person pulling their connections. As it commotion continued, I watched Donner. The man looked darkly disappointed as each name was added to the growing list of candidates. He knew as well, if not better, than anyone else in the room what is going to happen if any of these bozos end up as Alpha of the clan. If they didn"t drive the whole pack into hiding with their pointless games, they were going to ruin us by going to war with other packs for territory rights. My dad had ways been careful to balance the growth of the pack with the safety of it. Donner"s got another point he"s got to be careful of, his daughter. Any one of these guys would do Sophia in at first chance. I can only imagine what was going through his mind. "Okay, okay..." Where Mr. Blackstone for the gavel from is anyone"s guess. But he was currently pounding the things hard on the podium. "Settle down, settle down. You all the nice list of names up here. So now, I"m going to ask if there is any last minute entry that needs to come in before I close the floor for nominations." Was it me or did he look pointedly at my mother? "Going once, going twice..." "I have a nomination," my mother finally piped up, calm as cucumber. I glanced at my sister, she didn"t look even the least bit worried, as if she expected my mother to pull this on the last possible minute. And maybe she did. "I think your boy is a little too young for this," Daniel Rainbird laughed, his eyes on me. There was nothing amusing about the way he was daring me to react. I merely smiled at him. My mother, cold bitch that they call her, turned her eyes toward the man in that glacier manner she employed when annoyed. She dismissed him without a slight tilt of her chin. "I nominate Matthew Donner." The collective gasp was followed by the utter silence. I don"t think anyone was quite a shocked at Sheriff Donner. With his not having flipped in over sixteen years, no one expected him to run. Ruby smiled, I think she secretly enjoyed the reaction, even if her future with Kanin wasn"t depending on it. "I second the nomination." The White Wolf has shown her hand and picked a side. Now let the chips fall where they may. The show was just getting started. TBC.... ~~~~~~~~~~ Is any one buying this story or is it so far out there that you are just all laughing your ass off? The Normal Life By Didi Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of. Timeline: Hum...this is a toughie. Okay, Eyes was written after the cancellation of Wolf Lake from CBS. I had assumed that it was never coming back again so I can do whatever I wanted with the story without interfering with the show"s canon. Note: For those of you that read my first Wolf Lake fan fic, this story will follow a similar but slightly altered format, you"re get it when you read it. And for those of you that have not read my first, it"s pretty easy to pick up once you start. ~~~~~~~~~~ -Vivian"s POV- The look on Matt"s face was priceless. I could have laughed if the situation weren"t so serious. I knew that shock of the nomination would cause a stir, one that I was more than prepared to handle, but when Ruby voiced her support, that"s when the fur started to fly. I never liked Gerald Carter much and I like him even less now. "This is insanity! He cannot be Alpha!" "And why is that?" Joshua Harned was one of the few people in town that I know of that has forever been loyal to Matthew. May have something to do with the fact that Matt saved his life back during the uproar after Willard"s father passed away. Matt, though not a contender, had been one of the few that tried to keep the peace then. "He"s still part of the pack." Carter sneered. "He hasn"t been part of this pack since he married that..." "Watch it!" Matt"s eyes warned him. Everyone knew where that sore point was and no one has ever touched on it before. It was moments like this that Matt showed his true potential. Even Carter knew better and kept his mouth shut. Unfortunately, Tyler Creed did not have the wisdom of the old and his eager, smart-mouth spouted off. "For the sake of argument and making this brief, let"s just say that he is as part of the pack as the rest of us here are, he"s far too advance to lead the pack now." All the planning and manipulations of strings and loyalties in the past two days was coming to head now. "He has the wisdom that comes from having been in the pack, seeing the workings here, and living through some of the more trying times. That comes from experience. You? You"re just a puppy. You won"t know good leadership if it came up and bit you on the tail." Mac Kensen didn"t want to lead, he just wanted a quiet life with his wife and six kids, and he knew which horse to back for that. Tyler didn"t leap, his best pal Kris did. Donner caught the boy at mid-leap and mid-transformation by the scuff of his neck, as everyone jumped to their feet, and flung him into the corner of the room. Turning about, he faced a dozen people in mid-transformation. "There will be no fighting here tonight."

"It was from JT"s mother," Victoria replied as she gave Sabrina a quizzical look. "What?" Sabrina blinked out of her stupor. "I didn"t realize that Victor had told you about the baby already." Her smooth brows winkled slightly in upset. She looked distressed by this news. "I assumed that we"d be making the announcement together." "Baby?" Nick asked, his eyes wide with surprise. He was a little quicker on the uptake as Adam and Victoria both exchanged confused glances. Seems that his mother hadn"t let the cat out of the bag yet; though this piece of news was just as staggering. "Are you... are you pregnant, Sabrina?" She looked around surprised, noting the shock on their collective shock. "Isn"t that why Adam is practicing changing diapers?" Adam was the verge of denying it when Victoria interrupted with a startled, "You"re pregnant?" She blinked as if trying to comprehend the news. "You and dad are having a baby?" Horrified that she had made the mistake she had only been mentally accusing her beloved of, Sabrina gave them an apologetic smile. "I... I assumed that you..." she sighed and gave up trying to make excuses for herself. "Yes, we"re expecting a baby." Letting out a disbelieving sigh, Victoria could do nothing but sit down quickly to absorb the impact of the news. She was still desperately trying to reconcile her father"s relationship with her former best friend. And now... now this. She wasn"t sure how much more she was going to be able to take. For his part, Adam was actually kind of glad for the news. This might mean that Victor would be a little more receptive to his own addition to the family. But one look at Victoria made him realize that responding in like would be a bad, bad idea. And right now, he was going to stand by the sister that"s been standing by him. Changing Reed quickly and with an appallingly efficient manner, he picked up his nephew and patted the kid affectionately on the back. "Vickie, I think Reed is getting tired. Maybe you should take him back to the cottage." While she appreciated his efforts, Victoria couldn"t bring herself to move yet. She was trying her best to simply not react. "Well hello," Victor greeted as he came into the room, all smiles and happiness. "I"m glad you can all make it this meeting." "I didn"t realize that we had a choice," Adam quipped with an actual sincere smile as he sat down next to Victoria, young Reed resting comfortably in his arms. "So Victor..." he gave Sabrina quick shrugging look. "I told them already," Sabrina confessed guiltily. She gave her beloved an apology with her eyes alone. "I made a mistake and thought that..." she paused and frowned a little. "What were you guys talking about earlier?" "Babysitting," Nick interjected with a slightly forced smile as he stepped up behind Victoria and Adam. "We were just talking about Adam taking up some babysitting duties with Reed and Summer." "But you have nannies," Sabina pointed out curiously. "Not all the time," Victoria answered, pulling herself together. "Like tonight. This was an unexpected call." "I"m sorry, sweetheart," Victor said as he leaned in and chucked little Reed under the chin. "We simply wanted to tell the family together. It"s a happy surprised for everyone." "Oh it"s a surprise alright," Adam grinned and looked at Nick. His brother shrugged easily. At least it wasn"t what they were expecting. "Are you sure?" "Yes. I"m sure." Liam sighed with resignation. He did try his best but CJ Garrison turned out to be someone with ambition and determination. He wasn"t done with New York yet. "I"m sorry that you will not be joining us. And the offer remains on the table. If you should change your mind..." "I have your card," CJ replied offering his hand. "Thank you for a lovely time." "Yes, yes," Amber added with a grin. "Thanks for show us around New York. And paying for everything." "It was a pleasure," Liam answered honestly. It was true. He hadn"t seen New York through fresh eyes in a long time; Amber"s undisguised enjoyment of the big apple had been a delight to behold. "And CJ, if you do change your mind, I"d advise you to call my boss. I"m leaving the company next week." "You are?" surprised given that Liam has just spend the entire day giving him a glowing review of Nine by Dolly. "Any particular reason?" "Family," Liam replied with a reluctant smile. "My brother kind of summoned me back home. Something to do with the family business. Can"t really say no to that." CJ nodded in perfect understanding. "I hear you." "It really was a pleasure though meeting both of you," Liam added with a sincere smile and offered his hand to Amber again. Baby or not, she was the most interesting girl he has met in a long time. "If either of you are in Genoa City in the future, please feel free to look me up. I would love to show you my hometown. Promise you a good time." Amber went still, her smile slipping from her lips and the color leeched from her face. Concerned, "What"s wrong?" Liam peered at her face. "Are you all right?" Withdrawing her hand, she stared at him. "Genoa City? You"re from Genoa City?" Frowning as the name rung in his head, CJ frowned. "Genoa City. Amber, isn"t that where you"re at right now?" To be continued... Having fun with this story right now. Probably will keep it going for a while. Reviews help me to write so don"t hesitate... Best of YouBy Didi Timeline: Nowhere in this universe. Start reading for the beginning if you want to know. Summery: Cane and Adam states their positions, Nikki confesses to Katherine, Victoria shares her suspicions with Nick and Liam prepares to go home. Author"s Note: I can honestly say that I hate the Lily/Cane pair up. There something inherently wrong about that particular match. I just don"t see the chemistry between the two actors and it annoys me every time I see them on the scene, so I just skip them. (Thank you TiVo.) It"s really too bad because I actually really like the actor that plays Cane. Um... Beastmaster... Chapter 12 "Here, drink this. The apartment is a little on the chilly side." "Chilly? It"s freezing in here. What is up with your A/C?" Amber reached for the steaming glass cup then made a face. "What is it? It smells terrible." CJ blinked. "It"s hot cider." He sniffed it delicately. She gave him a look as if he was crazy. She"s from the desert though she"s learned to live with the snow. "Fine," CJ took the glass back with a put upon sigh and headed back into the kitchen. "I don"t have any marshmallows though." "How"d you know I was going to ask for hot chocolate?" "What else would you be asking for? It"s not like you can drink coffee right now." "Rub it in why don"t you?" she groused then groaned. "What"s wrong?" he called through the open door as he put milk into the microwave. "Feet hurt. I think I walked just a little too much today." "Why didn"t you say something earlier?" CJ admonished as he came back with hot chocolate for her. "We could have taken a taxi back." "Nay," she waved off his over-protective concerns. "Why waste the money?" "I have more than enough," CJ reminded her as he picked up her feet and gently rubbed them between his hands, her toes were like little ice cubes. "How are you really feeling?" "Tired," she admitted with a sigh. "You look it," he told her not unkindly. Scrubbed clean of makeup, Amber appeared pale and frail, delicate enough to break though CJ knew she was tougher than anything when push came to shove. The years that have separated them really didn"t change either of them much, maybe a little more grownup from experience but over all, they were still the same two people that had once shared a friendship that was important to both of them. "So, you want to talk about the whole pregnancy thing?" "Nope," she shook her head. It was the one thing she didn"t want to deal with tonight: her current condition. "Is he rich?" unheeding of her response. "Nope," she answered and continued to sip her drink. "Are you in love?" "Nope," she briefly wondered when he was going to give it up but remember just now tenacious CJ could be. "Are you getting ready to be in love?" "Nope." "Amber..." "There"s no dad, CJ," she told him very firmly with only a hint of regret for her child. "There isn"t going to be a dad this time. This one is all me," she said, a little sadly but still resolved. "But don"t worry. I"m going to be okay." CJ eyed her carefully, seeing the truth in her eyes. Amber wasn"t hard to figure out once you knew her. "Do you know who the father is?" "No," but she hesitated. "Honestly?" She hesitated again. "I"m not sure." "But you have an idea." Amber laughed rather pathetically. "I don"t sleep around constantly, CJ. I"ll admit to being a little promiscuous in the past but I.... well, I..." she rolled her eyes. "What the hell am I saying?" "I don"t know," CJ smiled and continued to rub her feet. "But I"m curious as to see what"s going to happen next." "Don"t worry," she assured him. "Everything is be fine. You"ll see." Somehow, CJ doubted it... though he was certain that Amber would make a go of it on her own, come what may. Cane frown at the door then pressed the bell again. He was sure that Amber would be home by now given the time. He checked Indigo to make sure she wasn"t working tonight - she wasn"t - and then the magazine to see if they were doing weekend work for some reason - they weren"t. And he even forced himself to put up with Kevin"s censuring glare and popped into Crimson but Amber was nowhere to be found. In fact, he hadn"t been able to reach her for two days now, despite multiple attempts through landlines and cell phone calls. And while he expected that she would be wary of him given his reaction the last time he saw her, he hadn"t expected her to completely ignore him. It was extremely unnerving. "What are you doing here?" Adam asked as he stopped six feet short of the slightly agitated Cane Ashby - not the person he expected or wanted to see. Glancing over and definitely not liking what he saw, Cane merely raised a brow and returned the question, "May I ask the same thing?" "I think it should be obviously: I"m here to see Amber." Adam had not been expecting the Chancellor heir to be here and was not sure he liked that the man was visiting Amber. It didn"t bode well for him. But since he was standing outside and not inside... "And you are here because...?" "Why would I have any other reason to be here?" Cane asked curiously, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. He wanted some alone time with Amber to discuss things. And he had a nasty suspicion that Adam Wilson wasn"t going to allow that... not that the man had any say in it, of course. Adam made a face and held onto his patience. He had spend a good deal of yesterday dealing with an upset Victoria and trying to stay neutral in the ongoing war between father and sister while trying to avoid butting heads with their father. The fact that Nikki hadn"t spilled the beans about Amber had been a miracle itself but now he was dealing with the anxiety of waiting for Nikki to drop the bomb on him. On top of that, Amber hasn"t return any of the half dozen messages he had left on her cell phone and machine at the apartment. He didn"t like not knowing where she was, what she was doing or if she was okay. After a long and dreadful moment of uncomfortable silence where both men appeared to be waiting for the other to go, Cane finally broke the tension with an even more awkward comment of, "I hear that you"re claiming to be the father of Amber"s baby." "Arrogant bastard," Adam smiled nicely and shook his head. "I think you"re under a misconception." "I am?" surprised and somewhat relieved by the news. Despite the support of his grandmother, he wasn"t exactly looking forward to the fight with the Newmans - and he had no illusions about the fact that there would be a rather nasty fight to the bitter end with Amber and the baby caught in the middle. And stress was suppose to be bad for pregnancies... at least that"s what all the books said. "Yes you are." Adam nodded helpfully and smiled wide with innocence. "I"m not claiming to be the father; I am the father." That statement brought a scowl to Cane"s face. He did not like that clarification at all. "Amber told you that you"re the father," just so they were clear on the subject. "I know that I"m the father," Adam answered cheerfully. Family was what you make of it, Nick had proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt. And he wanted the family that he and Amber can make for the child she"s carrying, biology or not. That was the end of it. "Any chance you might want to butt out of our affair." "Affair," Cane repeated just a little meanly. "Is that was that was?" Adam didn"t feel the need to dignify that with a response. "What do you want Ashby? "First, I want to talk to Amber." "Well she"s not here," he lied. Well, he actually wasn"t sure if it was a lie or not. "You can come back another time... when we"re around." "We?" making a face. "You moved in or something." That would definitely complicate things for him. "I"m just making sure that Amber has whatever it is she needs to keep her and the baby healthy." "Why? What"s wrong with the baby?" "Nothing," Adam frowned. "Look, whatever it is you need to say to Amber can be said to me." Cane smirked. "I don"t think so." "Really?" Adam crossed his arms and waited the guy out. There was no way he was leaving Amber here alone with her ex-husband. "Why is that?" "That"s between me and my wife." "Ex-wife," Adam snapped. "Ex-wife," Cane corrected in agreement though he hated having to. Wilson was obviously staking his claim here. "So if you don"t mind..." "But I do," was the only response given. Cane fought the urge to plant his fist into Adam Wilson"s face. "That certainly isn"t going to help." From what he was being told, Amber and Adam were trying to pass off his child as a Newman. And given his history with Amber, Cane could almost understand why Amber would prefer to do so than come to him with the truth. She was probably afraid he would deny it and think the worst; and so far he hasn"t really proven her wrong yet. "Boy, you really do know how to screw it up don"t you, mate?" But that didn"t change the fact that Cane wants to be a part of his child"s life. That means that he"s got to get to the truth first, and from the horse"s mouth. Sighing, "Looks, whatever it is that you and Amber are playing at, it"s going to stop." "Playing at?" Adam parroted in disbelief. "You really are so full of yourself aren"t you?" He shook his head and wished this conversation to be over so he could ask Amber a few pointed questions about her ex. Now would be a good time to tell her that he plans on making a life with her. "You think that just because you have a history with Amber that you get to dictate her life?" "I don"t, nor do I intend to either." Cane replied calmly. "But I do get a say in my child"s life." There, he said it. "Excuse me?" Adam was certain that he heard wrong. He had to have heard it wrong; because if he didn"t... "Not good, not good at all." "The baby is mine," Cane stated very simply, "and I"m going to make sure that Amber knows that I will not let another man raise my child; not you, not anyone." Katherine touched the soft cotton with great satisfaction. "This will do nicely, don"t you think?" "I think Mrs. Abbot is going to have kittens when she sees what you did with her son"s room, that"s what I think," Esther replied with a grin as she touched the bedding Mrs. Chancellor had picked out. "Oh, this is nice." "Billy hasn"t been in town for three years now. I don"t think he"d mind if we made some changes. Besides which, if I recall correctly, he said he never wanted to live under the same roof as his mother... ever again." Katherine picked up another blanket and pondered at it for a moment. "Do you think two blankets for Amber"s room is enough or should we go for three? I don"t want to child to be cold." "I can put in a space heater in the room," Esther replied helpfully. "That"s a wonderful idea, Esther," Katherine nodded her approval and moved onto the next section of the department store. "Make sure we have fresh towels for the bath and buy a nice warm robe for her as well. I know that Amber likes the thick kind, the ones you can get at the hotels. And slippers, make sure she has slippers too." "Of course," Esther nodded and made a note for herself. "Katherine?" Nikki Newman"s voice was clear as a bell as she called to her old friend. "Katherine, how are you?" "Wonderful," Katherine smiled and kissed the air just above Nikki"s cheek. "And how are you my dear? What brings you out of the house on this fine Sunday morning?" Nikki took a breath, "I needed some air." Katherine didn"t miss a beat. Turning to her faithful companion, she sent Esther off to pay for their numerous purchases with a quick telling look. Esther grinned knowingly and scurried away with her arms full and one hand digging into her purse for the plastic. "Now," turning back, "What seems to be the problem?" "I..." Nikki looked decidedly uncomfortable, "I have to tell you something... something a little shocking. Although given that it"s about Amber I guess it shouldn"t come quite as such a surprise." "Amber?" Kay"s brows furrowed together in question. "What about Amber?" The reluctance with which Nikki was showing alarmed Kay. "Nikki, if someone is wrong with Amber or her child, you need to tell me." "Nothing is wrong, nothing that I know of anyways," sorry that she had given Kay the wrong impression. "I just... How much do you really know about Amber and her child." "I know that Amber loves that child and she wants to make a future for that baby." "But at what cost?" Nikki asked quietly. "Whatever it takes," Katherine said assuredly. "Even if it"s lying to the people that are trying to help you?" That came out of the left field. As far as Katherine knew, Nikki doesn"t even know Amber by sight. "What are you getting at Nikki?" And here comes the truth, "Adam says that he is the father of Amber"s child." Katherine gave no reaction to the news. "Adam Wilson told you that." "I overheard it," Nikki confessed. "He referred to Amber"s child as "our baby.' I think that tells me enough." "Adam thinks that the baby is his?" Katherine mused a moment. Now this was news. Amber never actually said anything about who the father was. In fact, she always ran whenever the subject of paternity came up, even from her. Which could only mean that Cane was most certainly the father despite what Adam Wilson believes. "Nikki, I think you need to calm down." "I don"t even know what Victor is going to say when he finds out that his son knocked up Amber Moore." Nikki made the most disagreeable face. "Well, you don"t have to worry about that," Katherine replied serenely, "Because the baby is not Adam"s and not a Newman. He or she is a Chancellor. The baby is Cane"s child so you need not be concern it." Nikki stared at her friend a moment. "How can you be sure?" "Sure?" "How can you be so sure that the baby is Cane"s?" She looked suspicious for a moment. "Did Amber tell you that the baby is a Chancellor?" she certainly won"t put it pass the little trollop. Katherine laughed and waved the idea off. "Oh goodness, no. Amber would be too much in fear of what Jill might do to be so foolish." Um... another reason why Amber would neglect to tell her who the father was - though the girl ought to know by now that Jill was hardly someone she would go blabbing to... that"s to say if she was one of those gossipmongers. In disbelief over just how calmly her friend was taking this, Nikki tried again to explain the gravity of the situation. "Katherine, I think that..." "Don"t worry Nikki, my dear, everything will be fine." She smiled knowingly and nodded her head in assurance. "You"ll see." Katherine was going to make damn sure of it. "He"s gotten so big!" Nick laughed as Reed pulled on his ear, "and grabby like his mom." "Thanks," Vicki replied with a grin as she sat down with her tea and offered Nick coffee. "So what brings you by?" "Our baby brother and his impeding fatherhood," Nick replied easily as he finally settled Reed down on his lap and carefully picked up the mug of java with a quick nod of thanks for his sister. "By the way, are you okay? You looked kind of sick to your stomach the other night. Better now? You don"t have another bun in the oven do you?" "That"s so crude," whacking him in the arm in the most unladylike manner. "And no, I"m not pregnant. Though I wish I hadn"t found out that Sabrina was." "Yeah," Nick made a face, "I told Phyllis last night and she almost lost her dinner on me. How did JT take it?" "About as well as Phyllis did though with less projectile vomiting. Can"t say that I blame Phyllis one bit since I felt the exact same way." "Well look at that: you and Phyllis in agreement. Will wonders ever cease?" Nick laughed charmingly and bounced his nephew on his knees. "Oh shut up," she hit him again, lighter this time. She didn"t want to think about her father and Sabrina and anything else that had to do with that sickening relationship. It made her ill to think about it. "So what did you want to say about Adam and the baby?"

Mr. Blackstone was completely stoic. Ruby sat forward. "Sheriff..." "I knew what taking the role meant and I know that I have to do to insure that this pack survives to see the next millennium. John, Ruby, I trust in your sense of honor and justice. I trust you to do the right for this pack. And in that spirit, I resign my position as Alpha." "You can"t!" My mother snapped, her fury almost tangible. "No one gets to just quit." "Well, I just did," Donner said simply and got up. "Oh no, you can"t!" Kanin said following suit. "You are so not going to be laying this one on me. I didn"t ask for this!" "No one asks to be Alpha," Donner replied dryly. Honestly, the guy looked almost exasperated. "I think that last night"s fighting would disagree with you," came the comeback. The man did have a point. "Sheriff, please..." Ruby"s hand was knuckle white against Kanin"s arm. "We came here to..." "We all know what"s going to happen out there," Donner pointed to the window. We all felt it, the constant presence of our brothers and sisters of the night. They were sitting out there; waiting for the next step, for the first move... whatever that may be. "You really think that just before he wasn"t born one of us that they aren"t going to follow him? He"s a Diamond Black, accounted to be "the" strongest of us. And he"s proven it. On the bonus side, he"s married to you, a white. You honestly think I"m not wise enough to know when I"ve got a fight on my hands? The best thing for me to do, the one thing that I can do to keep the blood from spilling, is to step down." "And what would that prove?" Mom isn"t done getting her say in here. "That you"re a wiser, stronger, more dedicated leader of this pack than any we"ve seen in centuries? That you"re still the best man for the job, Diamond Black or no? You think your people are just going to roll over and follow someone else? An outsider?" "They"ll do what I tell them to." And he was dead serious too. Ruby"s eyes glowed fiery hot. "John is not an outsider!" "Sure I am," Kanin came back with. "I"m not going to deny that." "No you"re not. You became family, part of the pack when you married me and flipped." Ruby turned those eyes to Donner. "John and I have had a chance to talk while we were dressing for this meeting. We"re here to advise you of our plans." "Whatever plans you may have, cancel them," Donner replied in the most authoritative tone I"ve seen. If he wasn"t going to be Alpha any more, he"d better learn to curb that. But then again, he"s lived in this town for so long under another Alpha in that manner that there probably isn"t any reason he has to. "We have to protect the pack, no matter what. Personal wants and desires no longer have any place here." "No," Ruby shook her head, hair wild mane of hair flying as her fury and fear began the change without her meaning to. Or at least, I think she doesn"t mean to. "John and I just want a normal life without any of the..." "Tough," Donner spat back out at them. "Get use to the fact that you"re in leadership position, whether you are Alpha, Alpha"s mate or not. You were born into it Ruby and we both know it well. So suck it up and let"s get on with this. We make the announcement now and maybe prevent any more of our own from killing each other before the night is through" The clapping was so out of place that it was thunderous. Everyone turned to stare at the lone figure across the room. Sherman Blackstone sat there, in a chair by the fire, his dark eyes like the night, twinkled with amusement and annoyance. It was weird, for someone so important and so... there, everyone seemed to have forgotten his very presence for a moment there. "Very prettily said, Matt. Really, that was a great speech, noble sentiments. And Ruby... what can I say." He sighed and pinned the lot of us with eyes that were all seeing then shook his head. "You"re all idiots." Donner frowned at him as Kanin made unrecognizable noises with his throat. My mom and sister exchange glances of puzzlement and surprise as Sophia attempted to gauge holes in the palm of my hand. Me, I couldn"t even begin to comprehend what was going on. This was way beyond me. ~~~~~~~~~~ TBC... (like the rest of you won"t kill me if I didn"t finish this up like a good little author) Feedbacks are welcome. The Normal Life By Didi Summary: Life is full of changes and a normal life is the least of what you can expect from the citizens of Wolf Lake. Acknowledgement: Okay Sapphire, you were right. (I bow to the master of fan fiction.) I cannot get this thing to end. AHHH... anyone that says that writing an ending is easy is so lying through their teeth. I think I"ve written and rewritten this chapter like eighteen times now and I"m still not completely satisfied with it. So yes, there will be an epilogue to wrap this up. (Hopefully the epilogue will be better than this, but don"t hold your breath.) ~~~~~~~~~~ -Ruby"s POV- "You"re all idiots." I"m not exactly sure who was more stunned, Vivian or Donner? Both of them seemed to have lost all power of speech as they stared at Sherman Blackstone. For the matter, none of us younger generations are doing any better. None of us knew what was going on anymore. "It"s no wonder our ancestors designated a "Keeper" for you all. Left to your own devices, you"d run the packs to the ground." And despite the sheriff"s warning, he poured himself a stiff three finger Brandy. "I mean here we are four centuries after the Great Migration, and we still haven"t learned a damn thing. What the heck have I been teaching all these years? Am I the only person in that classroom day in and day out?" In all the times that I"ve known Mr. Blackstone, from childhood to adulthood, through those hideously long classes he"s mentioning now, I don"t think I"ve ever seen anything but a cheery disposition on his face. Even in the most difficult of times, like when he"s counseling my father on the last rites duties, he still always manages to crack at joke or two. But this, the annoyance mingled with suppressed anger, this was definitely new. And I don"t think I"ve ever been as afraid of him as I am right now. There was something very... frightening about this very serious side of him. I cannot get it out of my mind that this man knows everything, and I do mean everything, there is to know about me and my family, and this pack. What he knows can destroy us. And we all know it. "Ah hell, I should just let you do the stupid and watch the pack go down in flames. No skin off my back." He sat down again and stared moodily at the fire. There was silence with only the crackle of fire to build the tension. John looked at me, unsure as to what to do. I shook my head, I was as lost as he was here. My little brother cracked first. "What the hell are you talking about?" Sophia"s hand immediately went to his arm. "Luke!" "What?" shaking off her restraining hand. Luke"s face probably reflected the same frustration and impatience that I can sense in John. Youth does have some benefits, such as unrestricted capabilities to speak their minds. "It"s not an unreasonable question to ask. We were invited to this meeting for a reason, and he"s the reason. So why shouldn"t I ask what"s going on if this is going to affect me?" "You know," Sherman said, that hint of dry amusement back in his tone. "That"s probably the most sensible thing I"ve heard you say in a long time, young Cates." "Sherman," Donner was back in control now, you could almost see the restraints coming on around his temper. The Alpha was not a happy man. "Why don"t you stop talking in riddles and for once in your life, give me something straight." I wanted to applaud him. Maybe it was time for our Keeper to stop playing games with us. I know I"m not the only one sick of having to dance to his tunes. "That"s not my job," came the almost bored reply. "Not your job to interfere in pack business either but you seem to have no problems doing just that." Sherman tilted his head, almost grinning. "True." "So let"s hear it," Donner pronounced, sitting down once more to regard the older man with patient eyes. Matt Donner is one of the few men I know of that seem to have this endless capacity to for the frustratingly annoying situations. "What do you have in your infinite "wisdom" as the Keeper of our clan that will save us all?" The look of annoyance was back in his eyes. "Didn"t you read any of the stuff I gave you? Cause I sure the hell didn"t make the effort to dig them out for my own health you know." "I said I read them." "And did you learn anything from them besides that fact that the packs had a couple of power-hungry alpha males ruling them at the time?" There was a silence. "I learned that the pack was depleted to less than half their number each time a Diamond Black appeared. Internal wars start with each Beta taking sides, then spreads like wildfire among the clan. It"s civil war, with the winners taking control of the pack. Sometimes it"s the Alpha"s side. Sometimes it"s the Diamond Black"s side. But no one really wins in the end; the rebuilding process takes the next century or two." I felt the bottom of my stomach drop out. I felt more than saw John shook his head in disbelief. "Are you tell me that because I"m me, some idiot out there," pointing toward the dark window, "Is going to try to...to..." he searched for a good description for what may happen. "Try to take my head off and stick it on a pike," Donner supplied in a less than helpful manner. He seemed almost resigned to that fate. "I don"t think so," Sophia muttered darkly. "They"re so going to have to get pass me first." "And to get to you, I"ll have to get through me," Luke announced in an almost ironically cheery manner. "And round and round we go," Blackstone sang. "Where we stop..." "I certainly do know," John said dryly. "Anyone that tries to get to the Sheriff will have to kill me first." "Not a chance in hell." I didn"t even realize that I had said it until everyone turned to me. I could feel the animal inside fighting to get out. There was almost a hot rage in me. "I"ve worked too long and too hard for this to just let it go. There"s another way," I looked pointedly at Blackstone. "There has to be or you won"t be steering up this road." "You always were the smart one," he smiled in that knowing matter that almost seemed to irritate my father. Dad use to say that Sherman knows too much and tells to little, which is perfectly true; but what really irritates my father was that Sherman knew more now that Dad ever well. And being a male, it chafed his ego to no end; even if didn"t consciously acknowledge it. "So why don"t you enlighten us?" V said softly. I looked at her. There was something there, something I hadn"t seen before. Until know, I had assumed that her infatuation of Donner was the reason she had been so against John. But look at her now, at the way her eyes seemed to glow as they watched Blackstone"s every move, it hit me, my dear stepmother was terrified. And I think that scared me more. ~~~~~~~~~~ -Sherman"s POV- If I weren"t so damn annoyed with Donner"s shortsightedness and Kanin"s stubbornness, I"d be laughing my ass off. I was trained, oh way too many years ago, to not say anything to those that I observe. That"s what Keepers do; we keep the history of our people so the next generation can learn from them. But I"ve observed, probably from the onset of things, that the pack don"t learn squat. You know how sometimes you get so frustrated that you just want to beat someone"s head inward with a hammer? Well.... That"s me. Right now. At this very moment. And everyone single one of those guys looks pretty good to be my victim right about now. As brilliant of member as this generation has produced, they are pretty blinded by their own ideas and histories to see beyond their noses. Or maybe it"s all this turbulent emotional crap that the psychologists are always trying to shove down our throats. Whatever it is, it"s just pathetic from where I"m standing. What a pity! My mentor, may the bright lady keep his evil soul, would probably kill me if he knew what I was about to do. Koma always had a rather destructive streak in him that would probably enjoy watching our people tear themselves apart. But if I allow that to happen, I"d be making Koma a really happy dead spirit. The rebellious student in me just can"t quite let that happen. "Okay Kiddies," turning the chair so that I was facing them and throwing myself into the shadows with the fire behind me. It would be better if they couldn"t read me, not that many of them can. Kanin... he was the unknown factor in this. But Kanin can be brought around if I can just grab Ruby on broad, which could be the problem cause she"s young enough to rebel. Matt... he"ll listen to reason if Vivian don"t do something stupid. Luke and Sophia, too young to do anything about it right now but old enough to understand and weigh in. That"s what I"m counting on, the young to sway the older ones. "Let"s go through the last lesson a couple of you are ever going to get from me. Next time, you are on your own." Matt, the poor hapless good guy, sighed. "Sherman, do we really have to play these games?" "I"m the Keeper, indulge me as I have indulged you all for way too long." "I"m gamed since I haven"t ever heard anything before." John Kanin, wiser than I could ever thought possible, sat down again and took his wife"s hand. "Go ahead." The others, reluctant, but helpless to do anything else, followed suit and made themselves comfortable. For better or worse, here we go. "Okay children, who can tell me what"s so special about the White Wolf? And I"m not going to put up with half ass shit like "they"re really pretty" kind of answer." Ruby tiled her head, her gray eyes, inherited from her sweet little Regina, flashed bright for a moment as she poked around the edges of my mind. Oh no, no, little girl; I ain"t the Keeper for nothing. Her face flashed a look of pure apprehension, probably the first time she"s never gotten into someone"s head before; strong little bitch Ruby was. "Father drummed it in my head the minute he saw me after I flipped that Whites only come when the pack needs them the most, during wars, famines, times of great uncertainty. They are guardians, protectors of the clan." "Ten points for Ms. Cates... er... Mrs. Kanin. Now who can tell me what"s so special of Diamond Blacks?" I looked at Kanin, who stared blankly back at me. Damn Richard for staying away. John Kanin should have been raised here; where he belonged, where he could have been better prepared for what"s to come. Luke raised his hand as if he was still in the classroom. It took some doing, but I didn"t laugh at him as I nodded for him to answer. "Diamond Blacks are the most powerful of the males. They say that he usually surpasses the Alpha is destined to ultimately take over a clan." I wiggled a finger at him. "You want to quote me, do it correctly." Those blue eyes narrowed for a moment as he concentrated, I hope he didn"t blow too many brain cells in the exercise. Those brows cleared as he looked up. "Sorry. I meant: he is destined to ultimately lead a clan." "Lead a clan?" Sophia asked, her eyes glazed over with confusion for a moment. Damn Matt for purposely keeping her out of my classes. She should know this stuff much better by now. "He becomes Alpha?" "That"s what the story says," Luke answered her quietly. "It does not," V replied impatiently. "On more than one occasion, the Alpha"s supporters manage to over take the Diamond Blacks and continue to lead as head of the clan. Being a Diamond Black does not guarantee him to be Alpha." Hum... I always thought Vivian was too busy contemplating her next move in her climbing of her social letter to pay attention to history lessons in class. "That"s very true." I nodded my head slowly. "Now what other factors play out in making Diamond Blacks special." I could see Ruby search her memories for those numerous lessons in my class. I taught them, always to give them as much information as I can; those that want more can seek me out, as Ruby has done in the past. "Social change." "Excuse me?" Kanin looked at his wife with curiosity. Ruby"s eyes closed as if trying to see something in her mind"s eye. "Social change. History lessons are usually taught from the social, economic and political point of view. Politically, when a Diamond Blacks roll around, there really aren"t any constant factors; just the usual elders against youth that generally come with revolutions, at least the ones that I vaguely remember." She squinted as if to see words and charts on a blackboard. "Economically, the packs are usually thriving when a black appears. And I mean, they"re living good times when he comes along. No hunger, no famine, not hardships really." "And socially?" Matt asked quietly but his eyes already told me he knew the answer. Matthew Donner didn"t graduate at the top of his class for nothing. He knows what"s coming. "Socially," her face tightened as she remembered a lesson taught. "Socially the pack was becoming stronger. Towns would be literally taken over by the pack, from major to janitor. Humans wouldn"t get the same treatment as pack members; they would become second rate. That"s what usually start the youth in their rebellion." "With a Diamond Black to lead them?" Sophia asked, her eye going from her stoic father to the hesitant Kanin. She couldn"t have been more obviously nervous if she were to start sweating bullets. Poor kid. "That"s usually what happens," Ruby opened her eyes, not meeting Donner"s gaze as her fingers tightened in Kanin"s hand. Ouch, by the look of the white knuckles, I"m surprised Kanin didn"t have any broken bones yet. You could almost see the gears in Kanin"s head turning slowly, putting together the thoughts and ideas as quickly as he could. Quite fascinating to watch really, if it weren"t for the fact that I could almost feel the tension outside rising as members argue over what could be happening inside the house. "I"m not sure what the "rebellion" was all about. But if there were too many people, splitting into two distinct political thoughts, that there are those that are straining at the reins of the old ways, why don"t they just pack up and move." "Because no one just leaves the pack, Mr. Kanin," V was more than a little livid now. Cool as a cucumber she may appear on the outside but damn if she wasn"t ready to sweat blood any minute now. "Why not?" came the expected question. "Survival," Ruby murmured softly. "You have any idea what the world would do to us if they knew? Or if we dilute the blood enough that there is no change? The survival of our people depends on our staying together, as a pack." "Look, I"m not saying that scattering to the four winds would have been the solution to the social problems in the past," Kanin was looking around the room, more than little surprised by the confusion on everyone"s face. The man was smart, I give him that much. But then again, it could be that he didn"t live in this life, learned our ways that gave him the much-needed outside perspective. Light knows I cannot give it to them as bluntly. "But come on, killing each other off cause you don"t agree on certain philosophy of life isn"t exactly the answer either. I mean, even the American Indians knew to let their youth go when the time came." Matt"s whole body seemed to surge upward as he straightened. "Say that again?" The light flickered in his eyes, sending a wave of raw power through the air. I was distracted for a moment by the look of awe on Sophia"s face, then by the sheer rapture on Vivian"s. I swear that woman lives off of power. Luke and Ruby had the same reaction, every muscle on their body tensed in reaction to authority being projected. Too many year with the old man I suppose. Only Kanin seemed unaffected, or at least he barely registered being hit by it. "I mean that even the American Indians knew when to siphon off some of their youth, usually the most rebellious ones that were chafing at the stability of the tribe. Why do you think there were so many tribes?" He looked around at the stunned faces that faced him. "What?" As one, they all turned to me. I think the wholly evil grin on my face was more than enough answer for them as Matt practically collapsed on the coach with a groan. "Kanin, I knew I was going to like you from the first moment I saw you." The end... almost. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Okay, in case you didn"t read the above and is currently cursing at me. I am writing another chapter, an epilogue of a sort to close the big gaps in this story. Yes, I too am not happy with the ending of it. Check back in two weeks, I might have it done by then. The Normal Life By Didi Note: For those of your that has followed this story from the beginning, you know that I"ve always kind of kept these chapters in first person form. But for the epilogue I couldn"t decide which of these fascinating characters I wanted it seen through. So I decided, just for this chapter, to do it in third person form. I hope you enjoy the final chapter to this story.

CJ nodded in perfect understanding. "I hear you." "It really was a pleasure though meeting both of you," Liam added with a sincere smile and offered his hand to Amber again. Baby or not, she was the most interesting girl he has met in a long time. "If either of you are in Genoa City in the future, please feel free to look me up. I would love to show you my hometown. Promise you a good time." Amber went still, her smile slipping from her lips and the color leeched from her face. Concerned, "What"s wrong?" Liam peered at her face. "Are you all right?" Withdrawing her hand, she stared at him. "Genoa City? You"re from Genoa City?" Frowning as the name rung in his head, CJ frowned. "Genoa City. Amber, isn"t that where you"re at right now?" To be continued... Having fun with this story right now. Probably will keep it going for a while. Reviews help me to write so don"t hesitate... Best of YouBy Didi Timeline: Nowhere in this universe. Start reading for the beginning if you want to know. Summery: Cane and Adam states their positions, Nikki confesses to Katherine, Victoria shares her suspicions with Nick and Liam prepares to go home. Author"s Note: I can honestly say that I hate the Lily/Cane pair up. There something inherently wrong about that particular match. I just don"t see the chemistry between the two actors and it annoys me every time I see them on the scene, so I just skip them. (Thank you TiVo.) It"s really too bad because I actually really like the actor that plays Cane. Um... Beastmaster... Chapter 12 "Here, drink this. The apartment is a little on the chilly side." "Chilly? It"s freezing in here. What is up with your A/C?" Amber reached for the steaming glass cup then made a face. "What is it? It smells terrible." CJ blinked. "It"s hot cider." He sniffed it delicately. She gave him a look as if he was crazy. She"s from the desert though she"s learned to live with the snow. "Fine," CJ took the glass back with a put upon sigh and headed back into the kitchen. "I don"t have any marshmallows though." "How"d you know I was going to ask for hot chocolate?" "What else would you be asking for? It"s not like you can drink coffee right now." "Rub it in why don"t you?" she groused then groaned. "What"s wrong?" he called through the open door as he put milk into the microwave. "Feet hurt. I think I walked just a little too much today." "Why didn"t you say something earlier?" CJ admonished as he came back with hot chocolate for her. "We could have taken a taxi back." "Nay," she waved off his over-protective concerns. "Why waste the money?" "I have more than enough," CJ reminded her as he picked up her feet and gently rubbed them between his hands, her toes were like little ice cubes. "How are you really feeling?" "Tired," she admitted with a sigh. "You look it," he told her not unkindly. Scrubbed clean of makeup, Amber appeared pale and frail, delicate enough to break though CJ knew she was tougher than anything when push came to shove. The years that have separated them really didn"t change either of them much, maybe a little more grownup from experience but over all, they were still the same two people that had once shared a friendship that was important to both of them. "So, you want to talk about the whole pregnancy thing?" "Nope," she shook her head. It was the one thing she didn"t want to deal with tonight: her current condition. "Is he rich?" unheeding of her response. "Nope," she answered and continued to sip her drink. "Are you in love?" "Nope," she briefly wondered when he was going to give it up but remember just now tenacious CJ could be. "Are you getting ready to be in love?" "Nope." "Amber..." "There"s no dad, CJ," she told him very firmly with only a hint of regret for her child. "There isn"t going to be a dad this time. This one is all me," she said, a little sadly but still resolved. "But don"t worry. I"m going to be okay." CJ eyed her carefully, seeing the truth in her eyes. Amber wasn"t hard to figure out once you knew her. "Do you know who the father is?" "No," but she hesitated. "Honestly?" She hesitated again. "I"m not sure." "But you have an idea." Amber laughed rather pathetically. "I don"t sleep around constantly, CJ. I"ll admit to being a little promiscuous in the past but I.... well, I..." she rolled her eyes. "What the hell am I saying?" "I don"t know," CJ smiled and continued to rub her feet. "But I"m curious as to see what"s going to happen next." "Don"t worry," she assured him. "Everything is be fine. You"ll see." Somehow, CJ doubted it... though he was certain that Amber would make a go of it on her own, come what may. Cane frown at the door then pressed the bell again. He was sure that Amber would be home by now given the time. He checked Indigo to make sure she wasn"t working tonight - she wasn"t - and then the magazine to see if they were doing weekend work for some reason - they weren"t. And he even forced himself to put up with Kevin"s censuring glare and popped into Crimson but Amber was nowhere to be found. In fact, he hadn"t been able to reach her for two days now, despite multiple attempts through landlines and cell phone calls. And while he expected that she would be wary of him given his reaction the last time he saw her, he hadn"t expected her to completely ignore him. It was extremely unnerving. "What are you doing here?" Adam asked as he stopped six feet short of the slightly agitated Cane Ashby - not the person he expected or wanted to see. Glancing over and definitely not liking what he saw, Cane merely raised a brow and returned the question, "May I ask the same thing?" "I think it should be obviously: I"m here to see Amber." Adam had not been expecting the Chancellor heir to be here and was not sure he liked that the man was visiting Amber. It didn"t bode well for him. But since he was standing outside and not inside... "And you are here because...?" "Why would I have any other reason to be here?" Cane asked curiously, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. He wanted some alone time with Amber to discuss things. And he had a nasty suspicion that Adam Wilson wasn"t going to allow that... not that the man had any say in it, of course. Adam made a face and held onto his patience. He had spend a good deal of yesterday dealing with an upset Victoria and trying to stay neutral in the ongoing war between father and sister while trying to avoid butting heads with their father. The fact that Nikki hadn"t spilled the beans about Amber had been a miracle itself but now he was dealing with the anxiety of waiting for Nikki to drop the bomb on him. On top of that, Amber hasn"t return any of the half dozen messages he had left on her cell phone and machine at the apartment. He didn"t like not knowing where she was, what she was doing or if she was okay. After a long and dreadful moment of uncomfortable silence where both men appeared to be waiting for the other to go, Cane finally broke the tension with an even more awkward comment of, "I hear that you"re claiming to be the father of Amber"s baby." "Arrogant bastard," Adam smiled nicely and shook his head. "I think you"re under a misconception." "I am?" surprised and somewhat relieved by the news. Despite the support of his grandmother, he wasn"t exactly looking forward to the fight with the Newmans - and he had no illusions about the fact that there would be a rather nasty fight to the bitter end with Amber and the baby caught in the middle. And stress was suppose to be bad for pregnancies... at least that"s what all the books said. "Yes you are." Adam nodded helpfully and smiled wide with innocence. "I"m not claiming to be the father; I am the father." That statement brought a scowl to Cane"s face. He did not like that clarification at all. "Amber told you that you"re the father," just so they were clear on the subject. "I know that I"m the father," Adam answered cheerfully. Family was what you make of it, Nick had proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt. And he wanted the family that he and Amber can make for the child she"s carrying, biology or not. That was the end of it. "Any chance you might want to butt out of our affair." "Affair," Cane repeated just a little meanly. "Is that was that was?" Adam didn"t feel the need to dignify that with a response. "What do you want Ashby? "First, I want to talk to Amber." "Well she"s not here," he lied. Well, he actually wasn"t sure if it was a lie or not. "You can come back another time... when we"re around." "We?" making a face. "You moved in or something." That would definitely complicate things for him. "I"m just making sure that Amber has whatever it is she needs to keep her and the baby healthy." "Why? What"s wrong with the baby?" "Nothing," Adam frowned. "Look, whatever it is you need to say to Amber can be said to me." Cane smirked. "I don"t think so." "Really?" Adam crossed his arms and waited the guy out. There was no way he was leaving Amber here alone with her ex-husband. "Why is that?" "That"s between me and my wife." "Ex-wife," Adam snapped. "Ex-wife," Cane corrected in agreement though he hated having to. Wilson was obviously staking his claim here. "So if you don"t mind..." "But I do," was the only response given. Cane fought the urge to plant his fist into Adam Wilson"s face. "That certainly isn"t going to help." From what he was being told, Amber and Adam were trying to pass off his child as a Newman. And given his history with Amber, Cane could almost understand why Amber would prefer to do so than come to him with the truth. She was probably afraid he would deny it and think the worst; and so far he hasn"t really proven her wrong yet. "Boy, you really do know how to screw it up don"t you, mate?" But that didn"t change the fact that Cane wants to be a part of his child"s life. That means that he"s got to get to the truth first, and from the horse"s mouth. Sighing, "Looks, whatever it is that you and Amber are playing at, it"s going to stop." "Playing at?" Adam parroted in disbelief. "You really are so full of yourself aren"t you?" He shook his head and wished this conversation to be over so he could ask Amber a few pointed questions about her ex. Now would be a good time to tell her that he plans on making a life with her. "You think that just because you have a history with Amber that you get to dictate her life?" "I don"t, nor do I intend to either." Cane replied calmly. "But I do get a say in my child"s life." There, he said it. "Excuse me?" Adam was certain that he heard wrong. He had to have heard it wrong; because if he didn"t... "Not good, not good at all." "The baby is mine," Cane stated very simply, "and I"m going to make sure that Amber knows that I will not let another man raise my child; not you, not anyone." Katherine touched the soft cotton with great satisfaction. "This will do nicely, don"t you think?" "I think Mrs. Abbot is going to have kittens when she sees what you did with her son"s room, that"s what I think," Esther replied with a grin as she touched the bedding Mrs. Chancellor had picked out. "Oh, this is nice." "Billy hasn"t been in town for three years now. I don"t think he"d mind if we made some changes. Besides which, if I recall correctly, he said he never wanted to live under the same roof as his mother... ever again." Katherine picked up another blanket and pondered at it for a moment. "Do you think two blankets for Amber"s room is enough or should we go for three? I don"t want to child to be cold." "I can put in a space heater in the room," Esther replied helpfully. "That"s a wonderful idea, Esther," Katherine nodded her approval and moved onto the next section of the department store. "Make sure we have fresh towels for the bath and buy a nice warm robe for her as well. I know that Amber likes the thick kind, the ones you can get at the hotels. And slippers, make sure she has slippers too." "Of course," Esther nodded and made a note for herself. "Katherine?" Nikki Newman"s voice was clear as a bell as she called to her old friend. "Katherine, how are you?" "Wonderful," Katherine smiled and kissed the air just above Nikki"s cheek. "And how are you my dear? What brings you out of the house on this fine Sunday morning?" Nikki took a breath, "I needed some air." Katherine didn"t miss a beat. Turning to her faithful companion, she sent Esther off to pay for their numerous purchases with a quick telling look. Esther grinned knowingly and scurried away with her arms full and one hand digging into her purse for the plastic. "Now," turning back, "What seems to be the problem?" "I..." Nikki looked decidedly uncomfortable, "I have to tell you something... something a little shocking. Although given that it"s about Amber I guess it shouldn"t come quite as such a surprise." "Amber?" Kay"s brows furrowed together in question. "What about Amber?" The reluctance with which Nikki was showing alarmed Kay. "Nikki, if someone is wrong with Amber or her child, you need to tell me." "Nothing is wrong, nothing that I know of anyways," sorry that she had given Kay the wrong impression. "I just... How much do you really know about Amber and her child." "I know that Amber loves that child and she wants to make a future for that baby." "But at what cost?" Nikki asked quietly. "Whatever it takes," Katherine said assuredly. "Even if it"s lying to the people that are trying to help you?" That came out of the left field. As far as Katherine knew, Nikki doesn"t even know Amber by sight. "What are you getting at Nikki?" And here comes the truth, "Adam says that he is the father of Amber"s child." Katherine gave no reaction to the news. "Adam Wilson told you that." "I overheard it," Nikki confessed. "He referred to Amber"s child as "our baby.' I think that tells me enough." "Adam thinks that the baby is his?" Katherine mused a moment. Now this was news. Amber never actually said anything about who the father was. In fact, she always ran whenever the subject of paternity came up, even from her. Which could only mean that Cane was most certainly the father despite what Adam Wilson believes. "Nikki, I think you need to calm down." "I don"t even know what Victor is going to say when he finds out that his son knocked up Amber Moore." Nikki made the most disagreeable face. "Well, you don"t have to worry about that," Katherine replied serenely, "Because the baby is not Adam"s and not a Newman. He or she is a Chancellor. The baby is Cane"s child so you need not be concern it." Nikki stared at her friend a moment. "How can you be sure?" "Sure?" "How can you be so sure that the baby is Cane"s?" She looked suspicious for a moment. "Did Amber tell you that the baby is a Chancellor?" she certainly won"t put it pass the little trollop. Katherine laughed and waved the idea off. "Oh goodness, no. Amber would be too much in fear of what Jill might do to be so foolish." Um... another reason why Amber would neglect to tell her who the father was - though the girl ought to know by now that Jill was hardly someone she would go blabbing to... that"s to say if she was one of those gossipmongers. In disbelief over just how calmly her friend was taking this, Nikki tried again to explain the gravity of the situation. "Katherine, I think that..." "Don"t worry Nikki, my dear, everything will be fine." She smiled knowingly and nodded her head in assurance. "You"ll see." Katherine was going to make damn sure of it. "He"s gotten so big!" Nick laughed as Reed pulled on his ear, "and grabby like his mom." "Thanks," Vicki replied with a grin as she sat down with her tea and offered Nick coffee. "So what brings you by?" "Our baby brother and his impeding fatherhood," Nick replied easily as he finally settled Reed down on his lap and carefully picked up the mug of java with a quick nod of thanks for his sister. "By the way, are you okay? You looked kind of sick to your stomach the other night. Better now? You don"t have another bun in the oven do you?" "That"s so crude," whacking him in the arm in the most unladylike manner. "And no, I"m not pregnant. Though I wish I hadn"t found out that Sabrina was." "Yeah," Nick made a face, "I told Phyllis last night and she almost lost her dinner on me. How did JT take it?" "About as well as Phyllis did though with less projectile vomiting. Can"t say that I blame Phyllis one bit since I felt the exact same way." "Well look at that: you and Phyllis in agreement. Will wonders ever cease?" Nick laughed charmingly and bounced his nephew on his knees. "Oh shut up," she hit him again, lighter this time. She didn"t want to think about her father and Sabrina and anything else that had to do with that sickening relationship. It made her ill to think about it. "So what did you want to say about Adam and the baby?" "And Amber, don"t forget about Amber." "How can I forget? Every other word out Adam"s mouth is that woman"s name." "Play nice." "I am," she assured him. "I have no issues with Amber." "She"s a good kid," Nick replied with a smile as he sat back, resting Reed"s head on his shoulder. "She been working really hard to create a place for herself and her baby. I think even without Adam there, she"s going to make it; she wouldn"t allow it any other way. Nerves of steel, that girl has." "What are you, Yoda?" She laughed at him. "Someone with her background would have to survive, and no that"s not a dig at her trailer trash upbringing." Giving her a look, "I thought you were going to be nice." "I am," she looked genuinely confused by his attitude. Nick groaned. Sometimes his sister exasperated him to no end. She"s spent too much of her life as a debutante and could not always see outside the circle they live in. "Okay, so Adam is going to need a lot of help if the truth makes its way out and Dad decides that he"s going to get his hands into this." "Adam doesn"t seem like the type to allow that to happen." "He"s a lot like you in that way." "Who? Adam or Dad?" "Both," Nick shrugged one shoulder. "You guys are all very alike." "Don"t you ever say that in front of anyone but me, do you hear me?" she pointed a golden teaspoon at him but didn"t deny the observation. "I know, I know," Nick rolled his eyes and grinned. "You know that Amber is probably going to resist pretty hard whatever Adam has planned, right? She doesn"t seem like the type to give in easily." "She wants what"s best for her child," Victoria pronounced, "that"s what every mother wants. And the best environment for her baby is to have a two parent unit and a nice safe place to live. Adam can provide that for her." "So you"re going to help him then?" "I never said that." "You have so far," Nick pointed out. "If fact, you"ve given up a lot of your free time to help Adam with his mission. What"s up with that?" Victoria made a face. "Rub it in, why don"t you?" "I"m just saying..." "He"s trying to do the right thing," she interjected with, the reluctance not quite so obvious. "He wants to do the right thing. That"s more than I can say about lot of fathers out there that doesn"t care whether or not their kid lives or dies. He sees a situation where he can help and he wants to whether or not..." she shut her mouth fast. She hadn"t meant to say that much... even to Nick. Nick was no fool, he was a Newman; sharper than nails. "Whether or not, what?" He looked at her face, "What aren"t you telling me, Vic?" He played her words back in his mind. "Are you telling me that this baby isn"t Adam"s?" "No," she shook her head and got up. "Victoria!" "I"m saying that Adam never said that it was his," she replied with a sigh. "That night at the Ranch when he was drinking himself sick, he asked about you and Cassie and talked about him and Charles Wilson." "So?" "So he asked me how a man can take a child not his and raise it like it was." Nick frowned. "What are you saying?" "He didn"t tell me that he thinks that the baby isn"t his." She"s been speculating over this for some times now, never voicing it because deep down inside she was secretly proud of the fact that Adam had stepped up and wanted to do right by a child that may or may not be his. It takes a lot to do that and she... she was kind of sorry to say that she hadn"t truly believed him until now. "I don"t think he knows if the baby is his or not." "Then why is he..." "Because I don"t think he cares anymore," Victoria replied a little annoyed at her brother for being so slow on the uptake, he was usually so much better at this. "I think he tells himself that he"s doing this for the baby but..." "But?" he prompted. "Amber is in the picture... and he doesn"t want to lose Amber." "You think he"s in love?" maybe just a little surprised by this. He certainly understood that Adam likes Amber. But love? That"s a new one. Would have never pegged him for that judging by the last woman he was involved with. Amber and Heather were like night and day. If Nick had purposely gone out of his way to find a woman less like Heather, he probably couldn"t have succeeded more with Amber. "I think he thinks he might be in love," Victoria answered, not passing any judgment on her brother"s choice. God knows the Newman men seems to have remarkable taste in women. "Not that it matters. And yes, I"m going to help him."

You add the dynamics of this town to the fact that your teenage years are suppose to be your most troubled years, and last thing you"re going to get is a "normal" life. Then you add on top of that the fact that my dad is overprotective, self-suppressing in more ways than one, and his ultimate fear that I"ll become one of "them,' and you end up with the totally messed-up me. There are just days when I want to crawl into my bed, pull the covers over my head and just sleep my life away from the strangeness that seem to cover this town every once in a full moon, which is almost every night. Take today for example. I was pretty sure that yesterday"s horrible leg-breaking homecoming game was the worse part of the season, and let"s not even go into Luke Cates"s strange behavior afterwards, but it was nothing compared the way I was being looked at, treated and whispered about in school. And you know who is to blame for all this? Lucas Cates, of course. Cause he was an idiot with a non-thinking mouth and I"m not even sure why he was the big idiot of the day. The boy shows up in my room, in the middle of the night with my father two doors down no less, and tells me that he made the announcement that I was his. HIS?!? What is any liberal-minded, twenty-first century girl to make of that? Ahh.... I swear, Luke is like my own personal Nemesis. "Sophia," I turned to watch as everyone else in the schoolyard watched Dave approach me. If it had been the fact that this was happening to me, I would have found this amusing. "Hey, I tried to call you last night but no one answered." I forced myself to smile as I can almost hear all the ears around perk up to hear anything I have to say. This kind of attention is ... very unnerving. "Hi, sorry about cutting the night short yesterday." "Hey, it"s cool," he flashed that sweet apple-pie smile and I almost cringed. It was easy to lie to Dave; he couldn"t smell you lying to him as some others could. "I"m just sorry that you weren"t felling well." "Thank you," I wanted to reach out and touch him, to show him that I appreciated his wonderful attentiveness toward my well-being. But if Luke had been telling the truth and that he really had announced his claim on me, touching Dave could be his death. "I really appreciate you looking out for me." "Who won"t," he smiled, and motioned me toward the school gates. It was time to go in soon. "Are you feeling better now?" "Yeah, a whole lot better," and I was. Getting away from all the prying eyes could definitely do me some good. I hasn"t so flustered by the fact that the clan was on high alert today, I"d probably enjoy this mild flirtation a lot more. "Thanks for driving me home." "Anytime," he grinned and leaned in, as if to kiss me. For a moment, I was tempted. "Problems, Sophia?" The cool as cucumber voice was like having ice water dumped on my head. He stood there, leaning against the edge of the gate, arms crossed over his chest and an amused smile graced his face. If he didn"t look so damn good, I"d kick him. "None, what so ever," I forced myself to stay calm and don"t let his presence get to me. Besides which, I"m not the one in immediate danger from Luke or anyone else present. I can only imagine what inventive ways they could hurt Dave. "If you"ll excuse us," it was definitely time to get my homecoming dance date out of here as quickly as possible while I still can. Red blood seriously clashed with my new pink blouse. "Stay for a moment," Sean said quietly as he leaned just enough out to stop me from crossing the gates into the safety of the schoolyard. "I think we should get to know your little friend here better." He smiled; it was the kind of smile that made you think of trouble. "I think we need to get to class now," I hoped that the though of incurring the wrath of our ever watchful teachers would deter them from acting stupid. "I think we have a few minutes, Charlie D"Angelo was possibly the only member of Luke"s following that I can seriously say that I despise with a passion. He was the kind of bully that made regular bullies look like boy scouts. This is the guy that went hunting one night for jocks cause he felt the need for a bit of challenge. I hate guys like that, especially when they have the advantage of being part animal. "Why won"t we have a bit of..." "Sophia wants to go to class early and be the good little girl," Luke"s mouth just curled in the kind of amusement that made the hair on my hair stand up on ends. "We shouldn"t try to stop her." It was because he agreed with me that made me nervous as hell. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, as I knew it would. "Dave, isn"t it?" Oh god, this was going to get ugly. The Normal Life By Didi Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of. Timeline: Hum...this is a toughie. Okay, Eyes was written after the cancellation of Wolf Lake from CBS. I had assumed that it was never coming back again so I can do whatever I wanted with the story without interfering with the show"s canon. Note: For those of you that read my first Wolf Lake fan fic, this story will follow a similar but slightly altered format, you"re get it when you read it. And for those of you that have not read my first, it"s pretty easy to pick up once you start. Acknowledgement: Hooray for the return of Wolf Lake!!! Thank you UPN for your wonderful taste in programming. And thanks to everyone that read my first Wolf Lake fan fiction. I hope you all like this one too. ~~~~~~~~~~ -Donner"s POV- Ruby"s plan can very well backfire on us all. God, there were times in my life when all I want is to never have been born. And this could be considered one of those time. But looking at Ruby, dressed in white satin and lace, I can see that she probably wished this same at time. This was supposed to be the happiest day of any young woman"s life. Yet there she was, sweating over every minute as the clock ticks away. "Sheriff," she looked at me with those big gray eyes. "Thank you for agreeing to do this and for keeping my secret." There was such a feeling of gratitude in her eyes that I had to smile. "Your father and I may not have always seen eye to eye on many subjects but I respected him and have always been fond of your." I tucked and veil back. "And it is my honor to give you away on your wedding day." "My father ways liked you, you know," she smiled, obviously trying to think of anything else other than what could go wrong. "You were one of the few people he truly respected in this town." "Well, that"s good to hear," I replied before turning to the door. The footsteps were faint from down the hall but they were there nevertheless. The door opened a moment later and Vivian Cates" beautiful blonde head appeared. She was dressed in a jeweled black dress that made her seem younger than her years. "Good evening, V." "Good evening, Matt," she smiled, her eyes like jewels flashing in the night. Outwardly, she was calm and cool as if this evening"s event was nothing out of the ordinary. But I can see the anxiety in her eyes, the fear she has for her child. Ruby was going to be fine, especially once we"ve pulled off her wedding to Kanin but Luke... he was a whole other story. "What"s the word," Ruby asked, her eyes darting pass V"s shoulder toward the open doorway. "He"s on his way. Luke just heard his car from a block away." She moved into the room and shut the door. "I wanted to give you something before we get started." Ruby looked at her wearily. "What?" The smile that graced her face was easy to read. V and Ruby had a long history of distrust between them, no one ever tried to deny that. She pulled the diamond and silver chain on her waist off and clasped it around Ruby"s. "Your father gave that to me when we were married. It once belonged to your grandmother. You mother wore it for her wedding day, I wore it on mine, now I think your father would have liked for you to wear it on yours." Ruby looked down on the diamond chain, studying it carefully. "It"s beautiful," she looked up and stared at V for a moment as if nervous. "Thank you." V nodded. "I"ll go wait for Kanin outside." She turned to leave, but before she could, Ruby reached out and hugged her. For a moment, Vivian"s face reflected her surprise at the show of affection. Then her arms came around her stepdaughter and held her for a moment. When they parted, neither one appeared to know what to say. So, with a quick nod, Vivian headed out the door. Telling Ruby that I would return to escort her, I followed Vivian out. Catching up to her before she reached the front door of the church, I touched her arm. "That was very nice of you." "She and I may have our difference..." "But you respect her." She gave a gentle laugh. "You know me too well." Tucking her arm into mine, we walked in silence for a while. "Where is Sophia?" "I asked her to say with the priest," I replied, watching the sunset. "This will be a dangerous evening for you and Luke." "We will manage." "I would like to help." She glanced at me. "Because Sophia will be in danger as well." "No, I would help even if Sophia was not a factor." I turned to her so she could see the truth in my eyes. "As sheriff, there are certain influences I can impose. Luke is... a good kid where it counts." "But you don"t think he is right for your daughter." She looked more than just amused. "How typical." "Only because I"m her father," I patted her hand. "No one will ever be good enough for my daughter, V. I can"t help feeling that way." She smiled and watched the street. "He cared a lot for her." "I know," I sighed, any blind man can see that. Lucas Cates, for all his faults, truly does care for Sophia, I can"t deny that. "I will protect my daughter any way I can." For some reason, V smiled. "I would expect nothing less." The roar of the motorcycle interrupted me before I could ask her what she meant. I watched as John Kanin pulled to a stop in front and sat there, staring at us on the stoops of the church. Vivian moved forward quickly. "Don"t dally. And for god sakes, move your bike somewhere less conspicuous before someone sees you." If Kanin was surprised, he didn"t show it. Instead, he did as told and moved his bake around back. Turning to V, "I"ll got get Ruby. Move the others into place." She nodded, her face tense with pressure. "We will pull this off without a hitch." "I hope so," and left to continue my part in this most bizarre time. ~~~~~~~~~~ -Kanin"s POV- My tongue left like someone had poured sawdust onto it. If someone asked me if I was nervous, I probably would have only been able to gulp and nod. Am I excited? You better believe it. Am I anxious? That would be putting it mildly. Scared? Oh yeah! Seeing Sheriff Donner and Vivian Cates at the church certainly didn"t help my jumping stomach any. Ruby had said to come alone and tell no one. It wasn"t easily; I wanted to shout my happiness from the rooftop of the highest building in town. But the fear I saw in my beloved"s eyes gave me pause. She was scared to death of today. I"m sure it is not the idea of marriage to that frightened her it was something else. And from everything I"ve seen and heard in this town, I"m sure she has good reason to be. Parking the bike behind a tree, I ran a quick hand through my hair. I wish I could have worn a tux, or at the very least a suit, for my own wedding. But to ride around in formal wear would have no doubt cause too much talk. The last thing we want is talk around the town. So, it would seem that I"m going to my wedding in a polo shit, leather jacket and jeans. I suppose it could be worse; how, I"m not sure. Luke met me at the side door, his eyes darting back and forth, as if checking for a tail. He pulled me into the church with more strength than I suspected the boy of having. He glanced around once more before shutting the door firmly. Pulling me down the hallways, he began to rattle off things at me. "I"ve got a suit in the back waiting for you. It"s not great, store bought cause it was quicker. I certainly hope you haven"t gain or lost too much weight since the last time Ruby saw you since she gave me the measurements." I felt like I was in the middle of a whirlwind for a moment. Everything was happening fast but I know it was right. Normally I"d be questioning everything and anything but my future with the woman I love is at sake, questions and answers can come later, after the honeymoon. "Fifteen pounds since Ruby disappeared but I"m sure most of my clothes still fit pretty well." "Good," he pushed me into small room that appeared to be used as an office normally. He jerked my jacket off with a good tug. "We"ve got to hurry. The ceremony is going to have to be really short. We have less than an hour to do this, get you out of here, Ruby into a more suitable suit for the meeting and save everyone in town from having to choose between bad or worse." "Wait a minute, I can do this on my own." Having a guy helping me undress and dress again was a rather unnerving experience. But Luke was so distracted he didn"t seem to care about my discomfort. "Hurry," he said flinging the pants at me without a second thought as he ripped the shoe box open. "I didn"t have time to buy shoes, you"ll have to wear one of my father"s. Are you a size ten and a half?" "Close enough," pulling the pants up. "Size ten." "Good," Luke dropped the shoes on the ground. "You need socks?" "No," slipping my feet into the leather shoes while tucking my shirt into the paints. "Ruby here yet?" "An hour ago. It took some time for her to get dressed and put on make up. But she"s ready now. She"s been waiting for the last ten minutes." "Why didn"t you all just call me? I was going crazy counting the seconds at the station." "Couldn"t risk it," Luke gathered my discarded clothes and dropped them into a bag without thought. "You done yet?" The jacket settled on my shoulders a little too narrow but I couldn"t complain. "Ready." "Let"s go then." I don"t remember much of the ceremony. The wedding was definitely a small and private affair with only Sherman Blackstone, Matthew Donner and Sophia Donner there other than the remaining Cates family. Sheriff Donner gave the bride away. I don"t really remember what happened after I caught sight of Ruby coming toward me from down the aisle. She was an angel, my very own angel here on earth. Whatever god I pleased in this lifetime or last I don"t know but I would gladly do it again if it meant I got to have this wonderful being in my life forever more. Her wedding dress as white, the veil made of the finest lace I"ve ever seen. But all that were just the external trapping. What made her so incredible beautiful was the hope and happiness I saw in her eyes as she came toward me. The ceremony was unfamiliar to me, but at the end of it, I said I do, she said she did, and our hands were bind with a red silk ribbon symbolizing our eternal bond or something to that effect. Four signatures later, Ruby Wilder Cates was Ruby Wilder Cates Kanin, my wife. The Normal Life By Didi Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of. Timeline: Hum...this is a toughie. Okay, Eyes was written after the cancellation of Wolf Lake from CBS. I had assumed that it was never coming back again so I can do whatever I wanted with the story without interfering with the show"s canon. Note: For those of you that read my first Wolf Lake fan fic, this story will follow a similar but slightly altered format, you"re get it when you read it. And for those of you that have not read my first, it"s pretty easy to pick up once you start. ~~~~~~~~~~ -Vivian"s POV- Ruby was married... to a human. I had to shake my head at the irony. The first white wolf in god knows how long and she chose to marry outside the clan. Looking at her, I couldn"t blame her. She was happy, I can see it in her eyes. They were both glowing, light starlight against a dark night sky. She stood there with him, exchanging vows that would bind them for a lifetime. Unlike the humans, we mate for life. There"s no turning back now, not for either one of them. "John," Ruby"s hand touched his cheek. "I love you." "And we just proved it in front of a priest and four other people," he replied, smiling wide enough to split his face in two. I envy them, I don"t know think I"ve ever experienced that kind of heart-expanding joy. I didn"t want to interrupt them, I really didn"t. They should be allow some time alone to celebrate, but time is not on our side tonight. Phase one is completed, now we have to move onto phase two. Oh Willard, please watch over us as we walked into the den of the lion. "I"m sorry to break this up..." Ruby looked startled for a moment, her big gray eyes turning sad before the hint of steel hard determination returned. She was her father"s daughter and no one could ever call Willard weak. Nodding, she lifted her skirt in one hand and grabbed Kanin"s hand with the other. "John, I need you to change and do something for me." The confusion clouded the boy"s handsome face. His head swiveled back and forth between us. I have to remember that the man is a cop, with all the instincts of one. His innate sense of intrigue was peeked. "Something I should know about?" "The night"s not over yet, Romeo," I replied and led them toward the back where Ruby"s evening dress was waiting for her. "Get changed into your normal clothes and meet us at the alter." I turned to Luke with a stern look. "Lucas, go keep an eye on things." My son was no fool; he hurried without questioning the order. "Matt..." "I have to tell Sophia," he replied quietly, watching his daughter from the corner of his eyes as she spoke quietly with the priest. "She needs to be prepared." I hurried Ruby into the changing room and shut the door behind me. By the time I turned around again, she was already pulling the garment bag from the charcoal gray silk I had brought for her. She stared at it for a moment. "Lovely." "I thought I was appropriate." Plus it matched her eyes and gave her a regal look that she will need tonight. She was powerful but she was young. "Your father always liked you in light colors. Said that it made you glow like a jewel." "Gray is not exactly light," she fingered the material again as she pulled the wedding dress off. "But it certainly is beautiful." "Ruby..." "I"ll do my part," she said as she turned to me, dressed only in her slip and stockings. "And I"m grateful for your support in tonight"s...events." And she was too; I could see it, smell it. "I do it not only for you but for Luke. We"re family and we stick together." I wanted to make that perfectly clear to her. I did not need her in my debt, didn"t want it. "Luke is my only child. I"ve lost Willard, I don"t know what I"d do if..." I didn"t want to think of it. I will do what it took to protect him. "I understand, and it will work," she pulled the slip off and stepped into the dress that flowed around her like liquid. Zipping up the back, she adjusted the cowl neck with a careless hand. "I"ll have to tell John sooner or later." "Make it sooner," I put the makeup bag into the large trunk we had brought of the occasion. "Especially if things don"t go as we planned tonight. He"ll need to be on his toes." More now that ever. "I"ll see to it," Ruby put her mother"s wedding dress away carefully. "I"m glad that I got to wear it." She looked so pretty in it, almost like a clone of her mother. Regina Cates was a beautiful woman, and so was her daughter. "Would you have worn it had it been Tyler tonight?" Turning, she stared at me for a moment, "No." I understood perfectly. "I didn"t think so either." We hurried outside, not wanting to dally too long. It was twenty to nine and we were almost ready. Kanin stood with a concerned Matt and a troubled Sophia at front pews. Father and daughter were holding hands. Sophia would not be joining us tonight, and that no doubt has Matt more than a little jumpy. Closing the distance, I watch as Ruby rushed to her new husband, who opened his arms to her without hesitation. "Mr. Kanin..." I began, thinking to relieve some of Matt"s concerns. He gave me a laughing look, "Don"t you think you should start calling me John?" I nodded in response. "Fine. John..." I paused for a second and scowled at him. "You are not allowed to call me Mom." Tongue in cheek, he nodded. "Yes, Madam." Suppressing my laughter, I shook my head at him. He is definitely going to be fun to have around. "Vivian will do." I turned to Ruby, who smiled in approval. "John, I need to ask a favor while we"re at the board meeting." Kanin stared for a moment, then turned to Ruby. She shook her head. "You can"t come. I need you to stay quiet and hidden for a little while, especially while I go to this meeting." There was questions in his eyes, questions that she won"t be able to answer tonight. "Trust me. I do it for us." It took a moment but he nodded his agreement. She turned to me. "What is it that you want him to do?"

The smile grew as she got slowly to her feet, sending her feather friend to flight, eyes only for the man that have occupied her mind for so long she no longer knew how she got along before their chance meeting. "I should hope so or you"d be in a pretty bad spot about now." It was the sassy tone that convinced him. No one could get under his skin the way she did. The laugher from the captain was a sound that Bryn has never heard since her arrival on the ship oh so many months ago. It had never been so wondrous, so joyous, so carefree... so alive. There was always something almost surreal about the way he softened and hoped just at the mere mention of the sorceress"s name. And now... He was like a new man; basking in the purity and wonder of the Celtic princess"s presence. If Bryn weren"t so happy for him, she"d be green with envy. "By the great lord of the sea!" Sinbad"s voice hit a tone that was impossible to describe as he swept the firry redhead whose appearance in his life has been both a curse and a blessing. "You"re alive." Twinkling laughter cascaded over the crew as they stood in watch of the reunion. "When was the last time you"ve hugged a ghost, I"d be wanting to know." She leaned back, not quite yet embarrassed by their close proximity; she felt only overwhelming delight at being in his arms. "What have ya done to your hair, you dirty knave?" running nimble fingers through the soft tresses. Sinbad felt his heart swell and nearly burst. Doubar let out a roar of laughter that drown the reply Sinbad might have made had his brother not sudden caught both in a hug that was worthy of a bear, bringing forth of squeal of happiness from those cherry lips as she was swept off her feet by the giant of a man. "Maeve! Maeve! How good it is to see you?" "Doubar, your great oaf, you"re breaking mi ribs!" Maeve managed to gasp out as she was set on her feet and released from both brothers. Panting for air, she leaned over and hugged Doubar back properly as Firouz moved in awkwardly, hand extended. "It"s so...so..." the babbling inventor was having a difficult time coming to terms with his own jubilation at seeing the one that had stolen Sinbad"s heart right out from under the captain"s nose. It was quite something to see his good friend so completely lost in ... oh what was he saying? He was glad that she was back in their lives once more. "It"s good to see you. How have you been?" Smile bright as the sun, "Come here, you silly man," and pulled him unresistingly into her arms. She clung to him as a returning sister would, full of love and reassurance. She pressed her cheek against his, "I"ve missed you." "As we have missed you," Firouz managed to whisper as he buried his face into the masses of curls about the woman"s shoulder. No one on the ship understood him the way Maeve did, with quiet respect for things she didn"t understand but trust that he knew what he was doing. "As I have missed you." "Rongar," Maeve called forth over Firouz"s head, her hand extended to him as she moved into him embrace next. "Keeping these savages in tow, have you?" The Moorish man accepted the hug with his usual silent dignity and nodded his answer to her. Those usually stoic eyes bright with the kind of pleasure that would have been boisterous had he been able to speak. The two understood each other as only those that have seen too much of the world could. "Ah... Now this is what I would like to see more," came the quietly distinguished voice from along the rose filled path. "Welcome my friends; welcome. Welcome back to the Isle of Dawn." "Master DimDim!" Sinbad and Doubar raced down the path toward their childhood mentor full of the delights boys would display at being presented a great and wondrous present. "Look at this place. It is as beautiful as if Turok had never sunk it. How did you ever raise it from the sea?" "The credit to that little feat would have to go to Maeve," Master DimDim replied with a smile as he allowed the boys to hug him with more care than they showed the sorceress earlier. The gray hair had turned a silvery white in the past two years since they"ve last seen him attesting to what must have been difficult times in exile. But that smile, bright with the vitality of a man with a mission, was as full of life as ever. "It was she that did the impossible." "So it was you," Bryn murmured softly. "I had thought it was." And until Master DimDim had confirmed it, she couldn"t really say for certain. Yes, she may have told Sinbad and the other that she thought it was Maeve drawing up on the energy of the world; but a part of her could never fully confirm it until now. Maeve turned to look at the brunette, who until now had not said a word. Bryn had quietly distanced herself in the reunion that did not include her. She was pretty, Maeve will admit, in that dark exotic way that Rumina had been. Sinbad was always very good at finding the beauties, one of his many talents. Trampling down the sour taste of jealousy, Maeve held out her hand graciously for she knew that this woman had protected her friends when she could not. "You must be Bryn. It"s good to finally meet you." Dermott chose that moment to let his presence be known once more. "Be nice, sister mine." Maeve glanced at the tawny golden eyes trained on her. "I"m trying, aren"t I?" "Try harder. She"s been good to us." Nodding her acknowledgement, "I hear very good things about you." Bryn"s dark eyes turned to look at Dermott for a moment then turned back to the slender graceful hand that was extended to her. She didn"t need magic to see the communication between master and pet. "I have heard many great things of you as well. I assure you, your place among the crew is impossible to fill." The olive branch was offer quietly as only two women could understand and accept in the same manner. "Thank you for caring for Dermott when I could not." "He is a good companion." Smiling, Maeve reached out and took Dermott from his perch, stroking his breast feathers gently with her fingers. "Yes, he certainly is." One can not miss the fondness in her voice, her the softening of her eyes as she gazed upon the beautiful bird. "Come, come," Master DimDim called to their attention, waving his arm expressively, beckoning them toward the small cottage on the hill. "We shall have tea before you are on your way." "On our way?" Sinbad asked incredulously, his eyes turning to search out Maeve once more. They held for a moment before Sinbad turned back to his old mentor. "But we"ve only gotten here." "Yes," Master DimDim nodded his head wisely. "But one must not linger if one is to accomplish what one sets out to do. And I, my dear friends, have much to do to right certain things." Confusion was in the eyes of the crewmembers that looked to Maeve for answers. A sly grin graced her mischievous face. Her eyes sparkled with suppressed laughter as she replied, "What Master DimDim means is that he misses his wife." That was certainly understood by the men. "Why Master DimDim, you old seadog, why didn"t you tell us that Caipra was your wife? Quite embarrassing to have found out the way we did. If she hadn"t rescued me and..." Maeve smiled and tuned out the teasing tones as Master DimDim and the crew bantered lightly as old acquaintances were wont to do, instead she turned to her feathered companion with intent. It was he that started this chain of events that lead to this day. "How are you, my brother?" "Well now that we are together again. I have missed you since you"ve been gone." "As I have missed you." He beak bobbed for a moment. "Has Master DimDim made any mention as to what will happen now? Rumina will have figured out that someone has raised the isle once more." She knew that this would be his first concern. Maeve was convinced that he will always think of her first and foremost. "Yes, that witch is certainly her father"s daughter. But it matters not; I shall deal with Rumina when the time is right." "And is it?" Even as a hawk, Dermott expressed much with those all-seeing eyes of his. "I do not wish to see you hurt, Sister. If I must live as I am, I am content." "But I am not," the tone brooked no arguments. It is a disagreement of old but appears to need reiteration once more. The time apart has not softened her on this all-important topic. "She must pay for what she"s done, not just to us but for all those that have fallen under her vindictive nature. I promised you that." There was almost an odd resignation in Dermott"s eyes. "Do not allow your anger to cloud your judgment, sister of mine. You have much to live for. Rumina is powerful enough to take all that from you should she choose." "I am not the weakling that I once was." "You were never weak, Maeve. Anything but that." She acknowledged the compliment with a smile knowing that he meant it as both as a good quality and one that he had always felt would be her downfall. "I will deal with Rumina, Dermott. Make no mistake, I have not forgotten." "That is what I fear." He let out a squawk that was sharp and piercing before taking flight to follow Sinbad and Master DimDim to the cabin. "He"s upset," Bryn said quietly from just behind Maeve"s right shoulder, startling the sorceress who had been so involved in her conversation with the bird that she had forgotten Bryn"s presence. "It takes a great deal to upset him these days." "Not when he"s with me," she answered with a sigh. "I seem to have a gift for ruffling his feathers... literally." The subject of Rumina will forever be a contention between the two, despite their common goals. "Were you arguing?" though she already knew that answer to that question. "Just repeating the usual stuff," she shrugged her shoulder and looked over at the laughing crew and smiled. Something big and immeasurable seemed to have settled on her chest, making breathing a little difficult. "It"s so good to see them again." Bryn turned to follow her gaze, noting that Sinbad"s eyes continuously strayed toward them... no, toward Maeve. It didn"t take magic to know that he feared she would disappear once more from him if he didn"t keep her in his sights. Telling herself that there was nothing to be jealous of; it"s not as if Sinbad was ever hers to begin with, not when the handsome captain pinned after the ghostly memories of a woman Bryn hadn"t seen until now. "They"ve missed you. He"s missed you." "Who?" she asked even as the blush rosied her cheeks. "I think we both know who." Maeve said nothing, her mind wondering to places she had no right to wonder to. "The man is a rogue. Women come easily to him." "But he only wants one." And that was perfectly true. He only truly ever wanted one; the one he could not have. But now... Heart pounding, not daring to ask but nevertheless wanting to know, "That"s what they always way." Though it hurt her to say it out loud, Bryn knew that she deserves to know. He deserved happiness. "No, he means it. You are all he ever talks of though he says little of anything when we are at sea. This past year has weighed heavily upon him, and every member of the Nomad knows why. The others, they tiptoe around your name in hopes that they do not stir his pains." And lord knows they try never to upset their usually easy-going captain. But whenever her name was mentioned, it was as if a dark mask fell over his face. "I don"t think you realize how important you are to him." Hesitating, Maeve sat down on a stone bench just within view of the cabin doorway, where the men had stopped to await them. With a quick wave of her hand, she motioned them in and patted the seat next to her, asking Bryn to sit. "You were sent to replace me on the ship because Master DimDim knew that..." Letting a soft chuckle of amusement escape, Bryn shook her head at the other woman"s naiveté. "Replace you? Weren"t you listening to me at all? Poseidon"s teeth girl, did you honestly think your shoes could be filled when you"ve stole the heart of every man on that ship?" She watched the sky, blue like the ocean but so much gentler. "Every time I step foot on that deck, everyone turns to me and expects you. I see the disappointment on their faces though they try to hide it." She acknowledged it without bitterness. There was a long silence as Maeve absorbed what was being said to her. "I miss the sea," Maeve said quietly. Acknowledging Maeve"s need to let the subject of their captain go, Bryn nodded. "She is a hard mistress to serve." "Yes, but her temperament suits me well." "Are you returning to the Nomad then?" Green eyes told nothing. "I have much to learn if I wish to fulfill my mission." "Learn from Master DimDim?" "Yes." She smiled at the name. "He is a great sorcerer," and an even better friend to have kept her secret and her safety for so long. It has cost him much she was sure. "I can see that. But then, so are you." She shook her head slowly. "Not good enough." "Not good enough for what?" Bryn asked. Maeve lifted her eyes and watched Dermott in the sky. "To right a wrong." Long has Bryn known that Dermott was no ordinary pet. There was too much intelligence in those golden eyes for a mere bird. And though she does not speak to Dermott as she suspected Maeve does, Bryn knew a being trapped when she sees one. "What is he to you?" "The only thing that matters," came the response that was so practiced and natural that she hadn"t even given it a thought. "Is he?" her eyes straying to the cabin. Maeve was either too blind to see or just simply outright lying to herself. "I would say different." Maeve"s eyes followed the dark haired beauty"s gaze just as Sinbad"s head popped through the doorway. "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?" Grinning because she wanted to, "Trading horror stories of your exploits!" "And there are plenty!" Bryn added. The girls traded looks before bursting into laughter. "She looks happy," Sinbad murmured as he watched the two women giggle hysterically. The contrast between the two was astonishing. Bryn was mystical moonlight while Maeve was the firry sunset. Bryn knew nothing about her past while Maeve lived each day trying to forget the pains of hers. But both were towering strengths and both searched for answers that they may not find. And while he cared for both, he knew there was only one. "Is she staying?" Master DimDim"s eyes searched Sinbad"s face. This young man, with his lusty appetite for life and his insatiable search of adventure, had been all but a son to him. And in him, DimDim was reminded that there was more to life than simply living it. A missing part of Sinbad"s life was now in his hand. "Do you want her to?" "Master DimDim," Doubar"s voice held astonishment. He may lack his younger brother"s good looks, charm, agility and way with the ladies, but he was no dummy. Any fool can see that Sinbad"s heart has not been with him for longer than he cared to remember. "I cannot help but notice that you have a new woman in your life, Sinbad," he pointed out quietly as he too watched the women outside. "And while others may willingly share your affections, I fear that Maeve cannot." She was like the daughter he never had the privilege of having. Perhaps the Gods had hoped that by keeping him childless, he will share his knowledge with the world at large. "I do not wish to see her hurt." Sinbad"s dark eyes read the warning on his mentor"s face. "I miss her. But I will not pull her away from her studies if her life will be placed in danger because of it." DimDim understood the man"s willingness to give up his own happiness; it gave him great hope for the future. "Rumina will do well to give Maeve a wide path. The child has learned much this past year, and taught me a thing or two as well." "So, she is ready then?" Firouz asked hesitantly. He may be a man of science but he easily bow to the forced that he had no understanding of. Looking out at the woman, DimDim nodded. "Yes, she is as ready as she can be under my tutorage. With myself by her side, she shall always be reliant upon my and will grown no more. It is time she be free of her own restraints and bloom like that flower that she is." He smiled as he watched her stand, reaching into the sky for her feathered friend. "And she will have you all to watch over her." "So she is coming?" Doubar asked, unable to hide his grin as he nudged his little brown. "Hear that, Sinbad? Hear that?" Shoving his brother"s less than subtle hints away, Sinbad took a deep breath and attempt to calm his thundering heart. Maeve was coming home. She was finally coming home. That thought resounded in his head as he vainly tried to suppress the giddy grin blossoming across his face. He wasn"t sure what his feeling that made him want to shout at the world is, but he knew that it was a good kind of emotion as he turned and looked through the window... just in time to see something that wasn"t suppose to be. "Sinbad." The name was expressed with a mixture of utter disgust and blatant want. The man had the singular ability to make a woman want and hate him all at he same time, part infuriating, part charming, he"s been a thorn at her side one too many times. But still, life would be so much less interesting with him gone. Rumina stared into the gazing pool and pursed her prettily paint lips of ruby red. "He"s finally rid of himself of that silly red headband, looks like that boy has finally grown up," she muttered with a curling of her lip. To say that she was enjoying the new look upon Captain of the Nomad was the understatement of the century. "Nothing like leather to bring out a man"s good looks," she tilted her head and smiled at the picture that reflected up at her. If only the man wasn"t so annoyingly stubborn... of course, that was only one of the reasons that made him so irresistibly fascinating. Breaking such a wild spirit would be a terrible shame. If there were more men in the world as daringly annoying, Rumina was sure she won"t be so bored all the time. But being that there is only one, it made him all the more enjoyable to have. And that smile... she could certainly see why other women adore that horrid man. What a woman won"t do to put that radiant smile on that pretty face? "But we must allow you to be too happy Sinbad," she cooed as she leaned forward to wave her hand over the water, expanding the picture out. What the pool showed her almost unbalanced her. "What"s this?" Eyes wide with disbelief, a winkled formed upon her forehead as she waved her hand over the water once more to show her more of what she wasn"t sure she was seeing. "It can"t be!" standing somewhat awkwardly, hindered by the heavy embroidered dress she wore. But sure enough, full picture of the Isle of Dawn was thrown back at her. "NO!" Red hot fury consumed her. That isle had been destroyed, destroyed by her father over two years before. How could it now be sitting... wait! Rumina"s eyes fixed itself to the gazing pool once more. It was not so long ago that she had been fell by something that drew power all around, something that concentrated energy to a single focal point to... she never did learn what all that power was for, too weak for the week that followed to do no more than sit up. But apparently, the answer had made its way to her. It would appear that it was staring her right in the face. "DimDim must have resurrected that island once more," she muttered, her face screwed into something horrifying ugly. "But for what purpose?" That question didn"t linger long as she watched the joyous reunion between mentor and student. There was chattering she couldn"t hear but could guess by the delight in their face. "So DimDim brought the island back to call to Sinbad," she mused softly. It would stand to reason; the magician had never made it a secret of his fondness for the adventurous sailor. "What are you planning, old man? What do you have in..." The picture had shifted to show Rumina the rest of the occupants of the isle. "The redheaded wench," she muttered watching as the women raised her hand to the sky, waiting for the descent of the majestic bird that came to her. "And her feathered friend," she finished with narrow eyes. She didn"t understand the connection of the woman, who has never once hide the fact that she knew Rumina from a time in her past. Who she was, Rumina knew not. Only that she doesn"t recall anyone such person in her life. But the woman had the added advantage at the moment of being important to both DimDim and Sinbad; which made her a perfect player in this game. "Let"s see what they"ll do if they were to lose you?" Rumina asked with smile that was pure and unadulterated evil. "MAEVE!" Sinbad"s voice shot through the stillness of the day, echoing over the garden. Rolling her eyes, Maeve turned toward the cottage. "What are you..." "Get back!" Bryn cried out as she crashed into Maeve, shoving the woman out of the way of a fold of darkness that had suddenly descended upon them. She didn"t think, didn"t had the luxury of time to think things through before she was rolling onto her back and away from the sweeping darkness in space. It was like a giant black hand had swept the place where the two women had just been.

"Sit down, Jerry," I waved him down. "The number of votes you pulled in would embarrass the a stripper at a nude beach." Vivian looked at me and frowned. I shrugged. "Who are the two still running?" Mrs. Muir asked, her delicate blue veined hands folded in her lap. She wasn"t much to look at now, wrinkled and tired from a life that was not always kind to her, but she was still one of the best healers around. If I were some character on one of those TV shows, I"d probably rub by hands together in glee. "Drum roll please," pounding the edge of my fingers against the podium and ignoring the impatient glares from Vivian, Ruby and some notable others, except for Donner, now seemed to be glancing all too often at the clock on the wall. "Mr. Tyler Creed..." the look in Ruby"s eyes was undeniably fear, "and our very own Sheriff Matthew Donner." All eyes were on Donner now and he looked none too happy about it. A part of me knew that he wanted to stop the insanity, to pull himself out of the race. But even he could see what could happen if he did. Kanin was as good as dead. Luke Cates would be in for the fight of his life, assuming he survives the night. And Sophia... may suffer the same fate as her dear mother. No, our dear Matthew knew where his priorities are. "Let"s vote already!" Creed shouted, his eyes glowing dangerously. No control whatsoever. I have to wonder if Tyler Creed would have been so eager to call for the votes that night had he known what the outcome would be. I think not. TBC.... ~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks to everyone that reviewed this story. I"ll try to wrap it up soon. The Normal Life By Didi Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of. Timeline: Hum...this is a toughie. Okay, Eyes was written after the cancellation of Wolf Lake from CBS. I had assumed that it was never coming back again so I can do whatever I wanted with the story without interfering with the show"s canon. Note: For those of you that read my first Wolf Lake fan fic, this story will follow a similar but slightly altered format, you"re get it when you read it. And for those of you that have not read my first, it"s pretty easy to pick up once you start. ~~~~~~~~~~ -Sophia"s POV- I heard the rumbling of the motor about a mile off the road before it registered in my mind what it was. A part of me hoped beyond hope that it was my dad coming to get me. But then, he didn"t know I was hiding at Kanin"s cabin. Sure it would be logical to think that, given that he had sent me off with Kanin, but still, who would have thought that Kanin would use reverse logic. "I figure that if anyone knew that you were with me, they"d think that we"d come here," he had explained logically as he loaded his semi-automatic. Where the man got the big-ass gun was beyond me. "Then they think that I would never do something as obvious as go to the one place they know to look for me. So they"d probably end up going elsewhere." He pushed the curtain aside with the barrel of the gun and glanced at the dark, moonlit night. "Then again, we shouldn"t be too reliant on logic when our lives are at stake." That had been over an hour before. I stood there, watching the streets and listening as the rumbling came closer. The palms of my hands itched and all the hair on my scalp seemed to stand on ends. Every one of my senses seemed to be on high alert, as if watching for something to happen. And something is going to happen tonight, I can feel it. "Kanin?" I whispered into the darkness. He had gone toward the back to watch the woods. "What?" came the reply. It still unnerved me to know that he can hear me from so far away. "Do you hear that?" There was a pause. "Truck down the road. Why?" "It"s coming here." "I know," he melted out from the shadows and appeared so suddenly and silently besides me that I almost jumped. "Does your father..." "Drive a beat up old truck that sounds like it"s on its last lag? No. He drives a 2001 4runner." I could see his eyes in the darkness; they weren"t squinting for sight or bright like Dad"s is when in dim light. Yet, there was something about the way he looked. I shuddered, suddenly feeling cold from the inside. "Should we stay or should we run?" "Run where?" he asked, dryly. "This little town of yours is surrounded on all four sides by wood and water. We would get hopelessly lost if we go by wood. And we meet up with whoever is headed this way if we go by land. And I"m not jumping off a cliff into rushing waters of any reason." He turned to offer a smile of reassurance but froze. "Oh my god." "What?" I asked, turning to see the empty doorway. With all my senses so heightened, I didn"t think anything could sneak up on me. Well, except maybe him. "Don"t scare me like that!" swatting him with my hand. But he continued to stare at me. "What?" There was something in the way he stood there, stock still, that created a ball of ice in the pit of my stomach. "Sophia, your eyes... they"re.... They"re glowing." I held my breath. He looked as if he was seeing a ghost and I honestly couldn"t blame him. Ruby flipped at fourteen and has since mastered her transformation to finely honed control; she"d have to if she hoped to survive in the world of humans. I doubt even in the heat of passion, she"d lose control the way I"ve seen the some of the kids do at the raves. John Kanin obviously has never seen the wolven eyes before. And damn it, I hate the fact that he"s seeing it now, on me. Of all the times to lose control! I turned away quickly, both embarrassed and frightened. "Sophia," he grabbed my arm and pulled me back to face him, pulling my hands away from my face. "What is happening to you?" I was scared, too damn scared to think straight. The pores of my body seemed to have expanded and the hairs stood on end as I felt my skin tingle with something unidentifiable. I"ve felt it before, in the middle of night when I wake to find the whole world spinning and my eyes glowing with my father"s heritage. "No!" Pushing Kanin away, I rushed to my feet and out the door. "Sophia, wait! Sophia!" I had to get away, away from him. Away from everyone. ~~~~~~~~~~ -Kanin"s POV- The back of my head hit the table and for a moment, my vision swam. I heard the scraping of feet and knew that she was about to bolt. "Sophia, wait! Sophia," the screen door slammed and I knew she had fled. It took a moment for my head to clear. For such a small delicate little thing, she certainly was strong. But I"ve long since stop underestimating people; call it a survival instinct that cops learn, usually the hard way. But then again, I didn"t know that people"s eyes could glow like lantern light either. I stood on the porch, eyes scanning the roads when it hit me that she wouldn"t have taken the road. Turning about, I saw with some dismay at the dark woods that I thought were rather picturesque when I took the place. Now, it was like something out of a bad movie. I ran inside and grabbed the 9mm from the table and froze when my hand touched the 10 gage. Someone had just stepped into the house. I listened closely, not wanting to give my position away. From the front door, it was unlikely someone has seen me yet. "You see her?" the rough voice asked then stopped. "You smell something?" "Shit, he"s still in the house." I heard the boots on the floorboard a moment before I fired the gun into the doorway. Whoever it was caught the bullet in the shoulder while I dove across the room and out the backdoor. "Don"t let him get away!" I wasn"t about to wait around for those goons to catch up to me. If I hadn"t been prepared to go into the woods after Sophia earlier, I sure the hell am now. You know how in the movies, the woods are usually lit up bright as day; well that"s how the woods look to me now. And on any other day, I"d probably be wondering why the full moon was so unbelievably bright. But right now, I can only thank the heavens that it was so I can see where the hell I was going without tripping over every bush and branch there was. Not that there was any guarantees that I wouldn"t get hopelessly lost since I don"t know where I was going, only that it wasn"t where I had been two minutes before. It wasn"t too long before I knew that I was in serious trouble. It was night, I had no equipment, I was lost and I lost Sophia. Great, Donner is really going to trust me now! I turned and took a moment to see if I can reposition myself. That"s when I heard it. If I had the energy, I would have roared in frustration. Not only do I have what sounded like two bumbling hit men after me, I"m also lost in the woods with wild and possible large animals. Standing here, I listened for a moment, all the training in the marines and police academy coming back to me all in a rush. My senses were wide open to receive information that could possibly save my life. Thank goodness I had always been pretty damn good at this sort of thing. The night air shifted, bringing with it the smell of water, woods and warm furry bodies. Definitely four-footed creatures, I could hear the hide legs being lifted even as the front paws were setting down. And they were approaching fast! Not bothering to stand around and greet the newcomers to this merry chase, I took off. Branching scratching face and arms, legs aching to stop for a break, and lungs trying force enough oxygen into them to keep me from keeling over, I knew that I couldn"t keep up this neck breaking speed for long, especially given the traps that were in the woods. I sometimes think that I jinx myself on purpose. Just as I finish the thought of there being traps, one cramped its steely jaws around my ankle. I pitched forward soundlessly, in too much pain to holler. Turning around, I saw the teeth of the trap had ripped open the jeans and skin around my ankle, drawing blood. Damn it, the smell of blood was sure to draw more animals here. And of course, as if on cue, a large gray wolf appeared from between two trees. Had it been human, there would be no doubt of its thoughts. Pure and unadulterated hatred gleamed though its big brown eyes. Oh great, now I was in some serious trouble. I wonder what god I had angered to be in this situation twice in one lifetime. Now I can only hope that my guardian white wolf was around to save me again. But I knew I had no such luck. The gray wolf took a leap going for my throat just I remembered that I still had my 9mm in my hand. Pulling my arm up to fire, I was forestalled by a large brown wolf appearing somewhere from over my left shoulder. The two animals collided in mid air, jaws clamping shut viciously on each other. I backed away as quickly as I could, dragging the metal jaws of death with me. It was then that I realized that I wasn"t alone. Another wolf, this one with gleaming gray eyes, stood not a foot away from my right, as if standing guard. A third came around from behind to stand before me, its paws delicately stepping over my prone legs. It too seemed to be protecting me, like bodyguards. Turning, I watched as the big gray and brown one circled one another, teeth bared and snapping dangerously close to each other. The gray made another attempt but was knocked into a tree by the brown, who butted its head against the gray"s side like a battering ram against a wooden door. The gray went down and stayed down. It was the most... "interesting" behavior I"ve ever seen. The brown wolf turned and watched me for a second before leaping out of sight. For a moment, I laid there stunned as the two others wolves took themselves off as well. Shaking myself, I went to work on the steel trap still on my leg. Closing my hands around the teeth of the trap, I pulled until it gave enough for me to pull my leg out. The blood soaked through the pants and I groaned that I was going to be a walking target for every creature in the woods now. "John!" I turned to the sound so Ruby"s voice, anxious and concern. "JOHN!" "I"m here!" I called back; hoping that whoever was after me has either gone or is out of earshot. After all, I could hardly want to attention dangerous to my new wife. Wife, I still can"t quite comprehend that fact that Ruby married me. "John!" Ruby fell to her knees beside me, her arms closing around my neck before I could get another word out. "Are you all right?" "Oh peachy," I leaned back enough to begin undoing my shirt, I was going to need a temporary bandage for my leg. "That"s a very pretty dress." "Thank you," she replied absentmindedly. "You look like hell." "Thank you," I smiled and ripped the sleeves off. "Where is Donner?" "Right here," Donner appeared, his dinner jacket open and his eyes searching the woods around. "Where"s my daughter?" "Gone," I replied, with a sigh. "I don"t know what happened. The truck was coming, we both heard it. She got scared and turned to me for help." I looked at Donner, noting that the man was not carrying a gun out here. "Did you know your daughter has eyes that glow?" Donner"s gaze jerked down toward me. "Glow?" "Yeah, like lanterns." Somehow I had expected him to be surprised by that. But a part of me wasn"t at the least surprised that he wasn"t reacting the way I wanted him to. This town gets weirder and weirder by the minute. "And then she bolted out the door. That"s when the two men came into my house and...oh I shot one of them in the shoulder before getting the hell out of there too." "I know, we found him bleeding to death in your kitchen." Donner turned as Luke and Vivian Cates came through the woods. Hell, they were making so much noise that a deaf man would have heard them. "I"ve cuffed him to your sink. He"s not going anywhere." Sherman Blackstone came though the woods with a grin on his face and his eyes bright with excitement. The man always looked like he had a great secret that he was keeping to himself and laughing at all us fools that knew nothing of it. I really hate that about him. He glanced at me and raised one brow with surprise inquiry. "What happened here?" Donner pointed to the trap. "And Sophia took off into the woods." "Yeah, with glowing eyes," I added just to see their reaction. Vivian Cates looked at Donner, startled but not terribly surprise. It was Luke"s reaction that was the most interesting. His face practically lit up like a Christmas tree, you"d think I just told the kid that he won a million dollars. Luke didn"t wait around for anyone to say anything before taking off into the woods. "Where is he going?" I asked Ruby, who laughed softly and shook her head. "After Sophia is my guess," she replied, helping me bind the wound. "We have to get you out of here and..." she stopped as I hissed in pain. The wound was deeper than I thought. "John, are you...." She stared at me, just stood there stock still and stared, her jaws slack and eyes wide in stunned disbelief. "What?" It was surprised by the way she was just simply staring at me as if she"s never seen me before. "Ruby, what is it?" "Oh god," Donner cursed fluently in a language that I didn"t recognize as he too stared at me. "Sherman!" Blackstone laughed as Vivian too gawked in complete incredulity. I was beginning to get the real nervous reaction of squirming as they all stared with Blackstone laughing like a loon in the back. "You knew!" Donner finally turned and pointed an accusing finger at Blackstone. Since I was still in the dark about this whole thing, I thought it best to pay attention. "How could you not tell the rest of us?" "Not my place," Sherman Blackstone grinned wildly and turned to me, giving me a hand that I took gratefully. My leg felt like it"s been doused in fire. "Besides, he looks so much like Richard that I thought someone would have recognized him by now." "Oh damn it!" Donner ran a hand through his hair and frustration. "If I didn"t have a daughter to look for right now..." "Oh relax," Sherman said as he helped me take a few tentative steps. Looks like I was getting out of the woods tonight, after all. "Luke will find her." "That"s the problem." He laughed again before turning to me. "Oh by the way, Kanin. Welcome home." Now what the heck does that mean? TBC.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Okay, this story is wrapping up nicely. I hope you"ve all been enjoying it. Next chapter, Luke"s point of view! The Normal Life By Didi Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of. Note: Okay, this is the payoff. I can"t say that I"m all together satisfied with the result but I think it works. Sorry for those of you that may be disappointed with it. But keeping with the spirit of the ratings (note the rated R just above, there will be no gratuitous descriptions, I least none that I am aware of) I"ve kept it pretty tamed - no pun intended there. So, I hope everyone enjoys the story. ~~~~~~~~~~ -Luke"s POV- I shucked off my clothes as quickly as I could, instinctively noting where I left them so I can come back to retrieve them in the future. One too many lectures from my mother about the amount of clothes I lose in the woods. It"s not that I can"t find it but usually what I leave overnight in the woods become pretty weather beaten by the time I do find it if I don"t take extra care to note where I had left it. Plus flipping in your clothes really makes a huge mess, not to mention all time you need to take to get untangled from everything. The night opened up to me. Morphing, I am again stuck at how beautiful the world is from the wolven eyes. I always feel so much more alive when I"m on all fours. It"s like breaking into a run after walking all your life. You feel like every molecule in your body jumps into full chorus of excitement as you go from human to something more. It was a beautiful night, full moon and the weight lifted from my shoulders as I take in a lung full of the scent of night. And with the light breeze exactly the way I like, carrying with it a scent that was as tantalizing as any exotic spice from the middle east, I race toward my destiny. Honeysuckles. She was wearing something that had honeysuckles mixed into it. It was light, blending well with her own unique scent that tease my senses as I follow it through the dark forest. She was running scared; I can taste it in her delightful fragrance. The first time is never easy, especially as you get older. Sixteen, nearing seventeen now, she was on the boarder threshold point. Few people make it through their first time once they reached seventeen. A shudder of fear races through me. What if she didn"t make it? No, I was not going to think like that. Of course Sophia is going to make it through all right. She was special, strong and fragile all at the same time. Plus, she now have the added bonus of being the only child of the Alpha. Oh man, I want to chuckle, if I was still in human form that is, just remembering the sight of Tyler Creed"s face as the vote was read the second time. The arrogant bastard! Thank god Ruby wised up and not marry the creep, just thinking of having to see that smug face every day was enough to make me hurl. The scent was getting stronger, Sophia stopped against the oak tree for a moment, leaning against it for support. One of her white sandals, straps broken, was discarded on a stump. She must have run out of breath. I can almost taste her now. Even better than Tyler Creed"s expression during the vote, was what happened afterward. Oh man, my sister must have had balls of steel to stand in front of the pack and announce her marriage to Kanin the way she did. The sheriff throwing his support for her wasn"t surprising, given his history. I probably would have burst out laughing had mom not elbowed me hard enough to make me choke instead. Creed looked like he just swallowed a bucket of nails. The attack wasn"t unexpected, it was probably anticipated. Creed"s little lackeys may have thought they were being smart when they snuck out, but it was like trying to move a herd of elephant on ice. Donner"s command made it possible for me to see why the pack chose him. I was definitely getting closer to Sophia, the air was thick with her essence and the taste of river water. She couldn"t have passed through this part more than five minutes ago. There was definitely distinctively different about her scent now, there was something almost... dangerous about it. Two minutes later, I was upon her. She curled in fetal position, wedged between a rock and the upturned roots of a giant redwood tree. Her hands were tucked tightly against her bent legs and stomach. *Sophia?* She looked up, her eyes glowing eerily in the pale moonlight. The smell of fear assaulted my keen senses like a brick wall. Her tears streaked her mud caked faced. She must have slipped and fallen at some point for her dress her ripped and stained in all the right places. Her feet were bare and scratched, having lost her sandals some time now. There was something else, something I didn"t even notice as I got closer to her, my nose tucked down so not to frighten her. Her feet, they were no longer clumsily flat like a human. They were arched a lot more with tiny sharp nails protruding from her toes.

"Josh has been making noise about seeing his wife." "I"ll send him with the message then." "Good," she glanced at the list in front of her. "We lost two more last week." "I know," Donner"s eyes were dark. "I was there." "That makes a total of fifteen so far." "Kanin"s got six more to add to that." "Have they added to the..." "Not enough time yet," he responded with a sigh. "They"ve been holding the ceremonies in the basement of his home." "Someone might hear," she warned darkly. Peak Pines were overrun with hunters in the Hunting Seasons. It was a place they"ve always tried to avoid. But despite her misgivings, Ruby and Kanin have managed to create a place for themselves in that hostile environment, though there was a near incident three weeks ago with a hunter. Not to put some of their own people in the right positions. "They might." He agreed. "Let"s talk transport." "Too dangerous," she shook her head. "Two hundred miles with woods on either side. We lose them in route, we could lose them for good." He nodded in agreement. The risks were too high. "Suggestion?" Vivian considered it for a moment, her eyes trained on the stars outside the window. "Ruby"s people are good at building fast. Let"s shift the migration crowd, push our healers in. I"m sure the Cates foundation can donate some extra money for a new wing or two... and maybe something extra?" her eyes slanted back toward him, knowing well Matt"s aversion to manipulation of the humans. No matter what his feelings were on the subject, Matt knew what was important for his people. "If it can be managed, do it." He glanced down at this scribbles across his notepad. "Anything else?" "Luke and Sophia." That got his attention in a hurry. "What about them?" "There"s been talk," Vivian murmured quietly as she got up to pour herself three fingers of the fine brandy that Willard always loved so much. "Most members are accepting of the relationship but there has been recent activities within the younger set." "Luke leads that set." "I know," a hint of maternal pride lacing through her silky voice. "But you forget that Sophia is white, rare among the rare. Her standing in the pack is well above touch. Her attachment to anyone is... she"s a very powerful ally. And so others court her favors. Lucas has been challenged no less than eight times now." V playing mother hen would have been amusing if it weren"t for the fact that Matt knew only too well that Sophia could get caught in the cross fires. "If Luke can"t handle his people..." "I"m asking for your consent, as the Alpha and her father, to announce their engagement." "Luke proposed?" not a hint of emotion on his face. She raised a brow. "He would if he didn"t think you would rip his head off. He lives with a rather unfound fear of you." "It"s not unfound," he replied but decided it would be wiser not to mention the night he cornered young Cates in the woods for some serious words. No matter what V may feel for him, Luke was her son and she would protect him to the bitter end. The warning in her eyes spoke volumes but she didn"t voice them. "Sophia was very upset about the last three fights." "When were they?" he"ll have to look into it if it became too much for them to cover as just boys being boys. "Last night," she replied dryly. "By the lake?" She nodded her head, toying with the pendant around her neck. "Your daughter apparently has a very protective streak in her. She took down two herself when five of them attacked at the same time." "Pack mentality," he shook his head. He has already heard more than one rumor concerning his daughter, none of them he liked. But for all intent, she was handling herself among the younger set well. But marriage? "She"s only sixteen." "Going onto thirty with all the shit she has to put up with," Sherman said as he entered, startling the two occupants of the room. "But given what she is, that"s not surprising." "Damn it, Sherman," Donner growled darkly. "Don"t you ever knock?" "Why?" he asked, genuinely confused. "It"s not like you"re going to be doing anything I"d be embarrassed to find out about." Then eyed him shrewdly, "Unless you came to your senses already." When Vivian threw Donner a triumphant look and Matt refused to meet his eyes, Sherman snorted. "Thought so." "What do you want?" Matt asked sharply. Sherman helped himself to good wine and casually dropped himself into a chair by the fire. "Just to tell you that it would probably ease some of the tension around here if your daughter was aligned with a strong family. Don"t get me wrong; there isn"t any upraising on the horizon. But Sophia engaged to Luke could go a long way to settling both the minds of the pack members who are unsure what"s going to happen to the pack if anything happens to their oh-so-wise leader. Bonus being that it will quiet the kiddies as well to know that the Alpha is behind the couple." Donner was visibly torn. His duties as the leader and peacekeeper did not mesh well with his duties as a father. "She"s too young." "She"s sixteen going on seventeen in three days. She"ll have until eighteen to make up her mind about Luke," Sherman said reasonably. "In the meantime, she"ll get some peace when the challenges die down with an actual show of commitment by Luke." V nodded her head. "It would assure the Betas that the next generation is going to be lead wisely." Matt glared at her. "You"ve already got a ring for Luke to give her, don"t you?" She didn"t bother answering. The Keeper chuckled and waited for the decision. With a sigh, "If she says yes, I won"t oppose it." "Good," Sherman capped his hands together. "Now that we"re done here." "You on your way to see Kanin?" "Yeah," came the reply in sober tones. "The pack from Acorn Falls have made contact with our little brothers and sisters in Peak Pines. Kanin got into it with a couple of member yesterday." Donner"s eyes glowed brightly. "You know this for sure?" "Yeah." "Was Ruby there?" V asked, knowing that Ruby"s presence would have calm down things faster than anything else. "No, and it didn"t help that Kanin is a Diamond Black." "One would think that the two of them would offset the reactions they get," Donner replied dryly. "Was anyone..." "They have one dead and three wounded. Kanin came out without a scratch but we"ve got one lied up for a while." Sherman picked lint from his shoulder. "It"s going to get ugly, Donald Worthington from Acorn Falls isn"t too keen on a new pack in the neighborhood, and so close to his own." "He"s afraid of migration," V pointed out with disgust. "The man is barely hanging on to his position by a thread. His people have made it no secret that they are tired of his uncompromising streak. I"m surprised that no one has challenged him yet." "I think they"re just waiting for him to die of his own poisons," Sherman said making a gagging sound. "The man drinks like a gully fish." Donner nodded his head in agreement. "But if he succeeds in taking Kanin"s pack over, he"s back on top of the food chain." V"s eyes glittered. "So you think he"ll start a pack war to stay in power." Sherman looked at her as if she"s lost her bloody mind. "What are you nuts? Of course he"ll do it. And if he can off his wife and take Ruby in the process..." "Ruby would kill him first," V grinned, almost amused by the idea. "Hum..." "The point is," Donner said firmly, drawing their attention once more. "Acorn Falls isn"t just going to leave Kanin"s people alone. They"ve been faltering for some time now. It"s no secret that the Greyland pack has been slowly moving in on their territories for some time now. That there hasn"t been outright bloodshed is a miracle. Peak Pines is still a fledgling pack, they"re vulnerable and Donald of Acorn Falls knows it. We"re looking at a potential pack war there." Vivian nodded her head slowly. "Come what may. Kanin and Ruby knows that they"ve got support here if they need it." Blackstone smiled, glad that this problem is being handled properly, but he couldn"t help throwing one last thought in. "Assuming John and Ruby are going to ask for help. Smart those two may be but they are still mighty young and a little too arrogant for their own good." Donner nodded. "Then we best keep a close eye on things. Peace isn"t assured yet." ~~~~~~~~~~ -In the Stairwell- "We don"t ever get a break, do we?" Sophia whispered, unwilling to rely on her mental speech. Her father has gotten rather good a picking up on those lately. Frightening when your parent can get into your mind so easily. "Looks like," Luke murmured, tightening his arm around her from behind as they sat on the stairs, listening on a conversation they had no business listening in on. He buried his nose in her hair, inhaling the floral fragrance of her perfume that he was seriously becoming addicted to. "Pack war. That"s serious stuff." "You think it"ll come to that?" her fingers dug into his arm but he didn"t make a murmur of protest. "You dad... the Alpha seems certain that that"s where it"s headed," he replied, feeling the Goosebumps along her arm. "Don"t worry, it"ll be okay." "John and Ruby..." "Are not going to let Acorn Falls take over their pack," he would bet his hid that Ruby would tear in anyone that tries to destroy that little sanctuary she"s created for herself in Peak Pines. For the first time since he"s become friends with his sister, she was happy. Pregnant and happy. "Would you go to them if they need us?" He didn"t even have to think about it. "Yes." She nodded. "Then I"ll be coming with you." "You"ll need to stay here." "Luke..." "The White has to stay to protect this pack while we"re off," he explained reasonably. Plus he didn"t want to think of her out there battle it out with some of the most vicious of their kind. "Don"t worry, I"ll be back. I promise." She smiled, pressing her lips to the hands that she"s got clasped in hers. "They war hasn"t even started and you"re already talking about coming home to me." Luke"s eyes flashed in the night. "And your father just consented to let us get married." "Engaged, Luke," she reminded him gently. "He agreed not to oppose an engagement." "Same thing," he grinned and reached into his back pocket. "It"s a pink diamond, my grandmother"s." She stared at the simple solitaire set in pale yellow gold that twinkled from the nest of burgundy velvet. "Oh my god," shocked at something so beautiful. "You like it?" he asked, suddenly unsure of himself. "It"s beautiful," turning her head to press a kiss against his lips. "I love it." "Good," he murmured softly against her cheek and sighed. "I love you." It was the first time he"s said it and it took her breath away. "I love you too." She took a deep breath, feeling herself swell with joy as he leaned his head against hers. They were going to be okay, she had to believe that. All this wonderful joy in her heart couldn"t be for nothing. They may not have a normal life but they were going to be all right. For now, they were safe. How long that would last was another question. ~~~~~~~~~~ The End.... (for now) Author"s Note: This story has been a joy to write cause there was just so much to play with. I"m so disappointed that the series was ended before its time. But it certainly has give us all a lot to play with in the world of fan fictions. I hope you"ve enjoyed this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. And since this story kind of ended with an opening for a sequel, I may revisit it in the future. Thanks for sticking around. The Normal Life By Didi Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of. Note: For those of you that read my first Wolf Lake fan fic, this story will follow a similar but slightly altered format, you"re get it when you read it. And for those of you that have not read my first, it"s pretty easy to pick up once you start. Acknowledgement: Hooray for the return of Wolf Lake!!! Thank you UPN for your wonderful taste in programming. And thanks to everyone that read my first Wolf Lake fan fiction. I hope you all like this one too. **Note: Fast Forwarding the timeline: Willard Cates has been killed and we"re at the wake.** ~~~~~~~~~~ -Sophia"s POV- They"re watching, I can feel it. Luke, Dad, Mr. Blackstone, everyone... They don"t come right out and say it. No, that would be too honest, too direct. Instead, I feel like I"m under a large microscope, every word, every movement being taken apart by their eyes. I feel like screaming at the top of my lungs and never stop. No wonder my father didn"t fear for me. This could drive a normal person insane, to say nothing of a freakish half-breed like me. "Sophia," I turned at watch "him" approach. Evening knowing that I"ve been avoiding the guy for days now, I couldn"t just turn away, not when I can see he was hurting so bad on the inside. "Thanks for coming." The pain was not there in his voice; it was in his eyes. He had beautifully telling eyes that were so incredibly sad right now that I wanted to take away the pain for him. I never seem to be able to keep in mind that Lucas Cates was not a child I needed to coddle. Yet the need to was there. I offered a smile, putting my hand on his arm. "Is there anything I can do for you to help?" Even in such a sobering occasion, I could see the gleam come to those luminous globes. Feeling my cheeks go hot, I shook my head at his exasperating line of thinking. "Anything but that." He smiled; it was a sad but amused smile. "In that case, no. There"s nothing you can do for me, thanks." "Seriously Luke, if there"s anything I can do..." His eyes glaze came back to mine so fast, I was startled for a moment. "There"s nothing anyone can do but find the guy that did this." "And they will," I tried to sound reassuring, tried to help but even I had my doubts. My father was good at what he does; he was a good cop. But this case has everyone on edge. Not only was a man killed, he was our...their leader, the Alpha. Who could...would do such a thing? "Just be patient and everything will..." "Nothing will ever be the same, Sophia." Luke"s voice was low and hissed angrily as he grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the crowd. "No one is ever going to find out who did this, cause you know why? This is pack business and everyone knows it, even your dad. He"s not going to interfere. He can"t. Even he has to obey the rules of the game, he can"t go after whoever did this. It would break the chain that"s kept us safe for centuries." The raw deal that was happening was getting to him; I can see it. The glow had slowly steeped into his features and he was on the verge. The anger was doing it. "Luke," I looked around, trying to find somewhere less conspicuous. Not everyone present was from the pack, I couldn"t risk letting Luke lose it in front of the humans. But the town had showed up for the wake, the place was packed. The only place that could possibly be empty would be... I almost cringed at the thought but knew that I had every little choice. "Come on." He gave no resistance as I tugged on his arm, pulling him up the two flights of stairs. From there, he led the way, guiding me down the corridor and turning the knob to the last door in the hall. Without a word, he pushed me gently in and shut the door behind us. If someone had told me yesterday that I"d wind up in Lucas Cates"s room today, I"d have laughed at their overly developed imagination. But here I was, standing in a room that was twice the size of mine and decorated in shades of brown and dark green. Strangely enough, it was very sober for such a flamboyant guy. No wild posters, no piles of clothes laying everywhere, no expensive stereo system against the wall. It was all very neat and rather... pretty. I was startled out of my thoughts when warm arms came around me from behind. For a moment, I felt a twinge of fear. I had just basically closeted myself away with the guy that announced his intentions to make me his personal property. God, I hated that term. He was bigger, stronger, and definitely more vicious than anything I can ever muster up... but then I remembered... he was Luke. And if nothing else, I knew that Luke would never hurt me. ~~~~~~~~~~ -Luke"s POV- Nuzzling her neck, for the first time since I found out about my father"s death, I relaxed. She was warm, softer than I had expected, and so unbelievably sweet. I wasn"t sure how she"d react to me just up and grabbing her from behind, but I need to feel her close. Need the scent and warmth of her to make me feel.... to make me simply feel. The numbness that enveloped me since two days ago has yet to leave me and I hate the feeling. God, I hate the helplessness and the incredible pain that surrounds my heart with every breath that I take in. I hate that I don"t know what really happened out there, whether he had been in any pain or not. I hate not knowing who the hell would have the nerve to do this! And worse of all, I hate the fact that he"s gone. My father was gone. The man I thought would live forever was no longer there. Sure there were times when I feared him, and why shouldn"t I have? He was Alpha. But he was my father first and foremost. Sometimes, I forget that. And now... that"s all I can think about. My father was gone. "Luke?" Her voice was angel soft and hesitant. She didn"t turn around like I had expected her to, but her arms came around mine, hugging them to her. She leaned back against me allowing me to make all the moves for her. Perhaps two days ago, I would have simply thrown her on the king size bed that took up a quarter of my room and help myself to whatever she had to offer in the way of comfort. But today...today I simply wanted to hold her. And perhaps she knew that. "What can I do?" I shook my head, lowering my chin down to her shoulder for a moment. I didn"t need her to see me like this, weak with grief. But she made no effort to face me. "Just stand here and let me hold you." The smile was something I"d always been glad to see. Now, I can feel it bloom onto her face as she tiled her head toward me for a moment. "I think I can manage that." I tightened my hold for a second then relaxed. "Want to sit?" It might have been me, but I could almost sense the amusement come. "Sure, unless you"re going to suggest the bed." Laughing, and it felt good to laugh, I shook my head. The idea had fluttering in mind for a moment but I had already dismissed it. "I was thinking of the arm chair by the window." She turned her head, searching the room. "Nice chair," she commented and I had to smile. I guess it wasn"t want people traditionally would think of being in a teenager"s room. But I loved the big oversized embroidered arms chair with its cherry wood arms and legs. The dark baroque style tapestry that covered the seat and back was done in dark hues of red, burgundy and brown. It was a serious piece of future. I love it. And I could sense Sophia did too. "But there"s only one." Some may say that my sense of humor needs a serious purging. But I think it was just right. "We only need one." With my arms still wrapped around her, I moved us toward the seat. I wasn"t ready to face her yet, wasn"t nearly ready to allow this side of me to be seen by anyone. And so I took the coward"s way out, I let my false bravado do all my public appearances. And in this case, I simply stayed silent. Dropping into the chair, I took her down with me, settling her in my lap, still facing away from me. She leaned back, curling her body into the curves of mine. It was as if she had been made to be held by me and me alone. We sat there together, facing the window where the sunset threw yellow and red light through the glass panes. It was so wonderfully peaceful that for a moment, I could almost forget about the hundred bloodthirsty hounds down stairs. I could almost forget, from here on out, my life was in danger. Whoever wanted to be the next Alpha, would no doubt kill me at first chance. And because I made that stupid but honest proclamation, I may have just put Sophia"s life in danger. The Normal Life By Didi Summery: Life is hard enough as a teen without in the problems of being wolf. Sequel to "Eyes of Brown... or is it Green," kind of. Note: Darn it, they"ve taken the show off the air again. (sigh) I"m in grief. ~~~~~~~~~~ -Sherman"s POV- I watched both of them grow up slowly under the eagle eyes of the town. One the Alpha"s son; the other the daughter our town"s rebel. Life was tough for both in their different ways, but they"ve made it this far through different means. Now, just as it would appear that their future would be linked, our ways may take everything away. But if I had it my way, the danger would pass quickly for both and this pack would have a strong leadership that can keep us safe. Leadership is the key out the survival of the pack; I"ve always known that. Willard Cates had been a good leader, a strong influence. Sixteen years ago there was another that could have been better but the fates had other plans in stored for that one. Don"t get me wrong, I don"t think Willard had been a mistake, just that there could have been an even stronger Alpha. But that"s neither here or there.

Satisfied that he"s made a point, "How many hours of sleep are you getting a night?" "Three? Four maybe?" she admitted with an wince when he gave her a look that scolded her. "I"ve tried, really I have. I usually get into bed as early as I can but I just end up staring at the ceiling half the night." Taylor made a face and continued to notate in her chart. "Food? Are you getting enough fibers and proteins? You were underweight before but now..." "I"ve been eating more lately," Amber replied carefully and rather truthfully now that she thought about it. "I have. There"s these guys that thinks it"s their job to take care of me so they"ve been feeding my face every day. I"m just not gaining any weight, not for the lack of trying." "Well you need to continue the food intake," he pulled out a prescription pad from his lab coat pocket. "I"m going to give him a very mild sedative to help you sleep at night." "Will it hurt the baby?" "No," he ripped off the page and handed it to her. "It"s commonly used on pregnant women that experience anxiety and insomnia; it"s harmless to the child. I"d feel better if you had a little more meat on your bones but you should be fine. And I"m ordering two week"s bed rest for you." "What?" "Amber, you need to get more rest. Your body is run down and your running on fumes. I don"t want you compromising your immune system and ending up in the hospital with the flu or worse." "But I have to work." "You can take some time off." "I can"t," she argued. "I need the money." "Money isn"t as important as take care of this baby, is it?" She hesitated. "But if I can"t pay rent, it"s not going to do my baby any good." That gave Taylor pause. He knew she was going to be a single mom and that she was struggling but... She was right and he knew it; it just really sucked. "Alright. But you need to take at least the rest of this week off. Put up your feet, take lots of naps, get full night"s sleep, watch some bad soaps on daytime television." Amber considered it for half a second before she nodded. She come compromise on that. It was already Thursday anyways, two days isn"t going to drive her to the poorhouse. "Okay, I"ll take the rest of the week off and the do nothing for the weekend. Sleep, eat and watch TV." She smiled at the doctor and crossed her heart. "Promise." "I guess I"ll take what I can get," he muttered and showed her out. "Bed rest," he emphasized sternly. "Yes, sir," she saluted him with a grin. -&-&-&- "Thank you Esther," Cane smiled and took the heavy picnic basket from Esther"s struggling arms. "You"re the best." "She"s barely adequate," Jill muttered into her coffee. "Ignore her," Kay replied from across the breakfast table where she was enjoying a late breakfast in relative peace. "Did you make sure to put that special jam in there?" "Of course," Esther tucked a stack of thick paper napkins into the basket and patted the side of the wicker with satisfaction. "Now you make sure she eats every bite of that. I slaved all morning to make that and you tell her so." Cane looked up from his examination of the contents, "Esther, you didn"t need to do that. I could have gone and have the kitchen at the Athletic club make up a basket." "Oh please," she waved it away with a grin. "Healthy goods and nice clean greaseless stuff is what"s needed here. I won"t have you feeding that girl mass produced oily products that she"s not even going to like. That baby is being raised on health foods." The paper Jill had been holding up hit the dining room table noisily. She stared at her son in complete and utter disbelief. "Are you telling me that you"re packing lunch for that little trollop?" "Don"t call her that, Mother," Cane warned sternly as he latched the basket. "Esther, is there any juice in here?" Esther held up a finger and smiled, "I"ve got that right here," running to the kitchen again and returning with a heavy red bag. "Insolated so it stays nice and cold. There"s also a canister of skim milk in there. Tell Amber she can call me any time she needs a meal or two. I"ll be more than happy to..." "We are not running a boarding house or a cafeteria here," Jill slapped her open palm on the table in indignation. "We don"t even know if that little tamp is really carrying your child. How do we even if that child is yours? Have we seen a sonogram? A DNA test? What possible proof do we have that..." "Mother," he said it warningly, "stay out of this." "We need to discuss our options here. We can get a DNA test as early as 10 weeks into the pregnancy. How far along is she? We can be in with the judge this morning and have an order by the afternoon." She got up and reached for her phone. "I"ll get Michael on the phone. I"m sure he can...." "You will do no such thing!" Cane snatched the phone out of her hand before she could even flip open the phone. "No judges, no lawyers, no DNA tests. I know what I know Mother and I know that that baby is mine." He turned those icy blue eyes of his on the woman that gave him life. "I have no doubts. Ihave no doubts that that baby is mine." Unrepentant, Jill shook her head. "That"s because you are too kind and too soft hearted for your own good. A pretty face, a few crocodile tear and you"re ready to pack her up and move her in here." "Not here, that"s for sure," Cane muttered feeling a headache developing behind his eyes every time he spoke of Amber with his mother. She was as unforgiving as granite and a sharp as doubled edges sword. Amber would never survive more than a day under the same roof as Jill; the stress would kill her. "Well I"m telling you," Jill continued getting up to get more coffee, if you can call decaf coffee, "I"m not going to stand for it." "It"s my house too," Katherine interjected sternly, "and I welcome that child and my great-grandchild into this house with open arms." "We don"t even know if she is carrying Cane"s child," Jill spat out venomously. "And if, god forbid, she is, she can court on us being there in the delivery room with court order and..." "What?" Cane was horrified by what he was hearing. "No wonder Amber wouldn"t tell me about the baby. Just listen to yourself. What kind of woman would advocate taking a baby from their mother? You of all people should know what that"s like!" Reaching out, he closed his hand over his grandmother"s shoulder, letting her know that he directed none of this at her but he"s got to make his mother see reason. "Jill, you better get your act straight," Katherine warned darkly, "because that child is coming here with that baby and you will not put undue stress on her, do you hear me? We cannot endanger that child because you refuse to..." "I won"t live in the same house as that woman!" Jill announced with resolve. "It"s bad enough that run into her getting coffee in the morning because I can"t have coffee in my own house..." "What?" Cane asked sharply, "What did you say?" Turning to the maid, "Esther absolutely refuses to make regular coffee because she thinks that Katherine will..." Esther looked indignant. "You know perfectly well that Mrs. C can"t have...." "Forget the coffee, Mother," Cane interjected with a shake of his head, a headache settling in behind his eyes. "What did you say about running into Amber?" but he could already see the answer in Jill"s eyes as she rived up for another round of Amber bashing. "Oh god..." "She was there, standing bold as day, and just smug as you please looking for an..." "What did you say to her?" Cane wanted to know. Horrible scenarios were working their way through his brain, all of them ending up with Amber in the hospital and another child lost. "Mother, please tell me you didn"t do anything that could make Amber..." "A woman like her does not get to raise my grandchild," Jill more or less informed the room in general. "Oh my god," Cane grabbed his keys off the buffet behind. "I"ve got to go," he picked up the basket Esther had lovingly prepared for Amber and leaned to down to kiss his grandmother"s cheek. "If you hear from Amber or about..." "I will call you," Kay assured him with concern clearly written in her eyes. "Go take care of this because it becomes worse. Tell her that I"m here if and when she needs me." "Thank you grandmother," he rushed toward the door. "Mother, we"ll talk later." "Where are you going?!?" Jill called after him in anger. "Please tell me you are not..." "I"m going to do damage control," Cane informed her as he rushed out. This was going to require a face-to-face; god knows what kind of harm his mother has inflicted on Amber already. And the doctor had said no stress... "If anything happens to Amber and the baby..." Esther hurried after him. "You forgot the juice and milk!" -&-&-&- Adam walked in, arm loaded with what he cleaned out at the bakery, and found Amber"s desk empty. Glancing at the gilded, geometrically funky clock on the wall, he was puzzled. It was almost ten o"clock now and Amber should have been stationed at her desk. Unless she was puking her guts out in the bathroom, in which case she gets none of the half dozen donuts he brought. Nick waved his brother over with one hand while the other was holding the phone to his ear. "No, no, just take all the time you need off. It"s not a problem Amber. If the doctor says bed rest, that"s what you"re going to do. Don"t worry about the office, we"ll deal with it. Make sure you get something to eat, okay?" he paused and frowned. "I"m not nagging," he complained. "Is that any way to talk to your boss?" he asked. "Hey, I"m just looking out for my future niece or nephew here... plus a good employee. And I"m not nagging." He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just get some food and get some rest. Take whatever time you need off and call if you need anything; any one of us can be at your place inside five minutes. Okay... okay... okay Amber, I will. Just you rest. I"m not nagging. Good bye." He took a breath. "I swear..." "What"s wrong with Amber?" Adam demanded rushing toward him. Taking a step back, Nick placed the phone down and frowned at Adam. "Doctor ordered bed rest. She"s taking the rest of the week off and staying in bed. Said she"ll be in by Monday." "I"m going to her apartment," he said to no one in particular as he whipped around and nearly ran over Cane Ashby. Both men paused to size each other up for a moment, neither one really knowing how to react or what to say; gone was their momentary truce over the new guy the other night. "What are you doing here, Ashby?" "I came to see Amber. Esther made her something for breakfast and lunch," Cane replied carefully as he watched the Newman brothers" faces. Something was afoot. "What happened? What"s wrong? Where"s Amber?" Refusing to answer, Adam looked at Nick trying to find a way out. Nick for his part felt a wave for sympathy for Cane; the guy obviously cared about Amber and fully believes that the child she carried was his as well. But than again, Adam is his brother and... With a sigh, Adam turned and nodded his head in concession to something. He wasn"t going to make Nick responsible for his own dramas. "Amber called in sick. The doctor has ordered bed rest for her for the rest of the week." "Is she alright? What was wrong with her?" Cane wanted to know, setting the heavy basket down. He forgot the milk and juice again in the car. "Is it because of..." he stopped himself. "Stress anyone?" Nick asked mockingly. "Cause you guys have done a bang up job keeping the stress down in her life what with the hovering and the nagging and the keeping the more dangerous parts of the family away..." "Jill..." Cane muttered. "Victor..." Adam muttered as the same time. They shared a distasteful look of frustration. "Right," Nick sighed and rolled his eyes, amused and annoyed with the two of them. "Okay, you boys want to help Amber? How about leaving that poor girl alone for the weekend?" He saw the conflict in their eyes. "Let her just put up her feet and not have to worry about anything... just for one weekend." "She"s got to eat," Cane muttered looking at the basket under his hand. "Esther made her favorites." "I"ll take it," Nick replied holding out his hand, "Yours too," pointing to Adam"s bundle. "I"ll make sure she gets the food and the rest she needs. You two... go to work, get something productive done for a change." They both hesitated and Nick gave Adam a shove in Cane"s direction, which also happen to be the elevator. "Go on, get out of here. I"ve got things to do and people to talk to." "But..." Adam started to say. "No buts," Nick warned sternly. "Doctor says bed rest, which means Amber will be needing rest. You two hovering over her will only add to her stress levels so scat. You can go back to fighting over her and the baby next week, when she"s back to fighting form. In the mean time, get out of here." -&-&-&- "I"m going, I"m going," Amber whined as she picked up her milk and muffins. "Amber, you can"t survive solely on pastries and milk," Jana chided sternly as she followed her friend around Crimson. "You need more food and to put some weight on. You"re positively anorexic or a pregnant woman?" "Shhh..." pulling Jana to the side. "Are you trying to announce it to the world?" "Are we still keeping it a secret?" Jana wanted to know. "Well it"s going to get pretty difficult in a few more weeks," patting her tiny little baby bump, "but I"d like to keep it on the down low as much as we possibly can given that it"s nearly impossible to hide anything around this stupid town." "Alright, alright..." Jana sighed and looked around the nearly empty coffee shop. The morning crush were gone and the lull of midday has settled in. There won"t be a crowd until the lunch crew gets there. "How"s about I close this place for an hour and we got get ourselves something delicious for lunch? My treat," she offered sweetly. "You and I haven"t really seen each other in a bit... maybe we can catch up on some of the going-on"s in your life." "That would be nice but I promised that doc that I would go home and get in bed," Amber smiled and shifted her purse to her arm. "Listen, I"m going to be fine. I"m a survivor remember? I can get through anything." "Damn straight you can," Katherine commented as she found her quarry. She had been on her way to pick up some goodies before she headed to Restless Styles to take Amber to lunch despite her grandson"s good intentions. This wasn"t time for that boy to make a muck of things as men were like to do during the time of crisis and stress; now was the time for her to step in and sweep that dear child under her protection. "Hey Mrs. C," Amber"s smile turned wide with delight as she allowed herself to be enfolded into the grand dame"s arms, feeling suddenly very protected and cared for. "How are you? I"m sorry I haven"t been around as much lately." "You"ve been busy dodging some very determined young men," she didn"t need to beat around the bush with Amber, she never has. "A juggling act if ever there was one." "So you"ve heard, huh?" Amber smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "They have their moments. And the food helps." "Food is always around if you need it," she gave her a significant look then tilted her eyes toward her belly. "And what"s this about doctors and promises and beds?" "Bed rest," Jana interjected quickly before Amber could come out with a plausible half truth she"s so very good at. "The doctor ordered Amber to get bed rest. She"s not eating enough, not sleeping enough and there"s too many men in her life." "That"s not my fault, I tried to get rid of them," Amber complained rather ironically. For the first time in a long time, she"s not actively trying to get a man... and look how well that turned out for her. "They"re like bees... and the baby bump is the honey. Can"t seem to make them go away." Katherine took in the dark circles, the frail form and the milk and muffins in her hands; it didn"t take long to make a decision. "Amber darling, I was wondering if you"d be kind enough to do me a rather enormous favor." "Of course Mrs. C," Amber answered readily enough. Jana"s eyes darted back and forth. "But the doctor said..." but Katherine shushed her with a wave of her hand. "I"m going to a spa this weekend, starting today; the doctor thought it be a good for my stress levels and my heart if I took a bit of time off and just sit by a pool somewhere," Katherine informed them. "It"s a nice retreat but it"s a bit of a distance and these old bones aren"t what they use to be. Would you mind accompanying me to the spa? You will of course be staying with me for the weekend - can hardly stay there by myself - and that daughter of mine..." she rolled her eyes and didn"t elaborate. "How"s about it? You look like you could use a weekend getaway. And it"ll serve a double purpose and give us a chance to talk about my book." "That"s a marvelous idea," Jana clapped in excitement, her gratitude sparkling in her eyes. Amber looked doubtful. "A weekend getaway?" "It"ll be lovely," Katherine said as she grabbed the girl"s arm. "Just you and me, child; and a spa of course. We"ll relax and drink some lovely healthy things... unlike the muddy stuff that Esther has been making with that horrible blender of hers." She was chucking that thing first chance she gets... without offending dear Esther of course. A wave of laughter rose in Amber"s throat. A weekend with Katherine... at a spa. "Come now child," Katherine reprimanded. "You"re not going to make me go on my own, are you? How silly would that look?" Though she knew it was sheer kindness on the indomitable dame"s part, Amber couldn"t help but feel a bubble of excitement. She hasn"t been to a spa since... since she was living with the Foresters in another lifetime. Besides, this is Katherine what harm could it do? "Okay, I guess I"m in." "Terrific," Katherine smile beautifully and winked at Jana, who gave her the thumbs up. "We"ll have a lovely time together." And hopefully by the end of the weekend, she"ll have talked Amber into moving into the Chancellor estate and away from the influences of one Victor Newman. To be continued... Feedback please? Best of YouBy Didi Timeline: Nowhere in this universe. Start reading for the beginning if you want to know. Summery: Cane and Adam come to an agreement as does Jill and Victor, Billy works his considerable charms and Amber discovers something startling. Author"s Note: Wow the background drama is almost as exciting as the stories... well, that"s not true. The stories are kind of a snooze right now. I"m not sorry Colleen is gone. I found the character lacking in so many respects. There"s hardly anything to be excited about on the show. Even Sharon and her baby story is boring me to tears right now... when are we going to get some intrigue again. 2nd Author"s Note: Okay, I"m cheating. I can"t help it. I"m going to cheat. (More on that later...) Warning: Not Beta-ed. I apologize in advance for the numerous mistakes I"m sure is in here. Chapter 17 "She what?" Nick involuntarily took a step back, startled by the explosive reaction. "Left town," he repeated carefully, putting the work station between him and the two slightly agitated men across the way that had hurried over after their obligatory work day to garner news. Obviously they didn"t like what they were hearing. "But..." Cane sputtered to express his belief. "But the doctor ordered..." "Why did you let her?" Adam demanded outraged. "She shouldn"t be traveling in her condition." "I didn"t have any say in it," Nick replied a little defensive for no good reason. "Katherine swept in and took charge. What was I to do?" he shrugged a little helplessly. Really, there was simply no stopping Katherine Chancellor when she sets her mind on something. Nick had practically been ran over when he had even attempted to get a word in edgewise. Certainly didn"t help to have Amber standing there calmly her packing her overnight bag while trying to hid her blatant amusement. "Grandmother took her out of town?" Cane obviously wasn"t let in on the grand dame"s plans for her young protégé. Knowing that Katherine would do no harm to Amber had a profound effect on both men"s moods. Nick silently let out a breath of relief. "They went to a spa to relax for a few days. Katherine"s doctor ordered her to get some rest and she decided to take Amber with her. Seem like a perfectly reasonable plan to me. And don"t bother calling," Nick grinned as both Adam and Cane"s hands left their pockets with mobiles in hand. "Katherine turned off both their phones. They can call out but no one can call in." "Is that a good idea?" Cane asked more concerned than aggravated by the inability to reach out. "Grandmother will take care of Amber. There"s absolutely nothing to worry about..." but of course he was. "They need peace; she needs space," Nick grabbed a file and prepared to go home to his wife and daughter. "You two hanging around and bugging Amber isn"t going to be very peaceful. I agree with Katherine, this is the best thing for her right now. Leave it alone." He gave them both a stern look of warning and left them to their own devices. "Lock the door when you leave."

Motochika clutched his hand to his chest, above where his pounding heart was. It was ablaze, with a fire he had never known. It wasn"t the fire ignited from the rush of battle. No, Mori Motonori is the only one that ignites that fire. What the Ogre was feeling was something else entirely. Who was that guy? And what is this feeling that the Captain of the Fugaku is feeling? Ch 3 Intrusion *Review!* It has been nearly a week since the last sighting of the stowaway. Large amounts of food and water keep disappearing on a daily basis, so he is still on board. Motochika was itching for a battle against the string user, and also to figure out what the fire that was lighted within his is. Ever since the fight against the stowaway, the fire hadn"t gone away. No matter what time of day it was, Motochika found that he was always thinking of him. Just what is this feeling. He can"t stand not knowing, but for now he had other matters to attend to. Motochika glared at his three recently returned scouts. "Mori Motonari is married?" "Yes, they have been together for about a month now. It seems that a small local providence was fearful of a large scale attack by the Oda, so they arranged a marriage between the two for protection. From what we can tell, the peasants of Aki love her for improving their lives, but from the looks of it, she is as cold and emotionless as her husband." The leader of the small party of three spoke. "What"s more, she even admitted that she is a pawn to be used by her husband, Motonari, as he pleases." Motochika scowled. "Sounds like a perfect couple." His parrot squawked in agreement. "You can say that again. They both treat their own soldiers as pawns, and get this. She apparently called her own husband a pawn." One of the scouts commented. Motochika"s single eye widened in surprise before he smirked with amusement. "Oh really, what did he do to her?" "No idea, it was only a rumor going around in the village." The man laughed. The captain chuckled as well. "Yeah, that would have been something to see." Suddenly, everyone in the room was launched to the back. The three scouts were piled up on top of each other. Motochika hit the wall, leaving an impression. His anchor became buried half way through, inches away from him. His parot was squeaking and flapping its wings in a panick. "What the hell happened!" He yelled, pulling himself out of the wall and yanking his weapon out, nearly slicing the head off of one of his own crewmates. "Captain! A large fleet bearing the banner of the Oda are right in front of us!" One of his men shouted from above. "What!" Sure enough, there"s a fleet of twenty large ships, all of which were heading in a different direction, none paying attention to the giant monstrosity looming over them. Motochika stared down at them. "So this is the Oda. Ha, bastard must have guts turning a blind eye on the ogre." He smirked. Truth be told though, he was relieved. The Fugaku still had some construction to be taken care of, including the main cannon. If they were attacked, they would be close to helpless. "Trust me, we aren"t turning a blind eye on you at all." A voice hissed behind him. "We just have other matters to attend to." Motochika turned and slammed his anchor into a blade. A skinny man with waist length hair smiled crazily. "Who the fuck are you?" Motochika growled at him, moving his anchor back. "Akechi Mitsuhide, at your service." The man spoke, doing a mock bow. Motochika brought his blade back. "Now now, I"m not here to fight. I just happen to have heard about your little stowaway." Mitsuhide spoke with glee. "Oh yeah, well what about it." Motochika glared down at him, hooking his arms over his anchor. Mitsuhide smiled. "It just so happens that your stowage is an old friend of mine, and I will pay you handsomely to allow me to get him back, no questions asked, no interference, no telling." He spoke with venomous glee. The way he said "him", like he was spitting out a bribe. A lie. Motochika thought for a minute. "Get rid of a dangerous stowaway for a big price, sounds suspicious to me. Let"s see where this goes then.' "How much are you offering?" He asked. Mitsuhide smirked and whispered in his ear. Motochika thought his jaw would hit the deck. "That much for just one troublesome stowaway? That"s several times a normal price for royal runaways." Motochika almost yelled out. Mitsuhide merely chuckled. "He is Royal, and he is, at the moment, an enemy of the Oda until he returns back with me." The reaper spoke. Motochika"s expression was blank. The price is way too high. That"s saying a lot about the stowaway. He"s from a ruling family, most likely allied with the Oda, or the last surviving remnant of an enemy clan, with a large bounty of his head. It must be big because of time. Motochika thought for a minute. "If the Oda are willing to pay that much for the stowaway, then it is pretty important. If the pest was that important, then I might not want to hand him over to the Oda. There are still a few unknowns that need to be taken care of. What"s more, I want to know what this feeling is, and why he ignited it when we fought. Wait a minute, he. The way Mitsuhide is saying he when referring the stowaway. Could it be.' Motochika frowned then smirked. "Pay half now, and the other half after you have the stowaway." He spoke at last. Akechi tilted his head. "Can"t be too careful, especially around you Oda." He quickly explained. Mitsuhide gave a light smile and nodded. Motochika smiled. With the plan he had in mind, there were a lot of risks, hell, he might not get any of the money being offered to him. Might as well get this over with. "Alright, you got yourself a deal! Just don"t go stabbing me in the back and we can get along just fine, you son-of-a-bitch." He smirked. Mitsuhide grinned. "Good, follow my plan directly and you shall have the other half of your pay soon." Motochika smirked as he listened to the reaper"s plan. "So this is personal, which means that the poor stowaway is on board my ship to get away from this guy. It also means that he wouldn"t live long with Mitsuhide around. I hope my plan works. If it does, I"ll gain both an enemy and an ally. Let"s hope it"s worth it.' Motochika thought as the Oda General wrapped up his speech. "Hell, if I am able to figure out what this fire inside me is, then it wouldn"t matter if the entire world became my enemy." Ch 4 The String Wielder *Review!* The ogre and his crew stood behind the doors that led to the Fugaku"s cabins. Mitsuhide paced around the ship"s upper deck. According to him, the sting wielder would hide where there is string. On a ship, what better place than the sails. As to the reason why the entire crew of the Fugaku were hiding, well... "Hell no! the Ogre of the Western Sea is no coward!" Motochika yelled. Mitsuhide didn"t so much as blink at the outburst. "I understand how to feel, captain. However, since I have a personal connection with your stowaway, it would be better if I were alone on the deck. He would attack me on the spot. You know first hand what the stowaway is capable of, you wouldn"t want to put your crew in danger now, would you?" Mitsuhide smiled pleasantly. Motochika frowned and glanced at his crew. "Fine, my-son-of-a-bitches and I will remain in the holds. But bear in mind that I will be watching, and as soon as I see something I don"t like, I"m interfering." He spoke with a glare at the vassal of the Oda. Mitsuhide merely giggled. Mitsuhide stopped and spoke up. "Can you hear me, my lovely. I"m sure you"re quaking in fear for yourself, and your little spawn." He shouted. The captain narrowed his eyes as the crew began muttering. "What"s he talking about." "Little spawn?" "What the hell." They were silenced as Mitsuhide continued in a singing voice. "Once upon a time there was a small land that married into the Devil King"s force. The lovely bride was given to a great general. She feared the general because of his lust for blood. Three children yet to be born. One the mother failed to protect and died in childbirth from the father"s poison. The second, the sweet mother found out the truth and tried to run. She was sought after by the army and her home was burned to the ground. It died by the father"s blade as soon as it was born. The third was kept secret. When the father found out he punched the mother so hard that it was dead immediately. But then the lovely bride became pregnant with a fourth child, and again, she ran. She sought shelter in a massive ship that"s said to be led by a great pirate captain." Mitsuhide gleefully grinned as he took out his scythes. His men long fell silent with the story. Motochika himself was dumforded. "Mitsuhide, you bastard..." The reaper grinned ear to ear in madness as he continued. "Seven months you have been gone. The poison still goes through you. An early child you will have." Mitsuhide began laughing like a maniac. "I smelled you bleeding, Nana, your efforts are futile, for it is already dead! Stupid woman, as my wife, I expected..." He didn"t finish. Someone screamed and came crashing down on top of where Mitsuhide was only seconds ago. The crew gasped. Motochika blinked his single right eye several times. The string that held the old man together we"re falling apart. A thin form began to stand. "Look baby, the sun, grow up nice and big and run around under the sun!" The stowaway spoke through tears. Motochika could only stared. In place of the ragged, hunched over old man was a thin, sleek, beautiful figure. Both he and his crew were dumbstruck at what they saw among the piles of string. "You"re a woman?!" The pirate captain gazed well upon the woman, whom Mitsuhide called Nana, while most of his crew turned away. She was a small thing, black hair held in a large pony tail with a headband of scrap metal, a round face ending in a fairly sharp chin, skin white as the sea foam, and eyes a lovely chestnut brown. She was pretty... And completely naked. However, Motochika noted with disgust that she was unhealthy thin, so thin that he could make out her ribs, almost completely flat chested, and worse, she was covered in ugly scars that could only belong the the skyves of... of Mitsuhide. The truth had unfolded in front of him. "Nana was abused by her husband, Mitsuhide, and lost her first three kids to his madness. She ran away to save her fourth child only to have it die, too.' He cursed himself for ever joining the Oda. "I"m going to skin that ugly bastard alive!' "Come on baby, let"s make sure that you grow up nice and tall." Nana spoke. She was obviously mad with grief and despair as she rocked. Her string spun around her, controlled effortlessly by her free hand. The other held a bundle that dripped blood. No one needed to guess what it was. The ogre snapped his head to Mitsuhide who burst out laughing. "Oh, what"s that? You plan on killing me? You want to avenge your beloved children? Your friends? Your parents? Your family? Your people? Your entire clan? Ha, pathetic, I expected better from you." He approached her slowly. Nana moved her fingers in such a way that her strings spread out. Now that the strings weren"t so close to her, Motochika could make out the fresh blood that covered her lower stomach region and upper legs. She gave birth recently. ""Let"s play again when I have the strength and when my body doesn"t require so much rest.'" "Damn it, don"t tell me I fought against a pregnant woman.' He cursed as he clenched his anchor with anger. Her strings struck. Mitsuhide jumped and slashed his scythes, cutting different colored string. His scythes sliced through her offensives easily, putting her in the defensive. All the while, her former husband laughed like a maniac. Motochika watched the fight carefully before speaking. "Dogs." His crew looked up at him. "Get ready to throw that scumbag into the sea." He ordered. His crew cheered with eagerness. Motochika meanwhile, kept staring at Nana. "Forgive me, my lady. I"m sorry, if only I had known about... No, if only I had put the pieces together, if only I was smart enough to know your pain... I could have... I would have... no... I will... I will... I... I... I!' He struck his fist into the wall in a fit of rage. His men startled and glanced at him as he gritted his teeth. "Even if it kills me, I will not fail again! Even if it makes the Oda my enemy, even if it means my lands are conquered and my people slain, I will uphold my honor." He spoke darkly. "Captain." "Captain!" His crew all but yelled out with deep respect. "For my honor, for my own sorry soul, for you... even if it means making the Oda my enemy, I will help you." Ch 5 The Mermaid *Review!* Nana kept her strings moving, deflecting her husband"s attacks. She bit her lip as he laughed his head off. Her eyes were wide with fear and shock. Her baby didn"t live. She lost her child again, because of him. Her strings glowed purple for a brief moment. Mitsuhide sliced the string her fingers held, causing her to fall backwards as her string fell, covering her naked body. "Naughty wife, running away. Now you shall pay!" Mitsuhide brought his scythes down. Nana closed her eyes and turned away. Nothing happened. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes. The ogre stood over her, blocking her husband"s blades. Mitsuhide scowled. "Motochika? Mind telling me what this is?" Mitsuhide asked, pulling his weapon back. Motochika growled at him. "If you want more money, then the Oda will pay you twice..." He started. "No." The captain spoke sternly. Mitsuhide was caught off guard. "No?" He asked. The pirate glared at him with rage. "Don"t tell me you didn"t know. the Ogre of the Western Sea never sells slaves! Especially sex slaves!" The ogre swung his massive weapon. Mitsuhide jumped back. Nana could only stare in awe as the two lords fought. Purple light clashed against darkness. Her husband was fast and deceiving, but he was no match for the orge that could predict almost every move and used his massive strength to push him back. "Ogre-Sama..." Tears began to flow from her eyes. Eyes that have seen too much despite her young age. Flash Back Nana learned from her father how to fight, how to use mere string as a lethal weapon. With little to no strings, it was like dancing, each step something new. With strings, it was a flowing river that goes crashing down through a waterfall. She loved it, which is why she married the Oda retainer, to conquest and to fight for her people. But all those dreams she made came crashing down like the waterfall when her betrothed, Akechi Mitsuhide, ordered her land to be burned to the ground. She was helpless as a fish trying to push up against the falls. Her husband locked her in a room. For months she was nothing but his plaything, and whenever she managed to conceive, he didn"t hesitate to kill. She ran away after ripping a sheet for its string, so she could fight, so she could be free. She ran back to her clan, back to her home. After hearing and seeing how she was treated, her Lord, her father, didn"t hesitate to pick up his sword. When the Oda came after her, they were ready. Her entire clan went to meet the Oda army head on in battle. Everyone she loved and cared about was wiped out. Her friends, her old nursemaid, her sisters, her brothers, her mother, her father, everyone was killed. Her husband made her watch as he slew a surviving family. Like her, their baby was wailing as it was silenced. End of Flashback But now he found her, and the child she tried to save was dead. Nana stood up and dragged what little string remained, which held the three bundles of her previous children. With a flick of her fingers, her string surrounded her and made a western dress that she has seen a few times. Her feet carried her to the railing of the ship. She has no longer any will to live in this cruel world. "Bastard!" Motochika yelled as he brought his anchor down. Mitsuhide jumped out of the way in the nick of time as the the weapon left a hole in the deck. Mitsuhide didn"t look panicked. No, rather, he looked excited, like he was having the time of his life. His eyes darted away from the pirate for a split second and his grin widened. "My little wife seems to be going out for a swim." He spoke with horrific glee. "What!" Motochika gasped as the woman began climbing the railings of the ship. "Bye bye." Mitsuhide jumped off the side of the ship, landing on a small boat, which quickly sailed away. The ogre growled. "Damn, if only the Fugaku were completed we might be able to smash that boat into pieces.' Motochika, however, turned away and ran toward the woman named Nana, who lightly stepped off of the ship. Motochika hurriedly trapped her string, causing her body to jerk upwards before falling into the waves. The massive amount of thread now jerked him down as Nana was dragged under. He pulled on the strings, trying to keep the crippled woman from going down any deeper than she already is. "Captain!" His men scrambled, grabbing onto his arm and pulling him up. Motochika risked a glance at the drowning woman. He could barely see her now. Only air bubbles and the massive amount of string told him where she was. He squinted his single eye. If he looked closely enough, he could see Nana"s thin form floating in the water, kinda reminding him of a... Of a... Of a mermaid. I am in a trance. My feet lead me over the edge, and then I"m flying free. But no, not free. I"m floating down like paper in the air. Are my strings holding me back? No, I"m jerked back and I slip out of most, not all, of them. Then I touch the waves, their icy breath swallow me. My strings drag me from the surface as the air leaves my lungs. I swallow sea water. My lungs scream for air. I almost don"t notice in the cold. A large fish swims above me as darkness stole my vision. I am dreaming. I am floating in darkness. It"s so cold here, so wet. Is this death? Then, I am met with warmth. The light, it"s so bright. Strong hands lift me up. I am wrapped in warmth. Is this heaven? Am I dead? Are my children... Will I see my children? Salty tears cover my already wet face when I think of them. Darkness comes over me again as I see someone smile gently. Nana gasped awake. She was in a silky bed naked without her strings. Was she back at her husband"s castle? No, the room swayed back and forth slightly, and there were pieces of metal gears and projects strewn all across the floor. What a mess. Nana sat up, the white kimono that covered her sliding off, just as the door slid open. "So you"re awake." The ogre spoke as he entered. Nana covered herself with the kimono. "It took us forever to separate you from that tangled mess. It didn"t help that you were mostly underwater. What were you thinking? Jumping off a ship in the middle of the ocean is bad enough, but wearing that much is beyond stupid!" He rumbled on and on. Nana looked at the floor. "N-no... No es-escape." She spoke slowly. "I-I just.... Just want... to see... them grow big.... and strong." She began crying. "So what?" Nana looked up at the pirate captain. "Huh?" "Your old husband thinks you"re dead and is long gone. That poison in your body might have died down by now. From what I can see your free." Motochika spoke. Nana was more than surprised. "Ogre-sama..." He walked toward her and hugged her. She sat there, in shock. "There is another reason." He spoke softly. She looked at him as he pulled away from her. "They say strong emotions are ignited in battle." He lifted her chin. "When we fought... I felt it. A fire." "A....a fire?" She asked slowly. Her husband told her about fighting spirit and how it reacts to certain opponents. The ogre sighed. "The thing is, I couldn"t understand the fire inside me this time. So I joined with Mitsuhide to bring you out. Though I admit, that might have been a mistake." He scratched his head. Nana gave a small smile and chuckled softly. The ogre smirked as well. "However, while you were fighting with that snake of a man, your strings... glowed." He spoke slowly. She blinked. "Was it..." She hesitantly began. "Yeah, it was fighting spirit." He finished for her. His single eye looked directly into hers. "It was the same color as mine." He continued. Time stopped. Everything felt frozen. Nana nearly stopped breathing. Same color... Same color... When the fighting spirits of two warriors are the same, it means one of two things. A possible heir to an older warrior. Or, if her memory is correct, a couple. "Ogre-sama." She burst into tears and curled into his chest. He held her. "It was purple.... His was always purple. Ogre-sama..." Motochika silenced her with a kiss. Unlike the biting kisses of her previous husband, this kiss was kind, gentle, and... simple. She loved every bit of it. They stayed there for awhile, until Motochika parted from her and held her. "You are the mermaid to the ogre, I will never hurt you as he did." That promise, created a strong bond between the two. I promise to finish the story where this one was a side story of. Expect this note to be deleted when that happens. Until then, check out my other stories. :)

3rd point of view Juggler was moved onto the operating table and was quickly stripped of his clothes. Large swelling bruises were revealed as nurses covered his body and made other preparations for operating. "X-rays are in, doctor." A nurse handed him the sheets. The doctor, dressed for surgery looked at them. "Three of his ribs are broken, on of which punctured his lung, he"s lucky it didn"t collapse." The doctor switched the sheets. "The damaged parts of the organs need to be exercised, there is a crack in his spine, I"m surprised he was able to stand." He switched the sheets again. "The muscles in his arms and legs are indeed strained, but only to a minor extent. They can be ignored for now, we need to focus on repairing the more serious damage." The doctor gave the sheets back to a nurse, then walked up to the operating table. "Commencing operation, scalpel." The doctor commanded. A nurse passed him the thin tool. He then proceeded to slice open Juggler"s chest. "Heart beat slow but steady." A nurse called out. "Retractors." Several nurses began widening the incision. The alien winced in his sleep but didn"t wake up. "Prepare a heavier drug, he"s starting to come out of it." The doctor ordered. A nurse looked up. "Already?" The doctor turned sharply at her. "Yes, already. May I remind you that he is not human?" He asked. The nurse shook her head and prepared a syringe. The doctor turned back to his work as the nurse administered the drug. The nurses finished their work, giving him full view of Juggler"s organs. "Now beginning repair of the the ribs, starting with the broken one that punctured the lung. It has made a clean break from the rest of the rib. Large bone holding forceps." The doctor called and a nurse handed him one. Using the large tool, the doctor then proceeded to pull the broken rib from the lung. "Sweat." A nurse dabbed his forehead with a clothe. The doctor turned back to his work. "No severe damage to the lung, may need to take another x-ray to make sure later." The doctor noted as he continued to pull it out. Once it was out of the lung, he placed the rib on a tray. "There are no visible traces of any fluids except for a large amount of blood that leaked into the air sacs. Suction." A nurse handed him the end of a tube. He parted the hole in the lung and inserted the tube in. "Alright, turn it on." A nurse flipped a switch. Immediately, the tube was filled with blood, flowing into a bag. After a while, the doctor signalled the nurse to flip the off switch and removed the tube. "All remaining damage to the lung should be able to heal on its own." He motioned a nurse over. "Get this to a lab, he needs a transfusion and human blood may not work." The doctor ordered, holding the package of blood in front of him. The nurse nodded and and left the CR. The doctor turned back to his work. "Now proceeding to mend the broken ribs." A nurse handed him the clamp with the rib. Taking the tool, the doctor carefully aligned the broken sections of the rib. "Rib plating." A nurse handed it to him. He quickly placed it around the broken rib, securing it. He moved to the other two, placing the same plating on each of them. Once that was done, the doctor looked at Juggler"s damaged organs, making notes on what can be healed on their own and what needs to be operated on swiftly. "The right kidney and liver have small sections that need to be exercised. His stomach has suffered an abdominal trauma, rare for it to occur on that organ. He"ll need laparotomy surgery. Scalpel." Upon concluding his survey of the damage, the doctor moved straight back to operating. A nurse handed him the blade. "Sweat." A nurse dabbed his forehead. He then proceeded with the laparotomy surgery, making an incision in Juggler"s abdomen wall to fix the damage. Half an hour later, the doctor moved from his stomach to his liver. "Now starting to exercise the more damaged sections of the liver and kidney. Scalpel." A nurse gave him the tool. "Sweat." A nurse dabbed his forehead. He went back to his work, preparing to remove the damaged part of the liver. The blade was just about to pierce the flesh when suddenly. "Heart rate is dropping!" The nurse who was monitoring the shipment suddenly called out. The doctor quickly put the scalpel down and moved to Juggler"s heart. "Charge the defibrillator." He quickly called. A nurse switched a machine on. "Charging now." A nurse handed him the two electrodes just as Juggler"s heart flatlined. The doctor immediately placed them on the alien"s chest. "Charge at twenty-five percent." The nurse monitoring the central unit called. "Clear!" A shock went through Juggler"s body. A beeping sound sounded. "Heart rate has returned and is steady." The nurse reported. The doctor sighed in relief. "Keep the defibrillator on standby." "Yes doctor." A nurse handed him back the scalpel and he began to exercise the dead tissue within Juggler"s internal organs. An hour later, he began stitching Juggler up. "Take the dead tissues to the lab, have them analyzed for further treatment. X-ray his chest, I want to know why is heart rate decreased." The doctor calmly issued orders to his attendants. A nurse carried a tub with Juggler"s dead tissue in it away, another was checking his heart rate, and a third entered. "The artificial blood is ready, how much will he need?" She asked. The doctor immediately turned to her. "At least five gallons. Blood lost could"ve been the reason why his heart stopped." She nodded and left. The doctor sighed from exhaustion as a nurse wheeled the injured alien fugitive away. The doctor left the room once he was finished. Juggler was now resting in another room with an air mask and a nurse giving him some artificially created blood by transfusion. Shibukawa and a VTL official walked up to him. "Well, how is he?" Shibukawa asked. The doctor sighed from exhaustion. "The surgery was a success. All remaining internal injuries should heal with time. I repaired the more serious damage, he is out of danger. He will need a few days to sleep it off. Otherwise, I can safely hand him over to you." He reported. Shibukawa sighed in relief, but the official"s expression didn"t change. "Tomorrow, put him back in the jacket and send him to us." He ordered. Both the doctor and Shibukawa turned sharply to him. "What?" Shibukawa asked. "You heard me. This prisoner is dangerous and needs to be contained." The official spoke. Shibukawa clenched his fist. "I am afraid I can"t allow that." The doctor spoke before Shibukawa could speak. The official looked at him. "Disobeying orders doctor?" He asked. The doctor stared him down, not backing away. "He just came out of major surgery, he"ll need tomorrow to rest. You can have him the next day." The doctor explained calmly. The official shrugged. "Very well, but you will have to strap him down in the meantime." He ordered while turning away. Shibukawa waited till he was out of earshot before turning to the doctor. "Thanks doc, I owe you one." He spoke. The doctor shook his head. "No need to thank me, that man, whether or not he is human, is still my patient. I"ll be damned if I let anything happen to him." He explained while walking away. "Hey doc, about his mental health..." Shibukawa called after him. "I"m afraid that there is nothing I can do until he wakes up, and by then he will be in your hands." The doctor replied without looking back. Shibukawa clenched his teeth than glanced back at Juggler"s room. AN: Wow, that didn"t take as long as I thought. I plan on posting another chapter in a month. What did you guys think about the surgery part? It took me a few weeks cause I needed to look somethings up. I"m no doctor. ;} I apologize if I made any mistakes during surgery... that sounded scary just now. :P I left out a lot of details because I didn"t want anyone to throw up reading this. 3 BTW, I"m considering making my chapters as long as this one, which is 6 pages and my other stories are 3-4 pages long. Can you guys let me know if I should have 6 pages be the limit to all of my chapters in my future stories. Trust me, I have a lot of good stories coming up. Please review! Post Episode 25 AN: I read a fanfic about a drunk Juggler, I liked the idea so much that I decided to incorporate it in this one-shot at length. It will be a little longer than the last one, let me know what you think. I hope you guys enjoy it! ;) Review! "Another round." Juggler spoke, placing a glass on the counter. The owner of the Black Star cafe looked at him. "That was the fifth one, you sure you can handle it." He asked. Juggler looked up at him. "Just get me another one." He slurred. Owner sighed and prepared another coffee that was mixed with a heavy dose of alcohol. "It has been a week since that big battle, how are your injuries?" He asked. Juggler didn"t reply, he simply just laid his head on the counter and groaned. Owner sighed as he set the coffee in front of the former criminal. Juggler didn"t take it immediately, making Owner wonder if he fell asleep. Then an arm snaked its way to the cup and Juggler groggily lifted his head to down it all in one go. Owner whistled. "Boy, you"re a mess. What the heck happened during that battle?" He asked. "Another round." Juggler spoke, slamming the cup down, his head close to the counter. Owner sighed and increased the dose of the next cup. Gai walked into the Black Star Cafe. Owner glanced at him. Gai raised his voice, but Owner simply pointed towards the end of the counter, where Juggler was unconscious. Gai muttered a quick thanks and went towards his friend. Juggler was haunches over the counter, his hand holding a cup of what looked like ale. Gai glanced at the owner, who shrugged. "He wouldn"t stop drinking my coffee, so I put some good ale in it, and after that didn"t work, I just gave him the ale. You have to hand it to the Zettons, they may be a cruel race but they sure do know how to make good alcohol." He explained while cleaning a cup. "Kid passed out after drinking 10 rounds, and that was after 3 rounds of really strong black coffee and then 5 rounds of mixed coffee and ale. You have to give him credit, a normal man, human or alien, would"ve passed out from the first round of pure ale." Gai shook his head then pried the half-empty cup out of Juggler"s hand. Owner placed a piece of paper beside the two. "You can pay Juggler"s tab later, just get the poor sod out of here." He spoke, cleaning another glass. Gai quickly thanked him and pulled Juggler"s unconscious body onto his shoulder, holding his friend by his arm, and left the alien Cafe, half carrying half dragging his friend. Juggler never stirred. Gai knocked three times on the SSP headquarters. "Coming!" Came Naomi"s muffled shout. Something crashed from within. Gai sighed, as a series of crashes and complaints made their way to him. On his shoulder, Juggler moaned, causing the disguised Ultra to look at him. Juggler showed no signs of stirring, but he was whimpering and moaning in his sleep. The door opened just as Juggler fell silent. "Yes, hel- G-g-gai-Sa-a-a-n!" Naomi shouted with surprise as Gai hastily enters. Jetta and Shin looked up from computers to see what the commotion was about and had to move as Gai dragged Juggler in. Jetta quickly removed some papers from the couch and motioned for Gai to place the incapacitated Juggler down. "What happened?" "Isn"t this the alien that attacked us then help Orb against Maga no Orochi?" "Why is he here?" "We should call VTL..." "Boys!" Naomi finally shushed the two"s constant questioning. She then turned to Gai, who draped a blanket over his unconscious friend. "What happened?" She demanded. Gai took a seat beside Juggler and started explaining. "The Black Star cafe reopened?!" "Cap, can we visit some-" "AHEM!" Naomi shushed her two comrades who were thinking about the other worldly coffee. She then glanced at the unconscious Juggler. "Ne, Cap, what should we do?" Jetta asked as he too looked at the alien. Shin stepped in front of them and observed him. "If he is like this because he is s=drunk, then the best thing to do is to call an expert on this sort of thing. Question is, who to call?" "No, the question is, who do we call that we can trust a drunk alien to?" Jetta exploded. Naomi sighed. "Well... I think we should call my uncle." She finally spoke. Her three friends stared at her as if she grew another head. Jetta and Shin paused in their fight with wide eyes and mouths, while Gai simply had a wide eyed questioning look. "What? He is very knowledgeable about hangovers and stuff like that. He is incharge of several VTL personnel." She shrugged. The three glanced at each other, hoping it was a good idea to call a VTL officer, even if he was the boss"s idiotic uncle. 1⁄2 an hour later..... Shibukawa stood above the still unconscious Juggler. His brow furrowed and wearing an obvious frown, he thought for several minutes, causing the three members of SSP and Gai to worry. "How long has he been asleep like this?" He finally asked. Gai walked up to him. "Owner said he passed out an hour before I arrived, it has been about an hour since then." Gai explained. The VTL official finally shrugged. "Well, might as well let him sleep it off. If he"s still like this by tomorrow then call me again." He spoke, much to the surprise of Naomi and Jetta. "Eh? That"s it?" Jetta asked in surprise. Shibukawa nodded. "I have no idea how effective that Zettonian Ale is," He nodded at Gai. "So it is probably healthier to leave him be. If he"s still out cold, then I will initiate my Super Secret Hangover Recovery Plan." He proudly declared. Naomi"s eyes widened and her mouth dropped. "Uncle, is this really ok?" She asked. Shin leaned towards her. "Uh, Cap what is this Super Secret Hangover Recovery Plan?" He asked. Naomi turned to him as Shibukawa started explaining that his superiors let Juggler off the hook since he helped beat the final monster. "You do not want to know." She told him simply, causing an eavesdropping Gai to worry about his friend. "By the way Gai." The traveler turned. "Could you take me to this Cafe?" Shibukawa asked. Naomi looked at her uncle "Are you going to arrest owner?" She asked worriedly. He uncle shook his head. "Nope, that place doesn"t seem to be doing anything illegal, I just want to try exquisite alien beverages, maybe even that Zettonian ale, my shift did end an hour ago." He laughed, making everyone"s sweat drop. The Next Day.... Juggler woke to ice cold water being splashed all over him. He sat up instantly from the shock, only to turn to his side and throw up in a bucket. The world was spinning all around him and his head felt like it is about to burst. His stomach was obviously not that much better either. "Bullseye." "Wow, he really did go for the bucket." Voices spoke. Juggler ignored them and lied down back down, hoping to clear his head, only to be slashed by water again. He sat up again, but with a wave of drowsiness he collapsed forward. He was splashed for a third time. That done it. "For the love of- I"m awake! I"m awake!" He grumbled loudly, he didn"t have the energy to yell, as he hurriedly tried to stand. Five blurred figures surrounded him, then ten, then fifteen, then thirty, then... Someone caught him before he collapsed again. "Uncle, isn"t this a little cruel." An all too familiar voice spoke. Juggler"s vision cleared as he hind his head. He was at the SSP headquarters, in their garage, Gai was the one holding him up. "Relax, there is nothing that can wake your senses up better than ice cold water. I was tempted to use a certain large water sample from a couple months back though." The VTL officer spoke. Juggler glared at him, only to bend over, throwing up in another bucket. "Ah! He hit it again." "Of course he did, Shibukawa moved it." "Eh?" The noisy humans continued talking. Juggler rubbed his head and almost collapsed again, but he remembered the water and stayed upright. The VTL waved his arms. "Alright, let"s take him inside before he collapses on the pavement. Someone grab the bucket." He led everyone in. Juggler was dragged in by Gai, much to his annoyance. "Why do I have to carry the bucket." One of the human boys-was his name Jetta?-asked as they walked in. Juggler was immediately dragged to the couch, where he collapsed to his side. Then the Uncle began spraying ice cold water on him. He groggily sat up and glared at the man. The VTL officer smirked at him. "Next time be careful what you drink." He spoke jokingly as put the spray bottle down. A boy with glasses nearly ran into him and sat down beside him on the couch. "Suge! I never thought I would run into a drunk alien!" He took out a notepad and pen. "How many drinks did you have? What kind of alcohol was it? From earth or another world? How do you feel right now? Why did you drink so much? Ho- Cap!" Natsumi at this time grabbed Shin by the ear and dragged him away from an annoyed Juggler. The girl"s uncle nodded in approval then began sizing him up. What the heck, Juggler was feeling ill, he probably looked terrible, and all he wanted was to go back to sleep but couldn"t with the threat of cold water being splashed on him... again. The VTL officer walked up to him. "Now that you"re awake, I have a very important question to ask you." Everyone glanced at him. From his expression alone, everyone could tell that whatever he wanted to know was deeply important and beyond serious to him. "Who is Ultraman Orb?" Everyone collapsed. Juggler glanced at Gai and said nothing. "Uncle, is now really the time to ask him that?" Naomi asked. Everyone stared at her uncle with questioning faces, causing him to sweat bullets. "H-hey now, information gathering is my job, we"ve been trying to find Orb-san for months. Besides, I will get a really big promotion and an even bigger promotion if I found him." He quickly waved his hands in a defensive manner. Everyone sighed when suddenly, Shibukawa straightened up and got serious this time. "Now then," everyone except Juggler looked up at him. "How are your injuries, alien?" Juggler looked up and glared at the human. "The last time you were hit by Orb"s Supreme Caliber, you had to have a large scale operation. It"s hard to believe you got out of it unscathed now." The human explained. The other humans looked at him, causing him to turn away. Now that he thought of it, he didn"t really feel any pain right now. Gai suddenly grabbed him by his shirt. "What... are you...." Juggler slurred tiredly as Gai forced his shirt off of him exposing his bandages. His entire chest and stomach were covered, and a large purple bruise was evidently clear on the back of his left shoulder, half hidden in his bandages. Naomi, gasped and turned away, clearing worrying about something else that wasn"t important, while the two idiots leaned in to get a closer look, only to get smacked on the back of the head by shibukawa. "Quit that! Let him have his space!" He rebuked them. The two leaned back, Both rubbing their heads as they looked at the VTL officer. Juggler gave a small smirk in amusement. "As for you," Shibukawa turned to him. "Just what were you thinking, drinking while you were injured?" He asked with his hands his hips. Juggler frowned and stared at him, clearly not liking this. Shibukawa just shook his head and turned to Gai. "Help me get him in the car, my Super Secret Hangover Recovery Plan doesn"t normally do any harm, even with injuries, unless he is sick and I highly doubt that. Anyway, we better get him to HQ for a check up." The VTL officer explained. Gai nodded and grabbed for Juggler, who collapsed back onto the couch. Shibukawa sprayed him again, and he sat up straight, only throw up in the bucket again. "Looks like we have to take the bucket." Shin commented. "Shouldn"t we clean it out first or replace?" Jetta asked. "Not unless you want to be the one who does it." Shibukawa cut in before they started a long discussion on the bucket. 2 hours later Juggler was worse after the car ride. Shibukawa said it was normal with any hangover. The former criminal wasn"t sure whether or not to believe him. He threw up again, this time it was out the window as the bucket had to be dumped. "How does he still have stuff to purge?" Jetta asked, to no one in particular. Shin didn"t feel like answering that, as he was starting to feel sick watching Juggler. Gai had to help Juggler out of the car, practically dragging him through the door. Juggler was ready to collapse again, but the VTL officer kept spraying him with that cursed bottle of water. It wasn"t ice cold any more, but it was still cold, and extremely annoying. He wanted so badly to harm the stupid human that kept spraying him, but his mind fogged up and before he knew it he was sitting down in a room with Gai holding him up. His head started spinning again, and now he really wanted to lay down but couldn"t move. He felt sick again, he only needed to bend forwards to throw up a bit more in the bucket. For once today, he was grateful for the humans giving him the stupid thing. After a while, a doctor came in and escorted the group to another room. Gai once again had to drag Juggler in order to get him to the intended designation. Juggler felt like purging again when he was made to sit down again. He looked up after the room wasn"t spinning so much. The doctor looked familiar... where did he see him before?

"U-um! I forgot! I"ve got...something to do! Kylan needed me to...sort...stuff! S-sorry Kyle." "Oh!" Kyle was surprised. "Ok then, good luck!" Tear muttered a small apology and quickly ran out of their childhood playarea, turning a hard right as she exited the door. Normally, Kyle would have brushed it off. Tear didn"t lie. Not to him, anyway. But her reactions seemed different, and... Wait. Right. Why did she turn right? To get to Pantheon she would have to turn left, not right. Kyle sat up. He felt worried. It was probably nothing, but he couldn"t help feel a hard tug in his heart that something was wrong. What if Tear was having some kind of problem? What if Tear was being tempted by Magnus? He didn"t peg Tear as the type that would be lured in by the traitor, but after what happened with Velderoth... "What if...Tear is being bullied?' That definitely struck a chord with the blue-haired Nova. Tear was born without a tail and without magic. He had always been her friend and had stood up for her when she was teased, but he had also been spending a lot of time in Maple World recently. He hadn"t been there to protect her. Maybe...maybe someone started picking on her while he was gone. And she didn"t tell him because she didn"t want him to worry, or maybe even because she was being threatened? Kyle fumed at the thought. Threaten his best friend in the whole world...in both worlds...in all the worlds out there? Not on his watch. With a flick of his wrist, flames engulfed his hand. He closed his grip and the flames solidified into the handle of the Kaiseron. He pulled the remainder of the blade out of thin air from a sheath of fire. He held the ancient sword in his hand. If Tear was being bullied, he wouldn"t actually use the Kaiseron on them, but he would sure as hell threaten to use it on them. He rushed out the door and made a right. He ran straight for a little while before he heard Tear"s voice. It sounded like it was coming from behind a large circle of rocks. Kyle circled the rocks until he spotted a small crack, whereupon he peered through and was greeted with the sight of Tear"s back. She appeared to be speaking to someone he couldn"t see. "...ust why do you have to call me out like that?! At that time?!" "Shut your adorable little mouth", Kyle heard an older voice say. He gripped his Kaiseron tighter. "We need to practice your routine, anyway!" "But why?" "Because I said so, that"s why!" "I don"t want to!" "Well, you have to!" Kyle surpressed the urge to growl. This guy was forcing his friend to do something she didn"t want to do. Maybe he would actually use his Kaiseron after all... "Besides", the voice continued, "best to learn your routine for your next event anyway, right?" Event? "It"s better for you to get it over with", said the voice. "Sing a few songs, then sign a few autographs, easy-peasy." Autographs? "I mean, come on, you"re the one and only! The Idol of the Battlefield!" Ido-wha of the huh-now? Kyle heard Tear growl. "I didn"t wanna become the Angelic Buster, you know!" HUH?! Kyle sat on the steps of the Pantheon temple, with his hands covering his face. "What, exactly, just happened?' Went his thoughts. About fifteen minutes ago, after his friend had taken off into the forest, spoken with some mysterious stranger, and yelled out that she was the Idol beloved by two entire dimensions, the stranger simply tut-tutted her and told her to practice dance moves. "Yes, I know, you"ve told me plenty of times. Now come on and work on that routine!" Was what the stranger had said, specifically. Kyle had left a few minutes later, leaving his friend in the middle of trying to do some kind of clap-step-clap-step-hip-shake. The image of Tear trying to perform those moves forced him to suppress a rather loud giggling-snort sound that was welling up inside him. The smile on his lips quickly faded as he thought about it some more. It couldn"t really be true, could it? The Angelic Buster may be an idol, but she was also a ferocious fighter. Specters were squashed underneath her giant hammer, or blasted in the face with a Celestial Roar. The Angelic Buster was on par with the explorers and heroes of Maple World. The Angelic Buster was on par with Kyle himself. Tear, as much as he cared for his friend, could barely snip the stem of a Grobbler. She couldn"t even use magic. They couldn"t possibly be the same person...could they? "Maybe..." He mumbled. "Maybe, what?" Kyle jumped. He looked up into the eyes of the girl in question. Tear blinked. "You look worried, is something bothering you?" Kyle hesitated. If he just flat-out asked her, she would probably just deny it. He needed to figure out a way to expose it himself. Preferably in front of as few bystanders as possible, of course, but asking directly was a no-no. "...I"m fine." Is what Kyle settled on. Tear smiled cheerfully. "Great!" She said. "I"m hear to listen to you if you ever need anything! You can tell me anything!" "But are you telling me everything?' Is what Kyle thought. What came out of his mouth was "Yup!" "Lord Kaiser!" A new voice shouted. Both Kyle and Tear turned to see a human, dressed in the garb of the Cygnus Knights, rushing over to the two. He stopped in front of them and gave a slight bow. "The Empress sends her greetings." The knight announced. "She believes that after the incident involving Black Heaven, all of the heroes involved deserve a proper vacation, courtesy of her majesty." The knight produced two envelopes stamped with the Empress"s seal. "Tickets to a hot spring, in Zipangu. As well as a teleport scroll to get there. Apparently this hot spring was tucked away on a corner of Mushroom Shrine. Her majesty heard of it from lord Takeda Shingen. He says it"s a place to forget all your worries." Kyle vaguely remembered the man with a mass of red hair carrying a fan, but thought little of it. The knight handed him one of the envelopes. "This is for you." Kyle nodded. "Thanks." He paused, then said, "You...you said that all the heroes were invited?" "Yes sir, everyone who was on-board the Lumeire. Yourself, mister Evan, mister Brighton..." The knight continued prattling off a list. "Will the Angelic Buster be there?" The knight looked surprised. "As a matter of fact, yes. This is her envelope." He held up the one he hadn"t given to Kyle. "Speaking of which, I"m not exactly sure where she is. Could you help me find her?" Kyle had an idea. He took a quick glance at Tear. She appeared to have her back turned, kicking rocks aimlessly at a small tree. He pulled the knight close and spoke quietly. "I"ll take her ticket." "Sir?" The knight asked. "W-what I mean is, I"ll take it, and give it to Edea. She knows where the Angelic Buster is. She is the lead strategist, after all." "If you say so, sir." The knight handed Kyle the second envelope. "Head off whenever you feel like it, I still need to deliver a few more messages for her majesty." The knight gave another bow, a small salute, and rushed off in the direction he had come. Kyle kept his back turned to Tear. Carefully so that she didn"t notice, he began fiddling with the seal on the Angelic Buster"s envelope. As he suspected, there was only one ticket inside. He shoved the empty envelope into his pocket and started opening his. "H-hey, Kyle?" Kyle froze and gripped the envelope. "Y-yeah?" There was an awkward pause. "...nothing, never mind." Kyle let out a quiet sigh. She hadn"t caught on yet. He wasn"t as good at stealth as those Resistance people, so he was glad his plan was fooling Tear...as proud as he could be that he was basically lying through his teeth with every word he said, that is. He swiftly opened his own envelope and pulled out the tickets. He glanced over his shoulder again and took a deep breath. "Now or never.' He thought. "Hey, Tear?" Tear turned around to face him. "Y-yeah?" "Would...would you like to come along with me? There"s two tickets here." Tear was silent for a moment. Then, her face lit up in surprise. Then, her face turned a bright shade of pink. "W-w-with y-you? T-to a hop string? I mean hit sprong? I mean hot spring?" "Well, there"ll be other people there..." "O-oh...right...people...but..." "Would you like to go?" Kyle tried his hardest to make a "pretty-please" face. "W-well...I suppose..." She mumbled something Kyle couldn"t quite hear. "Huh?" "S-SURE! YES! YES! ALRIGHT!" Her face was flushed a deep crimson now. Kyle smiled. "Let"s go get ready, then." "YES!" Kyle watched as Tear half-skipped, half-jogged away before losing his smile. He felt awful for tricking his friend like that. But he needed to know. Was it all some kind of misunderstanding? Or if it wasn"t, why had his friend hidden it from him? Did she not trust him? He absolutely had to know. He absolutely had to find out. Note: For canon lore purposes, the role of the main hero in the Black Heaven storyline has been given to the Explorer character. I"ve simply made up names for the Explorer and the Cannoneer. Crickets chirped as the soft fizzle of magic brought two beings, and two medium-sized travel bags, back into the world in front of a small, wooden building. Kyle felt a little queasy, as he always did after a teleport. It didn"t sit right with him. Even the portal between Pantheon and Six Paths Crossway made him feel a twinge of motion sickness. Ironic, considering the point of teleportation was supposed to be that there was no physical motion involved. He glanced at Tear. She seemed to have also taken the scroll"s power poorly, as she sort of wobbled back and forth for a bit. Kyle picked up both bags and walked inside the building, with Tear following shortly behind him. The receptionist greeted him with a smile before taking their bags and directing them to the actual baths. Kyle gave a half-wave to Tear before he entered the men"s side. Tear gave a half-wave back. Once outside in the actual spring portion of the hot spring, Kyle could see that everyone involved with the Black Heaven had indeed been invited; Hawkeye was sitting on a rock, talking up a storm with a rather bored-looking Dual Blade. Mihile appeared to simply relaxing, sitting next to Luminous, who, if he hadn"t been chest-deep in steaming water, would have appeared to be meditating on some kind of divine, cosmic question. It was Evan who noticed Kyle first. "Ah! Kasier! I mean, Lord Kaiser! It is "Lord", right? Geez, another famous person, I feel like I don"t belong with you guys!" The boy gave a cheery smile. He was easily the youngest of everyone present, a good year or two younger than Kyle himself. Maybe the youngest person in the entire Alliance. He did look out of place. The fact that the was a large, dark blue dragon curled up on the far edge of the spring considered the young boy to be his master just served to make him stand out more. Hawkeye gave a mischevious grin. "Heya dragon-boy numero dos. How"s it hangin"?" Kyle smiled. "Great, thanks for asking, captain." "Call me Hawkeye!" "Hawkeye it is, and you can call me Kyle." "So Kyle," Brighton, the Resistance"s head Battle Mage, spoke up from near the center of the pool. "If you"re here, does that mean that little lady friend of yours is too? The Angelic Buster, I mean?" At the name of the idol, the Dual Blade perked up. "The Angelic Buster is here?" Asked a man with white hair and a scar over his left eye. Kyle recalled his name being Jack, the Cannoneer. "Wow! To think, another beautiful girl right behind that wall over there." He made a lewd face and gestured to a tall, wooden wall, which Kyle guessed was the divider between the male and female baths. "Niiice!" Kyle fought the urge to stab the pirate right between his shifty green eyes. "No. I"m afraid...she. Couldn"t. Make. It." He spaced out his words to try and get his point across. Kyle then stepped into the spring himself. "Heh, don"t try it kid." Hawkeye leaned back slightly on the rock he was sitting on. "The girls over there are some of the most powerful people in the world. Trying to get a peep would be suicide. Believe me. There was this time when I was on a mission with Irena, and I tried to get a little peep. She nearly punctured my..." "No one wants to hear about your perverted adventures, fish-for-brains" Interrupted Mihile. Hawkeye made a "phooie" sound and began conversing with Jack. Kyle was glad that discussion was over. Whether she was the Angelic Buster or not, Kyle didn"t want anyone sneaking a look at Tear while she was in the bath. He paused for a moment, and then shook the image of his friend out of his head entirely. He still needed to figure out if Tear was lying or not. If he could get the Angelic Buster to show up tonight, he would know for certain. After all, he had taken her ticket. There would be no way for her to know that he was here, unless she was here to begin with. Kyle sank up to his nose in the water and started to blow bubbles, getting lost in his thoughts, which is why the next comment took him by surprise. "So, do any of you guys know who the Angelic Buster really is?" Kyle choked on some of the water he accidentially inhaled, causing him to let out a series of loud coughs. The person who asked the question was one of the explorers; a hero-class warrior, to be specific. This was the warrior who had made it onto the Black Heaven"s deck first, and the one who had fought with both Lotus and Gelimer. His name was Yuuki. "Dunno." Commented Jack. "Wish I knew." Added Hawkeye. "Isn"t it kind of the point that her identity"s a secret?" Chimed Evan. Luminous made a face that insinuated that he thought the conversation was stupid, but didn"t go out of his way to leave. "Hey Kyle, you know, dontcha?" Hawkeye asked. "W-well...I..." Kyle hesitated. He could tell them his theory, and tell them his plan, but that might be bad for Tear. "I know who she is." Everyone in the bath jumped at the new voice. It was a grim, solemn voice that was not quite commanding, but definitely not quiet. The voice originated from a long figure sitting in the back of the hot spring. He had long, black hair and deep purple eyes. If Kyle had to describe the man"s face in a single word, it would be "sad". "I...I mean, I don"t know who she is, as in her name, but I"ve seen what she looks like." "Right..." Said Hawkeye, scratching his head. "What"s "yer name again?" The man frowned and his face seemed to fall even more. "Hawkeye, don"t be rude!" Snapped Mihile. "He introduced himself to the Empress a while back, remember?" "Oh yeah, sorry "bout that. I just couldn"t place your name." Kyle noticed that the man seemed to be extremely relieved at this comment before he spoke again. "Shade." He said. "You can call me Shade." Hawkeye nodded. "Shade...got it. Wont forget it again!" Shade smiled. "As far as miss...um...Buster? Well, as far as her identity goes, she was doing a concert...near Florina Beach, I think it was? Anyway, I had been taking a walk and came up to the concert from behind- completely accidentially, that is- and I saw her taking a break. She...transformed." "Transformed?" Evan looked confused. "Yes, one minute she was standing there with pink pigtails and her normal- well, as normal as it is- outfit, then there"s this big flash of pink, and suddenly she was different." Kyle paused. "W...what did she look like?" "Well, she was still a Nova, only her horns were black instead of bright blue, and her wings were more purplish instead of clear blue. She had shoulder-length orange-ish hair, kind of a plain-looking face..." Kyle didn"t like where this was going. "...oh, and there was something funny; I couldn"t see her tail." "Tear." Kyle said aloud. "Tear." Kyle said aloud. "Huh? Who"s crying?" Evan looked puzzled. "Wha? No, Tear is...she"s...wait..." Kyle fumbled with his words. "Tear"s a person?" Asked Mihile. "Well, yes-" "So she"s the Angelic Buster?" Asked Yuuki. "No! Well, maybe, I think...no!" "Perhaps you could come inside and collect your thoughts, sir Kaiser?" Everyone turned to look at the new voice. "Heya half-glasses!" Brighton cheerfully waved. "Aren"t you here to relax with the rest of us? You"re still fully dressed, though." "The Empress did, in fact, order me to come here, yes. And as much as I would love to join you all..." Neinheart let out an exasperated sigh and used a handkerchief to wipe his monocle, which was fogging up. "...I prefer to take my baths alone." "Leave it to Ninney to be the only person in the world who needs to be ordered to take a vacation." Hawkeye shrugged. "...returning to the topic at hand...sir Kaiser? Perhaps you"d like to explain some things?" A short while later, the group which had been relaxing in a hot spring was now strewn about a large room. Kyle sat cross-legged in front of a small table. Neinheart stood above him. After Kyle had spent several minutes explaining his relationship with Tear, what had happened the other day, his theory, and his plan, there was a long, awkward silence. It was broken only by another sigh from Neinheart. "Sir Kaiser, I"m aware that although you fight at the front of the battle quite often, you don"t actually make the battle plans, correct?" "No, Edea makes the plans." "Edea, the strategist, makes the plans, and you follow them, correct?" "Yeah, that just about sums it up." "Then I might suggest, sir Kaiser, that you continue to let Edea make the plans, and avoid making them yourself in the future." "Okay the- wait, what"s that supposed to mean?!" Neinheart sighed again. "It means, sir Kaiser, that your plan suffers from several fatal flaws, and would have undoubtedly failed if you ever attempted it." "How so?!" "I"ll explain..." Neinheart wiped his monocle with his handkerchief as he spoke. "Your plan was to create a situation in which the Angelic Buster would be needed. The method you chose was to fake you being captured by monsters. As you brought your friend on this trip, which is irresponsible I might add, if she was, in fact, the Angelic Buster, then she would be forced to reveal herself, because you never told the Angelic Buster that this vacation was ever going on." Kyle nodded. Neinheart put his monocle back on. "The first flaw, off the top of my head is that there aren"t any powerful monsters anywhere near here. The most you might encounter is a Nightghost, which might be good for scaring you in your sleep, but could be dealt with bare-handed by any one of you..." "Oh..." Kyle looked disappointed. "I"m not finished. "Bare-handed by any one of you" brings me to my second point: even if you could, successfully, fake being captured, you didn"t let anyone in on your plan. Which means that even if your friend were the Angelic Buster, you would most likely find her majesty Mercedes, or lady Aran, or even sir Hawkeye coming to your aide. Unless everyone else was in on your plan, there would be no guarantee that the Angelic Buster would even need to help." Kyle hung his head. "The problem with your plan, sir Kaiser, is that it is far too vulnerable to outside influence. I will concede, the initial premise of bringing your friend here in order to test whether or not it"s possible for the two girls to be in the same place, that part is quite solid. However, the way you"re going about the plan is completely backwards. The concept is fine, the implementation is absolutely horrendous." There was a long silence. "So, what do we do?" Asked Hawkeye. "Excuse me?" Neinheart stared at Hawkeye. "Why do I have to do anything?" "Ninney, you might think you hide a lot behind that face of yours, but I know you." Hawkeye crossed his arms. "And I can tell that you thought up a way to make his plan work, haven"t you?" Neinheart tugged at his sleeves and gave the faintest of smiles. "I...may have considered something...I do like solving problems..." "Yeah, besides, we always help our friends!" Cheered Evan. "I"m in." Said Mihile. "We"ll help out!" Yuuki said. Luminous gave a big sigh. "...fine. Tell me what to do, and I"ll do it." "It"ll be fun." Remarked Shade. Kyle looked around at everyone. "Thank you...really..." "Anything for a friend!" Evan beamed. "Indeed." Said Neinheart. "Now, if you want to catch your friend off-guard, we should make use of the surroundings. Here"s what we"ll do..." And with that, Neinheart began describing his plan. Kyle took a deep breath. He was standing in front of the door to the girls" room. He could hear several voices chattering inside. Kyle waited for a moment, and then knocked on the door. The chattering died down a little and Kyle could hear footsteps. The door opened slightly to reveal a tall, white-haired woman with tanned skin and her hair tied up in a pony tail. Aran; the warrior of Rien. "Whaddya want?" She asked, leaning against the door frame. A few seconds later, her face lit up in recognition. "Oh wait, you"re that dragon kid. The Kaiser, right?" Kyle nodded. "What brings you here?" Aran gave a teasing grin. "Come to give your little friend you brought along a goodni-" "Aran! Don"t tease the boy!" From behind the warrior came a softer voice that Kyle recognized as Mercedes. The elf queen had her hair tied up in a bun, and seemed to radiate a regal aura. "So, is there anything we can do for you?" The queen asked.

Yutaka whimpered and stood up. She lugged her Splatling behind her. Sorui sat down on the train home. His day had been good, he supposed. He won his first battle. That was good, right? But he winced at the memory of the laughter he endured. He glanced down at his shirt. He had thought about replacing it, to stop people from laughing at him, but he decided that his money was better off being saved or something. And he probably didn"t have enough for a good outfit anyway. Besides, it was his shirt. So he bought himself lunch with his winnings and had that instead. He wondered why he had done it. The girl had been so mean. He had asked Judd why they had been so cruel to him, but apparently the judge had been elsewhere before the battle. "Where?" Sorui asked. "Mew (Napping.)" Judd mewed. Sorui"s eyes fluttered as the train rocked back and forth. "I don"t know why I did it." He mused. "I think...if it happened again...I might...do it again." Yutaka sat down at the table. It was a heavily scratched, wooden table. Very heavy, with just a small light hanging above it. Her Splatling was in the hall, which was probably a good thing, considering every step she took on the floor creaked, the floor would collapse if something that heavy landed on it. She looked around. It was an old house, but not run down. The nice woman, Shurui was her name, set down a small bowl of rice. "Sorry, but that"s all we have. The rest of the food is for my son. Today is his birthday, so I"m making his favorite." Yutaka paused. "I-it"s my birthday too." Shurui smiled and clapped her hands together. "Well, happy birthday! I"m sure you"d like my son, if you met him." Yutaka smiled weakly and started to eat the rice. "So, about why you were crying...you have a weapon, I"m guessing you lost a turf war?" Yutaka stiffened. "Well, no...not...exactly..." It was hard to force out the words. Putting it that way, she should be happy she won. But... "I...thought I could do better myself. And then this..." She paused. Shurui had a smile on her face that warmed the whole room. She didn"t exactly feel that she could call the scrub anything bad... "...new kid..." She decided "won the battle by himself." "Oh my...but, aren"t teams made up of 4 people? Where were the other two?" "They...jumped ship on us." "Well, I hope Judd scolds them well for it. Drop their rankings." Shurui made a few weak punching motions in the air. "Turf wars are a team sport. Everyone plays together, and everyone has a good time." Yutaka shrugged and glanced around. "You...live here with your son?" "Yes. My husband passed away some time ago." Shurui sighed. "It"s not much, but we"re lucky to have something, right?" Yutaka frowned. "Um...what was your son"s name?" "Oh! I never mentioned. My son"s name is-" "I"m home!" A voice sounded from the hall. "Oh! He"s here. Sorui! Welcome home!" Yutaka froze. Him. This is...his..house. Shurui had gone to greet her son in the hall. He couldn"t see the kitchen...but her Splatling was left in the hall. Yutaka knew he could put two and two together and realize it was her. "...she was crying, apparently she didn"t do too well in a turf war herself. I think she"s just being hard on herself..." Shurui blabbered on. Yutaka hunched over to make herself look small. She blabbed about someone stealing her thunder to the mother of the person who stole her thunder. Who was now blabbing that same thing back to the person in question. Not only that, but this same person was one she had insulted, and pretty badly too. Yutaka turned beet red, then paled. She could feel Sorui enter the room and stare at her. She hunched down even lower. "Well, I hope she feels better." Huh? "As long as she had fun, that"s all that matters, right?" What...what was he saying. She had expected him to be angry. This...this was... Yutaka sat, frozen and hunched, over her bowl of rice. She barely heard Shurui as she left. "I have to go work my shift. Stay safe, Sorui! And Yutaka," The name hit her skin like acid. "don"t be so hard on yourself! And make sure you get home safely! Bye!" The door shut. There was silence. Sorui broke it. "Sorry." He said. Sorry? Why"s he saying sorry? "I guess you wanted to do that on your own, I shouldn"t have interfered..." No...don"t...tell me that... "...I even overheard you swear you could do it. And I was just a newbie..." Stop... "...I guess it was...luck?" "STOP!" Yutaka hunched as low as she could go. "YOU...you...you have nothing to be sorry for. I...I yelled, and...and...I..." Her eyes began to water. "I insulted you...and I called you names...and I laughed at you..." Teardrops hit the wood of the table, silently. "...why...are you...apologizing...I"m the one that needs to say...s-sorry." She turned around. Sorui had backed against the wall with the outburst. He didn"t know what to say...he had to think for a moment. "N-no, really, it"s ok. I know I don"t have fancy clothes like you guys...they are pretty bad..." "STOP IT, REALLY. I-it shouldn"t matter what clothes you wear..." "Really, it"s fine. I mean, I could buy some more, but I don"t really have enough to get something that good..." "Huh?" "My mom doesn"t make that much. We get bye, but I don"t spend that much on clothes anyway..." "I...I..." "But I never knew you earned money for battling in turf wars. I mean, if I had, I might have joined sooner..." "Wha...wha..." "...but wait, do you lose money if you lose? O-or get nothing? What if I kept losing? I mean, today was a total fluke..." "N-NO!" Yutaka interrupted. "You get money. You get money whether you win or lose, it just changes the amount..." "Oh!" Sorui"s expression lightened. "That"s great then! Then I can save up a little. Maybe, after a while, even if I lose, I can get a better outfit. That"s great..." Sorui hummed a little and smiled. Yutaka was agape. He didn"t know anything about how turf wars worked at all. But he had managed to... "Um...c-can I ask something?" Yutaka murmured. "Sure?" "Why did you help me? Since I had been so rude to you, I mean..." "Um..." Sorui rubbed the side of his head. "I-I"m not...sure. I guess I just felt like I should." Yutaka"s eyes fell, and she felt her cheeks turn red. There was a tightening in her chest. "So..." Sorui glanced around. "w-would you like to be friends? I"m Sorui Saigono." Yutaka stood up abruptly. Her mouth opened and closed a few times to find the right words. "Yu...Yutaka...Meisho" She finally said. And sat back down. There was an awkward silence between the two. Yutaka broke it. "S-so...your...birthday?" "Ah-hah...did my mom tell you about that? Yeah, it"s my birthday. My mom was going to get off work early and we were going to have a little party...that was my present, you know. The Slosher...I mean, the bucket." Yutaka felt the words stab through her heart. "My...too..." She mumbled. "Hmm?" "I said it"s my birthday...too." She finished. "O-oh. That"s...funny. Heh. Happy birthday?" The awkward silence returned. "I...I guess I should be going." The two walked around each other until Yutaka was at the door and Sorui was at the table. "B-bye." "Bye..." She hefted her Splatling, and shut the door behind her. Sorui paused to think. It was her birthday too, then? Maybe that"s why it didn"t feel right to join the opposite team. "Maybe..." He wondered aloud. He stuck his fingers in a bowl of rice that was sitting on the table and started to nibble at it. "Maybe..." Yutaka had run down the street, made it to the train, ridden it, and arrived back home. When she did, she had dropped her Splatling in her room, dashed into her bathroom and stared at her face in the mirror. She was a mess; her eyes were puffy and red, and the black markings around them only served to emphasize them. Her clothes had a bit of rice stuck to the coller. She picked it up with a finger and examined it. She nibbled at it. The word "bucket" drifted across her memory, and she winced. To review today, she had: 1) insulted someone on their birthday about their birthday present, 2) won her match only because of that person, and worst of all, 3) run to his house on accident while upset and told his mother everything. And he had forgiven her. And he had tried to apologize to her himself. "Urgh...I really wish I hadn"t said that." She glanced at her Splatling. 12,000 coins worth of power that had done absolutely nothing compared to a kid and a bucket. "Slosher." She corrected herself. For a kid to win with a bucket- "Slosher." -it was unthinkable. How had he won? Did he cheat? No, Judd would have seen that. So how did he do it? She paused. "It would be incredibly embarrassing to see him again." She decided as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. And in the middle of the plaza the very next day, two Inklings stared at each other. One was a cyan-colored girl carrying a large Splatling. She wore a Tricolor Rugby and Squid-Stitch Slip-ons with a squid hair clip on her left side. The other was a green-colored boy carrying a Slosher. He wore a torn anchor-tee and a pair of white shoes that didn"t quite fit right. Sorui"s stare was interrupted by a rather loud series of whispers from his right. He winced and clutched the handle of his Slosher tighter. It hurt now, but eventually he"d save up enough money to... "...something." Yutaka burst into his thoughts. "Huh?" "I said i-it"s ridiculous to have th-the person who helped me in such a scrub outfit!" She announced. She grabbed his hand and started to drag him to the shops. "I"m going to buy you something better." Sorui didn"t really resist as he was dragged along the walkway. He briefly wondered what the other people in the plaza were thinking about this, then wondered exactly what he should think of this, but gave a mental shrug and let himself be strung along. Yutaka pulled him into the clothing store and parked him on the bench in front of the changing rooms. She stormed off into the racks of shirts and pulled out several shirts, throwing them in a pile on top of Sorui. Sorui peeked at the tags. "T-these are a bit outside my budget...and really, I"m fine with-" "I"m buying them." She announced. "I"m buying them and you"re going to wear them because I r-refuse to be helped by someone dressed like a scrub." "Huh?" "I-if you"re wearing those then you"re not a scrub. S-so therefore if you wear those, y-you weren"t a scrub yesterday when you h-helped m-me w-win." She reasoned. "N-now try those on!" "H-huh? O-okay..." Sorui did as he was told. As he took his torn anchor-tee off he wondered exactly why the girl was doing this. "She kind of has a point, the clothes make the Inkling..." He thought. Still... "She"s kind of cute." Sorui shook his head as he pulled on one of the outfits. Nah. "She wouldn"t go for a guy like me." Sorui had changed into the outfit he had been given, a layered Anchor LS, and stepped out. Yutaka breathed a sigh of relief. "There, no more scrub outfit." "I really can"t afford this..." Sorui muttered as he fumbled with the tag, which hung awkwardly off the shirts collar. "I"m buying it. Now, that old shirt." Sorui held up the tattered Anchor-tee. "Let"s get rid of it" Yutaka announced, as she grabbed the shirt and pulled. Sorui pulled back. "N-no!" "Why not?" She pulled harder. "B-because it"s mine!" "So are the new clothes. Come on!" "It was a present!" "Huh?" "It was a prese-oof!" Yutaka had let go of the shirt suddenly, leaving Sorui in a small heap by the changing room. "Wha...I...urgh..." She knelt down and buried her face in her hands. "Sorry...sorry." Sorui half-crawled over to where she was, but wasn"t quite sure what to do. She just kept repeating "sorry" and rocking back and forth. Sorui decided and giving her a pat on the back. "It"s...ok. I"m not throwing away the shirt, though. If someone gives me a gift, I"ll use it. It"d be rude not to." Yutaka paused mid-sorry and glanced away from Sorui. "T-then...those new clothes." She muttered. "Huh?" "T-those new clothes are m-my present to you. Y-you know. For y-your birthday. And...stuff." She peeked back at him. "S-so you better wear it, okay?" Sorui smiled and Yutaka actively avoided his gaze. "Okay." He said. "But that leaves your present." "Huh?" "We share the same birthday, right? I gotta get you something too." "N-no, you don"t need to..." "Of course I do. I"m not sure what I can get you, though..." Sorui"s eyes wandered around the store. She didn"t know why she said it, but Yutaka decided on a gift she wanted. "Then...could you..." "Hmm?" "J...j..." "Juh...?" "Join a squad with me?" She finished. Sorui blinked. "Huh?" "They"re letting people join in squads of two now for the turf wars. They match you up with another squad for allies and you fight two other squads as opponents." She hid part of her face with her hand. "Your present to me...I want to be on a squad with you." Sorui paused, and then smiled. "Sure, I"d love to." The boy was beaming brighter than a searchlight, and it was aimed right at Yutaka. Yutaka turned away. "You know..." Sorui continued. "I thought about it a little while, and I don"t think I would want us to be on opposite teams. It doesn"t feel right." Yutaka gave a small nod, face still buried in her hands. "Are you ok?" She used one hand to make a weak thumbs-up. "Okay, I guess I should take this off so we can buy it, then." He stood and walked back into the changing room. Once the curtain was shut, Yutaka removed her hands from her now crimson-flushed face. "I can"t look him in the face at all..." She muttered to herself. "What was that?" Sorui asked from behind the curtain. Yutaka turned a deeper shade of red and sputtered out a "NOTHING." It was going to be a long day today. Some stared at the strange pair walking across the plaza. A girl with cyan tentacles, carrying a Splatling gun and a boy with green tentacles carrying a Slosher. Some giggled. Sorui sighed. He had wondered if the clothes really mattered when people considered him a scrub. It might have been the Slosher entirely. In reality, the giggling ones were more focused on the fact that even though the cyan girl kept facing down, her face was a bright shade of red, to the point where it almost illuminated her features. The two walked into the lobby to register as a squad. "W-we"ll be cyan...ok?" Yutaka said as she filled the application. "Sure." Sorui smiled. Once the paperwork was completed, the two headed towards their first match, held at Walleye Warehouse. "I wonder who we"ll be paired up with..." Sorui mused. "Hopefully someone who doesn"t run out on us..." Yutaka muttered. The two arrived at the warehouse to find a group of 6 others. 2 chargers, an Octobrush, a Carbon Roller, a Luna Blaster, and a Ranged Blaster. Two of them, one with a Kelp Splatterscope and one with a Luna Blaster, waved excessively. "Hiiiii~" The girl with the Luna Blaster chirped. "Yoooo~" The boy with the Kelp Splatterscope echoed in an equally annoying, albeit slightly deeper tone. Sorui got out a slight wave and a "hello" before he was squished in a hug by the girl. Yutaka was livid. "Yooou..." Was all she got out before the girl let go of Sorui and squished her in an equally organ-squeezing grip. "Hugger..." She managed to squeak out. The girl let go. "We"re your teammates~!" She chimed. "I"m Danwa~!" "I"m Urusai~!" The boy cheeped. "Welcome~!" They sang together. The other 4 players had managed to escape to their side of the arena while they were talking. "Y-Yutaka." Yutaka managed. "Sorui." She pointed. Danwa clapped. "It"s so great to meet another two like us~!" "Like...you?" "Yeah~." Urusai grinned. "A couple~!" Danwa sang. Yutaka lost her grip on her Splatling for a minute. The base hit the ground with a large thump. "Wha-wha-wha..." Her face turned as red as the tank on her weapon. "Wha-wha-wha-what d-di-di-did you saaaaay...?" "It"s such a fad~." Urusai spread his hands in a half-shrug. "Couples get together in a squad, that way they never have to fight on the battlefield~." "I could never fight against my liddle-Uru-pie~!" "And I couldn"t fight my widdle dawn-dawn~!" The two nuzzled. Yutaka wasn"t sure whether to gag, blush, or shoot the two between the eyes. She favored the third option, but thought it might be bad for the battle afterwards. "W-w-w-w-we"re not a c-couple!" She stammered. "You"re not~?" Danwa put a finger in front of her mouth and pouted. "Friends can be on a squad too~." Urusai patted her back. "Oh well~!" Danwa sighed and glanced to the other side of the arena. "Looks like they"re ready to start~! Let"s hurry~!" The two skipped towards the team spawn. Yutaka briefly contemplated shooting herself with her Splatling. "L-let"s..." She paused, thinking about what the two annoying ones had said. She shook her head and tried to focus on the battle. "L-let"s g-get to the spawn." Sorui nodded and wandered aimlessly towards the spawn. He hadn"t really been paying attention after the two mentioned couples, he had gotten himself lost, deep in his own thoughts. "We"re not a couple!" The words bounced around inside his head. He knew that it was true, but he hadn"t really given it much thought before now. The clothes had just been a birthday present, she probably had a lot of friends she bought things for. Sorui was so deep in his thoughts he walked right over the spawn and into the boxes behind it. His face hit the sudden barrier with a small "squish". "Dummy~! Come on, there"s a battle starting~!" "R-right..." Sorui, Danwa, and Urusai rippled, and their tentacles turn cyan. "We"re an offensive team~!" She chirped. "We can handle the baddies if they start coming towards us~!" Yutaka nodded. The whistle sounded, and backround music began playing. The match commenced. Danwa and Urusai quickly rushed forward, and Urusai took the platform on top of the crate nearest the spawn. Danwa handled the platforms leading down to the center area. "Let"s go!" Yutaka snapped, and began rushing off down the pathway on the right. Sorui was a bit dazed. It was really his first ever actual match, since he had started late on his actual first one. "Sorui~!" Urusai"s voice snapped him back to reality. "Take the path on the left, we need someone to cover turf~." "R-right." The path on the left led around a large wall, and it mirrored the path on the other side. Sorui threw ink towards the path and the center area came into view. It was hard to tell what was going on; Danwa was loudly humming to the background music while firing off shot after shot. She never once looked behind her, and if someone tried to sneak up on her they were quickly picked off by Urusai. Yutaka was shooting anyone who tried to approach from the opposite side of the room. Sorui looked down, the ground was covered completely with orange ink. The Inkling with the Octobrush stood looking proud of his work. Sorui emptied the contents of his Slosher on him through the grate. With an annoyed grunt, there was now a splotch of cyan among the orange. Sorui slipped through the grate and landed in the splotch. He quickly began covering the area while hiding behind the large crate that sat midway between the side area and the center area. He slipped towards the ramp that led to the enemy spawn. The Inkling with the Carbon Roller was charging through, followed closely by the one with the Ranged Blaster. Sorui threw his ink at the two in rapid succession, resulting in the two of them bursting in simultaneous squeaks. Sorui then turned his attention to the center area. Danwa had positioned herself in front of the center crates while Urusai had moved to the left-center highpoint. Sorui swam behind the crates towards Yutaka. "Hi" He peeped. Yutaka let out an annoyed grunt. "You should be on the other side, covering th-LOOK OUT!" Sorui pulled into his ink, then swam in a half-circle behind himself to find the enemy"s charger, an E-Liter 3K. His maneuver made it possible for Yutaka to fire a half-charged round right into them. "Geeze, you need to be more careful. We"re battling now, no room for slip-ups." Sorui gulped and nodded, but quickly pulled past Yutaka and threw his Slosher upward through the grate. The Ranged Blaster Inkling burst. Sorui grinned at Yutaka. "Don"t get cocky." She frowned. "This isn"t the same as that time-" "KRAKEN~!" Her speech was interrupted by Urusai"s shout. Lo and behold, the Octobrush user had actived the Kraken special. Urusai had abandoned his platform down the other side, while Danwa panicked and swam towards the left side area. The kraken, however, had a different target in mind, as it swam right towards Sorui and Yutaka. The two dove to their sides and Yutaka landed in front of a large stack of crates. The Inkling using the special, however, was actually fairly new to the kraken special, and he slammed into the wall full-force. The stack of crates began to shake. The kraken was dazed, but turned itself around and rammed full-force into a second wall before popping back into humanoid form with a dizzy expression on his face. The crates swayed and creaked. "Look out!" Sorui ran at Yutaka and with all his might he pushed her to the ground. Right as the large section of crates tumbled...right on top of him. A loud whistle sounded and the background music cut off abruptly. Nobody moved. Nobody made a sound. S...Sorui?"

"Yeah, for all the good it did." Peter dropped into a chair and shook his head."He acted as if we were looking for a lost puppy. Didn"t show the least bit interested that a man from his jurisdiction had vanished." "Same thing with the rest of the town," Khan offered from the doorway. "Went to the drugstore, the local hardware, post office. No one we talked to would admit they had even heard of a Paul Baker in these parts." "Even the police?" Rykker asked. "Oh, the sheriff said he recognized the name...said he hadn"t seen him for months." Peter jumped up and started pacing again. "The whole town can"t be that closemouthed." "Oh, sure they can," Kermit said. "If they"re intimidated by something big enough. And they don"t know you from Adam. If they started talking to outsiders, well...anyone could be listening." "So, it looks like we"re not going to get any help from the locals," Peter said, slamming his hand on the doorframe in frustration. "I never expected we would." Kermit said as he lifted several chipped coffee cups from the drainer next to the sink. "But they know you"re here now, so let"s see where that takes us." "What did you and Rykker find on your little "walkabout"?" Peter asked as he accepted a cup of steaming brew from Kermit and sat back down again. "Exactly what Paul said we would find. A compound, small but well guarded, minimal security but enough to keep out the wandering hunter or curious neighbor." "How close did you get?" Peter asked. "Not close enough." Rykker reached for his own cup and warmed his hands around the sides. "But we will." "When?" Peter asked, leaning forward, his cooling coffee forgotten. "Soon." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fireflies glittered like stardust fairies against the blanket of darkness that surrounded the isolated cabin. The crackle of a roaring fire carried to Peter"s ears as he sat on the cabin"s front steps, oblivious to the unfamiliar sights and sounds of the night. Nightfall had come quickly, stealing away what little warmth the autumn sunshine could provide. With the sunset had come the disheartening knowledge that a second day had now gone by, and they were no closer to finding out what had happened to Paul Blaisdell than they were on their arrival. His restlessness had led him to explore the cabin again, even though the four of them had searched every nook and cranny the day before. Peter didn"t know exactly what he was looking for; he just knew he needed to do something to vent the frustration that was growing stronger by the hour. After prowling around the cabin for more than an hour, seeing what remained of his foster father"s possessions and clothing scattered about became more than he could handle. He had felt the gazes of each of his companions on his retreating back as he had finally stalked out of the cabin, headed for the river and the solitude it provided. The advancing darkness and plummeting temperatures soon sent him back up the steep bank to the inviting warmth of the cabin. But he settled instead on the rickety wooden steps outside, his emotions still too inflamed to return to the company of his friends. The small house reminded him too much of another cabin, in another place, another lifetime. A larger, more comfortable structure that smelled of wood smoke and wild flowers. The flowers were a tradition with Annie. Even though she couldn"t see them, she always applauded his sisters" efforts to forage the nearby woods for the makings of a bouquet that would make the family cabin feel more like home. She always knew when he and Paul neglected to shed their muddy boots at the door after a day of fishing on the lake. She always sensed the changes in the weather that signaled the approach of a sudden summer thunderstorm, and made sure her family was safe and dry inside the cabin long before its arrival. She always knew, Peter thought to himself with a wistful smile as a dragonfly whispered around his ear. Kermit said she knows Paul is all right. So why don"t I feel that way? A sudden gust of frigid air whistled across the narrow porch, sending a shiver through the young man"s bones. I hope she"s right...I hope she doesn"t know what"s happening now. He leaned his head against the railing and stared out into the night. "If he"s here, Mom," he whispered into the wind, "I"m gonna find him. I promise you that. I"m not going home without him...not this time...not ever." He closed his eyes in a silent prayer to the One to watch out over the soul of the man he loved more than anyone except his own flesh and blood father. Then he climbed slowly to his feet, opened the cabin door and accepted its invitation of warmth as he stepped inside and quietly shut the door. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The four men agreed to rotate 90-minute shifts of sentry duty throughout the night, with Kermit scheduled to relieve Peter just before dawn. As he sat huddled under a frayed woolen blanket near the front door, Peter could hear the constant clatter of the computer expert"s keys inside the cabin as he alternated typing and softly swearing at the minuscule screen. Leaning back against the rough boards of the cabin"s front wall, he stared out into the darkness, shivering in the predawn chill. A moment later, Peter realized the keyboard had fallen silent; only a rhythmic chorus of frogs and crickets broke the stillness of the crisp mountain air. He sensed his friend"s approach a second before the front door swung open and Kermit stepped out into the darkness. "Changing of the guard," Kermit announced as he wearily settled down on the other side of Peter"s position by the door. "Go get some sleep." "Turn up anything on your computer?" "Nope." Peter shifted under the blanket, but made no move to go inside. "Would you share it with me if you did?" "Why wouldn"t I?" "You tell me, Kermit. You"ve been treating me like the imbecile stepchild ever since I showed up at the airport back home." "You"re imagining things," Kermit replied tersely as he removed the Desert Eagle from his waistband and laid it carefully across his lap. "Expecting trouble?" Kermit turned his head toward the gentle wash of the river against the pier. "You can never be too careful." "Is that why you didn"t want me along? Being careful?" When he received no reply, Peter suddenly pushed himself to his feet, the blanket dropping to the rough plank floor. "What happened to him, Kermit?" Kermit continued staring out toward the black shadow of the river just beyond the cabin"s muted circle of light. "If I knew, do you think I"d be sitting here discussing it with you?" "Then what do you think happened?" Kermit slowly rose to his feet, his weapon gripped tightly in his gloved hand. "Keep your voice down. There"s...." "Someone out there," Peter finished for him, his voice almost a whisper. "I feel it, too." Both men stepped back into the shadows of the cabin"s front wall, barely breathing. Kermit slid closer to Peter, their shoulders barely touching. "I don"t know what you feel, but I heard something near the water...and listen. What do you hear?" "Nothing," Peter answered after a pause, reaching under his jacket for his own weapon. "Exactly. No crickets, no frogs...just things that go bump in the night." "I"ll go around back and come up on the riverbank that way," Peter whispered to where Kermit had been standing a moment before. But in the time it had taken him to glance down at his coat and retrieve his gun, Kermit had slipped off the porch and into the murky darkness beyond. Damn, he"s good, Peter thought as he lowered himself down to the ground on the opposite end of the front porch and slipped into the cover of the night. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The predawn darkness enveloped Peter like a shroud as he crept silently around the cabin, keeping his back to the wall as he approached the rear corner. A heavy fog had rolled in from the river, lowering a curtain of opaque mist between his crouched position and the woods beyond. Peter paused, temporarily disoriented. It was not the environment a city cop was accustomed to...no street lights or familiar landmarks, only total darkness and an unnatural silence. He listened intently for anything that might give away the location of the intruder. He heard nothing. Two options here, Caine, he told himself as he attempted to peer through the darkness without can stay here and wait, or you can step out from cover and see what happens. He tightened his grip on the familiar Beretta, took a deep breath and made his decision. Just as he moved to step away from the building, a movement in his peripheral vision froze Peter in his tracks. A shadow, its form hidden by both distance and darkness, moved from one vaguely outlined tree to the next, in the general vicinity where Kermit had disappeared minutes before. Peter moved back against the rough wood of the cabin, sliding the weapon into the waistband of his jeans as he did so. He couldn"t see well enough to use the gun; for all he knew, the wraithlike form moving through the shadows could have been Kermit. Or it could have been his imagination. Leaning back against the rough hewn wall. Peter took a deep breath, closed his eyes and let his senses drift. In his mind"s eye, he could see Kermit, hidden behind a massive tree trunk, glaring into the dark curtain of fog that surrounded him. And then he saw the other man, dressed in black, creeping silently along the tree line toward his friend"s position. Peter opened his eyes and searched the mist for the towering oak he had seen in his mind. He could barely see it through the billowing fog, its trunk no more than a vague shadow as it towered over the neighboring pines. Leaning into a crouch, he took off at a half run toward the location of the intruder as he had seen it in his vision. Unable to disguise the sound of his approach across the deep carpet of the forest"s floor, Peter decided that surprise was a better weapon in this situation than stealth. He reached the tree line and never slowed down. Within seconds, he saw his target as the man began to turn, a startled look of surprise crossing his features a split second before Peter tackled him and slammed him down face-first onto the cold, soggy ground. "Don"t move," Peter growled as the man struggled underneath him. He twisted one arm behind the man"s back and pinned him down with his knee. "I said, don"t move." Kermit"s silhouette appeared out of the fog as he slowly surveyed the area for other prowlers, then turned his attention to the man in the dirt at his feet. "And who do we have here?" He nudged the prone figure with one mud encrusted boot. "I need...need to...talk to...you," the man gasped between grimaces as he tried to catch his breath. Kermit knelt down on one knee and studied their captive"s face intently. "I think that can be arranged," he replied as he reached down, helped Peter drag the muddied man to his feet and unceremoniously dragged him toward the back door of the cabin. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kermit kicked a wooden chair out from underneath the kitchen table, and none too delicately pushed their unannounced visitor into it. Rykker watched without comment from the far wall, while Master Khan filled the doorway with his imposing presence. Peter closed the back door, leaning against it to block any possible avenue of escape. Kermit circled the chair and glared down at the man. "Why don"t we introduce ourselves?" he growled. "You first." "Campbell," the man snapped as he brushed mud caked leaves from his hair."Eric Campbell. Your turn." "I suppose you have I.D." "Sure." He reached into his rear pocket, pulled out a faded wallet and tossed it upon the table. Kermit picked it up, opened it and quickly compared the picture on the driver"s license to the man seated in front of him. "It doesn"t do me justice," Campbell said, his eyes casually scanning the room and the men whose eyes were fixed on him with varying expressions of curiosity. He extended his hand, and after a moment"s hesitation, Kermit snapped the wallet shut and returned it to him. "You want to tell us why you were sneaking around outside in the middle of the night?" Peter asked. "Well, I couldn"t very well drive up to your front door during the day, could I, Griffin?" He met the mercenary"s stony gaze with a rock steady one of his own. "You are Kermit Griffin, aren"t you? Your description fits you perfectly, right down to the shades." Kermit"s expression was unreadable behind his ever present green glasses. Only the slight tilt of his head gave any indication that the man"s words had carried to Kermit"s ears at all. Finally, he turned away from the man"s position, shucking his overcoat as he reached for the now lukewarm coffeepot. "You know this man, Kermit?" Rykker"s voice sounded from across the room. "No. But Paul did...does," he corrected himself as he put on a fresh pot of coffee. "Campbell is the undercover agent Paul was working with." He turned and fixed Campbell with a look that left no room for argument. "And he"s the man that"s going to help us find him." "Finding him isn"t the problem," Campbell replied. "I know where he is. Getting him out, now that"s going to be the problem." Khan stepped into the room and approached the man"s chair. "You know where he is?" "Yes. He"s inside the camp where I"ve been living for the past three months." "A prisoner?" Peter asked. "Yes." "Why? Why are they holding him?" Campbell wiped away a trickle of muddy water that trailed down his temple. He rose and motioned to the sink. "May I?" Kermit stepped back with an exaggerated bow and allowed the muddied man to approach the deep porcelain sink. The occupants of the room waited patiently for him to rinse the dirt from his hands and face before continuing. "The head honcho of this little "group" I"m working with is a guy named Gregory Dawson." He turned from the sink, wiping his hands as he glanced at each of them in turn. "Real anti-government extremist, a card carrying member of the lunatic fringe. Thinks Timothy McVeigh should be nominated for sainthood." Kermit leaned against the counter, armed crossed against his chest. "Is this Dawson guy following in his hero"s footsteps?" "He"s trying to. His operation started out small, but he"s beginning to build a reputation around the mountains. This is a perfect area for clusters of extremist groups to base their operations; it"s isolated, rugged country, and the natives usually keep to themselves." "Hence the lack of any real security around the camp." Rykker smiled at the surprised expression on the young agent"s face. "We"ve already checked it out." "Don"t let appearances fool you. What they lack in modern security equipment, they more than make up for in firepower and muscle. That"s how Paul got caught." "What do they plan to do with him?" Peter asked, his question echoing the thoughts of each of his companions. "At first, they planned to kill him." Campbell saw Peter"s anxious expression, and quickly continued. "Then Dawson decided to sit on him for a while, see if anyone came looking for him. That was the only way he would know for sure if any sensitive information had been leaked out. If so, he could just pull up stakes and set up business in another remote area. That"s why they came here and tore up this place. They were looking for evidence that Paul was spying on them." "Did they find anything?" "Not a damn thing. Frustrated the hell out of Dawson, too." "And where were you when all this was going on?" Kermit asked. "Had to make a run to the coast to pick up some equipment that Dawson"s been trying to score for months. I got back yesterday, and heard some of the men crowing about their first "prisoner of war.'" "Conveniently absent when an innocent bystander needed your help. Campbell...or whoever you are...you weave a delightful story," Kermit said as he pushed away from the counter and began pacing the room. "But you"ve gotta do better than that. You sneak up here in the middle of the night...and you knew we were here, so this wasn"t your first trip to spy on us. How am I doing so far?" "I did know you were here," Campbell admitted. "The picture on the driver"s license is worthless, as far as I.D. goes. My twelve year old niece can get a fake I.D. any day of the week in her junior high gym class." The mercenary stopped directly in front of the man"s position by the sink. "For all we know, you could be Dawson"s right-hand man, sent here to check us out. The real Campbell could be lying at the bottom of a canyon somewhere. Why should we believe any of this? Why should we believe that you"ve even met our mutual friend?" Campbell returned his stony glare for a moment, then turned and stepped over to Peter. "Because I recognize you. You"re his son, aren"t you?" Before Peter could respond, Kermit stepped up beside him. "How"d you know? Family resemblance, perhaps?" "No," Campbell smiled at Kermit"s obvious attempt to snare him in a lie, then turned his attention back to Peter. "Because you"re his foster son. He showed me a picture once...said it was the family he left behind. Never could get him to open up about why he was living up here alone. But he always liked to talk about all of you. I gathered that he wasn"t living up here in the middle of nowhere because he preferred it." "No, he wasn"t," Peter said softly. "So, when do we get him out?" "Sorry," the young agent replied. "Can"t help you there." "What?" Peter asked incredulously. "You guys are on your own. I took a big enough chance just coming here tonight." He moved to Peter"s left as if to push past him on his way to the back door. Before his hand could close around the knob, Campbell suddenly found himself propelled backward. His back crashed against the unforgiving plaster of the kitchen wall where he remained helplessly pinned by Peter"s arm across his throat. "I suggest you reconsider," Kermit emphasized his statement by pressing the barrel of the Desert Eagle into the soft space just below the gasping man"s right ear. "Your playmates are not the only ones with a little firepower, but I"d prefer a neat and clean retrieval if at all possible. Besides, you owe him. He risked his life on your assignment. The least you can do is help us get him out of it." Campbell"s eyes grew larger as he struggled for breath. "I can"t," he wheezed. "Not without blowing my cover,months of work...." "You"re not paying attention," Peter hissed, tightening his grip on the man"s throat ever so slightly. "We couldn"t care less about your cover, or your mission, or the tight asses in suits that you work for back in D.C. You just find us a way in, we"ll get Paul out and you can carry on with your little game." "Not going to be that easy," Campbell said, refusing to meet Peter"s eyes. "Sure it is, "Kermit said. "I"ve already recon"d the place. Security is laughable at best." "It"s not that." Kermit and Peter exchanged uneasy glances. Kermit removed the weapon from Campbell"s neck; after a long moment, Peter released his grip on the agent"s throat as well. "Explain, " Kermit said, the gun still cradled in his right hand. "I want to get him out, I swear to God I do." The young man was obviously sweating now, despite the cool environment of the cabin. "That"s why I came here tonight. I wanted you to know where he was, so you could get him out. But...." Peter was beginning to feel an ominous sense of dread that he couldn"t explain. "But what?" "Something big is about to go down. The men are antsy, real antsy. I keep hearing talk about "the mission", that they"re all ready to go with it. Security is tight and every man"s got his finger on the trigger right now. A stray bunny couldn"t get in there unnoticed." "Do you know what they plan to do with Blaisdell?" Kermit asked. "I don"t think they know what to do with him. But they"re gonna have to decide soon. They know he"s seen and heard too much; they can"t afford to let him go now." "And you just left him there?" "Yes, dammit, I left him there." Campbell shoved Peter away and stepped away from the wall. "I knew I couldn"t get him out alone. I knew I had to take a chance that you people really were here to help him. So back off; you wouldn"t even know where to look if it wasn"t for me." Peter shook off Kermit"s hand on his shoulder as he advanced on the agent. "And he wouldn"t be in this mess to begin with, if it wasn"t for you." The two men now stood toe-to-toe, the agent"s composure now firmly back in place while Peter"s was rapidly falling apart. "Paul is not in the business anymore. You put his life in danger when you dragged him into this little mission of yours." Campbell held Peter"s furious gaze for a moment, then glanced over his shoulder at Kermit. "I see you didn"t tell him everything, did you?" Peter turned and fixed his gaze on the now silent mercenary, his expression shifting from surprise to accusation. "Tell me what, Kermit?" "I told you everything you need to know." "The hell you have." Peter"s eyes flashed with barely suppressed anger. "You"ve been playing your little secret agent games ever since this whole thing started, and you"ve done everything you could to keep me out of the loop." He took a step toward Kermit. "And I want to know why."

Hardcastle caught the rough twang of an east coast accent...New York, maybe. "What address were you looking for?" "Ah, this is the address I was given, but..." the man shook his head. "There must be a mistake." "Okay, let me ask this another way," the judge said. "Who are you looking for?" "Someone I knew a long time ago. His name is Mark McCormick." MMMMMMMMMMMMMM Mark"s mood had not improved as he rolled the Coyote sharply to the left toward the garage. He stopped just outside the open doors, climbed out and grabbed a tarp from an overhead shelf. "What are you doing?"Hardcastle asked from the back steps as he watched Mark spread the canvas over the concrete floor. Mark rolled his eyes but didn"t look up. "What does it look like I"m doing? I"ve still got that oil leak somewhere, and since you probably have plans for me that don"t include finding it, at least I can keep it from dripping all over the floor." "Someone was here looking for you while you were gone." Mark brushed dust from the tarp from his hands as he joined the judge in the driveway. "Who was it?" "I don"t know." Hardcastle waited patiently while Mark turned the Coyote around in the drive and backed it onto the tarp. Once Mark had the car situated to his liking, the judge continued. "Said he knew you from a long time ago." Hardcastle stepped back out into the sunshine, then realized McCormick was no longer walking with him. He turned back to see the suspicion on the younger man"s face. "How long ago?" Hardcastle leaned forward as if to intimate a secret. "I...don"t...know", he growled. "He didn"t say and I didn"t ask him. I gave him your phone number and he said he"d call. I didn"t even get his name. That"s all." Only because you didn"t have time, Hardcase. There was very little Hardcastle couldn"t weasel out of a person, given the opportunity. He could testify to that from personal experience. And was there just a hint of frustration behind that comment, that there might be someone in McCormick"s past that he didn"t know about, or have an entry or two in his ever growing file in the judge"s desk? Maybe I"ll just keep the donkey in the dark about this . It won"t hurt Hardcase to step out of my personal life once in a while. "Oh, almost forgot. Here"s your file." Mark handed the folder to the judge. "Happy reading. I"ve got a oil leak to find. " "You"re not in some kind of trouble, are you?" Hardcastle growled as McCormick headed back to the garage. "Not today, but hey, the day is young." MMMMMMMMMMMMMM The judge looked up from the files scattered around his desk as Mark came in and settled into a chair. "Your friend call back yet?" Mark sat back in the chair. "Nope. So, what"s with the file you had me fetch this morning? I thought you already had a case you were nosing into." Hardcastle studied his young friend for a moment The seamless way McCormick had segued into the case and veered the conversation away from his question had not been lost on him. But he decided to let it be for now. "Oh, this is not a new case," he replied. "Frank just sent me some more information. I"ve been making some calls, checking out some stuff." He passed the folder over to McCormick and sat back in his chair. "This guy runs a used car lot and garage downtown. Don"t have a clear photo of him yet. Cops suspect him of running a chop shop, fencing stolen parts, stuff like that. Got busted a couple of months ago. He had a slick lawyer, I have to give him that. Made the case that his client didn"t know the car was hot and that it was on his property just for repairs. He had a solid alibi for the times that the car was boosted, and no one who worked for the guy who would testify against him." "So, he walked," McCormick said, the unopened file still in his hand. "Now it seems he"s back in business. The word is, he recruits kids off the street to boost the cars for him. He pays the kids off, the parts disappear to chop shops in Mexico, probably. There"s a lot of traffic in and out of the shop, so there"s probably a drug operation going on, too." Mark thought for a moment. "Why does he use kids? Gang members?" "Nah." The judge sat back in his chair. "Gang bangers want too much of the action. Word is, he recruits kids on the edge, street kids looking for a hustle, a quick dime. Some of them get paid in dope, others in cash. Guess there"s plenty of kids out there on the street that"ll do anything for a quick score." Mark considered that for a moment. "Yeah, I guess there are. What"s this guy"s name?" The judge frowned. "It"s in that folder...the one you"re twisting into a toothpick there." "Oh, sorry." Mark loosened his grip on the file but made no move to open it. Hardcastle frowned again. "What"s up with you? " "Huh? Nothing, judge. Just thinking, that"s all." "Jack Benson." "Who?" "Pay attention, McCormick. The sludge ball"s name is Jack Benson. We don"t have a background on him yet . Frank"s working on it." "So what is it about this case that lit up your radar screen?" "Keep reading." The judge watched as Mark sat back and opened the file, spreading several sheets across his lap as he read. Something is bugging him. Not one smart mouth comment since he came in. Maybe the case hits a little too close to home. Nah, he"s past all that now. But still... "Frank thinks he"s tied in to a murder?" The judge blinked out of his reverie and nodded. "A kid named Alvarez, had a juvie record for petty theft, shoplifting, nothing major. Family members, teachers, all said he was a good kid, just needed a little guidance. He got pulled over in a stolen car. The D.A. was pushing to prosecute him as an adult for the GTA and he got scared. Said he"s be willing to turn state"s evidence against Benson, the cars, the drugs, everything, and they were about to make a deal." "And the kid had an accident?" "Someone posted his bail, anonymously of course. He hit the streets and three hours later, he was dead in an alley." "Drugs?" "Nope. Someone beat him to death." "They what?" Mark looked stricken as he glanced down at the file in his lap. "Definitely not a robbery. The kid had fifty bucks in his pocket and a solid gold chain around his neck. Somebody used him to make a point." Mark closed the file and handed it back to the judge. "Explains why Benson"s employees are so loyal to their boss." He stood suddenly and walked slowly to the window. Hardcastle waited for several seconds; when no further input was forthcoming, he continued. "So, now we just have to figure out a way to get close to this guy, and catch him in the act." A long moment passed before McCormick responded. "You"re kidding, right?" he asked. "This is a police matter, judge. These guys are professionals. You can"t just hide around the corner and hope to catch them with their hands in the cookie jar." McCormick expected a sharp retort; instead, the judge nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, I"m still working on how to get a inside line on this guy. After all," he grinned, "You"re a bit too old to send in undercover on this one." "You have no idea how thrilled I am to hear you say that." Mark said as he turned from the window to stand in front of the desk. "So, what"s the plan, Kemo-Sabe?" "Don"t have one yet." Hardcastle sat back, dogged determination in his expression. "But I will." Mark smiled. "I don"t doubt that for a minute." He turned to leave and had barely reached the landing when the judge cleared his throat. "You didn"t tell me if you"d figured out who that guy was, the guy that was looking for you." McCormick grimaced. That close to a clean getaway. "No, I didn"t, did I?" he grinned as he slid backwards through the doorway and out the front door. The insolent look he flashed as he stepped outside slipped away as he headed for the gatehouse. I just hope I"m over-reacting here, "cause if I"m not, you"re not the only one without a plan. MMMMMMMMMMMMMM The phone was ringing as Mark entered the gatehouse. He turned back to shut the door and noticed a small piece of paper lying in the doorway, as if someone had slipped it under his door. He grabbed the phone in mid ring as he kicked his greasy sneakers into the corner and glanced at what turned out to be a business card. "Hello." "Ah, yes...Is this Mark McCormick"s residence?" The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but no name came to mind in the few seconds of hesitation he allowed before answering. "Yes, it is. Who"s this?" "You don"t recognize my voice, do you?" "Nope. Any reason why I should?" He wasn"t usually this short on the telephone, but he wasn"t usually sweaty, tired and reeking of oil and brake dust this early in the day. "It"s Jack. Jack Baker. Remember me now?" Mark froze as memory kicked in and locked the voice on the phone with a name he hadn"t heard in years. The voice was deeper, more gravelly than he remembered, but the accent was unmistakable and the inflection the same. "Jack?" "You"re a hard guy to find. I knew you were in LA somewhere, but it took me a while to find you." Mark sank down on the sofa and switched the phone to his other hand, slipping the now forgotten card into his pocket. "How did you find me?" "Well, I figured if I checked out the local tracks, somebody would know you. They said you weren"t racing anymore, but you had this souped up car. I checked a couple of garages, figured a car like that...somebody would remember, and they did." "You talked to Benny." "Yep." Mark made a mental note to remind his mechanic about discretion being the better part of valor. And then Benny would probably remind Mark that he wasn"t supposed to be on the run from anyone anymore. "I"d like to see you sometime, Mark." The request wasn"t totally unexpected, and yet McCormick felt the tension tightening his shoulders. "I don"t think that"s such a good idea. Besides, I don"t plan on going back to Jersey any time soon." "I"m here in LA." Mark closed his eyes and wondered how he was gonna talk himself out of this one. "Look, I know I kinda surprised you...It has been a long time. How about I let you think about it and I"ll get back to you, okay?" The voice was smooth, convincing, just like he remembered it. It was almost beguiling enough to cloud his judgement and short circuit his common sense...that is, until he glanced out the window and saw Hardcastle across the way, standing at the pool"s edge and staring at the water, hands on his hips. "Yeah...you do that. Get back with me. Look, I gotta go." Mark hung up the phone, and as he glanced out the window again, wondered how he would explain it to the judge if he suddenly got his phone number changed. This is a dumb plan, McCormick. Hardcase is gonna have your head hanging from the basketball goal if he finds out you came here. He pulled the Coyote over into a strip mall parking lot and parked within sight of his destination. After a long and mostly sleepless night, Mark had gotten up early, slipped into sweats and sneakers and gone for a long run on the beach. Once out of site of the main house, he sank down onto the wet sand to catch his breath...and to think. Poring over the judge"s file in his den the day before, Mark had been drawn to the picture of the young man whose attempt to extract himself from a bad situation had landed him into one much worse and much more permanent. The kid"s record had been lightweight until the arrest on the auto theft charge; none of his prior brushes with the law had been even remotely connected with anything heavy. And yet, before the ink was dry on his bail ticket, he was lying in a garbage strewn alley, dead from a well administered beating. The thought running in a loop in Mark"s head was unavoidable and not unexpected: That could have been me. Benson killed two birds with that stone, literally, McCormick thought as he watched a gull dip into the ocean to snare his breakfast from the incoming tide. He plugged a leak and sent a message to the rest of his team at the same time: step out of line and I will step down on you, permanently. Twenty minutes staring at the ocean"s repetitive assault on the sand failed to remove the stone that had settled in the pit of his stomach, and he finally returned to the gatehouse. After changing clothes, he had slipped unnoticed into the garage, climbed into the Coyote and roared down the PCH toward the city. The picture had not been the only thing that had robbed him of a restful sleep the night before. He had scanned the file quickly, getting the gist of the case Hardcastle was obsessing over, but something niggled at the back of his mind until he had flipped back to the first page again. None of the names mentioned as potential suspects had rung a bell, but now the address sounded vaguely familiar. Not until he remembered the card in his pocket did the disconnected parts slip into place. He remembered taking out the crumpled business card, staring at it as if the lettering was written in blood. A gory simile, but essentially correct, McCormick mused as he stared at the building across the street. He took a deep breath, threw the car into gear and crossed over the four lanes of oncoming traffic before common sense could kick in and change his mind. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM The auto shop looked like every other repair shop he had ever seen; the waiting area held a few utilitarian metal chairs with worn vinyl upholstery, one lone, stained coffee table with scattered copies of Car and Driver of unknown age and several overflowing ash trays. Mark stepped to the sliding window mounted on the far wall and waited. After several minutes, a kid with greasy hair and an equally greasy rag draped over his shoulder approached from the other side and slid open the glass. "Can I help you, man?" he asked. Before McCormick could answer, the mechanic"s eyes drifted over his shoulder to the sleek machine parked just outside the door. "Damn, man. That is sweet. That your wheels?" "Ah, yeah." Mark raised his voice, both to get the kid"s attention as well as to be heard over the sounds of air wrenches in the working area of the shop. "I"m looking for somebody." The kid looked disappointed for a moment, then the studied air of indifference returned to his expression. "Yeah? Who?" "Jack. Is he here?" "Yeah, he"s in the back. Come on through." The mechanic disappeared for a moment from the window; a moment later the door to the shop area swung open. "He"s back there, last door on the right." Mark stepped into the shop, watching the kid cast one more yearning look at the Coyote. Then the door swung shut behind him and the kid returned to the inner workings of a late model Lexus engine, the visitor obviously already forgotten. As he walked through the shop, Mark casually studied the other young men working diligently on their own vehicles. Not one of them a day over nineteen, he observed as he turned his attention to the office set into the rear wall of the building, and the man who had risen from his chair and now stood in the office doorway, a bemused smile upon his face. "I must say," the older man spoke as Mark approached. "I sure didn"t expect to see you here." "Well, you called," Mark shrugged. "You caught me on the downside of a really bad day." Mark offered a smile, but it felt tight and unnatural and he finally turned away to gaze out into the shop. "And today is better?" "Not really,"Mark shook his head. "You see, I"m having some problems with the Coyote, and..." "The what?" "My car. It"s called a Coyote." The older man nodded. "My regular mechanic is out of town. I was wondering if you had someone who could check out the brakes for me." "Sure. Gimme the keys" "No offense, but how about I drive it in? I"m kinda particular." "Not a problem. Pull it into that empty stall on the left. I"ll have Randy take a look at it. He"s my best. I taught him everything he knows." "I"ll just bet you did," Mark thought to himself as he made his way back to the ailing Coyote parked outside. McCormick supervised the positioning of his prized Coyote onto the lift and watched the awestruck young man as he ducked under the car and set to work. Jack had retired to his office to answer the phone, and the other young mechanics had left for lunch, so Mark took advantage of the moment by casually walking around the garage area. A short time later, Baker returned to the shop and motioned to Mark. "He"ll have it fixed in no time. Come on in, take a load off." "Coffee?" He asked as Mark settled into a vacant chair in the cramped office. "No thanks. "McCormick glanced around as the older man closed the office door. "So, what do I call you? Benson, Baker, what?" "I guess you"re wondering about the name change." "Name change, or alias?" "Whatever you wanna call it," Jack Baker said. "I came out here to start over, you know." "Clean?" Baker smiled as he circled the cluttered desk. "What do you think?" "You don"t wanna know what I think. Mark forced himself to relax as he shrugged his shoulders. "I"d say it doesn"t really matter." After refilling his own cup, Baker sat down behind his desk and studied the younger man. "Your car, it"s a prototype, one of a kind, right?" Mark nodded. This is crazy. After all our history, he wants to talk cars. We always could talk about cars, couldn"t we? The only thing we ever had in common. "How"d you end up with it? Cars like that cost a hell of a lot of dough." Mark shifted in his chair. "It was designed by a friend of mine. After he...died... his daughter gave it to me. She said he designed it for me to drive, and he would have wanted me to have it." "Yeah, I read about what happened to Flip Johnson." When he saw Mark"s surprised expression, he continued. " I did keep up with you over the years, you know. Too bad you never felt the urge to return the favor." Mark felt the familiar twist in his stomach at the sudden change in Baker"s demeanor. "There was nothing back in Jersey for me." "Not even your family." Baker"s voice was cold, accusing. Mark"s tone was equally frigid as he met the older man"s gaze. "I don"t have any family in Jersey. Haven"t since I was fifteen years old." This was such a huge mistake. The sudden urge to leave was dampened by the sight of the Coyote, still up on the lift. "So why are you here? Not because of the car." Mark rose from his chair, relieved to hear the hum of the pneumatics as the Coyote was slowly eased back down onto the floor, realizing that maybe his common sense had finally decided to make a belated appearance after all. McCormick blew out a deep breath. "To tell you the truth, I really don"t know." He yanked the door open and was halfway across the shop before he realized that Jack had followed him. "Wait." After watching the young mechanic carefully back the Coyote out of the garage, Mark followed, stepping out into the mid morning heat before he turned to face the older man. Baker studied him for a moment, as if pondering what to say next. Finally he crossed his arms over his chest and smiled. "The repair job...it"s on the house, okay? You know, I meant what I said. I looked you up to make sure you were doing all right, see if you needed any help." Mark felt the crawl of goosebumps down his spine as he recalled the kind of help he had received from this man in the past. The smile he offered in return felt forced; he wondered if he was as transparent to the other man as he felt. "Yeah, well, I"m doing okay...thanks." The two men locked gazes across the sun cracked drive. Neither spoke for a long moment; finally the older man broke the silence with a deep throated chuckle. "You do look shell shocked, Mark. Guess I was probably the last person you expected to see after all this time, huh?" Mark blinked once and continued to study the older man, his hands jammed into the pockets of his jeans. "Yeah, I guess so." "Been a long time." Mark nodded, fighting the urge to just climb into the Coyote and leave. "The big house, the car..looks like you"ve done all right for yourself." "That isn"t my place." "Oh, I know that. But you live there, right?" Mark tilted his head and nodded. "I live there." When it became obvious that Mark didn"t plan to elaborate, the older man glanced over Mark"s shoulder. "Is that really your car?" "Yeah, it is. I told you already." "Mind if I take a closer look at it?" McCormick paused a beat, then shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, go ahead." Mark stepped back into the shade outside the garage doorway, watching as the older man walked slowly around the Coyote, whistling softly as he completed his circuit. "Now, this is nice." "What are you doing here, Jack?" The man glanced up as he ran his hand down the sleek lines of the car body. "Working, what does it look like?" "No, I mean in California." Jack leaned against the fender and crossed his arms over his chest. "I got sick of the cold winters in Jersey. Saved a little money, decided to come out here, enjoy the sunshine." "Alone?" "Yeah," he sighed. "Janet and I divorced a few years ago. Right after I got out of the joint. But I guess you didn"t know that. You been out of touch a long time, boy." McCormick shrugged his shoulders and looked away. "Twelve years," Jack continued. " Nothing, not a word for twelve years."

"Morley?" The Brigadier frowned slightly as he glanced up from the sheaf of papers strewn across his desk. "Oh yes. The body at the farm." "That"s the one, sir. He was killed by an energy weapon of some kind, as Dr Sullivan suspected," Benton summarised. "Which confirms that someone - or something - definitely survived that crash, then," the Brigadier mused, leafing through the report. "Yes, sir, so it would seem - it"s alien technology, at any rate." Not necessarily wielded by aliens, of course, but it was certainly looking that way. "And there"s been no further trace of that signal?" "I"m afraid not, sir." "Which rather leaves us back at square one, doesn"t it," the Brigadier sighed. "But now we know that there are aliens on the loose, somewhere." "Yes, sir," Benton agreed. Aliens on the loose, aliens who were apparently prepared to kill, and they had no idea what they were or where to look for them. Life with UNIT was never dull; you could say that for it. "But we know that humans are involved somehow as well." "A dead human would seem to indicate that, yes," said the Brigadier, rather more sarcastically than Benton felt was entirely called for. "Have we had the forensic report back on those tyre tracks yet?" "Yes, sir. Inconclusive," Benton reluctantly admitted. Every potential lead they"d found so far had turned out to be a dead end. "We"ve taken eye witness reports from the locals describing at least half a dozen different vehicles that may or may not have been heading to or from Elderbrook Farm yesterday afternoon, we"re still checking those out. And don"t forget we"ve got those CI5 agents due shortly to see Dr Sullivan about Morley"s death." The Brigadier expressed his feelings about that by rolling his eyes. "Blasted nuisance," he grumbled. "Still, I suppose we must - with any luck they might at least be able to tell us what the man was doing there." "Yes, sir. I suppose that -" "Sir!" Corporal Carol Bell, the Brigadier"s assistant, came charging into the room at a run. "We"ve picked up that signal again, fifteen miles west-north-west of the previous location." The Brigadier was on his feet at once. "Well, don"t just stand there, man," he snapped at Benton - rather unfairly, Benton thought, since he was already heading for the door. "Let"s move." CI5CI5CI5 "I mean, what do UNIT do, exactly?" Bodie mused as he eased the car through the early morning traffic toward UNIT HQ. "Do you know?" Doyle shrugged. "No one knows, do they? Except..." "Except for the people who need to know," Bodie finished for him with an exasperated sigh. It was the standard by-line for UNIT, the response from on high that greeted every enquiry on the subject, no matter who that enquiry came from. "And I thought our business was hush-hush. I mean, even Cowley doesn"t have security clearance on their operations. And he"s got clearance on everything." "They"ve been involved in some big stuff, though, haven"t they?" Doyle had his thinking face on. "I mean, there was that flap over that weapons research centre - what was it called? Think Tank - it was UNIT dealt with that, wasn"t it? And then again at that energy conference a while back. That was them, too." "Yeah, I shouldn"t remind Cowley about that one," Bodie told him. "Any of them, come to that - he still reckons they should have been ours." "Yeah, but what actually happened?" "Well, no one knows, do they?" Bodie obliged his partner by answering the rhetorical question. "Classified to the nth degree." "So what makes us think they"re going to tell us anything this time?" "Well, they probably won"t, will they?" Bodie shared a rueful eye-roll with Doyle. This trip was going to be a complete waste of time and they both knew it. "We still have to ask the questions, though, don"t we - where else are we going to start?" UNITCI5UNIT "What exactly is CI5"s interest in the deceased, if you don"t mind my asking?" Dr Harry Sullivan RN, UNIT"s medical officer, was younger than Doyle had expected - early 30s at the most. Immaculately turned out in naval uniform, he spoke with the clipped tones of a public schoolboy, while his manner was polite, affable...and guarded. He"d been given the job of fobbing them off, Doyle guessed, and didn"t seem entirely comfortable with it, but was going to follow orders and stone-wall them anyway. Well, two could play at that game. "We had hoped he might have information pertinent to an ongoing investigation," he said. Nice and vague and formal. "But he disappeared before we had the chance to talk to him." "What was UNIT"s interest in the deceased?" Bodie pointedly added. Sullivan shrugged. "We had none," he said. "Until his body was discovered during the course of a UNIT operation." "Don"t suppose you"d like to tell us what kind of operation?" Bodie enquired, glancing at Doyle with a meaningful little eye roll; they both knew what the answer to that would be. "That"s classified, I"m afraid," Sullivan replied, predictably enough. "How did he die?" Doyle asked. "He was shot." Well, that was a straightforward enough answer, at least. "By UNIT?" Bodie immediately asked. Sullivan shook his head. "By a third party. He was already dead when we found him." "So UNIT"s interest was in the third party, then?" Doyle guessed, mulling over the implications. "Can we ask who that was? Might be relevant to our investigation." "Also classified, I"m afraid." He did actually look as if he regretted not being able to answer the question, as well. Doyle rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I thought it might be. Was the killer apprehended at the scene, can we at least ask that?" Sullivan hesitated slightly before replying - probably weighing up whether or not that information fell under the heading of "classified" as well. "No. No, they were gone by the time we got there." "So, you lost yours and we lost ours," Bodie wryly remarked. "And since clearly none of us are prepared to tell each other anything, we"re not likely to work out what the connection is anytime soon, are we?" "Where was Morley found?" Doyle asked. "Or is that classified, too?" Again Sullivan considered the question for a moment before replying, leaning slightly against a table to regard them both appraisingly and shoving his hands into his pockets as he did so - a gesture that completely spoiled the crisp, upright military bearing he"d been sporting up till then, but Doyle found he liked him a little bit better for it, even if his commanding officer probably wouldn"t. "The body was found on derelict farmland just outside London," he said at last. "He had no known connection to the area that we"ve been able to establish - but you might know more about that than us." "We"d be interested in seeing the location, then," said Doyle. It was worth asking - he"d been slightly more cooperative than expected, so far. "Might help us piece together Morley"s movements in his last hours." "Yeah, and that would help your investigation as well as ours, wouldn"t it?" Bodie added. "Find out if he was there by coincidence or design, so to speak." Sullivan looked dubious. "Look, at least run it past your guv"nor," Doyle suggested. "Never know, he might say yes." "He"s out on manoeuvres," Sullivan rather vaguely replied. That was odd. What kind of manoeuvres might they be on, middle of a case like this? Doyle had thought the place seemed strangely empty as they came in. If almost the whole of UNIT HQ had cleared out on these "manoeuvres", what did that imply? Sullivan was still looking thoughtful - trying to decide whether or not he was authorised to agree to their request, no doubt, if there was no superior officer around to refer it to. If he said yes, it would mean he knew damn well that all evidence of anything "classified" had already been removed from the scene, that much was certain, so the chances of actually learning anything useful from a site visit were remote - but a long shot was better than nothing. It wasn"t as if they had anything else to go on. At length, Sullivan nodded. "Right-o, then. I"ll take you there." CI5UNITCI5 "I say, where"s the guard?" Lieutenant Sullivan asked, wearing a baffled frown. It was the first indication that this supposedly routine investigative visit to the derelict farm where Clive Morley"s body had been found wasn"t going to be quite as straightforward as anticipated. Bodie snapped to alert at once, and a quick glance in Doyle"s direction told him that his partner had reacted likewise. "UNIT left a soldier here?" he checked as they exited the car, eyes scouring every inch of the property he could see. It made sense to leave a man on guard detail, if UNIT wanted to protect the location and see if anyone returned to the scene of the crime, but Sullivan was right: there was no sign of him. Sullivan nodded. "Look, there"s the Land Rover. But no sign of the guard." He glanced around worriedly. Doyle caught Bodie"s eye, shrugged eloquently, and then said, "Could be patrolling the perimeter - or gone off to take a leak, or something." "Maybe." Still frowning, Sullivan wandered over to the abandoned vehicle, as if to check that the missing soldier wasn"t hiding inside. Bodie looked at Doyle, who quietly asked, "What do you think?" "I think he knows more than he"s letting on." "He"s UNIT. Of course he knows more than he"s letting on. Seems genuine about that missing guard, though." Bodie nodded. The missing guard might still turn up - the farm wasn"t small, plenty of land to get lost on - but wasn"t a good sign. "Well, we"ll see what turns up when we start poking around," he remarked, then turned to Sullivan as he returned from his fruitless examination of the Land Rover. "Where was Morley"s body found?" "Over there -" As Sullivan half-turned to point, a loud bang, like the slamming of a door somewhere, broke the stillness of the air, and he span around in the other direction looking alarmed. The noise had come from the direction of an outhouse, over near what had probably once been stables, a little way apart from the main farmhouse. "The farm is abandoned, you said?" Bodie quickly checked with Sullivan, who nodded. "Been derelict for years, according to the agent. Our men searched the property thoroughly. No sign of occupation." "Could be your missing soldier," Doyle suggested, but the quick sideways glance he tossed in Bodie"s direction said he wasn"t convinced by that theory, any more than Bodie was. "Or maybe the killer came back," Bodie dourly added, and watched Sullivan"s worried face closely to see how he reacted to that suggestion. The anxious frown intensified - he looked as if he was deeply regretting agreeing to bring them here. Bodie couldn"t honestly blame him for that. The identity of Morley"s killer was highly classified, after all, presumably for a reason. And they were very exposed, out here in the open. They approached the outhouse with extreme caution. A look and a couple of quick hand gestures were all it took to agree a course of action with Doyle, who headed for the door with Sullivan in tow while Bodie skirted around the outside in search of a back door, other possible means of exit, or any other signs of life - weapon in hand, just in case. He"d just rounded a corner and noted the existence of a rear exit to the building - which meant the door slam could as easily have been someone exiting as entering, unseen from their previous position - when what looked like a bolt of lightning, a virtually horizontal bolt of lightning, from somewhere down low rather than the sky, came streaking out of nowhere and struck the wall just above his head. He flung himself to one side to escape the shower of bricks and mortar and then scrambled for cover, frantically scanning the surrounding terrain in search of the source of the lightning, because that wasn"t natural, that couldn"t be natural. Another lightning bolt that took out the low wall he"d taken cover behind, sending him scurrying, confirmed beyond any shadow of doubt that it wasn"t natural. It was aimed and deliberate. But what was it? Some kind of laser? Bodie sprinted back behind the building, stumbling slightly over fallen bricks strewn across the loose gravel, blood pounding in his ears as he narrowly avoided a few more pot shots aimed in his direction, which exploded into the wall of the outhouse. He dived for cover, brambles scratching his skin and catching at his clothes as he fell, and then waited, poised ready to run again. No more lightning bolts. He allowed himself a moment to catch his breath, the sour aftertaste of adrenaline bitter at the back of his throat. Still no more lightning bolts. He risked a quick peek. No sign of movement. No sign of any more lightning. Whoever"d been shooting at him didn"t seem to be pursuing, now he was out of sight. Satisfied that he was no longer in immediate danger, Bodie turned to look at the outhouse that Doyle and Sullivan had entered just a few minutes earlier and felt the acid churn of renewed panic, deep in his gut. The building had taken several hits of those lightning bolts. It hadn"t been in good repair to begin with, and now...the side wall had collapsed, bringing most of the roof down with it - and there was no sign of life. UNITCI5UNIT "Easy now, take it easy," said a voice somewhere close by. Not Bodie. A groan escaped, unbidden, as Doyle attempted to peel his eyes open, before the blinding pain that shot through his already pounding head made him think better of it. He let them flutter shut again and lay still for a moment, took stock instead, and felt minor aches and pains beginning to make themselves known all over, although the head was the worst. The air was thick with dust, coating his airways with every breath, cloying, and he was lying on an irregular surface, sharp edges digging in uncomfortably here and there. His face felt sticky - and then something soft suddenly pressed against it, just above one eye, startling him. He managed to peel his eyes open at the second attempt and looked straight into the worried face of UNIT"s Dr Harry Sullivan, who looked every bit as battered as Doyle felt. "Wha" "ppened?" The question, more a reflex than anything, came out as a woozy slur followed by a hacking cough to clear some of that dust off his lungs and throat. "You don"t remember?" Sullivan frowned. A look like that on the face of a medical professional could result in extreme boredom of the laid up variety if you weren"t careful. Doyle redoubled his efforts to collect his scattered memories of recent events. "Th" roof fell," he eventually came up with, shifting uncomfortably. "Something like that. Hold this here a moment." Sullivan took one of Doyle"s hands and placed it over that soft something that was still pressed against his face. Doyle pulled it away to look at it: a handkerchief, with blood on it. Sullivan promptly guided both hand and handkerchief back to their previous position. "You need to hold that there for a moment, old chap," he repeated. "Can you tell me your name?" The concussion check-list was a familiar enough drill. "Ray Doyle." "How many fingers am I holding up?" Doyle blinked at the blurry digits, which refused to come into focus. "Two," he offered. It was a guess. Sullivan patted his shoulder, a gesture of reassurance that Doyle fuzzily suspected he should find patronising. "Close," he said. "Sit tight a moment while I see if I can find the door." He disappeared from Doyle"s field of vision, which reminded Doyle of something else that was missing. "Where"s Bodie?" "Still outside, I should imagine," Sullivan"s voice called back from somewhere out of eyeshot, "Wondering if we"re all right." Bodie"d stayed outside; they"d come inside - searching this derelict farm where Clive Morley"s body had been found. And then there"d been some kind of explosion and the roof had caved in.... It all came back in a rush and Doyle started upright - and his stomach rolled, protesting the sudden movement. There was a scramble and a clatter nearby, and then Sullivan was at his side again, easing him through the wave of nausea. "Try not to move just yet. You"ve had a nasty crack on the head," the doctor advised. It was probably good advice, except that they were trapped in this building, which had collapsed on top of them, and Bodie would be going frantic outside trying to dig his way in to them, and there was something strange going on here. He couldn"t afford to just lie around nursing a bumped head. Doyle stubbornly shook his head, which was a mistake, a definite mistake, the flash of pain that shot through it was white-hot, but he tried again to sit up anyway. Sullivan helped this time. The room span around him as he moved, dizzying and disorienting, and his stomach lurched in protest, but he eventually made it to a more or less upright position, leaning against the remains of an interior wall. Sullivan kept a firm hold of his shoulders until the nausea passed and his breathing settled down again. "Better?" he asked at length. Doyle managed a terse little nod and looked around. From his new position he could see the state the building was in - fallen masonry everywhere, a few tiny fires smouldering here and there - and was mildly impressed that they"d both managed to survive the collapse. "D" you find the door?" he asked. "Not yet." Sullivan gave him another long, hard look, and was apparently satisfied with what he saw as he then stood up and scrambled away over the rubble once more, toward the spot where the door was obscured behind fallen beams and brickwork. He was moving gingerly, Doyle noticed, and favouring one arm. "Are you all right?" he belatedly thought to ask. Half-turning to glance back across the debris he was attempting to negotiate, Sullivan offered him a wan little smile that wasn"t as reassuring as he probably intended it to be. "Bruised, nothing broken," he said, scrubbing a hand through his hair as he turned once more to survey the debris blocking the exit. He attempted to shift some of it and got a face full of thick black dust for his trouble, stumbled away coughing and spluttering. Time to stand up and start helping, Doyle told himself, and started to struggle to his feet. Sullivan hurried back to him at once, still coughing. "I"m okay," Doyle insisted, wobbly but upright. "I"ll be the judge of that," Sullivan countered. Typical doctor: always thought they knew best. He held up a finger - definitely only one this time - and told Doyle to follow it. Doyle obliged him by tracking the movement of the finger with his eyes, up and down, left and right, by way of proof that he could now see straight once more. "Right, let"s see about that door, then," he said, as firmly as he could manage, and began to cautiously navigate the unstable heaps of rubble, only slightly aided by Sullivan - although now that they were both more or less mobile, he wasn"t entirely sure that the other man was that much steadier than he was. The building had collapsed on them both, after all. Between them, with a lot of wobbling and wheezing, they managed to shift a bit of the rubble without bringing too much more down on their heads. Sound from the outside world began to filter through - muffled shouting and banging and cursing, which told Doyle clearly that his partner was likewise digging in the other direction. He yelled back and redoubled his efforts. Slowly, digging from both sides, they managed to clear a hole through which Bodie became visible, looking grimy and relieved. Head pounding and ears ringing, Doyle attempted to muster up a smile for his benefit. "What kept you?" CI5UNITCI5 "What the hell is going on here? I thought you said the place was abandoned?" Bodie rounded on Sullivan the moment the three of them had made it safely out of the collapsed outhouse and retreated behind the relative shelter of a nearby barn. "It was. It was searched, top to bottom." He"d dropped to the ground, looking battered and bruised, and was rubbing at his shoulder with a pained expression. Doyle looked even worse. He"d also flopped to the ground in a heap and Bodie knelt alongside him to take a look at a bloody gash over his eye; it looked nasty, but was already scabbing over. "Is he all right?" he demanded of Sullivan, who nodded. "Slightly concussed." "I"m fine," Doyle growled, pushing him away. "But I"d like to know what happened. Why"d the building collapse like that?" "Someone was shooting at us," Bodie grimly told his partner, who frowned at him in incomprehension. "Shooting doesn"t knock a house down, Bodie." "It does when it"s lightning that"s being fired!" Bodie retorted with feeling. Doyle looked bewildered. "What? I thought I was supposed to be the one with concussion." "I"ve never seen anything like it, Ray," Bodie admitted. "I don"t know what it was - some kind of laser, maybe? All I know is it looked like a lightning strike but wasn"t, it was focused and aimed, a weapon - powerful enough to knock a house down." "It was an energy weapon." This came quietly but decisively from Sullivan. Bodie fixed him with a long, hard glare. "A what?" He"d known the man was withholding information, expected it - it was his job, after all, to keep UNIT"s secrets - but didn"t like it any the better for that. Especially when it landed a building on his partner"s head. The fact that the building had also landed on Sullivan"s own head was neither here nor there.

You will be shocked when you see him. It had been Christmas when she saw him last - not even Christmas gone, but the one before. They"d had but a single day together, spent at Nampara, Dwight resplendent in his stiff new uniform, which she"d mocked wholeheartedly, and he"d agreed was absurd, content for once to laugh at himself on her account. She reached the parlour, pushed open the door and saw him, standing defensively at the mantelpiece, a small fire burning bright in the grate. She was not certain she had entirely believed in his return until this very moment. He turned and looked at her, skin and bone, his face skeletal in its emaciation, chalk-white and blotched with sores, borrowed clothes hanging off him with neither flesh nor muscle beneath. Exceeding frail, you will be shocked, Ross had written. Caroline stood a moment taking him in, her smile unwavering, eyes picking over every detail of his face, so very dear to her, so familiar - and yet so changed. She had expected this, was prepared. He was safe, he was alive, restored to her intact when all hope had seemed lost. What more could she ask? But she had never possessed the skill of saying what she felt. The more a thing mattered, the more she made light, the words twisting in her throat to come out glib and flippant. "Well, Dwight." She took off her hat, shook it once and dropped it on a chair. "So they have dragged you away and you have come to redeem your promises." Verity and Ross were at the door behind her. Both had tried to keep her away a little longer, of a certain fearing, for his sake, her reaction to his condition. Did they think her so shallow? The look in his eye put her in mind of a skittish horse, abused and afraid, to be approached with care, but behind that, behind the sickness and starvation, it was Dwight. Words would not do. She stepped forward and kissed him full on the sores on his lips. He tried to turn his head away. "Caroline!" "Good heavens, so I still have to make all the advancements!" she said, because making light was all she knew to do; a show of emotion, she had been taught, was not ladylike, and that lesson held fast, even now. "D"you know, my dear, I am never allowed to retain any maidenly modesty, for I have to run after you, to seek you out, and even to kiss you without receiving any embrace in return!" His eyes were shadowed, sunk deep in his emaciated face, his hair speckled grey at the temples. He stood clinging to the mantel, staring at her as if unable to believe she was here. "Caroline," he said again. "All this time, while you have been hiding in that prison camp I have been wondering if I would ever be able to bring you to the point of fulfilling your promise. Time and again I have thought, no, he will never do it, I am doomed to be an old maid." Having begun to talk she found that she could not stop, and hardly knew what she said. "Now, when at the last you are in England, I have to ride all morning through the pouring rain to catch you before you slip away again. Look at my habit, it will take a drying and ironing and perhaps will shrink from very saturation. And my hair!" She twisted said hair in her hands, but it was not raindrops alone that fell to the floor. She blinked hard, breath catching in her throat. "Caroline, my love, my own..." Dwight"s voice was thin and hoarse, crackling over the words. "Ah, hear that, Ross. So he has committed himself at last! I believe we shall have a wedding after all. If we do, it will be the biggest ever in Cornwall. We shall have to hire an Admiralty band and army buglers and the choirs of three churches, all to celebrate that Dr Enys has been caught at last!" Her voice sounded brittle to her own ear. She brushed at her cheek. "You see, I am weeping with relief. I am to be saved from the horrors of a spinster"s life. But Dr Enys, you notice, is also weeping, and that, I know, is for his lost freedom." "Caroline, please," Ross said, wiping a hand across his own eyes. "But I shall not desert you, Dwight," Caroline said, patting his arm, flippancy and sincerity coming together at last. "I shall stay near by this house until you are fit to travel, and shall take special care to ensure that you do not slip away to sea. And when you are fit to travel, I shall sit beside you in a coach and link your arm so that you are not able to jump out. When shall we be married? Can you name the day to set my heart at rest?" Dwight said, indistinctly, "I am not fit - like this. You see...I am a little altered, my love..." "Yes, I observe, and so we must alter you back, mustn"t we? We must feed you on mutton broth and calves" liver and raw eggs and canary wine. Then you will have the courage to take me for your lawful wife, just as we arranged in the good old days." Dwight said again, "Caroline," but this time as if his very heart were breaking. "If you will still take me - but I shall need time..." The door clicked shut; Ross and Verity had withdrawn. Caroline paid them no mind, kept talking, her voice growing feeble and yet the words tumbling out still; if she stopped, she was done for. "I think it should be an October wedding, don"t you? Having seen old Agatha Poldark"s centenary out of the way, we must give the county time to recover before its next giddy round! Until then you must come home with me, even to the scandal of the neighbourhood. We will feed you up right away with the best things that we can find. You shall be cosseted and fed and allowed rest and given the best of everything. And if you are not feeling better in a week or two we will send for the doctor..." Now a lurching pang, for there was no other doctor in the district - none that she would trust him to. Dr Choake at Sawle, Dr Behenna at Truro...no. There was none that would do. "Your uncle," he said, speaking as one in a daze. This had been the prime obstacle to their proposed marriage at every turn. She shook her head. "You do not escape that easy, my dear. My uncle is gone, and took with him every impediment. Killewarren is now mine - and soon yours, little though you may care for the burden of such a great estate." Dwight wavered, unsteady on his feet, and reached behind him for a chair. Caroline took his arm to help him sit and felt only bone beneath the sleeve. "October," she repeated in a voice as unsteady as he. "We must make sure to have you well in good time." She found another chair, pulled it close and took his hand - an old man"s hand, the skin paper-thin and discoloured. "You are very quiet, my love." He licked at the sores on his lips. "It is," he slowly said, "A little difficult to credit that this is real. The days have been so unvaried, relentless...there was no hope..." His eyes were haunted. She closed her fingers around his, gently, for the bones felt so very fragile. "I am real, you are real, we both are here, and I shall not allow you from my sight again." Staring at her still like a man caught in a dream, he raised her hand and pressed it to his lips. Caroline leaned forward, free hand rising to enfold the back of his neck. She kissed his forehead, his cheek, his lips, and let her head gently rest against his. "My love," she whispered. "My dearest, only love, how I have wanted you." It was quite some time before a tap at the door signalled an intrusion. Caroline paid it no heed. Dwight had fallen asleep, curling toward her in his chair as she perched on its arm stroking his hair, an action that felt somehow more intimate than any embrace they"d ever shared. Fifteen months ago claws of despair had sunk deep into her heart upon learning the fate of the Travail; now at last, sitting here with Dwight and talking to him, holding him, touching him, watching him sleep, for the first time in fifteen months the shadow was lifted and she felt free. She heard the door open and knew without looking that it was Ross. "How ragged his hair is," she said without looking up. "I do not know much about prison, but I should not have supposed the trimming of hair to be a luxury commonly available among inmates." "We did it on the boat," said Ross, moving across the room toward them. "With a knife and not much care for the neatness of the cut; Dwight was weak and the rank growth of hair and beard seemed to offend him, so we removed them." The harsh, sunken planes of Dwight"s emaciated face were softened in repose. Caroline brushed her fingertips through the uneven ends of his hair. "He will, I think, be ill for some time," she said in a carefully light tone. "It seems likely." "Fortunate, then, that he has engaged himself to a woman of sufficient means to coddle and cosset him until he is well...Ross." Now at last she met his eyes. "You have brought him back to me, against all hope, all reason. I am more thankful than I can say." "The first obligation was mine, doubly owed," said Ross, uncomfortable always in the receipt of gratitude for any service, great or small. "A long recovery now lies ahead." "Yes." The prospect pained her for Dwight"s sake, but did not alarm her. "And we will spend that recovery together, the rest of our lives also, when but for you Dwight should have died in that prison, no doubt quite soon." This, now, was the thought that alarmed: the nearness of the escape, brought home by the fragility of his condition. She turned her face from Ross so that he should not see her expression, began to stroke Dwight"s hair once more. "He"d have died in pain and hunger and squalor, far from his home and those who care for him - leaving me to wait and wonder, a hopeless old maid facing a dull and lonely future." "Caroline..." "Oh, there"d be other suitors, to be sure, for a woman of wealth and property I dare suppose it inevitable, but there could never be another Dwight, and I"m very much afraid that no other would do." Of that she was quite certain. She"d had her share of suitors before now, respectable men approved by her uncles, but Dwight with his shabby coat and firmly-held principles, this penniless country doctor who had nothing to offer but himself, proud and passionate, skilled in his work, stubborn and sensitive and gentle and kind, Dwight was the only one to look past her fortune and body and the hardness of her manner and see her. No other would do. "So now he is returned," she said. "Safe if not well, and for that there can never be thanks enough for our dear Captain Poldark." I shall not allow you from my sight again, Caroline had said, but she had, of course, to allow him from her sight again. There were arrangements to be made: accommodation to be sought, since Mrs Blamey had no more room, and a carriage to be hired, for Wednesday, as Ross had first planned. Dwight tired rapidly and slept a great deal, and had also a patient to attend, as one of the group that freed him had been wounded during the escape. This was Drake Carne, Demelza Poldark"s youngest brother. They had feared for his life during the crossing from France, Ross said, but his recovery was now certain. The same could not be said of Dwight, who ate little despite his starvation and moved about the house like a ghost. His mood varied from restless to listless, and he avoided talk of his long ordeal. "It will take time," Ross said, more than once. "It will take time. You must give him time." So Caroline talked of other things. She talked of her uncle"s long illness and slow death, of the close friendship she had formed with Mistress Poldark, whom she had barely known before Dwight went away, and of how sorely his patients had missed him, so much so that even she could not fail to be aware of it. She talked of relief efforts for the poor last winter, of the difficulty her want of official status had presented in gaining news from Quimper, and of the house parties she had held for French refugees, in hopes of attaining information or support of any kind. She talked at length of her plans for their wedding, a grander affair with each hour that passed, and coaxed from him small smiles and faltering kisses. By Wednesday Dwight was running a fever. The ordered carriage was put off and Caroline paced about the house, muttering beneath her breath every curse Uncle Ray had never known her to have heard him utter. "It would be too cruel," she told Verity, voice low, her customary glibness failing her. "He has no strength to fight an illness. It would be too cruel if he went now." Wednesday also brought dire news from France: the émigrés" counter-revolutionary invasion, with which Ross and his group had travelled on their mission to Quimper, had ended in disaster and carnage. Both Caroline and Ross had been involved in the planning of this expedition, drawn in by their efforts on Dwight"s behalf. Ross took the news hard, and Caroline should, she was certain, have felt it more. Perhaps she still would, but at present she had neither thought nor feeling to spare for anyone but Dwight. Nature had not intended her for a nurse, yet mocking fate seemed to relish casting her in that role. Long hours at her uncle"s bedside through the weary months of his prolonged death had taught her much, and here at least there was Verity, bustling about and managing all while she sat quiet at Dwight"s side and held his hand and listened to his mutterings. He spoke more in his fever than she had ever known him lucid, rambling variously through a ferocious sea battle, the sinking of his ship, and the horrors of the prison camp. The fate of the miner"s wife he"d once loved weighed somewhat upon his mind still, it seemed, as did that of a miner killed on the mission to retrieve him from France, and those of his fellow prisoners left behind to suffer and die without the attentions of their physician. Caroline herself was mentioned once or twice, with longing and love and regret. The fever was frighteningly sharp but mercifully brief, and within hours was already abating. Dwight took the heartiest supper he had managed yet, and the coach was re-ordered for the morrow. "It is high time," Caroline told him, "That we went home," and then set about making plans for the removal of his stored possessions from the Gatehouse at Mingoose to Killewarren. "The county will talk," he said in a voice that was the merest puff of air, his scant strength exhausted by the violence of the fever, but he was smiling as he said it, a faint tilting of the lips that seemed the most he could manage, for the time. "We are engaged, but cannot marry until you are well; you will not get well unless you are cared for, and where should you be better tended than at Killewarren by me? No, I will not have it otherwise." Caroline had no intention of being parted from him again. "The county always talks. It would do them good to have somewhat of substance to say. Captain Poldark"s heroics might perhaps be a worthier topic." Something flickered in his eye. She waited for it. "I did not believe it could be him...standing in that place." The words came with some effort. "Impossible..." "Captain Poldark," Caroline said, "Does not believe in impossible." "To take such a risk..." "Was foolish, perhaps, but he felt it worth the while, and I could not argue for I wished you back more even than he. He took with him volunteers - my dear, you are held in far higher regard than you know." The sickly pallor of Dwight"s cheeks was brightened by a flush of pink. He ducked his head, dabbing at the scorbutic sores on his lips. "I must thank..." "You have thanked. And I have thanked. He runs away like a scaredy-spider each time. I believe that man would better prefer to walk ten times into the prison at Quimper than stand to hear a single word of praise. It is a terrible flaw, but one for which I fear we must forgive him." Another faint smile, and with it a small huff that might almost have been a chuckle. Caroline sat back in her chair and began to dream of the future she"d feared for so long would never be. Twenty miles was quite an undertaking for an invalid. It was of necessity to be a more leisurely trip than Caroline"s precipitous ride in the opposite direction. Dwight slept late in the wake of his fever, and they broke their fast together before he looked in one last time on his patient, Drake Carne, who sat in bed with his shoulder heavily bound and was to remain in Mrs Blamey"s care another some days, yet contrived to look rather more substantial than the doctor attending him. Thence to the hired carriage waiting at the door, the short journey downstairs posing the first hurdle; it was taken slow and with aid, and was followed by goodbyes and thanks to Verity Blamey for her generous hospitality and loving care. Ross, his mission complete, was to travel home to the north coast with them and rode alongside the carriage, eager now to return to his wife and children and the neglected business of his mine. His manager, he said, had been unwell since the winter and burdened too long in his absence with extra duties. Caroline glanced at Dwight and saw a dawning light of professional interest in his eye. "Dwight," she said, "It will not do. You are days only from prison and not yet arrived home, can scarce attempt a flight of stairs without aid, not an ounce of flesh on your bones, and already you are thinking of your sick people!" He looked sheepish but did not deny it. "It will," he said, between slow, careful breaths, "Be some little time before I may think to resume my rounds." "It will be some long time," said Caroline. "Your sick people have done without you till now; they must do without you still yet." He smiled, and nodded, and took her hand. "It will be some while yet. Still the need is not merely theirs, my love, but mine also." "There can be no possible need for anyone to move among dirt and disease," she objected. His devotion to the unwashed mass of people who could not afford to pay for his attention was a thing she admired but had never understood, and in his present condition the prospect was alarming. The carriage jolted heavily, robbing him for the moment of breath. "The occupation," he managed at length. "Not yet but in time...occupation, I believe, restores the mind...which in turn restores the body. I have seen it..." "Rest and good food restore the body," said Caroline determinedly. "I keep an excellent cook and very comfortable rooms. I cannot hope to compete with the attractions of France, but you will not, I believe, be disappointed in your new home." He smiled again. "Is this your prescription, Miss Penvenen?" "It is." The carriage jolted again and he coughed painfully. "Well," he said when he had regained his voice. "You are, of course, correct, in the first instance. Your directive shall be obeyed." Now Caroline smiled and was content. "You are mocking me, my love. I believe I have been a bad influence on you!" Dwight slept half the journey and winced through the rest, increasingly breathless as the carriage rattled and jolted and jerked over roads that had seen no improvement since Caroline"s uncle first brought her to Cornwall as an orphan of ten. She passed the journey developing her plans for the wedding, to be set in stone before Dwight grew strong enough to protest the size and scale. He tried anyway, but in this weakened state was easy to overrule. "It is no good being ashamed of me," Caroline said. "It"s embarrassing that I have so much money, but you knew that all along, and a big wedding is one of the consequences. The county, you may know, has quite despaired of my prospects, so I must be permitted to celebrate the capture, at last, of my man. I"m afraid there is no escape for you now." Dwight smiled and did not argue. At the gates of Killewarren, Ross left them, refusing to come in for refreshment and rest. "You have been apart long," he said. "I will not intrude now. You have the rest of your lives to begin." "Thanks to you," Caroline said, and this time he could neither escape nor avoid the sentiment. "Ross..." Dwight began, but Ross shook his head. "Say nothing," he said. "I wish only your future happiness - and health! Demelza has long delayed Jeremy"s inoculation in hopes of your safe return, for she would not have Dr Choake, so that at the last I"d no option but to come seek you out. But all in good time." He waved and was gone. Caroline watched him go and was thoughtful a moment, now that they were so near. "Dwight," she said. "I move fast and carry all before me and presume much and demand always my own way. I have brought you here in some haste without asking once to be sure: is this truly what you wish, still, after all?" Dwight had always had rather a grave turn of countenance, more so now, in this haggard state, than ever. He regarded her seriously. "A penniless physician without even good health to his name..." He made a self-deprecating gesture that encompassed his skeletal features and emaciated frame. "I should well ask if this is truly what you wish, still, after all." Caroline had spent now considerably more than enough of her life without him to be certain of her answer. "Yes," she said. "Yes," he said. She smiled. "Then let us go home." end © J.B. August 2015

She blinked away tears and drew a deep breath, picked up the letter and read on: My dearest Caroline, Dwight is safe. I must tell you that first, before all else. We have successfully breached the prison at Quimper and brought him away, and arrived at Falmouth yesterday eve.That is the first news. The rest of what I must tell you is less salutary. Conditions at the prison were beyond appalling, and our journey to England not easy. Dwight is exceeding frail. I believe - nay, I can say with certainty that you will be shocked when you see him. I have brought him to the house of my cousin Verity Blamey, whom you know, and will rest here some days until he is fit to travel on.My dear Caroline, you have waited long already. I must ask you to be patient a small while longer. If all is well I hope to bring him to you on Wednesday.Your faithful friend, Ross Poldark Caroline sat very still, the letter crumpling in her shaking hand, the room around her blurred. Alive, safe and in England. After all this time. She knew herself well, well enough to know that patience had never been among her virtues. She had indeed waited long already: fifteen months since Dwight"s ship was lost, nineteen months since they were parted, just days after becoming engaged a second time. Longer still since the acrimony of their first parting, when a carefully planned elopement had failed at the last because Dwight, learning of treachery, had rushed to save the life of Ross Poldark and a number of other men, and she, unknowing, hurt by his failure to arrive on schedule, had departed in anger and refused for too long to forgive. So much wasted time. It was on account of her that Dwight had gone into the Navy and thus ended in the hands of the French. Exceeding frail, the letter said. Conditions at the prison were beyond appalling. She glanced up at the window. Some twenty miles to Falmouth and the light already fading. Tomorrow then, at first light. If Dwight was not yet fit to travel to her, then she would travel to him. There was to be no more waiting. You will be shocked when you see him, the letter said. Caroline set off at dawn in pouring rain, a groom at her heel by way of escort. She loved to ride, always had, and her horse was strong and fast, yet the journey passed tedious slow. She saw little of the countryside, seeing rather Dwight as he"d been that last day before he left: handsome face and lithe young body, self-conscious in his uniform, bright-eyed with love and regret. Exceeding frail, you will be shocked when you see him. Ross, she knew, seeking to spare her, had taken pains to withhold a degree of the information obtained in the course of his investigations, but Caroline had contacts of her own. Conditions at the prison were beyond appalling, he had written, and that much she already knew. The knowledge had long been unbearable. Dwight is safe. It was all that mattered. He was safe and he was close by, they would be together soon. She urged her horse on. The Blameys kept a small house in Falmouth near the harbour. Caroline had been there just once, unasked and unannounced, upon first hearing a rumour that the Travail had been sunk in action - that journey more precipitous even than this, ending at the doorstep of a virtual stranger to beg for news. There was, she had learned, no pride in fear and despair. She"d not forgot the way. Groom at her heel, she clattered over the cobbles, came to a stop at the portico and dismounted, wet hair tumbling loose from under her hat to slick about her shoulders. She knocked without hesitation. There was to be no more waiting, no matter what. A maid came to the door. Caroline stepped into the house, shaking rain from her hair and clothes, and saw Ross on the stair, dearest Ross who had risked so much for her sake and for Dwight"s. "Well, Captain Poldark, so you are back, I see, as promised." She took his face and kissed him on the lips, and felt behind her the disapproval of the maid. "And you have brought me back my erring doctor? Safe? Intact? All of a piece? And willing to fulfil the promises made before he left?" "Caroline..." Ross regarded her warily. "You were to have greeted him on Wednesday. We were coming over and would have been with you -" "And did you think I would be willing to sit in Killewarren stitching a sampler while everyone was living a high life in Falmouth? You misread my temperament. Where is he? Upstairs?" "I think in the parlour. But he has only just risen. You must have left early -" "At dawn." "But I must warn you. In my letter I gave you some hint that he is as yet very frail..." Impatient, Caroline looked past him to his cousin now descending the stairs. "Verity, how good to see you again. And in happier circumstances than last time." "Caroline, we did not expect you -" Verity Blamey began. "So Ross says. But you should have. I have waited at home like a fading spinster too long already." Verity, too, was hesitant. "Caroline...I have hardly warned him. He is only just from bed and I do not think he feels strong enough to -" "Not strong enough to see me? Does one need to be strong to confront me? Am I a scaly dragon to be shrunk away from until properly announced?" She kissed Verity and smiled brightly, long hair dripping onto the stair carpet, unwilling to brook any obstacle here at the last. "So let us go up, shall we?" In the parlour, Ross said. In that room fifteen months ago Verity had read confirmation of the Travail"s fate from a week-old newssheet. Caroline pushed past and up the stairs, idly wondering how Dwight might diagnose the palpitations of her heart. You will be shocked when you see him. It had been Christmas when she saw him last - not even Christmas gone, but the one before. They"d had but a single day together, spent at Nampara, Dwight resplendent in his stiff new uniform, which she"d mocked wholeheartedly, and he"d agreed was absurd, content for once to laugh at himself on her account. She reached the parlour, pushed open the door and saw him, standing defensively at the mantelpiece, a small fire burning bright in the grate. She was not certain she had entirely believed in his return until this very moment. He turned and looked at her, skin and bone, his face skeletal in its emaciation, chalk-white and blotched with sores, borrowed clothes hanging off him with neither flesh nor muscle beneath. Exceeding frail, you will be shocked, Ross had written. Caroline stood a moment taking him in, her smile unwavering, eyes picking over every detail of his face, so very dear to her, so familiar - and yet so changed. She had expected this, was prepared. He was safe, he was alive, restored to her intact when all hope had seemed lost. What more could she ask? But she had never possessed the skill of saying what she felt. The more a thing mattered, the more she made light, the words twisting in her throat to come out glib and flippant. "Well, Dwight." She took off her hat, shook it once and dropped it on a chair. "So they have dragged you away and you have come to redeem your promises." Verity and Ross were at the door behind her. Both had tried to keep her away a little longer, of a certain fearing, for his sake, her reaction to his condition. Did they think her so shallow? The look in his eye put her in mind of a skittish horse, abused and afraid, to be approached with care, but behind that, behind the sickness and starvation, it was Dwight. Words would not do. She stepped forward and kissed him full on the sores on his lips. He tried to turn his head away. "Caroline!" "Good heavens, so I still have to make all the advancements!" she said, because making light was all she knew to do; a show of emotion, she had been taught, was not ladylike, and that lesson held fast, even now. "D"you know, my dear, I am never allowed to retain any maidenly modesty, for I have to run after you, to seek you out, and even to kiss you without receiving any embrace in return!" His eyes were shadowed, sunk deep in his emaciated face, his hair speckled grey at the temples. He stood clinging to the mantel, staring at her as if unable to believe she was here. "Caroline," he said again. "All this time, while you have been hiding in that prison camp I have been wondering if I would ever be able to bring you to the point of fulfilling your promise. Time and again I have thought, no, he will never do it, I am doomed to be an old maid." Having begun to talk she found that she could not stop, and hardly knew what she said. "Now, when at the last you are in England, I have to ride all morning through the pouring rain to catch you before you slip away again. Look at my habit, it will take a drying and ironing and perhaps will shrink from very saturation. And my hair!" She twisted said hair in her hands, but it was not raindrops alone that fell to the floor. She blinked hard, breath catching in her throat. "Caroline, my love, my own..." Dwight"s voice was thin and hoarse, crackling over the words. "Ah, hear that, Ross. So he has committed himself at last! I believe we shall have a wedding after all. If we do, it will be the biggest ever in Cornwall. We shall have to hire an Admiralty band and army buglers and the choirs of three churches, all to celebrate that Dr Enys has been caught at last!" Her voice sounded brittle to her own ear. She brushed at her cheek. "You see, I am weeping with relief. I am to be saved from the horrors of a spinster"s life. But Dr Enys, you notice, is also weeping, and that, I know, is for his lost freedom." "Caroline, please," Ross said, wiping a hand across his own eyes. "But I shall not desert you, Dwight," Caroline said, patting his arm, flippancy and sincerity coming together at last. "I shall stay near by this house until you are fit to travel, and shall take special care to ensure that you do not slip away to sea. And when you are fit to travel, I shall sit beside you in a coach and link your arm so that you are not able to jump out. When shall we be married? Can you name the day to set my heart at rest?" Dwight said, indistinctly, "I am not fit - like this. You see...I am a little altered, my love..." "Yes, I observe, and so we must alter you back, mustn"t we? We must feed you on mutton broth and calves" liver and raw eggs and canary wine. Then you will have the courage to take me for your lawful wife, just as we arranged in the good old days." Dwight said again, "Caroline," but this time as if his very heart were breaking. "If you will still take me - but I shall need time..." The door clicked shut; Ross and Verity had withdrawn. Caroline paid them no mind, kept talking, her voice growing feeble and yet the words tumbling out still; if she stopped, she was done for. "I think it should be an October wedding, don"t you? Having seen old Agatha Poldark"s centenary out of the way, we must give the county time to recover before its next giddy round! Until then you must come home with me, even to the scandal of the neighbourhood. We will feed you up right away with the best things that we can find. You shall be cosseted and fed and allowed rest and given the best of everything. And if you are not feeling better in a week or two we will send for the doctor..." Now a lurching pang, for there was no other doctor in the district - none that she would trust him to. Dr Choake at Sawle, Dr Behenna at Truro...no. There was none that would do. "Your uncle," he said, speaking as one in a daze. This had been the prime obstacle to their proposed marriage at every turn. She shook her head. "You do not escape that easy, my dear. My uncle is gone, and took with him every impediment. Killewarren is now mine - and soon yours, little though you may care for the burden of such a great estate." Dwight wavered, unsteady on his feet, and reached behind him for a chair. Caroline took his arm to help him sit and felt only bone beneath the sleeve. "October," she repeated in a voice as unsteady as he. "We must make sure to have you well in good time." She found another chair, pulled it close and took his hand - an old man"s hand, the skin paper-thin and discoloured. "You are very quiet, my love." He licked at the sores on his lips. "It is," he slowly said, "A little difficult to credit that this is real. The days have been so unvaried, relentless...there was no hope..." His eyes were haunted. She closed her fingers around his, gently, for the bones felt so very fragile. "I am real, you are real, we both are here, and I shall not allow you from my sight again." Staring at her still like a man caught in a dream, he raised her hand and pressed it to his lips. Caroline leaned forward, free hand rising to enfold the back of his neck. She kissed his forehead, his cheek, his lips, and let her head gently rest against his. "My love," she whispered. "My dearest, only love, how I have wanted you." It was quite some time before a tap at the door signalled an intrusion. Caroline paid it no heed. Dwight had fallen asleep, curling toward her in his chair as she perched on its arm stroking his hair, an action that felt somehow more intimate than any embrace they"d ever shared. Fifteen months ago claws of despair had sunk deep into her heart upon learning the fate of the Travail; now at last, sitting here with Dwight and talking to him, holding him, touching him, watching him sleep, for the first time in fifteen months the shadow was lifted and she felt free. She heard the door open and knew without looking that it was Ross. "How ragged his hair is," she said without looking up. "I do not know much about prison, but I should not have supposed the trimming of hair to be a luxury commonly available among inmates." "We did it on the boat," said Ross, moving across the room toward them. "With a knife and not much care for the neatness of the cut; Dwight was weak and the rank growth of hair and beard seemed to offend him, so we removed them." The harsh, sunken planes of Dwight"s emaciated face were softened in repose. Caroline brushed her fingertips through the uneven ends of his hair. "He will, I think, be ill for some time," she said in a carefully light tone. "It seems likely." "Fortunate, then, that he has engaged himself to a woman of sufficient means to coddle and cosset him until he is well...Ross." Now at last she met his eyes. "You have brought him back to me, against all hope, all reason. I am more thankful than I can say." "The first obligation was mine, doubly owed," said Ross, uncomfortable always in the receipt of gratitude for any service, great or small. "A long recovery now lies ahead." "Yes." The prospect pained her for Dwight"s sake, but did not alarm her. "And we will spend that recovery together, the rest of our lives also, when but for you Dwight should have died in that prison, no doubt quite soon." This, now, was the thought that alarmed: the nearness of the escape, brought home by the fragility of his condition. She turned her face from Ross so that he should not see her expression, began to stroke Dwight"s hair once more. "He"d have died in pain and hunger and squalor, far from his home and those who care for him - leaving me to wait and wonder, a hopeless old maid facing a dull and lonely future." "Caroline..." "Oh, there"d be other suitors, to be sure, for a woman of wealth and property I dare suppose it inevitable, but there could never be another Dwight, and I"m very much afraid that no other would do." Of that she was quite certain. She"d had her share of suitors before now, respectable men approved by her uncles, but Dwight with his shabby coat and firmly-held principles, this penniless country doctor who had nothing to offer but himself, proud and passionate, skilled in his work, stubborn and sensitive and gentle and kind, Dwight was the only one to look past her fortune and body and the hardness of her manner and see her. No other would do. "So now he is returned," she said. "Safe if not well, and for that there can never be thanks enough for our dear Captain Poldark." I shall not allow you from my sight again, Caroline had said, but she had, of course, to allow him from her sight again. There were arrangements to be made: accommodation to be sought, since Mrs Blamey had no more room, and a carriage to be hired, for Wednesday, as Ross had first planned. Dwight tired rapidly and slept a great deal, and had also a patient to attend, as one of the group that freed him had been wounded during the escape. This was Drake Carne, Demelza Poldark"s youngest brother. They had feared for his life during the crossing from France, Ross said, but his recovery was now certain. The same could not be said of Dwight, who ate little despite his starvation and moved about the house like a ghost. His mood varied from restless to listless, and he avoided talk of his long ordeal. "It will take time," Ross said, more than once. "It will take time. You must give him time." So Caroline talked of other things. She talked of her uncle"s long illness and slow death, of the close friendship she had formed with Mistress Poldark, whom she had barely known before Dwight went away, and of how sorely his patients had missed him, so much so that even she could not fail to be aware of it. She talked of relief efforts for the poor last winter, of the difficulty her want of official status had presented in gaining news from Quimper, and of the house parties she had held for French refugees, in hopes of attaining information or support of any kind. She talked at length of her plans for their wedding, a grander affair with each hour that passed, and coaxed from him small smiles and faltering kisses. By Wednesday Dwight was running a fever. The ordered carriage was put off and Caroline paced about the house, muttering beneath her breath every curse Uncle Ray had never known her to have heard him utter. "It would be too cruel," she told Verity, voice low, her customary glibness failing her. "He has no strength to fight an illness. It would be too cruel if he went now." Wednesday also brought dire news from France: the émigrés" counter-revolutionary invasion, with which Ross and his group had travelled on their mission to Quimper, had ended in disaster and carnage. Both Caroline and Ross had been involved in the planning of this expedition, drawn in by their efforts on Dwight"s behalf. Ross took the news hard, and Caroline should, she was certain, have felt it more. Perhaps she still would, but at present she had neither thought nor feeling to spare for anyone but Dwight. Nature had not intended her for a nurse, yet mocking fate seemed to relish casting her in that role. Long hours at her uncle"s bedside through the weary months of his prolonged death had taught her much, and here at least there was Verity, bustling about and managing all while she sat quiet at Dwight"s side and held his hand and listened to his mutterings. He spoke more in his fever than she had ever known him lucid, rambling variously through a ferocious sea battle, the sinking of his ship, and the horrors of the prison camp. The fate of the miner"s wife he"d once loved weighed somewhat upon his mind still, it seemed, as did that of a miner killed on the mission to retrieve him from France, and those of his fellow prisoners left behind to suffer and die without the attentions of their physician. Caroline herself was mentioned once or twice, with longing and love and regret. The fever was frighteningly sharp but mercifully brief, and within hours was already abating. Dwight took the heartiest supper he had managed yet, and the coach was re-ordered for the morrow. "It is high time," Caroline told him, "That we went home," and then set about making plans for the removal of his stored possessions from the Gatehouse at Mingoose to Killewarren. "The county will talk," he said in a voice that was the merest puff of air, his scant strength exhausted by the violence of the fever, but he was smiling as he said it, a faint tilting of the lips that seemed the most he could manage, for the time. "We are engaged, but cannot marry until you are well; you will not get well unless you are cared for, and where should you be better tended than at Killewarren by me? No, I will not have it otherwise." Caroline had no intention of being parted from him again. "The county always talks. It would do them good to have somewhat of substance to say. Captain Poldark"s heroics might perhaps be a worthier topic." Something flickered in his eye. She waited for it. "I did not believe it could be him...standing in that place." The words came with some effort. "Impossible..." "Captain Poldark," Caroline said, "Does not believe in impossible." "To take such a risk..." "Was foolish, perhaps, but he felt it worth the while, and I could not argue for I wished you back more even than he. He took with him volunteers - my dear, you are held in far higher regard than you know." The sickly pallor of Dwight"s cheeks was brightened by a flush of pink. He ducked his head, dabbing at the scorbutic sores on his lips. "I must thank..." "You have thanked. And I have thanked. He runs away like a scaredy-spider each time. I believe that man would better prefer to walk ten times into the prison at Quimper than stand to hear a single word of praise. It is a terrible flaw, but one for which I fear we must forgive him."

Sullivan looked worried again. "Well, they"ve promised to stay put - for now. So long as they aren"t disturbed. They won"t hesitate to defend themselves if they feel threatened, I"m sure, but for now...I don"t know what else we can do. Quite frankly, we have bigger fish to fry." And that seemed to be that; in the circumstances, they had no choice but to take his word for it. Bodie headed for his car, Doyle at his shoulder, casting one last glance toward the alien creatures. Still there, still real, still made his skin crawl. He got into the car and pulled off, not allowing himself to look back. They made it about two miles down the road before they ran into a small convoy of UNIT vehicles come looking for them. Bodie pulled the handbrake on and sat back to watch as Sullivan jumped out of the Land Rover just up ahead to hold an animated conversation with the soldier heading the convoy, then wound the window down as he jogged back to update them. Their would-be escort were to be posted as guards around the perimeter of the farm, under strict instructions not to engage with the aliens in any way, thus limiting the likelihood of anyone accidentally encountering the creatures and getting their head blown off. He then scurried back to the Land Rover and they were away again. Bodie looked at Doyle. "We"re in it now, aren"t we?" Doyle rolled his eyes. "Up to our necks, mate." CI5UNITCI5 "Ow." Doyle winced under Sullivan"s stinging ministrations as the doctor busily cleaned up his head wound. "They say they were a survey team, operating out of a larger deep-space exploration vessel," Sullivan was explaining to his superior, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, as he worked, ignoring Doyle"s fidgeting. UNIT"s sick bay wasn"t the most obvious place to carry out a de-briefing, but Doyle had had similar sessions in the med room back at CI5 headquarters in his time, so maybe CI5 and UNIT weren"t that different after all. "Their ship apparently developed a fault, so they headed for the nearest habitable planet to await rescue - Earth. They just barely made it." "Just our luck, eh." Lethbridge-Stewart rolled his eyes in a manner that George Cowley would have been proud of, although in most regards he was more or less the polar opposite of the CI5 Controller. Every inch the military gent with his neat little moustache, straight-backed posture and cut-glass accent, he"d looked askance at Doyle and Bodie"s casual and now rather grubby attire when they were introduced to him, albeit only for about two seconds - and in fairness, Sullivan"s dishevelled appearance had been received in much the same way - before switching his attention to more important matters, such as the fact that they"d been present for an encounter with the aliens. Cowley would have been incensed at the breach of secrecy; Lethbridge-Stewart, on the other hand, had taken it with remarkable equanimity, calmly observing that their fully informed assistance was sure to prove useful and he"d make sure to square it with their superior. "Well, quite, sir," Sullivan agreed. "They claim that their intention was to avoid any contact with the natives - meaning us, obviously - but then in the confusion following the crash landing, one of their crewmen went missing. And now they"re threatening to tear the land apart if we don"t return him." "Situation normal, then," the Brigadier grimly remarked and Doyle wondered just how often this kind of thing happened, in that case - and how they managed to keep a lid on it, every time. Even bearing in mind the top secret classification, that was some impressive covering up. How long had this kind of thing been going on, then, unknown to the general public, and even to other security services? "And they believe he was abducted by Clive Morley and his associates?" Bodie was leaning forward in his chair to listen intently. To look at him, you"d think he was talking about a bog-standard, everyday investigation, rather than this outer space nonsense...but then he glanced sideways at Doyle with a tiny lift of the eyebrows that clearly expressed his incredulity at the situation they found themselves in. "Well, at first, they say, they didn"t know what had happened to him. They conducted a search; he has some kind of communications device, apparently, so they tried signalling for him - those would have been the transmissions we picked up, sir." Sullivan was still addressing his account primarily to his commanding officer. "Some, anyway; they"ve also been signalling their mothership. Then he - the chap who went missing, that is - made contact to arrange a rendezvous at that farm, but it was a pair of humans who turned up in his place. They had with them his communicator and translation device - they only had one of those aboard the ship, it seems, and he had it with him when he disappeared, so the others have been sort of stuck, really, without one." "And these humans who met with the aliens, they made demands?" the Brigadier asked, frowning thoughtfully. He didn"t question Sullivan"s ability to communicate with the aliens without a translation device, whatever one of those might be. There was a story there, Doyle was sure: a story no one seemed inclined to share. "They want weapons," Sullivan baldly stated, turning to wash his hands again having finished working on Doyle"s head; Doyle instinctively lifted a hand to feel the neat little dressing. "The missing Drashk -" "Drashk?" "That"s what they call themselves, sir," said Sullivan, turning on a tap to half-fill a glass with water. "The missing Drashk was apparently carrying a firearm similar to those held by the ones we met, which his captors now have possession of. I think you mentioned that Morley had links with arms dealers?" He turned to Doyle for confirmation. Doyle nodded. "Morley was fairly small fry himself, but he was connected to some much bigger fish. If they"ve got hold of one of those weapons..." He wasn"t sure which was worse: the aliens threatening to blow them all up or the thought of Eddie Stanton or someone else of his ilk in possession of an alien gun capable of knocking walls down. "Well, the humans apparently demanded an exchange," said Sullivan, offering Doyle the glass of water and a couple of pills, which he accepted because the headache wasn"t shifting, and although not too bad it was starting to get wearing and he needed to stay sharp, concussion or no. "More weapons in exchange for the alien. The Drashk refused, things turned ugly and Morley was killed in the crossfire. The other man escaped." "And Corporal Parker?" asked the fifth man in the room, who"d stayed quiet up till now - a tall, stolid sergeant-major who"d been introduced as Benton. Sullivan looked grim. "I rather got the impression they"d spooked each other. The Drashk weren"t expecting anyone to be at the farm still, Parker wasn"t expecting them to return, they couldn"t communicate..." "And things got ugly again?" Doyle sourly finished for him, setting the glass of water aside. "So they claim," Sullivan carefully agreed. "Do you believe them?" the Brigadier asked. Sullivan thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes, sir, I do. I believe them when they say they had no hostile intentions when their ship came down. However I also believe that they won"t hesitate to carry out their threats if their missing crewman isn"t returned to them soon. Their mothership will arrive to collect them within a matter of hours, they say. If he isn"t found by then, we could be in a lot of trouble." "Did you mention," Doyle asked, "That their crewman is not being held in any official capacity? That he"s fallen in with a bunch of crooks and we might need a bit more time to track him down than they"re giving us, now we know what"s going on?" "I did," said Sullivan, wearing a rueful expression. "However, the Drashk are of the opinion that our failure to control our criminal underclass is not their problem. They might have a point, but that doesn"t help us now." "How would they have known?" Benton piped up again, looking thoughtful. "These crooks - Morley and his chums - how would they have known about the aliens, to find and capture one?" That was a good question, Doyle thought. "Well, they couldn"t have, could they?" he mused. "Had to be a coincidence: right place right time." "So the next question is," Bodie added, "What were they doing in the right place at the right time to stumble over that thing?" "Which rather brings us back around to square one, doesn"t it?" the Brigadier crisply observed. "That"s the question we were hoping you could answer when we agreed to liaise with you. Clive Morley was under investigation by CI5. We now know the reason he was out at Elderbrook Farm yesterday - blackmail. But that wasn"t why CI5 had him under observation. So perhaps you can tell us: what was he involved in that could have brought him into contact with our crashed aliens? And where might he have taken the creature once he"d found it?" Also very good questions. Unfortunately they weren"t questions Doyle knew the answers to off the top of his head. "Our investigation was in the very early stages," he admitted. "I wish we had more information for you, I really do, but we don"t." "Morley was under investigation," the Brigadier repeated. "There must have been a reason for that." "There was," Bodie agreed. "But we weren"t privy to it, not the details, anyway. We can find you your answers, but it"s going to take some digging." "The clock is ticking," said the Brigadier, looking grim. UNITCI5UNIT "This is the crash site, here." Benton indicated a location that had already been marked out on a map and Bodie leaned in to get a closer look. Time being of the essence, they"d split up to cover more ground: Bodie working with Sergeant-Major Benton to narrow down what Morley might have been doing to bring him into contact with the crashed aliens in the first place, while Doyle was off with Sullivan, working other lines of enquiry. It made sense, he knew, from where Lethbridge-Stewart was standing, to split them up to follow up as many leads as possible in the time available and to make best use of their specialised expertise, since this enquiry was now on their turf, so to speak...but he never felt entirely comfortable, working with a stranger instead of his partner. Whether by accident or design, it seemed that the Drashk had managed to crash in quite a quiet area, away from any main roads or population centres. "What"s this?" Bodie pointed out a structure of some kind that was indicated on the map quite close to the crash site. Not a farm, something else. It was the closest structure to the crash site, so chances were that if anyone had been close enough to hear the crash and investigate they"d have come from there. Benton took a look. "It"s a private air strip - belongs to a small flying club." So, non-residential, probably all kinds of people coming and going at odd times, little or no pattern to their movement, private aircraft in and out...there was a lot of potential there for misuse of the criminal variety. If Morley and his mates had been anywhere in the vicinity of the crash, and it was now known that they had been, they"d have been at the flying club; Bodie would lay money on it. "Got a membership list?" "Yes, I"ll dig it out for you." Benton picked up a file and rifled through it, pulled out a sheet of paper. "We"ve already conducted background checks on all the members; nothing came up." But when UNIT checked the place and its members out, it would have only been a routine background check in passing; they"d had no reason to suspect anyone there was actually involved in any way. They knew different now and that warranted going over the details again, in more depth. Bodie scanned the list. None of the names jumped out at him. "I"ll run them past CI5 records," he suggested. "You never know, there might be something there that wouldn"t show up on a police check." "Be our guest." "Did this flying club have anything on their books for that evening?" Benton shook his head. "They"d been open earlier in the day - well, weekends are a busy time for them. But it was all over by the time the ship came down. The place would have been locked up tight - and was, when we searched the area." "We"ll need the names of everyone who was there that day - not just members, anyone else they might have had with them," said Bodie. Another thought occurred. "The members and their guests wouldn"t be the only ones with access to the site, though, would they? What about staff - janitors, groundsmen, that kind of thing?" A light came on in Benton"s eyes. "I"ll find out." CI5UNITCI5 "I"ve just been on the blower to my HQ," Doyle announced as Sullivan rejoined him after being given a quick once over by one of his medical assistants, since he couldn"t very well doctor himself. "What did they say?" "Well, it was my boss I spoke to," said Doyle, "Mr Cowley, and most of what he said I"d rather not repeat, tell you the truth. He"s not happy." And that was the understatement of the century, right there. "But he did mention that Clive Morley"s car has been found, burnt out. Forensics are going over it now. And there are some surveillance reports we should take a look at, but we"ll have to make a stop on the way. Come on, we can take Bodie"s car." "He won"t mind?" Sullivan"s expression was quizzical. "No, he will," Doyle cheerfully replied. He was starting to feel better now - the pills had kicked in, making it easier to think, and it was surprising what a difference it made. "But I told him we were taking it and he didn"t say no. Come on." As they headed for the car park, they passed the pretty corporal who appeared to be the Brigadier"s assistant, or something - Bell, her name was. Doyle made sure to flash his most charming smile at her as they passed. Well, you never knew your luck, even if the world might be ending sometime soon. "So where are we going?" Sullivan asked as they got into the car. "Clive Morley had a sister, name of Jean - Jean Lennox, these days," Doyle told him. Visiting that sister had been second on his and Bodie"s list of things to do today, before they got sidetracked by events at the farm. Still, they were only a few hours late. "They had a bit of a love-hate relationship, by all accounts, so if they were on the outs just lately she won"t know anything, but on the other hand if they were having a good spell, he might have told her something. I dunno, it"s worth having a chat with her, anyway." UNITCI5UNIT As he put the phone down, Bodie was already running through more options in his head, checking off actions taken and weighing up other possibilities. What hadn"t they thought of yet that might make the difference on this case? "How are you getting on, Mr Bodie?" the clipped, precise tones of the Brigadier asked from somewhere behind him, cutting across his train of thought. As a rule, Bodie generally asked not to be addressed as "Mr", but he let it slide on this occasion. "Putting out a few feelers," he said as he turned to face UNIT"s commanding officer, "About that missing gun. Finding the creature is the priority, I know, but I don"t like the idea of a weapon like that hitting the open market." The damage just that one gun could cause didn"t bear thinking about. Whoever had it could make their fortune, selling it to the highest bidder - if they hadn"t already. But if something like that came onto the open market, it was going to be noticed, talked about, and that might give them a sliver of the chance they needed to track it down. "Neither do I, I can assure you," the Brigadier agreed. "Good thinking. This needs to be contained and that means finding the weapon as well as the creature." It was almost like being back in the army, working on this here at UNIT, surrounded by uniforms, regulation and formality, so different from the more casual approach of CI5; it was surprising how easy it was to slide back into that military mindset, as comfortable as he"d become with CI5"s informality. "My people are still going over the attendance list from the flying club," Bodie continued, automatically adopting a formal stance almost before he"d even noticed he was doing it. "They all look legit so far, but something might still show up." The Brigadier nodded. "I"ve alerted Space Control and Jodrell Bank to be on the look-out," he said. "So with any luck we should at least get some warning when the Drashk ship makes its approach." "Very good, sir." Bodie glanced toward the door as Benton hurried back in. "Any joy?" "The manager at Ellesmore Flying Club is a Mr Dennis Randall - he"s on the member"s list we"ve already checked out," Benton reported. "He employs a cleaning lady from the local village, a Mrs Doreen Finch, and a groundskeeper, also from the village, a Mr Cyril Haggett. They"ve both got clean records, only it seems Haggett has a bit of a dicky back, so it"s his son who does most of the work these days, but that"s strictly unofficial. Randall wasn"t keen to admit it." That sounded promising. "Unofficial because...?" Bodie immediately asked. "Unofficial because the members wouldn"t like it if they knew. The lad"s got a criminal record," said Benton with a grin. "Did a spell for aggravated robbery a while back." Now that was more like it. "Well then," said Bodie. "Let"s go have a little chat with young Master Haggett, find out if he"s got anything interesting to tell us. Only we"ll have to take one of your vehicles," he added, "Doyle"s run off with mine." CI5UNITCI5 Doyle slung himself back into the car and grabbed the radio. "Four-five to base, four-five to base." "Receiving you, four-five." The operator sounded bright and perky. "Hallo, Julie," Doyle greeted her as Sullivan opened the passenger door and joined him in the car. "Listen, I"ve just been having a little chat with Clive Morley"s sister. She reckons if we want to know what her brother was up to over the weekend, we should talk to a bloke called Kenny Wilson. We"re on our way round there now. Do us a favour and pull all the files for when we bring him in." "Roger that, four-five. We"ll have them ready for you." "Ta, love." He stowed the radio and released the handbrake, pulled out into the early afternoon traffic. "So you want to take this man Wilson in for questioning immediately?" Sullivan enquired. "Well, we could play it softly, keep him under observation for a bit first, see what he does, where he goes, but from what you said earlier, we don"t have time for that today," Doyle confirmed. "We"re going to have to pull him in and get him talking, pronto." "Fair enough," Sullivan nodded. "You"re the expert." Speaking of expertise.... Doyle glanced sideways at Sullivan as they drove. "Mind if I ask you a question?" "Of course, go ahead." "You can talk to the aliens." It was a statement, fact; Doyle had seen it with his own eyes. He was still having a bit of trouble with the idea of there being aliens in the first place, if he stopped and let himself think about it, but it was hard to deny the evidence of his own eyes. In an instant, Sullivan"s expression went from open and affable to cautious and guarded. "Yes," he agreed. "Now, I was standing right next to you and all I heard was growling and snarling," Doyle told him, spinning the wheel to turn a corner. "But you heard words; you could understand what they were saying, right? And they understood you, an" all." "That"s right." He still looked wary, as if he could see where this was heading and was nervous about it. "But I don"t get the impression they could understand anyone else speaking English - that"s how your lad Parker got himself killed, isn"t it? Could they understand me or Bodie?" Sullivan was silent for a moment, but then said, "I don"t think so, no." "Right." Doyle braked as they came up behind a queue of traffic waiting at a red light. "So my question is: how does that work, then? How is it that you can communicate with them, when no one else can?" "We don"t actually know that no one else can," Sullivan argued. "Only that no one else who"s seen them so far has been able to." Doyle shook his head. "Oh, come on. That"s just splitting hairs." Green light and off again. "You could talk to them. Bodie and I couldn"t; Corporal Parker couldn"t. But you could. How?" Sullivan sighed and rubbed at his head in consternation. "I"ve already told you," he said at length. "No you haven"t." "I did. I said it wasn"t easy to explain. That"s the truth." "Try," Doyle pressed. Sullivan stared straight ahead, deep in thought. "I don"t really understand it myself," he said at last. "I suppose you might call it a parting gift from a friend." Talk about cryptic. "That"s not an explanation," Doyle protested. "It"s the only explanation I have, I"m afraid." It was clear that Doyle wasn"t going to get anything else out of him on this subject. He dropped it, unsatisfied, and drove in silence for a few streets, eyes fixed on the road ahead while Sullivan stared quietly out of the window. They weren"t far from Wilson"s address now. So the next question was going to be: would he come quietly or kick up a fuss? If Doyle had Bodie with him, it wouldn"t really matter either way, but he didn"t, he was with Sullivan, who might be able to communicate with aliens but was otherwise a relatively unknown quantity still. He seemed all right, even if he did talk a bit like someone"s granddad at times, but there was no telling how he would or wouldn"t handle himself if it got rough, and he wasn"t carrying a weapon.

Shelby looked up smugly from her seat on her couch. "You said this guy was a college friend of Peter"s?" Hannah nodded. Shelby smiled. "So if nothing else, we"ll get to hear what Peter was like in college." The others perked up at this thought. Hannah hid a smile. Leave it to Shelby to think of something like that. She wondered if she should warn Peter of this development before Addison and his group arrived. With just a hint of devilment, she decided to stay silent on that one. Thursday morning the Cliffhangers were leaving breakfast when a navy blue van pulled into the grounds and parked next to Peter"s office. A man Peter"s age climbed out of the driver"s side and a slightly younger woman exited and opened the side panel. Five teens slowly left the van stretching as they did. Ezra eyed them carefully. "I guess they are our weekend guests." Auggie rolled his eyes. "Way to state the obvious, EZ." Shelby stared at the tall handsome boy with dark hair as the man disappeared inside Peter"s office. She had to admit he was easy on the eyes. Maybe this weekend would provide more than just juicy gossip about Peter. "I think I"ll go give them a friendly Mt. Horizon hello." The others quickly knew she wasn"t interested in the "them" but rather in the boy unloading the van. But they followed Shelby over anyway; curious about the group they would be spending the weekend with. Just as they reached the van Peter emerged from the office with Addison. He wasn"t surprised to see the Cliffhangers approaching even though they were due in class at any minute now. "Gang, I"d like for you to meet Addison Michaels. That"s his wife Donna." Shelby essentially ignored the adults and smiled her most winning smile at the boy who had grabbed her attention. "I"m Shelby. I"m sure we are going to have a lot of fun this weekend." Peter steered Shelby back to the others. "Okay, Addison and his crew have been driving all night and they are all exhausted. Give them some time to get settled in. Besides, if my watch is correct, it"s time for all of you to be in class. You"ll have plenty of time to meet the others later." With a collective groan the Cliffhangers reluctantly gave the newcomers a curious look before heading off to class. Hannah approached the van. She had been coming to round up the Cliffhangers when she saw that Peter had directed them all to class anyway. Peter quickly introduced her to the Michaels. Addison shook hands with Hannah. "Nice to meet you. Peter, Hannah, allow me to introduce my kids." Peter studied each teen as Addison introduced them. Fair or not, he allowed his first impressions to compare the kids to his own group. Kyle reminded him of Kat with his seemingly easy confidence. With his slight awkwardness, Danny brought Ezra to mind. One look at Mindy and her pencil thin frame and Peter immediately compared her to Juliette. The way Taylor was still checking out every girl that walked by, a mischievous gleam in his eyes made it obvious that Taylor was the Shelby of the group. The only one he couldn"t compare was LeeAnn. Though she was standing not two feet from any one person there was an aura about her that suggested there was an impenetrable wall around her. "I"m glad you are all here." Peter assured them. "I"m sure you are all tired. We"ll get started with the orientation class after lunch. Hannah, can you show Mindy and LeeAnn to the girls" dorm while I show the boys to their cabin? Addison, I"ll take you and Donna to my place after the kids get settled." Hannah nodded. Somehow she had a feeling that this was going to be a long weekend. TBC Three hours later, Mindy was awake and rummaging through her bag on her bed. She shook her head. "I will never complain about my room again. Can you imagine having to share all the time?" As usual LeeAnn didn"t reply. Mindy rolled her eyes. She had thought it had been bad when she had been the only girl in the house besides Donna but LeeAnn"s arrival hadn"t improved things. "You get used to it after awhile." Kat assured her as the Cliffhanger girls entered the dorm. They had all agreed that morning classes had dragged on for too long. They were all curious to get to know their weekend visitors. Mindy blushed. "Sorry, I didn"t mean anything by that. It"s just at Point of Hope we all have our own bedrooms. I guess I kind of take that for granted." "Point of Hope? What"s that?" Daisy asked. "Addison"s name for his house. I don"t know where he got it from. I"m Mindy." "Kat." "Daisy." "Juliette." "Shelby." Shelby looked at LeeAnn waiting for the girl to introduce herself. But the girl continued to stare up at the ceiling. Finally Mindy answered for her. "That"s LeeAnn. She doesn"t talk much." Seeing the girls exchange glances, Mindy shrugged and parroted Kat"s earlier remark. "You get used to it after a while." Shelby laughed. "That would so not go over well here. Hannah and Peter are very into us sharing." "So is Addison. She"s only been with us for a couple of weeks. He just hasn"t worn her down yet. So tell me, are these "quests" totally gross?" Juliette nodded. "Mud from head to toe. Not to mention the blisters and the bugs." Shelby couldn"t get over the fact that LeeAnn still hadn"t said anything. She sat on the bed next to the girl. "So, what"s your story? Drugs? What?" LeeAnn still said nothing. Shelby gave her a look of disgust. "Hello, I"m talking to you, Freak." Kat frowned. "Lay off, Shelby." Without a word, LeeAnn rose and left the dorm. The five girls watched her leave. Mindy shrugged. "She"s weird. What can I say? So, tell me about this place." **************** Hannah stepped out of the office and saw a lone figure sitting on the pier skipping rocks. The tall red head bit her lip as she recognized the girl as one of Addison"s. Peter had taken the Michaels to his house so the could rest. Addison had been reluctant to leave his group at first but both Peter and Hannah had assured him that they would be fine. Just before he left he had asked Hannah to keep a special eye on LeeAnn. "She"s a runner." He had warned her. "She hasn"t tried since she"s been with me but she has a history of running away." Hannah joined the girl on the pier and sat beside her. "Hi, LeeAnn. Did you get all rested up?" Receiving no reply, Hannah reached out and touched the younger girl"s shoulder. Immediately the girl tensed up and knocked Hannah"s hand away. "DON"T TOUCH ME!" Hannah held up her hands in a non-threatening way. "Okay, I"m sorry. I didn"t know. Are you okay?" Once again there was silence. Hannah was reminded of Isaac; the boy who had OD"d earlier that year. At first he wouldn"t say much either. He had surrounded himself instead with an impenetrable wall of anger. LeeAnn had a wall around her as well but despite her reaction to Hannah touching her shoulder, it didn"t appear to be anger that separated the girl from the others. Hannah sensed fear was what drove this young girl. A van pulled in and a glance backward told her that Peter had returned with the Michaels. She was glad. She didn"t want to do anything that would set LeeAnn back or upset her further. She returned her attention back to LeeAnn. "How about we go to lunch? Peter is going to work all of you really hard this afternoon." The girls passed by on the way to the cafeteria. They were all giggling about something. Hannah was glad to see that Mindy had made friends with the others. About halfway to the cafeteria, they met up with the boys. Hannah noticed that the tall boy in Addison"s group stop Mindy and was apparently questioning the girl. Mindy vaguely pointed toward the pier and Kyle left the others and walked over to where Hannah and LeeAnn were. He smiled at Hannah. "Nice to see you again, mam. Come on, LeeAnn; let"s go to lunch. I don"t know about you but I"m starved. Must be all this fresh air that"s making me hungry. What about you?" Though she said nothing, LeeAnn rose and joined Kyle. Hannah was surprised. Kyle kept a comfortable distance from the girl and maintained a one-way conversation with her the entire way to the cafeteria. He didn"t seem at all bothered by the fact that she didn"t reply. "Ready to bang your head against the pier in frustration?" Donna Michaels smiled down at her. Hannah stood. "I don"t think I"ve ever met anyone quite like LeeAnn." Donna sighed. "And I hope you never do again. That little girl has so much pain inside and we can"t do anything to reach it. Addison is at his wits end trying to help her. I think that"s one of the reasons he"s brought us all up here." "What happened to her?" Donna sighed. "We honestly don"t know everything. About three months ago a deputy sheriff found her walking down the road in a daze. She"d been beaten and had obviously been wandering on her own for several days." "Poor child. No wonder she didn"t want me to touch her." Hannah remarked. "The deputy got her to the hospital but she wouldn"t talk to anyone. Wouldn"t tell anyone who she was or what had happened. Finally they ran her fingerprints just hoping to find a match." "Did they?" Donna nodded. "They matched with a little four year old girl who had been kidnapped from a city park twelve years earlier. LeeAnn"s parents were thrilled to find her. It didn"t matter that she wouldn"t talk or that they had no idea where she"d been; their baby was home." Hannah sighed. "Let me guess. The happy-ever-after wasn"t so happy." "Luke and Angela Wimberton tired hard. They just knew if they were patient enough and loved her enough that everything would be all right. But LeeAnn didn"t get better. She stayed locked away in her self imposed exile. She also began running away. She"d usually only be gone for a few hours or a day before she was found. The last time though she was missing for two days. Luke and Angela had to admit that they needed help. Hannah"s heart went out to the fragile young girl. No wonder she was so withdrawn. "Thank you for telling me. Maybe Addison is right and this weekend will improve things." ********* Meanwhile Peter and Addison had noticed the exchange between Kyle and LeeAnn. Addison and Donna had already filled him in on all the kids and why they were with Addison. "What"s the deal between Kyle and LeeAnn?" Addison shrugged. "I don"t know. Kyle took a protective interest in her right away. I think she reminds him of Sam." "And she trusts him?" Peter was surprised after what Addison had told him. Addison frowned. "I think tolerates is more the word you are looking for. I don"t think LeeAnn trusts anyone. That"s the main problem. If I could get her to trust just one person I think I could help her." ********* Shelby watched as Kyle and LeeAnn headed through the line. Without a doubt, next to Scott, Kyle was the cutest boy she"d seen since coming to Mt. Horizon. She looked at Taylor who had sat opposite her. "What does he see in her?" Taylor grinned. "Besides the fact that she"s a major hottie? I think he feels sorry for her. But they ain"t a couple. The Ice Princess won"t let anyone close enough to become part of a couple. But why waste your time with a gooder like Kyle when you could have me?" Shelby rolled her eyes. She looked in disgust at the way he was wolfing down his food. "Yeah, real attractive." "Just making room for more." Auggie laughed. "Yo meat, we don"t get seconds around here." "I will." Glancing around, Taylor saw that the adults were talking in the line and not paying them any attention. "Coast is clear, Mindy." Without wasting a minute Mindy switched trays with Taylor. Now it appeared that she had almost finished her meal while he was just starting his. Juliette"s eyes widened. She thought she had tried everything but this was something she"d never dreamed of doing. Kat frowned. "You aren"t going to eat?" Mindy shrugged. "It"s the last meal I"ll get to skip out on the rest of the weekend. Addison and Donna will be watching us like hawks once we are on the trail." The Cliffhangers exchanged a look. It appeared both groups had a lot they could teach the other. TBC "Okay, we are going to be doing a lot of walking tomorrow so group will be short tonight. I want to welcome our visitors who are sitting in." The Cliffhangers looked around. They really didn"t mind the Point of Hope group joining in. As the day had progressed they had gotten to know the visiting teens with the exception of LeeAnn really well. Everyone seemed to get along great. "Addison, I really can"t do this." Mindy groaned. "I"m exhausted and sore and we haven"t" really done anything yet. If you make me go, I don"t think I"ll make it." "You"ll be fine, Mindy." Addison looked at Peter. "Go ahead. My group is used to opening these sessions with gripes and the like." Kat laughed. "You should think about adding that to group yourself, Peter." Peter shook his head. "I know you guys too well. If I let you get started, I"d never get anything else accomplished. Okay, for our newcomers, I start a phrase and call on someone. That person finishes the phrase and calls on someone else until everyone has gone." He waited to make sure everyone understood before continuing. "I am happiest when.... Juliet." "I don"t feel like I have to please everyone. Scott." "I am competing. Kyle." The Point of Hope teen thought for a moment. "I remember the fun times I had with my best friend." His voice choked a little before he turned to the pretty blonde in his group. "Mindy." "I am the perfect size. Shelby." "I am in control. LeeAnn." The quiet teen said nothing. Peter shot Shelby a hard look. He knew that by know all the Cliffhangers had realized how withdrawn LeeAnn was. He also knew that Shelby had called on LeeAnn just to see what would happen if she didn"t respond. He wondered if he or Addison should step in. He looked to Addison for how to proceed. But before Addison could say or do anything Kyle jumped up. "Leave her alone." Taylor rolled his dark eyes. "Sir Kyle the Goodhearted to the rescue. Better watch it Shelby, Kyle doesn"t let anyone pick on the Ice Princess." Without wasting a second, Kyle jumped up and tackled the smaller boy. The Cliffhangers watch amazed as the two boys rolled on the ground, each trying to get the best of the other. Group sometimes got intense but it didn"t usually end in a fistfight. With a look at Peter, Addison grabbed Kyle while Peter pulled Taylor up off the floor. Both men kept a tight grip on the boys who were still straining to get back to the fight. With a frowned Peter looked at Shelby, hoping to regain some semblance of control on the room. "Shelby, choose someone else." "Why?" Shelby frowned. Group was just starting to get interesting. So Kyle had a thing for LeeAnn. He would be as challenging to win over as Scott was. "Everyone is supposed to participate. Why is she so different?" Peter was about to reprimand the petulant girl when the object of their conversation stood up and looked at the door, refusing to look at anyone. Across the room where they had been watching everything, Donna grabbed Hannah"s arm in amazement. Had Shelby somehow gotten through to LeeAnn? "I am happiest when I"m left alone." The words were low and without emotion, especially compared to everyone else. But that one sentence stopped everyone. The whole room stared at the troubled young girl. The words themselves were a plaintive call for help. Hannah"s heart went out to the young girl once again. Without another word, LeeAnn left the lodge as silently as she had entered. "Don." Addison"s voice was a mix of concern and warning. Donna nodded and rose. "I"ll follow her. Hannah, please come with me." As the two women left the room, Peter and Addison looked at the remaining teens. Peter shook his head. "The next couple of days are going to be hard and long. Everyone is going to have to work together. That"s not going to happen if you are all going at each other"s throats every other minute. Be sensitive to everyone"s needs and pain. Now, I suggest you all go to your dorms." ***** "Well, that was a fun group." Shelby retorted once the girls were back in their dorm. LeeAnn hadn"t returned but they had seen her wondering aimless toward the lake, Hannah and Donna following discreetly behind. "Well if you hadn"t started in on LeeAnn..." Juliet rolled her eyes as Shelby gave her an innocent "What did I do" look. "Taylor and Kyle have been going at each other like that since the day LeeAnn came to Point of Hope. Taylor loves to torment her because she won"t stand up for herself and I think Kyle has the hots for her. I don"t know why. She"s weird the way she won"t talk. It"s like living with a walking, breathing brick wall." Kat joked. "Taylor and Kyle remind me of Auggie and Scott fighting over Juliet. "Yeah, really." Daisy agreed with a smile. "Okay, I have to ask. I think we can all agree that LeeAnn definitely has problems. You obviously could give Jules some serious competition in a race to see who can be thinnest. But give us the low down on the guys. The little fight in group aside, all three of them seem normal. Especially Danny, what"s his story?" "Danny"s parents raised him in this really weird cult that believed in torture and drugs. His aunt and uncle found out about some of the cult"s practices and kidnapped him away from there. They had no trouble then getting custody of Danny. But the place really messed him up. They put him in Point of Hope to kind of straighten him out. Reverse brainwashing almost." They stopped talking when the door opened. LeeAnn entered and settled down on her bed without so much as a look at the other girls. Hannah and Donna followed behind her. Hannah smiled at the girls. "Time for bed, girls. Lights out in five minutes. We have a long day ahead of us. Kat, can I see you for a moment?" Kat nodded and followed her friend outside. Hannah checked to make sure none of the others were listening. "Kat, I need you to do me a favor." "Sure Hannah, what is it?" "Donna and Addison are worried that LeeAnn may try to run away. Try to keep an eye on her tonight and come get me if she tries to leave." Kat nodded. "Is she okay? Do you want me to try to talk to her?" Hannah sighed. She knew she could count on Kat. The beautiful teen would make a wonderful counselor one day. "I don"t think it would do any good. She"s a very troubled girl, Kat. She doesn"t trust anyone and until she learns that she can trust Addison or at least one person, she"s not going to open up. The best thing you could do beside making sure she doesn"t run is make sure Shelby doesn"t give her a hard time. We both now that underneath that tough exterior Shelby means well but I don"t know if LeeAnn"s fragile psyche can take too much of Shelby." "Okay, Hannah. I"ll take care of things. Don"t worry." Kat returned to the cabin and Donna and Hannah left. Mindy looked at the others. "Okay, now that the adults are gone we can get to the juicy stuff. There is nothing going on in the romance department at Point of Hope. Taylor is just an immature little cretin, useful for a few things but no one"s idea of a good boyfriend. Danny needs a serious haircut and personality. Kyle is a major babe but way too intense. But I couldn"t help but notice that there are a lot of cute guys here. Don"t try to tell me there aren"t some serious prospects here. So, who"s dating who?" Shelby rolled her eyes. She didn"t really want to hear Juliet gush on and on about her and Scott. "I"m getting a shower. Later." Mindy watched her leave and wrinkled her brow. "Was it something I said or does she just have a general bad attitude?" Juliet smiled. "Scott and I are a couple. She and Scott are not a couple. She doesn"t like either of those facts." "But she couldn"t take her eyes off Kyle all day long." Daisy laughed. "That"s Shelby." Kat was watching LeeAnn. She wondered if the teen was even aware of the conversation going on around her. She wished she knew what was going on with the pretty teen. LeeAnn was well aware of the activity around her. But the petite teen shut everything out except enough to know that everyone was still awake. She couldn"t wait until they were all asleep and she could sneak out. She silently cursed herself. She thought she was getting better. In the two weeks she"d been at Point of Hope, she"d been able to safely keep her emotions locked away. She knew what the others thought of her but that didn"t matter. So long as she kept her feelings so deeply buried that it was like she was in a cocoon, she could survive. It was only when she could feel her control on her emotions slip that she had to get away. She couldn"t afford to let anyone see her lose control. And right now her grasp on her emotions was tenuous at best. There was a scream of fear, frustration, and anger bubbling just under the surface, threatening to choke her. It had been building since the moment the van pulled onto the grounds of Mt. Horizon. When she had left the lodge earlier she"d planned on going just a little ways into the woods and allowing the scream and the tears to take over. But Donna and the red headed woman form Mt. Horizon had followed her, not allowing even a moment of solitude. She"d been forced to contain herself just a little longer. Someone sat beside her on the bed. LeeAnn tightly closed her eyes, hoping they"d go away. It had to be one of the Cliffhangers. Mindy had long since given up trying to get any response out of her. It was one of the things she liked about the way too thin girl. A hand touched her shoulder but LeeAnn pulled away. "LeeAnn, are you okay?" Kat was worried. The girl was practically shaking as she lay there. She wondered if she should send for Hannah or Donna. "She"s not going to answer you." Mindy insisted. The thin blonde rolled her green eyes. "Trust me. Taylor can be a complete jerk but he"s pretty accurate calling her Ice Princess. I told you earlier talking to LeeAnn is like talking to a brick wall, worse maybe." LeeAnn tuned the others out. She rolled over on her side away from Kat"s penetrating stare. Why couldn"t they just leave her alone? Couldn"t they see that right now she was vulnerable? It was all she could do not to run screaming from the cabin in spite of the reaction she knew it would stir in the kids as well as Addison and Donna. She forced her self to breathe deeply through her nose to keep even the barest whimper from sounding from her throat. At long last the room was silent and dark. LeeAnn opened her eyes and was relieved to see that everyone was asleep. There could be no better time to get away for just a bit; just long enough to give in to the raw emotions that clawed at her throat. She eased out of bed and stealthily made her way to the door. She eased it open and stepped outside. Before she could close the door, however, a hand grabbed the frame. "Who are you running from? Us or yourself?"

You"ve reached the Camdens Throwaway By: SparksJSH "You"ve reached the Camdens. We can"t come to the phone right now but leave a message at the beep." Eric Camden glanced at his watch as he waited for the message to finish. Finally the tape beeped. "Hey Annie, I guess you"ve gone to pick up the kids from school. It"s 3:15 and I"m leaving the church now. I"ll be home after my doctor"s visit. I love you." He hung up the phone. Every since his heart attack they were all considerably more careful about reporting in their whereabouts. That was one of the reasons why they had gotten the answering machine. Eric hated the machine but it was worth it if it kept Annie from worrying about him in the smallest fraction. He locked his office and walked through the sanctuary. He was surprised to hear someone crying. He didn"t know anyone was there. He glanced up the aisle and saw a teenage girl kneeling at the altar, sobbing. Concerned, he joined her at the altar and squatted beside her. She barely glanced up at him as she continued to cry. Eric could feel his own eyes fill up with tears. He had no idea how long she had been kneeling there but her red, splotchy, tear-stained face told him that she had been crying for a long time. He touched her shoulder. "I"m Eric Camden, the pastor here." The girl drew in a shaky breath and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I"m sorry, I didn"t know anyone was here. I didn"t mean to cause any trouble." Eric smiled. "You didn"t cause any trouble. I was leaving and happened to see you. You look like you could use someone to talk to. Are you okay?" The girl looked away and shook her head. "Not really but there"s nothing anyone can do." The teenage girl stilled looked so forlorn that Eric knew he couldn"t leave her. She looked to be Mary or Lucy"s age. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a limp ponytail and her red rimmed eyes looked haunted. His heart went out to her. "Sometimes the only thing anyone can do is just listen. I"m pretty good at that if you want to talk about what"s wrong." The girl hiccuped and shook her head. "You"ve got better things to do than listen to my problems. I didn"t mean to stop you. Go on. I"ll be fine." With one look in her eyes, Eric knew that she seriously believed that anything he had to do would be more important than him staying and listening to her. He decided he could die a happy man if he never had to see that look on anyone"s face again. "There"s no place I"d rather be right now." He took in her worn dirty jeans and her torn, stained T-shirt and realized she must have spent quite a bit of time on the streets. "What"s your name?" She just looked at him for a long moment. Eric wondered if she was trying to figure out why he would want to know or if she was deciding if she could trust him. "Kalee." Eric smiled. "A beautiful name for a beautiful girl." Kalee made a sound that resembled a snort. "Yeah, right. You left your glasses at home, right? Nobody has ever accused me of being even remotely pretty even without a week"s worth of dirt and grime. I didn"t think preachers could lie." "It"s not a lie, Kalee." Eric spoke softly. How he wanted to convince this young girl of that. Who had so shaken her self-confidence to that extreme? Reaching into his back pocket, he handed her his handkerchief. With the barest hint of a smile, she took the small white cloth and wiped her eyes. "You"ve got a nice church here. It"s so peaceful. I came in here because it was raining. I was only going to stay for a few minutes until it let up some but I lost track of time. I guess I have no right being in here. I"ve never really been a churchgoer. I"ve only visited a few times with friends." "Here?" Eric racked his brain trying to remember if he"d ever seen her here before or at any school event. He didn"t think he had. Kalee shook her head. "No, I"m not from around here." She took a deep breath. "I think it"s stopped raining. I should go. Like I said, I have no right to be here." "You don"t have to go. You"ve got as much right to be here as anyone else has. This altar is open to anyone at anytime." "Maybe so, but I"ve overstayed my welcome." Kalee started to rise. So concerned about where she would go if she left, Eric caught her arm. She winced and pulled away. Eric"s eyes widened. "Are you hurt?" Kalee shrugged. "It"s just a bruise. The security guard at the warehouse I stayed in last night wasn"t too please to find me there. I was lucky he just wanted to throw me out. Most of the time they have other ideas." Eric didn"t have to ask her what she meant. He thought of Mary and Lucy and shuddered at the thought of either of them being in that position. "How long have you been on the street?" Kalee hung her head but didn"t look ready to leave anymore. "I don"t know. I quit trying to keep track a long time ago. A few months at least. It doesn"t really matter though. There"s nothing I can do about it." Eric stepped out on a limb and hoped he wasn"t about to send her running. "You could go home." This time her response was a definite snort. "Home? I don"t have one of those, not anymore. Maybe I never did. But that"s okay cause I do a good job on my own usually. I don"t need anybody." As if to belie that statement, her stomach growled. She blushed and hoped he hadn"t heard it. Eric struggled for the right words. "We all need help sometimes, Kalee. Even preachers like me. When was the last time you had a good meal?" Kalee shrugged. "A few days or a week maybe. I can usually find a place that will let me wash dishes or something in exchange for something they are going to throw out anyway." Eric nodded. He"d expected as much. "There"s a place not far from here that serves a pretty good hamburger. I promise you won"t have to wash a single dish." "No thank you." Kalee edged a little further away from him. Eric realized that though she was talking to him, she probably didn"t trust him. She probably didn"t trust anyone. No matter how hungry she was, she probably wouldn"t go anywhere with him. He glanced at his briefcase. He suddenly remembered the apple that Annie had insisted on packing in his lunch. He hadn"t eaten it and had instead put it in his briefcase for later. It wouldn"t be much but it was the best he was going to be able to offer her until she decided she could trust him. He opened the briefcase and extended the fruit to her. She eyed it for a moment as if wondering if she could trust it. But then her stomach growled again. Finally she reached out and took it. "Thank you. Why are you being so nice to me? You don"t even know me." "You don"t have to know someone to want to help them. If one of my kids was in your place, I would hope and pray that there would be someone trustworthy who would be willing to offer a helping hand." Kalee took a big bite of the juicy apple and chewed it thoughtfully. She waited until after she had swallowed to ask a question. "How many kids do you have?" She took another bite. "Seven." Kalee coughed as she almost choked on the apple. "Seven kids? Is your wife crazy or what?" Eric had to laugh. "I"d have to say or what. Our oldest is a sophomore in college and our six-month-old twins are the youngest. You know, besides hoping and praying that someone would help one of my kids if they were in trouble, I"d also be worried to death about them. No matter what had happened, I would want to know they were okay. If you wanted, we could go to my office and you could call home, at least let your parents know you are all right." Kalee shook her head. "No, they don"t want to hear from me. They don"t care what happens to me." Eric rubbed his hand over his eyes as he wondered what he could say to convince her she was wrong. "Kalee, how old are you?" "Sixteen." "My daughter Mary is seventeen and Lucy will be sixteen in a couple of months. I don"t always understand them, especially lately. But no matter what I will always care what happens to them. That"s part of being a parent. I can"t imagine any dad being any different." Kalee finished her apple and glanced around for someplace to put the core. Eric took it from her and set it on his briefcase. She looked at him, tears once more filling her eyes. "My dad walked out on my mom and me on my fifth birthday. We haven"t heard from him since then." Eric looked away and brushed away his own tears. It never ceased to amaze him how callous some people could be. What could make a man walk out on his family like that? "That must have hurt terribly. So it"s just you and your mom?" Kalee shook her head. "No, it"s just my mom and stepfather. I was always just one more trouble they had to deal with. They never wanted me around. Why would they?" Eric could give her a long list of reasons but he realized she wouldn"t believe him. What could he say to make a difference to her? "Kalee, I"m not saying go home. You should but I can see you aren"t ready for that. Just call her, talk to her. You might be surprised." Kalee shook her head. Wrapping her arms around her knees, she buried her head in her lap. "You don"t understand. You can"t understand." Tentatively, Eric touched her shoulder. "Then help me understand." Kalee sniffled. "You said you daughters" names were Mary and Lucy?" Eric nodded. "You"re looking at me but you are seeing Mary and Lucy. I"m not them. I bet you have a nice two-story house that is always full of laughter and squabbles and all the typical family things. I bet your house is full of love. I lived in a small house that always seemed to be in need of repair. Half the time the only thing that would be in the refrigerator would be a six pack of beer and a half-eaten moldy sandwich. I spent most of my time in my room listening to Mom and Don partying and hoping they wouldn"t come in and yell at me." Eric was almost afraid to interrupt her but he had to know. "Did they hit you?" "Only once. The night I left. Don accused me of taking one of his six packs. I told him I hadn"t touched his beer but he didn"t believe me. Before I knew what had happened, I was sprawled on the floor with a bloody, broken nose." Sickened by the thought that anyone could strike a helpless young girl, Eric took her in his arms and held her close. He almost expected her to pull away but she didn"t. Her body shook as she began to cry again. "I"m so sorry you had to go through that. I don"t blame you for leaving that behind. But living on the streets is no way to live either. Running away just causes all new trouble." A hard shudder ran up her spine. "I didn"t run away. As bad as things were I would have struggled through it. I didn"t have a choice in the matter." Eric didn"t think he could take much more but he had to in order to help this hurting child. "What happened, Kalee?" "After he broke my nose, Don called my mom in. He said some horrible stuff and finally told my mom that either I had to go or he was leaving. My mom didn"t think twice. She shoved some things in a backpack, threw it at me, and told me to get out and never come back." Tears flowed down Eric"s cheeks as he continued to hold the sobbing teen. ******* The phone was ringing when Annie and the kids came into the house. Her hands were full with grocery bags and Sam. Mary was likewise encumbered with bags and David. The other three brought up the rear with more groceries. Annie didn"t worry about the phone; she knew the machine would pick up. Not for the first time was she glad she had convinced Eric to go to the expense of getting it. She put her bags on the counter and took David from Mary. "I"ll go check the machine and put the twins in the playpen. You guys put the groceries away." In the living room, the answering machine was blinking indicating there were four messages. Annie pushed play before settling the twins in the playpen. She started to get them interested in the toys that covered the floor of the pen as the first message started to play. After the first two, she made a mental note to tell Lucy and Mary that Shelby and Angie had called. The third message started. It was Eric calling from the church to let her know he was leaving for the doctor"s office. Annie smiled. She knew that he didn"t want to be smothered but loved her too much to complain about the amount of time that she spent worrying about him. The smile turned to a frown with the last message however. "This is Allison with Dr. Vickory"s office. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay since Mr. Camden missed his appointment this afternoon. Give us a call to reschedule." Annie sat down heavily on the couch. His appointment had been scheduled for 3:30. What could have happened in that fifteen minute span from his call to then? "Mom, do you want me to...?" Mary came in and froze when she saw her mother"s face. "Mom, what"s wrong?" "Your dad never made it to the doctor. I have to go find him. Something may be wrong." Mary paled. "Do you want me to go with you?" Tears of fear filled Annie"s eyes. "No, thank you. I need you to stay here and watch the others. I"ll call as soon as I find him." Mary hugged her mom as Annie started to leave. The teen could feel her mother shaking. "He"ll be fine, Mom. I"m sure of it." ******** Eric shifted ever so slightly into a more comfortable position. He glanced down to make sure he hadn"t disturbed Kalee. The poor girl had cried until she had fallen into an exhausted sleep. He had no idea how long he had sat there holding her. His watch was behind her back and he couldn"t see it. He only knew that he couldn"t leave her. He was still reeling from the revelation that her parents had thrown her out of the house. If he ever met them, he didn"t know if he could refrain from breaking her stepfather"s nose much the same way that Kalee had said hers had been broken. Never had he felt such ill will toward anyone. He looked up. "Help me, Lord. She needs help. She needs to know that she is special and that you love her. Help me to know how to do that." "ERIC?!" He could hear Annie"s frantic voice coming down the hall from the offices but he couldn"t call out to her for fear of waking the sleeping teen. A second later, Annie rushed into the sanctuary and stopped short when he saw him. Relief spread across her features as she realized he was okay. "Eric, I was so worried. They called from Dr. Vickory"s office and said you never showed up for your appointment. What happened?" As she started down the aisle she stopped when she saw Kalee. "I didn"t mean to frighten you. I was about to leave when I saw her in here crying. I couldn"t leave her, Ann." Annie took in the girl"s clothes and tearstained face. She felt an immediate sympathy for the teenager. She could understand why Eric had stayed. She knelt beside them and kissed Eric softly. "She"s so young. Is she a runaway?" Eric shook his head. His eyes filled with tears once more. "Worse, Annie. This child has spent the last few months on the street because she was kicked out of her own home. By her own mother." Annie shut her eyes. She tried to imagine any circumstance that would cause her to turn her own kids out of the house but couldn"t think of a single one. She hadn"t even been ready for the day that Matt had moved out. "Is she okay?" "Physically, yeah, I think so. She"s exhausted and hungry and bruised but that"s the most of it. But emotionally, Annie, she"s hurting bad. She believes she"s worthless and unimportant." Annie touched her husband"s cheek. She loved him more and more each day for his compassion. "You did the right thing being here for her. But, honey, she can"t stay here all night. She needs a proper meal and a warm bed to sleep in. We have to take her home." "We can"t take her back there, Annie. They kicked her out; her stepfather hit her. I...I can"t do that to her." Annie smiled patiently. "I meant our home; at least until we can figure out something better. We can put move the extra bed in Simon"s room into Ruthie"s. I"m sure she won"t mind sharing." Eric looked Heavenward, grateful that God was providing him a way to help Kalee. Then he kissed Annie. "I love you." "I love you too. Why don"t you see if you can wake her up and I"ll go call Mary? She and the others need to know you are okay and I can prepare them for our guest. I"ll be right back." Eric looked down at the sleeping girl. He whispered softly. "Kalee?" She stiffened immediately and her eyes flew open. Pulling away from him, she looked around frantically trying to get her bearings. Eric held up his hands in a non-threatening way. "Relax, Kalee. It"s me, Eric Camden, the pastor here. You"re safe; you just fell asleep." Slowly, almost reluctantly she relaxed. She studied him for a second. "You"re crying." "I couldn"t help it. As a parent, I"m appalled that any parent could hurt a child the way you"ve been hurt. As a human being, my faith in people is a little bit shaken. But as a pastor, I"m so grateful that God led you here to the safety of this church." Kalee couldn"t take her eyes off him. Her face was full of wonder. "I don"t think anybody"s ever cried for me before. I"m sorry I fell asleep like that. I didn"t get much sleep last night after the guard threw me out. I"ve taken up too much of your time. I should go." "Where?" She shrugged. "I don"t know. I"ll scout around and find someplace. Thanks for everything you did." Eric watched her carefully. He knew better than to just spring the idea of her coming home with him and Annie on her. "All I"ve done so far is listen." "Sometimes listening is all a person can do." She parroted his words from earlier. "And sometimes a person can do more. Kalee, you don"t have to go back out on the street. My wife and I want you to come home with us. At least until we can work something else out." Kalee backed away from him and eyed him in distrust. "Why? You already told me you have seven kids. You don"t need another one in your way." "You won"t be in the way." Kalee whirled around as Annie approached. The older woman smiled at the frightened teen. She could tell Kalee was about to bolt. "I"m Annie Camden, Eric"s wife. We really want you to stay with us. If you want, you can stay tonight, no strings attached. It"s already raining again and you"ll get soaked trying to find anywhere else. I"ve had a roast in the crock-pot all day and the girls are home preparing mashed potatoes to go with it. You can eat, spend the night in a warm soft bed and tomorrow feel free to leave if you want to. We won"t try to stop you." Kalee looked from Annie to Eric and back to Annie. "Why would you want me?" "Why wouldn"t we? Besides, it won"t be all fun and games for you. The kids all share one bathroom so it"s always occupied. We have six-month-old twins who still occasionally refuse to sleep through the night. My youngest daughter Ruthie, who you"ll have to share a room with, will probably talk your ear off. But what do you say, want to try life on the wild side?" She put an arm around the girl"s thin shoulders. Kalee thought about her options. She remembered the rats that had scurried about in the warehouses she had slept in. And her stomach growled once again. She still didn"t know why they would want her but she"d be crazy to turn her back on the first people who had been kind to her. "Okay, I"ll give it a try." ************************************************* "Wow, you"re quick." Kalee blushed as she entered the eight year old"s bedroom. She hadn"t been there half an hour before feeling overwhelmed by the general niceness of the whole Camden clan. She wasn"t sure what most prompted her tentative request to take a shower while waiting for dinner to be ready. It was a mixture of feeling grossly dirty and a desire to escape for a few minutes. "You were in there for ten minutes. Mary spends thirty minutes, longer if she has a date. Lucy has been known to spend hours doing who knows what in there. Even Simon spends fifteen minutes." Kalee sat down on the bed next to Ruthie. "And how long do you spend?" "Usually I try to get out of taking a bath all together but if I can"t I"m in and out so fast that I barely have time to get wet." Kalee smiled. "Most of my baths lately have been spit baths so even ten minutes feels like a lifetime." Ruthie wrinkled her nose. "Spit bath, gross." This time Kalee laughed, surprising both herself and Ruthie. How long had it been since she"d last found something to laugh about. She really liked the spunky eight-year-old. "No, Ruthie, a spit bath is when you just use a sink full of water, wash cloth and soap to quickly bathe off." Mary and Lucy lightly knocked on the door before entering the bedroom. Mary was carrying several items of clothing. Ruthie grinned at them. "I"m taking spit baths from now on." Lucy gave her sister and odd look before turning to Kalee. She winced when she saw the bruise on the girl"s now bare arm. After her shower, Kalee had put on the only other outfit she had thanks to a hasty retreat from one warehouse several weeks earlier. It was a worn pair of shorts and a thin sleeveless T-shirt. "That looks painful." Kalee barely gave it a glance. "I"ve had worse." Mary shook her head. "I"m glad I never saw the worse ones then. Lucy and I figured you might like something else to wear. My jeans are probably going to be baggy on you. But you"re taller than Lucy and way thinner than both of us." Kalee accepted the offered clothes. "Thanks, my jeans either need a heavy duty washing machine or a burn pile." "Mom can probably make them as good as new." Lucy offered. "Hey, girls, you aren"t overwhelming Kalee are you?" Annie stepped into the bedroom holding a cranky Sam. Ruthie looked up at Kalee. "I don"t know what that means. Are we?" Kalee ruffled the younger girl"s hair. "Not really." Annie knew better. "Well, dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Ruthie why don"t you go set the table. Lucy, I could use your help changing David and Mary, could you check the rolls in the oven for me?" As the three girls filed out of the room, Kalee flashed Annie a small but grateful smile. "I can give you a hand once I change clothes." "Take your time." "Thank you. I appreciate everything you and your family is doing for me. I won"t be a bother, I promise you." Annie shifted Sam to her other hip. "Sweetie, I don"t think you would even know how to be a bother if you tried. Eric and I, as well as the kids, are happy to have you here." ***** "So, Kalee, where are you from?" Simon asked as he bit into his roll. "San Diego." Eric"s eyes widened. "You"ve traveled a long way." "I"m trying to find my father. I don"t know where he is and I doubt he"d even want to see me. But he"s all I"ve got left." "Daddy could help you find him." Ruthie offered. It was clear that she had decided that Kalee was more than her temporary roommate; she was also going to be her new best friend. Kalee blushed. "I couldn"t ask that. You"ve all done so much already." Annie noticed that Kalee had finished the modest portions of food that the teen had put on her plate. "Kalee, there"s plenty if you want seconds." Trying not to call attention to herself, Kalee reached for another slice of roast and a small spoonful of potatoes. Eric suppressed a grin at her timidity. He knew she was starving but you would never be able to tell by the portions she was taking. "I could ask around. I"ve got a friend who could at least find out where he is right now. I don"t mind. Tell me his name and I"ll do the rest." "Lee Westling. You really don"t have to do this. But if you do and you find him, are you going to tell him I"m looking for him?" "Do you want me to?" Did she? Kalee took only a moment before nodding. "I don"t want to surprise him into a reunion. If he doesn"t want to see me I"ll understand. I don"t want to cause trouble." Eric said nothing but the look he gave Annie echoed her remark earlier. He didn"t think the teen knew how to cause trouble. He hoped that when he found Lee Westling, they could help Kalee see that. Most of all, he hoped the man wouldn"t prove her right. *********** Kalee woke with a start; the remnants of the nightmare still making her breathe hard and fast. Sitting up, it took her a moment to remember where she was. As her heart rate returned to normal, she glanced over at the other bed and was glad to see Ruthie was still sound asleep. She could hear one of the twins crying from down the hall. Knowing she wouldn"t sleep again for awhile, Kalee crawled out of bed and silently left the bedroom. Once at the twins" bedroom, she saw Annie rocking a crying baby. Kalee wasn"t sure which one. Annie smiled when she noticed the girl standing in the doorway. She motioned for her to come in. "I"m sorry Sam woke you up." "He didn"t." Kalee assured her. "I don"t sleep well anywhere. He looks so unhappy." She touched the baby"s cheek. "I think he"s getting an ear infection. He"s been cranky all day and I noticed earlier that he was pulling at his ear. They both have doctor"s appointments in the morning, so I"ll find out for sure. I hope Ruthie didn"t bother you too much tonight. She can get so excited at times." Kalee smiled. "She"s a sweetie. I"ve never spent much time around other kids. Even when I was in school my classmates avoided me." She looked at the other crib where David was sound asleep. "How does he sleep through that?" "He"s used to it. You know, I think Sam might be running a fever. I"d better get the medicine from downstairs. Will you hold him while I get it?" Kalee looked at the baby warily. "I"ve never held a baby in my life." Annie stood and motioned for Kalee to take her place in the rocking chair. "It"s easy. Just make sure you support his head and back. Don"t look so scared; babies don"t break that easily." Before Kalee could protest, Annie had placed Sam in the teen"s arms. The baby looked up at the newcomer through teary eyes but didn"t cry any harder. "I"ll be right back." Kalee just stared at the unhappy baby for several seconds. Then she tentatively began to rock slowly back and forth as she had seen Annie do. Almost unbidden a memory surfaced. In it, she was only a couple of years old and obviously feverishly sick. Strong arms held her protectively close and a male voice was softly singing to her. A tear spilled down her cheek as she remembered how the lullaby went. Humming it softly, the words sprang to her mind as if she"d heard it just that day. She began to sing. "Hush a bye Don"t you cry Go to sleep my little baby When you wake You shall have All the pretty little ponies. Blacks and bays Dapples and grays Running in the night When you wake You shall have All the pretty little ponies Hush-a-bye, don"t you cry Go to sleepy little baby Blacks and bays, dapples and grays Coach and six-a-little horses Hush-a-bye, don"t you cry Go to sleepy little baby." She felt someone watching her and looked up. Annie was standing in the doorway, tears in her eyes. The older woman crossed the room and knelt beside her. She placed the bottle of medicine on the counter. "You"re a soft touch." Annie whispered Kalee frowned. "What"s that mean?" Annie smiled. "It means you are a natural. Sam is sound asleep. I"ve been trying for an hour to do what you did in less than five minutes. Some people are just naturals with babies. You obviously are." Kalee glanced down. Sure enough, Sam was sound asleep, his small fist clutching the oversized T-shirt Mary had loaned her to sleep in. She grinned, awed by the sweetness and trust on his now relaxed face. Then she spotted the medicine. "I"m sorry, you wanted to give him something for fever." Annie waved off her concern. "Sleep is more important for him than any medicine. Thank you. You"ve got a beautiful voice. I love that lullaby." Kalee stared off in space. "My dad used to sing it to me. I don"t remember too much about him but the memories I do have seem to always be of him singing. That was my favorite though. When he walked out on us, he left me a tape he made of him singing all my favorite songs. I treasured it and listened to it over and over. I just knew it meant he really loved me." Annie could tell there was more to the story. After all, the girl had made it clear that she believed he didn"t want anything to do with her. "What changed your mind?" "Mom. She told me that if had really loved me, he never would have left us. She told me I was silly to believe that he ever cared about me. She...she destroyed the tape he left me." Annie shook her head. The more she learned about the woman who had borne Kalee, the more she wanted to give the woman a piece of her mind. Without a word, she transferred the sleeping infant back to his crib. She lingered at his side for just a second before turning back to Kalee. "It sounds to me like he left you something besides the tape, something your mom couldn"t destroy." "What?" Kalee"s eyes never left Annie"s face. "A talent for music. Oh, Kalee, I don"t see how someone could go to the trouble of making a tape of all your favorite songs if he didn"t care." Kalee shivered, suddenly looking small and vulnerable. "Then why did he leave? Why didn"t he ever call or visit?" Annie folded her arms around the young girl and pulled her close. "I don"t know. Hopefully we can find that out when Eric finds him." ***

"Jonny, watch out." Sixteen-year-old redheaded Jessie Bannon laughed as her warning came too late. Fifteen-year-old blonde headed groaned as the virtual monster devoured his last man. He shook his head as the final scores were posted: JB 4,786,500 JQ 4,600,950. "I can"t believe you beat me like that. You"ve never beaten me before." "There"s a first time for everything." Before Jessie could gloat further, the telephone next to the computer rang. She plucked up the receiver and said hello. The connection was terrible but she just could make out Dr. Quest"s voice. "J... can"t talk long... Race in trouble...I need you two....Hanger 7...airport...one hour." The connection broke off completely. She hung up the phone and frowned. Jonny watched her worriedly. "What"s wrong, Jess?" "That was your dad. The message was garbled but it sounded like he was saying my dad was in trouble. He wants us to meet him at the airport." She twisted her hands nervously, worry evident on her face. Jenny reached out and squeezed her arm. "Relax, Jess. Race knows how to take care of himself. It"s probably something minor. Come on. We might as well head on to the airport. I know you are going to worry until you see Race for yourself." Jessie let Jonny drive. She was much too nervous to concentrate on the task herself. The phone call was bother her, beyond just the thought that something was wrong with her dad. Though the voice was definitely Dr. Quest"s, the conversation was totally unlike him. "Jonny, why would your Dad send us to Hanger 7? The Quest planes are in hangers 3, 10, and 12." "Maybe that"s were the trouble is." Jessie shook her head. "Jonny, that makes even less sense. When have you ever know either of our dads to knowingly send us into danger?" "You"re just worried about Race, Jess. Everything is going to be fine." Suddenly they heard several shots ring out and the Quest van jerked to the right. Jonny pulled hard on the wheels trying to keep the van on the road. "Then again, you may be on to something there. They"ve blown one of our tires. We"ll have to get out and fun for it." Jonny stopped the van and the two teens emerged on Jessie"s side. Jonny grabbed her hand as they ran. Jessie glanced back to see if they were being pursued and saw a man raising a shotgun aimed at her. Something sharp pierced her left shoulder. She stumbled, losing hold of Jonny"s hand. A warm tingling coursed through her body as she dropped to her knees. She called out to her friend as blackness closed over her. Jonny turned back to help her and was shocked to see a tranquilizer dart sticking out of her shoulder. He yanked it out and pulled her to her feet, determined to drag her if necessary. He had barely moved two feet when he too felt the sting of a dart puncturing the back of his neck. He collapsed pulling Jessie down with him. JQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQ Jonny came to with a groan. He wasn"t sure how long he"d been out but the throbbing in his head and the ache in his shoulders and back both suggested it had been awhile. He looked around to check out his surroundings. He was strapped to a chair in what appeared to be crude by sophisticatedly equipped lab. Jessie was strapped to a chair near him, still unconscious. He strained against his bonds but they held him fast. "Jessie?!" She moaned slightly and tried to open her eyes. Her head lolled back against the headrest. But then she slipped back into oblivion. "Welcome, young Mr. Quest. I hope your brief nap wasn"t too unpleasant." The voice came from a speaker mounted in the corner of the room. Jonny once again strained against the straps. "Who are you? What have you done to Jessie?" "Relax Jonny. She will awaken soon. She unfortunately took the dart that was meant for you. A slightly stronger tranquilizer meant for our slightly larger frame and weight. As soon as she awakens I will re-introduce myself and explain why I have brought you here." "Jonny?" Jessie"s voice was tiny and sleep filled. Jonny looked over and saw that her eyes were opened but still drugged glazed. She weakly tested her bonds. "I"m here, Jess. Who ever was firing at us hit us with tranq darts." "Welcome back, Jessica Bannon. My, you"ve grown into a beautiful young woman. You were fortunate enough to inherit Estella"s lovely features." Jessie looked over at Jonny. "Do we know this guy? He certainly seems to know us." "He did say something about re-introducing himself." "I"m not surprised if you don"t remember me. Both of you were quite small when I last saw you." A door slid open and a middle-aged man with long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail entered. He looked vaguely familiar to both teens but neither could really place him. He looked a little disappointed. "You don"t even recognize my face either. Well, time has not been good to me since I last saw you. I"m Phineas Coltaire." A light went off in Jonny"s head. "You used to work with Dad. But then you got some pretty twisted ideas about your experiments and he had to let you go." Phineas" face hardened. "My ideas were not "twisted"; they were brilliant. Benton would have agreed if Bannon hadn"t filled his head with lies. Jessie glared at him. "My dad doesn"t tell lies. I remember him talking about you. He was afraid you would get Dr. Quest in trouble with all of your schemes." "Like father like daughter, I suppose. Well, Race Bannon is going to regret the day he crossed me." Jonny narrowed his brow. "What do you mean?" "I mean, I have perfected a new form of virtual reality experience. On in which the participant cannot distinguish fantasy from reality. The subject is completely convinced that what is happening in the virtual world is what is happening in real life. The computer can determine the subject"s worst fears and make them happen. In the right circumstance it could drive a person stark raving mad. My first subject will be Miss Bannon here, payback to Race for ruining my life. And you, Jonny, will watch just as Benton stood by and watched." Without another word, Phineas attached a pad to Jessie"s left temple. She twisted and turned trying to avoid him but couldn"t. He then placed another pad on her right temple. He turned to Jonny. "This wire is what will keep Jessie from remembering that she is only in cyber world. The other will directly link her thoughts to the computer and implement them in the virtual world. Oh, I forget to mention," he continued as he placed the VR visor behind her ear. "If she is prematurely pulled from the program for any reason or in any way, it will kill her." "You made that phone call, didn"t you?" Jessie"s eyes glistened with unshed tears. "Is my dad here? Is he okay?" Phineas laughed. "I don"t know where your dad is but I would assume that he is alright. At least for now, until he sees what becomes of his little Ponchita." He went to the computer and keyed in a few commands. "This first test will only last five minutes. Program PCTest1 loaded, subject Jessica Bannon. 5...4...3...2...1 Going Hot." The visor came to live and Jonny saw Jessie"s muscles tighten. He renewed his attempt to escape from his bonds. He wondered what Jessie was going through. JQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQ Jessie looked around the open field. "Jonny? Dad? Hadji? Dr. Quest? Where is everyone?" A breeze blew up and seemed to whisper to her. "Gone, all gone." She rubbed her arms absently. Was she really in truly alone? In the distance she could see a house and decided to head toward it. "Jessie! Help me!" Race Bannon"s voice drifted on the wind from the direction of the house. "Dad? Hang on, I"m coming." She took off running but stopped short when a familiar voice called to her from the tree line. "Jessie, help me." Jonny needed her too, but was nowhere near the house. How could she help both of them? How could she choose between them? "Jessie, help me." From across the tree line and down the hill came Hadji"s voice. She spun that way, her heart pounding wildly. "Jessie, help me." Dr. Quest"s voice followed her from the direction she had come. Tears trickled down her cheeks. From above her came her mother"s voice adding to the plea "Jessie, help me." What was she going to do? Everyone she cared about needed her. There was no way she could help them all. "Jessie!" "Jessie!" "Jessie!" "Jessie!" "Jessie!" All five continued to call out to her. She had to do something. She turned toward the house where her father was. If she could help him he could then help her save the others. But her legs refused to obey. Her heart pounded in her chest. "Dad!" With a sob, Jessie sank to the ground. One by one her friends cries for help turned to screams of pain and agony and ten faded out. Soon only her screams were left. JQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQ Jonny watched helplessly as Jessie struggled in her induction chair. At one point it looked as if she were trying to run. Then she began to call out to Race and to him in fear. "Stop this Coltaire! Leave her alone!" Phineas laughed. "Does young Quest not like to see his girlfriend in trouble? How sweet. Too bad Benton didn"t try to help me when Race Bannon was destroying my life." When Jessie began to scream Jonny pulled against his bonds even harder. He hated seeing his friend in distress, hated knowing what Coltaire"s experiment could be doing to her mind. Suddenly he was aware that one of the straps was working loose. The visor cut out and Jessie slumped in her chair, visibly drained and disoriented. Phineas checked his computer readout. "Your pulse is racing and your blood pressure is way up. I don"t think you enjoyed your trip, Jessie. Rest while you can before I send you back under to experience the full effects of my little program." Coltaire left and Jonny wasted no time slipping his arm free from the strap and releasing his other bonds. He knelt in front of Jessie and removed the electrodes attached to her forehead. She stirred only slightly. "Jessie? Wake up!" Her eyes fluttered and her lower lip trembled as tears fell down her cheeks. "Jonny, I"m sorry I couldn"t save you." Jonny released her bonds but before helping her up, he turned to the computer and started trying to contact his father and Race at the compound. He had barely patched in a message when the door slid open and Phineas reentered. Jonny turned back toward Jessie but knew immediately that she was in no condition to run for it. So instead he launched himself at Phineas. But Phineas was too strong for him and Jonny soon found himself pinned beneath his captor. "Jessie!!" Jonny looked out of the corner of his eye hoping that y now, Jessie would have recovered enough to come to his aide. Instead she had curled up in a ball; her hands over her ears and her eyes were tightly closed. That sight knocked the fight out of Jonny as he was stunned to see the effect Phineas" program had had on her after only five minutes. Phineas dragged Jonny back to his chair and strapped him back in, this time making sure the straps were extra tight. He laughed. "Did you really think you could get away?" He glanced at the computer and his eyes narrowed. "You contacted your father didn"t you?" Jonny stared back at him defiantly. "I did and he and Race should be here shortly. You might as well release us." Phineas laughed. "Release you? Stupid boy, you"ve played right into my hands. I had planned on luring Benton and Race here myself. All you did was up the timetable some and cost your friend a recovery period." He knelt in front of her chair and took hold of her right arm so he could restrap her. Jessie whimpered and tightened her muscles. Annoyed Phineas pulled harder. Jonny heard a definitive crack moments before Jessie screamed in pain. "You broke her arm, you sicko." Phineas calmly continued to strap Jessie back to the chair, ignoring Jessie"s cries of pain. "And I will break as many as it takes to succeed." He reattached the electrodes to her temples. "By the time Bannon gets here I"ll be long gone and Jessie here will be locked in her own private hell, her own trip to insanity if you will. I"ll set the timer for three hours. That should be plenty long enough to drive even the strongest person completely mad and give enough time to ensure that Race will have to stand back and watch his little girl suffer." "Don"t! Don"t hurt her anymore. She"s suffered enough. Leave her alone." "Again such affection for Miss Bannon, Jonny. How sweet. It changes nothing but it is sweet. Program PCRevenge loaded, subject Jessica Bannon, 5...4...3...2...1 going hot." JQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQ Jessie shivered as she looked around. Her right arm dangled uselessly by her side. "Where am I?" She was standing on the porch of an old house. It looked vaguely familiar but she couldn"t place where she knew it from. "Jonny? Where are you?" She vaguely recalled having heard him call to her for help. She cautiously opened the front door and stepped into the foyer. Suddenly she recognized where she was. It was the Quest Compound but it was darker and more sinister looking than she could ever recall seeing it. "Dr. Quest? Daddy? Hadji? Jonny? Anyone home?" She heard a whimper and looked down to see Bandit. He didn"t bound up to greet her as he usually did. She reached down to pet him with her left hand but snatched it back as he snarled at her. Confused she continued into the house. She checked every room but could find no trace of her family and friends. All she found was furniture turned over and personal items strewn about. Finally she stepped out back, intending to check out the lighthouse. Instead a small section of the garden that appeared to have been converted to a cemetery caught her eye and froze her in her tracks. As she stepped over to it the first headstone that she saw was for Benton Quest. She frowned. How could Dr. Quest be dead? Was this someone"s sick idea of a joke? Next to it was a headstone with Hadji"s name on it. Bewildered she compared the death dates on both headstones. They were the same date. Growing more and more alarmed she walked further in to the graveyard. She collapsed to her knees when she saw the next tow headstones resting side by side. Estella Valequez and Roger Bannon. A lump in her throat threatened to choke her as she cried for her parents. She couldn"t accept the fact that both of her parents were gone. "Keep looking." A voice on the wind urged her to look to the back of the cemetery. She screamed as she saw the final headstone. Jonathan Quest. "No! How did this happen? Who did this?" She began to wail and scream again as the wind answered her. "You did...You did...You did..." JQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQ Jessie"s continued screams had Jonny crying silently. His wrists were raw from where he had struggled against his bonds. He couldn"t take much more of her pain and he could only guess that it was ten times worse for Jessie. Where were Race and his dad? As if on cue he heard Race calling from outside the door. "Jessie, Jonny, hang on. I"m coming." "Race, we"re in here. Hurry, Jessie needs us." After a couple of kicks, the door splintered open and Race rushed in, Benton on his heels. Race knelt in front of his daughter and looked at her worriedly. He looked at Jonny questionably. "What"s wrong with her?" "She"s in a virtual reality program design to drive her mad." Fear and anger flashed in his eyes. "What the devil? We"ve got to stop it. Benton?" "No, if it"s stopped prematurely, it will kill her. It"s set for three hours and I"m guessing she"s been in there over an hour now." Race undid Jonny"s bonds and the teen joined his father at the computers. Benton squeezed his shoulder, obviously relieved to see his son in one piece. Anything further could wait until Jessie was safe as well. As he looked over the computer, he filled the two men in on what had happened. When he got to the part about how Phineas had broken her arm trying to restrain her, Race"s jaw rocked in anger. Race caressed her cheek as her screams quieted to sobs. "Hang on, Ponchita." "Phineas Coltaire, I thought we had seen the last of him years ago." Benton shook his head. "If I see him again, he"ll wish he"d stayed hidden." Race took Jessie"s left hand in his own. "I think I have a way of helping Jessie." JQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQ Jessie looked around through a haze of tears. How had she gotten from the cemetery to this cell? A shadowy figure stood in the far corner of the cell. She sniffled. "What happened to Jonny and the others?" "You killed them. They needed you but you did nothing to help them. Their blood is on your hands, Jessica Bannon." "No, I wanted to help them but I couldn"t move. Please, they can"t be dead." "They are and you must pay for your crimes." Jessie hugged herself with her good arm as she huddled on the floor. "Oh Daddy, you can"t be gone. I need you." A grinding noise made her look up. Was it her imagination or were the walls closing in on her? Her heart quickened. The walls were slowly closing in. She squeezed her eyes shut and began to shake. No, not this on top of everything else. She was claustrophobic but at least the last time she freaked out over it, Jonny had been there to help her through it. Fear rose up in her like bile and she struck out smashing the wall with both hands, ignoring the pain, ignoring everything but this urgent need to get out before the room completely closed in on her. "Jessie." She stopped and looked back. How could this be? He couldn"t be here; he was dead. "Jonny?" He knelt beside her and folded her in his arm. She began to sob. He gently caressed her hair. "Relax, Jess, you"re safe." "No, the room is closing in. I have to get out of here." She shifted to try to get away but Jonny held her tighter. "Jess, relax. Listen to me, none of this is real. It"s a VR fantasy." Jessie shook her head. "No, I know the difference between VR and what"s real." He quickly reminded her about what had happened to them. He was concerned by how much she was still shaking and sobbing. She shuddered hard. "If this is VR then log me off. I can"t take this anymore." "We can"t. Coltaire has the program locked into timer. If you exit early, it will kill you. I managed to log into the program without Coltaire"s extra attachments so I can help you distinguish fact from fantasy but you have to listen to me and trust me. Okay?" "Okay. Don"t let go of me." "Don"t listen to him." The voice on the wind floated through the room. "He doesn"t exist. You killed him. You killed them all." "NO!" Jonny pulled Jessie even closer. "Don"t listen to that voice, Jessie. It"s the one that"s lying. I"m here. So are your dad and mine." "Keep talking to her, Jonny." Benton"s voice came through his visor. "Her vitals improve when you talk to her." For what seemed like the longest time, the voice continued to torment Jessie. She kept her head buried in Jonny"s chest listening only to his voice. He talked about everything he could think of. Anything that would keep her from giving into the voice. "Jonny?" Her voice was small and weak. "Yeah, Jess?" "How much longer?" "Dad?" "Twenty minutes, Son." "Hang on, Jess. It"s almost over." "Ponchita, come to me." Race"s voice came from the shadows. This new voice startled both teens but Jonny immediately recognized it as part of the program. "Dad?" She sat up and forcibly pushed Jonny away. "No, Jessie. That"s not your dad. It"s the program. The other tactics weren"t working so they are trying to fool you into thinking its Race." "He"s lying, Jessie. I"m here. Benton and I came to rescue you but this program has you thinking that"s really Jonny. I came to show you the way out. Come on, Ponchita." "I"m coming, Daddy." Jonny grabbed her waist and held on tightly. "Jess, that"s not your dad and I can prove it. Race, who won our last Cyberbattle? Me or Jessie?" "Jessie did." Jonny turned Jessie toward him. "See, Jess. If that was really your dad, how would he know? You"ve never beaten me before and your dad wasn"t there earlier when we played. Right after the game was over, Phineas tricked and captured us. Only you and I know what happened. He"s a product of your subconscious." "Come on, Jessie. Come quickly before the room completely closes in on you." "Don"t trust him Jessie. He"s not Race." Jessie pulled away from Jonny and curled up in a ball. With her eyes closed and hands over her ears, she had effectively cut herself off from everything else. "Jonny, the time is up. You are both being logged off." JQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQ The walls were closing in on her once more. A voice taunted her in the darkness. She whimpered and strong arms pulled her close. "Relax, Ponchita, you"re safe now." Jessie opened her eyes and looked around. She was in her bedroom at the Quest Compound. Race was on the bed beside her, his eyes tired. Jessie urged her heart rate to return to normal as she reminded herself that she was safe. In the two days since Phineas had kidnapped them, Jessie had mostly slept, her body physically exhausted from her mental trip in Coltaire"s program. That sleep, however, had been punctuated with horrible nightmares, flashbacks from what had happened. But she was never alone. Every time she awoke, someone was there with her, holding her, comforting her, no matter the time of day or night. She snuggled back into his embrace, shifting her cast-coated arm into a more comfortable position. Safe in his arms, she drifted back to sleep. The next nightmare was the worst one yet. This time her subconscious twisted what had happened and she found herself stuck in the program without Jonny there to help her. She could feel her sanity drifting away slowly, drop by drop. She sat up, too frightened even to scream. Jonny was at her side in an instant, hugging her tightly, not saying anything, waiting for her breathing to return to normal. She clung to him like a lifeline. "Jonny, if you hadn"t been there..." "Shh. It"s okay now, Jess. You"re safe and he can"t hurt you anymore." Jessie sniffled. "But he"s still out there. He could try again." "Race has security around here tightened worse than the White House. Phineas won"t get you here." "But he"s still in my head. He"s still attacking me." "But we"re here for you, Jess. Me, your dad, my dad. Even Hadji and your mom are ready to fly in at a minute"s notice. But you are getting stronger. Your nightmares are becoming fewer and fewer and soon they"ll just be distant memories. You"re strong, Jessica Bannon. You"ll get through this. We"ll make sure of it." Jessie watched him for a long moment and then nodded. "Okay." She settled back on the bed; Jonny"s arms around her. "Just hold me a little longer." Her voice was already becoming sleepy again. An hour later Race stuck his head in her room and sighed in relief. Both teens were asleep, Jonny"s arms still securely around her waist. Had it been any other time, he would be having a fit about the two of them being in bed together but for the first time since this whole nightmare started, Jessie"s face looked peaceful. He knew for certain now that she would be all right. THE END

Just as they reached the van Peter emerged from the office with Addison. He wasn"t surprised to see the Cliffhangers approaching even though they were due in class at any minute now. "Gang, I"d like for you to meet Addison Michaels. That"s his wife Donna." Shelby essentially ignored the adults and smiled her most winning smile at the boy who had grabbed her attention. "I"m Shelby. I"m sure we are going to have a lot of fun this weekend." Peter steered Shelby back to the others. "Okay, Addison and his crew have been driving all night and they are all exhausted. Give them some time to get settled in. Besides, if my watch is correct, it"s time for all of you to be in class. You"ll have plenty of time to meet the others later." With a collective groan the Cliffhangers reluctantly gave the newcomers a curious look before heading off to class. Hannah approached the van. She had been coming to round up the Cliffhangers when she saw that Peter had directed them all to class anyway. Peter quickly introduced her to the Michaels. Addison shook hands with Hannah. "Nice to meet you. Peter, Hannah, allow me to introduce my kids." Peter studied each teen as Addison introduced them. Fair or not, he allowed his first impressions to compare the kids to his own group. Kyle reminded him of Kat with his seemingly easy confidence. With his slight awkwardness, Danny brought Ezra to mind. One look at Mindy and her pencil thin frame and Peter immediately compared her to Juliette. The way Taylor was still checking out every girl that walked by, a mischievous gleam in his eyes made it obvious that Taylor was the Shelby of the group. The only one he couldn"t compare was LeeAnn. Though she was standing not two feet from any one person there was an aura about her that suggested there was an impenetrable wall around her. "I"m glad you are all here." Peter assured them. "I"m sure you are all tired. We"ll get started with the orientation class after lunch. Hannah, can you show Mindy and LeeAnn to the girls" dorm while I show the boys to their cabin? Addison, I"ll take you and Donna to my place after the kids get settled." Hannah nodded. Somehow she had a feeling that this was going to be a long weekend. TBC Three hours later, Mindy was awake and rummaging through her bag on her bed. She shook her head. "I will never complain about my room again. Can you imagine having to share all the time?" As usual LeeAnn didn"t reply. Mindy rolled her eyes. She had thought it had been bad when she had been the only girl in the house besides Donna but LeeAnn"s arrival hadn"t improved things. "You get used to it after awhile." Kat assured her as the Cliffhanger girls entered the dorm. They had all agreed that morning classes had dragged on for too long. They were all curious to get to know their weekend visitors. Mindy blushed. "Sorry, I didn"t mean anything by that. It"s just at Point of Hope we all have our own bedrooms. I guess I kind of take that for granted." "Point of Hope? What"s that?" Daisy asked. "Addison"s name for his house. I don"t know where he got it from. I"m Mindy." "Kat." "Daisy." "Juliette." "Shelby." Shelby looked at LeeAnn waiting for the girl to introduce herself. But the girl continued to stare up at the ceiling. Finally Mindy answered for her. "That"s LeeAnn. She doesn"t talk much." Seeing the girls exchange glances, Mindy shrugged and parroted Kat"s earlier remark. "You get used to it after a while." Shelby laughed. "That would so not go over well here. Hannah and Peter are very into us sharing." "So is Addison. She"s only been with us for a couple of weeks. He just hasn"t worn her down yet. So tell me, are these "quests" totally gross?" Juliette nodded. "Mud from head to toe. Not to mention the blisters and the bugs." Shelby couldn"t get over the fact that LeeAnn still hadn"t said anything. She sat on the bed next to the girl. "So, what"s your story? Drugs? What?" LeeAnn still said nothing. Shelby gave her a look of disgust. "Hello, I"m talking to you, Freak." Kat frowned. "Lay off, Shelby." Without a word, LeeAnn rose and left the dorm. The five girls watched her leave. Mindy shrugged. "She"s weird. What can I say? So, tell me about this place." **************** Hannah stepped out of the office and saw a lone figure sitting on the pier skipping rocks. The tall red head bit her lip as she recognized the girl as one of Addison"s. Peter had taken the Michaels to his house so the could rest. Addison had been reluctant to leave his group at first but both Peter and Hannah had assured him that they would be fine. Just before he left he had asked Hannah to keep a special eye on LeeAnn. "She"s a runner." He had warned her. "She hasn"t tried since she"s been with me but she has a history of running away." Hannah joined the girl on the pier and sat beside her. "Hi, LeeAnn. Did you get all rested up?" Receiving no reply, Hannah reached out and touched the younger girl"s shoulder. Immediately the girl tensed up and knocked Hannah"s hand away. "DON"T TOUCH ME!" Hannah held up her hands in a non-threatening way. "Okay, I"m sorry. I didn"t know. Are you okay?" Once again there was silence. Hannah was reminded of Isaac; the boy who had OD"d earlier that year. At first he wouldn"t say much either. He had surrounded himself instead with an impenetrable wall of anger. LeeAnn had a wall around her as well but despite her reaction to Hannah touching her shoulder, it didn"t appear to be anger that separated the girl from the others. Hannah sensed fear was what drove this young girl. A van pulled in and a glance backward told her that Peter had returned with the Michaels. She was glad. She didn"t want to do anything that would set LeeAnn back or upset her further. She returned her attention back to LeeAnn. "How about we go to lunch? Peter is going to work all of you really hard this afternoon." The girls passed by on the way to the cafeteria. They were all giggling about something. Hannah was glad to see that Mindy had made friends with the others. About halfway to the cafeteria, they met up with the boys. Hannah noticed that the tall boy in Addison"s group stop Mindy and was apparently questioning the girl. Mindy vaguely pointed toward the pier and Kyle left the others and walked over to where Hannah and LeeAnn were. He smiled at Hannah. "Nice to see you again, mam. Come on, LeeAnn; let"s go to lunch. I don"t know about you but I"m starved. Must be all this fresh air that"s making me hungry. What about you?" Though she said nothing, LeeAnn rose and joined Kyle. Hannah was surprised. Kyle kept a comfortable distance from the girl and maintained a one-way conversation with her the entire way to the cafeteria. He didn"t seem at all bothered by the fact that she didn"t reply. "Ready to bang your head against the pier in frustration?" Donna Michaels smiled down at her. Hannah stood. "I don"t think I"ve ever met anyone quite like LeeAnn." Donna sighed. "And I hope you never do again. That little girl has so much pain inside and we can"t do anything to reach it. Addison is at his wits end trying to help her. I think that"s one of the reasons he"s brought us all up here." "What happened to her?" Donna sighed. "We honestly don"t know everything. About three months ago a deputy sheriff found her walking down the road in a daze. She"d been beaten and had obviously been wandering on her own for several days." "Poor child. No wonder she didn"t want me to touch her." Hannah remarked. "The deputy got her to the hospital but she wouldn"t talk to anyone. Wouldn"t tell anyone who she was or what had happened. Finally they ran her fingerprints just hoping to find a match." "Did they?" Donna nodded. "They matched with a little four year old girl who had been kidnapped from a city park twelve years earlier. LeeAnn"s parents were thrilled to find her. It didn"t matter that she wouldn"t talk or that they had no idea where she"d been; their baby was home." Hannah sighed. "Let me guess. The happy-ever-after wasn"t so happy." "Luke and Angela Wimberton tired hard. They just knew if they were patient enough and loved her enough that everything would be all right. But LeeAnn didn"t get better. She stayed locked away in her self imposed exile. She also began running away. She"d usually only be gone for a few hours or a day before she was found. The last time though she was missing for two days. Luke and Angela had to admit that they needed help. Hannah"s heart went out to the fragile young girl. No wonder she was so withdrawn. "Thank you for telling me. Maybe Addison is right and this weekend will improve things." ********* Meanwhile Peter and Addison had noticed the exchange between Kyle and LeeAnn. Addison and Donna had already filled him in on all the kids and why they were with Addison. "What"s the deal between Kyle and LeeAnn?" Addison shrugged. "I don"t know. Kyle took a protective interest in her right away. I think she reminds him of Sam." "And she trusts him?" Peter was surprised after what Addison had told him. Addison frowned. "I think tolerates is more the word you are looking for. I don"t think LeeAnn trusts anyone. That"s the main problem. If I could get her to trust just one person I think I could help her." ********* Shelby watched as Kyle and LeeAnn headed through the line. Without a doubt, next to Scott, Kyle was the cutest boy she"d seen since coming to Mt. Horizon. She looked at Taylor who had sat opposite her. "What does he see in her?" Taylor grinned. "Besides the fact that she"s a major hottie? I think he feels sorry for her. But they ain"t a couple. The Ice Princess won"t let anyone close enough to become part of a couple. But why waste your time with a gooder like Kyle when you could have me?" Shelby rolled her eyes. She looked in disgust at the way he was wolfing down his food. "Yeah, real attractive." "Just making room for more." Auggie laughed. "Yo meat, we don"t get seconds around here." "I will." Glancing around, Taylor saw that the adults were talking in the line and not paying them any attention. "Coast is clear, Mindy." Without wasting a minute Mindy switched trays with Taylor. Now it appeared that she had almost finished her meal while he was just starting his. Juliette"s eyes widened. She thought she had tried everything but this was something she"d never dreamed of doing. Kat frowned. "You aren"t going to eat?" Mindy shrugged. "It"s the last meal I"ll get to skip out on the rest of the weekend. Addison and Donna will be watching us like hawks once we are on the trail." The Cliffhangers exchanged a look. It appeared both groups had a lot they could teach the other. TBC "Okay, we are going to be doing a lot of walking tomorrow so group will be short tonight. I want to welcome our visitors who are sitting in." The Cliffhangers looked around. They really didn"t mind the Point of Hope group joining in. As the day had progressed they had gotten to know the visiting teens with the exception of LeeAnn really well. Everyone seemed to get along great. "Addison, I really can"t do this." Mindy groaned. "I"m exhausted and sore and we haven"t" really done anything yet. If you make me go, I don"t think I"ll make it." "You"ll be fine, Mindy." Addison looked at Peter. "Go ahead. My group is used to opening these sessions with gripes and the like." Kat laughed. "You should think about adding that to group yourself, Peter." Peter shook his head. "I know you guys too well. If I let you get started, I"d never get anything else accomplished. Okay, for our newcomers, I start a phrase and call on someone. That person finishes the phrase and calls on someone else until everyone has gone." He waited to make sure everyone understood before continuing. "I am happiest when.... Juliet." "I don"t feel like I have to please everyone. Scott." "I am competing. Kyle." The Point of Hope teen thought for a moment. "I remember the fun times I had with my best friend." His voice choked a little before he turned to the pretty blonde in his group. "Mindy." "I am the perfect size. Shelby." "I am in control. LeeAnn." The quiet teen said nothing. Peter shot Shelby a hard look. He knew that by know all the Cliffhangers had realized how withdrawn LeeAnn was. He also knew that Shelby had called on LeeAnn just to see what would happen if she didn"t respond. He wondered if he or Addison should step in. He looked to Addison for how to proceed. But before Addison could say or do anything Kyle jumped up. "Leave her alone." Taylor rolled his dark eyes. "Sir Kyle the Goodhearted to the rescue. Better watch it Shelby, Kyle doesn"t let anyone pick on the Ice Princess." Without wasting a second, Kyle jumped up and tackled the smaller boy. The Cliffhangers watch amazed as the two boys rolled on the ground, each trying to get the best of the other. Group sometimes got intense but it didn"t usually end in a fistfight. With a look at Peter, Addison grabbed Kyle while Peter pulled Taylor up off the floor. Both men kept a tight grip on the boys who were still straining to get back to the fight. With a frowned Peter looked at Shelby, hoping to regain some semblance of control on the room. "Shelby, choose someone else." "Why?" Shelby frowned. Group was just starting to get interesting. So Kyle had a thing for LeeAnn. He would be as challenging to win over as Scott was. "Everyone is supposed to participate. Why is she so different?" Peter was about to reprimand the petulant girl when the object of their conversation stood up and looked at the door, refusing to look at anyone. Across the room where they had been watching everything, Donna grabbed Hannah"s arm in amazement. Had Shelby somehow gotten through to LeeAnn? "I am happiest when I"m left alone." The words were low and without emotion, especially compared to everyone else. But that one sentence stopped everyone. The whole room stared at the troubled young girl. The words themselves were a plaintive call for help. Hannah"s heart went out to the young girl once again. Without another word, LeeAnn left the lodge as silently as she had entered. "Don." Addison"s voice was a mix of concern and warning. Donna nodded and rose. "I"ll follow her. Hannah, please come with me." As the two women left the room, Peter and Addison looked at the remaining teens. Peter shook his head. "The next couple of days are going to be hard and long. Everyone is going to have to work together. That"s not going to happen if you are all going at each other"s throats every other minute. Be sensitive to everyone"s needs and pain. Now, I suggest you all go to your dorms." ***** "Well, that was a fun group." Shelby retorted once the girls were back in their dorm. LeeAnn hadn"t returned but they had seen her wondering aimless toward the lake, Hannah and Donna following discreetly behind. "Well if you hadn"t started in on LeeAnn..." Juliet rolled her eyes as Shelby gave her an innocent "What did I do" look. "Taylor and Kyle have been going at each other like that since the day LeeAnn came to Point of Hope. Taylor loves to torment her because she won"t stand up for herself and I think Kyle has the hots for her. I don"t know why. She"s weird the way she won"t talk. It"s like living with a walking, breathing brick wall." Kat joked. "Taylor and Kyle remind me of Auggie and Scott fighting over Juliet. "Yeah, really." Daisy agreed with a smile. "Okay, I have to ask. I think we can all agree that LeeAnn definitely has problems. You obviously could give Jules some serious competition in a race to see who can be thinnest. But give us the low down on the guys. The little fight in group aside, all three of them seem normal. Especially Danny, what"s his story?" "Danny"s parents raised him in this really weird cult that believed in torture and drugs. His aunt and uncle found out about some of the cult"s practices and kidnapped him away from there. They had no trouble then getting custody of Danny. But the place really messed him up. They put him in Point of Hope to kind of straighten him out. Reverse brainwashing almost." They stopped talking when the door opened. LeeAnn entered and settled down on her bed without so much as a look at the other girls. Hannah and Donna followed behind her. Hannah smiled at the girls. "Time for bed, girls. Lights out in five minutes. We have a long day ahead of us. Kat, can I see you for a moment?" Kat nodded and followed her friend outside. Hannah checked to make sure none of the others were listening. "Kat, I need you to do me a favor." "Sure Hannah, what is it?" "Donna and Addison are worried that LeeAnn may try to run away. Try to keep an eye on her tonight and come get me if she tries to leave." Kat nodded. "Is she okay? Do you want me to try to talk to her?" Hannah sighed. She knew she could count on Kat. The beautiful teen would make a wonderful counselor one day. "I don"t think it would do any good. She"s a very troubled girl, Kat. She doesn"t trust anyone and until she learns that she can trust Addison or at least one person, she"s not going to open up. The best thing you could do beside making sure she doesn"t run is make sure Shelby doesn"t give her a hard time. We both now that underneath that tough exterior Shelby means well but I don"t know if LeeAnn"s fragile psyche can take too much of Shelby." "Okay, Hannah. I"ll take care of things. Don"t worry." Kat returned to the cabin and Donna and Hannah left. Mindy looked at the others. "Okay, now that the adults are gone we can get to the juicy stuff. There is nothing going on in the romance department at Point of Hope. Taylor is just an immature little cretin, useful for a few things but no one"s idea of a good boyfriend. Danny needs a serious haircut and personality. Kyle is a major babe but way too intense. But I couldn"t help but notice that there are a lot of cute guys here. Don"t try to tell me there aren"t some serious prospects here. So, who"s dating who?" Shelby rolled her eyes. She didn"t really want to hear Juliet gush on and on about her and Scott. "I"m getting a shower. Later." Mindy watched her leave and wrinkled her brow. "Was it something I said or does she just have a general bad attitude?" Juliet smiled. "Scott and I are a couple. She and Scott are not a couple. She doesn"t like either of those facts." "But she couldn"t take her eyes off Kyle all day long." Daisy laughed. "That"s Shelby." Kat was watching LeeAnn. She wondered if the teen was even aware of the conversation going on around her. She wished she knew what was going on with the pretty teen. LeeAnn was well aware of the activity around her. But the petite teen shut everything out except enough to know that everyone was still awake. She couldn"t wait until they were all asleep and she could sneak out. She silently cursed herself. She thought she was getting better. In the two weeks she"d been at Point of Hope, she"d been able to safely keep her emotions locked away. She knew what the others thought of her but that didn"t matter. So long as she kept her feelings so deeply buried that it was like she was in a cocoon, she could survive. It was only when she could feel her control on her emotions slip that she had to get away. She couldn"t afford to let anyone see her lose control. And right now her grasp on her emotions was tenuous at best. There was a scream of fear, frustration, and anger bubbling just under the surface, threatening to choke her. It had been building since the moment the van pulled onto the grounds of Mt. Horizon. When she had left the lodge earlier she"d planned on going just a little ways into the woods and allowing the scream and the tears to take over. But Donna and the red headed woman form Mt. Horizon had followed her, not allowing even a moment of solitude. She"d been forced to contain herself just a little longer. Someone sat beside her on the bed. LeeAnn tightly closed her eyes, hoping they"d go away. It had to be one of the Cliffhangers. Mindy had long since given up trying to get any response out of her. It was one of the things she liked about the way too thin girl. A hand touched her shoulder but LeeAnn pulled away. "LeeAnn, are you okay?" Kat was worried. The girl was practically shaking as she lay there. She wondered if she should send for Hannah or Donna. "She"s not going to answer you." Mindy insisted. The thin blonde rolled her green eyes. "Trust me. Taylor can be a complete jerk but he"s pretty accurate calling her Ice Princess. I told you earlier talking to LeeAnn is like talking to a brick wall, worse maybe." LeeAnn tuned the others out. She rolled over on her side away from Kat"s penetrating stare. Why couldn"t they just leave her alone? Couldn"t they see that right now she was vulnerable? It was all she could do not to run screaming from the cabin in spite of the reaction she knew it would stir in the kids as well as Addison and Donna. She forced her self to breathe deeply through her nose to keep even the barest whimper from sounding from her throat. At long last the room was silent and dark. LeeAnn opened her eyes and was relieved to see that everyone was asleep. There could be no better time to get away for just a bit; just long enough to give in to the raw emotions that clawed at her throat. She eased out of bed and stealthily made her way to the door. She eased it open and stepped outside. Before she could close the door, however, a hand grabbed the frame. "Who are you running from? Us or yourself?"

Addison laughed. "Coward. Okay, I"m going." The tall man with sandy brown hair made his way down to the basement where his five charges had already gathered for their daily group session. At the bottom of the stairs, he paused to check out the kids. Mindy MacIntosh was sitting daintily on the overstuffed rocking chair. The impossibly thin girl was carefully studying her nails as if trying to decide what she needed to do with them. Although he really had no idea how the kids were going to take the news he had a feeling that he"d get his worst reaction from her. Danny Cooper was sitting cross-legged on the floor. The stocky boy with long scraggly hair would probably be the most accepting of the idea, at least on the surface. In the six months of living in the house, Danny had emerged as the most easy-going person Addison had ever met. Lounging on the couch was Taylor Good. He was grinning sardonically at the two figures on the beanbags. Addison groaned inwardly as he wondered what the teen was up to. With Taylor he could never be sure. Addison turned his attention to Kyle Sanders. The tall handsome boy with haunted eyes was shooting Taylor murderous glares from his seat on the red beanbag. Addison sighed. Normally he never had any trouble between Taylor and Kyle but that had changed two weeks ago with his newest arrival. He saved LeeAnn Wimberton for last. He hoped for once that he"d see some spark of participation in the troubled young face. But she was sitting aloof from everyone else, her legs drawn up close to her chest. She appeared oblivious to the tension between Taylor and Kyle. She was off in her own little world, a world Addison had failed to reach so far. "Yo, Addison, bout time you made it down here." Taylor shook his head. "If one of us was late we"d be in big trouble." "Sorry about that. I was on the phone. I have an announcement to make but before I get to that, are there any gripes or praise anyone needs to get off his or her chest?" He looked specifically from Taylor to Kyle but he knew neither would bring up what was going on. "Mr. Russell was giving me a hard time about my hair again today." Danny spoke up. "Can you talk to him for me?" Addison considered the boy"s hair for a second. He secretly agreed with the high school principal"s assessment that the teen needed a haircut but he at least understood where Danny was coming from. "I"ll give him a call tomorrow but I can"t make you any promises that it will do any good? Anyone else?" There was several seconds of silence. Finally Mindy spoke up. "What"s the big announcement, Addison? Are we getting a newbie or what? If we are I hope it"s a girl. I could use someone to girl talk with." Addison shook his head. "No, Mindy, we aren"t getting someone new. We are all going away for the weekend." "Great. Hawaii? Paris? Where?" Taylor sat up suddenly interested. "Nowhere like that, Taylor. A friend of mine runs a school called Mt. Horizon. We"re going there for a weekend of camping." Mindy wrinkled her nose. "Camping? As in outdoors in the dirt, with bugs and wild animals? Count me out. Show me to the nearest hotel." "Yes camping and Mindy, attendance is not optional. All seven of us are going and that"s final. Peter Scarbrow, my friend, is even going to have a group of his kids come along to show us the ropes. They are used to going on outings in the wilderness." Danny shrugged. "Camping sounds good to me. It"s been too long since I"ve slept out under the stars." "Sounds cool to me too, Addison." Kyle admitted. "I"ve always wanted to try camping." Taylor snorted. "I"ve heard of Mt. Horizon. The kids there are delinquent freaks." "Takes one to know one, Taylor." Kyle retorted. Addison knew he had to stop the argument before it escalated. "Both of you can it before I put you both on report." He stared them down until both boys hung their heads. Then he looked over at LeeAnn. "What about you, LeeAnn? Have you ever been camping before?" She didn"t respond. Addison wasn"t surprised. In the two weeks she"d been in the house, she"d barely said more than a dozen words. He only hoped the weekend getaway would provide him the opportunity to reach the troubled teen. Goodness knew that nothing else he had tried had worked. Addison looked at each of the teens. They were all as different as night and day. Each had their own share of troubles, some he knew about and some were as hidden to him as LeeAnn"s locked up emotions. Addison could only hope Peter was ready for them. "So, wait a minute, Hannah, you"re telling us that Peter is sending us on a quest with a bunch of teens who have probably never been camping before?" Scott shook his head in disgust. Hannah gave him a hard look. "That"s enough of that, Scott. It"s not like any of you started out as perfect campers. Peter and I will be going with you. Besides it will be a good chance to interact with other kids your age that are going through similar troubles that you don"t see everyday. Who knows, maybe it will be fun." Shelby looked up smugly from her seat on her couch. "You said this guy was a college friend of Peter"s?" Hannah nodded. Shelby smiled. "So if nothing else, we"ll get to hear what Peter was like in college." The others perked up at this thought. Hannah hid a smile. Leave it to Shelby to think of something like that. She wondered if she should warn Peter of this development before Addison and his group arrived. With just a hint of devilment, she decided to stay silent on that one. Thursday morning the Cliffhangers were leaving breakfast when a navy blue van pulled into the grounds and parked next to Peter"s office. A man Peter"s age climbed out of the driver"s side and a slightly younger woman exited and opened the side panel. Five teens slowly left the van stretching as they did. Ezra eyed them carefully. "I guess they are our weekend guests." Auggie rolled his eyes. "Way to state the obvious, EZ." Shelby stared at the tall handsome boy with dark hair as the man disappeared inside Peter"s office. She had to admit he was easy on the eyes. Maybe this weekend would provide more than just juicy gossip about Peter. "I think I"ll go give them a friendly Mt. Horizon hello." The others quickly knew she wasn"t interested in the "them" but rather in the boy unloading the van. But they followed Shelby over anyway; curious about the group they would be spending the weekend with. Just as they reached the van Peter emerged from the office with Addison. He wasn"t surprised to see the Cliffhangers approaching even though they were due in class at any minute now. "Gang, I"d like for you to meet Addison Michaels. That"s his wife Donna." Shelby essentially ignored the adults and smiled her most winning smile at the boy who had grabbed her attention. "I"m Shelby. I"m sure we are going to have a lot of fun this weekend." Peter steered Shelby back to the others. "Okay, Addison and his crew have been driving all night and they are all exhausted. Give them some time to get settled in. Besides, if my watch is correct, it"s time for all of you to be in class. You"ll have plenty of time to meet the others later." With a collective groan the Cliffhangers reluctantly gave the newcomers a curious look before heading off to class. Hannah approached the van. She had been coming to round up the Cliffhangers when she saw that Peter had directed them all to class anyway. Peter quickly introduced her to the Michaels. Addison shook hands with Hannah. "Nice to meet you. Peter, Hannah, allow me to introduce my kids." Peter studied each teen as Addison introduced them. Fair or not, he allowed his first impressions to compare the kids to his own group. Kyle reminded him of Kat with his seemingly easy confidence. With his slight awkwardness, Danny brought Ezra to mind. One look at Mindy and her pencil thin frame and Peter immediately compared her to Juliette. The way Taylor was still checking out every girl that walked by, a mischievous gleam in his eyes made it obvious that Taylor was the Shelby of the group. The only one he couldn"t compare was LeeAnn. Though she was standing not two feet from any one person there was an aura about her that suggested there was an impenetrable wall around her. "I"m glad you are all here." Peter assured them. "I"m sure you are all tired. We"ll get started with the orientation class after lunch. Hannah, can you show Mindy and LeeAnn to the girls" dorm while I show the boys to their cabin? Addison, I"ll take you and Donna to my place after the kids get settled." Hannah nodded. Somehow she had a feeling that this was going to be a long weekend. TBC Three hours later, Mindy was awake and rummaging through her bag on her bed. She shook her head. "I will never complain about my room again. Can you imagine having to share all the time?" As usual LeeAnn didn"t reply. Mindy rolled her eyes. She had thought it had been bad when she had been the only girl in the house besides Donna but LeeAnn"s arrival hadn"t improved things. "You get used to it after awhile." Kat assured her as the Cliffhanger girls entered the dorm. They had all agreed that morning classes had dragged on for too long. They were all curious to get to know their weekend visitors. Mindy blushed. "Sorry, I didn"t mean anything by that. It"s just at Point of Hope we all have our own bedrooms. I guess I kind of take that for granted." "Point of Hope? What"s that?" Daisy asked. "Addison"s name for his house. I don"t know where he got it from. I"m Mindy." "Kat." "Daisy." "Juliette." "Shelby." Shelby looked at LeeAnn waiting for the girl to introduce herself. But the girl continued to stare up at the ceiling. Finally Mindy answered for her. "That"s LeeAnn. She doesn"t talk much." Seeing the girls exchange glances, Mindy shrugged and parroted Kat"s earlier remark. "You get used to it after a while." Shelby laughed. "That would so not go over well here. Hannah and Peter are very into us sharing." "So is Addison. She"s only been with us for a couple of weeks. He just hasn"t worn her down yet. So tell me, are these "quests" totally gross?" Juliette nodded. "Mud from head to toe. Not to mention the blisters and the bugs." Shelby couldn"t get over the fact that LeeAnn still hadn"t said anything. She sat on the bed next to the girl. "So, what"s your story? Drugs? What?" LeeAnn still said nothing. Shelby gave her a look of disgust. "Hello, I"m talking to you, Freak." Kat frowned. "Lay off, Shelby." Without a word, LeeAnn rose and left the dorm. The five girls watched her leave. Mindy shrugged. "She"s weird. What can I say? So, tell me about this place." **************** Hannah stepped out of the office and saw a lone figure sitting on the pier skipping rocks. The tall red head bit her lip as she recognized the girl as one of Addison"s. Peter had taken the Michaels to his house so the could rest. Addison had been reluctant to leave his group at first but both Peter and Hannah had assured him that they would be fine. Just before he left he had asked Hannah to keep a special eye on LeeAnn. "She"s a runner." He had warned her. "She hasn"t tried since she"s been with me but she has a history of running away." Hannah joined the girl on the pier and sat beside her. "Hi, LeeAnn. Did you get all rested up?" Receiving no reply, Hannah reached out and touched the younger girl"s shoulder. Immediately the girl tensed up and knocked Hannah"s hand away. "DON"T TOUCH ME!" Hannah held up her hands in a non-threatening way. "Okay, I"m sorry. I didn"t know. Are you okay?" Once again there was silence. Hannah was reminded of Isaac; the boy who had OD"d earlier that year. At first he wouldn"t say much either. He had surrounded himself instead with an impenetrable wall of anger. LeeAnn had a wall around her as well but despite her reaction to Hannah touching her shoulder, it didn"t appear to be anger that separated the girl from the others. Hannah sensed fear was what drove this young girl. A van pulled in and a glance backward told her that Peter had returned with the Michaels. She was glad. She didn"t want to do anything that would set LeeAnn back or upset her further. She returned her attention back to LeeAnn. "How about we go to lunch? Peter is going to work all of you really hard this afternoon." The girls passed by on the way to the cafeteria. They were all giggling about something. Hannah was glad to see that Mindy had made friends with the others. About halfway to the cafeteria, they met up with the boys. Hannah noticed that the tall boy in Addison"s group stop Mindy and was apparently questioning the girl. Mindy vaguely pointed toward the pier and Kyle left the others and walked over to where Hannah and LeeAnn were. He smiled at Hannah. "Nice to see you again, mam. Come on, LeeAnn; let"s go to lunch. I don"t know about you but I"m starved. Must be all this fresh air that"s making me hungry. What about you?" Though she said nothing, LeeAnn rose and joined Kyle. Hannah was surprised. Kyle kept a comfortable distance from the girl and maintained a one-way conversation with her the entire way to the cafeteria. He didn"t seem at all bothered by the fact that she didn"t reply. "Ready to bang your head against the pier in frustration?" Donna Michaels smiled down at her. Hannah stood. "I don"t think I"ve ever met anyone quite like LeeAnn." Donna sighed. "And I hope you never do again. That little girl has so much pain inside and we can"t do anything to reach it. Addison is at his wits end trying to help her. I think that"s one of the reasons he"s brought us all up here." "What happened to her?" Donna sighed. "We honestly don"t know everything. About three months ago a deputy sheriff found her walking down the road in a daze. She"d been beaten and had obviously been wandering on her own for several days." "Poor child. No wonder she didn"t want me to touch her." Hannah remarked. "The deputy got her to the hospital but she wouldn"t talk to anyone. Wouldn"t tell anyone who she was or what had happened. Finally they ran her fingerprints just hoping to find a match." "Did they?" Donna nodded. "They matched with a little four year old girl who had been kidnapped from a city park twelve years earlier. LeeAnn"s parents were thrilled to find her. It didn"t matter that she wouldn"t talk or that they had no idea where she"d been; their baby was home." Hannah sighed. "Let me guess. The happy-ever-after wasn"t so happy." "Luke and Angela Wimberton tired hard. They just knew if they were patient enough and loved her enough that everything would be all right. But LeeAnn didn"t get better. She stayed locked away in her self imposed exile. She also began running away. She"d usually only be gone for a few hours or a day before she was found. The last time though she was missing for two days. Luke and Angela had to admit that they needed help. Hannah"s heart went out to the fragile young girl. No wonder she was so withdrawn. "Thank you for telling me. Maybe Addison is right and this weekend will improve things." ********* Meanwhile Peter and Addison had noticed the exchange between Kyle and LeeAnn. Addison and Donna had already filled him in on all the kids and why they were with Addison. "What"s the deal between Kyle and LeeAnn?" Addison shrugged. "I don"t know. Kyle took a protective interest in her right away. I think she reminds him of Sam." "And she trusts him?" Peter was surprised after what Addison had told him. Addison frowned. "I think tolerates is more the word you are looking for. I don"t think LeeAnn trusts anyone. That"s the main problem. If I could get her to trust just one person I think I could help her." ********* Shelby watched as Kyle and LeeAnn headed through the line. Without a doubt, next to Scott, Kyle was the cutest boy she"d seen since coming to Mt. Horizon. She looked at Taylor who had sat opposite her. "What does he see in her?" Taylor grinned. "Besides the fact that she"s a major hottie? I think he feels sorry for her. But they ain"t a couple. The Ice Princess won"t let anyone close enough to become part of a couple. But why waste your time with a gooder like Kyle when you could have me?" Shelby rolled her eyes. She looked in disgust at the way he was wolfing down his food. "Yeah, real attractive." "Just making room for more." Auggie laughed. "Yo meat, we don"t get seconds around here." "I will." Glancing around, Taylor saw that the adults were talking in the line and not paying them any attention. "Coast is clear, Mindy." Without wasting a minute Mindy switched trays with Taylor. Now it appeared that she had almost finished her meal while he was just starting his. Juliette"s eyes widened. She thought she had tried everything but this was something she"d never dreamed of doing. Kat frowned. "You aren"t going to eat?" Mindy shrugged. "It"s the last meal I"ll get to skip out on the rest of the weekend. Addison and Donna will be watching us like hawks once we are on the trail." The Cliffhangers exchanged a look. It appeared both groups had a lot they could teach the other. TBC "Okay, we are going to be doing a lot of walking tomorrow so group will be short tonight. I want to welcome our visitors who are sitting in." The Cliffhangers looked around. They really didn"t mind the Point of Hope group joining in. As the day had progressed they had gotten to know the visiting teens with the exception of LeeAnn really well. Everyone seemed to get along great. "Addison, I really can"t do this." Mindy groaned. "I"m exhausted and sore and we haven"t" really done anything yet. If you make me go, I don"t think I"ll make it." "You"ll be fine, Mindy." Addison looked at Peter. "Go ahead. My group is used to opening these sessions with gripes and the like." Kat laughed. "You should think about adding that to group yourself, Peter." Peter shook his head. "I know you guys too well. If I let you get started, I"d never get anything else accomplished. Okay, for our newcomers, I start a phrase and call on someone. That person finishes the phrase and calls on someone else until everyone has gone." He waited to make sure everyone understood before continuing. "I am happiest when.... Juliet." "I don"t feel like I have to please everyone. Scott." "I am competing. Kyle." The Point of Hope teen thought for a moment. "I remember the fun times I had with my best friend." His voice choked a little before he turned to the pretty blonde in his group. "Mindy." "I am the perfect size. Shelby." "I am in control. LeeAnn." The quiet teen said nothing. Peter shot Shelby a hard look. He knew that by know all the Cliffhangers had realized how withdrawn LeeAnn was. He also knew that Shelby had called on LeeAnn just to see what would happen if she didn"t respond. He wondered if he or Addison should step in. He looked to Addison for how to proceed. But before Addison could say or do anything Kyle jumped up. "Leave her alone." Taylor rolled his dark eyes. "Sir Kyle the Goodhearted to the rescue. Better watch it Shelby, Kyle doesn"t let anyone pick on the Ice Princess." Without wasting a second, Kyle jumped up and tackled the smaller boy. The Cliffhangers watch amazed as the two boys rolled on the ground, each trying to get the best of the other. Group sometimes got intense but it didn"t usually end in a fistfight. With a look at Peter, Addison grabbed Kyle while Peter pulled Taylor up off the floor. Both men kept a tight grip on the boys who were still straining to get back to the fight. With a frowned Peter looked at Shelby, hoping to regain some semblance of control on the room. "Shelby, choose someone else." "Why?" Shelby frowned. Group was just starting to get interesting. So Kyle had a thing for LeeAnn. He would be as challenging to win over as Scott was. "Everyone is supposed to participate. Why is she so different?" Peter was about to reprimand the petulant girl when the object of their conversation stood up and looked at the door, refusing to look at anyone. Across the room where they had been watching everything, Donna grabbed Hannah"s arm in amazement. Had Shelby somehow gotten through to LeeAnn? "I am happiest when I"m left alone." The words were low and without emotion, especially compared to everyone else. But that one sentence stopped everyone. The whole room stared at the troubled young girl. The words themselves were a plaintive call for help. Hannah"s heart went out to the young girl once again. Without another word, LeeAnn left the lodge as silently as she had entered. "Don." Addison"s voice was a mix of concern and warning. Donna nodded and rose. "I"ll follow her. Hannah, please come with me." As the two women left the room, Peter and Addison looked at the remaining teens. Peter shook his head. "The next couple of days are going to be hard and long. Everyone is going to have to work together. That"s not going to happen if you are all going at each other"s throats every other minute. Be sensitive to everyone"s needs and pain. Now, I suggest you all go to your dorms." ***** "Well, that was a fun group." Shelby retorted once the girls were back in their dorm. LeeAnn hadn"t returned but they had seen her wondering aimless toward the lake, Hannah and Donna following discreetly behind. "Well if you hadn"t started in on LeeAnn..." Juliet rolled her eyes as Shelby gave her an innocent "What did I do" look. "Taylor and Kyle have been going at each other like that since the day LeeAnn came to Point of Hope. Taylor loves to torment her because she won"t stand up for herself and I think Kyle has the hots for her. I don"t know why. She"s weird the way she won"t talk. It"s like living with a walking, breathing brick wall." Kat joked. "Taylor and Kyle remind me of Auggie and Scott fighting over Juliet. "Yeah, really." Daisy agreed with a smile. "Okay, I have to ask. I think we can all agree that LeeAnn definitely has problems. You obviously could give Jules some serious competition in a race to see who can be thinnest. But give us the low down on the guys. The little fight in group aside, all three of them seem normal. Especially Danny, what"s his story?" "Danny"s parents raised him in this really weird cult that believed in torture and drugs. His aunt and uncle found out about some of the cult"s practices and kidnapped him away from there. They had no trouble then getting custody of Danny. But the place really messed him up. They put him in Point of Hope to kind of straighten him out. Reverse brainwashing almost." They stopped talking when the door opened. LeeAnn entered and settled down on her bed without so much as a look at the other girls. Hannah and Donna followed behind her. Hannah smiled at the girls. "Time for bed, girls. Lights out in five minutes. We have a long day ahead of us. Kat, can I see you for a moment?" Kat nodded and followed her friend outside. Hannah checked to make sure none of the others were listening. "Kat, I need you to do me a favor." "Sure Hannah, what is it?" "Donna and Addison are worried that LeeAnn may try to run away. Try to keep an eye on her tonight and come get me if she tries to leave." Kat nodded. "Is she okay? Do you want me to try to talk to her?" Hannah sighed. She knew she could count on Kat. The beautiful teen would make a wonderful counselor one day. "I don"t think it would do any good. She"s a very troubled girl, Kat. She doesn"t trust anyone and until she learns that she can trust Addison or at least one person, she"s not going to open up. The best thing you could do beside making sure she doesn"t run is make sure Shelby doesn"t give her a hard time. We both now that underneath that tough exterior Shelby means well but I don"t know if LeeAnn"s fragile psyche can take too much of Shelby." "Okay, Hannah. I"ll take care of things. Don"t worry." Kat returned to the cabin and Donna and Hannah left. Mindy looked at the others. "Okay, now that the adults are gone we can get to the juicy stuff. There is nothing going on in the romance department at Point of Hope. Taylor is just an immature little cretin, useful for a few things but no one"s idea of a good boyfriend. Danny needs a serious haircut and personality. Kyle is a major babe but way too intense. But I couldn"t help but notice that there are a lot of cute guys here. Don"t try to tell me there aren"t some serious prospects here. So, who"s dating who?" Shelby rolled her eyes. She didn"t really want to hear Juliet gush on and on about her and Scott. "I"m getting a shower. Later." Mindy watched her leave and wrinkled her brow. "Was it something I said or does she just have a general bad attitude?" Juliet smiled. "Scott and I are a couple. She and Scott are not a couple. She doesn"t like either of those facts." "But she couldn"t take her eyes off Kyle all day long." Daisy laughed. "That"s Shelby." Kat was watching LeeAnn. She wondered if the teen was even aware of the conversation going on around her. She wished she knew what was going on with the pretty teen. LeeAnn was well aware of the activity around her. But the petite teen shut everything out except enough to know that everyone was still awake. She couldn"t wait until they were all asleep and she could sneak out. She silently cursed herself. She thought she was getting better. In the two weeks she"d been at Point of Hope, she"d been able to safely keep her emotions locked away. She knew what the others thought of her but that didn"t matter. So long as she kept her feelings so deeply buried that it was like she was in a cocoon, she could survive. It was only when she could feel her control on her emotions slip that she had to get away. She couldn"t afford to let anyone see her lose control. And right now her grasp on her emotions was tenuous at best. There was a scream of fear, frustration, and anger bubbling just under the surface, threatening to choke her. It had been building since the moment the van pulled onto the grounds of Mt. Horizon. When she had left the lodge earlier she"d planned on going just a little ways into the woods and allowing the scream and the tears to take over. But Donna and the red headed woman form Mt. Horizon had followed her, not allowing even a moment of solitude. She"d been forced to contain herself just a little longer. Someone sat beside her on the bed. LeeAnn tightly closed her eyes, hoping they"d go away. It had to be one of the Cliffhangers. Mindy had long since given up trying to get any response out of her. It was one of the things she liked about the way too thin girl. A hand touched her shoulder but LeeAnn pulled away. "LeeAnn, are you okay?" Kat was worried. The girl was practically shaking as she lay there. She wondered if she should send for Hannah or Donna. "She"s not going to answer you." Mindy insisted. The thin blonde rolled her green eyes. "Trust me. Taylor can be a complete jerk but he"s pretty accurate calling her Ice Princess. I told you earlier talking to LeeAnn is like talking to a brick wall, worse maybe." LeeAnn tuned the others out. She rolled over on her side away from Kat"s penetrating stare. Why couldn"t they just leave her alone? Couldn"t they see that right now she was vulnerable? It was all she could do not to run screaming from the cabin in spite of the reaction she knew it would stir in the kids as well as Addison and Donna. She forced her self to breathe deeply through her nose to keep even the barest whimper from sounding from her throat. At long last the room was silent and dark. LeeAnn opened her eyes and was relieved to see that everyone was asleep. There could be no better time to get away for just a bit; just long enough to give in to the raw emotions that clawed at her throat. She eased out of bed and stealthily made her way to the door. She eased it open and stepped outside. Before she could close the door, however, a hand grabbed the frame. "Who are you running from? Us or yourself?"

"Okay, now let"s see what"s going on with Sam"s ears." The pediatrician picked up the infant. Annie glanced over to where Kalee was sitting playing with David. She hid a smile at how at ease the teen was with the infant. For someone who wasn"t used to babies she certainly took to them quickly. Yep, definitely a soft touch. "Kalee, why don"t you take him down to the cafeteria? Our oldest son Matt works there. Eric should be there. That"s where he was going to meet us after his appointment." "What do you say, David? Ready to blow this popcicle stand before that doctor decides to give us both a shot?" David smiled and cooed as if he understood her. Kalee laughed and hugged him. She looked at Annie. "We"ll see you down there then." As she carried him out of the doctor"s office, she remembered one of the silly tunes her father used to sing to her. For the first time in for as long as she could remember she felt safe and happy. She began to sing softly to him. "I had a tiny turtle whose name was Tiny Tim; I put him in the bathtub to see if he could swim. He drank up all the water and ate up all the soap. Now, he"s home sick in bed with a bubble in his throat." She bypassed the elevator and chose the stairs instead. Once in the stairwell, she started the second verse of the song, this time a little louder. She didn"t think anyone else would be in the stairwell. Therefore she was surprised and embarrassed when she met a woman in a cleaning uniform coming up the stairs. Kalee blushed and ducked her head. As she reached the landing to the turn, recognition dawned. She turned to look at the woman. "Mom?" The woman turned, her eyes that were locked on Kalee were almost hateful. "So it was you then. What are you doing here? How did you find me?" Before yesterday, Kalee wouldn"t have thought anything about the cold scornful tone her mother had always used on her. But only one evening in the warm, caring Camden household had taught her what she"d missed out on. She looked down. "I didn"t know you were here. You moved to Glen Oak?" The older woman frowned. "Of course, Don and I couldn"t stay in San Diego and risk you showing back up. Nothing"s changed. You"re still not welcomed in my home." Instinctively, she clutched David protectively closer. She knew without a doubt that he would never grow up being talked to in such a way. "It"s okay. I don"t want to be where I"m not wanted." Just then her mother noticed the baby in her arms. "Who"s that? It"s worse than I thought then. You were pregnant when you left. If figures you were sleeping around. Don"t expect me to take responsibility for your mistakes. You made your bed now lie in it." David let out a protesting cry at how tight she was holding him. Kalee forced herself to relax her hold just enough that he wouldn"t cry. What was her mom thinking? She had to know that she hadn"t even been gone long enough to have a baby this age, even if she wanted to believe the worst about her. "He"s not mine, Mom. I"m staying with his family right now." Her mother stepped closer to her, her eyes bright with anger. "Don"t lie to me. What family would take you in, much less trust you with their child?" Tears filled her eyes as Kalee took a step backward. She didn"t realize how close she was getting to the edge of the landing. "It"s true, Mom. Rev. Camden and his wife are really nice people. They have seven kids but they still invited me to stay with them." Her mother slapped her. "Don"t back talk me. I"m no fool; nobody would want you staying with them but especially not someone with seven kids of their own. Unless you are giving them a good payment, like maybe sleeping with the preacher or something." David was crying harder now. Kalee bounced him a little on her hip to try to comfort him. "Rev. Camden isn"t like that. He"s going to help me find Dad." "What makes you think that no account wants you? He walked away on your fifth birthday and never looked back. He didn"t want you then and he won"t want you now. Now go away from here before you make me lose my job." Kalee knew she should turn and walk away. She would have but her talk with Annie the night before ad given her the inkling of hope that her father did love her. "He made me that tape." Her mother reared back to strike her again. Reflexively, Kalee stepped back to avoid it. When she did, her foot hit empty space and she began to fall down the stairs. Automatically she curled up into a ball to protect David as best she could. It didn"t prevent her head from clipping a step as she fell. At the base of the stairs she lay there dazed and fighting off the blackness that threatened to pull her under. From the landing, her mother turned her back on her and continued up the stairs. *********** "I just can"t see how any parent could kick their child out of the house." Eric shook his head as he finished telling Matt about their house-guest. Amazingly, Matt didn"t seemed as shocked as Eric would have thought. "You"d be surprised by how many parents do just that. We studied about it in my Social Issues class last semester. They call the kids throwaways because basically that"s what the parents have done." For a moment Eric just stared at him. "This happens a lot?" Matt nodded. It wasn"t often that there was a subject he knew more about than his father. But he wished this wasn"t one of them. He"d been sickened during class as the professor had talked about these kids who had no one. "According to Dr. White, throwaways make up a larger percentage of the kids on the street than runaways. Dad, I think it"s great that you and Mom are helping her but be careful around her." Eric shook his head. "There"s nothing to worry about, Matt. She"s just a scared sweet kid who needs to know someone cares about her." Matt leveled his gaze at his father. "That"s what I afraid of. She"s been hurt so much already; she doesn"t need to be hurt anymore. If I know you and Mom at all, you"ve already smothered her with love and kindness. While she may need it, what"s going to happen when she has to leave? Is she going to find anyone else who will treat her as great as you and Mom? Before she met you she may never have known what it was like to have someone be nice to her. Now she"ll know and she"ll miss it if she doesn"t get it." Eric ducked his head. He hadn"t even thought of that. "You"re right, we do need to draw a careful line between helping her and doing worse harm. When did you get to be so smart?" Matt smiled. He was once more grateful to have had such great parents. "I had a good teacher. Don"t stop helping her, Dad, she needs you too much. Just be sensitive and be careful about where she goes when she leaves." Eric nodded. "Sgt. Michaels is trying to locate her father for me. I"m really praying hard that when we find him, he won"t turn his back on her." "Hey, guys, where"s Kalee?" Annie joined them and kissed Matt on the cheek. Eric frowned. "I thought she was with you." Annie"s eyes grew in concern. "I sent her down here to meet the two of you fifteen minutes ago." "Eric, Annie, I didn"t think I would ever find you." Julie Hastings hurried up to them as fast as her pregnant body could move. Eric touched her arm in concern. "Julie, are you okay?" Julie nodded. "There"s a girl in the stairwell... Hank and I found her when we were leaving the cafeteria... She"s fallen down the stairs... She won"t let us near her but she"s... she"s got David." Eric and Annie exchanged a look. "Kalee, where is she?" *********** The three Camdens followed Julie out of the cafeteria to where Hank was waiting at the doorway to the stairwell. Annie grew even more worried when she saw the worried look on Hank"s face. She handed Sam to Julie. "Is she okay, Hank?" Eric asked. "She"s injured." Hank didn"t bother to ask how they knew her; he simply gave them the information they wanted to know. "I think she fell down the stairs. It looks like she hit her head but she won"t let me get close enough to check her out." Annie squeezed past him. "Kalee, sweetheart, are you okay?" The teen relaxed when she saw it was Annie. She relinquished a crying David into his mother"s arms. "I hope he"s okay. I tried to protect him the best I could. I"m so sorry." Annie took just a minute to assure herself that David was all right before handing him to Matt. "He"s fine, Kalee, just scared. What about you? You look like you have a bump on the head." Kalee moved slightly and groaned. Her whole body felt like one big bruise. It reminded her of how she had felt a couple of months earlier when she"d jumped from a moving car. She had made the mistake of accepting a ride with a seemingly nice man who then wouldn"t let her out of the car. She had waited until he had slowed for a stop sign before jumping out of the car. "I"ll live." "We should still take her over to the ER to get checked out." Hank suggested. "What made you fall?" Eric noticed the hand print bruise on her cheek. His eyes darkened. "I think the question is more like who made you fall. What happened, Kalee?" She didn"t want to tell them. If she did her mother would get in trouble and be even madder at her. "I lost my balance and missed a step." Eric lightly touched her bruised cheek. "Since when did these stairs have hands? Kalee, we want to help you but you"ve got to trust us. If someone hurt you we need to know so we can stop it from happening again." Kalee looked down. "It won"t. I"m sorry. I didn"t mean to cause all this commotion. I"ll be fine. Can"t we just leave?" Annie looked to Eric. She was as concerned as he was but was afraid that if they pushed too hard, she would retreat. "Eric..." He ignored the one word warning Annie had given him. "Kalee, please, who hurt you?" With a throbbing head and a soreness she was sure would only get worse, Kalee began to cry. Why wouldn"t they leave her alone? With a glare that warned him not to say anything else, Annie held the crying girl. She rocked back and forth with her exactly the same way she did for Sam and David. "It"s okay, Kalee, you"re safe now. I won"t let anyone hurt you anymore." Kalee held onto Annie tightly as if she needed a lifeline. In that safe, secure position, she began to open up to them. "I didn"t know she was here but she wouldn"t believe me. She thought David was my baby. She said such horrible things." "Your mother is here?" Eric probed gently. He knew Annie was protecting the young girl but knew they had to know what was going on. Kalee nodded. "Apparently she works here. If I"d known I never would have come here with you. I don"t want to cause her any more trouble than I"ve already have." Julie passed Sam over to Eric and joined Annie in the stairwell. As both women tried to comfort the teen, Hank pulled Eric into the hallway. It was clear the doctor was upset that any hospital employee could cause something like this. "Eric, do you know this woman"s name? I have to report this." "Someone"s got to. We can"t let her get away with this." Matt agreed. He too was extremely upset, more so because he knew the whole story. Eric nodded. "I don"t know much but Sgt. Michaels was able to give me her name. Katherine Corridly." The name meant nothing to Hank. As an OB/GYN, he saw most of his patients in the delivery room and didn"t get to meet all the employees. Matt, however, recognized the name immediately. "She works in housekeeping. I"ve seen her in the cafeteria. She"s the unfriendliest person I have ever met. She"s been warned a couple of times about coming to work drunk." Hanks shook his head. "This will probably be the last straw then. Eric, Kalee really should get checked out. But if she won"t go over to the ER, then you and Annie need to keep an eye on her. She may have a concussion." "We"ll take care of it. Thanks." "No problem. Let me know if I can do anything." Eric shook his hand as Annie and Julie helped Kalee to her feet. Though she moved stiffly like she was sore, she didn"t seem any worse for wear. Eric smiled at her. "Let"s go home." **** Twenty minutes later, Annie was leading Kalee upstairs to check on her head. Julie, who had insisted on coming along to help, took the twins up to their room for a nap. Matt and Eric went to the living room. "Hey Dad, the answering machine is blinking. I still can"t believe Mom talked you into this thing." "It comes in handy sometimes." Eric assured his oldest son as he played the message. "Eric, this is Sgt. Michaels. I"ve found Lee Westling. Give me a call." Eric wasted no time returning the call. After a quick conversation, he hung up the phone and turned to Matt. "Lee Westling is working at the Washburne Club, here in town. Sgt. Michaels has agreed to go with me to talk to him." "I"m going too." Eric didn"t try to argue with him. Perhaps, the more people who confronted him on behalf of his daughter would convince Lee Westling not to turn his back on Kalee again. He nodded. "Let"s go." "Eric, where are the two of you going?" Julie asked as Eric and Matt headed toward the door. She paused on the stairs. "Sgt. Michaels found Kalee"s dad. We"re going to meet him. Tell Annie for me, will you?" Julie nodded. Annie had already filled her in on what had happened to Kalee. "Of course. Do you want me to tell Kalee as well?" Eric shook his head. "No sense getting her hopes up until we know something for sure. Hopefully maybe by tonight, she"ll be reunited with her father." Julie waited until the door closed behind the two guys before caressing her baby-swollen abdomen. She frowned. "Or else, she"ll be even more broken hearted than ever." *** As the three men stepped into the Washburne Club, they had to blink at the sudden darkness. They waited until their eyes adjusted to the dim light before Sgt. Michaels asked the bartender where they could find Lee Westling. "Lee? He"s not in any trouble, is he?" Eric was both glad and worried that Sgt. Michaels was in uniform. Glad because it gave an air of importance and authority that otherwise wouldn"t have been there. But at the same time, he was worried it might scare Kalee"s father off. "We just need to talk to him." The bartender pointed to a handsome man with gray hair on the other side of the room. The man was alternately playing the guitar and marking a sheet of music. When he saw the three of them approaching he set the guitar aside. Eric thought it was odd that he didn"t look surprised to see them. "Lee Westling?" "Yeah, that"s me. She finally did it, huh? I figured that after the letter I sent her she would send the police after me. Well, frankly I don"t care. I"m tired of all this stupidity. I"m ready to fight for what"s mine." Sgt. Michaels frowned. "What are you talking about, Mr. Westling?" Now he did look surprised. "Katie didn"t send you? Why are you here?" "Mr. Westling, I"m Eric Camden. I"m a pastor here in Glen Oak. We need to talk to you about your daughter." Lee Westling"s face fell. "I don"t have a daughter." ***************** Annie sank into the couch and closed her eyes. Julie, who was sitting next to her smiled and squeezed her sister-in-law"s shoulder. "You okay, Annie?" Annie opened her eyes but stared straight ahead. She couldn"t stop the tears from welling up and spilling over. Finally she shook her head. Julie took the woman in her arms and held her tightly. "I"m mad and hurt and saddened. How dare that woman do that to that sweet girl? Kalee insists her mother didn"t actually push her but still she didn"t even check to see if she was okay. Kalee and David could have been seriously injured and she didn"t care enough to check on them." Tears welled up in Julie"s eyes. "You and I were lucky. We both had warm and caring moms who raised us. Your kids have that same kind of wonderful mother. I hope I"m half as good a mom as you are to those kids. It"s hard for us to picture anything else. But look what you are doing for Kalee. You and Eric have taken her in and given her the love she hasn"t had." Annie smiled a little. "She is such a good kid. She"s great with the twins and Ruthie thinks she"s the next best thing to slice bread. I just can"t see how anyone could not just love her to pieces." "Eric and Matt left while you were upstairs. They"re going to talk to her father. Are the odds good that he"ll want her?" Annie sighed. "I don"t know. Kalee hasn"t heard from him in eleven years. Maybe it"s wishful thinking but I think he will." Before Annie could answer, the doorbell rang. Annie frowned, wiped her eyes and rose to answer the door. She was surprised to see a woman she didn"t know standing there. Then she realized how much the woman favored Kalee. The woman pushed past Annie. "Where is she? Where is that brat that cost me my job? I"ll teach her a thing or two about manners." **************** Matt"s eyes glazed with anger. "What"s the matter with you? You can"t have a child and then just decide she doesn"t exist because it"s more convenient for you. What kind of father is that?" Lee Westling"s shoulders slumped. "A lousy one. That"s why I can"t call myself her father. She deserves better." Eric was surprised by the admission. "Maybe, but you are all she"s got. She needs you." "Rev. Camden, Kalee doesn"t need me. More importantly she doesn"t want me. Why would she after all this time? She"s better off with Katie and Don then somebody weak like me. They"re the ones who"ve been there for her." Eric put a restraining hand on Matt"s arm. He could tell the boy was about to lose control. "Yeah, sure they"ve been there for her. Right up until they threw her out on the street." Lee stood abruptly, all color drained from his face. "What?!" ******************** "What right do you have busting in here like this? Get out of my house." Annie warned Katherine Corridly. Kalee"s mom glared at her. "I"m not going anywhere until I"ve seen my daughter." Annie folded her arms across her chest. All the anger she had felt toward the woman was bubbling to the surface. "How did you know she was here?" "They accused me at the hospital of pushing the girl staying with the Camdens down the stairs. It wasn"t hard to find you. Now, where is that girl and her brat?" The three women didn"t notice that Kalee had appeared from upstairs. She had heard the commotion and stopped. Now she settled on the step to listen to what was said. "Kalee is taking a nice long soak in the tub because of the bruises she got from falling. That brat as you called him is my son. Kalee was helping watch him. Fortunately, Kalee showed more consideration toward him than you did and protected him from getting hurt. Now then, I think you"ve done quite enough for one day. Please leave before I call the police and have you removed." "She got me fired today." Julie laughed at that. "Hardly, you got yourself fired with a little help from my husband. You"re just lucky he didn"t involve the police." Just then Katherine spotted Kalee on the stairs. She lunged for her. "You! Come here, you little monster. I"m going to make you wish you were never born!" ******** The four men had moved to a table. Lee had his head in his hands as Eric told him what he knew about Kalee. He looked up when Eric finished. "Katie kicked her out? I can"t believe her. If I had known she would ever pull such a stunt..." "What, what would you have done differently?" Matt asked, still a slight hint of bitterness evident. Lee sighed. "Probably nothing. I was a coward eleven years ago; too scared for myself to do what was right. I loved Kalee. You have to believe me. The day I left, I left the best part of myself behind. My marriage was over; my wife was having an affair and didn"t want me anymore. The only bright spot in my life was my little girl. I wanted to take her with me but I knew Katie would never agree to give me full custody. I would have settled for joint custody. Every other weekend and two weeks in the summer wouldn"t have been much but at least it would have been something. I would have settled for it." "So why didn"t you?" Sgt. Michaels spoke up. "The night I left, Katie told me that if I tried for any type of custody she would tell the court that I was molesting Kalee. There was no way I could ever hurt my little girl and Katie knew it. That wouldn"t have stopped her though. False accusations of child abuse to win custody cases were all the rage then. I told myself that I was protecting Kalee by not fighting Katie. Told myself that I didn"t want to drag put her through that. The truth was though that I was just plain scared. Scared that I would be found guilty even though I was innocent. So I convinced myself that she would be all right with her mom and I left. But I couldn"t forget her. I made her a tape for her to remember me by and I"ve written her every Christmas and birthday." Eric"s cheeks were streaked with tears. "She says she hasn"t heard from you since the day you left." "Katie must have destroyed the letters and just kept the checks. I called Katie a couple of years after I left to tell her that I was concerned because I hadn"t heard anything back from Kalee. She told me Kalee didn"t want anything to do with me." Eric touched the man"s arm. "She wants your love very much but she"s afraid you don"t love her." "A day hasn"t gone by that I don"t think of her. I love her very much. I"ve never been a very religious man but I"ve prayed every night for eleven years that I could make things up to her. Reverend, do you think God"s answering my prayers?" "Yeah, I think He is. Yours aren"t the only ones He"s answering." "What letter did you send?" Matt asked suddenly, his eyes narrow. "When we first got here, you said you"d been expecting us since you sent that letter. What did it say?" Lee took a moment to regain his composure. "I found out that Katie and Don had moved here to Glen Oak. I"ve been here for a couple of years singing here at the club. An old college pal owns the place and gave me a job. I was tired of running from my family, scared of what might happen. I wrote her and told her I didn"t care what she tried to do to me. I wanted visitation rights if she wanted to continue to receive child support payments." He took a deep breath. "Rev. Camden, I know I"ve made some awful mistakes but I want to at least try to make up for them. Will you take me to my daughter?" ************ Kalee shrank back in fear as her mother lunged toward her. Before Katherine could reach her, Annie stepped between them. Annie"s eyes were flashing with righteous fury. "Don"t. Don"t you dare step one foot closer to her. Your days of hurting and belittling her are through. Do you hear me?" "You can"t tell me what to do; I"m her mother." Annie shook her head. "No, no you"re not. A mother loves and nurtures her children. She"s there to hold them when they cry and help them when they are sick. A mother will give her life to protect her child from the very things you have done to yours." Julie hung up the cordless phone. "I called the police station. They are paging Sgt. Michaels now." Katherine ignored the pregnant woman. "Don"t preach to me about motherhood. What do you know about being a mother?" Annie chortled. "Oh, I know plenty about being a mother. I have seven children. And believe me, there are times when they mess up and there are times when one or more of them stretches my last nerve. I can"t count the times when I"ve wished I could just take a ten minute break from them but I have never, ever, even thought about hurting one of them at all." Katherine rolled her eyes. "What"s she to you?" "Something you could never understand. I"ve only known her for a day and I already love her like she was my own. You"ve hurt her enough. If you aren"t here to apologize for all that you"ve done to her then get out. She doesn"t need you." Katherine lifted her chin in defiance. "And if I don"t?" "Then I"ll arrest you." Sgt. Micheals stood in the doorway. Eric and Matt were behind him. Knowing that they would take care of things, Annie turned her attention to Kalee. The teen wrapped her arms around the older woman. She hesitated for just a second. "Did you mean all that?" "You know I did." "Reverend Camden was right then. You are "or what.'" Annie gave her a confused look. Kalee smiled and laughed. "Yesterday at the church, he told me you had seven children. I asked him if you were crazy or what. He said he"d go with the "or what.' I agree with him." "YOU! What are you doing here?" Annie and Kalee looked up at Katherine"s shrill tone. They were surprised to see an unfamiliar man standing in the doorway with Eric, Matt, and Sgt. Michaels. It took Kalee only a minute to recognize him. "Dad?" Her voice was barely a whisper. "Katie, get out of here. I won"t let you hurt Kalee anymore." If anything, this only infuriated the woman even more. She turned her wrath on her ex-husband. "What makes you think you have any more right to be here than I do? You walked away eleven years ago." "Only because I was too afraid to stand up to you and fight for her. Well, I"m not afraid any more. I thought you pushed me out of her life because you loved her. But you did it just to spite me. I hope you and Don are happy together because he"s probably the only one who could put up with you." "You won"t get away with this." "I think I will. But if not, then the only thing that matters is that finally Kalee will know the whole truth. If I can convince her to give me a second chance, then nothing else matters." Without another word Katherine left. Annie and Kalee joined the others at the foot of the stairs. Father and daughter stared at each other. Finally Lee cleared his throat. "Kalee, I"m so sorry. There"s no excuse for me not being there for you. I shouldn"t have let her scare me. I don"t deserve it but I"m begging for your forgiveness." Speechless, Kalee tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. All she had hoped for was that her father wouldn"t turn his back on her. She"d never expected to see him crying and begging her to forgive him. With a sob, she threw her arms around him and held on tight. With obvious relief, Lee pulled her close and held her shaking body. Looking over her shoulder to where Eric stood between Annie and Julie. "Thank you." He mouthed silently. Eric nodded and looked Heavenward to send the thanks where it truly belonged. Leaning close to Annie, he kissed her cheek. "I think Ruthie just lost a roommate." Tears rolled down her cheeks as well. "Somehow, I don"t think she"ll mind." "Dad... I... I mean..." She stopped trying to talk. She couldn"t get words to form past the lump. Lee seemed to understand. He simply held her close and began to rock. Leaning close to her ear he began to sing. "Hush a bye Don"t you cry Go to sleep my little baby. When you wake, you will have All the pretty little ponies. Blacks and bays Dapples and grays. Running in the night. When you wake, you will have All the pretty little ponies."

Throwaway By: SparksJSH "You"ve reached the Camdens. We can"t come to the phone right now but leave a message at the beep." Eric Camden glanced at his watch as he waited for the message to finish. Finally the tape beeped. "Hey Annie, I guess you"ve gone to pick up the kids from school. It"s 3:15 and I"m leaving the church now. I"ll be home after my doctor"s visit. I love you." He hung up the phone. Every since his heart attack they were all considerably more careful about reporting in their whereabouts. That was one of the reasons why they had gotten the answering machine. Eric hated the machine but it was worth it if it kept Annie from worrying about him in the smallest fraction. He locked his office and walked through the sanctuary. He was surprised to hear someone crying. He didn"t know anyone was there. He glanced up the aisle and saw a teenage girl kneeling at the altar, sobbing. Concerned, he joined her at the altar and squatted beside her. She barely glanced up at him as she continued to cry. Eric could feel his own eyes fill up with tears. He had no idea how long she had been kneeling there but her red, splotchy, tear-stained face told him that she had been crying for a long time. He touched her shoulder. "I"m Eric Camden, the pastor here." The girl drew in a shaky breath and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I"m sorry, I didn"t know anyone was here. I didn"t mean to cause any trouble." Eric smiled. "You didn"t cause any trouble. I was leaving and happened to see you. You look like you could use someone to talk to. Are you okay?" The girl looked away and shook her head. "Not really but there"s nothing anyone can do." The teenage girl stilled looked so forlorn that Eric knew he couldn"t leave her. She looked to be Mary or Lucy"s age. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a limp ponytail and her red rimmed eyes looked haunted. His heart went out to her. "Sometimes the only thing anyone can do is just listen. I"m pretty good at that if you want to talk about what"s wrong." The girl hiccuped and shook her head. "You"ve got better things to do than listen to my problems. I didn"t mean to stop you. Go on. I"ll be fine." With one look in her eyes, Eric knew that she seriously believed that anything he had to do would be more important than him staying and listening to her. He decided he could die a happy man if he never had to see that look on anyone"s face again. "There"s no place I"d rather be right now." He took in her worn dirty jeans and her torn, stained T-shirt and realized she must have spent quite a bit of time on the streets. "What"s your name?" She just looked at him for a long moment. Eric wondered if she was trying to figure out why he would want to know or if she was deciding if she could trust him. "Kalee." Eric smiled. "A beautiful name for a beautiful girl." Kalee made a sound that resembled a snort. "Yeah, right. You left your glasses at home, right? Nobody has ever accused me of being even remotely pretty even without a week"s worth of dirt and grime. I didn"t think preachers could lie." "It"s not a lie, Kalee." Eric spoke softly. How he wanted to convince this young girl of that. Who had so shaken her self-confidence to that extreme? Reaching into his back pocket, he handed her his handkerchief. With the barest hint of a smile, she took the small white cloth and wiped her eyes. "You"ve got a nice church here. It"s so peaceful. I came in here because it was raining. I was only going to stay for a few minutes until it let up some but I lost track of time. I guess I have no right being in here. I"ve never really been a churchgoer. I"ve only visited a few times with friends." "Here?" Eric racked his brain trying to remember if he"d ever seen her here before or at any school event. He didn"t think he had. Kalee shook her head. "No, I"m not from around here." She took a deep breath. "I think it"s stopped raining. I should go. Like I said, I have no right to be here." "You don"t have to go. You"ve got as much right to be here as anyone else has. This altar is open to anyone at anytime." "Maybe so, but I"ve overstayed my welcome." Kalee started to rise. So concerned about where she would go if she left, Eric caught her arm. She winced and pulled away. Eric"s eyes widened. "Are you hurt?" Kalee shrugged. "It"s just a bruise. The security guard at the warehouse I stayed in last night wasn"t too please to find me there. I was lucky he just wanted to throw me out. Most of the time they have other ideas." Eric didn"t have to ask her what she meant. He thought of Mary and Lucy and shuddered at the thought of either of them being in that position. "How long have you been on the street?" Kalee hung her head but didn"t look ready to leave anymore. "I don"t know. I quit trying to keep track a long time ago. A few months at least. It doesn"t really matter though. There"s nothing I can do about it." Eric stepped out on a limb and hoped he wasn"t about to send her running. "You could go home." This time her response was a definite snort. "Home? I don"t have one of those, not anymore. Maybe I never did. But that"s okay cause I do a good job on my own usually. I don"t need anybody." As if to belie that statement, her stomach growled. She blushed and hoped he hadn"t heard it. Eric struggled for the right words. "We all need help sometimes, Kalee. Even preachers like me. When was the last time you had a good meal?" Kalee shrugged. "A few days or a week maybe. I can usually find a place that will let me wash dishes or something in exchange for something they are going to throw out anyway." Eric nodded. He"d expected as much. "There"s a place not far from here that serves a pretty good hamburger. I promise you won"t have to wash a single dish." "No thank you." Kalee edged a little further away from him. Eric realized that though she was talking to him, she probably didn"t trust him. She probably didn"t trust anyone. No matter how hungry she was, she probably wouldn"t go anywhere with him. He glanced at his briefcase. He suddenly remembered the apple that Annie had insisted on packing in his lunch. He hadn"t eaten it and had instead put it in his briefcase for later. It wouldn"t be much but it was the best he was going to be able to offer her until she decided she could trust him. He opened the briefcase and extended the fruit to her. She eyed it for a moment as if wondering if she could trust it. But then her stomach growled again. Finally she reached out and took it. "Thank you. Why are you being so nice to me? You don"t even know me." "You don"t have to know someone to want to help them. If one of my kids was in your place, I would hope and pray that there would be someone trustworthy who would be willing to offer a helping hand." Kalee took a big bite of the juicy apple and chewed it thoughtfully. She waited until after she had swallowed to ask a question. "How many kids do you have?" She took another bite. "Seven." Kalee coughed as she almost choked on the apple. "Seven kids? Is your wife crazy or what?" Eric had to laugh. "I"d have to say or what. Our oldest is a sophomore in college and our six-month-old twins are the youngest. You know, besides hoping and praying that someone would help one of my kids if they were in trouble, I"d also be worried to death about them. No matter what had happened, I would want to know they were okay. If you wanted, we could go to my office and you could call home, at least let your parents know you are all right." Kalee shook her head. "No, they don"t want to hear from me. They don"t care what happens to me." Eric rubbed his hand over his eyes as he wondered what he could say to convince her she was wrong. "Kalee, how old are you?" "Sixteen." "My daughter Mary is seventeen and Lucy will be sixteen in a couple of months. I don"t always understand them, especially lately. But no matter what I will always care what happens to them. That"s part of being a parent. I can"t imagine any dad being any different." Kalee finished her apple and glanced around for someplace to put the core. Eric took it from her and set it on his briefcase. She looked at him, tears once more filling her eyes. "My dad walked out on my mom and me on my fifth birthday. We haven"t heard from him since then." Eric looked away and brushed away his own tears. It never ceased to amaze him how callous some people could be. What could make a man walk out on his family like that? "That must have hurt terribly. So it"s just you and your mom?" Kalee shook her head. "No, it"s just my mom and stepfather. I was always just one more trouble they had to deal with. They never wanted me around. Why would they?" Eric could give her a long list of reasons but he realized she wouldn"t believe him. What could he say to make a difference to her? "Kalee, I"m not saying go home. You should but I can see you aren"t ready for that. Just call her, talk to her. You might be surprised." Kalee shook her head. Wrapping her arms around her knees, she buried her head in her lap. "You don"t understand. You can"t understand." Tentatively, Eric touched her shoulder. "Then help me understand." Kalee sniffled. "You said you daughters" names were Mary and Lucy?" Eric nodded. "You"re looking at me but you are seeing Mary and Lucy. I"m not them. I bet you have a nice two-story house that is always full of laughter and squabbles and all the typical family things. I bet your house is full of love. I lived in a small house that always seemed to be in need of repair. Half the time the only thing that would be in the refrigerator would be a six pack of beer and a half-eaten moldy sandwich. I spent most of my time in my room listening to Mom and Don partying and hoping they wouldn"t come in and yell at me." Eric was almost afraid to interrupt her but he had to know. "Did they hit you?" "Only once. The night I left. Don accused me of taking one of his six packs. I told him I hadn"t touched his beer but he didn"t believe me. Before I knew what had happened, I was sprawled on the floor with a bloody, broken nose." Sickened by the thought that anyone could strike a helpless young girl, Eric took her in his arms and held her close. He almost expected her to pull away but she didn"t. Her body shook as she began to cry again. "I"m so sorry you had to go through that. I don"t blame you for leaving that behind. But living on the streets is no way to live either. Running away just causes all new trouble." A hard shudder ran up her spine. "I didn"t run away. As bad as things were I would have struggled through it. I didn"t have a choice in the matter." Eric didn"t think he could take much more but he had to in order to help this hurting child. "What happened, Kalee?" "After he broke my nose, Don called my mom in. He said some horrible stuff and finally told my mom that either I had to go or he was leaving. My mom didn"t think twice. She shoved some things in a backpack, threw it at me, and told me to get out and never come back." Tears flowed down Eric"s cheeks as he continued to hold the sobbing teen. ******* The phone was ringing when Annie and the kids came into the house. Her hands were full with grocery bags and Sam. Mary was likewise encumbered with bags and David. The other three brought up the rear with more groceries. Annie didn"t worry about the phone; she knew the machine would pick up. Not for the first time was she glad she had convinced Eric to go to the expense of getting it. She put her bags on the counter and took David from Mary. "I"ll go check the machine and put the twins in the playpen. You guys put the groceries away." In the living room, the answering machine was blinking indicating there were four messages. Annie pushed play before settling the twins in the playpen. She started to get them interested in the toys that covered the floor of the pen as the first message started to play. After the first two, she made a mental note to tell Lucy and Mary that Shelby and Angie had called. The third message started. It was Eric calling from the church to let her know he was leaving for the doctor"s office. Annie smiled. She knew that he didn"t want to be smothered but loved her too much to complain about the amount of time that she spent worrying about him. The smile turned to a frown with the last message however. "This is Allison with Dr. Vickory"s office. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay since Mr. Camden missed his appointment this afternoon. Give us a call to reschedule." Annie sat down heavily on the couch. His appointment had been scheduled for 3:30. What could have happened in that fifteen minute span from his call to then? "Mom, do you want me to...?" Mary came in and froze when she saw her mother"s face. "Mom, what"s wrong?" "Your dad never made it to the doctor. I have to go find him. Something may be wrong." Mary paled. "Do you want me to go with you?" Tears of fear filled Annie"s eyes. "No, thank you. I need you to stay here and watch the others. I"ll call as soon as I find him." Mary hugged her mom as Annie started to leave. The teen could feel her mother shaking. "He"ll be fine, Mom. I"m sure of it." ******** Eric shifted ever so slightly into a more comfortable position. He glanced down to make sure he hadn"t disturbed Kalee. The poor girl had cried until she had fallen into an exhausted sleep. He had no idea how long he had sat there holding her. His watch was behind her back and he couldn"t see it. He only knew that he couldn"t leave her. He was still reeling from the revelation that her parents had thrown her out of the house. If he ever met them, he didn"t know if he could refrain from breaking her stepfather"s nose much the same way that Kalee had said hers had been broken. Never had he felt such ill will toward anyone. He looked up. "Help me, Lord. She needs help. She needs to know that she is special and that you love her. Help me to know how to do that." "ERIC?!" He could hear Annie"s frantic voice coming down the hall from the offices but he couldn"t call out to her for fear of waking the sleeping teen. A second later, Annie rushed into the sanctuary and stopped short when he saw him. Relief spread across her features as she realized he was okay. "Eric, I was so worried. They called from Dr. Vickory"s office and said you never showed up for your appointment. What happened?" As she started down the aisle she stopped when she saw Kalee. "I didn"t mean to frighten you. I was about to leave when I saw her in here crying. I couldn"t leave her, Ann." Annie took in the girl"s clothes and tearstained face. She felt an immediate sympathy for the teenager. She could understand why Eric had stayed. She knelt beside them and kissed Eric softly. "She"s so young. Is she a runaway?" Eric shook his head. His eyes filled with tears once more. "Worse, Annie. This child has spent the last few months on the street because she was kicked out of her own home. By her own mother." Annie shut her eyes. She tried to imagine any circumstance that would cause her to turn her own kids out of the house but couldn"t think of a single one. She hadn"t even been ready for the day that Matt had moved out. "Is she okay?" "Physically, yeah, I think so. She"s exhausted and hungry and bruised but that"s the most of it. But emotionally, Annie, she"s hurting bad. She believes she"s worthless and unimportant." Annie touched her husband"s cheek. She loved him more and more each day for his compassion. "You did the right thing being here for her. But, honey, she can"t stay here all night. She needs a proper meal and a warm bed to sleep in. We have to take her home." "We can"t take her back there, Annie. They kicked her out; her stepfather hit her. I...I can"t do that to her." Annie smiled patiently. "I meant our home; at least until we can figure out something better. We can put move the extra bed in Simon"s room into Ruthie"s. I"m sure she won"t mind sharing." Eric looked Heavenward, grateful that God was providing him a way to help Kalee. Then he kissed Annie. "I love you." "I love you too. Why don"t you see if you can wake her up and I"ll go call Mary? She and the others need to know you are okay and I can prepare them for our guest. I"ll be right back." Eric looked down at the sleeping girl. He whispered softly. "Kalee?" She stiffened immediately and her eyes flew open. Pulling away from him, she looked around frantically trying to get her bearings. Eric held up his hands in a non-threatening way. "Relax, Kalee. It"s me, Eric Camden, the pastor here. You"re safe; you just fell asleep." Slowly, almost reluctantly she relaxed. She studied him for a second. "You"re crying." "I couldn"t help it. As a parent, I"m appalled that any parent could hurt a child the way you"ve been hurt. As a human being, my faith in people is a little bit shaken. But as a pastor, I"m so grateful that God led you here to the safety of this church." Kalee couldn"t take her eyes off him. Her face was full of wonder. "I don"t think anybody"s ever cried for me before. I"m sorry I fell asleep like that. I didn"t get much sleep last night after the guard threw me out. I"ve taken up too much of your time. I should go." "Where?" She shrugged. "I don"t know. I"ll scout around and find someplace. Thanks for everything you did." Eric watched her carefully. He knew better than to just spring the idea of her coming home with him and Annie on her. "All I"ve done so far is listen." "Sometimes listening is all a person can do." She parroted his words from earlier. "And sometimes a person can do more. Kalee, you don"t have to go back out on the street. My wife and I want you to come home with us. At least until we can work something else out." Kalee backed away from him and eyed him in distrust. "Why? You already told me you have seven kids. You don"t need another one in your way." "You won"t be in the way." Kalee whirled around as Annie approached. The older woman smiled at the frightened teen. She could tell Kalee was about to bolt. "I"m Annie Camden, Eric"s wife. We really want you to stay with us. If you want, you can stay tonight, no strings attached. It"s already raining again and you"ll get soaked trying to find anywhere else. I"ve had a roast in the crock-pot all day and the girls are home preparing mashed potatoes to go with it. You can eat, spend the night in a warm soft bed and tomorrow feel free to leave if you want to. We won"t try to stop you." Kalee looked from Annie to Eric and back to Annie. "Why would you want me?" "Why wouldn"t we? Besides, it won"t be all fun and games for you. The kids all share one bathroom so it"s always occupied. We have six-month-old twins who still occasionally refuse to sleep through the night. My youngest daughter Ruthie, who you"ll have to share a room with, will probably talk your ear off. But what do you say, want to try life on the wild side?" She put an arm around the girl"s thin shoulders. Kalee thought about her options. She remembered the rats that had scurried about in the warehouses she had slept in. And her stomach growled once again. She still didn"t know why they would want her but she"d be crazy to turn her back on the first people who had been kind to her. "Okay, I"ll give it a try." ************************************************* "Wow, you"re quick." Kalee blushed as she entered the eight year old"s bedroom. She hadn"t been there half an hour before feeling overwhelmed by the general niceness of the whole Camden clan. She wasn"t sure what most prompted her tentative request to take a shower while waiting for dinner to be ready. It was a mixture of feeling grossly dirty and a desire to escape for a few minutes. "You were in there for ten minutes. Mary spends thirty minutes, longer if she has a date. Lucy has been known to spend hours doing who knows what in there. Even Simon spends fifteen minutes." Kalee sat down on the bed next to Ruthie. "And how long do you spend?" "Usually I try to get out of taking a bath all together but if I can"t I"m in and out so fast that I barely have time to get wet." Kalee smiled. "Most of my baths lately have been spit baths so even ten minutes feels like a lifetime." Ruthie wrinkled her nose. "Spit bath, gross." This time Kalee laughed, surprising both herself and Ruthie. How long had it been since she"d last found something to laugh about. She really liked the spunky eight-year-old. "No, Ruthie, a spit bath is when you just use a sink full of water, wash cloth and soap to quickly bathe off." Mary and Lucy lightly knocked on the door before entering the bedroom. Mary was carrying several items of clothing. Ruthie grinned at them. "I"m taking spit baths from now on." Lucy gave her sister and odd look before turning to Kalee. She winced when she saw the bruise on the girl"s now bare arm. After her shower, Kalee had put on the only other outfit she had thanks to a hasty retreat from one warehouse several weeks earlier. It was a worn pair of shorts and a thin sleeveless T-shirt. "That looks painful." Kalee barely gave it a glance. "I"ve had worse." Mary shook her head. "I"m glad I never saw the worse ones then. Lucy and I figured you might like something else to wear. My jeans are probably going to be baggy on you. But you"re taller than Lucy and way thinner than both of us." Kalee accepted the offered clothes. "Thanks, my jeans either need a heavy duty washing machine or a burn pile." "Mom can probably make them as good as new." Lucy offered. "Hey, girls, you aren"t overwhelming Kalee are you?" Annie stepped into the bedroom holding a cranky Sam. Ruthie looked up at Kalee. "I don"t know what that means. Are we?" Kalee ruffled the younger girl"s hair. "Not really." Annie knew better. "Well, dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Ruthie why don"t you go set the table. Lucy, I could use your help changing David and Mary, could you check the rolls in the oven for me?" As the three girls filed out of the room, Kalee flashed Annie a small but grateful smile. "I can give you a hand once I change clothes." "Take your time." "Thank you. I appreciate everything you and your family is doing for me. I won"t be a bother, I promise you." Annie shifted Sam to her other hip. "Sweetie, I don"t think you would even know how to be a bother if you tried. Eric and I, as well as the kids, are happy to have you here." ***** "So, Kalee, where are you from?" Simon asked as he bit into his roll. "San Diego." Eric"s eyes widened. "You"ve traveled a long way." "I"m trying to find my father. I don"t know where he is and I doubt he"d even want to see me. But he"s all I"ve got left." "Daddy could help you find him." Ruthie offered. It was clear that she had decided that Kalee was more than her temporary roommate; she was also going to be her new best friend. Kalee blushed. "I couldn"t ask that. You"ve all done so much already." Annie noticed that Kalee had finished the modest portions of food that the teen had put on her plate. "Kalee, there"s plenty if you want seconds." Trying not to call attention to herself, Kalee reached for another slice of roast and a small spoonful of potatoes. Eric suppressed a grin at her timidity. He knew she was starving but you would never be able to tell by the portions she was taking. "I could ask around. I"ve got a friend who could at least find out where he is right now. I don"t mind. Tell me his name and I"ll do the rest." "Lee Westling. You really don"t have to do this. But if you do and you find him, are you going to tell him I"m looking for him?" "Do you want me to?" Did she? Kalee took only a moment before nodding. "I don"t want to surprise him into a reunion. If he doesn"t want to see me I"ll understand. I don"t want to cause trouble." Eric said nothing but the look he gave Annie echoed her remark earlier. He didn"t think the teen knew how to cause trouble. He hoped that when he found Lee Westling, they could help Kalee see that. Most of all, he hoped the man wouldn"t prove her right. *********** Kalee woke with a start; the remnants of the nightmare still making her breathe hard and fast. Sitting up, it took her a moment to remember where she was. As her heart rate returned to normal, she glanced over at the other bed and was glad to see Ruthie was still sound asleep. She could hear one of the twins crying from down the hall. Knowing she wouldn"t sleep again for awhile, Kalee crawled out of bed and silently left the bedroom. Once at the twins" bedroom, she saw Annie rocking a crying baby. Kalee wasn"t sure which one. Annie smiled when she noticed the girl standing in the doorway. She motioned for her to come in. "I"m sorry Sam woke you up." "He didn"t." Kalee assured her. "I don"t sleep well anywhere. He looks so unhappy." She touched the baby"s cheek. "I think he"s getting an ear infection. He"s been cranky all day and I noticed earlier that he was pulling at his ear. They both have doctor"s appointments in the morning, so I"ll find out for sure. I hope Ruthie didn"t bother you too much tonight. She can get so excited at times." Kalee smiled. "She"s a sweetie. I"ve never spent much time around other kids. Even when I was in school my classmates avoided me." She looked at the other crib where David was sound asleep. "How does he sleep through that?" "He"s used to it. You know, I think Sam might be running a fever. I"d better get the medicine from downstairs. Will you hold him while I get it?" Kalee looked at the baby warily. "I"ve never held a baby in my life." Annie stood and motioned for Kalee to take her place in the rocking chair. "It"s easy. Just make sure you support his head and back. Don"t look so scared; babies don"t break that easily." Before Kalee could protest, Annie had placed Sam in the teen"s arms. The baby looked up at the newcomer through teary eyes but didn"t cry any harder. "I"ll be right back." Kalee just stared at the unhappy baby for several seconds. Then she tentatively began to rock slowly back and forth as she had seen Annie do. Almost unbidden a memory surfaced. In it, she was only a couple of years old and obviously feverishly sick. Strong arms held her protectively close and a male voice was softly singing to her. A tear spilled down her cheek as she remembered how the lullaby went. Humming it softly, the words sprang to her mind as if she"d heard it just that day. She began to sing. "Hush a bye Don"t you cry Go to sleep my little baby When you wake You shall have All the pretty little ponies. Blacks and bays Dapples and grays Running in the night When you wake You shall have All the pretty little ponies Hush-a-bye, don"t you cry Go to sleepy little baby Blacks and bays, dapples and grays Coach and six-a-little horses Hush-a-bye, don"t you cry Go to sleepy little baby." She felt someone watching her and looked up. Annie was standing in the doorway, tears in her eyes. The older woman crossed the room and knelt beside her. She placed the bottle of medicine on the counter. "You"re a soft touch." Annie whispered Kalee frowned. "What"s that mean?" Annie smiled. "It means you are a natural. Sam is sound asleep. I"ve been trying for an hour to do what you did in less than five minutes. Some people are just naturals with babies. You obviously are." Kalee glanced down. Sure enough, Sam was sound asleep, his small fist clutching the oversized T-shirt Mary had loaned her to sleep in. She grinned, awed by the sweetness and trust on his now relaxed face. Then she spotted the medicine. "I"m sorry, you wanted to give him something for fever." Annie waved off her concern. "Sleep is more important for him than any medicine. Thank you. You"ve got a beautiful voice. I love that lullaby." Kalee stared off in space. "My dad used to sing it to me. I don"t remember too much about him but the memories I do have seem to always be of him singing. That was my favorite though. When he walked out on us, he left me a tape he made of him singing all my favorite songs. I treasured it and listened to it over and over. I just knew it meant he really loved me." Annie could tell there was more to the story. After all, the girl had made it clear that she believed he didn"t want anything to do with her. "What changed your mind?" "Mom. She told me that if had really loved me, he never would have left us. She told me I was silly to believe that he ever cared about me. She...she destroyed the tape he left me." Annie shook her head. The more she learned about the woman who had borne Kalee, the more she wanted to give the woman a piece of her mind. Without a word, she transferred the sleeping infant back to his crib. She lingered at his side for just a second before turning back to Kalee. "It sounds to me like he left you something besides the tape, something your mom couldn"t destroy." "What?" Kalee"s eyes never left Annie"s face. "A talent for music. Oh, Kalee, I don"t see how someone could go to the trouble of making a tape of all your favorite songs if he didn"t care." Kalee shivered, suddenly looking small and vulnerable. "Then why did he leave? Why didn"t he ever call or visit?" Annie folded her arms around the young girl and pulled her close. "I don"t know. Hopefully we can find that out when Eric finds him." ***

"Join me?" "Do I look crazy to you?" Donna kissed him softly. "Besides, if we are leaving Wednesday, I need to run up to the attic and start pulling down the camping gear. Maybe I"ll even give Peter a call back and see what all we need for the weekend. You on the other hand better hurry or the kids will be on you about being late." Addison laughed. "Coward. Okay, I"m going." The tall man with sandy brown hair made his way down to the basement where his five charges had already gathered for their daily group session. At the bottom of the stairs, he paused to check out the kids. Mindy MacIntosh was sitting daintily on the overstuffed rocking chair. The impossibly thin girl was carefully studying her nails as if trying to decide what she needed to do with them. Although he really had no idea how the kids were going to take the news he had a feeling that he"d get his worst reaction from her. Danny Cooper was sitting cross-legged on the floor. The stocky boy with long scraggly hair would probably be the most accepting of the idea, at least on the surface. In the six months of living in the house, Danny had emerged as the most easy-going person Addison had ever met. Lounging on the couch was Taylor Good. He was grinning sardonically at the two figures on the beanbags. Addison groaned inwardly as he wondered what the teen was up to. With Taylor he could never be sure. Addison turned his attention to Kyle Sanders. The tall handsome boy with haunted eyes was shooting Taylor murderous glares from his seat on the red beanbag. Addison sighed. Normally he never had any trouble between Taylor and Kyle but that had changed two weeks ago with his newest arrival. He saved LeeAnn Wimberton for last. He hoped for once that he"d see some spark of participation in the troubled young face. But she was sitting aloof from everyone else, her legs drawn up close to her chest. She appeared oblivious to the tension between Taylor and Kyle. She was off in her own little world, a world Addison had failed to reach so far. "Yo, Addison, bout time you made it down here." Taylor shook his head. "If one of us was late we"d be in big trouble." "Sorry about that. I was on the phone. I have an announcement to make but before I get to that, are there any gripes or praise anyone needs to get off his or her chest?" He looked specifically from Taylor to Kyle but he knew neither would bring up what was going on. "Mr. Russell was giving me a hard time about my hair again today." Danny spoke up. "Can you talk to him for me?" Addison considered the boy"s hair for a second. He secretly agreed with the high school principal"s assessment that the teen needed a haircut but he at least understood where Danny was coming from. "I"ll give him a call tomorrow but I can"t make you any promises that it will do any good? Anyone else?" There was several seconds of silence. Finally Mindy spoke up. "What"s the big announcement, Addison? Are we getting a newbie or what? If we are I hope it"s a girl. I could use someone to girl talk with." Addison shook his head. "No, Mindy, we aren"t getting someone new. We are all going away for the weekend." "Great. Hawaii? Paris? Where?" Taylor sat up suddenly interested. "Nowhere like that, Taylor. A friend of mine runs a school called Mt. Horizon. We"re going there for a weekend of camping." Mindy wrinkled her nose. "Camping? As in outdoors in the dirt, with bugs and wild animals? Count me out. Show me to the nearest hotel." "Yes camping and Mindy, attendance is not optional. All seven of us are going and that"s final. Peter Scarbrow, my friend, is even going to have a group of his kids come along to show us the ropes. They are used to going on outings in the wilderness." Danny shrugged. "Camping sounds good to me. It"s been too long since I"ve slept out under the stars." "Sounds cool to me too, Addison." Kyle admitted. "I"ve always wanted to try camping." Taylor snorted. "I"ve heard of Mt. Horizon. The kids there are delinquent freaks." "Takes one to know one, Taylor." Kyle retorted. Addison knew he had to stop the argument before it escalated. "Both of you can it before I put you both on report." He stared them down until both boys hung their heads. Then he looked over at LeeAnn. "What about you, LeeAnn? Have you ever been camping before?" She didn"t respond. Addison wasn"t surprised. In the two weeks she"d been in the house, she"d barely said more than a dozen words. He only hoped the weekend getaway would provide him the opportunity to reach the troubled teen. Goodness knew that nothing else he had tried had worked. Addison looked at each of the teens. They were all as different as night and day. Each had their own share of troubles, some he knew about and some were as hidden to him as LeeAnn"s locked up emotions. Addison could only hope Peter was ready for them. "So, wait a minute, Hannah, you"re telling us that Peter is sending us on a quest with a bunch of teens who have probably never been camping before?" Scott shook his head in disgust. Hannah gave him a hard look. "That"s enough of that, Scott. It"s not like any of you started out as perfect campers. Peter and I will be going with you. Besides it will be a good chance to interact with other kids your age that are going through similar troubles that you don"t see everyday. Who knows, maybe it will be fun." Shelby looked up smugly from her seat on her couch. "You said this guy was a college friend of Peter"s?" Hannah nodded. Shelby smiled. "So if nothing else, we"ll get to hear what Peter was like in college." The others perked up at this thought. Hannah hid a smile. Leave it to Shelby to think of something like that. She wondered if she should warn Peter of this development before Addison and his group arrived. With just a hint of devilment, she decided to stay silent on that one. Thursday morning the Cliffhangers were leaving breakfast when a navy blue van pulled into the grounds and parked next to Peter"s office. A man Peter"s age climbed out of the driver"s side and a slightly younger woman exited and opened the side panel. Five teens slowly left the van stretching as they did. Ezra eyed them carefully. "I guess they are our weekend guests." Auggie rolled his eyes. "Way to state the obvious, EZ." Shelby stared at the tall handsome boy with dark hair as the man disappeared inside Peter"s office. She had to admit he was easy on the eyes. Maybe this weekend would provide more than just juicy gossip about Peter. "I think I"ll go give them a friendly Mt. Horizon hello." The others quickly knew she wasn"t interested in the "them" but rather in the boy unloading the van. But they followed Shelby over anyway; curious about the group they would be spending the weekend with. Just as they reached the van Peter emerged from the office with Addison. He wasn"t surprised to see the Cliffhangers approaching even though they were due in class at any minute now. "Gang, I"d like for you to meet Addison Michaels. That"s his wife Donna." Shelby essentially ignored the adults and smiled her most winning smile at the boy who had grabbed her attention. "I"m Shelby. I"m sure we are going to have a lot of fun this weekend." Peter steered Shelby back to the others. "Okay, Addison and his crew have been driving all night and they are all exhausted. Give them some time to get settled in. Besides, if my watch is correct, it"s time for all of you to be in class. You"ll have plenty of time to meet the others later." With a collective groan the Cliffhangers reluctantly gave the newcomers a curious look before heading off to class. Hannah approached the van. She had been coming to round up the Cliffhangers when she saw that Peter had directed them all to class anyway. Peter quickly introduced her to the Michaels. Addison shook hands with Hannah. "Nice to meet you. Peter, Hannah, allow me to introduce my kids." Peter studied each teen as Addison introduced them. Fair or not, he allowed his first impressions to compare the kids to his own group. Kyle reminded him of Kat with his seemingly easy confidence. With his slight awkwardness, Danny brought Ezra to mind. One look at Mindy and her pencil thin frame and Peter immediately compared her to Juliette. The way Taylor was still checking out every girl that walked by, a mischievous gleam in his eyes made it obvious that Taylor was the Shelby of the group. The only one he couldn"t compare was LeeAnn. Though she was standing not two feet from any one person there was an aura about her that suggested there was an impenetrable wall around her. "I"m glad you are all here." Peter assured them. "I"m sure you are all tired. We"ll get started with the orientation class after lunch. Hannah, can you show Mindy and LeeAnn to the girls" dorm while I show the boys to their cabin? Addison, I"ll take you and Donna to my place after the kids get settled." Hannah nodded. Somehow she had a feeling that this was going to be a long weekend. TBC Three hours later, Mindy was awake and rummaging through her bag on her bed. She shook her head. "I will never complain about my room again. Can you imagine having to share all the time?" As usual LeeAnn didn"t reply. Mindy rolled her eyes. She had thought it had been bad when she had been the only girl in the house besides Donna but LeeAnn"s arrival hadn"t improved things. "You get used to it after awhile." Kat assured her as the Cliffhanger girls entered the dorm. They had all agreed that morning classes had dragged on for too long. They were all curious to get to know their weekend visitors. Mindy blushed. "Sorry, I didn"t mean anything by that. It"s just at Point of Hope we all have our own bedrooms. I guess I kind of take that for granted." "Point of Hope? What"s that?" Daisy asked. "Addison"s name for his house. I don"t know where he got it from. I"m Mindy." "Kat." "Daisy." "Juliette." "Shelby." Shelby looked at LeeAnn waiting for the girl to introduce herself. But the girl continued to stare up at the ceiling. Finally Mindy answered for her. "That"s LeeAnn. She doesn"t talk much." Seeing the girls exchange glances, Mindy shrugged and parroted Kat"s earlier remark. "You get used to it after a while." Shelby laughed. "That would so not go over well here. Hannah and Peter are very into us sharing." "So is Addison. She"s only been with us for a couple of weeks. He just hasn"t worn her down yet. So tell me, are these "quests" totally gross?" Juliette nodded. "Mud from head to toe. Not to mention the blisters and the bugs." Shelby couldn"t get over the fact that LeeAnn still hadn"t said anything. She sat on the bed next to the girl. "So, what"s your story? Drugs? What?" LeeAnn still said nothing. Shelby gave her a look of disgust. "Hello, I"m talking to you, Freak." Kat frowned. "Lay off, Shelby." Without a word, LeeAnn rose and left the dorm. The five girls watched her leave. Mindy shrugged. "She"s weird. What can I say? So, tell me about this place." **************** Hannah stepped out of the office and saw a lone figure sitting on the pier skipping rocks. The tall red head bit her lip as she recognized the girl as one of Addison"s. Peter had taken the Michaels to his house so the could rest. Addison had been reluctant to leave his group at first but both Peter and Hannah had assured him that they would be fine. Just before he left he had asked Hannah to keep a special eye on LeeAnn. "She"s a runner." He had warned her. "She hasn"t tried since she"s been with me but she has a history of running away." Hannah joined the girl on the pier and sat beside her. "Hi, LeeAnn. Did you get all rested up?" Receiving no reply, Hannah reached out and touched the younger girl"s shoulder. Immediately the girl tensed up and knocked Hannah"s hand away. "DON"T TOUCH ME!" Hannah held up her hands in a non-threatening way. "Okay, I"m sorry. I didn"t know. Are you okay?" Once again there was silence. Hannah was reminded of Isaac; the boy who had OD"d earlier that year. At first he wouldn"t say much either. He had surrounded himself instead with an impenetrable wall of anger. LeeAnn had a wall around her as well but despite her reaction to Hannah touching her shoulder, it didn"t appear to be anger that separated the girl from the others. Hannah sensed fear was what drove this young girl. A van pulled in and a glance backward told her that Peter had returned with the Michaels. She was glad. She didn"t want to do anything that would set LeeAnn back or upset her further. She returned her attention back to LeeAnn. "How about we go to lunch? Peter is going to work all of you really hard this afternoon." The girls passed by on the way to the cafeteria. They were all giggling about something. Hannah was glad to see that Mindy had made friends with the others. About halfway to the cafeteria, they met up with the boys. Hannah noticed that the tall boy in Addison"s group stop Mindy and was apparently questioning the girl. Mindy vaguely pointed toward the pier and Kyle left the others and walked over to where Hannah and LeeAnn were. He smiled at Hannah. "Nice to see you again, mam. Come on, LeeAnn; let"s go to lunch. I don"t know about you but I"m starved. Must be all this fresh air that"s making me hungry. What about you?" Though she said nothing, LeeAnn rose and joined Kyle. Hannah was surprised. Kyle kept a comfortable distance from the girl and maintained a one-way conversation with her the entire way to the cafeteria. He didn"t seem at all bothered by the fact that she didn"t reply. "Ready to bang your head against the pier in frustration?" Donna Michaels smiled down at her. Hannah stood. "I don"t think I"ve ever met anyone quite like LeeAnn." Donna sighed. "And I hope you never do again. That little girl has so much pain inside and we can"t do anything to reach it. Addison is at his wits end trying to help her. I think that"s one of the reasons he"s brought us all up here." "What happened to her?" Donna sighed. "We honestly don"t know everything. About three months ago a deputy sheriff found her walking down the road in a daze. She"d been beaten and had obviously been wandering on her own for several days." "Poor child. No wonder she didn"t want me to touch her." Hannah remarked. "The deputy got her to the hospital but she wouldn"t talk to anyone. Wouldn"t tell anyone who she was or what had happened. Finally they ran her fingerprints just hoping to find a match." "Did they?" Donna nodded. "They matched with a little four year old girl who had been kidnapped from a city park twelve years earlier. LeeAnn"s parents were thrilled to find her. It didn"t matter that she wouldn"t talk or that they had no idea where she"d been; their baby was home." Hannah sighed. "Let me guess. The happy-ever-after wasn"t so happy." "Luke and Angela Wimberton tired hard. They just knew if they were patient enough and loved her enough that everything would be all right. But LeeAnn didn"t get better. She stayed locked away in her self imposed exile. She also began running away. She"d usually only be gone for a few hours or a day before she was found. The last time though she was missing for two days. Luke and Angela had to admit that they needed help. Hannah"s heart went out to the fragile young girl. No wonder she was so withdrawn. "Thank you for telling me. Maybe Addison is right and this weekend will improve things." ********* Meanwhile Peter and Addison had noticed the exchange between Kyle and LeeAnn. Addison and Donna had already filled him in on all the kids and why they were with Addison. "What"s the deal between Kyle and LeeAnn?" Addison shrugged. "I don"t know. Kyle took a protective interest in her right away. I think she reminds him of Sam." "And she trusts him?" Peter was surprised after what Addison had told him. Addison frowned. "I think tolerates is more the word you are looking for. I don"t think LeeAnn trusts anyone. That"s the main problem. If I could get her to trust just one person I think I could help her." ********* Shelby watched as Kyle and LeeAnn headed through the line. Without a doubt, next to Scott, Kyle was the cutest boy she"d seen since coming to Mt. Horizon. She looked at Taylor who had sat opposite her. "What does he see in her?" Taylor grinned. "Besides the fact that she"s a major hottie? I think he feels sorry for her. But they ain"t a couple. The Ice Princess won"t let anyone close enough to become part of a couple. But why waste your time with a gooder like Kyle when you could have me?" Shelby rolled her eyes. She looked in disgust at the way he was wolfing down his food. "Yeah, real attractive." "Just making room for more." Auggie laughed. "Yo meat, we don"t get seconds around here." "I will." Glancing around, Taylor saw that the adults were talking in the line and not paying them any attention. "Coast is clear, Mindy." Without wasting a minute Mindy switched trays with Taylor. Now it appeared that she had almost finished her meal while he was just starting his. Juliette"s eyes widened. She thought she had tried everything but this was something she"d never dreamed of doing. Kat frowned. "You aren"t going to eat?" Mindy shrugged. "It"s the last meal I"ll get to skip out on the rest of the weekend. Addison and Donna will be watching us like hawks once we are on the trail." The Cliffhangers exchanged a look. It appeared both groups had a lot they could teach the other. TBC "Okay, we are going to be doing a lot of walking tomorrow so group will be short tonight. I want to welcome our visitors who are sitting in." The Cliffhangers looked around. They really didn"t mind the Point of Hope group joining in. As the day had progressed they had gotten to know the visiting teens with the exception of LeeAnn really well. Everyone seemed to get along great. "Addison, I really can"t do this." Mindy groaned. "I"m exhausted and sore and we haven"t" really done anything yet. If you make me go, I don"t think I"ll make it." "You"ll be fine, Mindy." Addison looked at Peter. "Go ahead. My group is used to opening these sessions with gripes and the like." Kat laughed. "You should think about adding that to group yourself, Peter." Peter shook his head. "I know you guys too well. If I let you get started, I"d never get anything else accomplished. Okay, for our newcomers, I start a phrase and call on someone. That person finishes the phrase and calls on someone else until everyone has gone." He waited to make sure everyone understood before continuing. "I am happiest when.... Juliet." "I don"t feel like I have to please everyone. Scott." "I am competing. Kyle." The Point of Hope teen thought for a moment. "I remember the fun times I had with my best friend." His voice choked a little before he turned to the pretty blonde in his group. "Mindy." "I am the perfect size. Shelby." "I am in control. LeeAnn." The quiet teen said nothing. Peter shot Shelby a hard look. He knew that by know all the Cliffhangers had realized how withdrawn LeeAnn was. He also knew that Shelby had called on LeeAnn just to see what would happen if she didn"t respond. He wondered if he or Addison should step in. He looked to Addison for how to proceed. But before Addison could say or do anything Kyle jumped up. "Leave her alone." Taylor rolled his dark eyes. "Sir Kyle the Goodhearted to the rescue. Better watch it Shelby, Kyle doesn"t let anyone pick on the Ice Princess." Without wasting a second, Kyle jumped up and tackled the smaller boy. The Cliffhangers watch amazed as the two boys rolled on the ground, each trying to get the best of the other. Group sometimes got intense but it didn"t usually end in a fistfight. With a look at Peter, Addison grabbed Kyle while Peter pulled Taylor up off the floor. Both men kept a tight grip on the boys who were still straining to get back to the fight. With a frowned Peter looked at Shelby, hoping to regain some semblance of control on the room. "Shelby, choose someone else." "Why?" Shelby frowned. Group was just starting to get interesting. So Kyle had a thing for LeeAnn. He would be as challenging to win over as Scott was. "Everyone is supposed to participate. Why is she so different?" Peter was about to reprimand the petulant girl when the object of their conversation stood up and looked at the door, refusing to look at anyone. Across the room where they had been watching everything, Donna grabbed Hannah"s arm in amazement. Had Shelby somehow gotten through to LeeAnn? "I am happiest when I"m left alone." The words were low and without emotion, especially compared to everyone else. But that one sentence stopped everyone. The whole room stared at the troubled young girl. The words themselves were a plaintive call for help. Hannah"s heart went out to the young girl once again. Without another word, LeeAnn left the lodge as silently as she had entered. "Don." Addison"s voice was a mix of concern and warning. Donna nodded and rose. "I"ll follow her. Hannah, please come with me." As the two women left the room, Peter and Addison looked at the remaining teens. Peter shook his head. "The next couple of days are going to be hard and long. Everyone is going to have to work together. That"s not going to happen if you are all going at each other"s throats every other minute. Be sensitive to everyone"s needs and pain. Now, I suggest you all go to your dorms." ***** "Well, that was a fun group." Shelby retorted once the girls were back in their dorm. LeeAnn hadn"t returned but they had seen her wondering aimless toward the lake, Hannah and Donna following discreetly behind. "Well if you hadn"t started in on LeeAnn..." Juliet rolled her eyes as Shelby gave her an innocent "What did I do" look. "Taylor and Kyle have been going at each other like that since the day LeeAnn came to Point of Hope. Taylor loves to torment her because she won"t stand up for herself and I think Kyle has the hots for her. I don"t know why. She"s weird the way she won"t talk. It"s like living with a walking, breathing brick wall." Kat joked. "Taylor and Kyle remind me of Auggie and Scott fighting over Juliet. "Yeah, really." Daisy agreed with a smile. "Okay, I have to ask. I think we can all agree that LeeAnn definitely has problems. You obviously could give Jules some serious competition in a race to see who can be thinnest. But give us the low down on the guys. The little fight in group aside, all three of them seem normal. Especially Danny, what"s his story?" "Danny"s parents raised him in this really weird cult that believed in torture and drugs. His aunt and uncle found out about some of the cult"s practices and kidnapped him away from there. They had no trouble then getting custody of Danny. But the place really messed him up. They put him in Point of Hope to kind of straighten him out. Reverse brainwashing almost." They stopped talking when the door opened. LeeAnn entered and settled down on her bed without so much as a look at the other girls. Hannah and Donna followed behind her. Hannah smiled at the girls. "Time for bed, girls. Lights out in five minutes. We have a long day ahead of us. Kat, can I see you for a moment?" Kat nodded and followed her friend outside. Hannah checked to make sure none of the others were listening. "Kat, I need you to do me a favor." "Sure Hannah, what is it?" "Donna and Addison are worried that LeeAnn may try to run away. Try to keep an eye on her tonight and come get me if she tries to leave." Kat nodded. "Is she okay? Do you want me to try to talk to her?" Hannah sighed. She knew she could count on Kat. The beautiful teen would make a wonderful counselor one day. "I don"t think it would do any good. She"s a very troubled girl, Kat. She doesn"t trust anyone and until she learns that she can trust Addison or at least one person, she"s not going to open up. The best thing you could do beside making sure she doesn"t run is make sure Shelby doesn"t give her a hard time. We both now that underneath that tough exterior Shelby means well but I don"t know if LeeAnn"s fragile psyche can take too much of Shelby." "Okay, Hannah. I"ll take care of things. Don"t worry." Kat returned to the cabin and Donna and Hannah left. Mindy looked at the others. "Okay, now that the adults are gone we can get to the juicy stuff. There is nothing going on in the romance department at Point of Hope. Taylor is just an immature little cretin, useful for a few things but no one"s idea of a good boyfriend. Danny needs a serious haircut and personality. Kyle is a major babe but way too intense. But I couldn"t help but notice that there are a lot of cute guys here. Don"t try to tell me there aren"t some serious prospects here. So, who"s dating who?" Shelby rolled her eyes. She didn"t really want to hear Juliet gush on and on about her and Scott. "I"m getting a shower. Later." Mindy watched her leave and wrinkled her brow. "Was it something I said or does she just have a general bad attitude?" Juliet smiled. "Scott and I are a couple. She and Scott are not a couple. She doesn"t like either of those facts." "But she couldn"t take her eyes off Kyle all day long." Daisy laughed. "That"s Shelby." Kat was watching LeeAnn. She wondered if the teen was even aware of the conversation going on around her. She wished she knew what was going on with the pretty teen. LeeAnn was well aware of the activity around her. But the petite teen shut everything out except enough to know that everyone was still awake. She couldn"t wait until they were all asleep and she could sneak out. She silently cursed herself. She thought she was getting better. In the two weeks she"d been at Point of Hope, she"d been able to safely keep her emotions locked away. She knew what the others thought of her but that didn"t matter. So long as she kept her feelings so deeply buried that it was like she was in a cocoon, she could survive. It was only when she could feel her control on her emotions slip that she had to get away. She couldn"t afford to let anyone see her lose control. And right now her grasp on her emotions was tenuous at best. There was a scream of fear, frustration, and anger bubbling just under the surface, threatening to choke her. It had been building since the moment the van pulled onto the grounds of Mt. Horizon. When she had left the lodge earlier she"d planned on going just a little ways into the woods and allowing the scream and the tears to take over. But Donna and the red headed woman form Mt. Horizon had followed her, not allowing even a moment of solitude. She"d been forced to contain herself just a little longer. Someone sat beside her on the bed. LeeAnn tightly closed her eyes, hoping they"d go away. It had to be one of the Cliffhangers. Mindy had long since given up trying to get any response out of her. It was one of the things she liked about the way too thin girl. A hand touched her shoulder but LeeAnn pulled away. "LeeAnn, are you okay?" Kat was worried. The girl was practically shaking as she lay there. She wondered if she should send for Hannah or Donna. "She"s not going to answer you." Mindy insisted. The thin blonde rolled her green eyes. "Trust me. Taylor can be a complete jerk but he"s pretty accurate calling her Ice Princess. I told you earlier talking to LeeAnn is like talking to a brick wall, worse maybe." LeeAnn tuned the others out. She rolled over on her side away from Kat"s penetrating stare. Why couldn"t they just leave her alone? Couldn"t they see that right now she was vulnerable? It was all she could do not to run screaming from the cabin in spite of the reaction she knew it would stir in the kids as well as Addison and Donna. She forced her self to breathe deeply through her nose to keep even the barest whimper from sounding from her throat. At long last the room was silent and dark. LeeAnn opened her eyes and was relieved to see that everyone was asleep. There could be no better time to get away for just a bit; just long enough to give in to the raw emotions that clawed at her throat. She eased out of bed and stealthily made her way to the door. She eased it open and stepped outside. Before she could close the door, however, a hand grabbed the frame. "Who are you running from? Us or yourself?"

Homurabi snorted loudly upon hearing a large group of boys talking about Valentines day tomorrow, he hated that day, it was an all boys school, so yeah half of the student body was gay and Homurabi got pretty creeped out when he received gifts. "Are you giving a gift to anyone tomorrow Homurabi?" asked Sawaki, Homurabi"s best, if not only, friend. "As if, I doubt you are either." he said glancing at his friend with a smirk. "No I"m not of course, but I assume you will still receive gifts anyway." he said grinning when Homurabi"s face fell and he slammed his head on his desk, "I do believe your step brother Shirogane is giving some though." "Ha? To who..." Homurabi paused for a moment, "there probably for that Ryuuko guy he"s always with." "That"s what I thought as well." before their conversation could go any further the bell rang signalling last period. Tomorrow would be Valentines day, it was the one day of the year Homurabi wanted to crawl in a hole and die, public displays of affection made him sick. "Okay class because it"s valentines day tomorrow I thought we would learn about the origins of it!" said their teacher with a smile, most of the students cheered. Homurabi grumbled under his breath, "why me?" ... The rest of the day came and went in the blink of an eye and everyone was walking out of school heading home, Ryuuko stood by the gate his long black hair was tied up in a pony tail and it swayed gently in the breeze as he waited for Shirogane to meet up with him. I wonder if Shirogane will give anyone presents? thought Ryuuko, "Ryuuko, we can leave now." said Shirogane, when had he gotten there wondered Ryuuko as he began walking up the street with his childhood friend. The walk was mostly in silence until they reached Ryuuko"s house, "so, you giving anyone something for valentines day tomorrow?" asked Shirogane. "Yes, I am." smiled Ryuuko. "To who?" he pressed. "That"s a secret." whispered Ryuuko, "see you tomorrow Shirogane." with that Ryuuko entered his home, leaving Shirogane to walk home and ponder who Ryuuko was giving a gift to. It could be anyone, thought Shirogane, there"s heaps a of guys that have crushes on Ryuuko. "Augh..." groaned Shirogane, a horrible realisation hitting him, "if he gives one to Kou I"m going to murder that mutt, he follows Ryuuko like a puppy, it"s infuriating!" And I"m talking to myself... thought Shirogane with embarrassment as he earned a strange look from a women walking past with her young child, well then, it"s time to sort out my gift... ... Valentines Day (Or in Homurabi"s case Hell.) Homurabi had barely managed to get two steps in the school grounds before having a box of chocolates thrust into his arms, the person who gave them to him was a mystery, they ran away before Homurabi could see them and add them down on his "Hit List". Walking to his locker Homurabi threw the chocolates in the nearest bin and unlocked his locker. What the fuck...? Someone had left flowers in his locker. His locker. How the hell did they get the combination for it? Homurabi picked the flowers up and looked at them suspiciously. "Ah, Primroses, they mean I can"t live without you, you know." Homurabi glanced over his shoulder and saw Sawaki leaning against the locker next to his. "Why the hell would you know that Sawaki?" asked Homurabi, slightly disturbed. "It"s up on that giant list over there," said Sawaki pointing to a list posted on the notice board, "apparently it"s to help people decode their gifts." "Psh, people are actually trying to get meanings from these things." Homurabi said shaking the flowers in question. "It would appears so, however it appears your gift was chosen with care," said Sawaki, "there is no way a person would randomly choose a primrose and not know the meaning." "What are you babbling about Sawaki?" "I"m saying this person researched the meaning of the flower and especially brought it for you." said Sawaki loving the shocked expression on his friends face. "Good morning Sawaki, Homurabi." floated a gentle voice. "Good morning Shisui, have you been swamped by gifts yet?" asked Sawaki, thinking about how the poor younger student had carried about dozens of chocolate boxes last year. Shisui laughed nervously, "no not yet, it"s flattering that people give me gifts but last year was, well... oh!" Shisui paused looking at the flowers Homurabi was holding, "Homurabi, you"ve already received flowers." "Yeah, Sawaki was trying to convince me and I quote from the poetic bastard that someone brought them with great care to show meaning." he glared and Sawaki but the blonde ignored him. "Perhaps they did," Shisui said with a small smile, "someone may love you very much Homurabi." Was it just Homurabi or were the green haired kids cheeks going red? "W-well, I"ll be going now, enjoy your valentines day you two." with that said, Shisui hurried up the hall to his class. There was silence between Sawaki and Homurabi for a while until Sawaki got a large grin on his face, "I think Shisui gave you those flowers." Homurabi choked on his own spit. ... Meanwhile in class 2A Ryuuko"s face was beat red as he stared at the white roses laying all over his desk. He wasn"t expecting to have this happen to him, certainly perhaps a youngster giving him a box of chocolates but this was, very thoughtful. I wonder thought Ryuuko gathering up his white roses and walking over to the long list of flowers and their meanings on the back wall of the classroom. "Oh my..." murmured Ryuuko softly, the chart said "Several white roses: Purity". It brought a smile to Ryuuko"s flushed face. Just down the hall Shirogane was having a similar feeling as he stared at the chart on the wall holding a bunch of thornless roses. He blushed despite how much he tried not to, I mean who wouldn"t blush if the flowers they received meant love at first sight. Shirogane walked down the hall past Ryuuko"s classroom to his own, 3A. Today is going to be a long day...thought Shirogane glancing out the corner of his eye and seeing a group of shy looking boys holding flowers and chocolates hiding behind the door to his classroom, oh boy... ... "Kou, you still haven"t given Ryuuko your flowers." said Shisui looking at the boy who was peering into Ryuuko"s classroom. "I can"t do it!" he cried spinning around to face Shisui, "can you give them to him for me?" "W-what? Why me?" "Please Shisui! Play cupid for me! Just once!" he pleaded. Shisui sighed, "Alright, just this once." "If I didn"t love Ryuuko I would kiss you Shisui!" he said hugging the boy instead, "I will never ask you for anything ever again." "Don"t make a promise you can"t keep," he joked taking the flowers from Kou, "I"ll tell him their from a secret admirer okay?" "Sure, though I think he"ll know there from me." said Kou sheepishly with a grin. "What do you..." Shisui turned in time to see Kou dashing up the hall, "mean? oh never mind." Shisui walked into to Ryuuko"s classroom and stood in front of Ryuuko, "I have a delivery of flowers for you." "Sh-Shisui! From you!" "Goodness no!" "Oh... that would have been awkward." said Ryuuko slowly, taking the flowers from Shisui, "these flowers are..." "There Mimosa, I believe." said Shisui watching Ryuuko scan through the flower meaning list. "Ah!" Ryuuko made a small noise and he smiled almost sadly, "I know who these are from." "Kou said you would." said Shisui. "Only he would give me flowers that mean secret love." Ryuuko shook his head, "have you received a gift yet Shisui?" "I"ve gotten some chocolates from the younger boys, it"s quite embarrassing really." he said honestly. "Don"t worry I"m sure someone here has more taste then them." said Ryuuko reassuringly. Shisui just nodded, "I better get to class, see you later then." With that the green haired boy left and Ryuuko retreated to his seat glancing at the two lot"s of flowers he"d received already. Kou, what am I going to do with you... ... Valentines Day continues and it"s now second period (how time flies) PE wasn"t a subject Ryuuko particularly liked nor was he all that good at it. Ryuuko reluctantly walked into the change rooms and he spotted Shirogane at his locker, next to his own. "Shirogane!" he called hurrying over to him, "will your class be joining ours for PE again?" "Yeah, seems the teachers have decided to make this a routine thing." he said putting away his normal uniform, already changed into his PE uniform, though he didn"t wear the full thing, choosing to wear the correct shirt but instead of those far to short shorts he settled for long black pants. "It"s not so bad is it? I"m not alone like this, I have you." said Ryuuko with a smile as he opened his locker, he squeaked slightly. "What"s wrong?" "Someone"s left a rose in my locker." he said picking it up, roses generally meant love but Ryuuko wondered if there was another meaning too. "People seem to be leaving flowers in lockers these days." said Shirogane turning around as Ryuuko got changed. "Oh my, did someone leave them in your locker as well?" asked Ryuuko, his voice was muffled and Shirogane could tell he was pulling his shirt over his head, the temptation to turn around was quite strong at this point. "Yeah, they did." he said, turning when he heard Ryuuko"s locker close, the raven haired teen was still holding the red rose, "what are you going to do with it?" "I"ll keep it of course! But I guess I"ll just leave it here until we return." he said tucking the rose in the vent of his locker making sure it wouldn"t fall out. "Ryuuko," the boy in question turned, "You really need to get some longer pants." Ryuuko"s face turned bright red, his shorts had shrunk in the wash and were shorter than they once were. "I-I know, I haven"t really thought about it, besides don"t you get hot wearing long pants?" he said trying to change the subject and forget the fact Shirogane was probably just staring at his ass. "No, I don"t feel the heat." "How nice for you." muttered Ryuuko, the poor boy felt the heat bad and hated summer so he spent most of his time locked up in his house with the air conditioner on eating ice cream and ice blocks. The two headed out the double doors which lead to the sport field, Ryuuko silently prayed they wouldn"t be playing something like touch football, he really didn"t want to be running around in this heat. Admittedly it was only spring and it was still fairly cool but to Ryuuko it was too hot. Shirogane glared down some of Ryuuko"s class mates that were staring and drooling at Ryuuko"s tiny shorts, the ruby eyed boy seemed oblivious to this fact. "Shirogane, have you wondered who gave you your flowers?" asked Ryuuko, out of the blue. "Ah, sure I guess why?" "Just curious, I want to know who left me all those white roses on my desk," said Ryuuko a blush coming to his cheeks, "I think it was a very sweet thing to do."Shirogane glanced away concealing a light blush to his cheeks. "All right boys! Get over here so I can mark the role!" hollered their PE teacher. As the boys began to gather Ryuuko looked at Shirogane and muttered, "I really hope we"re not playing touch football." "Of course we"re not playing touch football Ryuuko!" said the teacher, seemingly outraged. "Thank goodness, it"s so hot I thought-" "We"re playing Tackle Football!" Ryuuko dropped to the ground and hung his head, "why is it always me with bad luck?" he whimpered. Shirogane knelt beside him and patted his back, "there, there." admittedly it was said sarcastically because Shirogane was used to Ryuuko"s dramatic scenes, he rolled his eyes when Ryuuko pretended to cry. "Teacher? Can I be a cheerleader instead?" Shirogane"s eyes widened twice their normal size. "Uuh, Ryuuko I don"t know..." Shirogane promptly stood and death glared his teacher, "just let him sit out if you don"t want to have a football kicked in your face." "O-o-okay..." the teacher stuttered, "R-Ryuuko, y-you just sit out." "Thankyou teacher!" said Ryuuko, a bright smile now on his face, oblivious to the rest of his classmates who were silently crying because there was no way they could get their hands on him anymore. ... "So are you going to send any flowers in response to yours?" "For last time Sawaki I"m not giving anyone anything, this whole valentines day stuff is just plain stupid." Homurabi growled snapping the pencil he was holding and cursing slightly. "Hm, very well then I"ll stop pestering you about it." he said holding up his hands as a sort of symbol of peace between the two friends. "You get anything from anyone yet?" asked Homurabi digging through his pencil case trying to find another pencil. The two were currently in the schools library since their teacher for second period failed to show up. "No, if you remember last year I didn"t receive anything either, I"m not a gay magnet like you are," said Sawaki an all to cocky smirk on his face when Homurabi glared at him, "I"m also not liked by many people anyway, so that probably has something to do with it." Now that Homurabi thought about it Sawaki didn"t really talk to anyone other than him, and if he had to Shisui and Shirogane, so far as Homurabi new Sawaki hadn"t spoken a word to Ryuuko or that Kou kid that followed him all the time. "Do you have a grudge against Ryuuko and his dog like stalker?" asked Homurabi, he took note that Sawaki stiffened slightly. "I have no idea what your talking about." "Ha, as if I"d believe that, what"d they do to you to make you hate them so much?" he questioned. "It"s not that I hate Ryuuko, in fact I get on quite well with him, it"s that bastard Kou that I"d like to push off a cliff." he said eye twitching every so slightly, it was a quirk Homurabi found highly amusing. "Why?" "Because when he first came to this school he hit on me and tried to molest me!" raged Sawaki standing up out of his seat and slamming his hands down on the table, he was immediately shushed my the librarian and blushed in a embarrassment, sitting down in his seat. "You were saying?" urged the red head, he had always wondered why Sawaki seemed to like challenging him at martial arts when they had sports carnivals. "Anyway, he thought I was a girl so I got mad and punched him in the face." said Sawaki crossing his arms over his chest with an expression that was crossed between a frown and a pout. "Wait, so is that why he has that scar across his eye?" "Yeah..." Homurabi was silent for a long time. He had no idea Sawaki could get so angry, he was always so calm and composed, Kou must have really invaded his personal space. "I didn"t think you were that strong." Homurabi smirked. "Just because I"m shorter than you doesn"t mean I"m weak!" "Sure it doesn"t shorty." "Don"t call me that!" ... "Shirogane you seemed to being having, err fun out there during that lesson." said Ryuuko who had since changed out of his PE clothes and was now standing outside one of the shower cubicles waiting for Shirogane to finish. "Did I?" Shirogane muttered turning off the shower and drying himself off quickly. "If I counted correctly you tackled nearly every single one of them..." Ryuuko trailed off and pulled a face, "even the ones on your team." "Must have done it without noticing." said Shirogane with a cocky and somewhat pissed off look on his face as he quickly got dressed. "Why the ones on your team?" "No real reason." Because they had it coming, no one pervs on you and gets out un scathed. "Don"t lie to me Shirogane." said Ryuuko sternly. "They should learn not to perv on you, then they may have survived." he said slamming open the door making Ryuuko jump. "They were perving on me? When?" asked Ryuuko genuinely puzzled. "Your obliviousness to these things is amazing Ryuuko, would you like a prize?" asked Shirogane sarcastically. "Now that"s just rude." frowned Ryuuko following Shirogane out of the change rooms to the cafeteria for their first break. Shirogane sighed, "never mind, I just don"t like it when they do it, if one of them ever touches you I will literally snap them in two." "You"d do that for me?" asked Ryuuko, blushing despite the statement being so violent. "Of course!" Ryuuko smiled despite himself as the two got their standard cafeteria lunches and sat down, Shisui joining them shortly after. "Shisui I"m going to tell you something and you need to tell me if you think it"s weird alright?" said Ryuuko with a dead serious face. "Ahh, okay." he said a little unsure. "Shirogane tackled every single person, including the ones on his team, during PE because they perved on me," said Ryuuko looking intently at Shisui, "what do you think?" Shisui chuckled and smiled, "considering it"s Shirogane I"d say it"s a kind gesture." "What do you mean considering it"s me?" Shirogane demanded glaring slightly. "I"m just saying you don"t show how you"re really feeling a lot." said Shisui peacefully. Shirogane ignored him choosing to poke at his food instead, Ryuuko shook his head with a smile at Shirogane"s sulky behaviour. "Have you approached Kou yet Ryuuko?" asked Shisui. "No," groaned Ryuuko lowering his head onto the table, "honestly, I don"t know what to do about him." "Just tell him the truth, he"s a good friend but you don"t like him in that way." said Shisui trying to give his friend some useful advice. "I have told him, several times, it"s like he"s in denial about it." sighed Ryuuko lifting his head off the table and getting a drink of water from his plastic cafeteria cup. "Just tell him to take a hike, either you do it or I will." growled Shirogane glaring at his tray of food, for a long time he"d hated Kou, mainly because he took Ryuuko"s attention away from him, but the kid was like a stalker! He swore it! "I have an idea!" exclaimed Ryuuko suddenly jolting up. "What are talking about?" Shirogane questioned the red eyed teen. "I have a free period next so I"m going to pay a visit to the florist up the street." smiled Ryuuko. "That doesn"t really," Shisui paused mid sentence with a knowing look, "Ah, I see, good luck then." "What?" asked Shirogane looking somewhat concerned by the unspoken conversion. "I hope it works." "I"m sure it will." "What?" "I"ll explain later Shirogane, I"ll be back by fourth period." said Ryuuko grabbing a sandwich from his plate and dashing off in the general direction of the door. "What was that all about?" questioned Shirogane looking to Shisui who was waving to Ryuuko. "Hm? Oh right, Ryuuko is going to buy Kou some flowers or a flower that will tell Kou how he feels." said Shisui simply. Shirogane sighed loudly, "I swear Ryuuko has very bizarre ways of getting his feelings across." "As do you Shirogane," said Shisui, "as do you." Meanwhile Ryuuko was at his locker trying to find his wallet, "Ah! Found it!" he exclaimed grabbing the wallet but before he was able to shut his locker door someone slammed it shut and Ryuuko yelped loudly turning around quickly only to be face to face with Homurabi, he squeaked again. "I need you to tell me something." said Homurabi. "Wh-what might that be?" Homurabi averted his eyes from Ryuuko, fighting to keep the light blush that tinted his cheeks away, Ryuuko blinked, he"d never seen Homurabi embarrassed before. "What"s Shisui"s locker number?" he finally got out. "Eh?" Ryuuko blinked. "Well what is it?" "Homurabi, are you perhaps going to give Shisui a gift?" asked Ryuuko with a slightly shocked face. "So what if I am!" he snapped hands slamming on the locker either side of Ryuuko"s head making him flinch. "It"s the one to the left of mine." said Ryuuko pointing in that general direction. "And the combination?" he demanded. "It"s the month and day of his birthday," said Ryuuko, "you know what it is don"t you?" Homurabi stood up straighter removing his hands from the locker in favour of putting them in his pockets. "Yeah I know it." he said walking up the hall. Ryuuko sighed and giggled a little, so he does like Shisui after all. ... Homurabi felt like his face was on fire, he couldn"t believe he actually did that. That little priestly pansy isn"t going to let me live it down either he thought, slightly annoyed by the fact Ryuuko seemed to like teasing him about things. He stopped in front of his locker and quickly unlocked it, sharp green eyes scanned the corridors for witnesses before he pulled out the flowers that had been safely stored in there. Homurabi stared at the flowers in his hand for a long while before making his way back up the hall to Shisui"s locker. Stopping in front of said locker Homurabi"s hand froze halfway to the lock, he shook his head quickly, no, this is the only way I"ll get it through to him he thought entering the numbers and opening the locker. He carefully sat the bouquet in the locker before shutting it quietly and walking around the corner close by. Now all there is to do is wait, he thought, Homurabi was a little worried about what would become of this situation but it had to be done, if not Homurabi would never forgive himself. There was a distinct sound of a locker opening and Homurabi glanced from behind his hiding spot. "Oh my!" There stood Shisui, holding the flowers Homurabi had just stuck in the boys locker. Oh. Fuck. was all Homurabi could think at this point.

I blushed furiously before standing up quickly and saying, "I wasn"t staring at him!" My teacher blinked and my class cracked up laughing and when I looked at Yoru I found him staring at me with a "what-the-fuck-are-you-a-stalker?' look making my face heat up even more. Thankfully my embarrassment didn"t last long because the bell rang signalling lunch time and everyone left the room and my teacher went to fix up his folder. I saw Yoru stand up and I quickly stood in front of him. "Um, hi, look I"m sorry about earlier I didn"t mean to stare it was rude," I said blushing all the while, "I do that sometimes, I"m a bit weird like that, ah ha ha, so ahh I"m Ran." Yoru merely raised an eyebrow at me before walking past, "ah hey wait do you wanna eat lunch with me?!" I called but he left and I growled, "what the hell is his problem!?!" "If your talking about Yoru, the boys a mute." I heard my teacher say, wait Yoru was a what? "What did you say?" I demanded. "He"s mute, he doesn"t speak, no one can get him to talk." he said before leaving the room. Maybe that"s why he acts so coldly, he"s probably teased a lot! The next thing I new I was running to the cafeteria, I don"t know why but I wanted to make sure Yoru was okay. What if he was getting beaten up or worse. AHHHH! BAD MENTAL IMAGE!!!! I skidded to a halt in the corridor was that Yoru?? I ran back the other way and noticed I was right, it was Yoru and bunch of guys from my class. "Hey why don"t you say anything?" "Yeah, you some kind of freak?" I frowned and decided to step in, I new I wasn"t the most frightening person but it was better than nothing, "Hey! Leave him alone!" they turned to me. "Look here pretty boy, why don"t you mind your own business." the main guy said. "NO!" I said firmly, "and don"t call me that!" I noticed Yoru"s surprised face and it made me blush, what I hadn"t noticed was that the boys that were once there for Yoru had surrounded me and they knocked me to the ground. "Get off me!" I shouted and struggled but I failed, there were three of them and one was holding my legs while the other my arms, the main guy I presumed his was their "leader" knelt down beside me and brushed his hand across my cheek I frowned and struggled again, "piss off leave me alone!" "You should have stayed out of it pretty boy," said the guy I was mortified when he sat on me, "hmm I could use some satisfaction, so you"ll do just fine." My eyes widened with fear as the guy literally tore off my shirt and started to touched me, "fuck off! Leave me alone!" I screamed again, that"s when I saw the guy on top of me"s eyes widened and he gagged. It took me a few minutes to see the hand around his neck and within moments he was thrown off me and he hit the wall. The guy holding my legs was the next to smash into the wall, then the guy holding my hands was thrown just as forcefully into the wall. I sat up and curled in a ball, tears streaming down my face, they tried to rape me. I felt someone"s hand on my shoulder and I looked up slowly afraid of who it might be, but instead of the thugs I was greeted with mismatched eyes. Those eyes, I realised, belonged to Yoru. I swallowed before trying to speak, "I-I t-th-thanky-you." I stuttered I wanted to say more but Yoru put a finger to my lips and shook his head slowly, I took it that he wanted me to stop talking so I nodded and he removed his finger. He stood up and held out his hand indicating I should take it, I did and he helped me to my feet. I smiled gratefully and said "thankyou so much for your help, I guess I should probably leave now huh?" I saw Yoru lift his hand and he gestured towards my now shredded school shirt, oh right, I needed a new shirt didn"t I? "Ah your right! But I don"t have another shirt." I said and frowned, this was a problem, I couldn"t walk around for the rest of the day like this. I suddenly felt Yoru"s hand around mine and he started to lead me somewhere. I blinked in confusion, and said "where are you taking me?" He turned around at smiled ever so slightly, it was a look that said trust me it"s okay and I believed it. Before long I found myself in the changing rooms that we used for PE I followed Yoru to a locker and he dropped my hand in favour of unlocking said locker. After the locker was unlocked, I presumed that it was his locker, he pulled out what appeared to be a jacket, it was black similar to the one he was wearing now only smaller, he handed it to me and I shakily took it out of his hand, still overwhelmed by what had happened moments ago. "Your going to let me wear this?" I asked, he nodded and a big smile crossed my face, "thankyou so much! You have no idea how grateful I am, really!" he seemed to look away slightly as if embarrassed by his little act of kindness. I hurriedly pulled off my now destroyed shirt and put on the jacket Yoru gave me, it was comfortable and I liked it, I wondered wether I"d be allowed to keep it? "Umm, Yoru can I keep the jacket? If you don"t mind." I asked. He nodded and I smiled again, maybe Yoru wasn"t so bad after all, I bet if I got to know him more I might even be able to help him find his voice again. I was just about to say how grateful I was again but the bell rang, one more period then everyone went home. "We should get back to class." I said grabbing Yoru"s hand, "come on or we"ll be late!" I"m sure if I were to look Yoru"s face would have had shock written all over it, but I didn"t care, I liked Yoru, and I was sure that I could help him and once I thought I could help someone my mind was made up and I wouldn"t give up! Once we arrived to class I noticed people staring at me strangely and I realised I was still holding Yoru"s hand, I quickly let it go and said "ah sorry." He just shrugged and sat down in his seat I sat down too and it felt as if people were burning holes in me by the way they were staring at me. I couldn"t wait for today to end, maybe I could talk to Yoru a bit before I went home. Our teacher came in and the rest of the class sat down, I don"t remember much of that class I was too distracted by the occasional looks Yoru shot my way, it made me nervous but also excited and if he licked his lips one more time I was going to get seriously turned on. Turned on? That had never happened to me before, hell I"d never even fantasised about that kind of stuff, I mean sure I"d touched myself a few times but now I suddenly really wanted Yoru to fuck me on the nearest table, it wasn"t long before I had to excuse myself to go to the bathroom, I saw the puzzled look on Yoru"s face which made me blush, but what I didn"t see was the smirk that followed after it. To Be Continued... ... A/N - yep, hell random but it"ll get better, trust me, next chapter"s going to be in Yoru"s POV so stay tuned! Please R&R ... Find Your Voice A/N - it"s time for the second chapter, this one"s in Yoru"s POV. Warnings - violence, yaoi, foul language, eventual lemon Disclaimer - People it"s called fanfiction for a reason. ... CHAPTER 2: The Painful Truth Yoru"s POV I knew why Ran excused himself from class, you"d have to be blind not to have seen the massive bulge in his pants. But then again why was I looking there to begin with? Ran had been kind to me, he stood up for me when those guys were harassing me and put himself in danger and he kept thanking me over and over after the incident and even more after I let him keep my spare jacket. It was sometime later when Ran came back in class and the teacher scolded him for taking so long Ran just apologized and sat down trying to focus on his work. He didn"t think I saw those glances he gave me but I did, every time our eyes met for a few moments he"d blush and stare down at his pen and paper. Though I"d only known him for a short while I liked Ran. He was so sweet and kind, but it wouldn"t do him any good getting involved with someone like me. My mom left me when I was just five and she took my younger twin brother away from me and my father. I never heard from her since. My father is a police officer and he is not a nice man, he"s horrid and he takes pleasure in beating me and using me for his own sick and twisted pleasure. I hated the pain emotionally I couldn"t handle it so when I was twelve I started to cut myself, I welcomed the pain, it gave me something to focus on instead of all my troubles at home. By the time I was thirteen I became mute, I was so traumatized by my father that I lost the ability to speak. At first my father thought I was doing it to annoying him which lead to more beatings and disgusting sex acts, when he finally realised I wasn"t joking it was too late. I haven"t spoken a word since then, that was four years ago. But then there"s Ran. Ran in this short time I"ve known him showed me kindness, something no one has ever shown me before. I wanted to be his friend, but if he got involved with me, my father would make sure his relationship with me wouldn"t be pleasant. I don"t want Ran to get hurt, besides it"s not like I can talk, and having a friend who can"t talk would be annoying wouldn"t it? You wouldn"t be able to understand me. Ran seemed to understand my small gestures, the looks on my face and tell what I was thinking, I took a chance and looked at him, he wasn"t really focusing on his work just drawing random doodles on his page, I noticed on in particular I liked, it was a dragonfly, maybe I could get him to show me how he drew that later. "Fujimori, are listening to me!?" yelled the teacher. "Yes sensei." said Ran quickly his face scared and insecure. That"s when I noticed, Ran was frightened of people yelling at him. At that time when he had come to my aid, it must have taken a lot of courage for him to step in. I think I was starting to understand Ran better, he was kind, sweet and easily frightened, but he truly did want to be my friend and I admired his courage to even speak to me, no one ever came near me unless they had a death wish. My train of thought was interrupted by the school bell screech, I hated that noise I wish they"d change it already! I started to put away my things and as stood up I saw Ran standing in front of me, fiddling nervously with the hem of his jacket. "Um, Yoru?" he said cautiously. I raised an eyebrow showing I didn"t get it. "Ah, well, I was just wondering if you might want to um be my friend?" he asked quietly. I blinked, I wasn"t sure if I should say no to protect him or say yes because I really wanted to spend time with him so I went with my instinct. I nodded and Ran"s blood red eyes shone and he smiled brightly. "Really? That"s great wanna walk with me out of school?" he asked I just nodded, I didn"t think he realised that once you were seen with me people would never treat you the same ever again. But I didn"t really care, I liked Ran and if he wanted to be my friend if was everyone else"s loss just my gain. As we walked out to the front of the school Ran chatted to me, telling me some things about himself, I found out he had a twin Sunao, that his favourite foods were strawberries and chocolate, his favourite music was trance and techno, and that his favourite colour was pink. I would have liked to say I grew strawberries, I did just in a little pot outside, it was the only thing my father let me look after. "Ran come on or mom and dad will be mad!" I saw Ran look in the direction of the entry, there was a boy there who looked just like him, I took it that it was his twin. "Coming!" he called and looked back to me, "I"m sorry I have to go Yoru." I just nodded, showing I understood his position, "great, I"ll see you tomorrow then!" with that he took off and started to walk home with his twin. I glanced at the school clock and mentally cursed, Shit! If I was late my father would beat me, that or I might not get dinner again! I took off and ran as fast as I could down the street, I dimly thought I heard Ran called my name, I must of past him but I was running so fast I didn"t see him. He was probably confused as to why I was running but I didn"t have time to think about it, all I wanted to do was get home so I wouldn"t suffer the consequences. Eventually I made it home, just with a moment to spare I cautiously put down my school bag. Had I of been able to I would have sighed, instead my shoulders just sagged in relief so I really wasn"t expecting the hard blow I coped to the back of the head, I lost my balance and almost fell over while I heard my fathers voice loud and clear. "You little shit, your late!" he growled punching me square in the face making my nose bleed, I put my hand up to it to stop the blood getting onto my clothes, "what the fuck have I told you about being late!" another blow was followed and I fell to the ground avoiding eye contact with my father, he was drunk I new that much I could smell the alcohol in his breath. "get up to your room and stay there!" he yelled, "and don"t bother coming down for dinner "cuz you ain"t gettin" any!" I nodded and headed up to my room as fast as I could, as soon as I was in there I locked the door and grabbed some tissues to clean my bloodied nose, about a dozen tissues later it stoped bleeding and I laid down on my bed, I reached over to my bedside table and grabbed my ever so useful pocket knife. I pulled off my jacket and lifted my left wrist, both of my wrists were covered in scars where I had sliced them open before, I cut deeply into my wrist and hissed it stang but I liked it. My thoughts were drawn back to Ran again, if the poor boy saw the scars on my wrists he"d be petrified, I was thankful at least when he grabbed my hand today he didn"t see them, that was the reason I wore such a long jacket even on hot summer days. I wanted this night to hurry up and end, I wanted to go to school, and most importantly I wanted to see Ran again. If I could I wanted to tell him how beautiful he was, but no I was stuck with no voice at all! I hated it! I was sick of it, not being able to have my say in things, having people say things for me, it made me sick! I stood up and looked out my window, there was a full moon and it was pretty still outside, calm before the storm as they say, something was going to change good or bad I didn"t know but I got the feeling my life was about to change dramatically. I also got the feeling it would storm tomorrow, that was perfectly fine with me, I enjoyed rain it refreshed me, I just hoped Ran wasn"t scared of lightening storms because it looked like one was coming our way over the mountains. All I could do was wait for the thunder and lightening to come over and absorb me in their rage, I could rest with them and wait for the far off dawn(1)... ... (1) far off dawn- the English translation of one of Takehito Koyasu-sama"s songs (note- he"s the one that plays Yoru"s voice in the anime.) A/N - I hope it"s not too boring for you, please R&R. ... Find Your Voice A/N - Third chapter, this time in Ran"s POV. Warnings - violence, yaoi, foul language, eventual lemon Disclaimer - If I had created it, I wouldn"t be here now would I?? ... CHAPTER 3: The Stormy Night Ran"s POV "Yoru!" I called out Yoru"s name. He had just ran past me and Nao, he seemed in such a hurry, I wonder why? Maybe his parents were strict about times and stuff. "Ran, why were you walking out of school with Yoru?" my twin asked. I smiled brightly, "Because he"s my friend, Yoru"s really nice once you get to know him." "Ran you do realise people will start to talk and say bad stuff about you right?" he asked. I blinked, why would people do that? Sure Yoru was a little different but was that a good enough reason to be so mean to him? "And ah, even though I hate to ask who"s jacket is that?" asked Sunao. "It"s Yoru"s he let me keep after these guys nearly raped me and tore my shirt." I said calmly. "Oh I see - wait, YOU WERE RAPED!!" exclaimed Sunao. "NO!" I said, "well almost, but Yoru saved me!" "Ohh." He he, that shut him up, Sunao"s always been over protective of me, like I"m the little brother and not him. I don"t act like the older sibling, I like to goof off and I tend to never look before I leap. I"m also the more timid one out of us, I hate being yelled at and I don"t like being called stupid or worthless. I guess you could call me girly to a certain point, if I had a boyfriend I"d be the Uke in the relationship and I"m perfectly happy that way. When we got home Sunao checked the phone and squealed. "What?" I asked. "Sora rang I"m gonna call back okay?" he said. "Kay I"ll be upstairs." I said, our parents had gone away for the week to attend a wedding, no children allowed you see. We were seventeen and still treated like little children it was so frustrating! I entered my room and flopped on my bed and sighed, I was bored I wanted to keep talking to Yoru more. I peered out my bedroom window there were dark rain clouds coming this way over the mountains, a storm was brewing and I shivered. I didn"t like thunder or lightening, it frightened me but not as much as water did. I can"t swim, and you won"t get me near a swimming pool. As I looked out at the cloud covered sky I wondered wether Yoru was watching it too, I wonder if he liked the rain. A cold sudden shiver went up my spin, that was strange I only ever got that feeling if something bad was happening, oh God I hoped Yoru was okay. Gah! Now I"m getting paranoid, maybe I should have asked where he lived so I can check on him, NOOOOO! Now I"m acting like a stalker! "I AM NOT A STALKER!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, only to then realise my brother was standing in the doorway, I laughed nervously, "h-hey Nao." "Stalker?" he said putting his hands on his hips. "I didn"t mean it like that." I said quietly. "Your obsessed with Yoru right?" he said as a matter of factly. "NO! I am not, I just hope he"s okay." I said, there whatcha gonna say about that? "You"ve known the guy for a day and your already obsessed with him." said Sunao. "I am not obsessed!" I said defensively. "Come one Ran! You know you get obsessed with people you like," he said, well my twin did have a point if I found someone I was interested in I did tend to get a bit needy, "what is it you like about Yoru anyway and what do you think you can do to help!?" I blinked, why was Sunao getting so mad about it, "he"s a really nice and kind person he just needs a little help finding his voice again." "Oh and what you think your just going to be that special person! Your not even that special Ran!" ouch, that one hurt, and it hurt bad. "Why are you yelling at me!? Why are you being so mean!?" I snapped with tears rolling down my cheeks. I saw Nao"s face fall, "I"m sorry, it"s just, I - I miss Sora and when I don"t have him to lighten me up I guess, I just snap and get really angry," he said looking close to tears, "I"m- I"m sorry." I walked over to my little brother and hugged him, "it"s okay I forgive you." I said, "don"t worry Sora will be back before you know it." He hurriedly wiped away his tears and smiled, "yeah your right." I smiled and said "good," this day couldn"t get any worse could it? As if to mock me lightening cracked and the power went out and I screamed latching onto my brother nearly making him fall over. "I"ll go get a torch," he said and I whimpered, "just go sit on your bed I"ll be right back." it was as if our roles had switched from me being the calm one to the scared one. Being alone scared me, I wondered if the power had gone out in Yoru"s house too. GAH! There I go again, why can"t I get him out of my head!?! I saw light coming up the stairs and my brother came in holding a torch Nao sat beside me and muttered, "well this sucks." I laughed, it meant we had nothing to do but sit and we really had hoped to watch TV tonight, our favourite show was on tonight it was called Weiss Kreuz(1). "Ran," my brothers voice cut through the silence, "you should ask where Yoru lives tomorrow." "What- wait your suggesting that?" I asked amazed he had suggested something like that. "Yeah, well you like him right? Go over and hang out." he said just the tiniest bit smugly. "You know, that"s not a bad idea," I said, "alright I"ll ask maybe he has a mobile I can text him!" "You are so obsessed." he said with a sigh. I blushed and denied, "I AM NOT!" Nao just laughed and my outburst, I smiled a little, it was settled tomorrow I was going to ask Yoru where he lived. Who knows maybe I"ll get to meet his parents and ask exactly why he was mute, I could hardly wait until tomorrow. To Be Continued... ... A/N - YAY it"s done! R&R please, flames will be used to burn my maths homework!! (1) - Weiss Kreuz, it"s an awesome anime, old-ish, but it"s really good go watch it!! ... Find Your Voice A/N - chapter 4 done! Yoru"s POV. Warnings - violence, yaoi, foul language, eventual lemon Disclaimer - Sukisho? Yeah. Not mine! ... CHAPTER 4: The Pain I Must Bear Yoru"s POV Beep! Beep! SMASH! I slammed my alarm clock off and opened my eyes, I wanted more sleep! I sat up in my bed and swung my legs out the side of the bed and winced. Last night I had coped two more rounds of beatings from my father not to mention all of the painfully long sex acts, when I stood up I hurt even more. My ass was killing me, I was going to have trouble getting around today I frowned as my blood dripped on the ground, my father the stupid son of bitch he was had torn me, again. I grabbed my pocket knife and school clothes and headed for the shower to wash myself off.

"Hm, very well then I"ll stop pestering you about it." he said holding up his hands as a sort of symbol of peace between the two friends. "You get anything from anyone yet?" asked Homurabi digging through his pencil case trying to find another pencil. The two were currently in the schools library since their teacher for second period failed to show up. "No, if you remember last year I didn"t receive anything either, I"m not a gay magnet like you are," said Sawaki an all to cocky smirk on his face when Homurabi glared at him, "I"m also not liked by many people anyway, so that probably has something to do with it." Now that Homurabi thought about it Sawaki didn"t really talk to anyone other than him, and if he had to Shisui and Shirogane, so far as Homurabi new Sawaki hadn"t spoken a word to Ryuuko or that Kou kid that followed him all the time. "Do you have a grudge against Ryuuko and his dog like stalker?" asked Homurabi, he took note that Sawaki stiffened slightly. "I have no idea what your talking about." "Ha, as if I"d believe that, what"d they do to you to make you hate them so much?" he questioned. "It"s not that I hate Ryuuko, in fact I get on quite well with him, it"s that bastard Kou that I"d like to push off a cliff." he said eye twitching every so slightly, it was a quirk Homurabi found highly amusing. "Why?" "Because when he first came to this school he hit on me and tried to molest me!" raged Sawaki standing up out of his seat and slamming his hands down on the table, he was immediately shushed my the librarian and blushed in a embarrassment, sitting down in his seat. "You were saying?" urged the red head, he had always wondered why Sawaki seemed to like challenging him at martial arts when they had sports carnivals. "Anyway, he thought I was a girl so I got mad and punched him in the face." said Sawaki crossing his arms over his chest with an expression that was crossed between a frown and a pout. "Wait, so is that why he has that scar across his eye?" "Yeah..." Homurabi was silent for a long time. He had no idea Sawaki could get so angry, he was always so calm and composed, Kou must have really invaded his personal space. "I didn"t think you were that strong." Homurabi smirked. "Just because I"m shorter than you doesn"t mean I"m weak!" "Sure it doesn"t shorty." "Don"t call me that!" ... "Shirogane you seemed to being having, err fun out there during that lesson." said Ryuuko who had since changed out of his PE clothes and was now standing outside one of the shower cubicles waiting for Shirogane to finish. "Did I?" Shirogane muttered turning off the shower and drying himself off quickly. "If I counted correctly you tackled nearly every single one of them..." Ryuuko trailed off and pulled a face, "even the ones on your team." "Must have done it without noticing." said Shirogane with a cocky and somewhat pissed off look on his face as he quickly got dressed. "Why the ones on your team?" "No real reason." Because they had it coming, no one pervs on you and gets out un scathed. "Don"t lie to me Shirogane." said Ryuuko sternly. "They should learn not to perv on you, then they may have survived." he said slamming open the door making Ryuuko jump. "They were perving on me? When?" asked Ryuuko genuinely puzzled. "Your obliviousness to these things is amazing Ryuuko, would you like a prize?" asked Shirogane sarcastically. "Now that"s just rude." frowned Ryuuko following Shirogane out of the change rooms to the cafeteria for their first break. Shirogane sighed, "never mind, I just don"t like it when they do it, if one of them ever touches you I will literally snap them in two." "You"d do that for me?" asked Ryuuko, blushing despite the statement being so violent. "Of course!" Ryuuko smiled despite himself as the two got their standard cafeteria lunches and sat down, Shisui joining them shortly after. "Shisui I"m going to tell you something and you need to tell me if you think it"s weird alright?" said Ryuuko with a dead serious face. "Ahh, okay." he said a little unsure. "Shirogane tackled every single person, including the ones on his team, during PE because they perved on me," said Ryuuko looking intently at Shisui, "what do you think?" Shisui chuckled and smiled, "considering it"s Shirogane I"d say it"s a kind gesture." "What do you mean considering it"s me?" Shirogane demanded glaring slightly. "I"m just saying you don"t show how you"re really feeling a lot." said Shisui peacefully. Shirogane ignored him choosing to poke at his food instead, Ryuuko shook his head with a smile at Shirogane"s sulky behaviour. "Have you approached Kou yet Ryuuko?" asked Shisui. "No," groaned Ryuuko lowering his head onto the table, "honestly, I don"t know what to do about him." "Just tell him the truth, he"s a good friend but you don"t like him in that way." said Shisui trying to give his friend some useful advice. "I have told him, several times, it"s like he"s in denial about it." sighed Ryuuko lifting his head off the table and getting a drink of water from his plastic cafeteria cup. "Just tell him to take a hike, either you do it or I will." growled Shirogane glaring at his tray of food, for a long time he"d hated Kou, mainly because he took Ryuuko"s attention away from him, but the kid was like a stalker! He swore it! "I have an idea!" exclaimed Ryuuko suddenly jolting up. "What are talking about?" Shirogane questioned the red eyed teen. "I have a free period next so I"m going to pay a visit to the florist up the street." smiled Ryuuko. "That doesn"t really," Shisui paused mid sentence with a knowing look, "Ah, I see, good luck then." "What?" asked Shirogane looking somewhat concerned by the unspoken conversion. "I hope it works." "I"m sure it will." "What?" "I"ll explain later Shirogane, I"ll be back by fourth period." said Ryuuko grabbing a sandwich from his plate and dashing off in the general direction of the door. "What was that all about?" questioned Shirogane looking to Shisui who was waving to Ryuuko. "Hm? Oh right, Ryuuko is going to buy Kou some flowers or a flower that will tell Kou how he feels." said Shisui simply. Shirogane sighed loudly, "I swear Ryuuko has very bizarre ways of getting his feelings across." "As do you Shirogane," said Shisui, "as do you." Meanwhile Ryuuko was at his locker trying to find his wallet, "Ah! Found it!" he exclaimed grabbing the wallet but before he was able to shut his locker door someone slammed it shut and Ryuuko yelped loudly turning around quickly only to be face to face with Homurabi, he squeaked again. "I need you to tell me something." said Homurabi. "Wh-what might that be?" Homurabi averted his eyes from Ryuuko, fighting to keep the light blush that tinted his cheeks away, Ryuuko blinked, he"d never seen Homurabi embarrassed before. "What"s Shisui"s locker number?" he finally got out. "Eh?" Ryuuko blinked. "Well what is it?" "Homurabi, are you perhaps going to give Shisui a gift?" asked Ryuuko with a slightly shocked face. "So what if I am!" he snapped hands slamming on the locker either side of Ryuuko"s head making him flinch. "It"s the one to the left of mine." said Ryuuko pointing in that general direction. "And the combination?" he demanded. "It"s the month and day of his birthday," said Ryuuko, "you know what it is don"t you?" Homurabi stood up straighter removing his hands from the locker in favour of putting them in his pockets. "Yeah I know it." he said walking up the hall. Ryuuko sighed and giggled a little, so he does like Shisui after all. ... Homurabi felt like his face was on fire, he couldn"t believe he actually did that. That little priestly pansy isn"t going to let me live it down either he thought, slightly annoyed by the fact Ryuuko seemed to like teasing him about things. He stopped in front of his locker and quickly unlocked it, sharp green eyes scanned the corridors for witnesses before he pulled out the flowers that had been safely stored in there. Homurabi stared at the flowers in his hand for a long while before making his way back up the hall to Shisui"s locker. Stopping in front of said locker Homurabi"s hand froze halfway to the lock, he shook his head quickly, no, this is the only way I"ll get it through to him he thought entering the numbers and opening the locker. He carefully sat the bouquet in the locker before shutting it quietly and walking around the corner close by. Now all there is to do is wait, he thought, Homurabi was a little worried about what would become of this situation but it had to be done, if not Homurabi would never forgive himself. There was a distinct sound of a locker opening and Homurabi glanced from behind his hiding spot. "Oh my!" There stood Shisui, holding the flowers Homurabi had just stuck in the boys locker. Oh. Fuck. was all Homurabi could think at this point. "Where on earth..." Shisui spoke softly to himself, "these are... rhododendron." Homurabi swallowed nervously as Shisui moved to the nearest flower meaning chart, the light haired boy gasped ever so slightly before murmuring, "...I am dangerous." Shisui turned quickly at the sound of footsteps and his eyes widened when he saw Homurabi leaning against the wall he was just hiding behind. "Homurabi," he said softly, "d-did you leave these in my locker?" "Do you get what I"m saying?" he asked, avoiding the question directly. "You"re telling me you"re dangerous, correct?" Shisui said stepping toward Homurabi. "Yeah, I know you gave me those flowers from this morning, Sawaki was the one that actually worked it out," he said glancing away from Shisui who was now standing in front of him, "I am dangerous, I have a lot of enemies not just within the school, it"s not going to be any good for you to hang around me, you"ll get hurt. I don"t want that to happen to you." A heavy blush had slowly risen to Homurabi and Shisui"s faces at this point. Shisui blinked a few times and smiled warmly, reaching out clasping Homurabi"s hand. "Thankyou, Homurabi," he said warmly, "I understand you"re worried about me, but, really you shouldn"t, because no matter how many times you tell me your dangerous, I won"t falter, I will continue to follow you, no matter what happens to you or us. Know this, I will forever be by your side, if you"re wounded, I can heal you, so please. Please don"t tell me to give up, when I"m just," Shisui sniffled softly, silent tears rolling down his cheeks, "I"m just hopelessly in love with you..." "Sh-Shisui..." Homurabi"s restraint snapped, he practically crushed Shisui against his chest and buried his face in the boys sea foam green hair, "I didn"t know you felt that strongly about me, to tell the truth, I"ve never really been interested in someone like I have you before. So will you still give me a chance, despite the problems that could arise?""Of course!" the response was muffled but strong and Shisui held tightly onto Homurabi, afraid some unknown force would tear them apart. "I won"t let you get hurt, I promise..." ... When Ryuuko walked into fourth period and found Shisui gone, instead of worrying he just smiled. He smiled so brightly. Well done Homurabi, well done... he thought glancing down at his bag making sure his flower for Kou was still safely tucked away, his smile faltered thinking about what would happen later. "It appears they finally admitted their feelings for one another." came voice. Ryuuko jumped and relaxed when he saw Sawaki standing next to his table, the two were both in the same ancient history class, it was actually how they met. "You knew this would happen didn"t you." said Ryuuko smiling softly. "I did, but I wasn"t so sure of the outcome," he said sitting next to Ryuuko, "and what about you, have you admitted your feelings to your beloved yet?" "N-not yet," smiled Ryuuko nervously, "I plan on doing it at lunch." "I see," Sawaki paused looking down at Ryuuko"s bag which contained a rather sad flower, "good luck then." "Thanks." The teacher walked in at that moment and proceeded to begin the lesson, Sawaki"s mind was else where. He was wondering who the flower in Ryuuko"s bag was for. It isn"t for his beloved I know that much, perhaps an unwanted admirer? If so, then who is it? Are they in our year? Younger? Sawaki couldn"t quite grasp it unless... Sawaki frowned slightly with a somewhat sad look. Kou... ... Meanwhile in his class Kou let out a loud sneeze, his class laughed and Kou just grinned before frowning down at his textbook. Someone"s talking about me, or maybe thinking, ew, that"s kinda creepy, unless it"s Ryuuko-sama, that"d be hot... "Geh!" Kou sook his head violently trying to rid the mental image he had just conjured up. "Is there something you wish to share with the class Kou?" his teacher said crossly. "Haha~" Kou laughed nervously, "Nothing important, nope nothing at all," he laughed again and looked at his teacher"s glare, "I"ll shut up and pay attention now." he said swiftly staring at his text book. The teacher just shook his head and was about to continue his lesson when the bell rang signalling lunch time. His class bolted out the door before he could even assign the homework task he wanted to give them. Kou chuckled as he dashed down the hall knowing his teacher would probably be having an internal rage that they"d all left. Before he new what was going on he felt himself collide with someone and he fell backwards the person landing on top of him. "Ouch," he muttered, "Ah, are you okay?" "I"m fine, I was looking for you Kou." That voice! "R-R-Ryuuko-sama!" Kou exclaimed when he realised Ryuuko was indeed lying on top of him, probably a little winded from his fall. Ryuuko pulled himself up and offered his hand to Kou, "need a hand, I"m not the lightest person, that must have hurt." Kou accepted the hand and got to his feet, "Not really, I was more surprised, you"re very light." Ryuuko smiled, a little sadly, and Kou suddenly wondered why. "I came to give this to you." Ryuuko held out a flower to Kou. Kou blinked taking the flower and looking at the tag attached to it. Striped Carnation "I can"t be with you." I"m sorry, Kou, you are like a little brother to me, I do care for you, but not in the way you think. Forever and always your loyal friend, Ryuuko. "R-Ryuuko-sama this is..." "I"m sorry Kou," said Ryuuko on the verge of tears, "I"m so sorry." "Y-you mean it don"t you? I"m just a friend to you?" Kou said not really wanting to believe it, refusing to cry. "Yes, a very, very dear friend that will never be replaced," said Ryuuko patting Kou"s head, "no one can replace the place you hold in my heart, I beg of you Kou, do not hate me." Kou smiled, it was forced, he knew it, Ryuuko new it but- "I understand, well then," he paused turning quickly, " See ya!" Kou ran away from Ryuuko as fast he could, he heard Ryuuko call out after him but he ignored it, he ignored like he ignored the tears that poured down his cheeks. Ryuuko slumped to his knees, a single silent tear rolled down his cheek, it had been hard, yes, but it had to happen, it had to be done, now maybe, just maybe he could forever remain one of Kou"s treasured friends, it would take time, but it would happen... "I"ll make it happen." said Ryuuko, voice barely above a whisper. Ryuuko rose to his feet slowly and smiled, "now then, it"s time for another leap of hope." With that Ryuuko dashed back to his home room to lay out his plan, Ryuuko prayed he wouldn"t be late. "Che," Shirogane grumbled, heading to his home room class, "how the hell did I forget my phone, I swear it was in my bag in fourth period." He opened the classroom door and slammed it closed, for no real reason other than to let his frustration out. The frustration however, was short lived when he saw a single white lily on his desk. Cautiously Shirogane walked over to it and picked up the lily noticing his phone had been next to it. "A white lily?" he said to no one really, "what did they mean again..." "It"s heavenly to be with you..." "Wha-" Shirogane turned around swiftly to find Ryuuko standing at the front of the classroom, Shirogane blinked, when had he gotten there. He noticed the huge map slightly out of place and realised he must have been hiding behind that. "Ryuuko you..." "I mean what the flower is telling you," he said blushing heavily, "it"s heavenly to be with you, Shirogane..." "You, wait, were you the one who put the roses in my locker too?" he asked slightly shocked. Ryuuko nodded, "yes, I also know you"re the one who gave me my flowers as well." Shirogane blushed, "H-how did you figure it out?" "Sawaki." he said simply. "That guy, how the hell did he know?" Shirogane muttered. Ryuuko laughed airily, "he"s very insightful." "Yeah..." Shirogane trailed off and looked at Ryuuko, and noticed for the first time exactly how breathtakingly beautiful he was. Shirogane walked slowly toward Ryuuko and embraced him very gently, "Would you give me the honour of asking you out to dinner?" Ryuuko gasped and smiled holding Shirogane tightly, "yes," he whispered, "yes of course!"Shirogane took a deep breath, "I"m not very good at this sort of stuff but, Ryuuko, I love you, ever since we were kids I"ve always noticed how beautiful you were, and as we"ve grown up you"ve only gotten more breathtaking, and my love has only grown stronger." Ryuuko chuckled softly and Shirogane frowned, "Wh-what are laughing about? I just told you I"m in love with you and your laughing?" "I"m sorry," said Ryuuko reaching up a stroking Shirogane"s cheeks with his hands, "I just had no idea you were such a romanticist." "W-well, I"m not really..." he grumbled. "Shh, I understand." said Ryuuko smiling fondly at his new lover. "Will you also grant me the honour of stealing your first kiss?" "Eh?" Ryuuko didn"t even have time to answer the question before Shirogane gently pressed his lips against Ryuuko"s, the raven haired boy clung to the taller male and pressed himself against Shirogane harder. When Shirogane ran his tongue against Ryuuko"s lips there was no resistance and it slipped into the submissive boys warm mouth with ease. Ryuuko made a slight noise of pleasure at the foreign feeling, he whimpered loudly against Shirogane"s mouth and clung to his tighter, legs becoming weak until he was completely relying on Shirogane to hold him. Shirogane drew back and Ryuuko leaned against his chest, panting heavily, "I love you, Shirogane." he whispered. "And I you Ryuuko." Shirogane said gently kissing the top of Ryuuko"s head. It was as if time had stopped, everything seemed to be perfect, and Ryuuko really wouldn"t have had it any other way... ... It was last period and Kou watched sadly as he saw Shirogane and Ryuuko leave hand in hand from his spot on the roof. His legs were hanging over the edge as the fence was partly broken he glared at Shirogane with nothing but hatred. "You seem quite angry." Kou turned and glared, clearly pissed off, "Fuck off Sawaki, I"m not in the mood for your teasing." "I"m not here to be cruel to you." said Sawaki sitting next to Kou, he slid an open chocolate box between the two. Kou looked at the bright red box confused, "this is?" "Homurabi had extra chocolates and he gave them to me because he didn"t want them." said Sawaki drawing his knees up to his chest. "Why are you here?" Kou questioned. "Because like you I too have been left behind, unwanted." he said sadly. Kou was shocked into silence, what did that mean? left behind by who? Homurabi? Was Sawaki in love with Homurabi? Kou chose to ignore that disturbing topic, "I guess, that means, we"re sort of the same right now then." he said. "Something like that." said Sawaki staring up at the sky. "This valentines day this kinda sucks doesn"t it." said Kou. "I believe it does, unless you have someone special to share it with, it"s just another day of the year, another boring day." said Sawaki a little sadly. "Sawaki..." Sawaki didn"t respond, just trying to get his pony tail to stay still. "Hey Sawaki, how about just today, valentines day every year, we call a truths? No fighting with each other." suggested Kou, he had no idea where that came from. Sawaki smiled, "Sure, why not." Kou grinned and boldly tugged Sawaki over to him and leaned the blonde on his shoulder. Sawaki blushed heavily at the sudden act but ignored it and decided to just relish in the feeling of having a person this close to him. He hadn"t had such close contact with a human for a very, very long time. "Sawaki, you okay?" "I"m fine," he said pausing before asking shyly, "c-can we stay like this for a while?" Kou"s eyes widened and he blushed slightly before smiling, "Yeah, we can." The two watched as people began leaving from last period heading home as the sun began to set, the sky burning orange. Kou realised something at that moment, maybe, just maybe, he could get a little closer to Sawaki. Maybe in the near future, they could finally stop trying to fight each other. Maybe - They might finally realise what they feel... I love him... ... THE END ... A/N - It"s done! Just on time! I started writing this like before Christmas last year for no real reason and wasn"t sure if I"d get it up for valentines day but I did it! ^w^ there"s probably a few errors because I"ve only proof read it once ^^;; Hope you enjoyed it! ...

"Of course take your time my dear." he said kissing Ran"s lips gently. With a blush and a smile Ran left the room heading to the thrown room where he knew Nanami would have escorted the children. Yoru sighed and took one final glance out at the village before retreating into Ran"s room. Yoru stood in front of Ran"s dressing table, the table was redwood with a large mirror in the centre. Yoru"s eyes were drawn to a small wooden figure sitting there, it was the carving of a dove, Yoru ran a gentle finger along it"s small wing before carefully picking it up. He tipped it upside down and looked at the bottom, it had writing on it. For my dearest Ran, Be true to your feelings and be yourself Love grandma So Ran"s grandmother gave him this, he assumed Ran was close to her for keeping the little dove close by. Yoru assumed she had passed away because Yoru remembered seeing her when he still worked as a guard, she was looking old at that time too. Placing the small wooden dove back on the dresser Yoru sighed, he wondered what else Ran kept in his room. Yoru didn"t know if it was rude to go through Ran"s room but it would be okay right, he looked to the bedside table and saw a book there, so Ran liked to read. Yoru looked to the balcony and he decided to go back out. As he looked out he looked to his left and in the distance he dimly saw a field of flowers with a large tree in the middle, if he could Yoru would love to go there one day. He laughed at himself, "listen to me," he said to himself, "I won"t be able to go anywhere ever after this week." He let the breeze ruffle his hair before quietly adding, "it"s kind of sad..." "Yoru!" Yoru smiled and turned around catching Ran as the boy flew towards him. "Hello there," said Yoru looking down at the pinkette in his arms, "done with the little ones?" "Of course they just wanted to give me some flowers, bless their souls." said Ran, "they were very sweet, I love little children." "So you like kids?" asked Yoru. "Of course, they are adorable." said Ran smiling at Yoru, he was enjoying being nursed in Yoru"s arms. "Ne Ohime-sama, what"s it like in that field over there?" asked Yoru using one hand to point over in it"s direction without letting go of Ran. Ran hopped out of Yoru"s arms, "it"s beautiful there, my grandma"s buried there under the big tree there, there are many flowers there, I often bring some back with me." "Sounds lovely." said Yoru watching Ran"s soft pink hair flutter in the breeze, "you look lovely like that Ohime-sama." "Like what?" asked Ran turning to Yoru his hair still blowing softly in the breeze. "With your hair flowing like that, it makes you look even more beautiful than you already are." he said his gaze never leaving Ran. Ran blushed pink as he smiled gently walking over to Yoru and leaning on his chest, "promise me whatever happens you"ll always love me." said Ran. Yoru smiled and stroked the younger boys hair, "I promise." ... A week seemed to pass in the blink of an eye for the princess and prisoner because they were once again down in the dungeon saying good bye for now. "I"ll come down every day and see you." said Ran refusing to let go of Yoru. "Now come on we"ll see each other soon." said Yoru embracing Ran tightly in his arms. "But there"s so much more I want to show you..." said Ran burying his head into the crock of Yoru"s neck. Yoru frowned, he didn"t want to stay back down here either, he never did get to do all the things he wanted to do to Ran. Perhaps he could do just one now. Swiftly yet carefully Yoru pinned Ran against the wall of his cell, he heard Ran gasp and Yoru looked into Ran"s eyes, they were wide, confused and Yoru liked it. He dipped his head down to Ran"s neck and his lips latched onto the pale skin making Ran gasp loudly and causing heat to rise to his face. Yoru tried not to mark Ran in fear of them being seen but after a few minutes he could stop himself, he sucked harder and Ran moaned loudly. One of Yoru"s hands found it"s way to Ran"s ass and he squeezed it lightly earning more moans and gasps from the younger boy, his other hand he used to cradle Ran"s back. He wanted to leave at least one mark, just so Ran new he was his. When Yoru pulled back and examined the mark he had left on the princess" neck he lifted his lips to Ran ear and as he spoke he allowed his lips to graze Ran"s ear, "My Ran." he whispered. Ran"s eyes shot open, it was the first time Yoru had actually used his name instead of Ohime-sama. "Yoru..." Ran"s breathy voice made it"s way to Yoru"s ear. Mismatched eyes gazed into blood red ones for sometime before Yoru kissed the princess. Drawing back Yoru smiled, "thankyou for letting me out of this cell." "Your more than welcome." said Ran. "Go now Ohime-sama, or else someone might find you." said Yoru nudging Ran gently towards the door. "I"ll be down again tomorrow, I have the keys now." he said with a smile. "See you tomorrow love." said Yoru as Ran locked his cell door. Ran nodded and hurried back up the stairs, Yoru slumped against the wall, he could still smell Ran"s scent on him, he"d treasure that until it faded away. Yoru stared blankly at the wall in front of him, "well," he muttered, "guess it"s back to doin" what I do best, sleepin"." with that he slumped against the wall of his cell and fell asleep, dreaming of freedom and certain pink haired princess. ... Ran sighed deeply looking at the keys in his hand, he tightened his grip around them. Those keys were his most precious possession now. They were the key to Yoru"s freedom and his key to see the one he loved. His grandmother would be happy- that was what he forgot! "I have to go see grandma!" Ran cried dashing for the castle door and past Nanami. "Princess where are you going!?" called Nanami. "To see my grandma!" Ran shouted back nearly running into the person entering the castle, "sorry!" Ran called while he continued running to the field. What Ran didn"t know was that the people he nearly ran into were his parents back from their trip. They would not be pleased about that. Ran arrived in the field and knelt in front of his grandmother"s head stone, he smiled fondly. "Hi grandma, it"s been a week already. I know, it went fast huh? Well I had a lot of fun with Yoru, and before you say anything, I am still pure," Ran chuckled, "Yoru held back and I"m grateful for that, mother and father should be back soon so I"ll be back to sneaking down to the dungeon, I have the key"s know you see," Ran held the keys in front of the tomb stone before clutching them to his chest, "someday, I will be able to free Yoru from that cell and we can live together in peace. I know it! I love him so much, I just wish I could say how I feel to my parents, they wouldn"t understand. They hate homosexual"s, and more importantly they hate Yoru with a passion. "I can"t explain how much that hurts me, to know they hate me, though they don"t realise it, they do, and they hate my lover, which well..." Ran sniffed, "it makes me wanna cry. But anyway, I had a lovely time with Yoru and he seemed happy that the village was doing well, he liked the field too. I think when I can get him out of there I"ll bring him here first!" Ran gazed up at the sky, the wind blowing his hair and dress around, "Yoru," he whispered, "my one and only true night sky... my lover..." Ran looked back down at his grandmother"s tomb stone and said, "well I think I should go back it"s just past lunch and I have yet to eat, I"ll see you soon hopefully, bye!" Ran stood up and walked out of the field bringing with him some of the colourful daisies that covered the field. Ran walked into the castle and decided to look for Nanami, he wanted a vase for his daisies. He decided to check the dinning hall first, he walked in and called, "Nanami can you fetch me a vase for my-..." Ran"s voice trailed off when he noticed the figures sitting up the table. His parents. And they did not look happy. Oh no! thought Ran did they find out about Yoru!? "Mother, Father, you"re back early," said Ran trying to sound casual. "I assumed you saw us, but oh yes that"s right you were running out of the castle like some kind of peasant folk!" roared Ran"s father. Ran flinched, "I-I"m sorry, I was going to see grandma and I was so excited I didn"t-" "Silence!" yelled the King. "We"re very disappointed in you Ran." said his mother, softly yet strictly. "But I didn"t do anything wrong!" Ran yelled, he"d had it, he had done nothing wrong, he just went to see his grandmother, "is it wrong to see my own grandmother!? Is it wrong to let go of my "princess" self for once!? Just let me be normal for at least some time! The only time I feel normal is when I"m out in that field with grandma!" "How dare you speak to your mother and I that way!" yelled the King standing up out of his seat and storming over to Ran, "you selfish little boy! Think about someone other than yourself and that silly field! You have no right to treat your own parents that way!" with that the King slapped Ran hard across the face making the small boy fall to the ground and cry out. Ran dimly heard his mother say something but he wasn"t listening, with tears streaming steadily down his face Ran pushed himself up and stood up before running away to his bedroom. "Ran!" called out his mother, she flinched when she heard his bedroom door slam shut. The King stormed out of the room in rage and the Queen looked down at the now abandoned daisies, pink, blue, and red ones. She closed her eyes and sat down, why had things come to this? ... Ran cried. And he cried hard. Face pressed into the pillow Yoru had used when he was here Ran wept, he had been so happy about the entire week he was even going to give those daises to his parents to show them how happy he was. But what stunned him the most was that slap. His father had never hurt him. His thoughts were drawn to Yoru, was that how Yoru was treated every day of his life? Ran sat up and wiped away his tears, he held the keys that lead to the dungeon and Yoru"s cell. He was going down there now, he needed to talk to Yoru badly now. Getting off his bed Ran quietly opened the door and closed it again before heading down stairs and to the dungeon. He placed the key it it"s hole and turned it gently. Ran quickly glanced out the window, the sky was getting dark which meant the guards would have already been down. Ran stepped onto the top step before silently closing the heavy door and heading down the steps to Yoru"s cell. Ran silently opened Yoru"s cell door, the older man stirred from his sleep and blinked sleepily at the princess, "Ohime-sama? What are you doing down here?" Ran sniffed, "my parent"s just yelled at me." Yoru"s eyes softened and he beckoned Ran to come sit by him, "come on, tell me what happened." Ran curled up next to Yoru and closed his eyes, silent tears falling down his pale face. Yoru"s eyes went wide when he noticed the dark purple bruise on the side of Ran"s face. "Ohime-sama, who did this to you!?" Yoru demanded. "My father," said Ran softly, "I was in a hurry to get to grandma"s grave so I ran out the castle doors and I bumped into someone and I didn"t know who it was until I got home and my parent"s scolded me for running past them like that. I lost my temper and yelled at them and my father didn"t like that so he hit me." Yoru scowled deeply, "he has not right to do that, King or not no one hits their own child." Ran sniffled and held onto Yoru tighter, "Ohime-sama no-," Yoru stopped himself, "-Ran, it"ll be okay, I"m here, I always will be, I"ll protect you." "Thankyou, Yoru," Ran muttered sighing softly as Yoru placed a kiss on the younger boys forehead. There was a silence between the two for a short while until Ran spoke, the words coming out his mouth causing Yoru to blink a few times, "take me, Yoru." "Ran, are you- are you sure about it," said Yoru silently praying Ran would say yes, "and in here, wouldn"t you want to be well, you know, on a bed?" "It doesn"t matter where all that matters is it"s you that does it, and the fact that I love you so much." said Ran smiling softly stroking Yoru"s cheek with his hand. "Okay then, I"ll be gentle with you I promise." said Yoru. Ran nodded, "I know you will." With that most of the talking stopped there, Yoru captured Ran"s lips in a soft kiss growing deeper and rougher as Yoru grew further aroused. Deciding to fix his problem Yoru pulled back from Ran causing the young princess to whimper in distress at the loss of contact, with a light chuckle Yoru set to work at removing Ran"s clothes. Being the gentleman that he was Yoru gently kissed and sucked on the pink haired boys neck eliciting gasps and moans from said pinkettes, as Yoru attempted to work his lover free of his frilly confinements. The first layer was quite simple the moment the garment was over Ran"s head Yoru lips latched back onto the smooth white flesh covering Ran"s neck, skilful hands made their way to the corset Ran was forced to wear every day, after some few attempts Yoru growled in frustration cursing the damn garment for being so awkward to get off. "Let me help." came Ran"s breathy voice, slender pale fingers making their way to the strings holding together the corset. Ran guided his hands to Yoru"s larger hands so he could help work away the corsets strings. With a tug and a pull the tight bow was removed and Yoru practically ravished the garment almost tearing the thing in half, desperate to get it off and see more of Ran"s pale skin he had grown to love so much. Once the bothersome article of clothing was tossed aside Ran had obviously decided it was Yoru"s turn to lose some clothes. Yoru watched with great interest as Ran"s fingers worked to un-fasten the buttons holding together Yoru"s now tattered shirt. Yoru felt gentle hands slide up his chest and to his shoulders so they could push the shirt off. Yoru let the piece of clothing slide down, he heard and small but notable gasp from the boy beneath him. Carefully taking one of Ran"s hands in his he guided it along his chest. "It"s okay Ran, touch." he whispered, Ran nodded and slowly grew accustom to the feel becoming more brave he pressed his cheek against Yoru"s chest and rubbed it before nuzzling the spot just under Yoru"s collar bone. The smile that had formed on Yoru"s face quickly turned into a gasp as he felt soft lips and small teeth nibbling and sucking on his collar bone, truth be told it was one of Yoru"s more sensitive areas. The older male gasped once again as Ran"s pink tongue slid down along his chest until it found one of Yoru"s nipples, Ran looked up at Yoru, almost as if asking for permission to continue, Yoru nodded silently as he felt Ran suckle on the sensitive point. Okay that was it, Yoru couldn"t take it anymore, he need to ravish Ran right now! Swiftly lying Ran down on the ground Yoru literally tore of Ran"s under dress leaving Ran only in thin underwear. Yoru started slow, sucking, licking and just tasting Ran but slowly he moved down tracing random patterns and shapes on Ran"s chest with his tongue causing the smaller boy to moan and cry out his lovers name. When Yoru reached his destination he smiled when he saw Ran"s length, at least he knew the princess was enjoying his treatment. He nuzzled there, his younger lover gasping sharply. "Yoru," Ran moaned. "Something wrong love?" asked Yoru his voice both seductive and husky. "Please, take them off." Ran pleaded. "Take off what Ran?" Yoru couldn"t help but tease Ran, he just looked so damn cute. "Your pants," Ran said finally, "I want to see you." A slight blush crossed Yoru"s features as he slowly inched the clothing down his hips and onto the ground, he didn"t wear anything underneath and Ran apparently like that. Blood red eyes went wide with both surprise and obvious approvment at the size of Yoru"s length. The red eyed princess licked his lips, Yoru smirked at him before going back to his previous task. Not wanting to spoil all the fun just yet, Yoru left Ran"s underwear on as he licked Ran"s length through the white material, the cloth dampening each time Yoru licked it. Ran threw his head back and cried out in pleasure, "so good!" Ran gasped, "it feels so good-AH!" Satisfied with Ran"s reaction Yoru pulled down Ran"s bothersome pants so he could give Ran exactly what he wanted - no, what he needed. Yoru"s skilful mouth set out to do it"s job, taking the head of Ran"s painfully hard cock in his mouth causing the male beneath him to squirm and cry out loudly. "Yoru-Ah-hah! Yoru please! More!" Ran was actually crying at this point, the pleasure was proving to be to much for him, he wanted Yoru inside him, and he wanted him badly. Yoru released Ran"s length with an erotic pop, "Okay, hold on baby, just wait a bit longer." Yoru, realising he had no source of lubrication, immediately put two of his fingers to Ran"s mouth, "Suck them." he whispered Ran nodded and hurriedly sucked the fingers he was presented with. Once he thought they were done, Yoru withdrew his fingers from the needy princess" mouth and slid his hand down Ran"s stomach before he started to gently probe at Ran"s entrance with one finger. Ran squeaked at the foreign touch. "Ran, just relax okay, try not to be so tense, it"ll hurt more," said Yoru gently. "I"m scared." whimpered Ran wrapping his arms around Yoru"s shoulders. "I"m here Ran, I would never hurt you," said Yoru kissing Ran"s neck, "Now relax." Ran did as he was told and relaxed as much as he could as Yoru slipped a first finger in, Ran cried out loudly. After a short while a second finger was added and Ran couldn"t help it any longer, he cried in pain and sobbed as the finger within him continued to work him, opening that incredibly tight passage, preparing him for something so much larger. Yoru was feeling bad, he hated hearing Ran"s cries of pain. "You want me to stop? I will if you want me to." said Yoru gently to his lover. "No, keep going, please, I"ll be...okay..." he said softly, gasping loudly as Yoru buried his fingers in deeper. Ran fisted Yoru"s hair trying to ignore the pain, it wasn"t as bad now, it actually feels really good thought Ran. Gently Yoru removed his fingers making Ran whimper at the feeling of being empty again. Placing his hands just beside Ran head Yoru looked down at his young lover and smiled reassuringly. "It"s going to hurt Ran, I won"t lie to you," said Yoru, "just relax and you"ll be fine." "Okay, please, don"t wait any longer..." Ran whispered. Yoru just nodded, he bent down to kiss Ran as he entered him hoping to muffle the scream he new would arise. It didn"t work. Ran tore his mouth away from Yoru"s and screamed very loudly, Yoru acted quickly kiss Ran"s lips in small pecks gently and soothingly trying to calm the pink haired princess down. "It"s okay Ran," Yoru whispered soothingly in his melodic voice, "the pain will go away." It was taking most of, if not all of Yoru"s self control not to just pound Ran senseless, but the last thing he wanted was for Ran to be hurt. Ran"s whimpering had stopped, though the tears still flowed down his beautiful face. "Can I move now love?" asked Yoru soothingly stroking Ran"s hair. "Yes... please, Yoru..." Ran breathed. Removing his hand from Ran"s hair and using both hands to support him Yoru began the slow process of warming Ran up. Yoru looked down at Ran"s face, his eyes were squeezed shut and his mouth was open, Yoru could hear his gasping. Yoru picked up his pace, thrusting faster into his lover, not to fast for fear of hurting him. It was clear Ran was enjoying this very much now. "Yoru... more-ah!" Ran cried out. Answering his wish Yoru went deeper, Ran moaned loudly before crying out. Yoru smirked to himself, he had found Ran"s sweet spot. Now he could drive Ran insane. "Yoru! Ah-! Deeper, faster!" Ran was begging now, so desperate to feel more, he wanted Yoru in him more, he wanted to feel more connected. Yoru quite happily complied with Ran"s requests, thrusting as hard and as fast he could. Ran loved it, he threw his arms up around Yoru"s shoulders and clung to him tightly. His whole body felt like it was on fire, he was so close he could feel it. Yoru himself was having trouble with control, he was close as well but he wanted Ran to come first, he wanted to see his face. "Y-Yoru, I can"t hold anymore..." Ran cried. "Come when your ready, don"t hold back okay." said Yoru. As Yoru thrusted even faster Ran cried out his lovers name loudly as he came, Yoru following shortly after. They both collapsed on the hard ground beneath them, Yoru rolled off Ran so he wouldn"t crush him. Ran rolled over and curled up against Yoru, said prisoner looked down at the bundle of innocence by his side and wrapped a protective arm around him. Shortly after they both fell asleep, not knowing what would be in store for them the next morning. ... Yoru"s eyes slowly opened the next morning, he looked by his side and saw Ran still curled up next to him proving what he thought was a lovely dream to be reality. The princess stirred next to him and yawned cutely before blinking and rubbing his eyes.

"I would." All eyes whipped to where Shu had suddenly appeared, lounging on the last six steps like a sleepy prince. "So we have the baby delinquent and the deadbeat musician," Kit murmured under her breath. Although he undoubtedly heard her, Reiji ignored Kit in favor of frowning at his brother. "Why do we discover these things only after strangers have arrived on our doorstep?" Shu just shrugged, tapping his foot lazily in time with the music moving through the earbud he"d left in. This must be serious, indeed, if he"d taken one of his headphones out to listen. "That doesn"t explain why she"s here, or who the hell she is," Kanato protested with a frown, hugging his cycloptic teddy bear to his chest. Yui wondered why they were all keeping their relative distance. When they"d advanced on Yui her first night in the house, the brothers had crowded and prodded, licked and sniffed. Now, however, they were like a pack of wary wolves, eyeing the intruder in their midst with bloody interest, but cautious enough to maintain a safe perimeter. Yui had to admit that Kit did not seem like someone who would take a playful nuzzle on the neck very well. "I"m here because the choice is either putting up with me and my colleagues for a short time or having a garrison of High Order knights descending on this lovely house like a plague and snatching Yui away once the threat here has been eradicated." That crisp remark was followed by utter silence, the brothers" eyes falling on Kit with bright, terrible weight. Nothing made these vampires quite as dangerous as provoking their territorial instincts. Except Shu, of course, who still had his head tipped back against a step and his eyes closed. "What are you talking about?" Ayato snapped, surging closer to Yui. Kit shifted between them again, and he was forced to halt his advance, the two locked in a contest of wills. Kit looked away first, back to the two elder brothers on the staircase, but only because Ayato"s shoulders had lowered and his head slowly reared back. "I"m talking about the High Order"s ruling in regards to Yui Komori"s situation." Frowns abounded, and unnaturally bright eyes narrowed. Instead of responding to their expressions, however, Kit turned and faced Yui. The fierceness drained from her face, leaving reassurance and quiet strength. "You are very precious, Yui, and your continued survival is both cause for hope and further investigation. Your father"s faith is what sent you here, but in light of the events involving Richter and these idiots, your safety has been called into question. I"m here to protect you," she said softly, resting a hand lightly on Yui"s shoulder. Once she nodded, Kit turned her eyes back to the brothers and continued. "And to act as assessor. I will judge whether or not it"s wise for Yui Komori to remain in the custody of the Sakimaki brothers. She"s too valuable to leave to a bunch of little boys who are careless with their toys. We can"t risk one of you snapping her neck because you were roughhousing. Tossing her into a pool when she can"t swim and gnawing on her like a dog does his favorite bone is bad enough." "Your judgment in this matter is completely unnecessary," Reiji protested, his tone millimeters from a snarl. Kit inclined her head in acquiescence, a sharp smile shaping her soft mouth. "I completely agree. I proposed that we should just have the knights take her and be done with it. But this is a courtesy paid to one of the oldest full-blood vampiric bloodlines in existence. If I deem you all worthy, you can continue your twisted little game as though nothing has changed." "And if you don"t?" Yui whispered. Kit turned, the green slowly overtaking her eyes as she took in Yui"s expression. "Then you"ll be leaving. Vampires are dangerous under the best of circumstances, and if these nimrods can"t value and protect you, then they damn well don"t deserve you." "Come now, bitch," Laito drawled, having snuck close enough to murmur in Kit"s ear and trail his fingers along her cheek, moving her hair back over the shell of her ear to bare her pale neck. "There"s no need to-" Laito recoiled with a hiss. What happened next had everyone"s eyes going wide. Yui had never seen a mortal move so fast. Kit spun, her skirt belling out around her, and lunged at Laito. Yui couldn"t help it - she squeaked. The tall, dark woman fisted her hand in Laito"s white shirt, and since they were about the same height, yanked him in until they were nose to nose. Her eyes had gone from mossy soft to a silver hard enough to crack concrete, the light of bloodlust making her irises glimmer. But the most shocking aspect was the small, almost delicate stiletto hovering just against the soft underside of Laito"s jaw. After having produced it from seemingly out of nowhere, Kit"s blade glinted with sterling intent. "Fuck. You." The intensity of Kit"s measured words had the silence growing until it pressed against skin. By the time Ayato collected himself enough to move to his twin"s aid, Kit had released him, tucked her blade out of sight, and returned to where Yui was standing, shell-shocked and stunned. Before she leaned down to pick up her bag, she twisted to face Laito again. "And your stupid fucking hat." With that, she snagged her bag and straightened, addressing the hall at large. "My two colleagues will be here in a matter of days. Things got a little messy in Prague, and they stayed behind to mop up. I assume you have somewhere for us to stay in this gargantuan house?" She aimed her question at Reiji, but instead of responding to her, he nodded minimally at Yui. Remembering the bank of rooms across the hall and slightly farther down from hers", she assumed that was Reiji"s intentions. "This way, please, Kit," she bid quietly, leading the way out of the tension-soaked hall. Kit paused, however, near Laito. "Touch me again, and I"ll castrate you and shove you pathetic manhood down your throat until you asphyxiate on it." Flashing a narrow, sphinx-like smile, Kit continued after Yui, who was blushing furiously at the woman"s smoothly delivered threat. Together, they passed through the gauntlet of the eldest brothers, Kit remaining defiantly calm despite moving within feet of two of the most pure-bred vampires currently walking the earth. It wasn"t until the women"s footsteps had disappeared from even their advanced hearing that the brothers finally broke the shocked silence. "Bitch," Laito managed, having recovered his cocky confidence now that Kit"s hostile virulence faded with distance, readjusting his insulted hat and straightening his abused shirt. Thoughtfully, he rubbed the bottom of his chin, where the halo of silver had almost stung. "Indeed," Reiji murmured, his eyes still trained on the hallway the tall woman had disappeared through. "She"s wearing long silver earrings. Who does that?" Laito muttered, rubbing his still-singed fingertips together. He"d brushed against the delicate silver chains when pulling Kit"s damp hair, thick with the scent of rain and skin and herbs, back from the long column of her neck. However, everyone ignored the bitching induced by his wounded pride. Honestly, they were all a little dazed. It had been a very long time, if ever, since any creature besides each other had physically threatened them, with serious intent and weight, and survived. Usually flashing the fangs, manhandling a mortal a little, and tossing out a couple of kill threats was enough to bring any stray easily under command. Not this one, however. Her demeanor was dangerous enough; but there was something else, a kind of aura that felt almost... metallic. "She smells different," Kanato piped up. "Like steel and smoke." "That"s because she"s a hunter," Shu replied with relaxed indifference. However, every other being in the hall stiffened at his proclamation. "You invited a hunter into our home?" Ayato snarled. "And not just any hunter, either," Reiji added, his voice heavy with condemnation. "She"s a member of the Crimson Quarter, isn"t she?" Shu just shrugged again. "What"s the Crimson Quarter?" Kanato asked. Laito, Ayato, and Subaru all looked equally confused. Reiji sighed heavily; infants, all of them. "It"s the High Order"s version of a hit squad. They"re the most dangerous hunters at the Order"s disposal, and are touted to be without equal. If a pack of vampires gets too unruly or careless with their kills, the Order will send in a Crimson Quarter hunter. They usually don"t operate in teams of more than three, so they"re sending us a full squad of their elites under the guise of a truce." "Has to be better than a garrison of knights, though, right?" Ayato said hopefully. He didn"t need to see his older brother"s eyes to know that Reiji was resisting the urge to roll them. Instead, he pinned his magenta gaze on a snoozing Shu, more irritated than he could possibly describe. And his vocabulary was vast. "Not really. In fact, I think that woman and her compatriots are far worse than any army." Shu"s crystalline eyes flickered open briefly at Reiji"s irritated statement. "I thought it would be easier playing host to three rather than three hundred." Reiji"s response to that logic was simple. "Moron." Sighing through his nose, he looked again up to the doorway where he"d last seen the hunter"s straight spine. "We"ll have to be careful about this," he declared to his brothers, the younger ones ringed around the base of the stairs now that Yui and the hunter were gone. "Things could go awry very easily, and we could lose our bride." "I"ll rip them to shreds if they try and take her," Ayato violently promised. Reiji resisted the urge to shake his head, descending into his thoughts as the junior vampires began to bicker. They could likely silence the hunters if their opinion proved unfavorable. But it would cost them. Oh, it would cost the Sakimaki brothers dearly. He"d been right - a garrison of knights would have been far less hassle. But annihilation wasn"t the simplest path; much easier to play by the hunters" rules and wait them out. They were too valuable to post on babysitting detail for long, and if the High Order did send replacements, it was highly doubtful they would be of the Crimson Quarter caliber. No doubt proving easier to quietly dispatch and silence this matter for good. "Regardless," he said with a low voice of command, halting the sniping before it got any louder. "Our guest is to be treated with respect. We will follow the rules and get this over with as quickly as possible. Miss... What is her name, Shu?" "Christine St. Peter," he provided, not bothering to lift his eyelids. Shaking his head at his brother"s complete lack of concern, Reiji continued. "Miss Christine St. Peter is off limits. Give her and her fellow hunters a wide berth, and we have to use kid gloves with Yui. That is all." Like a general dismissing his troops, Reiji pivoted on his heel and marched up the stairs. As he moved towards his rooms, however, he paused in a dim hallway, the echo of his brothers" discontent still ringing in his ears. That, however, wasn"t what was commanding his attention. Pulling off his glasses and slowly polishing the lenses with a snowy handkerchief, Reiji ran his tongue around pointed teeth. No wonder the woman went by a nickname. It was as if her full name had been dipped in holy water, leaving the taste of ash in his mouth upon the speaking of it. Her name marked her as a hunter more thoroughly than her skill or attitude. She could be a serious threat. Well, he"d dealt with worse before. He might even enjoy this. Breaking a hunter of Christine St. Peters" quality would be quite a thrill. Reiji began calculating if it was worth the risk. Yui had picked the second room after hers on the opposite side of the hallway because she thought Kit would appreciate the view of the gardens. That, and the furniture was themed in a lovely, soft jewel green that she hoped would appeal. Clicking on the lights, Yui watched as Kit set her bag on a small side table, striding to the windows and whipping open curtains made of dark emerald damask, lined with a filmy layer of fabric the color of mint. Obviously, her concern had been pointless, as Kit paid zero attention to the fabric in her hands while her gaze swiftly passed over what little landscape was visible outside through the rain. After nodding at her reflection in the window, she prowled the edges of the room, looking for Yui had no idea what. Finally, though, Kit returned to where Yui uncomfortably stood slowly wringing her hands together and undid the clasp holding her bag closed, peeling off the water-hard jacket. Draping it over the back of a chair to dry, Yui could now see the loose, short-sleeved bohemian blouse the color of old blood, bound at her waist by a thick black belt, and a sturdy silver chain that disappeared beneath the gathered neck. She shook her wet hair loose before beginning to rifle through her bag. "Some digs," Kit offered as she began pulling things out. Trying not to stare at the foot long silver crucifix she"d produced or the broad, scrolled silver cuffs, each bisected by a thin stretch of black leather, on each of Kit"s wrists, Yui cleared her throat. "Yes, it"s quite a lovely mansion." Struggling with her concerns, it took Yui a moment to continue. "Umm, Kit?" "What"s up?" she asked as she hung up jeans and shirts in the mirrored cherry wardrobe. This was the only wing of the house with mirrors. They"d been removed by and large from any area the brothers usually occupied. "I was wondering... did you really mean what you said downstairs?" Kit paused while tucking another pair of boots on the wardrobe"s floor, catching Yui"s eyes in the mirror. "Did I look like I was joking?" she asked, arching a brow as she straightened. "No, no, I just... What exactly is the High Order? And why do they have an interest in me?" Kit returned to her bag, continuing to unpack as she explained. "The High Order was initially a group of priests. Some say Knights Templar coming back from the Crusades, others say warrior monks returning from the Orient. Hard to know exactly. Either way, there were two things that set these priests apart from usual men of the cloth; they knew of the existence of vampires, and they had the will and skill to destroy them. The reason humanity is unaware of vampires and not yet extinct is because of our actions. We can"t yet eradicate them, but we are gaining ground. I"m surprised you don"t already know this." Yui cocked her head, trying to absorb the information and follow Kit"s line of logic. "Why do you say that?" "Because your father is a member." Terrible silence reigned for a beat. "But he"s a priest," Yui automatically protested. She felt like her head was full of cotton, all pertinent knowledge and understanding simply sucked away in the aftermath of that bombshell. Kit just nodded and continued. "All members of the Order except those in my sect are ordained. We"re too valuable as killers to quibble over priesthood," Kit added with a thin smile. Yui got the feeling, though, that the last thing she felt in regards to that fact was pride. "Anyway. Your dad had his share of field ops, but he"s largely retired to research and archiving now. He sent you here because he thought you would be safe, that it was your destiny. The path God had made for you." Kit didn"t quite turn away towards the dresser in time to hide the extravagant roll of her eyes. "He was banking on your heart to keep you safe. And it should have, if those psychopaths downstairs had any sense beyond their lust for the hunt." "But why does it matter? I mean, I understand my father"s concern. But why would the High Order care about me?" Yui was almost distracted enough to miss the long, wickedly sharp dagger Kit slipped into her sock drawer. "Because you"re a half breed. Not the first we"ve ever seen, but certainly the first of your kind. The implications of your existence are enormous, and there"s valuable data still hidden in your blood. It"s common knowledge within the community that a bride has never survived awakening, and certainly not with vampiric powers. That makes you very special, and very interesting. We can"t afford to risk it all on a bunch of nutballs who can"t keep it in their pants." Yui"s face flamed, and before she had a chance to stammer a protest, Kit continued. "Metaphorically speaking," she conceded. They shared an awkward smile, woman to woman, before Kit started talking again. "All that notwithstanding, you"re technically Cordelia"s heir. And she was one mean, sexy, evil bitch back in the day. That"s an awful lot of bad mixed in with your inherent good. If a shit storm"s on the horizon, the Order doesn"t want to be caught off guard, and we can"t trust the Sakimakis to keep us honestly informed. So that"s my job. First wave recon. Never a fun gig, but hey," she said nonchalantly with a roll of her shoulders. "I"m a good little soldier. With that, she withdrew a very ugly, very black pistol, checking the clip and slapping it back into place with the relaxed ease of someone extremely experienced with firearms. Cocking it with an awful, echoing series of clicks, Kit set it down next to the crucifix before meeting Yui"s eyes. She didn"t say anything, but the hunter didn"t have to. She wasn"t just a soldier. Kit was a warrior, battle-hardened inside and out. And if anyone, anyone, could kill a Sakimaki vampire, Kit St. Peter could. I bet some of you folks are wondering where the heck the next Phoenix chapter is. Well, my life got shoved into a blender and somebody hit frappe. So, in the meantime, while I regain my momentum, here"s a little something I was toodling with that I hadn"t yet decided whether or not I would post it. I figured, might as well. It starts out pretty obviously Tango, but this one veers a little off course later on. I didn"t particularly like this series, but the boys are so pretty, and so badly deserve a sound ass-kicking. So I dreamt up some hot badasses to do just that. Hope you like it! Love, Tango It was the nature of all predators. No matter their innate inclinations, eventually a predator shifted their active time to match that of their prey. So although Kit was biologically poorly adapted for night-time hunting, her brain had declared two am off limits for REM sleep after a lifetime of wakeful nights. She"d thoroughly warded her room after Yui left, since the limits of an invitation were void inside the vampires" own domain. Although she doubted such a rule would even slow down a band of such ridiculously powerful full bloods as the Sakimakis. Having showered and changed into comfortable clothing that could be worn to battle or to snooze, Kit studiously donned the remainder of her armor. The cross, wrist bands, and earrings all carried a form of pure silver; a vampire could still kill her, but she couldn"t be turned. And she"d have to be incapacitated beyond recovery to allow a vamp to bite her in one of the less vulnerable areas of her body, since they couldn"t get close enough to her more accessible arteries. Although she took off her earrings and bands to sleep, the pendant practically never left her body. She"d worn through four chains in the fourteen years a crucifix had hung around her neck. Even without a stitch of clothing on, Kit didn"t consider herself truly naked unless she was without her cross. She showered with it on; she even had sex with it on. Adamant in her habit of wearing silver in normal situations, she was downright militant about it in this household. The boys had gotten a little more careful, and Yui"s skin did recover better than most, but there were still shadows of bite marks littering her throat and shoulders. Guys were snackers, obviously. Kit shook her head as she strolled down a dark hallway, her eyes adapting to the gloom quickly and easily. Although she was no panther and couldn"t rival a vampire"s senses, hers were more developed than any human"s. In order to become the hunters, she and her comrades had been forced to become more than the prey. Why would Yui want to stay, Kit wondered as she passed through a hallway pierced by shafts of pale blue light, the windows offering glimpses of the cloud-wreathed half-moon, hanging in the sky like a split pearl. She"d looked... well, she"d looked taken aback when Kit had mentioned the possibility that she might get an armed escort out of this demons" hole. Yui might be enthralled, but she didn"t have that smell of black cherries that usually emanated from someone under a vampire"s blood command. Besides, who was the source? From the smell of it, they all drank from her pretty often, Ayato and Laito the most regular offenders. They were like dogs, rubbing their marking scent on what they considered their property. Not to mention, she didn"t even wear protection. Kit knew for a fact that Father Komori would never have sent Yui into this house without at least a cross, but there hadn"t been a glint of silver on her. Of course, if it was any other material other than pure silver, a crucifix would be little better than wet paper trying to stop a freight train. Had she believed them when they"d scoffed at her first instinctive brandishing of it? Oh yes, because a pack of carnivores would positively identify the one weapon you had against them the first time they see it. Seriously. How that girl remained so naïve, and still alive, in this den of monsters, Kit had no idea. One thing was for sure, though. Yui was getting a firm talking-to tomorrow about Vampire Defense 101.

"Markl, you were utterly useless this morning. Get Calcifer some more wood, would you?" Markl made the appropriate noises of disdain, making faces that caused his children to giggle over their mouthfuls of food as he stood. He muttered something that made Sophie cough, although it sounded more like a laugh from where Ana was sitting. Following his moves with her eyes, Ana finally saw the two little white eyes and pursed mouth floating in the fire Howl had cooked breakfast on. As Markl unceremoniously tossed a couple pieces of firewood on the little flame, Calcifer finally met Ana"s eyes. As he munched on the wood, he looked at her with a considering expression. "You"re prettier when you"re awake," the little flame suddenly said. Ana almost uttered a confused thanks when he continued. "Of course, you didn"t have much to start with..." Her eyes narrowed dangerously, earning an approving laugh from Markl and Howl. Sophie glared at the little flame. "I might not want to drink my juice if you say another word, Calcifer." The flame shrugged, but didn"t appear very nonchalant. He didn"t say anything more, and went back to munching on his fresh wood. Still puzzling over the latest development, Ana turned back to her food. The children were still shoveling as politely as they could manage. The adults ate with more reserve, but no less enjoyment. Over her wonderful breakfast, a plate of some sort of bread, similar to biscuits, cooked with butter, cinnamon and brown sugar, Ana observed the family around her. Howl sat at the head of the table just to her right, and Ana"s assumption that this was lord of the house was correct. His command was thorough, the respect for him resonating from everyone in the family. But it was Sophie who held it all together, and in whom the true power laid. She had provided the silverware, napkins, and juice Howl would never have considered. She quietly told the twins to put their napkins on their laps, and not let them fall to the floor from her queen"s position at the other end of the table. Ana deduced this was a regular occurrence. She caught Markl"s wink he threw at his children, and decided that he had been reprimanded for his manners by Sophie many times during his youth. Diane was the puzzle. Her hair was just the shade of the twins", but no one had mentioned her marriage to Markl, let alone the mothering of the children. And from what Ana had seen, Tommy and Leena looked to Sophie as a motherly figure, which suggested that either they didn"t trust Diane enough, or that she was more absent than Sophie. Either way, where exactly she stood in relation to Markl, Leena, and Tommy was a mystery. The pace slowed, and conversation began to flow. Tommy and Leena still attacking their food like hyenas, the adults began to talk. It was a pleasant, warm flow of words, and Ana basked in it. The topics ranged from weather, health, to work. There Ana lost track of the conversation as references and words were thrown about with little explanation. Finally giving up in confusion, Ana merely enjoyed the warm hum of beautiful voices. Finally, Sophie said something that caught Ana"s attention. "How do you think Felix is doing?" Howl stayed silent, allowing Markl to speak. "I"ll go check on him, drag him down. Some food with do him good." Just as Markl pushed back from the table, a wonderfully familiar voice resonated from the top of the staircase. "No dragging will be necessary, Markl. You"re always too eager to bloody me up a bit." As one, seven pairs of eyes flew up to Felix, who strolled down the stairs with his lanky stride, looking devastatingly handsome and totally at home. He wore a clean linen shirt, a dark emerald waistcoat, and dark breeches. Ana"s throat dried a little at what a picture he made. Leena and Tommy simultaneously shrieked, "Uncle Felix!" before leaping out of their chairs and zooming across the room side by side. Sophie seemed to think about reminding them of at least putting the napkins on the table, but just shook her head with a sigh before bending to pick them up herself. Ana caught the small smile on Sophie"s face, and knew her a little better for it. Felix caught the twins with a groan, making all sorts of noises and faces as he jokingly struggled to pick them up. "When did my little ghoulies become such giants? I can... barely... lift you up!" he roared as he threw each one, laughing and screaming, over his shoulders. He made his comical, staggering way across the room slowly, but for all his complaints about his physical weakness, Ana could see that Felix"s grip was strong and sure on the little bodies that were totally in his hands. Sliding a glance at Markl, she saw that the man trusted Felix with his children completely. His face didn"t even flicker as Felix almost overbalanced on purpose, making the children squeal. "Alright, Felix," Sophie finally said, unable to hold back the chuckle at the children"s obvious joy. "Tommy and Leena have been eating like pigs, and if you keep that up, they"re going to bring it back up all over you." Flashing a theatrical, horrified look at the children, which just made them laugh harder, Felix plopped their little feet back on the ground. "Uncle Felix, Uncle Felix!" they chirped, using a whole different bid for attention. They both started talking at once, which drew Felix down to one knee to listen. Ana tried, but couldn"t decipher their garble of words. Leena seemed to be talking about some animal she had a conversation with, and Tommy kept mentioning stones. While Ana was confused, Felix nodded, his face conveying total understanding. "My, my, you two have been busy. We"ll talk in depth later. Now go finish your breakfast before it gets cold," he commanded, patting them on the rumps as they turned and scampered back to their seats. As the proverbial prince of the realm, Felix started his round around the table. He first approached his mother, pressing a loving kiss to her cheek. "Good morning, Mother. And how are you?" "Fine, Felix," she said, her smile almost shy at the charm oozing out of her son. "And you?" "Oh, I"m grand," he dismissed with a wave, stepping over to Diane"s side. "And you, my lovely Diane," he said, delivering a smacking kiss to her cheek, as well. Deep down, so deep Ana refused to acknowledge it, a little flame of envy and jealousy briefly burned before she determinedly stamped it out. "You look as ravishing as ever." "You aren"t looking too shabby yourself, old man." The two grinned at eachother before Felix slid over to Markl"s side. Punching the other man on the shoulder with some force, Felix then extended his hand for a rough shake. "Drag me down, indeed. As if you could manage," he said in a gruffly masculine tone that Markl repeated. Felix tossed a wink to the twins, who snickered over their toast. "Have to be certain you haven"t turned into a sissy during your time away." Felix"s face lit with a dazzling grin as he clapped a hand on Markl"s broad shoulder. Turning to his father, Ana could see the joking light dim in his eyes, but the loving glow brighten. "Father," he said simply, shaking Howl"s hand with uncharacteristic solemnity. "It"s good to be home." Howl clasped his son"s hand. "It"s good to have you home. You did well, and chose the right course." The two remained still for a heartbeat, until Felix broke away, rounding his father to kneel at Ana"s side. He had come to her. Saving her for last. Why, Ana couldn"t guess. But she was certain now that it was right. He took his hand in hers, and their eyes held. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly, and Ana felt the family watching at her back fade away. "I"m fine, thanks to you. And your wonderful family." He grinned, running gentle fingers through her hair before standing. "It"s a joy to hear you say that," he murmured, pressing his lips to her forehead. "Now where can I get some food?" he said loudly to the table at large, purposefully breaking the intimate moment as he moved to the seat across from Ana. Rushing back to reality, Ana cursed her fair complexion as she noticed the contemplative expressions on Sophie and Diane"s faces aimed her way as the twins raced eachother to get Felix food first, ending up spilling on the table and into their father"s lap. Howl took charge, serving his son with a grin as he conveniently cleaned up the mess on the table with a wave of the hand, but left Markl to deal with his own mess. Markl complained about the toast now in his lap thanks to his children"s overeager efforts, and Diane offered some sniping remark that earned a sneer from Markl. The two continued as the twins argued about who had dumped the food on their father"s lap. Calcifer joined in from across the room, offering shouted inflammatory remarks for both quarrels. Sophie glanced between the two squabbles on either side of her, shook her head, and returned to her plate in surrender. Howl smiled serenely, and followed his wife"s lead. Ana watched the chaos and soaked up the noise with wide-eyed wonder. It was all so alive. Catching Felix"s eye across the table, she focused on the knowing grin he shot her as he enjoyed his father"s toast. "Still think they"re wonderful?" he muttered for her ears only. "Absolutely," Ana returned without hesitation, smiling broadly as she ate another piece of toast. Cookie to anyone who figures out what the title of the chapter means. It"s actually not as hard as you may think... I"ll tell you at the end of the next chapter. Anway, so what do you guys think? I added three more characters to my ever growing list, and I love each and every one of them. Strange story about the twins" names. I was set on a pair that were pretty decent, and I had used in the chapter a couple times. Then, when I was looking up a last name for Diane, I found out that Thomas meant twin. That was just too perfect, and I went looking for a girl name that also meant twin that was in no way derived from Thomas. Linnea was the result. Hope you guys like "em!! My first true family scene, and it was really fun!! The mysteries will start unraveling soon. For now, they"re just enjoying a yummy breakfast. Also, if you"re interested in drawing fanart for Sapphire Mage and post it on DeviantArt, let me know!! I would love to see it, and link it on my profile so all the other readers can see it and appreciate it too! Remember to toss me a review to tell me what you think. Fair warning, it"s going to be a while until the next chapter. Considering I posted four chapters in just over a month, I think I earned a little break. With school starting and all that other crazy jazz, I"ve got to get a little settled, and then my nose will be back to the grindstone. Tentatively, I"d say you"d have to wait no more than a month for Ch 13. Hope you like it!! The meal eventually wound down, and the children were pardoned, sprinting outside to burn off their energy, little streaks of youth and gold. Ana felt exhausted just watching their sheer vigor. After they denied her offer of help, Ana sleepily smiled as Markl and Diane competitively cleared the table. Howl settled down in his chair with regality, slipping half-moon reading glasses onto his long, aristocratic nose after snatching a small book from the side board, its dark leather cover engraved with what looked like silver foil and fragments of malachite. Sophie relaxed with a cup of tea, eyeing her husband until he glanced up with a smile. It was as charming and as breath-taking as the ones his son tossed around, and apparently it melted Sophie"s concern. Felix mirrored his mother, his shoulders and neck relaxing as he sipped on his cup of lightly creamed coffee. Markl snatched a newspaper from the kitchen before plopping his long, broad frame down on a hunter green couch in front of Calcifer. Relaxing her head back against the back of the chair, Ana closed her eyes, trying to wrestle her way clear of the pain that was sparking up and down her spine. It had kept quiet through most of breakfast, and had dimmed the greatest once Felix had descended the stairs. But as she stayed awake, alert, and aware, Ana could feel her bones weakening, her blood pounding through her veins harder than it should. Fighting hard enough to bring drops of sweat to her temple trying to regulate her breathing, Ana opened her eyes very slowly when gentle, cool fingers brushed her cheeks. Diane"s stunning face gazed down at her, a soft, worried smile on her bowed lips. "I"m afraid we wore you out." Straightening hurriedly to deny such an accusation, Ana blinked against the stars that robbed her breath and swirled against the back of her closed eyelids. "No, not at all. Maybe I wasn"t as ready as I believed myself to be," Ana murmured, pressing a numb hand to her forehead. She heard the screeching of wood as a chair was shoved back, closely followed by a deep voice. Ana knew she was very far gone when she couldn"t tell if it was Howl or Felix. "Hush. She"s just tired. Ana, you"d best go relax upstairs." Peering through cloudy eyes, Ana could see that Howl was barely holding back his son, energy thrumming through Felix as if he were a plucked string, concern darkening his cobalt eyes. Markl hopped over the back of the couch, resting a hand on Felix"s shoulder. Like a wolf pack, Ana could feel them closing ranks, moving as a well-oiled machine. It was a little intimidating, and the sensation of being prey snuck under her skin. No matter what, it would be best to follow Howl"s advice, especially with her knees trembling and her bones shivering. Slowly taking to her feet with the tentative step of a woman four times her age, Ana was a little surprised when Diane gently clasped her elbow. Sophie suddenly appeared on her other side, and a brief glance over her shoulder confirmed that Howl and Markl now both stood, holding back Felix as politely as they could manage. A family, they certainly were. But why had she expected it to stop there? They were wizards, warriors under that gentle veneer. They had such a lovely little community, but they protected their prince almost violently. What Ana wasn"t sure about was whether they were protecting her, too, or protecting Felix from her. Sophie settled Ana down with the gentle efficiency of a mother. For a moment, Ana was awash with homesickness. It faded as the soft velvet of sleep closed in, but Ana dreamt of her family, a world that seemed eons away while she was tucked in on some stranger"s couch in a neat study inside a moving castle. Her nap was only about half an hour long-she awoke, completely alert, to a quiet room, totally alone. A gentle fall sun illuminated the dancing dust motes, little reeling stars in the hushed air. Rising from the couch hesitantly, Ana was gratified when the muscles in her legs wept, but held under her weight. A shiver stole across her shoulders as a draft whispered through the castle. She dragged the blue and violet checked quilt off the couch, wrapping it around her shoulders before shuffling to the heavily carved oak door. It was lighter than it appeared, almost knocking Ana on the nose when it swung open easily, the hinges silent. Sighing as the gnawing sensation in her joints winked to life, Ana moved into the hallway, peering right, then left, then right again with the blinking deliberation of an owl. She knew the stairs down to the dining room were to the left, but the corridor to the right remained a mystery. The pain humming at lower levels than it had that morning, Ana noticed that the corridors were paneled in ash. Sturdy, yet elegant. It encompassed her hosts perfectly. Making her careful way down the hall, Ana stumped up a short, winding staircase. The corridors branched, forked, and wound into labyrinthine proportions. Ana would stop at a divergence, totally unsure of where the rest of the castle"s inhabitants were. A soft, cool breeze would tug at the ends of the quilt, pulling her down certain hallways and away from others. Eventually, Ana realized that a whisper of laughter rode on her guiding breath of wind. Someone, somewhere in the castle, was laughing, the silvery sound of joy. Ana ultimately found herself before another oaken door, like the one to Sophie"s study. The handle was faded platinum, the fastenings glowed dull silver. Just as she rested faintly shaking fingers on the metal, the door swiftly opened, the air rushing past Ana with one final sterling-toned note to rustle Sophie"s silver hair. The older woman stood on the other side of the door, a surprised lift to her silver brows and cool observation in her brown eyes. "Come in, dear. Are you cold?" Sophie asked as Ana shuffled into the room, noticing the quilt draped over Ana"s shoulders. Diane looked over her shoulder from her place before a wardrobe full of color and texture, her violet eyes warming as they lighted. "I wasn"t able to get warm. It seems like such hard work now," Ana murmured. Catching the way Sophie"s eyes followed the quilt, Ana dragged it from her shoulders, her arms wavering under the weight as she held it out to the older woman. "Is is special to you?" Ana asked quietly, relieved when Sophie"s face softened, a smile lighting her dark eyes. "No, no, it"s alright." Sophie said, taking the quilt from Ana"s hands to drape over her shoulders, steering the young woman into the room with a hand at the base of Ana"s back. "You"re looking better since breakfast. How did you find us?" Diane said, following Ana"s progress into the room with covert eyes in the mirror set into the wardrobe door. As Ana drew closer, she could see that the wardrobe was antique, made of cherry wood and sporting detailed carvings depicting celestial figures and mythical stories. "Just wandering around," Ana said, taking the seat Sophie offered carefully. With an unintentionally loud sigh, Ana relaxed back, swallowing the whimper that bubbled in her throat. Suddenly, a thought flashed through Ana"s head, bringing her jerking forward. "My pack!" she breathed, her mind racing to the last time she had it. "The ambush. I had it during the ambush!" Sophie rested a gentle hand on her shoulder to calm her as Diane approached, a grubby little canvas bag hanging from her hand. As Ana deflated with relief, Diane grinned. "I figured it was yours," she said triumphantly as she plopped it into Ana"s lap. She fumbled with the ties, struggling with the water-tightened, muddy knot. Finally, the strings gave, and Ana lifted out her earth clothes. With a sigh, she rubbed her hands over the denim jeans, smiling at her U of L sweatshirt. Reverently, Ana withdrew the letter from her father. At the back of her mind, Ana admired Diane and Sophie"s quiet patience as she reread the slightly faded letters on the parchment. In a split second decision, Ana handed the letter to Sophie. "I first got this letter from my mother the day I crossed to this plane. This bracelet came with it," Ana explained, pulling back quilt and sleeve to reveal the silver bracelet gleaming against her skin, still bruised a violent black and purple shade, raucous against her porcelain skin. Diane cradled her hand to inspect the bruising closer, casting heavy glances at her preoccupied old master. Sophie"s eyes travelled quickly across the paper, small smiles flitting across her face like birds as tears gathered heavier and heavier, never falling, but glimmering on the rim of her eyes like stars. Eventually, she looked up, smiling sadly as she handed the letter back. "I knew your father. He"s a good man." Ana handed the letter to Diane with her eyes still plastered on Sophie. She had to swallow the shock that clouded her throat to speak. "You... you knew my father?" Ana whispered as Sophie blinked away tears. "He was Howl"s best man at our wedding." Diane and Ana gazed at Sophie with wide eyes as the seconds wound longer and longer, the unfettered silence glimmering in the air. Finally, Diane cleared her throat, drawing Ana"s attention to her with a soft touch to her forearm. "Do you mind?" Ana"s brows furrowed, confused. Diane"s amethyst eyes gestured to the pile of clothes in Ana"s lap, her jeans and sweatshirt muddy and grass-stained, her t-shirt sweaty and blood-flecked. "They"re rather in need of a good washing." Shaking her head clear of the revolving thoughts that still chased eachother in dancing circles in her mind, Ana nodded her consent, trying to reassure with a smile. She found it harder than expected. Gathering up the clothes in her arms, Diane lifted a pinch of Ana"s linen, mud-stained sleeve between reluctant fingertips, her nose wrinkled comically. "Let me guess," she sighed, apparently exasperated. "Felix got these from some poor stable hand, didn"t he?" "I... I believe so," Ana replied, unsuccessfully swallowing the chuckle that threatened at Diane"s expression, a strange mating of disgust and disbelief. "Tell you what," Diane continued, her face clearing and her eyes all business. "You can go next door and take a nice bath, and I can burn these rags and go make fun of Felix for forcing you to wear such an atrocious excuse for clothing." Ana rose, distracted from Sophie"s statement about her father, as had been Diane"s intent. "They were part of my disguise!" Ana said laughingly as Diane escorted her to the bathroom. The other woman rolled her eyes, clearly not impressed. "Of course they were," Diane muttered sarcastically, closing the bathroom door behind her.

Trotting down the main staircase, trailing a hand down the banister, Yui squinted out the grand windows flanking the door, trying to catch a glimpse of whoever had come calling. But the glass might as well have been warped metal for all the good it served to see outside, painted opaque with a rippling flow of water. With little caution - after all, she had a sextet of hormonal, antagonistic vampires at her back - Yui pulled open the door, the mist of shattered raindrops caressing her face like a cool hand. "Yes?" That, however, was all the more she managed to get out when she caught a full glimpse of who stood on the doorstep. The woman was a little older than Yui, her hair and lashes darkened to near black by the rain, wreathed in drops that caught the light from the chandelier and made her appear to almost sparkle. A flowing peasant skirt, dark teal embroidered with sparkling silver beads, flowed around long legs, ending over brown riding boots that looked comfortably worn and thoroughly damp. Yui couldn"t see much of the loose burgundy blouse she wore, not under the rain-stiffened denim jacket, ending at her hips and accenting strong shoulders. The stranger had a hard jawline, soaring cheekbones, a slightly crooked nose, and lips that were currently pulled in and bloodless. All of that made her look quite intimidating; but it was her eyes that appeared downright lethal, causing Yui"s shoulders to instinctively hunch. At first glance, they were the color of steel, harsh and sharp. They moved over everything beyond Yui with fast, ruthless strokes, taking in her surroundings in a manner that reminded her of a hunter. Not a gleeful sort of stripping, the way the guys often looked at her. No, this woman"s eyes moved like bullets, swift and calculating, with just enough wariness to hint at bitter experience. It was only when her gaze returned to Yui that she saw a soft ring of green around the pupil, a plush hint of color that would disappear when her pupils dilated. "Yui? Yui Komori?" the woman asked in a clipped, brisk tone. Remembering her manners, and the downright ferocious tendencies of her housemates, Yui gestured the newcomer in, noticing the compact leather bag she carried and the strong, swinging gait that took her under the elegant light of the chandelier. She shook back that dense mane of long, dark hair, the small braids running along the top half of her head limp and water-logged. Turning those eyes, granite-hard and piercing like a hawk"s, back to Yui, she raised slightly winged brows, waiting for an answer. "Yes, I"m Yui Komori. Can I help you?" Yui couldn"t quite help it - her voice sounded as small as she felt. The stranger easily towered over half a foot taller than her, and looked more like a fighter than anything else, despite the pretty dangling silver stars that sparkled at her ears. She stuck out a hand, and Yui hesitantly took it, noticing the ridge of callouses, the long, almost delicate bones, and the faint knots from old breaks. "Kit St. Peter. And I"m here to help you." "I-I"m sorry?" Yui stammered, too shocked by this woman"s crazy statement to remember to release her hand. Despite the chilling rain, the coolness of Kit"s skin was only superficial; heat was already radiating back to the surface, and Yui could almost feel the pulse of blood pounding underneath her skin, see it blooming in her previously wan face. Oh, God. If one of the boys came down now- "Well, well. Yui, you little minx. So good of you to go out and bring us something to eat on such a dreary day. Darling little Pancake." Damn. All of the Sakimakis drawled in that tingling, sexual tone that had to be illegal in at least four districts, but only Ayato had that bright, sassy timber. He was also the only one that insisted on still using that annoying nickname. Easily remembering how terrified she"d been during her first encounter with the brothers, Yui scrambled for something to say, something to reassure and defuse Kit"s concerns while getting her out of here. When she looked, though, it was apparent she needn"t have bothered. Kit had slipped her hand from Yui"s grasp, shifting slightly to range herself between Yui and the teenaged vampire slinking down the staircase. Was Kit... trying to protect her? Edging over, trying to read the woman"s face, Yui felt the blood drain from her head when she caught Kit"s expression. It was... brutal. She eyed Ayato with a predatory malice, the naked hatred in her cold eyes belying the fact that she didn"t know any of them. Did she? "You must be the youngest triplet. Ayato, right? The one conjuring up revolting nicknames and childish pranks to amuse his massively enlarged ego?" Good Lord. It had been some time since Yui had witnessed Ayato"s face twist in fury in quite that manner. And it took far less than Kit"s carelessly cruel words, spoken in a cutting, caustic tone, to rouse his temper. "What?!" he hissed vehemently, abandoning his dramatic entrance to leap the last dozen stairs to the entry hall floor, stalking forward, his fangs bared and his eyes lit with fury. Kit stood her ground, however, appearing almost negligent in her regard of the advancing, enraged vampire. Yui had just caught sight of a quick twist of Kit"s wrist when another voice rang through the marble hall. "Who is this?" Kanato had caught the sound of voices, and came to investigate. Before Yui could open her mouth to explain, Kit"s lips, slowly regaining a rosy color, twisted. "Ugh. Kiddy vamps. They"re the worst." If she was aiming to insult every one of the exceedingly dangerous men in this house, then Kit was off to a good start. Kanato"s pale purple eyes first widened in a patented expression of hurt confusion before darkening in vicious look that made Yui"s bones quiver. "I am the same age as my brothers. Which will make no difference when I gut you and knit a sweater for my Teddy with your intestines." This was quickly getting out of hand, but Kit just smiled, an expression quite similar to ones Yui had seen on the Sakimaki brothers" faces before, simply lacking the glint of exaggerated fangs. Briefly distracted by the appearance of his closest kin, Ayato resumed circling Kit and Yui, all but ignoring her in favor of the smart-mouthed stranger. She wasn"t confident that she would be able to stop them from killing Kit if things got any worse. There was really only one person who could- "Ayato. Kanato. That is no way to treat a guest, even if you do plan on draining her dry." As a unit, all four of their heads tilted up to where Reiji stood, straight as a spike, looking down at the rapidly degrading scene from the second-story walkway. Kit"s eyes narrowed, and for the first time since she saw her, Yui watched consideration, a sort of cautious measuring, tint her eyes. "You the one holding their leashes?" In lieu of agreement, Reiji nudged the corner of his glasses up as he started towards the stairs. "Someone has to," he murmured. Ayato and Kanato bristled, but fell silent as their brother began to descend the stairs, aiming a killing glance their way to make his point. "Shu Sakimaki?" His expression didn"t change, but Yui saw the way Reiji"s eyes flickered at the mistake. If Kit had been hoping for an ally, she"d just made certain that the bespectacled vampire wasn"t it. "No. I am the second son, Reiji." Before he could continue, Kit nodded. "Ah. So you"re the clever, cruel one obsessed with rules." Reiji"s brow quirked at the quick, careless summation of his personality, but didn"t deny it. Instead, he smoothly diverted. "It"s a pleasure to have you here, madam, but I must ask. Who are you, and what brings you to our door?" Kit tossed her hair back in what could only be described as a regal gesture. "I was invited" she said coolly, evading Reiji"s first question. "Who would be stupid enough to invite someone like you?" Subaru snarled from the shadows of the staircase, his hair glittering like alabaster and his red eyes simmering with a dislike she earned simply by breathing. "I would." All eyes whipped to where Shu had suddenly appeared, lounging on the last six steps like a sleepy prince. "So we have the baby delinquent and the deadbeat musician," Kit murmured under her breath. Although he undoubtedly heard her, Reiji ignored Kit in favor of frowning at his brother. "Why do we discover these things only after strangers have arrived on our doorstep?" Shu just shrugged, tapping his foot lazily in time with the music moving through the earbud he"d left in. This must be serious, indeed, if he"d taken one of his headphones out to listen. "That doesn"t explain why she"s here, or who the hell she is," Kanato protested with a frown, hugging his cycloptic teddy bear to his chest. Yui wondered why they were all keeping their relative distance. When they"d advanced on Yui her first night in the house, the brothers had crowded and prodded, licked and sniffed. Now, however, they were like a pack of wary wolves, eyeing the intruder in their midst with bloody interest, but cautious enough to maintain a safe perimeter. Yui had to admit that Kit did not seem like someone who would take a playful nuzzle on the neck very well. "I"m here because the choice is either putting up with me and my colleagues for a short time or having a garrison of High Order knights descending on this lovely house like a plague and snatching Yui away once the threat here has been eradicated." That crisp remark was followed by utter silence, the brothers" eyes falling on Kit with bright, terrible weight. Nothing made these vampires quite as dangerous as provoking their territorial instincts. Except Shu, of course, who still had his head tipped back against a step and his eyes closed. "What are you talking about?" Ayato snapped, surging closer to Yui. Kit shifted between them again, and he was forced to halt his advance, the two locked in a contest of wills. Kit looked away first, back to the two elder brothers on the staircase, but only because Ayato"s shoulders had lowered and his head slowly reared back. "I"m talking about the High Order"s ruling in regards to Yui Komori"s situation." Frowns abounded, and unnaturally bright eyes narrowed. Instead of responding to their expressions, however, Kit turned and faced Yui. The fierceness drained from her face, leaving reassurance and quiet strength. "You are very precious, Yui, and your continued survival is both cause for hope and further investigation. Your father"s faith is what sent you here, but in light of the events involving Richter and these idiots, your safety has been called into question. I"m here to protect you," she said softly, resting a hand lightly on Yui"s shoulder. Once she nodded, Kit turned her eyes back to the brothers and continued. "And to act as assessor. I will judge whether or not it"s wise for Yui Komori to remain in the custody of the Sakimaki brothers. She"s too valuable to leave to a bunch of little boys who are careless with their toys. We can"t risk one of you snapping her neck because you were roughhousing. Tossing her into a pool when she can"t swim and gnawing on her like a dog does his favorite bone is bad enough." "Your judgment in this matter is completely unnecessary," Reiji protested, his tone millimeters from a snarl. Kit inclined her head in acquiescence, a sharp smile shaping her soft mouth. "I completely agree. I proposed that we should just have the knights take her and be done with it. But this is a courtesy paid to one of the oldest full-blood vampiric bloodlines in existence. If I deem you all worthy, you can continue your twisted little game as though nothing has changed." "And if you don"t?" Yui whispered. Kit turned, the green slowly overtaking her eyes as she took in Yui"s expression. "Then you"ll be leaving. Vampires are dangerous under the best of circumstances, and if these nimrods can"t value and protect you, then they damn well don"t deserve you." "Come now, bitch," Laito drawled, having snuck close enough to murmur in Kit"s ear and trail his fingers along her cheek, moving her hair back over the shell of her ear to bare her pale neck. "There"s no need to-" Laito recoiled with a hiss. What happened next had everyone"s eyes going wide. Yui had never seen a mortal move so fast. Kit spun, her skirt belling out around her, and lunged at Laito. Yui couldn"t help it - she squeaked. The tall, dark woman fisted her hand in Laito"s white shirt, and since they were about the same height, yanked him in until they were nose to nose. Her eyes had gone from mossy soft to a silver hard enough to crack concrete, the light of bloodlust making her irises glimmer. But the most shocking aspect was the small, almost delicate stiletto hovering just against the soft underside of Laito"s jaw. After having produced it from seemingly out of nowhere, Kit"s blade glinted with sterling intent. "Fuck. You." The intensity of Kit"s measured words had the silence growing until it pressed against skin. By the time Ayato collected himself enough to move to his twin"s aid, Kit had released him, tucked her blade out of sight, and returned to where Yui was standing, shell-shocked and stunned. Before she leaned down to pick up her bag, she twisted to face Laito again. "And your stupid fucking hat." With that, she snagged her bag and straightened, addressing the hall at large. "My two colleagues will be here in a matter of days. Things got a little messy in Prague, and they stayed behind to mop up. I assume you have somewhere for us to stay in this gargantuan house?" She aimed her question at Reiji, but instead of responding to her, he nodded minimally at Yui. Remembering the bank of rooms across the hall and slightly farther down from hers", she assumed that was Reiji"s intentions. "This way, please, Kit," she bid quietly, leading the way out of the tension-soaked hall. Kit paused, however, near Laito. "Touch me again, and I"ll castrate you and shove you pathetic manhood down your throat until you asphyxiate on it." Flashing a narrow, sphinx-like smile, Kit continued after Yui, who was blushing furiously at the woman"s smoothly delivered threat. Together, they passed through the gauntlet of the eldest brothers, Kit remaining defiantly calm despite moving within feet of two of the most pure-bred vampires currently walking the earth. It wasn"t until the women"s footsteps had disappeared from even their advanced hearing that the brothers finally broke the shocked silence. "Bitch," Laito managed, having recovered his cocky confidence now that Kit"s hostile virulence faded with distance, readjusting his insulted hat and straightening his abused shirt. Thoughtfully, he rubbed the bottom of his chin, where the halo of silver had almost stung. "Indeed," Reiji murmured, his eyes still trained on the hallway the tall woman had disappeared through. "She"s wearing long silver earrings. Who does that?" Laito muttered, rubbing his still-singed fingertips together. He"d brushed against the delicate silver chains when pulling Kit"s damp hair, thick with the scent of rain and skin and herbs, back from the long column of her neck. However, everyone ignored the bitching induced by his wounded pride. Honestly, they were all a little dazed. It had been a very long time, if ever, since any creature besides each other had physically threatened them, with serious intent and weight, and survived. Usually flashing the fangs, manhandling a mortal a little, and tossing out a couple of kill threats was enough to bring any stray easily under command. Not this one, however. Her demeanor was dangerous enough; but there was something else, a kind of aura that felt almost... metallic. "She smells different," Kanato piped up. "Like steel and smoke." "That"s because she"s a hunter," Shu replied with relaxed indifference. However, every other being in the hall stiffened at his proclamation. "You invited a hunter into our home?" Ayato snarled. "And not just any hunter, either," Reiji added, his voice heavy with condemnation. "She"s a member of the Crimson Quarter, isn"t she?" Shu just shrugged again. "What"s the Crimson Quarter?" Kanato asked. Laito, Ayato, and Subaru all looked equally confused. Reiji sighed heavily; infants, all of them. "It"s the High Order"s version of a hit squad. They"re the most dangerous hunters at the Order"s disposal, and are touted to be without equal. If a pack of vampires gets too unruly or careless with their kills, the Order will send in a Crimson Quarter hunter. They usually don"t operate in teams of more than three, so they"re sending us a full squad of their elites under the guise of a truce." "Has to be better than a garrison of knights, though, right?" Ayato said hopefully. He didn"t need to see his older brother"s eyes to know that Reiji was resisting the urge to roll them. Instead, he pinned his magenta gaze on a snoozing Shu, more irritated than he could possibly describe. And his vocabulary was vast. "Not really. In fact, I think that woman and her compatriots are far worse than any army." Shu"s crystalline eyes flickered open briefly at Reiji"s irritated statement. "I thought it would be easier playing host to three rather than three hundred." Reiji"s response to that logic was simple. "Moron." Sighing through his nose, he looked again up to the doorway where he"d last seen the hunter"s straight spine. "We"ll have to be careful about this," he declared to his brothers, the younger ones ringed around the base of the stairs now that Yui and the hunter were gone. "Things could go awry very easily, and we could lose our bride." "I"ll rip them to shreds if they try and take her," Ayato violently promised. Reiji resisted the urge to shake his head, descending into his thoughts as the junior vampires began to bicker. They could likely silence the hunters if their opinion proved unfavorable. But it would cost them. Oh, it would cost the Sakimaki brothers dearly. He"d been right - a garrison of knights would have been far less hassle. But annihilation wasn"t the simplest path; much easier to play by the hunters" rules and wait them out. They were too valuable to post on babysitting detail for long, and if the High Order did send replacements, it was highly doubtful they would be of the Crimson Quarter caliber. No doubt proving easier to quietly dispatch and silence this matter for good. "Regardless," he said with a low voice of command, halting the sniping before it got any louder. "Our guest is to be treated with respect. We will follow the rules and get this over with as quickly as possible. Miss... What is her name, Shu?" "Christine St. Peter," he provided, not bothering to lift his eyelids. Shaking his head at his brother"s complete lack of concern, Reiji continued. "Miss Christine St. Peter is off limits. Give her and her fellow hunters a wide berth, and we have to use kid gloves with Yui. That is all." Like a general dismissing his troops, Reiji pivoted on his heel and marched up the stairs. As he moved towards his rooms, however, he paused in a dim hallway, the echo of his brothers" discontent still ringing in his ears. That, however, wasn"t what was commanding his attention. Pulling off his glasses and slowly polishing the lenses with a snowy handkerchief, Reiji ran his tongue around pointed teeth. No wonder the woman went by a nickname. It was as if her full name had been dipped in holy water, leaving the taste of ash in his mouth upon the speaking of it. Her name marked her as a hunter more thoroughly than her skill or attitude. She could be a serious threat. Well, he"d dealt with worse before. He might even enjoy this. Breaking a hunter of Christine St. Peters" quality would be quite a thrill. Reiji began calculating if it was worth the risk. Yui had picked the second room after hers on the opposite side of the hallway because she thought Kit would appreciate the view of the gardens. That, and the furniture was themed in a lovely, soft jewel green that she hoped would appeal. Clicking on the lights, Yui watched as Kit set her bag on a small side table, striding to the windows and whipping open curtains made of dark emerald damask, lined with a filmy layer of fabric the color of mint. Obviously, her concern had been pointless, as Kit paid zero attention to the fabric in her hands while her gaze swiftly passed over what little landscape was visible outside through the rain. After nodding at her reflection in the window, she prowled the edges of the room, looking for Yui had no idea what. Finally, though, Kit returned to where Yui uncomfortably stood slowly wringing her hands together and undid the clasp holding her bag closed, peeling off the water-hard jacket. Draping it over the back of a chair to dry, Yui could now see the loose, short-sleeved bohemian blouse the color of old blood, bound at her waist by a thick black belt, and a sturdy silver chain that disappeared beneath the gathered neck. She shook her wet hair loose before beginning to rifle through her bag. "Some digs," Kit offered as she began pulling things out. Trying not to stare at the foot long silver crucifix she"d produced or the broad, scrolled silver cuffs, each bisected by a thin stretch of black leather, on each of Kit"s wrists, Yui cleared her throat.

grass-stained, her t-shirt sweaty and blood-flecked. "They"re rather in need of a good washing." Shaking her head clear of the revolving thoughts that still chased eachother in dancing circles in her mind, Ana nodded her consent, trying to reassure with a smile. She found it harder than expected. Gathering up the clothes in her arms, Diane lifted a pinch of Ana"s linen, mud-stained sleeve between reluctant fingertips, her nose wrinkled comically. "Let me guess," she sighed, apparently exasperated. "Felix got these from some poor stable hand, didn"t he?" "I... I believe so," Ana replied, unsuccessfully swallowing the chuckle that threatened at Diane"s expression, a strange mating of disgust and disbelief. "Tell you what," Diane continued, her face clearing and her eyes all business. "You can go next door and take a nice bath, and I can burn these rags and go make fun of Felix for forcing you to wear such an atrocious excuse for clothing." Ana rose, distracted from Sophie"s statement about her father, as had been Diane"s intent. "They were part of my disguise!" Ana said laughingly as Diane escorted her to the bathroom. The other woman rolled her eyes, clearly not impressed. "Of course they were," Diane muttered sarcastically, closing the bathroom door behind her. Cranking the brass knobs to full hot, she busied herself with providing towels and soap for Ana"s bath. The steam quickly filled the room with the viscosity of fog, penetrating Ana"s tight muscles and shivering bones. With a long sigh, she relaxed her hold on the quilt, folding it as best she could manage. Diane finally approached, taking the quilt from her arms and gesturing to the screen Ana could barely see through the steam. "Go ahead and change out of those monstrosities. Take your time," she added. Ana shucked the horribly wrinkled, muddied clothes as best she could, taking more time than it would have normally required, her joints violently protesting the contortions required to wriggle her way free of the clothing. Wrapping a towel around herself, Ana emerged to hand her clothes to Diane. "Go easy on him, OK?" Ana asked with a chuckle. "He"s only a man, after all." Diane laughed approvingly, nodding her head as she made her way out of the bathroom, the open door casting a brief strike of light through the mist before it again closed. Ana was possessed by the strange sensation of being a ghost, floating through the white mist almost soundlessly. Cranking the water off, Ana set aside the towel and stepped into the huge porcelain clawed tub. It was like sinking into nirvana, this time long enough to appropriately accommodate her height. The water was hot enough to instantly turn her skin pink, and would have normally made her squeal. But as she had said, it seemed difficult for Ana to warm now-the heat was a welcome reprieve from the chill that never seemed to leave her. Picking up a bar of soap, this time scented of lilies, Ana went to work. As Diane made her way back into her room, she couldn"t help the muscles that tightened around her mouth, or her angry shake of her head. Apparently, Sophie noticed, which really shouldn"t have surprised Diane. "What is it?" Sophie asked, her voice that quiet, understanding tone that Diane could recognize in her sleep. "She"s in such pain, Sophie," Diane said quietly, mindful of the thin door separating her room from her occupied bathroom. Still, the emotion and concern in her tone was obvious. "I had hoped she would be showing signs of recovery by now, but the bruising isn"t just on her wrist. It"s all down her spine, and on her scalp. Neither of which she can see, of course, otherwise I"m sure she would have mentioned it. And they"re so vivid! Those bruises were incurred a week ago-they should have started to fade by now, but they look as fresh as ever." As Sophie shook her head in anguish for her guest, Diane bit back her tongue. There were many things she had learned from Sophie that Diane had never grasped at home, besides the obvious craft of magic-one was humility. The other was the skill of listening. "Howl told me of a few cases like Ana"s. Most don"t completely recovery until six months to a year after the incident. Some never regain the levels of their magic fully again. At the very least, Ana won"t be able to walk normally again for another month. I don"t know how long until she"s without pain." Diane blanched, clearly contemplating her own mind set if such information was revealed to her. "We can"t tell her that," Diane whispered. Sophie nodded in assent as her pupil continued speaking. "I would go mad at such a prospect. We can only hope for her sake that she"s an incredibly fast healer." "She"ll be welcome here to heal for as long as she needs, and wants. We have to figure out what exactly what we"re going to do with the information presented to us," Sophie continued thoughtfully, referring to the letter and Felix and Ana"s narrow escape from Apollo"s perfumed clutches. Diane"s eyes shifted, her mind drifting to the breakfast that morning. Just as she opened her mouth to tell Sophie something, the bathroom door cracked open, the steam leaking out in small, tentative breaths as Ana slipped out. Her dark hair was plastered to her white shoulders, thick cords of near black. Her eyes, faintly ringed with bruises, seemed huge in her face, her expression unsure and almost wary. A white towel was wrapped around her, the neutral bringing out the peach tone of her skin, pinked from the warm. She padded out on quiet feet, her hands shivering as she quickly began to chill. "Here, Ana," Diane said as she tugged a warm fleece robe free of her wardrobe, draping it over the young woman"s shoulders. She fumbled tiredly with the towel while trying to maintain her modesty; Diane and Sophie averted their eyes politely. Finally, she belted the robe with finality, flicking her heavy hair behind a shoulder and offering Diane a smile of gratitude, only a little weak. "Come sit down, Ana. I"ll brush your hair out," Sophie said, gesturing to the suede mahogany couch near the cherry wardrobe, which still stood open and ready. Diane had been sifting through her clothing when Ana had first entered the room and distracting her from her reluctant task. Once Ana was settled comfortably and Sophie began the first strokes through her thick hair, Diane turned back to the wardrobe, busying herself quietly. A dark grey dress, lovely but too small, spoke a brief message, one that rather surprised Diane. She set it aside, and continued without a thought. She assumed Ana wanted to sleep-perhaps that"s why she was startled when she spoke instead. "Why do your eyes shimmer sometimes?" Pausing as she looked over her shoulder, Diane looked first at Ana, then at Sophie, the smile that bloomed mimicking her teacher"s. "You are very observant, Ana. But I am not the one to explain-I find I am not the most patient of teachers. Sophie rationalizes it much better than I." With a nod, Sophie began to speak. "There are many branches of magic, as I"m sure you can imagine. Some witches and wizards have what are called bents-very focused areas of magic in which they show skill. Others are called star-gazers. They are without bents, their focus is "as broad as the stars in the sky.' Howl, Markl, and Felix are all star-gazers, though Felix shows advanced aptitude in several fields, too many to be labeled as bents." Sophie explained in a measured, scholarly voice. "What"s an example of a bent?" Ana asked. Diane could hear the curious tone in her voice, and, risking a look, was gratified to see a little sparkle of healthy color in her skin and eyes. "Well," Sophie said with a smile, "I have one." Raising a hand, Sophie looked at the plant potted at the foot of the couch. With a small rippling of her fingers, the plant shivered, growing and moving until it blossomed into a giant magenta flower, similar to a lily. Tiny white blooms ringed it, little stars surrounding a bloody sun. "I know plants. I can control them, help them, and understand them." As Ana nodded in wonder and comprehension, Sophie continued. "The twins both have bents. Little Thomas is a stone mason. He can find gemstones like a bloodhound can find a scent. He can also work stones with far more ease than a man with a chisel and hammer. As he gets older, he"ll be able to control them without touching them. Linnea has a way with animals, much like I have a way with plants. As animals are more dynamic, Leena can actually hold a conversation with them. At this point, she has to speak aloud to formulate her thought before sending it to the animal. As she progresses, she"ll be able to project the thought silently, helping in the growth of the bond. And Diane has a bent," Sophie added quietly, her eyes intent on her pupil. "She is of a very rare bend, some of the most famous wizards in history included. Diane is a seer." The two women waited for a reaction from the third. "You can see the future?" Ana asked quietly. Diane nodded regally in response. The younger was quiet for a moment before responding. "Prove it." Diane blinked, then let her lips spread in a very feline, noble smile as she pressed her fingertips gently to the window, the strange ripple of light shivering over her violet eyes. "In twelve seconds, a rock is going to ping against the window. It"s going to startle you, which will make you jump, which will cause Sophie to accidentally rip out a tangle in your hair she was trying to work out gently. You won"t say anything, but it hurts enough to bring tears briefly to your eyes." Ana"s eyes narrowed as she counted down the seconds. Her mouth twisted as she counted to fifteen before the rock rapped against the window, the events unfolding exactly how Diane had predicted it. "I had to fudge the time a little," she explained with a small grin. "Otherwise you would have been expecting it." Ana had to blink back the tears before she spoke. "So what did you see when you met me for the first time at breakfast?" Diane"s expression turned a little wary, her eyes flicking to Sophie before bouncing back to Ana. "You... and Felix." Ana"s expression was not the one Diane expected. It grew chilled, as if with the ice of fear. "Were we running?" she whispered, her eyes telling Diane that she didn"t really want to know the answer. It appeared that telling the truth would be the only way to appease her fear, a fear that was tying knots of guilt in Diane"s stomach. "No, no you weren"t." Taking a breath and stealing a final glance as Sophie, Diane slowly spoke. "You were... making love." The silence that resonated through the room was thick enough to slice and spread on bread. Ana froze, a hunted look on her face. Diane"s only consolation was the fact that she no longer looked afraid. Finally, Sophie huffed, returning to the brushing of Ana"s luxurious hair, which was drying to a most enchanting color. "My son is an adult. I"m merely glad that he chose such a young woman as you, Anastasia, instead of some demon creature like Apollo." Ana"s eyes flickered, something Diane noted with hawk-like attention. "He has in no way chosen me," she said in a quiet, almost regretful voice. "He will," Diane said with certainty. "I am very, very rarely wrong," she added with another grin. With that, the conversation turned to lighter subjects, Sophie at much of the talk"s helm. Diane was gratified to see Ana join in, offering her own, somewhat strange opinions on such things like clothes. Wearing breeches every day. Really now. But Diane and Sophie discovered something they would never have guessed at before-Ana was funny, honest, and engaging. She made both Sophie and Diane laugh more than once with one of her silly expressions or little other-worldly quips. As her hair finally dried, Diane glanced at the dark dress she had set aside, and smiled. "Change into this," she said as she offered the gown to Ana, who took the thin Calimar wool dress with care, gratitude twinkling in her eyes. Before Ana could say anything, Diane merely waved her into the bathroom. As the door clicked close, the teacher and the student spent a few moments in silence. "Ana and Felix, then," Sophie murmured. Diane nodded. "A sight that spawned from both of them." After a moment, Sophie smiled, the curve honest. "She"s a lovely young woman. I rather like her." Diane smiled. "I do, as well." Clearing her throat, Diane slipped on her leather ankle boots. "We should go out to the garden." Never one to argue about spending time with her plants, Sophie also pulled on her shoes. Just as she finished tying up the laces, Ana emerged from the bathroom. "I knew it," Diane breathed. Her long hair braided loosely back and the dark folds of the dress accentuated by tiny flecks of silver, Ana looked like a goddess of the night. "Come on," Diane said, recovering faster than Sophie from the shock as she held out Ana"s shoes. "We"re going to get some fresh air." Felix fought to relax his spine and legs, but Ana"s pale face and glassy eyes still haunted him, the effort of merely being awake robbing her of what little strength she had regained. Against Felix"s advice, Howl had allowed Calcifer to stop the castle. Felix was concerned about them still being tailed, terrified of involving his family in the ugly chase that was unfolding. But somewhere in the rational part of him, Felix acknowledged that even a star could burn out. Restlessly, he paced the green field the twins had claimed as their playground, keeping one eye out for his niece and nephew. Tommy and Leena hadn"t seen him in months-his last fireplace commune had been regretfully brief, right after he had joined with the band of gypsies. A private fire had been difficult to come by, and Felix had felt the separation deeply. The children were very dear to their honorary uncle-it would take something only as worrisome as Ana"s health to distract him from the joy of seeing the twins again. With a panther"s aggression, he circled back to the rock where Howl and Markl lounged, the younger spreading his long frame back in what appeared to be a nap in the sun-Felix knew better. Markl kept a sharp ear out for any yips or cries from his children. If anything were to happen, Felix had no doubt Markl would be the first to be at his children"s" side. Howl leisurely sat on the ground, his legs crossed at the ankles with his back resting against Markl"s rock, his sapphire gaze tracking Tommy and Leena as they romped through the grass in determined competition. Their proprietary grandfather, it always seemed to Felix that the reason his father did so well with children was that it had taken his marriage to Sophie for him to finally grow up. With nervous energy, Felix tightened his course, merely circling Howl and Markl instead of circumventing the entire field. Finally, Howl loosed an impatient sigh through his nose, speaking in a surprisingly mild voice. "Felix, sit down before you wear a furrow in the ground." Instead of sitting, Felix merely stood, vibrating with anxiety. "Felix, sit!" With a humph, Felix flopped down into a jumble of limbs. Tapping his foot against the ground to the beat of a hummingbird"s heart, the man kept his cobalt eyes pinned on the castle. "I am not a dog to be commanded to sit," he muttered, the venom born of worry worming its way into his tone. An uncouth snort erupted from Markl, who earned a scalding glare from Felix that would have burned off his eyebrows had he been able to see it. "Down, Killer," Howl murmured, patting an understanding hand on Felix"s stone-hard, corded shoulders. Howl sensed the growl resonating in his son"s throat, laughing gently to defuse it. Instead, Felix"s hackles rose higher. Markl"s voice sleepily floated down from his splayed-out spot atop the sun-warmed granite entrenched in rich earth that had supported strong farm land decades ago. "We could always dunk you in the lake to cool your hot head." Felix"s anger peaked, then relaxed, Phantom Lake winking with charm not so far in the distance. With a soft laugh, just strong enough to avoid a tremble, he shook his head. "Some family you are. Threatening physical violence and calling me derogatory names in the face of my distress. Mother would understand." "Your mother is a woman," Howl said with finality. It was only here in the company of his men did he dare such a statement. And, in truth, he didn"t even really mean it. Not anymore. Twenty years ago was a different matter. But as Sophie was fond of saying, he was, indeed, a changed man. "She"d knock your block off if she heard that," Markl said, that lazy tone still in his voice. Howl shrugged, but they all knew that he was merely joking. Felix smiled, then sobered, his worried eyes flicking back to the castle, searching the windows, looking fruitlessly for a flash of light or color that would discern where Ana was. "She looked so tired," Felix said quietly, speaking to no one but himself. But, of course, his companions had to answer. "Of course she did. You would too," Markl stated, confident in Ana"s strength to recover. "Maybe we pushed her too hard. Her body is still recovering from what happened during the ambush." Felix"s voice had never taken that tone before-worry, fear, and something none of the men were comfortable discussing. "You know," Markl said as he levered himself upright, "I have yet to hear the whole fantastic tale. Everyone"s being rather tight-lipped about what little they know. Care to elaborate, Felix?" The man sighed, smiling as the children caught his eye without any of his usual spark. "Ana came through in a crossing near Luxton. I was planning on cutting down through the Ruby Forest before making my way to Kingsbury. But I was going to rest and stock up for a few days before moving on. Needless to say, when I saw a lightning crossing starting to build, my plans changed. As soon as she landed, I knew that Ana wasn"t trained. She has massive potential in her blood-no doubt you already noticed that. But you must also have noticed that she has absolutely no training." Howl nodded, already having heard this fragment of the story. "Were there any Arsalans in the area?" Markl asked, intent and involved in the account now. "Of course," Felix muttered, a kernel of bitterness over that bit of rotten luck still burning in his gut. "And you can only imagine how much Apollo would lather after a prize such as Ana. It"s like having your own personal comet. I couldn"t allow her to fall into such hands." "That, and she"s rather gorgeous." Tommy and Leena looked up from their dirt-drawn treasure map at their father"s yelp. He was rubbing his upper arm, and scowling at Felix, who had a small, vicious smile on his face. "Needless to say, we had to move, quickly. I irritated the Arsalans a bit-" "How much was a bit?" Howl asked, a concerned noted flitting through his voice. "Well, they shot at me, so take that as you will." "They shot at you?!" Markl yelled, still rubbing his sore arm. "They threatened the town," Felix said, subsiding Howl and Markl"s concern slightly. "Anyway, the next day, Ana and I made our way out of town, and we had to draw the Arsalans onto our trail to shift their focus, and vengeance, from Luxton. We made good progress, and by nightfall, had established a strong lead." "Do I even want to know how you got your lead?" Markl groaned. Felix grinned that blade-keen, almost frightening smile his father knew so well. "No, not really." Markl made another loud noise, which Felix promptly ignored before moving on with his tale. "So the next morning, the day of the rainstorm-" "The day you called us," Markl interrupted. "Indeed. I had thought the Arsalans were still miles behind us. I echoed to check," he defended at the look on Howl"s face. "I still don"t know how they managed it. They split us up after bursting out of the bushes. I didn"t think Ana would do anything-she has no powers to speak of. What could she do?" Felix shook his head, reliving the intense wonder of watching Ana"s gift burst to life. "I created a diversion." Felix cleared his throat at Markl"s expression with a small grin. It faded as he continued. "I told her to run. I still don"t know why she didn"t listen! Instead of running for cover-" "And abandoning you," Howl interjected, his eyes deep and all too understanding. "Well," Felix murmured, trying to regain the thread of his tale. His father"s gaze dredged up the memory of his pounding heart as Felix had watched the light dance in Ana"s predatory eyes. "She stayed. She stayed, and took on half a dozen Arsalans on her own. She conquered two before she commandeered a horse and a blade." Felix didn"t see Markl"s eyebrows as they winged up. "She showed full mind control-she knocked out a man and controlled an Arsalan"s horse flawlessly. She mind-bound it to her," he added at the soft expressions of disbelief on Howl and Markl"s faces. "She took down three more with a skilled blade-I had no idea she"d ever wielded a sword before in her life! Then she faced down the sergeant, the last of her half-dozen attackers. She lit her blade," Felix stated, his voice heavy with meaning and understanding. Howl and Markl were quiet as they contemplated the implications of Ana"s actions. War magic was one of the most difficult, taxing branches of magic, the other being shape-shifting. And lighting a blade was equal only to creating your

the wrinkles seemed newer, and all the more painful for it. There was a bitterness and sorrow in those eyes that Ana had never seen before. Or perhaps had not wished to see. "Mum, he loved you," Martha huffed gently, shaking her head. "What your father felt for me was paltry compared to the love he felt for you. You were his Ana," she murmured as her mother ran gentle fingers through Ana"s hair. "You were his, more than you were ever mine. It wasn"t fair." Martha sighed as she dropped her hand from Ana"s face, standing slowly. "It wasn"t fair that he was taken. He still had so much to give you." Martha strode away to the kitchen, and Ana could hear the clattering of her mother putting on a kettle of tea. Ana had never seen her mother that way. Martha had a painful tendency to make light of the past, her triumphs and mistakes alike. Ana felt guilty about agreeing with her mother in the idea that she had loved her father more. Perhaps there was more to Martha O"Neill than Ana could have guessed. Returning her attention to the envelope, Ana ran careful fingers over the writing. There was a strange lump in the bottom right corner. Turning it over, Ana slipped her finger under the flap, intent on ripping open the letter, her hand trembling a little. After only an inch, though, the paper"s edge bit into Ana"s skin. With a small indrawn breath, she snatched her hand away, peering at the small cut. Blood welled until poised on her skin like a crimson pearl. Ana watched with a strange fascination as the drop of blood slid off her skin, plopping onto the envelope with a small ring. Ana winced at the blemish upon a rare gift from her father. Glancing towards the kitchen, Ana could hear her mother contentedly humming as she prepared tea. She always was something of a homebody. Satisfied that her mother wasn"t going to return any time soon, Ana determinedly finished the tear, pulling the thick paper out with gentle fingers. Taking her time to unfold it, she placed the letter on her lap with reverent care before looking again inside the envelope. Deep inside was a delicate bracelet. Pulling it out with confusion, Ana held the piece of jewelry up to the light. The metal appeared to be silver at first, but was darker, and almost iridescent. It was worked into the shape of a twisting dragon, green gems that were too misty to be emeralds set in the dragon"s eyes. Clutched in its small claws was a teal stone about the size of a marble. It rippled and shimmered with the light, and a strange buzz flitted into Ana"s blood from her fingertips, tripping up her arm until it hummed in her throat. There was something too powerful about the bracelet to encourage just any person to wear it. Setting it aside along the blood-stained envelope, Ana picked up the letter. She brushed regretful fingers over the spot of blood no bigger than a pea repeated twice, and started to read. But she had gotten no farther than "My dearest Ana," when the paper started to warm. The spot of blood became a pinprick of light, which slowly bled into the words until the whole sheet shone like a star. A soft keening drew Ana"s puzzled attention away from the letter to the bracelet she had set aside. Like the paper, the stone in the dragon"s claws glowed with a bright silver light. She gingerly picked it up, and almost dropped it again to find the bracelet warm as human skin, when only seconds ago, it had been cold to the touch. A gentle wind stirred Ana"s thick hair, and she had to tighten her grip on the paper to keep it in her hands as the air grew more aggressive. The pitch grew even higher, and Ana tucked the letter in her sweatshirt pocket while she slipped the bracelet on. "Mom!" she cried, but her voice barely carried over the wind. "MOM!" Ana could see her mother race out of the kitchen, a look of concern on her face when, quite suddenly, there was no floor beneath her. Ana dropped out of sight without so much a whisper, the hole closing over her head. This wasn"t the floor below, it wasn"t even outside. She was dropping through a field of black, pinpricked with misty stars that flew by in streaks of light. Too shocked to scream, Ana could only hug her arms close as she plummeted, fighting against the bone deep cold that tore through her clothes within seconds. There was terror within her somewhere, an instinctive fear of falling. But it was buried very deeply by confusion and wonder. What was happening, and how could it happen? There was no wormhole beneath her mother"s flat. And what could account for the behavior of the parchment and the bracelet? Ana could no long feel her feet and hands, and her face was a mask of ice. With her blood flow went her reasoning powers. Her stomach still in her mother"s flat, the rush of lights started to make her ill when combined with the cold, so, against all instincts, Ana closed her eyes. Pressing her lips harder and harder together, she couldn"t feel it when they started to bleed. Through her tightly closed eyelids, Ana could sense a change in the light. Glancing down, she clenched her teeth against a wave of sickness. Very, very far away was a little dot of light that was gradually growing larger. She was so cold she no longer shivered, just fell through the space like a block of ice. The dot started to widen until, about five feet across, she could make out blue within the hole. Frost was starting to lace Ana"s eyelashes and hair, and her breath came out in misty gasps. Still, she drew closer to the gap, which widened like a yawning mouth. Then, with a small yelp, Ana was through. Glancing up, she watched again as the hole closed over her head, snipping off a half-inch of hair. Now, she was falling through real air again. For a moment, she sailed through blue sky before slamming into a cloud. Just as she had started to thaw, the cold, this time a very wet and heavy chill, snagged at her clothes and skin. Ana was now blind, and had no gauge to measure her descent. Then, with the snap of the fingers, she was out of the cloud. The sun battled through the mists, shining stingy rays on the very far away ground down below. At the sight of the green slowly taking shape, a realization hit Ana. She had been freefalling for who knew how long, and was rapidly approaching the very hard, incredibly unforgiving ground. And she had no parachute. She was going to die. If she had the presence of mind, Ana might have started screaming, much good it would have done her. But Ana fell for a full fifteen seconds with her mouth gaping open, staring at the ground that she was very soon going to meet. She was only conscious again when an unfortunate bug splatted against her teeth. Sputtering and spitting with a vengeance, Ana was able to flex her fingers enough to wipe at the bug guts strewn across her face, making damn certain that she swallowed nothing. As she wiped away insect remains, Ana slowly began to realize that, beyond all possibility, she was slowing down. Her hair didn"t feel like it was going to be ripped out of her skull, and she could actually flex her legs out a little bit. Ana was still falling far too fast to survive unscathed-she had paid attention during this unit in physics-but maybe her parts wouldn"t be strewn quite so far apart. Yet she kept decelerating, slowly but surely. Ana actually dared to hope that, perhaps, beyond all reason, she wasn"t going to share the same fate as the bug she could still taste and smell. Finally, she drifted down onto a tree, landing without so much as a creak on the branch. Just as she rested her hand against the prickly trunk, a great crack shattered the quiet. "Oh, no," Ana whispered when, sure enough, the branch broke out from under her. It was her mother"s living room all over again, but this time, she was falling through a tree. While it did slow her momentum, Ana was pretty sure she heard the snap of bone when she landed on her side on a particularly large branch. However, for all her scrabbling hands, Ana slid off the branch as if it was greased, and continued her raucous descent, branches catching and clawing at her with all the tenacity of blood-thirsty claws. A particularly springy bow caught her across the cheek with the snap of a slap, and Ana could feel her skin part and blood flow under her left eye. Just as she was clearing the last ten feet of foliage, Ana could make out a person just underneath the tree. Despite her immense problem and rapidly accumulating pain, Ana had enough presence of mind to shout, "Shit! Move!" However, the unfortunate civilian either did not hear her or didn"t understand her heavily accented voice (Ana had a tendency to thicken her normally smooth English when she was stressed or afraid.) So, the circumstances completely out of her control, Ana landed quite ungracefully on the person. Her head smacked against the ground and, for a brief moment, Ana was enveloped in darkness. Felix had been aimlessly wandering through the forest neighboring Luxton the next day in much fairer weather when the first wave of light flowed across the hazy sky with a roar. Resonating from a point nearly directly overhead, the trolling lights pulsed like a heartbeat, deep emerald in color. The surges of color repeated like waves in a pool ringing out from a dropped pebble. After the leading edges of the third wave dimmed, a sharp crack sounded, followed almost instantly by a bolt of light streaking down through the sky to arrow at a tall oak, the light the same color as the waves. Breaking into a sprint, Felix followed the burning spear of light with intent eyes. He knew a crossing when he saw one. Positioning himself beneath the leafy boughs of the tree the frozen green lightning was targeting, Felix rolled back on his heels, burrowing long hands in the pockets of his trousers as he leaned back to watch the spectacle. Narrowing his eyes against the bright light, Felix blinked when the bolt of crackling energy evaporated. In its place, a black disk the size of the ring on Felix"s thumb spread high above, and he felt a fierce crook of his lips when a small figure fell through. It was a high crossing point, lending to the greater distance of the wizard"s travels. Felix had never actually attempted a crossing. His father preferred the castle"s door, but had scribed a circle or two when it was necessary. However, Felix had studied crossings in depth, and was puzzled by the wizard"s stillness. He should have started slowing his fall by now-it took time to halt so much generated momentum. Suddenly, the traveler exploded in a flurry of movement. It was no slowing spell, but at least Felix was certain that the wizard was conscious and wouldn"t splat all over the ground. After what seemed far too long, the wizard"s fall started to gentle. Eventually, he settled softly on a long branch high in the crown of the oak. Felix"s brow lifted at the feminine face he could see through the leaves. So the wizard was actually a witch. Interesting. Felix was just processing the concept when the branch the witch was standing on, presumably recovering from the crossing, snapped like the clashing of teeth. "Damn," Felix muttered. She crashed through the branches of the tree, and Felix rolled his weight back on his toes, following her violent fall with dogged eyes. He couldn"t slow her; she was moving too fast and erratically for Felix to get an appropriate lock on her body mass and slow her down. But he could cushion her landing. Hopefully, she wouldn"t break anything. He heard the witch yell something as she cleared the last ten feet of foliage, but her accent was too thick to understand. It sounded like a warning, but Felix wasn"t about to move right out from under her. His hands ready, Felix softened his spine and knees, ready to lessen the impact. As she tumbled free of the foliage, Felix sucked a deep breath, letting it ease out. The witch was lighter than he"d estimated, but the collision still sent the two of them rolling to the ground. Felix did his best to shield her from the blow, but her head still rapped sharply against the dirt, and Felix winced as her eyes rolled close. She had fallen across his body, the curve of her spine fitting across his ribcage. Moving carefully, his lungs still scrambling for the air knocked out of them, Felix lifted the witch"s legs, slipping out from under her while simultaneously setting her limp limbs slightly over. Pulling a breath deep in his lungs as he rolled to his feet, Felix moved over to her side, dropping down on the ground with a huff. For a moment, he sat still, listening for hoof beats or footsteps. It was unlikely that he was the only one in the area that had recognized the crossing, and it had turned out to be a lightning crossing, no less. There was no doubt that any Arsalans in the immediate area would leap at the chance to drag such a prize back to the capital and their mistress, Lady Witch Sylvia Apollo. However, it wouldn"t have been worth the hunt. The woman bore incredible amounts of power in her blood, but it was wild, and untapped. This was no witch. It was unlikely she"d ever even called upon her gifts. And for all the crackle of energy around her, she lacked a talisman, or a spirit form. So if she hadn"t traveled, Felix deduced, she must have been sent. Silence continued to reign, and Felix let out the breath he didn"t remember holding. Looking back at the woman, he was relieved to see her eyes blinking open, a hand moving to her forehead. She glanced around, a lost expression flitting over her eyes before sinking away again as she caught sight of the tree. She started to get up, but immediately laid back, a grimace twisting gentle lips. "Here," Felix said quietly, offering a hand to help her sit up as he stood again. She took it reluctantly, and he watched her brow furrow as he helped lever her up, shifting to press a supporting hand between her shoulder blades. Kneeling back down in front of her, Felix cradled her pale face in his hands. The pupils in her jade eyes were still rather large, and the cuts scattering her face, especially that large one under her left eye, marred a quiet, regal beauty. Her nose was straight and small, and her slightly gathered brows a mildly darker tone than her midnight fire hair. Gently running his thumb over her cheekbone, just under the wound, Felix started talking to distract her from the pain. "Rotten luck to have landed on a weak branch. I"ve heard crossing is hard enough without having to deal with falling through a tree." Felix made clucking noises with his tongue, keeping his eyes on the woman"s as the wound knit close with a soft blue glow. Once healed, Felix ran gentle fingers up over her face and into her hair, checking the area she had cracked against the ground. She winced, but he didn"t sense any blood gathering heavily under the skin or bone. She watched him with wary eyes, like an animal recently beaten. Felix wasn"t surprised-any human who crossed without prior knowledge of magic was certain to feel afraid. But he was unused to the expression turning his way, and it left an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach, justified as it was. Settling back on his heels, he looked over the woman as she studied him, both kneeling only half a foot apart. There was something about her. She was so very different from his time and place; it was like handling a wild animal-foreign and disconcerting. And yet, somewhere deep in the back of his mind, her face tickled like a feather, a memory long forgotten and never touched since. As he looked the stranger over, Felix had to admit that his first impression of beauty was an accurate one. Her hair, though threaded with bits of branches, leaves, and grass, curled wildly, thick as rope and red as a dead sun as it tumbled untamed over her shoulders and down her back. She had a fair complexion, under the smudges of dirt and what little bruising had escaped Felix"s initial once-over. She was wearing some sort of strange, baggy tunic that exclaimed in faded blue letters "University of London." Felix was certain that he had never heard of such a school, or such a city. Her trousers were a strange blue material that Felix had never seen before, frayed at the ends and faded along the thighs and knees. Scuffed, sensible boots completed her ensemble, and left him confused. Where had she come from? Judging from her attire and demeanor, it was certain that she was as confused by him as Felix was by her. So, standing with a sigh and brushing at his legs, Felix offered her a hand to stand. He didn"t miss the wince in her eyes when she stretched the left side of her body upward to swing out her leg. Dropping her hand, Felix looked outwards again, this time sweeping with a spell for anyone in the nearby vicinity. Working something like the sonar of bats, it came back uninterrupted. They had time yet. Turning back to the woman, Felix cordially extended a hand, softly arranging a gentle smile on his face. "My name is Felix, a mage and the son of Howl. And you are?" She swallowed as she took his hand, but her grip was firm-and aspect that reminded him of his mother, and so always earned his respect. "Ana. I suppose I owe you my life, Mr. Felix-" "Please," Felix interrupted with a raised hand. "It"s just Felix. I have too many surnames for any one of them to be of use. And while you would have been in some rather serious trouble had you fallen out of that tree with no one around, I doubt you owe me your life." He pressed his free hand to the one clasped in his other hand, granting her a smile he hoped was warm and gentle. It had been a long time since he"d had to truly comfort or reassure someone. Her accent had softened, her voice rich and smooth like dark cream. She nodded in understanding with a rueful smile. Felix smoothly released her hand as soon as he felt the tendons in her long, almost fragile hand start to tense. "Well, Ana, considering you don"t know how you got to be here, can you tell me where you"re from?" She started a little, surprised at his knowledge. Ana was a private creature, obviously, unused to others knowing pertinent information about her. "Um... I"m from London." At the perplexed look on Felix"s face, she rushed on, lilting her voice to change the statement into a question. "You know, the capital of England?" When his expression didn"t clear, Ana blew out a hitching breath. "Ok, so if I can"t tell you where I came from, can you at least tell me where I am?" Felix was a little worried. Maybe she had hit her head harder than he thought. But where did she get those strange clothes, and that accent? If he listened carefully enough, it sounded like his mother"s. So how did she end up being sent through a crossing? "You"re near the town of Luxton, close to the border." "The Scottish border?" Felix frowned-he"d never heard of such a province. "No. Close to the border of Calimar." Ana started to look upset, pressing a hand to her forehead as she turned slightly away. He could hear her muttering under her breath, catching a few choice snippets. "Crazy," "Calimar," "Martha," and "What the hell?" was all the more Felix could make out of her conversation with herself. Settling his face into benign lines, he folded his hands and waited for Ana to resettle. Talking to yourself was nothing strange-it was just conversations with the other parts of your soul. His father did it all the time. It was just that Calcifer was outside Howl"s body, instead of inside it. While Felix didn"t feel comfortable with pushing Ana while she was clearly upset and disoriented, he caught the faint report of hoofbeats, raising the hairs on the back of his neck almost instantly. It was time to go. Ana was still puzzling away when Felix snatched her arm, tugging her away from the tree, its branches blatantly broken and pointing their broken, irritated fingers straight at them. Felix had been keeping out of Sylvia"s sticky clutches for quite some time-he had no intention of being caught now, especially with some disoriented, upset foreigner in his care. Ana tried a short complaint, but Felix quickly hushed her as he dived into some underbrush, shielding her while he looked out through the leaves. Moments later, a platoon of cavalry men, totaling about 10 or 12, raced by, the shouts and grunts of command edged with the impatience of hunters. Their horses cleared a heavy log blocking the path with the thunder of racing hooves, and silence again fell. Stepping clear of the bushes, Felix set a steady pace back to Luxton, careful to keep away from the main trails that the Arsalans were sure to comb. Ana went along willingly enough, but not without some questions. Felix tried to keep his patience about him-her questions seemed painfully obvious, but he had to remind himself that Ana was not of this world. "Who were those men?" she asked, sensible enough to keep her voice down. "Arsalans," Felix answered shortly, trying to discern a passable way through a thicket of dense huskberry bushes. But Ana continued to talk, and unwillingly drew Felix"s attention away from the puzzle of the bushes. "What are Arsalans?" she queried, her voice wavering a little. Clenching his teeth to swallow the short, disbelieving retort that wanted to shoot out of his mouth, Felix turned back to Ana. She was starting to come out of the daze induced by her fall from her world and the tree. And it was

"Please. I"ve read the reports. And even if I hadn"t, you guys aren"t all that hard to figure out. Take you, for instance, Reiji. You might as well have been plucked from practically any book or movie about vampires, ever. You present yourself as a mystery, cloaked in cool composure and stern reason. But that"s just a mask, and often the most distant shells hide the ugliest needs or fantasies. Nice clothes and glasses don"t make you dignified; they just shroud a wicked temper and a mile-long mean streak. You"ve probably been a control freak your entire life to compensate for feeling helpless, which has segued nicely into your newest role of tyrant. You"re a bully, Reiji - desperate for attention and unspeakably angry at everything and everyone." The extent of his reaction was no more than narrowing his eyes and pursing already tight lips. "What about you?" he challenged. Well, Kit reflected as she remained silent, this was what happened when you went up against the smart one. She probably had this coming anyway. Tilting her head in invitation, the movement raised her chin and bared her throat. Reiji stalked closer; not enough to touch, but enough to bring him into the light spilling from the windows, highlighting broad shoulders and gloved, long-fingered hands. Enough to feel his presence like the weight of the scent of dark roses. Kit didn"t budge an inch. "You parade around like some valiant hero, but the reality is your bravado"s a ruse, a means to hide your crippling fear. So desperate to prove your worth, to prove that you"re more than your obvious beginnings in the dirt, to your chosen authority - it wouldn"t have mattered if you were an executive or a whore, you always seek adulation for actions you take simply to earn approval. You speak of honor and sacrifice, Christine," he said silkily, a delicate snort emphasizing his contempt, "yet you can"t claim either. You deride us as monsters, but, just like me and my brothers, you play for the kill. You"ve stared into the abyss for far too long, my lady. And the only inevitable end for you is death - either as a young hunter, or an old monster." They stared at each other for what felt like a long, long time. "If I didn"t feel compelled to kill you and every one of your kin, I"d say you"re just about the sexiest thing I"ve ever seen." Kit"s voice had gone husky, even as her stance sharpened into one that communicated aggression. The surprise lit Reiji"s eyes so briefly, it was as if it had never touched the deep color of his irises at all, quickly blanketed over by derision. "You revolt me," he murmured, the same way he"d condemn a poorly made dinner dish. Kit just shrugged with a teasing grin before turning away. "Yeah, well. I try." With that, she strode down the hall. Watching her go, Reiji eventually remembered to look into the shadows, seeing the remainder of the Sakimaki brothers that even Kit"s advanced vision had been blind to. Subtly, he shook his head to call off the hunt, then spun on his heel to head back to his rooms. That little confrontation had left him decidedly unsettled, and he wanted peace and quiet to think. Posting these shotgun style. Story will get awfully quiet after the initial burst is through. Kit is the most amazing bitch. I love her. Hope you like it! Love, Tango Kit wandered until dawn had bloomed bright and pink, the sun doing its best to reclaim the sky from the dark and clouds. She managed to finally fall asleep around six, appreciating the black-out backing to the curtains, keeping out the light of day. Tired enough to fall asleep fast and hard, Kit woke again around noon, too revved to stay down any longer. Cleaning and taking stock of her weapons helped calm nerves frazzled by this prolonged exposure to vampires she couldn"t kill. Checking and rechecking the wards around her room reassured her enough to take the chance to clean up and get dressed. Calm enough for company, Kit decided to seek out Yui. It was unlikely that she would run into a Sakimaki now; although they were likely too well bred to disintegrate in the sun, it would probably be pretty damn uncomfortable. Besides, they couldn"t stalk around being sexy and bloodthirsty all the time. Trotting downstairs in what she hoped was the general direction of sustenance, Kit thought about her encounters last night. Beating the crap out of Laito had gotten her blood up nicely. That confrontation with the albino spaz had made her confused, and a little maternal. The way you could feel maternal towards a baby alligator; they were cute and a little pathetic, but you always maintained the understanding that killing was written in their bones. As for Reiji...Oh, they had gotten in some solid hits last night. It was silently acknowledged that they"d both been pretty on the money with their scathing assessments of each other"s personalities. Despite the touchy subjects, it was understood that the confrontation hadn"t been personal - it was a play for strategic dominance. Knowing the character of your opponent was just as important as knowing their strengths and weaknesses, and last night had been a quick and dirty way to feel out just what they were up against in the other. The other five vamps Kit could probably juggle without too much trouble. But Reiji? His blood was sub-zero, and he would match every move she made with a very lethal maneuver of his own. If anybody could completely fuck this whole thing up, it was him. Any other hunt, and Kit had a feeling she would have enjoyed this enormously. "Oh. Good morning." Turning, she saw Yui approaching, looking fresh and delicate in a thin pink sweater and brown skirt, both adorned with small black bows. In her own dark jeans and indigo blouse with rolled up sleeves left halfway open over a black camisole, Kit felt like a hulking clod compared to her maidenly charge. "Or good afternoon," she amended with a slightly embarrassed laugh, gesturing out the window to the sunshine-filled courtyard. Kit just rolled her shoulders. "Depends on who you ask, I guess. You on the vampires" schedules?" Yui"s shoulders rounded, and she looked abashed. "Yes, I... they insisted on it as soon as I started staying here." "No respect for diurnals" Kit said lightly. "So where can I get some food? "Of course, I"m sorry." Yui led the way to the breakfast room, which Kit imagined went sadly unused in this house. Which was a shame, because it was sunny, warm, and quite cozy. Eggs, toast, sausage and bacon, fresh fruit, and coffee waited for them. Kit was surprised, as she hadn"t seen hide or hair of any staff, and she would bet serious money that none of the guys had managed this. It was quite a bit for one person to pull off, so it probably wasn"t Yui. Deciding to investigate that another time, Kit snagged at least one serving of everything, piling her durable but pretty china plate, white with small violets, high with food and balancing a tall mug of coffee, doctored with a splash of milk, over to the gate leg table overlooking the gardens and a pond. Yui joined her with a small bowl of fruit and something warm in a mug - the scent told her it was black tea. Apparently, they both preferred their caffeinated drinks with milk. For a while, they ate in relative silence, Kit observing the house, the landscape outside, and her breakfast mate. Finally, Yui broke the quiet. "You must have been hungry," she offered, stammering slightly as she pointed with her fork towards Kit"s place, with was steadily being demolished. She didn"t even bother looking chagrined. There was no point apologizing or feeling ashamed for something she couldn"t control. "I need a lot of protein. We"ve all got metabolisms like lightning, and if hunters want to stay on top of our game, we have to eat like horses. That, and I just really like food," she said with a shrug and a lopsided grin as she scooped up another bite of cheesy eggs. "All hunters?" Yui asked lightly. She was a little taken aback, however, when Kit"s smile faded away, and she swung her eyes out to the gardens as she chewed. "Yep. CQ"s are worse than your usual slayers, but any Order hunter has been... altered." "What do you mean?" Yui asked, growing more and more reluctant, and yet, perversely more interested, as Kit"s face slid into an expression of cold distance. "Humans are pretty fragile when you think about it. If we have any hope of going up against vamps and surviving, we have to be more than human. An average hunter will go through some sensory augmentation, some muscular advancement during the course of frankly brutal physical training. Crimson Quarters... well. We"re the best because we can survive anything. And that includes dark magics and some fucked up science to make us better hunters. A side result of all the crap we"ve gone through is that our bodies burn through fuel much faster than a normal person. Our tolerance to lack of food compared to the average human is about halved. You could say that dieting will never, ever be a concern for us." "But why would the High Order do such terrible things to you?" Yui protested. Taking a crunching bite of bacon, Kit sternly met her eyes. "Like I said. A regular human can"t cut it when it comes to battling vampires. You know the old saying, right? Something along the lines of "In order to defeat monsters, we must become monsters.' Those of the Crimson Quarter do that so the rest of humanity doesn"t have to. It"s just the way things are. So we deal, as best we can." Taking a deep drink of coffee, Kit held Yui"s eyes with intent. "Speaking of fragile," she said as she set her mug back down and picked up her fork. "You should think about some steps you can take to keep yourself safe here." "What do you mean?" Yui asked feebly. Kit just sighed hugely. "I mean you shouldn"t let them bite you whenever they want. Clearly your consent is completely irrelevant. Rapey McRapersons. Anyway, if you don"t want them to bite you, you"re going to have to be aggressive about it." "I don"t see what I can do to stop them," Yui said weakly. Kit held out her hand expectantly. "You"ve got a cross, right?" Nodding, Yui produced the pink cross she usually carried and set it in Kit"s palm, the chain clinking as it gathered. Closing her fingers and shaking her fist like she was shuffling dice, Kit frowned. "They told me a cross was useless," she told Kit. "This one is. It"s stainless steel and ceramic. Might as well be cardboard when it comes to warding off a vampire," she explained as she dumped it back into Yui"s hand. "But you didn"t even look at it. How did you know what it"s made of?" Lifting her hips off the chair, Kit rummaged in her back pocket as she answered. "Because, like vampires, hunters can sense silver. And a Crimson Quarter is also sensitive to crosses - that"s how I can tell the composition." Taking Yui"s other hand, Kit pooled another chain and cross, this one very simple, even delicate, into her grasp. "Now you can keep the other one if it has sentimental value, but I want you to have this with you at all times. Both the chain and the crucifix are pure silver. They can"t bite you on the throat if you wear it around your neck, and if you wrap your fist with the chain and punch, even slap them, they"ll think twice about going after you." "Are you sure silver"s effective, even just to the touch?" she asked. Kit finished the last of her food, washing it down with coffee. "There aren"t many advantages in combat against vampires, but the rule of silver never changes, no matter the kind of vamp you"re up against." Slowly running the chain through her fingers, Yui thought it over. "But I"ve seen them handle a silver knife without issue before." "Really? Do you have it with you now?" Nodding, she pulled out the blade from the pocket of her skirt. Subaru had been insistent that she always carry it. Plucking it out of Yui"s hands, Kit inspected it with narrow-eyed precision. Running her thumb down the spine, testing the edge, and tracing the wrappings on the hilt, finally Kit returned it with a nod. "They probably only handled the hilt, right? I mean, what"s so odd about that? It"s a knife. You"re supposed to only touch the hilt. It"s made of iron. Only the blade itself is silver. The wrappings help, too. That"s why they can touch it without incident." Digesting that information, Yui returned the blade to her pocket. "I"d also like to teach you some basic defensive maneuvers. Flailing and flapping isn"t going to do anything but get them worked up." Yui winced. "I don"t think that"s necessary." Gathering up her dishes as she finished off her coffee, Kit carried them to the sink, where she began running water and hunting up dish soap. So stunned by the display of domestic responsibility, it took Yui a moment to recover and clear her place as well. "Whether or not you think it"s necessary is irrelevant." Fast as a viper, Kit reached over and tugged down the neck of her sweater, revealing the bruising stamped over her neck and collarbone, most of the marks bisected by two incisions. Fang marks. Jerking away, Yui yanked her sweater back into place, color staining her cheeks like spilled wine. "The fact is, the only way I"m going to let you stay here is if I"m confident you"ll be safe. And the only ones who can ensure that safety are you or the vampires. And protection isn"t in a vampire"s nature." "They"re not as bad as you think. They"ve defended me before, even saved me." Kit just shrugged as she scrubbed plates and silverware. "Maybe, but you"ve got to remember I"m coming at this from an outsider"s perspective. And all I see are six psychotic brothers doing what needs to be done to stop a usurper from taking over control of the family, and them, by any means necessary. Not to mention, their toy had been altered without their permission into something nasty they"d thought had already been disposed of. If nothing else, that reeks of wounded masculine pride." Setting the dishes on a rack to dry, Kit turned to face Yui as she dried her hands, her face irrevocably set. Yui wasn"t quite sure why, but she felt compelled to defend that pride. "You can"t understand what Cordelia"s resurrection did to them. The awakening drove the brothers a little crazy, and it was painful, for all of them." Setting down the towel, Kit crossed her arms. "That"s assuming that you prescribe to the theory that vampires can feel emotional pain." "Of course they can!" Yui protested, unsure why she was so certain about this. "You have no idea what they"ve suffered, what was done to them when they were so young." "Bad pasts are reasons, not excuses," Kit replied, her voice and face utterly unyielding. "There"s a big damn difference. Some people just get dealt a crappy hand. But it"s up to the individual how it gets played. And those guys didn"t even consider picking a path that didn"t involve bloodshed and destruction. Full bloods have a choice not many vamps ever get to consider. Most don"t take it, but it"s still there. The Sakimakis didn"t even give it a second glance. And that"s on them." Remembering what she"d seen, what she"d discovered, Yui was shocked. "How can you be so cruel?" she whispered. Kit"s face hardly changed, but her eyes flashed, like lightning cutting through the rain as her eyelids dropped ever so slightly. Her voice lowered, and although she didn"t move an inch, Yui suddenly felt danger curling off of her in waves. "You have no idea just how cruel I can be." With that, she turned and strode out, leaving Yui with the sensation of sand coating her throat and tears weighing heavy in her eyes. The brothers often frightened her, but that had been... terrifying. Ten little words had made her blood run cold. Kit"s luck held; she didn"t encounter anyone on the way back to her room. She wasn"t mad, not really. She just wasn"t sure why Yui"s breathy accusation, made with the naïve certainty of someone still in possession of youthful faith and innocence, had dug so deeply under her skin. She wasn"t ashamed of her capacity for cruelty; she couldn"t be. No soldier could. Doubt was a paralytic, and a damn fine way to get yourself killed. So, no, she wasn"t angry. But she was wound tight enough to do damage that she had sworn to restrain herself from inflicting. And the perfect way to snap the last thread of control was to come across an ill-behaved, pretty vampire. Kit reached her room unmolested, however. A little too aggressive to quite settle into the tai chi sets that would kill her bloodlust, she decided to check in with the remainder of her team and see when they were due. She wasn"t sure what she would do if she wasn"t reminded what reason and loyalty sounded like. The phone was only programmed with three numbers: her two team members and their commanding officer, Father Gage Brandt. She dialed the oldest member of the team and paced with long, stressed strides. After what seemed like forever, there was the click of the call being answered. "Hello, Kit," a soft, gentle voice answered, somehow always managing to calm Kit"s rougher edges. "Anna," she acknowledged, still struggling to keep her suddenly ugly attitude from manifesting in her voice. Pronounced with a long "A" in the tradition of the colder realms of Europe, Anna was the eldest of the group, but the least experienced. She had been nine when she joined the Order, and hadn"t been inducted into the Crimson Quarter until she was nearly sixteen. Both Kit and the last member of the team had been CQ hunters since before they were in their teens. "How are things?" she asked, sympathy coloring her tone, knowing without having to be told that Kit was struggling. After all, what hunter wouldn"t be losing their marbles while stuck with their hands tied in a vampires" lair? "Shitty. Surprised?" Anna chuckled quietly. "Not really. That"s why you were sent in first, after all. You"re probably the only one of us who could still follow orders in that situation. No one else would take being hobbled when you"re alone very well." The sound Kit made was somewhere between a chuckle and a sigh. "I wouldn"t say I"m taking it well." "If you"ve gone this long without shooting any of them, I"d say you"re doing beautifully." Even though Anna wasn"t there to see her sarcastic reaction, Kit still let the expression move over her face anyway. "Gee, thanks. Any idea when you guys will be getting here?" She could hear Anna faintly conferring with someone in the background. "Deet says we should be there tomorrow if the weather"s good." "Oh, thank God." Kit could almost hear Anna"s smile over the phone. "Just keep it together a little longer, and then you"ll have all the back-up you could ask for." Kit hummed, leashing the last of her venom under control with Anna"s promise of their imminent arrival. If Kit stood as the best all-around fighter of their trio, then Anna acted as something of their strategist and field medic while Deet was the weapons master. They"d been a team for nearly three years, and had one of the highest success rates of the Crimson Quarter. Kit didn"t consider herself much of a people person, but her team were the two people on this planet she could actually spend a significant amount of time around without becoming irritated enough to puncture lungs. How she was supposed to survive this assignment without being demoted for disobedience because she ripped one of those vampire"s throat out, she didn"t know. But she"d stand a better chance of keeping her rank once her comrades got here. "Haul ass, alright?" she demanded gruffly. Anna just clicked her tongue. "Deet"s driving. Which means, living up to that reputation of driving like a bat-out-of-hell, we"ll be there before you know it." "Can"t be soon enough," Kit growled, secretly relieved by the reassurance. "Whining is unattractive, Christine. You might as well take the time and enjoy the scenery. I"ve heard it"s quite spectacular." Kit just rolled her eyes. Anna was the only person who could call her Christine and not end up with their eyes gouged out. "Not worth the big ass mouths they"re attached to, if you ask me. If I wanted to ogle some pretty man-meat, there are much easier places to do so." "Just trying to think positive," Anna said lightly. Kit nearly smiled. It was surprising, considering the world they lived in and the things they"d done, but she somehow managed to do just that. Deet played like it was all a joke, Kit"s sense of humor was dry as dust and sported sharp fangs, while Anna fought and struggled to maintain the most human, most balanced outlook on the world, not just among their team, but in the entire Order. Shockingly enough, she often succeeded. "You do that, Anna. I"ll see you soon." "Ta, Kit." The connection went dead, and Kit slowly lowered the phone as she heaved a huge sigh. It wasn"t exactly like the relief of going home with a mission completed, but she felt the weight on her shoulders a little less keenly now. This is pretty much all I"ve got. Could play with this some more eventually. Depending on how much you guys and I like it. Hope you like it! Love, Tango

knew, and his body knew, he wasn"t going to get up even if the world was ending around him. Maybe if a girl in a bikini came in he would get up. Better yet, maybe a naked Asian.....OH! With a Hispanic heritage so she would be look Asian but have that rich golden tan. Uh oh. Mr. Happy"s up. Damn it, now he had to get up. Stuck with a boner and under a mountain of clothes, with a resoundingly painful headache and that DAMNED THING WAS STILL RINGING, it wouldn"t be long till he would go crazy. Then all of a sudden, the ringing stopped. Alex"s eyes busted open welling up with tears. Did it run out of juice? Did it find compassion in its cold metallic netlike matrix and turn off just for him? Oh my god.....there is a GOD! And that"s when he saw a shadow moving through his room and realized that it could only be one person. "Shit! Kristie wait!" All he felt was the weightless of Zero Gravity as he felt the comfy sofa he was used to being flung up in the air. All he saw was clothes just fly around everywhere, blankets jumping for cover, and a box of half eaten pizza fleeing to the ground... Wait half eaten pizza! Pizza! Alex recovered it in mid-air then landed flat on his back just as the sofa landed on it"s back as well. Pain coursed through his body like a tidal wave as for a moment he hated his life. But realizing the pizza was still in his hand he would endure. Until the Human-Plus Ex-Raven"s Nest pilot, Kristi Archverress snatched the pizza from him and just gave him the smuggest look anyone could have gotten. "God you are the lamest ass in the whole damned solar system." She said, her voice piercing and strong. For a twenty-two year old woman with more then four years of experience at being a Raven, and being a tough instructor, she was hot. She was tall, with a milky white complexion, short dark brown hair with dark brown eyes. She had long slender legs that her black and blue Raven"s Nest Uniform hugged so nicely. The top was unzipped and she wasn"t wearing a bra, but the damned top was still covering up most of it. All Alex got was a nice snapshot as some sexy cleavage. Which he didn"t mind but he would rather have the whole present with no wrapping of course. Kristi caught on that he had noticed and snapped, "You looking hard enough? Or did you forget something?" Alex looked at her for a moment then remembered; she had his pizza! Alex lunged up in the air and dive bombed her while pinning her against the ground with his pizza in hand. "My pizza!" He cried out in victory. "Oh I"m so sorry Alex. Could you ever forgive me!" Kristi was heard shouting from under him. Alex swept her from off the ground and held he closely, "Yes of course, I will always forgive." ....sad shame it didn"t go like that. It was too early in the morning for something like that. Instead, Alex was seen hugging Kristi"s leg begging for the pizza back. "Don"t take away my only pleasure in life! Please! I beg of you!" He was pretty much in tears. Kristi groaned in disgust and decided to let the poor bastard get his pizza. Besides god only knows how old it was. It was most likely collecting a new virus because of how long it had been in there. And yet Alex was on top of it like a ravenous beast that hadn"t ate anything for months at a time. All she heard was crunching and the inhaling of food. After a while it was gone, even the damned box and Alex was just laying on his back rubbing his tummy. Kristi just couldn"t understand where it all went. Alex was a young eighteen year old Hispanic who barely weighed a hundred and eighty pounds. And he wasn"t a chubby hundred and eighty. He was well-built for someone his age, with a slim long body that carried he natural tan evenly all over. His short rich black hair, though right now it was tossed every which way and the other, would soon be styled into a gelled up spikes that run backwards with two black bangs in the front. His eyes were also just as black. She always felt like she was staring into a deep never-ending void whenever she looked into his eyes. Suddenly Alex flipped up and shouted, "I"m still hungry!" Kristi sighed and rubbed her face, "We"ll get breakfast." "Sweet!" Alex jumped up. "After morning exercises!" "No!" Alex fell back down. This was ridiculous. How anybody was able to keep up with her was just beyond Alex. She was like a frigging machine, like the damned energizer bunny going at full steam or charge or whatever the hell that she ran on. First it was one hundred laps around the damned base that they lived at. Well, more like where she lived at and Alex just happened to stay at one of the apartment complexes that rested in thus said base. This is where he was renting a little complex with pretty much no money considering the fact that he had only accepted two missions since he became a Raven. It had been two months since then and still she wouldn"t let him do any of the better paying missions. Apparently she had it fixed into her noggin that he sucked beyond everything and he needed massive help and training. Which he didn"t mind you, if it wasn"t so damn early in the morning! It was only eleven and he had already done three hundred push-ups, two hundred sit-ups, four hundred jumping jacks, the hundred laps that was stated earlier including fifty hundred meter sprints one after another at max speed, and then a nice half an hour at holding your legs up six inches off the ground while laying back. This wasn"t training, this was fucking torture. And now she wanted him to do some school work. He thought school ended by the age of eighteen and that was it. Obviously not to her. "Alex! Wake up!" Kristi shouted at the top of her lungs. Alex, now in gray sweats and a gray sleeve-less t-shirt, stumbled backward out of his seat and hit the ground pretty much slamming his head against it. Now in more physical pain then before and about to blackout, he looked up in a daze and barely got out, "Wha?" Kristi looked at him over the seat at Alex"s favorite restaurant, the Ramen noodle shop, located in one of the more quieter slums on base. Well it wasn"t really a shop; it was more like a little walk-in with a long counter and four chairs. Then behind the counter were an old man who was cooking the Ramen with some mad skills and a young Asian looking girl that was like the sole server. "Man you are disgraceful." She shook her head and then reached over and with one hand lifted Alex up and put him in his seat. That was one thing about her, she was unusually strong for someone so femine looking. "Listen. You don"t just need a physically strong body to pilot an Ac. You also need to know everything about your Ac. Like?" Alex sighed and phrased as he had done so many times before, "Extensions, Inside parts, Right Arm Parts, Left Arm parts, Core; one type Exceed Orbit with counter attacking capabilities and the other type Over Boost with some serious speed capabilities. Then we have arms, left and right shoulder weapons, generators, radiators, head parts and legs. Did I miss anything?" Kristi nodded glad that some of what she was teaching actually sunk in. "Yes you did, the new line of parts. Leg Extensions and dual-arm hand helds. Now even though you got that one wrong, you still get one bowl of Ramen." Alex"s eyes lit up with passion, as a bowl of hot boiling Ramen was set right in front of him. Immediately and not caring how hot the heat was, he took down the Ramen like it was juice. Then he extended his bowl in hand to the server and yipped, "More!" Kristi hit Alex upside the head and shouted, "NO! You only get one per question!" Alex rubbed the sore spot on his head and as Kristi turned to eat some of her Ramen, stuck his tongue out at her. And with lighting fast reflexes, she used the chopsticks that she hadn"t even touched yet to snagged his tongue. Then pulling on it hard and bringing him closer to her, she growled with a menacing intent, "You got a problem with the way I teach?" Alex opted, tongue still stuck, "Would I get in trouwble if I said yes?" Kristi squeezed his tongue even harder. Alex barely got out, "Sorwy!" She let go of him and then tossed the chopsticks into a nearby bin. Then grabbing another one, she started to eat her Ramen. Alex grumbled and looked at the server who was almost in tears from stifled laughter. Alex grinned and said, "See Mika? This is what I go through everyday. Just plain and total torture." Mika smiled, "Hai! Maybe you shouldn"t be so reckless and naughty." Alex"s grin broadened, "Nah that"s not it. She"s just too strict." Kristi shot in after finishing her Ramen, "You haven"t seen strict." Alex glared at her and yelled unnecessarily, "What are you smoking? This is the kind of stuff super humans do! I"m not super human! I"m barely human!" Kristi nodded and with a grin, "Yeah, you barely get up to that level considering how lazy you are." Alex scowled, knowing that he had fell right into that one, and Mika just giggled. Mika had always enjoyed it when they came around whether for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They always acted like they were couples, arguing and the sort. Mika then turned to her Grandpa, as he was busy cooking, "Grandpapa!" He turned around eyes closed but still knowing what he was doing, "Yo?" "Make much Ramen today." She smiled at Alex as now he and Kristi were pretty much wrestling with Kristi winning. "It looks like today will be long and pleasant." "Yo!" He responded cheerfully. Then placing her small elbows on the counter and brushing back her silky black hair, Mika entered a state of daydreaming, wondering what had happened to the other customer that usually came here with Alex. It had to have been about four years ago since the last she had saw them together. For some reason she couldn"t remember his name but she remembered his face. It was so hardened and strict for someone so young. They were only around fourteen at the time and they were always talking about how they were piloting Acs. Well more like Alex was talking about it. The other boy was always silent. There was also another girl with them that Mika had thought at one point to be Alex"s sweetheart. If memory served her right, she was related to the other boy. Where had they gone? Every time Mika asked Alex, he had always said, "Don"t worry about them, they went their own path." But the way he said it, it was always filled with pain. She had spent many a nights wondering about it. "Uncle!" Mika shook her head and then peered over the counter and nearly had a laughing fit. "I called Uncle!" Alex screamed as Kristi sat on him with both of his arms under her butt. She only had one hand on his neck, while she was busy inspecting the nails on the other hand when she said, "What was that?" "Uncle!" Alex yelled louder trying to get out from under her butt, even if it was soft and cushiony. Still her weight alone was enough to cause pain to rip through his backside. Then he decided, well more like slipped out, to say uncle in a more heartless manner. "I said Uncle! Now get off of me you fat bitch!" Alex tried so hard to catch himself before he had said it and realized he was screwed as Kristi"s head started twitching with a demonic intent. "What did you just say?" Kristi clutched his throat a little harder and proceeded to beat the crap out of him. After five full minutes of beat-downs, Kristi continued to consume her ramen elegantly while Alex couldn"t even get his hand stable enough to eat his. Pretty much beaten to a blue and black pulp he realized that a woman"s wrath is one thing that he needs to figure out how to get away from and never incur. "Hey Alex?" Kristi said while finishing her ramen. Alex flinched and tried to shield himself from anymore pain, "I didn"t say anything! I swear it!" Kristi grinned deviously and said, "No that"s not it." She then bowed in gratitude to Mika for the meal and placed her card on the table. Mika grabbed the card and pulled out a little scanner and placed the card in the scanner. This was the formal currency of the world. Credit. Not as in someone pays you and I pay him or her later. It was the same thing as in the old cash system except these were called credits. It was universal for every purchase around. And with the cards, it added more freedom then carrying a wad of bills everywhere. The thing was that everything was electronic and it was connected to your account so however much money was in the account would be on the card and it was only one card. It was even redundant with a system that would allow you, even if you lose your card, to shut off that card making it void and impossible to use, and get a new one with no problems. Of course it still had faults as hackers spend day and night trying to figure out new ways to get into those little babies but it got harder and harder with time. The most recent security feature was fingerprint scan and voice recognition. If the thumb was not the one recorded by the card it notifies the company that supplies these nifty things, Bicentennial Enterprises, and then shuts off. Same thing with the voice recognition, it just analyzes the users voice and after a brief period of set protocols, if something is amiss, the card itself will beep and initiate a countdown for the fingerprint. That"s when it will either shut off or just go back to normal use mode. Either way, it"s still a really good thing to have in this age of currency. "Twenty-four credits." Mika gave back the card to Kristi and nodded, "Anything else?" Kristi shook her head and then turned to Alex, "I arranged an Arena Match for you." Alex suddenly found himself not in any pain at all when he heard those words. "Are you serious!" He found himself jumping out of his seat staring at Kristi wide-eyed. Kristi turned away for a moment while saying, "I didn"t want to really, but I have this friend of mines who wants to see what you are capable of. I"ve been telling him about how much potential you have, if only you weren"t so lazy." Alex rose an eyebrow, "What friend?" Kristi then grinned again while looking at him from the corner of her eye, "Oh you"ll see. It"s nothing special, just a good friend." Alex thought about it for only a moment and said, "Cool, then I accept." "Of course you would. You don"t have much of a choice me being your contact." Of course this never made it into Alex"s ears. He was already out of the Ramen shop and halfway down the street when he starting waving back and yelling out, "Move it or lose it grandma!" Under normal circumstances, that would have infuriated Kristi, but at the moment she could only admire his youthful energy to do combat in Ac"s. He truly did love Ac"s, even if he was fighting with them. Guess it was the thrill of combat that everyone gets into. Of course that usually leads to trouble and disorder. Maybe he will be different. Mika then stuck her head out so she could see Alex down the street, "Sayonara, Alex-san! And good luck!" Alex waved back at her as Kristi started on her way. For sure, Alex was stoked. This was going to be his first Arena match ever since he had gotten his Freelancer license and it was bound to be great. Just wait; this was his first step to becoming the greatest pilot in the world! Alex was a proud person; both in nature and in attitude. And everything he did pretty much tied into his idealism that he set for himself. The way he saw things was a pretty radical view on the world. Do unto others, that which you would want done unto you. Not that he was a religious person. Far from it. In fact he was an atheist. He believe that religion was the reason that too many people died, even nowadays. All of the Raven groups on Mars bounded themselves by some type of code of religious prestige or adhered to a certain way of life that seemed saintly in nature. It always aggravated Alex to no end because they always seemed to think that they were better then others just by some godly overlook. But he didn"t want to think that this life that he had been granted was the only life out there. He wanted to see more, try to find the lost piece of humanity that some many people have seemed to have traded off to the devil. He just couldn"t sit still while other people got hurt even if he didn"t want to get involved. This was the kind of thing that caused him to get into so much trouble sometimes. He also wanted to prove to himself something; that his worth in this world isn"t just some price tag or some type of modern day commodity. He wanted to see just how far he could push himself before he could break the limit. He wanted to see just how good he was and show others in the world that he was that good. Call it ego, call it a hunger for power. For him, it was just a race against himself to see just what he was made of; a true test of his mettle. Even still, he wasn"t without his faults as well. He left most matters to other people and only dealt with stuff that affected him. You could say that he wasn"t any better but he knew that he couldn"t do anything about it. Of course he saw the dirtiest and most horrid people that were part of the web of humanity and even worked for them at some point. But he always wanted to keep an eye out for those less fortunate. He had been one of them just before he had become an Ac pilot. The least he could do is right some of the wrongs that have been oppressed on him and others so much before. Or at least try to. Maybe he was out of his league. Or maybe he was out of his mind. Which is why he enjoyed the more neutral position. Of course, past events lead him not to forget the pain that many people feel all the time. "Alex!" Kristi shouted from below him, knocking him out of his little daydreaming. Alex shook his head and looked down from the open cockpit and saw Kristi still standing in front of the Repair and Arming Console. He looked around and remembered where he was at. He was sitting in the South Archos Base garage, situated on Earth, tuning up the only pride and joy left in his life, save for food, drinks and women. His Ac, Gunner Mark I, was just about the only thing that he truly enjoyed being with, even if it wasn"t alive or just a machine. He felt truly at peace when he was in an Ac. Better yet was the fact that he had created this from his own sweat and money. Some of the parts were out of date, almost predating that of the Silent Line Era. Still, it handled well for something so old, and the parts where relatively cheap. It could go toe to toe against some of the more advanced Acs. But against those that were the top of the line, like most of the SA, S, A, B, and upper C class Ravens were just way beyond him. The best he could go, according to his own calculations, was beating the Sub-Arena"s on both Mars and Earth, then excelling at F, E, and D classes on Earth, and F, E, D, and some of the lower C class Ravens on Mars. The reasoning behind this was that Earth held more corporations and some of the more stronger ones as well and they pumped out more advanced parts all the time. Earth had Chrome, which excelled at every facet of Ac design period, then Mirage, which was even bigger and badder, then Crest which was as good as Chrome, then Kisaragi who had some the more interesting parts which still ran at some incredible paces. And then after that there was Solaris Enterprises, which at first wasn"t that big but now people think they might be the another Mirage. They pump out specialized parts that are borderline outlawed due to the destructive firepower they carry or the devious advantage that they can give. In fact, they were the ones that put out the new categories of parts into play, the dual-hand arm weapons, the new line of extensions that can cooperate with other weapon systems on you other then just missiles. As well as the new line of leg extensions that can range from some serious counter-acting defense systems, more missile extensions, more extra ammo cartridges, and a new revolutionary Stealth system that have already been outlawed in the Arena. If fact, this system is so powerful that it cannot be sold commercially. It has to be done out of the range of the Law, which is easy nowadays considering that all of the five space colonies that orbit around the Earth, the Moon, and Mars, are out of the jurisdiction of the Space Police Forces. Even still that new system is something to drool over. It"s the first active camouflage ever created. It bends light around an Ac for a set period of time making it damn near invisible. For a full ten seconds the enemy can barely even see you, let alone hit you. Of course, it takes up some serious weight and the leg extensions as well as the shoulder extensions. Anyway, going back to the whole ranking deal, since Mars only has three Corporations, Zio Matrix, Bicentennial Enterprises, and Mt Empire, they are lacking in terms of special and newer age parts then Earth is. This of course causes a lot of problems since Mirage, Crest, and Chrome all want a piece of Mars for it"s more abundant resources. But Zio-Matrix and the other two Corps aren"t push-overs. But other then that, they are losing in the race for strength. "Alex." It was Kristi again. This time she was standing in front of the open cockpit with her arms crossed. Her expression was a mixture of annoyance and worry. "You alright?" Alex looked at her for a full thirty seconds before he shook his head again and said, "Sorry, just daydreaming again." Kristi shook her head

"One shot. That"s all I need. Unfortunately for me, that"s all she needs as well.' His Materia Blade took a white glow as he prepared for an attack that would only need one hit, of course it took forever to use it. The woman strung her bow slowly and pulled back as far as she could, if he missed with this attack, he was dead. "Now! It"s time!" Cloud ran out of the alley he was in and raised his sword back beside him. She released the arrow and it bolted forward and hit Cloud. Of course it only hit his shoulder. Cloud gasped in pain but stopped and swung the sword up then down. "OMNISLASH!" A whirlwind of red energy blew around him like a typhoon and as he brought his massive weapon near the ground the whirlwind dissipated and a sparking blast of blue energy forged above him. The mass of energy was enormous almost as big as the street itself, then it disappeared and reappeared right beside the female Archer. She cried out in unmatched pain as she felt the energy rip through her. However, it didn"t kill her. Cloud lost the precious energy required to kill her when she hit him. Now"s the time to run. Cloud immediately took off in the other direction and disappeared into the darkness leaving the female to suffer a painfully slow death. However, it wasn"t long before he himself slowed down. He had lost a lot of blood and used up a lot of energy for his famous Omnislash. He could feel the ground shift under him as he struggled to keep awake. He had already cleared the small city and was no his way to the woods to the east. But he couldn"t remember whether he made it or not. The darkness that accompanied death claimed him. Okay that"s the end of my first chapter. Tell me what you guys think okay? Oh and to answer your question......I have no clue what it is, so I can"t answer it. But still please review and tell me if I made a boo boo. Till then, I have to work on my other stories. Peace! Chp. 2 The Zodiac Stones "My lord." A Shrine Knight kneeled in front of another man set in gold and black armor. "The unit sent out to bring in the Heretic Cloud has returned. "With Cloud I hope." His voice cold and low, straight to the point. "Unfortunately not." The Shrine Knight spoke with an uneasiness in his voice. The other sighed heavily at the news and then turned away from the flicker hearth he had recently lit. He watched the shadows jumped around in his chamber like a puppet show. He smiled slightly looking at the shadows. Each one had a memory attached to the statue or object that they projected. "I see. Leave it up to the Church to fail so miserably. The entire squad was wiped out I presume?" "No my liege. One survives." Boy did he want to leave. When the General was this calm, someone was going to die and he really didn"t want it to be him. "Contact Alexie. I need to speak with him." The General turned back to the hearth and walked even closer to it. The fire licked at his face, arms and armor but he neither moved nor flinched. He didn"t want to. The warmth and pain he felt gave him the sensation of being alive. At least more alive then he was. "My liege but we have already attempted to contacted Priest Alexie and he refuses to acknowledge you." The man hummed to himself and backed from the fireplace. He then painstaking took his time to turn to the side and walked up to his desk. He picked up a single piece of paper and returned to the Knight. "Here. Give this to him as you see him. Once he sees this, he will have no choice but to acknowledge my presence. Also tell him that the entire unit sent to capture Cloud Strife had been annihilated." The Knight slapped his fist against his armor and swiftly accepted the paper. "Of course my liege. I will do as you command." The Knight stood up and turned to leave though he questioned silently his last order. "One more thing." The general called out. The knight instantly turned on one heel and looked at his commander straight in the eyes. "Bring in the Knight. I would like to ask him something." "Yes, my liege." The Knight turned back around and quickly exited the room. The General sighed yet again and pulled out a large thick book from his wall of books and set it carefully on the table. The cover was old and a little rotten, a pukey green color but he wasn"t interested in the cover. It was the pages that rested between the book that could seal the fate of the Galbados Church. How quaint that he find it just lying around. Fate must had planned that joyous event. Including the object that accompanied the book. Two of them in fact. Who should he give the second one to? He had pondered that question many times. He rotated around the room and saw the shadows playing again against his walls of books. Of course he had no small room. It was a King"s chamber. Books lining up from corner to corner, floor to ceiling. He was always a fan of knowledge. That"s what helped him become such a powerful General and an even more powerful Knight. He was so close to reaching the level of Heavenly Knight. A task only accomplished by the famous and yet ridiculed Balbanes Belouve. He had struck out violently at anybody, including his own men, who had spoken negatively against him. Though the family had suffered greatly, completely destroyed, ending with one son a dead traitor, another son a dead madman, a third son a dead heretic, and a dead daughter who was foolish enough to join the heretic, he still held tremendous respect for Balbanes" battles and tactics. He was a brilliant strategist and an even more powerful Knight. The type that he wanted to be. Soon the shadows stopped playing and the Knight entered the room. He seemed fit and well taken care of. But the stench of fear reeked from him. For a moment the General felt like hitting him but advised against it. The Knight was a member of the Church"s army and the Church held the most power next to King Delita. So instead he welcomed him with wide arms and a hearty smile. "Welcome Knight. Have you found my Barracks comfortable?" He asked though this was not what he wanted to know. He wanted to know how a single man could kill off 50 of the Church"s best men. He had to have a- "I dare not insult the Barrack"s of the famous Dragon Knights. I will admit, they were quite.....interesting." "Good. I"m glad a member of the Galbados Church army finds my Barracks comfortable. Now I must ask you, what happened?" The General was very curious to find out. "Well, as you know the entire unit, save for me, was wiped out." The Knight started. "Yes." "But it was not because of Cloud Strife, milord." He explained. The general was obviously stunned by this information. Someone else had interfered? "Regal me." He demanded. "Another fighter had came. An Archer. A very powerful and extremely skilled Archer. One of the likes I have never seen before. I never in my time ever seen an arrow pierce three heads covered in armor before." Another shock covered the General"s face. "Did you find this Archer?" "No. After hitting over half our group, the subject vanished as if disappearing into the night itself. We had been left with only 14 men and still the heretic was able to dispatch them all in a matter of minutes." Silence accompanied them now. The General hadn"t realized that Cloud was that good and that somebody might be helping him? It couldn"t have been a Mercenary could it? No Mercenary he had ever heard of could do that. "General Elquis, I don"t wish to be rude but may I be excused to return to the Church. I have to report to them this distressing news." Elquis looked up at him brushing some of his long white hair aside from his face. "Yes of course. But will you do me one thing before you leave?" General Elquis twirled around and grabbed the head of a statue he had standing. He carefully lifted it up and pulled out a sphere from the neck. The Knight was puzzled as to what he was doing but quickly recognized the ball when Elquis turned to him. "Wait! Is that a-" "I need to know if it stills works. Shall we test it out here?" Elquis voice took to heavy and dark tone as the familiar sound of locking emitted from the door behind the Knight. The Knight whirled around and ran at the door only to find that it had been indeed locked. He pounded his fist against the door and screamed out in terror. "Open the door! In the name of the Church open the door!" The hearth increased in size covering that half of the room in flames, but flames that did not touched the General or his precious books. They overshadowed him and gave him the look of the devil himself. The Knight valiantly reached for his weapon and shield and unsheathed them ready to defend himself. Elquis just laughed at him as the stone reacted and filled the room with all of the following, an eerie glow, a devilish roar, and the all too wretched sound of crushing bone with flesh and meat. In an instant it had been done and Elquis returned the stone in its new rightful place. Under his armor accessible at any time to show all who stand in his way. "Wonderful. It still works." Wasn"t that naughty! Well this is my second chapter, reviews are welcomed, critics are allowed, but flaming is NOT! I don"t take lightly to asses who diss in all caps. If you have something to say then saw it in a positive manner. One thing I wanted to say was sorry that this chapter was so short. I the original planning stages it was supposed to be much bigger but you know things change. Till my next chapter, peace be the journey. Chp. 3 The Village of Arrini. "Is he awake yet?" One among many a men had already asked that question and yet the answer remained the same. "For the last time no. I will notify you when he has awaken. Till then, I recommend that you return to your homes and seek a goodnight"s rest." Spoke the wise and most kind Jeremiah Williams, one of the council members that governed this small village of Arrini. He was a middle aged man who had a habit of bringing in people from outside Araguay Woods. He had the most distinct features of any one in the village. Long silk black hair with dark blue eyes that seemed to give people a peace of mind but today, no one was peaceful. The reason? Three weeks ago during a hunt for food, as usual, they fell upon a man who was beyond wounds and beyond help. His injures covered his head to his toe. It seemed that the purple Vampire wolfs had gotten a hold of him. It was usual to see that some passer byer get injure severely and even killed by the dreadful beasts. Now what was not usual was the fact that the man started moving and also asking for help. Needless to say that the members of the hunting unit were scared to death thinking that some type of demon had possessed his mind and body and wanted to kill them all. So readying their weapons they prepared to kill the man demon until Jeremiah intervene. Though he was a member of the council he was also a member of the hunting teams and he had spared the young mans life saying that no demon had possessed his body. Needless to say they trusted his word, very reluctantly of course. And now, here they are arguing over the fact that he should be thrown out of the village because of who he was. However, Jeremiah refused to send him out the village because he was a supposed heretic. He denounced such things and explained that people were always loyal to god in their own way and fashion and just because someone says something different then somebody else, that doesn"t justify them as a heretic or heresy. Some agreed, others didn"t. He didn"t mind, everyone had their own opinion and he had no right to say that their opinions were false. But he also wouldn"t allow this man to be thrown out the village. He was still recovering, though he recovered remarkable faster then any other person he could think of. In other cases, the victim was in recuperation for the very least two months. Yet this young man did what they did in only three short weeks and unfortunately for him that wasn"t helping his situation. "I"m sorry Jeremiah but we can"t keep him in this village any longer. He is one with the devil of demons and we shall not harbor anyone who is against the Galbados Church. We have sworn to them that we would turn in any and all members of Ramza Belouve"s party and this man, Cloud Strife, was among them." It was a member of the same council that Jeremiah was in who spoke. Jeremiah replied with the voice of a sage and his words were carefully chosen. "So you will forfeit this man"s life just so you wont get in some trouble?" "Trouble?!" One man cried out. "Jeremiah, trouble is the least that we will receive." Another woman stated. "Jeremiah, this man"s life was forfeit the moment he turned his back on St. Ajora. It cannot and will not be helped." Julius spoke this time with the vigor of a young yet naïve boy. "We just can"t. the church would burn our village to the ground!" "And you still think that if they were the warriors and worshippers of St. Ajora, they would do that? If they were true to their word then they wouldn"t have need for such barbaric tactics." Jeremiah grew tired of this infighting. It was always the same argument. It started with the fact that he was a heretic and that they were afraid of the Galbados Church armies and then it lead off to- "But he heals so fast! Couldn"t he be what we thought him to be in the very beginning?!" This time it was the ever paranoid Lucas. "Him being a demon? How can you say that? If this man was truly a demon we would have seen bodies of dead Vampires and Cuars everywhere when we found him. Yet, we only found a pair of almost dead Cuars. IF he was a true demon, he would have already been awaken and done dispatched all of us to our eventual end. Yet, we still stand. If he was a demon-" "Jeremiah! We get the point." Jeremiah looked to the source of the voice and sighed happily. Finally somebody of decent common sense. Michael stepped forward from the little crowd in Jeremiah"s house and then turned to that same crowd. His features similar to that of Jeremiah but more hardened and older. His black hair slightly diminished and his eyes dull and filled with grief. "This man is not of demon and that settles it. I trust Jeremiah with my life and by Ajora"s will if I am to die by the hands of a demon and this man be that demon, so be it. I will gladly accept the fate Ajora has bestowed upon me." Everyone turned silent. Next to Jeremiah, Michael was just as respected or even more respected because he served as the protector of this village. Jeremiah took care of the internal troubles while Michael took care of the external ones. Though they were both warriors, Michael was the one who continued to fashion his skill while Jeremiah preferred a more peaceful life. And yet they were dearest of friends. "But I will not have anyone coming in this man"s house and questioning his judgment in his own home! Simple as that!" Everyone turned quiet. They all had realized that they had disrespected Jeremiah in his own home and that was very dishonorable. But then the unexpected happened. "Look! He awakes!" One young girl cried out. She was sitting beside the young blonde haired man but then stood up and stepped back to her father, Jeremiah. Everyone held their breath as they saw the boy struggle in his awakening and then slowly but eagerly, his eyes fluttered open. The eyes quickly shifted from side to side attempting to perceive and translate the surroundings. The look of confusion and frustration soon appeared no his face. Jeremiah moved his daughter to the side and then walked up to the boy. Others objected but Michael soon silenced them with only a glare. The blonde haired boy"s eyes turned to the old man, scanning every little feature to determine whether he was friend or foe. But they could decide on none. "Do not worry young one. My name is Jeremiah Atonac. I am the leader of internal affairs within the small village of Arrini." He said in his smoothest voice. But the boy"s heart and mind could not be smooth talked. Even Jeremiah could tell that this young man was battle hardened. He spoke nothing. Michael then walked up and spoke as well. "You are safe here. The Galbados Church has no influence here. And if you are wondering, we know who you are, Cloud Strife." No one else could tell except Michael and Jeremiah but the boy had been stirred by their knowledge of his existence. However, it did not deter him from rising up slowly, only to sit on the edge of the bed. He rested his head, looking at the cold wood floor and realized that he was looking also at his feet. Some of his clothes had been removed. He quickly reached for his shirt and blade but neither was found. Not even the plate of metal that rested on his left shoulder. Even the gloves he wore had been taken off. Jeremiah smiled brightly, amused at the boys reaction to the disappearance of his clothes. "Do not worry. Your clothes were soaked with the gift of life and they required washing." Cloud looked up at Jeremiah, once again taking in his features and then for the first time in three weeks, he spoke. He voice though was low and rasp, "Where am I again?" Was the only question he could ask. Michael answered him by repeating the name of the village, "Arrini Village." Cloud looked past the two elders and onto the crowd of obliviously frightened villagers. He cursed silently at them not out of disrespect but for the reason they feared him. His cool mako eyes scanned the room and found only items of necessity not convenience. Several wooden chairs, a small but fiery hearth with a large black cauldron hanging over it, a dresser drawer topped with books , and it seemed that he was on the only bed. He turned his head again but to his left and saw a small cupboard, barely filled with items such as spices and herbs. Several of them he recognized because of his many travels to distant lands. But one thing did irk him. "My clothes and weapons?" He asked concerned they were lying about the part of the Galbados Church. Jeremiah pointed to a nearby chair and oddly enough, all his clothes were there. All neatly folded and clean. His Materia Blade stood beside the chair, leaning against the wall, it seemed to cast a shadow that jumped with life. It almost frightened Cloud, but he quickly regained his posture. "You do realize that taking me in puts all of you in trouble." It wasn"t something he wanted to say but he didn"t have a choice, he had to warn them. Yet no one said anything. "I"m not joking. Take care of me and the Church will not spare any of you. I"ve seen it happen too many times." He attempted to stand up, aside from the few lingering and still painful wounds. But the young girl who sat by him many a times pushed him back down. "You need your rest. You are not fully recovered." Her voice was so sweet. And her soft ruby eyes gave Cloud a feeling of peace that he hadn"t felt in a long time. But still he lashed out attempting to warn them, "You still try to take care of me!? I just told you that the Galbados Church will not spare any of you if they find me here! And they will eventually find me!" The girl stepped away, taken back by his sudden outcry. But her father"s large hands clasped her shoulders, calming her down and assuring her. Jeremiah looked at Cloud and simply responded, "We know. But we-I mean Michael and I cannot and will not toss you out of the village as if you were garbage." Cloud looked at Michael and he solemnly agreed, nodding his head. Cloud turned to the others and asked, "What about them?" They all started to turn and leave, some grumbling, other cursing at the omen that has befallen them. Jeremiah laughed wholeheartedly and replied, "They will learn to understand. You are welcome here. I will vouch for u. And till you recover, you will a be welcome." Cloud tried to smile but he just couldn"t. Instead he nodded, happy to see that there was some decency still left in this world. He laid back down to rest and oddly enough, he quickly purged into darkness. Though it was a darkness that he seemed to hate. He didn"t know why. Maybe because of the accompanying empty feeling he had. But......something was different this time. An image. A young girl with long brown hair. She had a very plain outfit on. A pink dress and a sleeveless red coat on top. She held a basket filled with something. Though he couldn"t tell what laid in her basket, nor could he place the face that gazed at him, the mere image of this unknown entity placed him in a state of tranquility and calmness that was similar to the daughter"s eyes. Her mouth moved to form words, but nothing came out. Sound was none existent. And as quickly as the image appeared, the image disappeared, leaving Cloud to suffer again in the darkness that accompanied sleep and death. But one thing entered his mind, one name. "Flower girl?' God that took forever. I"m so sorry that I haven"t updated in forever. I truly apologize! I"ve been so busy with my brand spanking new ps2 and actually doing my schoolwork that my stories have fell into the no-no bin. That and I"m actually taking my first REAL step to becoming a real writer. I started working on a story that I plan on getting published. Not really an real original idea, but it"s something that isn"t copyrighted so I"m happy. Plz wish me luck on it! Any ways, give me your reviews, thoughts, ideas, etc etc. or just email me and ill promise to either respond or update real soon. Oh and if you"re a real big fan of both fft and ff7 then slap this story under your favs because I came up with the biggest idea ever and it should plz both. Ummmmmm, I think that"s it. Oh and one more thing. In your reviews, also put your opinion on whether or not the FF7 sequel should be a movie or not? Because unfortunately it"s happening.

"Oh goody." Alexie said sarcastically. "Good. May Ajora watch over you." The Master Priest and all of his followers then left the room. "May Ajora be with you too!" Elquis called out. It made no sense to say that but whatever. He turned to Alexie who in turn turned to him. Alexie couldn"t believe this. And for some odd reason, he had the distinct feeling that this is what Elquis had planned all along. That and many more things. Alexie turned to leave but stated his plans for the day ahead. "I shall return with my things and tomorrow we will discuss how you plan to obtain the King"s crown. Is that reasonable?" Elquis smiled brightly and replied, "Of course. But the actual meeting wont take place for another month. Till then I hope you will be at home here." "Of course." Alexie sneered he then left. Elquis brushed back his silk white hair, laughed briefly when he left and spoke aloud, "The fools." End of chp! So what yall think? Of course review. No flames. Only suggestions and mess. But tell me what you think of Elquis. Is he a badass? Or is he just one hell of a negotiator. But still why did he give all that power to the church? What are his plans? And why is he giving them the only cards one would have to keep them in check? Maybe there are better cards out there? Or maybe he was deceiving them. Maybe........you just have to read to find out. Oh yeah and don"t mention to grammar mess, I know. I print this stuff out and reread and rewrite it so trust me, I know! Till later PEACE!!! P.s. I finally wrote down the biggest sense in the whole story. It came out even better then I thought! It was a masterpiece. Well, at least by my perspective. But you wont get it for a good minute so be patient. God, I almost can"t! Chp.5 A piece of me "I still haven"t found out why the hell I"m here. I still haven"t found Ramza or Mustadio or any other person who may have a small clue to their whereabouts. But...does that even matter anymore? This village that I found me, it so calm and peaceful. Like an entirely new world, separated from the church and all of it"s unforgivings. But can I live here? Can I abandon everything that I have lost for a new life? Should I?' This was the argument that had plagued Cloud"s mind the moment he had regained consciousness from his deep slumber. That day in the city he had been severely injured and the only thing that had helped him was the gentle kindness of Jeremiah and his followers. But now that Cloud had arrived, and in the condition that he had arrived in, the village was divided. Half of them think he is just an ordinary young man, the rest think that he is some type of demon. Hell, for all he knows, he just might be this said demon. But that wouldn"t explain the things he had been feeling as of late nor the fleeting pictures that darted through his mind. As if they were incomplete, they fluttered in his vision every so often. Some the image of a massive city flanked with towers and buildings of incredibly large machinery, the likes of which he had never laid eyes upon. Or had he? And yet as mysterious as this city had seemed, it was flanked by a blanket of coldness and hurt. It seemed, as this city if it was a city, wanted to engulf him in a trench submerged with nothing but pain. So then why did he feel willed to progress into such a dark place? One of the fleeting images, a church, came to his mind. Then followed by a bed of flowers. Cloud had no idea what this meant, but it obviously had something to do with this city and his origin. Finding himself walking down the same path that he had been walking down for the past three weeks, he shook his head tired of trying to find answers to questions that seem irrelevant. He was happy in the quaint little village. He actually found himself with a little bit more get up and go then usual. And now he had a little area to train himself without hurting anyone else. He had even been giving some pointers to the hunters of the village, teaching them capturing techniques, better ways to skin the animals they used for food, shelter, and clothing. His techniques, unlike theirs, were more refined by years of practice just to survive. So he had a little advantage compared to them. Yet, even he had learned a myriad of new things. He had helped construct houses and barns with stables for animals. He also had helped with little stuff as cooking, learning things as well as teaching some. And here contrary to what he had thought, they followed their own religion, separate from that of the Glabados Church. They used names such as St.Ajora and the Glabados religion to hide the truth. This religion was the Religion of Shivon and with it came a new from of magic that had been springing up from certain people. It was strongest in Jeremiah"s line with his daughter beginning the next successor possibly even stronger then Jeremiah himself. This magic was called, by Jeremiah, "Blue Magic." It features a variety of different spells that inflict either pain or warmth. It isn"t even a direct offense, more like the ability of the "Bards" he had seen during his travels. It increased many different attributes as well as decreased them. It was a truly terrifying art to fight against. Speaking of who, Terra, Jeremiah"s daughter, the next in line for the Blue Magic Art, had found an interesting place in Cloud"s heart. Terra was an enchanting person to begin with; her long shiny green hair and her soft dark ruby eyes complemented her slender and petite form. But that wasn"t where she shined. She was quite possibly one of the gentlest people on this planet. She stood amongst side Jeremiah, protecting Cloud from anyone who tried to offend him. Even though he didn"t need the help, he found it funny when Terra would try to get angry with another person and they would actually back off. She looked so funny when she got angry. And yet, he knew one thing and it tore him apart. He knew that he couldn"t stay, or that he couldn"t get involved with her. Even though it seemed that she was feeling something for him. He could tell, it was the small gestures that verified his suspicions. And because of this, it tore him apart that he couldn"t stay. The consequences of such actions would end up being the death of everyone here! And he wouldn"t allow that to happen. Not again. So Cloud had planned for his soon-to-be mysterious departure. Today, he headed for a lake for his morning swim, early in the morning light. With the rest of the villagers asleep, and only a handful awake to watch the villagers from prowling animals, he was free to flee. It hurt him to do this, but he had no choice. Any other choice, as he has already reviewed, would end up disastrous. Reaching the relatively small lake, encompassed with a ring of boulders that seemed to serve as it"s border, he walked to the edge of the lake where an old dirty walkway was crudely built. It extended only about 20 feet, so it was probably designed for small boats. But now it only served as a relic of whatever it was used for. Cloud walked up to the edge of the walkway and sat down for a moment to gather himself. It seemed that every time he approached water he had sudden chills, and not the ones you get when you"re cold. These were tremors that made his insides ache with some dormant fear. He didn"t understand what this probably was, but he had found ways to get around it. Standing back up, he proceeded to strip himself of his new black shirt, tailored by Terra herself, and then placed his newly refurbished Buster Sword on the ground. Now it had a wondrous sheen to it, recreated with a layer of a new mixture that he had created, with the help of Terra and Jeremiah"s Blue Magic. This mixture was a combination of Diamond and Rune plating, two of the strongest materials in the land. Then a special coating of Blue Magic, courtesy of Terra and Jeremiah, will add a reflective ability of most magic. Now armed with a more powerful Buster Sword, he has a better chance of survival. About to take off his steel clad boots, he suddenly stopped. Looking back up slowly, he felt a sudden chill in the air. But it wasn"t like cold air just came in and brushed against his bare torso. This was a feeling that unnerved him, made him apprehensive to continue movement. This was the same feeling that he got when an enemy was nearby. Carefully and still crouched, he reached for his Buster Sword, and latched onto it with a reverse grip. But he didn"t move it. Instead he just watched the trees on the other side of the lake. Something told him that someone was watching him, most likely to attack him from a distance or the feeling would have been more alerting. This was more like trying to hide and hit him from safety. Silence, to surround him. A forest to hide from him. And only a close range weapon to arm himself with, Cloud suddenly felt naked. Then that"s when he saw it. It was just a sparkle at first but from that sparkle came an arrow that seemed almost invisible. The only thing that saved Cloud was his own nearly inhuman speed. He threw his Buster Sword up and blocked the arrow. Watching it bounce through the air, he suddenly heard a war cry and saw a figure jumping up in the air from across the lake straight down on top of him. Cloud rolled backward with only his sword, off the dock just as the figure came down on the dock. Now, had Cloud not seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn"t have believed it. The figure, guessing in their downward momentum, had crashed right through the pier, causing an eruption of water and pieces of wood. Cloud had a haphazard smile as he watched the oddly interesting spectacle. But it only lasted for only a few seconds. He suddenly found himself nearly reeling back in shock as the figure was still standing despite the fall they took and the rubble that surrounded them. And it wasn"t a male fighter either. It was a female. And a very familiar female. "You!" Cloud yelled out in surprise. It was that female Archer that he had fought before. He could tell just by the Perseus bow she wielded in her hands. That and that dark ruby glint in her eyes. The female archer grinned with pride, whipping her wet deep brown hair to the side, and shouted happily, "Cloud Strife. At last I found you!" Cloud groaned in disbelief and yelled in anger, "What the hell is your problem! What do you want with me! I didn"t do anything to you!" The Archer grinned again and said while walking up to him through the rubble and water, "That"s not what the 5 million Gil bounty on your head says." That surprised the mess out of Cloud. He didn"t know that they had put a bounty on him, let alone 5 million! That"s a lot of money for just one person. But it made sense. The Church really wants him dead. But he didn"t want to fight, not here, not so close to the village. Cloud flipped his weapon up and held it with both hands, upright. Then he ran forward with the blade ready. The female Archer didn"t think he would try a head on attack so she placed her bow up in a defensive move but Cloud had then bolted to the side and ran at top speed around the side of the lake. She cursed out loud and ran after him, arming her bow with a silver arrow. Letting it fly at extremely high speeds, the only thing that protected Cloud was the fact that he had dashed behind a large boulder and then into the forest. It was just enough time for her arrow to miss its target even if it ripped through the boulder. "Damn it Cloud, you"re only making this harder on yourself!" She yelled as she turned into the forest after him and ran at top speeds through the maze of trees and twigs. This is when she realized that she should have worn her long pants and long shirt with some armor. These twigs and branches were beating the crap out of her! Her short black jeans and white top wear not helping. She finally reached the edge of the forest and slowed down as it emptied out onto a cliff that only extended 30 feet. It definitely was constricting fighting room. Especially for her and her bow, but she had other skills. It"s just that she wasn"t one hundred percent sure if Cloud was here or not. She only caught sight of his pale back around here. Speaking of which, how does someone of that small and feeble looking stature carry a weapon as heavy looking as that? It seemed odd. But he did look nice with his spiky blonde hair and his funky green eyes. It was definitely something different. Still, it all didn"t matter, she had a job to do, and that cool five million was hers to take. This would be easy. Suddenly, she heard a weird whipping sound as if something big was moving through the air. She turned to the direction of the sound and then looking up she saw the massive sword she was just thinking about come swinging down on her position. She jumped to the side dodging the thing barely and watched it axed its way a good solid four feet into the ground handle up at an angle. "What in the-" Then out of the blue, a fist came in and hit her in the side of the face. The impact was great and the pain that came afterwards was hell. She flew back completely caught off guard by the attack and found herself skidding back a good couple of feet back near the edge of the forest. Clutching the side of her face, she looked up and it was Cloud that hit her! But the pain she felt and the size of his arms didn"t for some reason equal out. It felt like her jaw was broken. Cloud nearly collapsed. His fist hurt so much just from hitting her iron clad jaw! So much for the nice and delicate looking type. Hitting her face was like hitting a brick wall! But now wasn"t the time to complain about pain. Pushing it aside, he reached out for his buster sword and with ease yanked it out of the ground. Cloud noticed that that had startled the hell out of his opponent. It was a shame too that he had to fight her. Unless he could convince her otherwise. She was a beautiful woman, a nice even tan that covered her head to toe, long slender legs moving an adequately proportioned body. But there was something else about her that irked him. It seemed to nag at his mind like a lot of things recently. But he didn"t get a chance to dwell on it for long. The female Archer jumped up and charged her blindly. Cloud had already had immense close range combat experience before he had entered this world and the time here training as a Monk had only increased his devastating power. This was going to be over very soon. Yelling out a battle cry, she swung at Cloud with her left fist but Cloud caught her hand with his left so he could then swing with more momentum with his right. However just before he swung he noticed a particular glint in his opponents eye. Suddenly, she opened her left hand and locked with his hand, and then with the speed of a Cuar, she spun backwards and cracked her other fist against the back of his head making him lean forward with nothing but pain coursing through his head. Then with the same lighting quickness she just displayed, she swung her left foot backwards, catching the bridge of Cloud"s nose knocking him back again also causing him to drop the sword. Now in a daze, unarmed, and unable to protect himself, she decided to Finnish it. She swung her leg again forward and up this time and slammed it with incredible force to the back of Clouds head practically burying him into the ground face first. Cloud nearly blacked out from the pain. He just couldn"t believe that she could move that fast, it was painfully incredible. But lying on the floor like this was hazardous to his health. He rolled to the side gaining several feet between him and her but the moment he got to his feet, she was already on top of him with left kick. Cloud jumped back with the tip of her steel tipped boot grazing his bare stomach. Cloud thanked whoever was watching him for that one but didn"t catch the other foot coming. The female Archer"s second kick came in and with the heel caught him on the side of the head. Then with the same speed that she had been displaying throughout the fight, she caught his arm as he was falling to the side and pulled him back just to deck him in the jaw. Cloud stumbled backwards and tried to put up a guard but she was just too fast. She came in, then down and sweep kicked him then still spinning into a circle, she flipped and just as Cloud fell on his back, she brought her foot down on his stomach. Cloud lost all the air in his lungs as he nearly collapsed on the floor. The Archer suddenly decided to pause and rolled backwards then flipping to her feet. Smiling with a hint of pleasure in the beat down in her soon to be five million Gil, she walked up to Cloud and placed her foot on his chest. Cloud on the other hand, still couldn"t do anything. He felt slightly paralyzed from the attacks he had received and could sense the dizzying vertigo that overshadowed his eyes. He couldn"t tell what he was looking at anymore. He constantly saw five of everything. "You men are all alike," The Archer said not even showing a hint of tiredness. "The moment you start fighting a woman, you think she"s weak and have to go easy on her." She then leaned down and whispered to him, inches away from his face, "But that"s fine with me. The more you do that, the easier this is for me." Cloud choked up some blood but spit it to the side. As much as the comment itself stung his pride, she was right. He wasn"t fighting to his fullest because he had completely underestimated her but it wasn"t just that. It was also the fact that she made him feel weird in a way that he had never felt before. It was as if he had known this person all his life, but he had never see this dark-haired beauty before. Could it be that he had seen those eyes before? It was the eyes that stuck him the hardest. Those fire-filled jewels mesmerized him with a feeling of nostalgia. "Hey dimwit!" Cloud suddenly felt himself literally lifted off of the ground and being held quite forcefully by his neck. He looked at the Archer and for some reason she was visibly angered. "Were you listening to anything I had just said?" She yelled. Cloud could do nothing but stare at her. Aside from her earlier comments, he didn"t catch what else she was saying, if anything at all. "I said, you thick-headed Neanderthal, that now because you decided to run from me in that city instead of dying like a good little boy, that village you decided to stay in is going to be wiped out." That caught Cloud"s attention. He grabbed her hand trying to gain some air to speak but only managed a slight, "Wha-?" The Archer laughed with a sense of amusement, "Yeah, I already notified the Church on your location. I also mentioned the Village as well considering you was hiding there for so long. Little did I know but there was a huge bounty on the whole frigging village itself. So now I get two for the effort of one. Thank you for making this so easy for me." Suddenly an explosion was heard form the distance and several plumes of smoke erupted from the direction of the village. Cloud turned around and felt his whole world shrink from around him. The Archer sighed and said, "I tried to convince them otherwise but apparently they really don"t like those people. So I accepted despite my own wishes. At least I made a quick buck." The moment she had said that, Cloud felt something inside him snap. It was small at first but it quickly grew into something he had never felt before. Next thing he knew, he had reached back with one hand as far as he could and swung screaming, "Burning anger rising! Wave Fist!" The Archer"s eyes got big as a torrent of energy came and hit her whole body flinging her back like a rag doll. She couldn"t stop herself for nothing as she continued to slide all the way to the edge of the cliff. Nor could she stop herself from slipping just enough to fall off the cliff. She reached for the edge as she felt a weightlessness cover her. She couldn"t though and felt herself go in slow motion farther and farther from the cliff. Then the craziest thing happened. She saw a pale hand come in from the shadow of the sun and grab her hand. Closing her eyes as she was jolted form the sudden drop she couldn"t help but look down and see what would have been her grave. It was a shear drop about a couple hundred feet to what looked like nothing but sharp rocks and what resembled bones. She looked back up to her savior and saw that it was Cloud! "But-!" Cloud pulled her back up with no effort and dropped her on the ground away from the cliff. The Archer landed, ungracefully, on her feet and found her land legs again. Still shaking from that close brush with Death himself, she looked at Cloud with confused eyes and just as she was about to say something, he merely started walking by and past her. She was beyond shocked but then realized why he did it. She spun around and yelled, "I"m not going to stop hunting you just because you saved my life! I"m a mercenary, I won"t stop till you"re dead!" "I know." Was the simple answer. Now even more puzzled then before, she yelled even louder, "I"m not going to be indebted to you either! I could care less about you or any one else!"

oh. Mr. Happy"s up. Damn it, now he had to get up. Stuck with a boner and under a mountain of clothes, with a resoundingly painful headache and that DAMNED THING WAS STILL RINGING, it wouldn"t be long till he would go crazy. Then all of a sudden, the ringing stopped. Alex"s eyes busted open welling up with tears. Did it run out of juice? Did it find compassion in its cold metallic netlike matrix and turn off just for him? Oh my god.....there is a GOD! And that"s when he saw a shadow moving through his room and realized that it could only be one person. "Shit! Kristie wait!" All he felt was the weightless of Zero Gravity as he felt the comfy sofa he was used to being flung up in the air. All he saw was clothes just fly around everywhere, blankets jumping for cover, and a box of half eaten pizza fleeing to the ground... Wait half eaten pizza! Pizza! Alex recovered it in mid-air then landed flat on his back just as the sofa landed on it"s back as well. Pain coursed through his body like a tidal wave as for a moment he hated his life. But realizing the pizza was still in his hand he would endure. Until the Human-Plus Ex-Raven"s Nest pilot, Kristi Archverress snatched the pizza from him and just gave him the smuggest look anyone could have gotten. "God you are the lamest ass in the whole damned solar system." She said, her voice piercing and strong. For a twenty-two year old woman with more then four years of experience at being a Raven, and being a tough instructor, she was hot. She was tall, with a milky white complexion, short dark brown hair with dark brown eyes. She had long slender legs that her black and blue Raven"s Nest Uniform hugged so nicely. The top was unzipped and she wasn"t wearing a bra, but the damned top was still covering up most of it. All Alex got was a nice snapshot as some sexy cleavage. Which he didn"t mind but he would rather have the whole present with no wrapping of course. Kristi caught on that he had noticed and snapped, "You looking hard enough? Or did you forget something?" Alex looked at her for a moment then remembered; she had his pizza! Alex lunged up in the air and dive bombed her while pinning her against the ground with his pizza in hand. "My pizza!" He cried out in victory. "Oh I"m so sorry Alex. Could you ever forgive me!" Kristi was heard shouting from under him. Alex swept her from off the ground and held he closely, "Yes of course, I will always forgive." ....sad shame it didn"t go like that. It was too early in the morning for something like that. Instead, Alex was seen hugging Kristi"s leg begging for the pizza back. "Don"t take away my only pleasure in life! Please! I beg of you!" He was pretty much in tears. Kristi groaned in disgust and decided to let the poor bastard get his pizza. Besides god only knows how old it was. It was most likely collecting a new virus because of how long it had been in there. And yet Alex was on top of it like a ravenous beast that hadn"t ate anything for months at a time. All she heard was crunching and the inhaling of food. After a while it was gone, even the damned box and Alex was just laying on his back rubbing his tummy. Kristi just couldn"t understand where it all went. Alex was a young eighteen year old Hispanic who barely weighed a hundred and eighty pounds. And he wasn"t a chubby hundred and eighty. He was well-built for someone his age, with a slim long body that carried he natural tan evenly all over. His short rich black hair, though right now it was tossed every which way and the other, would soon be styled into a gelled up spikes that run backwards with two black bangs in the front. His eyes were also just as black. She always felt like she was staring into a deep never-ending void whenever she looked into his eyes. Suddenly Alex flipped up and shouted, "I"m still hungry!" Kristi sighed and rubbed her face, "We"ll get breakfast." "Sweet!" Alex jumped up. "After morning exercises!" "No!" Alex fell back down. This was ridiculous. How anybody was able to keep up with her was just beyond Alex. She was like a frigging machine, like the damned energizer bunny going at full steam or charge or whatever the hell that she ran on. First it was one hundred laps around the damned base that they lived at. Well, more like where she lived at and Alex just happened to stay at one of the apartment complexes that rested in thus said base. This is where he was renting a little complex with pretty much no money considering the fact that he had only accepted two missions since he became a Raven. It had been two months since then and still she wouldn"t let him do any of the better paying missions. Apparently she had it fixed into her noggin that he sucked beyond everything and he needed massive help and training. Which he didn"t mind you, if it wasn"t so damn early in the morning! It was only eleven and he had already done three hundred push-ups, two hundred sit-ups, four hundred jumping jacks, the hundred laps that was stated earlier including fifty hundred meter sprints one after another at max speed, and then a nice half an hour at holding your legs up six inches off the ground while laying back. This wasn"t training, this was fucking torture. And now she wanted him to do some school work. He thought school ended by the age of eighteen and that was it. Obviously not to her. "Alex! Wake up!" Kristi shouted at the top of her lungs. Alex, now in gray sweats and a gray sleeve-less t-shirt, stumbled backward out of his seat and hit the ground pretty much slamming his head against it. Now in more physical pain then before and about to blackout, he looked up in a daze and barely got out, "Wha?" Kristi looked at him over the seat at Alex"s favorite restaurant, the Ramen noodle shop, located in one of the more quieter slums on base. Well it wasn"t really a shop; it was more like a little walk-in with a long counter and four chairs. Then behind the counter were an old man who was cooking the Ramen with some mad skills and a young Asian looking girl that was like the sole server. "Man you are disgraceful." She shook her head and then reached over and with one hand lifted Alex up and put him in his seat. That was one thing about her, she was unusually strong for someone so femine looking. "Listen. You don"t just need a physically strong body to pilot an Ac. You also need to know everything about your Ac. Like?" Alex sighed and phrased as he had done so many times before, "Extensions, Inside parts, Right Arm Parts, Left Arm parts, Core; one type Exceed Orbit with counter attacking capabilities and the other type Over Boost with some serious speed capabilities. Then we have arms, left and right shoulder weapons, generators, radiators, head parts and legs. Did I miss anything?" Kristi nodded glad that some of what she was teaching actually sunk in. "Yes you did, the new line of parts. Leg Extensions and dual-arm hand helds. Now even though you got that one wrong, you still get one bowl of Ramen." Alex"s eyes lit up with passion, as a bowl of hot boiling Ramen was set right in front of him. Immediately and not caring how hot the heat was, he took down the Ramen like it was juice. Then he extended his bowl in hand to the server and yipped, "More!" Kristi hit Alex upside the head and shouted, "NO! You only get one per question!" Alex rubbed the sore spot on his head and as Kristi turned to eat some of her Ramen, stuck his tongue out at her. And with lighting fast reflexes, she used the chopsticks that she hadn"t even touched yet to snagged his tongue. Then pulling on it hard and bringing him closer to her, she growled with a menacing intent, "You got a problem with the way I teach?" Alex opted, tongue still stuck, "Would I get in trouwble if I said yes?" Kristi squeezed his tongue even harder. Alex barely got out, "Sorwy!" She let go of him and then tossed the chopsticks into a nearby bin. Then grabbing another one, she started to eat her Ramen. Alex grumbled and looked at the server who was almost in tears from stifled laughter. Alex grinned and said, "See Mika? This is what I go through everyday. Just plain and total torture." Mika smiled, "Hai! Maybe you shouldn"t be so reckless and naughty." Alex"s grin broadened, "Nah that"s not it. She"s just too strict." Kristi shot in after finishing her Ramen, "You haven"t seen strict." Alex glared at her and yelled unnecessarily, "What are you smoking? This is the kind of stuff super humans do! I"m not super human! I"m barely human!" Kristi nodded and with a grin, "Yeah, you barely get up to that level considering how lazy you are." Alex scowled, knowing that he had fell right into that one, and Mika just giggled. Mika had always enjoyed it when they came around whether for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They always acted like they were couples, arguing and the sort. Mika then turned to her Grandpa, as he was busy cooking, "Grandpapa!" He turned around eyes closed but still knowing what he was doing, "Yo?" "Make much Ramen today." She smiled at Alex as now he and Kristi were pretty much wrestling with Kristi winning. "It looks like today will be long and pleasant." "Yo!" He responded cheerfully. Then placing her small elbows on the counter and brushing back her silky black hair, Mika entered a state of daydreaming, wondering what had happened to the other customer that usually came here with Alex. It had to have been about four years ago since the last she had saw them together. For some reason she couldn"t remember his name but she remembered his face. It was so hardened and strict for someone so young. They were only around fourteen at the time and they were always talking about how they were piloting Acs. Well more like Alex was talking about it. The other boy was always silent. There was also another girl with them that Mika had thought at one point to be Alex"s sweetheart. If memory served her right, she was related to the other boy. Where had they gone? Every time Mika asked Alex, he had always said, "Don"t worry about them, they went their own path." But the way he said it, it was always filled with pain. She had spent many a nights wondering about it. "Uncle!" Mika shook her head and then peered over the counter and nearly had a laughing fit. "I called Uncle!" Alex screamed as Kristi sat on him with both of his arms under her butt. She only had one hand on his neck, while she was busy inspecting the nails on the other hand when she said, "What was that?" "Uncle!" Alex yelled louder trying to get out from under her butt, even if it was soft and cushiony. Still her weight alone was enough to cause pain to rip through his backside. Then he decided, well more like slipped out, to say uncle in a more heartless manner. "I said Uncle! Now get off of me you fat bitch!" Alex tried so hard to catch himself before he had said it and realized he was screwed as Kristi"s head started twitching with a demonic intent. "What did you just say?" Kristi clutched his throat a little harder and proceeded to beat the crap out of him. After five full minutes of beat-downs, Kristi continued to consume her ramen elegantly while Alex couldn"t even get his hand stable enough to eat his. Pretty much beaten to a blue and black pulp he realized that a woman"s wrath is one thing that he needs to figure out how to get away from and never incur. "Hey Alex?" Kristi said while finishing her ramen. Alex flinched and tried to shield himself from anymore pain, "I didn"t say anything! I swear it!" Kristi grinned deviously and said, "No that"s not it." She then bowed in gratitude to Mika for the meal and placed her card on the table. Mika grabbed the card and pulled out a little scanner and placed the card in the scanner. This was the formal currency of the world. Credit. Not as in someone pays you and I pay him or her later. It was the same thing as in the old cash system except these were called credits. It was universal for every purchase around. And with the cards, it added more freedom then carrying a wad of bills everywhere. The thing was that everything was electronic and it was connected to your account so however much money was in the account would be on the card and it was only one card. It was even redundant with a system that would allow you, even if you lose your card, to shut off that card making it void and impossible to use, and get a new one with no problems. Of course it still had faults as hackers spend day and night trying to figure out new ways to get into those little babies but it got harder and harder with time. The most recent security feature was fingerprint scan and voice recognition. If the thumb was not the one recorded by the card it notifies the company that supplies these nifty things, Bicentennial Enterprises, and then shuts off. Same thing with the voice recognition, it just analyzes the users voice and after a brief period of set protocols, if something is amiss, the card itself will beep and initiate a countdown for the fingerprint. That"s when it will either shut off or just go back to normal use mode. Either way, it"s still a really good thing to have in this age of currency. "Twenty-four credits." Mika gave back the card to Kristi and nodded, "Anything else?" Kristi shook her head and then turned to Alex, "I arranged an Arena Match for you." Alex suddenly found himself not in any pain at all when he heard those words. "Are you serious!" He found himself jumping out of his seat staring at Kristi wide-eyed. Kristi turned away for a moment while saying, "I didn"t want to really, but I have this friend of mines who wants to see what you are capable of. I"ve been telling him about how much potential you have, if only you weren"t so lazy." Alex rose an eyebrow, "What friend?" Kristi then grinned again while looking at him from the corner of her eye, "Oh you"ll see. It"s nothing special, just a good friend." Alex thought about it for only a moment and said, "Cool, then I accept." "Of course you would. You don"t have much of a choice me being your contact." Of course this never made it into Alex"s ears. He was already out of the Ramen shop and halfway down the street when he starting waving back and yelling out, "Move it or lose it grandma!" Under normal circumstances, that would have infuriated Kristi, but at the moment she could only admire his youthful energy to do combat in Ac"s. He truly did love Ac"s, even if he was fighting with them. Guess it was the thrill of combat that everyone gets into. Of course that usually leads to trouble and disorder. Maybe he will be different. Mika then stuck her head out so she could see Alex down the street, "Sayonara, Alex-san! And good luck!" Alex waved back at her as Kristi started on her way. For sure, Alex was stoked. This was going to be his first Arena match ever since he had gotten his Freelancer license and it was bound to be great. Just wait; this was his first step to becoming the greatest pilot in the world! Alex was a proud person; both in nature and in attitude. And everything he did pretty much tied into his idealism that he set for himself. The way he saw things was a pretty radical view on the world. Do unto others, that which you would want done unto you. Not that he was a religious person. Far from it. In fact he was an atheist. He believe that religion was the reason that too many people died, even nowadays. All of the Raven groups on Mars bounded themselves by some type of code of religious prestige or adhered to a certain way of life that seemed saintly in nature. It always aggravated Alex to no end because they always seemed to think that they were better then others just by some godly overlook. But he didn"t want to think that this life that he had been granted was the only life out there. He wanted to see more, try to find the lost piece of humanity that some many people have seemed to have traded off to the devil. He just couldn"t sit still while other people got hurt even if he didn"t want to get involved. This was the kind of thing that caused him to get into so much trouble sometimes. He also wanted to prove to himself something; that his worth in this world isn"t just some price tag or some type of modern day commodity. He wanted to see just how far he could push himself before he could break the limit. He wanted to see just how good he was and show others in the world that he was that good. Call it ego, call it a hunger for power. For him, it was just a race against himself to see just what he was made of; a true test of his mettle. Even still, he wasn"t without his faults as well. He left most matters to other people and only dealt with stuff that affected him. You could say that he wasn"t any better but he knew that he couldn"t do anything about it. Of course he saw the dirtiest and most horrid people that were part of the web of humanity and even worked for them at some point. But he always wanted to keep an eye out for those less fortunate. He had been one of them just before he had become an Ac pilot. The least he could do is right some of the wrongs that have been oppressed on him and others so much before. Or at least try to. Maybe he was out of his league. Or maybe he was out of his mind. Which is why he enjoyed the more neutral position. Of course, past events lead him not to forget the pain that many people feel all the time. "Alex!" Kristi shouted from below him, knocking him out of his little daydreaming. Alex shook his head and looked down from the open cockpit and saw Kristi still standing in front of the Repair and Arming Console. He looked around and remembered where he was at. He was sitting in the South Archos Base garage, situated on Earth, tuning up the only pride and joy left in his life, save for food, drinks and women. His Ac, Gunner Mark I, was just about the only thing that he truly enjoyed being with, even if it wasn"t alive or just a machine. He felt truly at peace when he was in an Ac. Better yet was the fact that he had created this from his own sweat and money. Some of the parts were out of date, almost predating that of the Silent Line Era. Still, it handled well for something so old, and the parts where relatively cheap. It could go toe to toe against some of the more advanced Acs. But against those that were the top of the line, like most of the SA, S, A, B, and upper C class Ravens were just way beyond him. The best he could go, according to his own calculations, was beating the Sub-Arena"s on both Mars and Earth, then excelling at F, E, and D classes on Earth, and F, E, D, and some of the lower C class Ravens on Mars. The reasoning behind this was that Earth held more corporations and some of the more stronger ones as well and they pumped out more advanced parts all the time. Earth had Chrome, which excelled at every facet of Ac design period, then Mirage, which was even bigger and badder, then Crest which was as good as Chrome, then Kisaragi who had some the more interesting parts which still ran at some incredible paces. And then after that there was Solaris Enterprises, which at first wasn"t that big but now people think they might be the another Mirage. They pump out specialized parts that are borderline outlawed due to the destructive firepower they carry or the devious advantage that they can give. In fact, they were the ones that put out the new categories of parts into play, the dual-hand arm weapons, the new line of extensions that can cooperate with other weapon systems on you other then just missiles. As well as the new line of leg extensions that can range from some serious counter-acting defense systems, more missile extensions, more extra ammo cartridges, and a new revolutionary Stealth system that have already been outlawed in the Arena. If fact, this system is so powerful that it cannot be sold commercially. It has to be done out of the range of the Law, which is easy nowadays considering that all of the five space colonies that orbit around the Earth, the Moon, and Mars, are out of the jurisdiction of the Space Police Forces. Even still that new system is something to drool over. It"s the first active camouflage ever created. It bends light around an Ac for a set period of time making it damn near invisible. For a full ten seconds the enemy can barely even see you, let alone hit you. Of course, it takes up some serious weight and the leg extensions as well as the shoulder extensions. Anyway, going back to the whole ranking deal, since Mars only has three Corporations, Zio Matrix, Bicentennial Enterprises, and Mt Empire, they are lacking in terms of special and newer age parts then Earth is. This of course causes a lot of problems since Mirage, Crest, and Chrome all want a piece of Mars for it"s more abundant resources. But Zio-Matrix and the other two Corps aren"t push-overs. But other then that, they are losing in the race for strength. "Alex." It was Kristi again. This time she was standing in front of the open cockpit with her arms crossed. Her expression was a mixture of annoyance and worry. "You alright?" Alex looked at her for a full thirty seconds before he shook his head again and said, "Sorry, just daydreaming again." Kristi shook her head and complained while watching Alex play with his newly formed bangs, "I do not understand how you can just daydream all the time. What is it you think about it?" Alex chuckled, while still playing with his bangs, and replied, "Stuff. Just stuff." Alex suddenly stopped fooling around with his hair and looked up at a

The green eyes darkened in rage, this man certainly didn"t like how his ex pupil could talk back to him. However, the subject was ignored and brought onto another one, "You know why we are here, yes?" "Of course I know-," she said softly but very bit angry. Anger? How so? Snot color eyes over there had took away her life when she was in his little play of death. She lost everything! Friends, a young brother, and her boyfriend. Yes, friends were threatened to stay away from Emma so she could focus on missions instead of them. The brother? The little boy at the age of six had found out that Emma was killing people and was mysteriously disappeared one night. The next morning was found in a stream by a bridge near a pipe factory; when little John was founded...there was a sharp pointed pipe through his skull. The boyfriend? He was perfect in his own way and to her. He was her dream guy and she was very lucky to find him. Oh, he was so close to dear Emma. Way too close. So close to find out the truth and it turns out-before John"s death, he told Emma"s boyfriend. A week later, the strings were attached and cabbage orbs had discovered that there was one more link to the organization. Emma"s boyfriend was suppose to be taken home by the Green Commander once he said that his mother had told him to. But instead of be drove home, he was taken to a deep, dark forest. And deep inside that forest... "So why did you bring me here?" Alex, Emma"s boyfriend, asked curiously though inside, he was afraid why he was brought here instead of home. "Oh, dear boy...when you were little, did your mom give you a code?" he asked, ignoring Alex"s question. Alex nodded, leaning against a large rock, "You talking about the "no-code, no-go code,' right? For strangers?" The man smirked, closing his eyes while giving a short nod to the young lad, "Yes. What was that code exactly?" Alex"s eyes widened as he jumped to his feet, "W-what? Did my mom tell you to come get me, right?" The man"s eyes flashed irriatably, "Tell me the code boy!" "You are suppose to know!" "Do you know who I am?" he asked. "No," Alex shook his head. The older man nodded his head, feeling more and more victorious with the plan. "Orange Juice," Alex whispered softly. "That"s the code?" Alex nodded, "Orange juice, eh?" The man took one step closer to Alex. "Before something happens, I want you to understand something completely." "A-alright," Alex choked out, feeling absolutely anything but comfortable. "I"m Emma"s boss, you heard of me, right? I am the headthinker on who"s her next kill," he explained cutly. Alex"s eyes shot wide open. "So, it"s true? She"s an assasin?" he asked scaredly and the man replied with a nod. "Yes, one of my best actually. But John, the little boy, had told you about this, right? His punishment was dealt with..." The man grinned cruelly, his green eyes shone with pure happiness of a sick image inside of his head. "But now, you know also that your mother never sent for me nor did your father. I sent myself on a quest." He pulled out a gun, aiming out at Alex"s forehead, "Orange Juice." A loud piercing scream was heard. "-To kill me. The way you killed Alex," Emma finished bitterly, her heart dropped as she remind herself of him and that heartbreaking scream from the woods. Green eyes were rolled again, annoyed by how she stills remember that and obviously couldn"t let it go. He thought the Alex Situation wasn"t a big deal though to Emma, it was. "Puh-lease! Get over it!" the pink eyes sneered, the redhead"s glaze turn towards to the high pitch squeal. "Says the man who can"t get a man," was her reply, huffing. Pinkie let out a growl as his fist clench in anger. "Whatever! I can totally get any guy I want!" he shouted, Emma grinned wickedly. "You wanna bet on that!" Emma exclaimed. "Hell yeah!-" "Guys! Focus!" yellow orbs shouted. "You better wish that sweet ass good luck that Tyler Ridgemount is mine!" pinkie orbs cried confidently, Emma snickered as you hear a smack on the forehead in the background. "You"re on!" Emma cried with confidence. Leafy eyes groaned inwardly, annoyed by the lack of professional behavior of his team. Before Emma was out of the organization; the three would place out playful bets to humilated one and another. The bets were always inside HeadQuarters or outside of the union when they weren"t on duty. Never before was there a bet being placed while the mission. But this wasn"t all other bets though...this victim was part of the organization and she knows every single trick they have. "Alright!" Green eyes shouted, bringing everyone"s curious eyes on him. "If we win the bet, we get to kill you without having hestiation and the entire resort will be destoryed by a deadly bomb. However, if you win...you must stop the bomb and you can try to defend yourself." "That"s not a fair bet," Emma sneered, eyes flashing with fury. "When have I ever been fair?" he inquired, it was true. The Green Commander was never fair at any point and probably never will be. Emma dared not to answer, knowing that the question is rhetorical. "What are the rules?" Emma asked firmly, she felt a few evil grins upon her and knew exactly where they"re coming from. The Green Commander"s eyes smirked in interest and a filthy pleasure at the change of his little game. "There will be no attacks upon you or your little friends and neither of us can spill the truth," he spoke calmly. "By friends, you mean-" Emma asked although was cut off by the Green Commander. "The people from yesterday: Fin, Lo, Reef, Ripper, Lance, Broseph, Johnny, and Kelly." "No, everyone." "Everyone?" "Yes, everyone. No one here will get hurt during the bet-," the redhead turned towards pink and yellow eyes with a death glare, "-In other words, no killing sprees." Yelow eyes let out a low growl before the glow of his bright eyes vanish into the darkness, like he turned his back on her. But he let out a frustrated, "Fine." "I assume that the bet is in order," Green Commander said, Emma nodded. "Indeed." "I wish you the best of luck," he said before leaving. Emma resist the urge to roll her eyes but muttered, "No, you don"t." A low chuckle was heard then everything went dead silent besides the sounds of Emma"s breathing. The room was still dark while Emma took in everything that happened a moment ago. She was going to use Ty as a bet which she feels really bad about; he didn"t deserve that but it had to be done. It was reasonable, however, she was going to save a million lives here at this hotel in exchanged of one used person. The person who she loves. Emma shield her eyes as the lights went on again and she run out of that hotel. Why? She was terrified. On what? The outcome. Okay, I want you guys to R&R because I love R&Rs. So R&R! But before you go, name your favorite moment off of Stoked. Bye! Emma kept a sharp eye for the pink eyed one which wasn"t hard including that nearly no one has pink eyes. But all great assassins should observe to their surroundings and the people near them. The whole gang was lounging on the couch, watching the small TV and eating suspicious foods. Only, our redhead wasn"t watching the television,;she was glazing out to the woods-trying to catch any movement of the branches or sound of a voice. There was nothing there, of course. No signs to make Emma tense in her seat and suddenly charge at the trees only to be discovered that it was a squirrel. Out of the blue, Reef groaned lowly in annoyance and when Emma turned around, she saw her nightmare that haunts her soul every night. There stood the pink eyed one that was not dressed in the black uniform and his light shaggy brown is hanging in front of his face. He wore a white polo shirt with brown plaid pants. Next to the pink eyed one is Bummer, who was in front of him. It was most likely Reef groaned at the sight of Bummer; not the pink eyed boy practically because he did not know him. Though Emma doesn"t blame Reef if he groans unhappily at both encounters; all you need now is for your mother to call you up and say that your puppy just died. "Hello Mr. Bum-Balmer, sir!" Reef almost messed up but thankfully catching himself before Bummer notice the mistake. Bummer reached behind him and grabbed the pink eyed one by the shoulder and yanked him forward. He secretly threw a death glare at the blonde man, probably making a mental note to murder him in his study later when it"s dark. But Emma knows that wasn"t going to happen since he"ll be breaking the rules made by the Commander. "This is Stanley, he is a new staff member and be working in the DR," Bummer informed. Emma wanted to scream on the top of her lungs and Stanley seemed to be pleased with her reaction as she hopped around the deck and making silent curses. Luckily, no one saw Emma"s tantrum since she was in the back and Bummer"s back was turned to Stanley. Bummer returned around to face the ginger with a smile, not too kind or sincere. Just a rather plain dull smile, "I"m sure Emma, here, will teach you rules and responsibilities of the DR. Right?" Everyone stared at Emma would was fuming inside, gritting her teeth as she forced out the words, "Sure." "Come, Em. Your not still mad, are ya?" his voice said, slightly teasing and arrogance. Fin frowned, looking at the two. "Wait, you know him?" Fin asked her friend, pointing her finger at the hidden assassin. "Oh, we go way back. Don"t we?" Stanley exclaimed, testing her to see if she"ll explode, enrage. Emma smirked, if he was going to play like that. She will bring on the fire, needless to say, Stanley will get burnt. Stanley winced somewhat at the intensity in Emma"s eyes, knowing that she will bring something quite humiliating up. Bummer shrugged and walked back to the hotel. "How can I forgot, Stan? You have pink eyes and you fall in the cow poo once," she said, Broseph, whom was drinking a coke, spit out his drink on Stanley. Stanley gasped. "Whoa. Sorry man," he mumbled sympathetic, wiping his mouth with his hand. Ripper jumped to his feet, "Do you really have pink eyes, mate?" Ripper got a little closer to get a better look, squinting his eyes and not seeing the pink that Emma was talking about. "What pink eyes?" Ripper asked curiously. "Look closely," Emma sternly said, slowly with her arms crossed. By this time, everyone was crowded around Stanley who was eager to have some distance...between the girls. The guys, not so much. Lo squealed loudly, "I see it! It"s so pretty!" Stanley blushed at the compliment, "Thanks." Broseph punched Stanley in the stone shoulder and winced that his hand was sore; Stanley didn"t even stumble at Broseph"s brotherly touch. Broseph shook his hand, trying to get rid of the sting. "Do you surf, bro?" he asked. "No." "Do you want to?" "No." Emma grinned; she was so close to Ty on two certain levels. One, she"s a surfer and Ty loves surfing. And secondly, she"s a girl and Ty is straight. She practically has the whole package deal. "Are you just going to stay here, man?" "Yes." "Why?" "Because there"s no point coming to surf if I don"t want to." "Oh..." Emma turned to Fin and Lo. They were talking quietly about Stanley, both agreeing that he was pretty cute but a little stupid. An aura that makes him suddenly unattractive, though neither of them can place a finger upon it. "Hey Lo, is Ty coming?" Emma asked loudly, Lo gave her friend a strange look. Partly because Lo told her earlier that Ty is coming. "Uh, yes?" She saw Stanley stiffened in shock and burst into a rainbow, grabbing Reef and Broseph hands. "On second though! I"m at a surfing hotel and that"s crazy-dazy to not try to at least learn! Who knows, it might be fun! I like to learn how to surf! Can you teach me?" Broseph slowly nodded, confused, "Hey, can this Ty-guy help me as well! He seems good!" Broseph shrugged. "Don"t know bro-"Broseph begin but Emma cut him off. "Actually, its bra," She whispered in his ear. Broseph scratched his afro, not getting what Emma meant. Broseph shrugged and turned to Stanley, "I think Ty will be on the waves or filming." The girls went upstairs to change into their swimsuits as the guys were still on the deck, talking. Emma grinned; she had a perfect yet, devious idea. "Hey guys?" she called, getting the girls attention. Lo was looking through her wardrobe, trying to find a hot swimsuit enough to impress Broseph. Right now, in her hands was a hot pink bikini. Fin was coming into the room, dressed in her usual swimwear, when Emma called them. Lo adjusted the clothing in her grasp, titling her head to the side, "Yeah?" "Wanna pull a prank on Stanley?" Fin smirked, nodding up and down, "Of course! The guys too?" Emma shook her head, "No, they would know it"s a prank." Fin flopped on her bed, waiting enthusiastically for Emma to begin as Lo clutch her bikini. "Remember at grom initiation..." Later Lo was giggling on the entire way up to the Office, excited about the prank but whenever someone asked what the hell was her problem; Emma quickly covered it was because she has a crush on someone. It was actually half true because Lo wore the swimsuit and keeps flipping her hair around. Before we reached the Office, everyone turned around to face Stanley. The expressions were still and firm, showing that each individual member was very serious. "Listen, Stanley," Ty spoke up. The spoken of assassin nearly squealed in excitement that Ty knows his name, feeling so much closer to being in a relationship with him. "Before we go to the Office, we have to lay some ground rules." Stanley slumped a little. "You can not tell anyone where the Office is. Understand?" "Confirmative," Stanley said, as if he was getting an order from the Commander at their headquarters. Fin gave him a weird look before turning around, following her friends to the secretive beach. Emma, on the other hand, grinned at him and gives Stanley the "okay" sign as if saying "nice.' Stanley huffed at the redhead, jogging up to Ty with a big grin. Ty raised an eyebrow, "Yes?" "Would you help me with my surfing?" Stanley asked kindly, surprising Emma. Ty frowned a tad. He prefers to go catch a few waves and film his friends, not helping a newbie. Ty let out an "uh..." Stanley didn"t give Ty anytime to refuse kindly as he could because Stanley reached forward and grabbed Ty"s wrist. Stanley started to run towards the Office that was now in full view, leaving the others behind. Reef frowned, "I don"t like that guy." "Me either, bro," Broseph grumbled, "He just seems like bad news." Emma scoffed as she thought, "You have no idea.' Lo flipped her hair over her shoulder, "I tried to talk to him but he just blew me off!" Everyone started to whisper on how they do not like Stanley; Emma leaned towards Fin, "Do you have it?" Fin smirked, "Well, duh." With that, they walked to the beach where an annoyed Ty was showing how to do a "pop up.' Fin and Reef were the ones who gave the bait to Stanley after Emma told them that they hate each other. He"ll know that it"s a prank if Emma told him so. Ty raced towards the beach once the pranksters told him that they"ll take it from here. "Ty and I were doing just fine! I do not need your freaking help!" Stanley growled. Fin and Reef looked at each other and nodded. "Well, if you don"t want advice from the best surfers on this beach; fine with us. Right, Fin?" Reef said, looking over at the blonde who shrugged. "In my opinion, some new surfers would love to have experts like us tell them the correct way to surf," Fin said. The two begun to walk away before Stanley called out to them. Fin and Reef smirked, wiping it off and turned to face the oblivious man. "Maybe I do need your help," Stanley muttered, not looking at them with a tiny blush. "Your pop ups are awesome but when you are on the waves-you need speed and balance." Reef started, Fin nodded in agreement. "Although, you need something to stay on the board and it gives you amazing speed." Stanley, who seems to be sinking in the facts, eyes wide interest. "Really? What is it?" Fin leaned in and handed Stanley partolalien jelly (A/N: Yeah, I have no idea on how to spell it...), or the grease they used to surf in grom initiation. Stanley covered his whole board with the substance. "Come on, Stan, let"s go catch a few!" Reef cheered, chasing after Fin who was already in the water. Everyone besides Ty smirked when Fin paddled up to them, "He took the bait." Reef followed behind Fin as Stanley paddled away from the staff, waiting for a good wave. "The dude put two coats of that grease crap on his board! The dude doesn"t stand a chance!" Reef grinned, giving Fin a high five. "We should totally become actors," Fin laughed, Reef soonly followed. When Stanley got on a good wave, his feet stumbled along the wood and crashed into the water. The group laughed at the sight when Stanley"s head came from the water and shook his head. He growled, getting up on the board and trying to catch the next one. Each and every time, he fell right off his board. Our favorite bunch held their stomachs as it started to hurt from all of the laughter. Emma and Stanley catch each others" glaze, the redhead smirked and mouthed "Doesn"t seem such a breeze, does it?' Stanley knew that Emma was certainly right, this would not be such a simple game. However, he was in it to win it. Much like our ginger who was playing deadly. Hey guys, as you may know-I do not own Stoked but I do own the idea of the plotline. I hope you readers understand the long delays of this previous stories and understand my current situation but reading The Longest Author"s Note Ever. If you haven"t, it"s honestly wasn"t a big deal but I put it up here because many people are asking why it"s been so long. If you want to read it, it"s not up there because someone complained that it wasn"t a story, defensive about it being placed under what I put it as, and (s)he was going to report me to the FF officials if I didn"t take it down. But I think its bullcrap since (s)he wasn"t a member (or wasn"t logged in) and I thoroughly read through the rules and it never mentioned something like that. So, anyways, if you are interested-email me on FF and I"ll summarized the whole thing to you. But in the mean time, read the chapter and enjoy! Emma loved having the upper hand when it comes to competing against Stanley in the Win-a-Ty-and-Save-the-Whole-Resort contest. But she couldn"t help but think of the consequences she will face or the difficulty to win Ty over. He was straight and that was a whole advantage Emma had, and not to mention that she can surf. However, Emma has been at this barking up the Ty tree since the near beginning of the summer, and until now, she wasn"t even closer than she was since the first day she knew that she liked him. It didn"t exactly matter if she didn"t get Ty or not; there"s millions of males on this earth but right now, it does. We"re talking about a situation involing lives that shouldn"t been taken away from them. Emma circled her finger around the edges of the clean china cup of hot apple cider on the counter that she bought for herself with a sigh. The DR wasn"t open yet and Emma came to work early in hope to bring some thoughts together. It was an hour to open the restaurant and Emma hasn"t thought of anything to win the competition, a secret, quiet competition for that matter. Suddenly, Emma"s ears perked up at the sound of footsteps walking in and saw Kelly coming to work. She stared at the redhead with curiosity; it wasn"t often that a grom came to work early. Kelly came towards Emma without a grimace or a grin. "You"re here early," Kelly stated the obvious. "Yeah, I needed to sort out personal issues," Kelly caught the message. By Emma saying personal meant that it shouldn"t be spoken of, and Emma was telling the truth. It seemed to be enough for Kelly and Emma was glad. If it was Fin, Lo, or someone else they would constantly bug Emma to a point where she"ll irritably blurt everything out about her used to be an assassin and the whole thing about Ty and Stanley. Kelly nodded and went to the kitchen and later came back with a cup of apple cider before joining Emma at the counter. She took a sip of it and shivered at the warmth of the hot juice running down her throat and scanned her eyes over the empty, quiet DR. "It"s different without all of those annoying customers," she said absentmindly, taking another sip. Emma nodded, agreeing with her completely. "I"m glad that we agree on something." "Not only that, we think Lo still wants to have the easy life and still spoiled and whiny and we hate that Stanley boy," Emma rolled her eyes at the whole Lo bit even though it was slightly true, but how did Kelly know that she hates Stanley? "What means you think I hate the new employee?" Emma asked, mysteriously and slyly. Emma was getting awfully suspicious of Kelly and that wasn"t a good thing for her or Kelly. For Emma, they"re maybe a possibility that she"ll find about everything and Kelly could get very hurt out of it. Emma stayed quiet while Kelly talked... "I know that you are a generally sweet person; as much as I hate to admit it. But what kind person comes up with an evil, and may I add-genesis, prank with that jelly, you glare at him, you sneer at him, and such," Kelly listed on, but grinned at Emma when she mentioned the jelly board prank.

"Were you waiting for me again?" she questioned at her husband, briefly rolling her eyes before walking upstairs. Aaron sighed heavily, this happened ever time. Aaron would go out and sleep with some random woman while the wife goes works until eleven o"clock and just stay up until she comes home. Whatever her job is that he doesn"t know but he does indeed know that she"s an important businesswoman with a large decent paycheck. Aaron went up the staircase after her, "Why shouldn"t I?" She turned around to glare at him as if the answer was suppose to be obvious. "Because Aaron, you won"t be able to find and get a job if you don"t have any enegry from you waiting up for me," she hissed dangerously and Aaron shifted nervously. They both knew that she was intimidating and could run anyone"s blood cold. She had a threatening appearance with brown eyes glaring you through those circled thin wired glasses, her features were sharp and those lips that he never even kissed with small and thin. Her was shorter than him by a size of a head and her figure was anything but fat. Her black hair was wrapped up in a tight bun and her complexion was clear but pale. She remained him of a witch without the green skin. "Why should I? I mean, we are doing fine enough, aren"t we?" he slurred carelessly, the wife rolled her eyes annoyed and turned around to go to the bathroom to change. It bugged him on how he never seen her naked ever and yet, she"s his wife. She gets dressed in the bathroom or in the closet, he actually wanted to see her vulnerable and in the bed with him with no clothes on either. It irriates him also that it"s been four years of their marriage and they never did the deed which drove him insane sometimes and then started cheating on her behind her back. Sleeping with numerous amount of woman who knows that he"s married and felt sorrow for the man who can"t even love his own wife. They never even kissed at all, strange isn"t it? On their wedding day, when it was time to kiss-she place her hand over his mouth to block his lips from her own. To make it looked like they did kiss, she place her other arm around his neck blocking the whole thing. She doesn"t allow for him to touch her under any circumstances too. Then, Aaron just fell out of love with her and after thinking about it, he never loved her. It was an arranged marriage between his mother and her father to gain more money. She walked out in sweats and her hair still in that bun, getting him taken out of his thoughts. "It doesn"t matter Aaron! You need a job!" That"s another thing that drives Aaron crazy, she wants him to get a job for no reason. It doesn"t make sense when everything is going smoothly and they aren"t in debt with anyone either. Aaron step towards her and she step back like usual, this time it end up with her being pinned to the wall. She tried to push him anyway, trying to get free from him. She eventually broke free and march downstair, mumbling on how immature and inappropriate that was. Aaron sighed again, running his hand through his blonde hair and walk towards the bed and laying in the middle of it; knowing that she wouldn"t be back to join him. He really didn"t get her at all and that"s actually how he likes her. It made the entire cheating fling so much easier and he didn"t need to worry about being close or anything like that. He simply didn"t care about his wife, Calithea Kumi James. Hello! This chapter is mostly about Calithea and how she feels, you really get to see another side of her. Plus, things get a little juicy. I don"t own Sims and I"m sorry I forgot to put that in the last chapter. Enjoy! Aaron had woke up at seven thirty and head downstairs, turning on the television as Calithea walked out the door and slammed it shut. He flinched at the loud sound; signaling that she was still pissed at him from last night. He rolled his eyes, turning it off and went back upstairs to change and to head down to his buddy"s out, Josh Wickley. Aaron liked Josh Wickley, who was a playboy just as much as Aaron is. Josh grinned when he saw his friend and quickly invited him in for a chat and a couple bottles of beer. They both were now lounged out expensive red leather couches, gulping down the acohol. "So, what brings you here buddy?" Josh asked curiously, Aaron just groaned inwardly. "Calithea," and for them, it explained every little detail. It technically it does; Josh knows that Calithea practically hates him and brings stress upon Aaron. "Just break up with her, dude. She"ll obviously not worth it if you can"t even touch her at all," Josh suggested to the blonde man who just shook his head in reply. "I can"t, no matter how much I hate her and she hates me. She gives me food, home, and cash," Aaron growled angrily, his fist clenching up into fist at the thought of her sassy ways. Josh noticed the annoyance of the topic of Calithea and he completely understand, he met her before and made a pact to never cross paths with her again. She was too much for anyone, far too strict for his taste. When they were alone, Josh tried to make a move on her but she act like nothing was happening at all and said that if he ever tried to touch her, she"ll beat his ass to the moon. "I guess that makes sense..." Josh muttered as if he was thinking about it. Aaron sighed, sinking deeper into the couch. "...I hate her so much..." he trailed off with a groan. His dark blue eyes were closed but his eyebrows were furrowed together and his lips were curved down in a frown. Josh nodded in agreement. "If I ever had a wife like that, I"ll just try to force her into the bed..." he chuckled lowly, Aaron"s eyes reopened and tilt to the side. "Maybe I should try to do that..." Aaron mumbled then retreat with a sigh, "then again, if I do, she"ll give me a black eye and a few broken ribs." The two sat there in silence, deciding not to talk about Aaron"s way beyond difficult wife. Aaron was still cooling off, or trying to, but he couldn"t get that wrenched bitter glaze out of his head. She was so hard to explain and there are hardly the right words to describe Calithea. He thought a lot about getting in divorce but it will end up having him dumped out on the streets. She"s like his lifestock as he thought more about it. Josh grinned as an idea popped in his head, knowing the correct way to bring Aaron into a postive mood. "Hey Aaron..." Josh said in a suggestive manner. Aaron"s eyes met up curiously with Josh"s, they were lit up with joy and hungry for something. " I know how to fix your problem." "Yeah?" "Let"s go to the club!" Josh cried, pumping a fist into the air. Aaron grinned as if he agreed to the activity. Later that night, Josh found himself and Josh at a hot club filled with people dancing and the air was thick with fog and the smell of sweat. Josh went to the bar to get himself a drink and flirt with some women around him while Aaron made his way into the overflowing dance floor and dance with many drunk ladies. There he met some chick who was tearing up the dance floor and decided to dance with her. Obviously didn"t mind at all when she stepped closer and swing her hips around in a seductive way. "So, what"s your name babe?" Aaron asked huskily, his hands on her hips and bringing them closer. She smiled at him, "It"s Josie, honey. What"s yours?" Aaron grinned at the girl, glad that she had confidence and answered her question, "It"s Aaron James beautiful." Josie giggled as Aaron brought her body even more closer than it already was. Aaron could tell that she was drunk so he sped up the process of getting some and started to the grind her from the front. She moaned in pleasure, grabbing Aaron"s head and kissing his neck. Aaron smirked in satisfactory, his hands traveling up her body to her fully large breast and massaged them. She pulled away for an apprize second to whisper in his ear, "I need a drink." Aaron grinned, leading her to the bar and ordering a volka. When Josie received it, she gulped that thing down and pulled Aaron by the collar and rubbing his well built torso. She hopped into his lap with her legs tight around his waist, Aaron grinned when she started to unbutton his shirt which was actually quite impossible when its not a button up. "I want you," Josie purred as she still tried to fidget with the "buttons.' Aaron smirked, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the parking lot. "Now babe, since I got here using my friends" car, I need yours," Aaron told her, she nodded and lead him to her car. They both got inside the car and drove to his house. "Wow, this is nice," Josie compliment on his house once they got inside, Aaron smiled. "Thanks," Aaron said, guiding her to the couch and she giggled when he started to kiss her neck. Meanwhile of the two getting it on, Calithea was at work trying to get some money for her family. Though she could hardly even focus as she was still very angry from last night, cursing Aaron silently on how he talked to her and pin her against that stupid wall. The young woman rolled her eyes and she looked through some papers discussing about another company was trying to sue them for absolutely no reason. As you can tell, Calithea is a busy serious woman who cares deeply for her jobs. That"s right, she has about three jobs, is that crazy or what? To put in a short story, Calitheas" salary was lowered and the taxes were rose higher making her get a second job and soonly a third job. It was insane to get through it and making her breathless at the end of the day but come home to argue with that husband of hers. That scumbag making her do all of the hard work while he fools around with those women of his. Calithea sighed, it wasn"t like it was actually true that Aaron was cheating on her but she did have a theory. The way on how he smelt of sex and came home late some nights when she didn"t worked. But now Calithea ignored it, seeing on how she had other things to worry about other than a marriage that she could care less about. She really didn"t like Aaron or his personality which makes her refuse to let him touch her at all. Calithea wasn"t comfortable with letting people touch her that she doesn"t even know. It freaks her out on so many levels when she doesn"t know who"s taking away every womans" precious thing; their virginity. Of course, someone ladies don"t care about that type of stuff but certainly Calithea does. It frustrates her that Aaron has complete control over someone that either of them knew. She sighed, realizing that she wasn"t focusing and spent her time thinking about Aaron. She pursed her lips and went back to the document. Once again, she was interrupted again but not from her thoughts though from a co worker. She looked up and saw her disowned brother who her most favorite person in the whole world, she greeted him with a smile. He had brown hair and green eyes, looked nothing like her. "Ben, how are you? What do you need?" she asked him kindly, Ben walked in and gave her a hug. "Not much, are you finish reading that?" the brunette male asked as he pointed to the paper on her clean and organized desk. She groaned and shook her head, "No! I"m keep on getting distracted by a family problem." Ben scoffed, "Why, is that horrible father of ours sick?" Calithea wrinkled her nose at the sound of the mention father, "No but I wish so. That damn man..." Ben laughed at her response, "You still hate him, uh?" Calithea turn towards him with a look that yelled "you think!' but exclaimed, "Of course! Making me be such a..." she trailed off with a sad thought. Ben came over and gave her another hug which she return. Calithea"s eyes were beady with tears hopelessly to fall at any second but she just held on tighter to her beloved brothers" suit jacket. "Sometimes I wondered what life would be like if I went with you instead," Calithea whimpered softly into Ben"s shoulder. He rubbed her back smoothingly as he shushed her quietly then silently thanking that the walls of her office wasn"t glass to see Calithea"s humilation. "You couldn"t, he would never let you go with me. He thinks you remind him of our mother," he said quietly, remembering the image of the lovely lady that once was their mother before she had passed away. Calithea sighed unhappily. "That"s true. Sometimes I wished that I didn"t look like her then maybe father would of disown me also," she said softly. "Don"t say that," he grumbled. Calithea pursed her lips together and called out his name, "Yes Calithea?" "This conservation isn"t helping in the slightest way," she mumbled, breaking the hug. The subject changed when she smiled at Ben, "So, how"s Grant?" Ben"s features lit up at the sound of his boyfriend, blabbing on how that Grant and him were doing excellent and he"s planning to propose to him soon. Calithea smiled that her brother was doing well and was living the life he wanted it. Ben also said that they are planning to move out of Oregon and move to New York City and go on Broadway. It upset her that he"s going to New York somewhat but happy for him. She knew that when they were both very young, their mother took them to many plays and musicals. They both fell in love with the peforming arts and really had a chance to star in one. They both were a triple threat on the stage which includes singing, dancing, and as well as acting. Calithea had a beautiful voice that could stop the world from ending or stop crime/disease. Her body was made for moving around gracefully and she could act like there was no tomorrow. Ben had a splendid soprano voice that could be compared to an angel singing. He could do a few dances but is truly outstanding when it comes to the Tango. The man can swift around and bring out a sex appeal, making many ladies and gentleman swooned at that which causes Grant to become very jealous. Ben was a fantastic actor for his famous diva attitude onstage and play any sassy image. "I wish I could come to New York with you if you wanted me to," Calithea said absentmindly. "You should! Get away from it all and come on stage and live your dream!" Ben encouraged excitedly, grabbing her hand with his own and squeezing them to show full support. Calithea huffed, disuniting her hands away from her felicitous sibling who was literally bursting at the scene. "I can"t and you know that. I need to stay and take care of Aaron, no matter how much I dislike him. I can"t break a promise and from all the years of knowing me should know so too," Calithea said, grabbing her coat and begun to go home. Before she could leave, Ben clutch her arm and told her something. "If you ever need me, come to me no matter what time is it." Calithea let that go and walked up the steps to her house, she noted that the lights were on. The woman rolled her eyes and place the key inside the door and opened it. Her breathe was caught at the sight in front of her; Aaron and a redhead were on top of each other and in a heated make out session. Calithea slowly then closed the front door, making sure that it didn"t make any noise. She lean against the door and it hit her that she couldn"t let the cold fresh air goes through to her lungs. She choked on her tears that lastly run down her cheeks and ran to her car once she heard the woman inside moan loudly with pleasure. Calithea fidget with her keys as if she was in a rush to work, she manage to open the door and jump inside the vechile. She lean against the stirring wheel and sighed, why did she feel so terrible? Never once did she ever express this thing of feeling when her mom died or when Ben got disowned. She felt hurt and so confused which doubled it because she didn"t know why she was confused. She knew that it Aaron going against his vows by cheating but why was she confused by it? Calithea started the car and turned on the radio to blank out those types of thoughts she wasn"t use to. It was strange since she never once listened to the radio in the car, rap songs rang through her ears but it the confusing words didn"t help Calithea forget. It fact, it just made the whole scenerio worse. She press her finger on the off button and drove the one place where she was welcomed. Ben"s. By the time she got there, it was pouring down hard and she regret it coming. They would comfort her but she didn"t want to disturb their sleep...or something else just to attend her needs. However, she rang the doorbell and Grant answered a few seconds later. He noticed that Calithea been crying which rarely happens and pulled her into a close hug. This was the reason why she likes Grant, he treats her like his own sister. Grant direct her inside and left to get a blanket and a few towels. Ben then came in before Grant did, he glaze softened at the sight of her. "Oh Cali..." he murmur before reaching out to give her a large consoling embrace. Midway hug, Grant came back and handed her the items. She wiped off the remaining water into the pink fluffy towels and the blanket was wrapped around her small figure. Ben was seated on the couch on the opposite side of the room while Grant seat on the edge of the armrest on Calithea"s side of the room with his arms crossed. "What happened?" "When I came home, I found Aaron and some redhead on the couch wildly making out," Cali started to explain when Grant stopped her. "Wait, what! He was cheating on you!" Grant exclaimed angrily, jumping off of the sofa and his fist clenching tightly. Let"s just say that he is a very protective person. He was going for the door crying out "where is this bastard so I can beat him up!" when Ben stopped him. "Boo, calm down, listen to Calithea," Grant retreat but he was still pissed, Ben turned towards his little sister, "So then what happen next?" "I came here after I close the door. I wasn"t sure what to do but you told me to come to you if I needed you!" Calithea exclaimed, before she knew it that the tears came over her and came out again. Grant and Ben rush over her side, rubbing her back and giving out hugs. Saying on how everything is going to be okay and how Aaron doesn"t even deserve her. The worst thing was that she accept for them to support her and give out heartwarming words so she will feel better. Calithea didn"t like being treated like a baby or be shown vulnerable. She liked being in control and the strong one. She liked the feeling of being independent. She didn"t like having to rely on others or others to think that she was weak. She hated on how the men were making sure that she was better throughout the night. After a couple hours, Calithea had calm down and the room was silent. No one was saying a word and Calithea was glancing at her hands in her lap. That is until Ben broke it, "So what are you going to do now? Confront him?" "No! Don"t do that! Make him suffer!" Grant hollered, surprising the two. Calithea blinked a few times, thinking that Grant had gone mildly insane. "Okay and how can I do that exactly?" Calithea said slowly, hoping that under a few levels Grant will stay normal. "Make him jealous!" Grant shouted like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Ben was spaced out after that as if he was thinking over it. "Are you mad? How in the world would I do that? I"m ugly-" she was cut off by Ben. "Don"t lie Calithea, you just don"t give yourself enough credit! You"re actually very beautiful," Ben said sternly. Calithea reposition her place on the couch, she felt uneasy about their idea and officially regretted coming. "Plus your a brillant actress! Ben told me all about your performing years and say that you could fool anyone!" Grant said. "But I don"t want to date anyone just to make Aaron jealous and not to mention that I"ll break my vows as well!" Calithea cried. "You don"t have to! One of us can pretend to date you and make Aaron super jealous! We both can act it out!" Ben exclaimed and the female observe that both men were getting excited by their idea. "Fine..." she sighed defeat as Grant and Ben cheered happily. "Who"s going to "date" me then?" They both stopped their little celebration and looked at each other. It went silent in the room as if the two lovers were discussing it telepathically. Calithea rose an eyebrow at the two as the continue to discuss their silent conservation. It ended about five minutes later when Ben said "alright! We decided.' "Since Aaron knows that you have a brother and I weirdly look sort of like you, I will be your "bro" and Ben is the guy can "date,'" Grant explained. Calithea nodded in agreement but deep down she wasn"t really comfortable with the whole thing. "We don"t even have to do anything, I can just show up and we can just spend time together. Grant can join us too," Ben assured as he notice her discomfort. Calithea licked her dry lips, "I just hope it works." Grant glance at the clock and put his arm around Calithea"s brother waist, "It"s late boo." Ben looked over his shoulder and his eyes widened that it was one o"clock in the morning. Calithea yawned and barely caught the pillow that Grant threw at her. "You can just stay here. I doubt that you want to go back there..." he said once he saw the look of her face, she nodded and laid her head down onto the pillow as Grant left the room. That night, a certain young woman didn"t sleep very well. I hope you liked it and please review! It makes me know what you are feeling about the story or what should be done.

"What"s the theme?" that was a very stupid question, Emma realized that and quickly added, "Nevermind." Replacing it with, "Do you guys have the cake already?" Lo shook her head, "No, why?" "I have the perfect idea," Emma explained absentmindly, sweeping up a broom that was provided by Kelly. "Today is my week off, so I"ll fly the New York and get the cake there and maybe I"ll help make it...' Emma thought as Lo rambled on about the party. "Ty said that he said that everyone in the hotel was welcome but the people he wanted the most were the groms, Ripper, No Pants Lance, and Kelly," Emma grabbed a pen and papper and then sat Lo in a chair. "Okay, I have to go out of town for this cake and it might be a while for it to arrive. Don"t worry about it, everything will be in good hands," Emma said seriously. "Alright, just make sure that it"s not too expensive. Daddy put me on a budget," Lo explained sadly. "It"s fine. What cake does Ty want?" "Vanilla with chocolate icing is his favorite for sure," Lo replied as Emma scribbled it on the paper then she asked what does he want on the cake. "Something surfing, you know him; that surfolic." Emma nodded, she got up and said her goodbyes to Lo and left. After her encounter with Emma, she felt relieved. Emma said that the cake would be taken care of which means that was off of her plate of the list of things to do. She convinced Reef, Johnny, and Broseph then got Ripper and Lance. Fin was the hardest to get but with a puppy dog pout and endless begging-she agreed. Currently, Lo and Fin were at the table in the staffhouse-making the desgin for the invitations. They decided to go with an ocean background and in the middle was Ty"s face and upper body. In big bold letters at the top said, "Tyler Ridgemount"s 18 Birthday,' then down below, in smaller print said "everyone is invited.' Underneath that had the information; Lo gave a tired smile at their handiwork. "The invite looks awesome," Fin compliment, agreeing with Lo that they did a good job. Fin turned to Lo, changing the topic unexceptedly, "So, Emma is taking care of the cake, right?" Lo nodded, "Yeah but I have no idea what it"s going to look like." "Why not? You"re in charge so shouldn"t you know?" Fin asked. "You"re right! I"m going to call her!" Lo wiped out her phone and in a matter of time, she was calling Emma on speaker. But the girls only received that the line was busy. Only one thing was on their mind, what was Emma up to? Okay! That"s the end of chapter one! R&R! I don"t own Stoked or the show, Cake Boss. Please Enjoy! :) Buddy"s POV For the ones who don"t know, Buddy is the owner of the business. Things were busy as usual, the downstairs was fill of scattering people; getting their cakes, cupcakes, or brownies. You were always constantly moving, not really caring who you are or what"s your position. Upstairs, you had to make sure that everything was even and nothing goes wrong. Then in the decorating room, you had to make sure that you don"t mess up at all, decorations along the cake get done well. And most importantly for anyone in the factory- do not drop the cake! Cousin Anthony did that once and we had to start all over, not really our best since we had to rush through it. For his punishment, we led him outside so we can dump flour and cherry slurp on him. Needless to say, he never dropped a cake again. That"s a good thing too, so now we don"t have to waste our supplies on him. Though, either way-it was funny to see him all covered in that sticky stuff. Our biggest project so far is to make a cake of a life size dog. The client"s precious dog had just passed away and for the funeral; they ask me to make a replica of their dog. I was happy to do it also. Their dog was a fully grown black lab. Buddy decided that they should make the legs made out of rice crispy treats and covered out of blackish fund don and the base of the cake would be the body but held by a tray. So the tray would be shielded as well with the same fund don and it would be yellow cake with chocolate frosting. This cake is going to look great. Another client came in a day after, asking Buddy to make a cake because his son"s soccer session had just ended. The parents of the child thought that it would be nice to have a party and have a delicious cake from Carlos" Bakery. In his mind, the cake would be a soccer field with the whole thing there; nets on each side-players and the soccer ball. But in the center of it would say "Good Game Dragon Slayers,' which is the team"s name. So now, Buddy was upstairs in the decorating level, working on the dog cake. Him and Chief Mario were circling the treats and stacking them up carefully straight up. But between them, was stuck together with the chocolate frosting that we are going to use on the actual cake. Danny is working on making the cake right now, downstairs. He also had Frankie making the base of soccer cake too. This were going off greatly. Buddy nearly groaned when he saw his sister Grace, walking up to them with the phone in her hand. Buddy loved his sister dearly but sometimes, she would always annoy him to death. Examples? She has an attitude, she goes behind his back and makes decisions (when she told the painters to make the factory pink and not the color he wanted), always had to get in his business, etc. It seems that she enjoys it too. Grace looked down at their work, "What are you trying to do? Make a flag pole?" Buddy rolled his eyes, "You"re supposed to be downstairs and be working! And no, it"s one of the legs for a dog we"re making." Grace nodded her head, not really caring, "Do you remember Niece Emma?" she asked suddenly, randomly changing the topic. He looked at his sister and nodded, of course he remembered her. How could he not? She was his favorite niece. In fact, she"s only niece who he specially adored. "Yeah," he replied lamely. Grace hand the phone to him, "It"s her." Buddy place it to his ear, "Emma?" He paused as if she was speaking, "No, it is not a bad time. What can I do for you?" Buddy paused for a long time. "I would be honored to," he paused again, "You want to help as well? Sure!" Emma had a cake she needed for a friend of hers and she asked if she could help. He agreed. Emma was a wonderful baker, he and her father, he use to work here, taught her personally when she was young. She adopted the skills quickly in her youth and he hoped that she stilled had her touched. Anyways, her friend loves to surf as she said. A big surfer actually, it"s all he practically does. Buddy imagined the base to be the ocean and in the middle, from side to side, a wave. In the wave, they could make the guy surfing. Also, in the water could say Happy Birthday. But when Emma said that about 1313 people are attending, his eyes widened. Now that"s a lot of people! Little Mr. Popularity, if you ask me. But that wasn"t a problem; we would put the wave and the surfer in the background. We can have three levels both on each side of the cake with surfboards and surfy stuff on it. On the top of the final level, we can have a large surfboard held up by rice crispy treats. It was going to be amazing. However, on thrilled of a challenge it was going to be, he was a bit confused on why 1313 people are coming to this one boys" birthday party. It made sense when she told her uncle that he was the hotel owners" son and allowed the party to be public. Emma would be coming to the bakery in the morning to start on the cake; she said that she had two weeks for the cake to be made. (The flight is only 3 hours and 15 minutes.) So now we have three big project cakes we have to do and it"ll only get busier. These two weeks are gonna be a handful yet interesting. Hey guys, it"s me MKArocks! I guess you guys figured that this isn"t a real, legit chapter but I can tell you that they will come up quickly if you do me this favor. I would like for you to go over to a new author on Fan Fiction and read her story and reviewing it. I"m a new Beta Reader (yes, I"ve starting to Beta Reader and I"m open for anyone who wants me to help them out) for her and I think she might appreciate it if you give her your time. Please give her any advice or criticism that you think she needs in order to succeed in her writing. You can say whatever you want about her story. I would really appreaciate that and as a reward (and because I desperately need to), I"ll update. Her penname is XxXrockaddictXxX and her story is called "Changes." Thank you so much! I do not own Stoked or Cake Boss. Emma arrived in New York in approximately three hours and twenty-five minutes; an additional fifteen minutes for Cousin Anthony to pick her up. She spotted a familiar patch of brown hair, smiled, grabbed her suitcase, and walked towards Cousin Anthony. "Hey Anthony," she greeted. He grinned at the redhead as he grabbed her suitcase from her. "Hey cuz, nice to see you again," he said as he playfully nudged Emma with his shoulder. That"s when an oh-so recognizable scent filled her nose and her smiled widened even more. "Ooh, is that red velvet I smell?" she asked while sniffing the air a little more. "Why? Does it bother you?" he joked and in response, Emma rolled her eyes, "Well, you better get used to it, cuz, you"re gonna smell like it sooner or later." They walked out of the airport and to the Carlos" Bakery Van-Emma climbed in the front while Cousin Anthony went to put her suitcase in the back. Cousin Anthony came around and started the car and soon pulled out of the parking lot. As he drove down to the road, he turned down the radio to have some small talk. "So, Emma, I thought you work at that hotel place," he asked. Emma"s ears perked up. "Oh, I do. I"m here to make a cake for a friend of mine"s birthday that"s in two weeks," Emma explained. Cousin Anthony nodded his head in understanding. "What"s it like working there? I bet it"s a blast." Emma winced. "If you count being clammed chowdered, breaking dishes all the time, yelled at, a dump of a staff house, rude tourists, and having a spazzy boss along with a mean manager then of course it"s a blast.' Although, there are positive things, too; like living by beach, surfing, and the groms who work there... "It"s not what it"s cracked up to be; they definitely has it"s ups and downs," Emma explained with a small laugh. "You went there to learn surfing, right?" he asked. "Oh, yeah, it"s the reason why I"m there!" "Are you any good?" "Oh, yeah, I"m totally awesome but I just like to fall in the water,' Emma thought to herself dramatically with a classic eye roll to match. She gave an uneasy smile with an awkward scratch on the back of the neck. A very traditional way in body language to say, "I"m an awkward surf that just wipeouts. A lot." "I"m okay," she said shyly. Cousin Anthony just smirked as he pulled into the parking lot of the factory. Emma looked at the large building in awe. "Oh, an update from Carlos" Bakery. An update for Carlos" Bakery big time." Cousin Anthony laughed and pulled out her suitcase and handed it to her, "Yeah, no kidding." They walked inside and Emma put her suitcase in a small corner so it"ll be out of the way of any passing men with cakes in their hands. It"ll be awful if they tripped over the suitcase and ruin the cake completely. Emma pulled on an apron over her torso and walked with Cousin Anthony throughout the factory and entered a big room with busy people fulfilling pastry assignments. Emma took in the scent of the air; it smelled like ever of a cake fantasy would smell like. Emma followed her cousin towards a large man that was busy making some type of soccer cake. Cousin Anthony said some words to him before going off to deliver a cake and bidding Emma goodbye. "Hey there, Ems," Mauro greeted her. "Hey Mauro, want any help?" "Sure thing. Go wash your hands and I"ll tell you what you can do," he directed her as he carefully placed a green fondant on the base of the cake. Emma nodded and walked over to the sink, washing and rinsing her hands thoroughly and coming back over to Mauro. "Okay, little Red, I want you to start creating little soccer players in purple with gold lining uniforms." Emma nodded and went over to a station with a chair and a clean table. She had all of her needed supplies and went to work. She started by rolling up some rice crispy treats into small, round rectangular prisms to make it look like little tiny bodies along with small legs and arms in a right angle. She was told to make twenty-four soccer players than look like they were running and in the middle of a game. Then, she got out some tan, brown, purple, and gold fondant for the designs. Emma thought it would be weird and difficult for her to make a head out of rice crispy treats so she was going make the heads out of the fondant. She made the heads with small brown patches on the top of the heads as hair. Emma smiled at her process and pulled out white icing and small yet strong toothpicks. She carefully stuck the limbs and head to the body with the toothpicks. She grinned at all of the little players and started to apply the fondant. She took a small slip of purple fondant and slightly threw it on the one of the soccer players. She even out any unwanted wrinkles and cut it up to look like a purple jersey and shorts. She got the gold fondant and sliced up thin strips to put on the one on each side of the shorts. Emma put a number on the front and a last name on the back from the courtesy of a piece of paper of all of the players on the team. This process for the uniform was repeated for fifteen times before she felt someone"s eyes watching her. Emma stopped what she was doing and turned around to see Buddy studying her work. He grinned, "Nice work." Emma beamed, "Thanks Uncle Buddy!" Buddy spread his arms out for a hug and Emma got up and embraced the owner. He muttered, "It"s so good to see you again," and released her. Emma nodded in agreement. "Same here. Thanks for doing this cake for me, " she started but Buddy cut her off of her sentence. "Don"t worry about it. But I am glad you"re here. I need the extra help," he reassured. He rubbed his hands together and added, "So, when you do you wanna work on this cake?" Emma shrugged, "I don"t know, how long do you think it"ll take to make?" Buddy licked his lips slightly as his mind pondered back to the surfing cake"s design he had in mind. What it looked like and how big it was. "I would say roughly around a week, how long are you staying?" "Two weeks. Hopefully, we can start the cake until the end of the week but in the meantime, I could help you guys out with your current projects?" Buddy nodded. That sounded perfect and it gives everyone in his factory enough time. Plus, having another pair of hands (unpaid, while we are at it) is like a bonus, especially when those hands belong to Niece Emma. "Sounds great. I gotta go and let you get back to work," Buddy said, his Italian accent coming through clearly in this sentence. He patted her on the back and went off to the direction of a female coworker-he said something to her and she came towards her. "Hi, I"m Danielle, you"re Emma, right?" she asked. Emma smiled at her and nodded while she sat back down. Danielle sat across from her and pulled out white fondant for the nets. "Hey Danielle, and yes, I am Emma." "Buddy said you might want some help with the faces but I"ll wait until you"re finished," she said, she pushed her long dark purple-dyed bangs out of the way. She had blonde hair that was pulled up in a ponytail with dark purple streaks. It seemed that her hair went to a few inches under her shoulders. She had green eyes, which was framed with a thin line of black eyeliner that was the only makeup she wore on her white skin. She wore a grey shirt with some type of multicolored sign, which was partly covered by her white apron with dark washed jean shorts. "Thanks," Emma said with a smile. They worked in silence until Danielle spoke up. "So, I hear you"re a surfer." "Yeah, I am. Well, I"m still considered a beginner but it"s super fun," Emma chirped happily. "I know what you mean. I"ve just started last year but I was a soul surfer since like ever!" Danielle laughed. Emma"s eyes widened. "Oh my God! Me too!" "No way, shut the front door [1]!" "I work at Surfer"s Paradise and we get the surf whenever we aren"t working! The work there is sucky but the waves are excellent," Emma squealed. Danielle eyes widened. "Surfer"s Paradise! I applied there as a chef but I didn"t get in. Oh well, I will totally apply there next year!" "Awesome! I"m a waitress at the DR, the dining room," Emma grinned but it slightly faltered, "Although, I usually drop the dishes...I"m not really good at my job" Danielle burst in laughter, jokingly, she said, "Oh, then I don"t think you shouldn"t carry the cakes then!" Emma blushed. "I"ll stick to decorating them." "You better, you surfer girl! So, what does the hotel look like?" when Danielle said this, Emma cringed when the image of the awfully theme hotel. "It"s theme..." Emma trailed off. Danielle frowned. "Oh, that doesn"t sound too bad-" "It"s a purple whale in Hawaiian shorts and he"s holding a surfboard," Emma stated dryly. Danielle stiffed a giggle. "Okay, that"s bad. It"s sounds like every surfers" nightmare." Emma moaned, "It is and our boss is a total spaz. He"s name is Baumer, even though we call him Bummer," Danielle chuckled, "and he"s total power hungry." "Sounds like a moron." Emma smiled and nodded her head. "Is it worth it? Because if it"s such a downer then I"m so glad that I didn"t get the job," Danielle asked as she expertly sculpted a face on her fifth player. "Oh, yeah, the beach is gorgeous and the waves are awesome." "Sweetness, I"ll be sure to apply." Emma gently scooted the last figure over to Danielle. She leaned back and stretched her back in the process. While Danielle worked, Emma was taking a short break as she chilled out in her chair and continued talking to her new surfer friend. "Yeah, the owner"s son is having a surprise party and I"m here to make a special surfer"s cake for him. He loves surfing," Emma explained her purpose here to Danielle. "That is awesome! I have to work on that cake with you!" Danielle exclaimed. "Of course! I have to have someone who has awesome decorating skills help me out!" Danielle beamed at the compliment. Suddenly, Emma felt a cold and wrinkly hand on her shoulder. Emma jumped and turned around to see Mary, Buddy"s mom, standing before her. "Hey Grandma!" Emma said pleasantly. "Do you have a place to stay, Emma?" she asked, cutting straight to the point. "Well, I was thinking about renting a room in a hotel-" Emma was interrupted by Mary. "Nonsense, you"ll stay with me. I will not permit to have my granddaughter stay in a hotel room while she can always stay with me," Mary said with a small smile. No use arguing with someone like Mary. Emma nodded; plus, she"ll save a lot more money than what she planned to spend on this business trip. "Okay, thanks Grandma!" "You are ever so welcome. I"ll come back a little later to come and pick you up. I have to go and run a few errands," Mary told her. Emma nodded. "Okay, I"ll see you later." Mary nodded and stalked out of the room. The rest of the workday went pretty well, Emma and Danielle had got to know each other pretty well over their bond of surfing. They finished the soccer decorations and had helped Mauro put the soccer players and it"s other contents on the cake. He, Buddy, and a couple other coworkers had loaded up the cake in a van was on their way to deliver it. They offered if Emma would like to come with them but Emma politely declined and told them that wouldn"t be such a wise idea. They gave her a confused look, even more when Danielle snickered at Emma"s words, but shrugged and moved on. Mary came to pick Emma up an hour after Mauro and Buddy left. She said goodbye to Danielle, promising to see her tomorrow. She and Mary stopped by a restaurant and had dinner whilst they caught up on each other"s lives. Emma told her grandmother about her working at Surfer"s Paradise and talked a little about the updates of her family. Mary mentioned what she has been doing lately since she retired from the bakery in 2010. She said that she found herself casually baking a little and finding herself to love karaoke and golf. Two hours later, Emma and Mary retreated back to Mary"s house and guided Emma to her room for the next two weeks. Mary said goodnight and went back to her bedroom as she told Emma that she would see her tomorrow morning. Emma had once again thanked Mary for allowing her to stay with her and took a short shower and changing into white pajama shorts and a lime green tank top. The redhead plugged her phone in phone charger and noted that she had a missed call from Lo. Shrugging, Emma promised to call Lo back in the morning as she crawled underneath the blankets and drifting off into a slumber. Me: Now, that"s what I called an update. I hope you fellow readers stick to your side of the deal because I certainly am. See you guys later! R&R.

Aaron James sat up in the purple silk sheets as the blonde woman lies beside him, her figure was outline on the sheets stuck to her by sweat. Aaron smirked, feeling very victorious and beaming with triumph. Aaron didn"t waste anytime, he got out of the bed and shivered as the cold air rush through his bare body. He slipped his clothes on that were scattered around the floor, grabbing his keys from his pocket and rush down the stairs. He exit his many lovers" house and got into his car and pushing in the keys. He drove home in silent, not even the radio was on. He finally got to his house and turn on the TV once he got to his home. A couple hours passed and the sound of the door opening to reveal Aaron"s actual wife. He smiled softly at her and she entered and put up her coat of the coat holder, "Hey." She turned to him as she took off her shoes that she was wearing. "Were you waiting for me again?" she questioned at her husband, briefly rolling her eyes before walking upstairs. Aaron sighed heavily, this happened ever time. Aaron would go out and sleep with some random woman while the wife goes works until eleven o"clock and just stay up until she comes home. Whatever her job is that he doesn"t know but he does indeed know that she"s an important businesswoman with a large decent paycheck. Aaron went up the staircase after her, "Why shouldn"t I?" She turned around to glare at him as if the answer was suppose to be obvious. "Because Aaron, you won"t be able to find and get a job if you don"t have any enegry from you waiting up for me," she hissed dangerously and Aaron shifted nervously. They both knew that she was intimidating and could run anyone"s blood cold. She had a threatening appearance with brown eyes glaring you through those circled thin wired glasses, her features were sharp and those lips that he never even kissed with small and thin. Her was shorter than him by a size of a head and her figure was anything but fat. Her black hair was wrapped up in a tight bun and her complexion was clear but pale. She remained him of a witch without the green skin. "Why should I? I mean, we are doing fine enough, aren"t we?" he slurred carelessly, the wife rolled her eyes annoyed and turned around to go to the bathroom to change. It bugged him on how he never seen her naked ever and yet, she"s his wife. She gets dressed in the bathroom or in the closet, he actually wanted to see her vulnerable and in the bed with him with no clothes on either. It irriates him also that it"s been four years of their marriage and they never did the deed which drove him insane sometimes and then started cheating on her behind her back. Sleeping with numerous amount of woman who knows that he"s married and felt sorrow for the man who can"t even love his own wife. They never even kissed at all, strange isn"t it? On their wedding day, when it was time to kiss-she place her hand over his mouth to block his lips from her own. To make it looked like they did kiss, she place her other arm around his neck blocking the whole thing. She doesn"t allow for him to touch her under any circumstances too. Then, Aaron just fell out of love with her and after thinking about it, he never loved her. It was an arranged marriage between his mother and her father to gain more money. She walked out in sweats and her hair still in that bun, getting him taken out of his thoughts. "It doesn"t matter Aaron! You need a job!" That"s another thing that drives Aaron crazy, she wants him to get a job for no reason. It doesn"t make sense when everything is going smoothly and they aren"t in debt with anyone either. Aaron step towards her and she step back like usual, this time it end up with her being pinned to the wall. She tried to push him anyway, trying to get free from him. She eventually broke free and march downstair, mumbling on how immature and inappropriate that was. Aaron sighed again, running his hand through his blonde hair and walk towards the bed and laying in the middle of it; knowing that she wouldn"t be back to join him. He really didn"t get her at all and that"s actually how he likes her. It made the entire cheating fling so much easier and he didn"t need to worry about being close or anything like that. He simply didn"t care about his wife, Calithea Kumi James. Hello! This chapter is mostly about Calithea and how she feels, you really get to see another side of her. Plus, things get a little juicy. I don"t own Sims and I"m sorry I forgot to put that in the last chapter. Enjoy! Aaron had woke up at seven thirty and head downstairs, turning on the television as Calithea walked out the door and slammed it shut. He flinched at the loud sound; signaling that she was still pissed at him from last night. He rolled his eyes, turning it off and went back upstairs to change and to head down to his buddy"s out, Josh Wickley. Aaron liked Josh Wickley, who was a playboy just as much as Aaron is. Josh grinned when he saw his friend and quickly invited him in for a chat and a couple bottles of beer. They both were now lounged out expensive red leather couches, gulping down the acohol. "So, what brings you here buddy?" Josh asked curiously, Aaron just groaned inwardly. "Calithea," and for them, it explained every little detail. It technically it does; Josh knows that Calithea practically hates him and brings stress upon Aaron. "Just break up with her, dude. She"ll obviously not worth it if you can"t even touch her at all," Josh suggested to the blonde man who just shook his head in reply. "I can"t, no matter how much I hate her and she hates me. She gives me food, home, and cash," Aaron growled angrily, his fist clenching up into fist at the thought of her sassy ways. Josh noticed the annoyance of the topic of Calithea and he completely understand, he met her before and made a pact to never cross paths with her again. She was too much for anyone, far too strict for his taste. When they were alone, Josh tried to make a move on her but she act like nothing was happening at all and said that if he ever tried to touch her, she"ll beat his ass to the moon. "I guess that makes sense..." Josh muttered as if he was thinking about it. Aaron sighed, sinking deeper into the couch. "...I hate her so much..." he trailed off with a groan. His dark blue eyes were closed but his eyebrows were furrowed together and his lips were curved down in a frown. Josh nodded in agreement. "If I ever had a wife like that, I"ll just try to force her into the bed..." he chuckled lowly, Aaron"s eyes reopened and tilt to the side. "Maybe I should try to do that..." Aaron mumbled then retreat with a sigh, "then again, if I do, she"ll give me a black eye and a few broken ribs." The two sat there in silence, deciding not to talk about Aaron"s way beyond difficult wife. Aaron was still cooling off, or trying to, but he couldn"t get that wrenched bitter glaze out of his head. She was so hard to explain and there are hardly the right words to describe Calithea. He thought a lot about getting in divorce but it will end up having him dumped out on the streets. She"s like his lifestock as he thought more about it. Josh grinned as an idea popped in his head, knowing the correct way to bring Aaron into a postive mood. "Hey Aaron..." Josh said in a suggestive manner. Aaron"s eyes met up curiously with Josh"s, they were lit up with joy and hungry for something. " I know how to fix your problem." "Yeah?" "Let"s go to the club!" Josh cried, pumping a fist into the air. Aaron grinned as if he agreed to the activity. Later that night, Josh found himself and Josh at a hot club filled with people dancing and the air was thick with fog and the smell of sweat. Josh went to the bar to get himself a drink and flirt with some women around him while Aaron made his way into the overflowing dance floor and dance with many drunk ladies. There he met some chick who was tearing up the dance floor and decided to dance with her. Obviously didn"t mind at all when she stepped closer and swing her hips around in a seductive way. "So, what"s your name babe?" Aaron asked huskily, his hands on her hips and bringing them closer. She smiled at him, "It"s Josie, honey. What"s yours?" Aaron grinned at the girl, glad that she had confidence and answered her question, "It"s Aaron James beautiful." Josie giggled as Aaron brought her body even more closer than it already was. Aaron could tell that she was drunk so he sped up the process of getting some and started to the grind her from the front. She moaned in pleasure, grabbing Aaron"s head and kissing his neck. Aaron smirked in satisfactory, his hands traveling up her body to her fully large breast and massaged them. She pulled away for an apprize second to whisper in his ear, "I need a drink." Aaron grinned, leading her to the bar and ordering a volka. When Josie received it, she gulped that thing down and pulled Aaron by the collar and rubbing his well built torso. She hopped into his lap with her legs tight around his waist, Aaron grinned when she started to unbutton his shirt which was actually quite impossible when its not a button up. "I want you," Josie purred as she still tried to fidget with the "buttons.' Aaron smirked, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the parking lot. "Now babe, since I got here using my friends" car, I need yours," Aaron told her, she nodded and lead him to her car. They both got inside the car and drove to his house. "Wow, this is nice," Josie compliment on his house once they got inside, Aaron smiled. "Thanks," Aaron said, guiding her to the couch and she giggled when he started to kiss her neck. Meanwhile of the two getting it on, Calithea was at work trying to get some money for her family. Though she could hardly even focus as she was still very angry from last night, cursing Aaron silently on how he talked to her and pin her against that stupid wall. The young woman rolled her eyes and she looked through some papers discussing about another company was trying to sue them for absolutely no reason. As you can tell, Calithea is a busy serious woman who cares deeply for her jobs. That"s right, she has about three jobs, is that crazy or what? To put in a short story, Calitheas" salary was lowered and the taxes were rose higher making her get a second job and soonly a third job. It was insane to get through it and making her breathless at the end of the day but come home to argue with that husband of hers. That scumbag making her do all of the hard work while he fools around with those women of his. Calithea sighed, it wasn"t like it was actually true that Aaron was cheating on her but she did have a theory. The way on how he smelt of sex and came home late some nights when she didn"t worked. But now Calithea ignored it, seeing on how she had other things to worry about other than a marriage that she could care less about. She really didn"t like Aaron or his personality which makes her refuse to let him touch her at all. Calithea wasn"t comfortable with letting people touch her that she doesn"t even know. It freaks her out on so many levels when she doesn"t know who"s taking away every womans" precious thing; their virginity. Of course, someone ladies don"t care about that type of stuff but certainly Calithea does. It frustrates her that Aaron has complete control over someone that either of them knew. She sighed, realizing that she wasn"t focusing and spent her time thinking about Aaron. She pursed her lips and went back to the document. Once again, she was interrupted again but not from her thoughts though from a co worker. She looked up and saw her disowned brother who her most favorite person in the whole world, she greeted him with a smile. He had brown hair and green eyes, looked nothing like her. "Ben, how are you? What do you need?" she asked him kindly, Ben walked in and gave her a hug. "Not much, are you finish reading that?" the brunette male asked as he pointed to the paper on her clean and organized desk. She groaned and shook her head, "No! I"m keep on getting distracted by a family problem." Ben scoffed, "Why, is that horrible father of ours sick?" Calithea wrinkled her nose at the sound of the mention father, "No but I wish so. That damn man..." Ben laughed at her response, "You still hate him, uh?" Calithea turn towards him with a look that yelled "you think!' but exclaimed, "Of course! Making me be such a..." she trailed off with a sad thought. Ben came over and gave her another hug which she return. Calithea"s eyes were beady with tears hopelessly to fall at any second but she just held on tighter to her beloved brothers" suit jacket. "Sometimes I wondered what life would be like if I went with you instead," Calithea whimpered softly into Ben"s shoulder. He rubbed her back smoothingly as he shushed her quietly then silently thanking that the walls of her office wasn"t glass to see Calithea"s humilation. "You couldn"t, he would never let you go with me. He thinks you remind him of our mother," he said quietly, remembering the image of the lovely lady that once was their mother before she had passed away. Calithea sighed unhappily. "That"s true. Sometimes I wished that I didn"t look like her then maybe father would of disown me also," she said softly. "Don"t say that," he grumbled. Calithea pursed her lips together and called out his name, "Yes Calithea?" "This conservation isn"t helping in the slightest way," she mumbled, breaking the hug. The subject changed when she smiled at Ben, "So, how"s Grant?" Ben"s features lit up at the sound of his boyfriend, blabbing on how that Grant and him were doing excellent and he"s planning to propose to him soon. Calithea smiled that her brother was doing well and was living the life he wanted it. Ben also said that they are planning to move out of Oregon and move to New York City and go on Broadway. It upset her that he"s going to New York somewhat but happy for him. She knew that when they were both very young, their mother took them to many plays and musicals. They both fell in love with the peforming arts and really had a chance to star in one. They both were a triple threat on the stage which includes singing, dancing, and as well as acting. Calithea had a beautiful voice that could stop the world from ending or stop crime/disease. Her body was made for moving around gracefully and she could act like there was no tomorrow. Ben had a splendid soprano voice that could be compared to an angel singing. He could do a few dances but is truly outstanding when it comes to the Tango. The man can swift around and bring out a sex appeal, making many ladies and gentleman swooned at that which causes Grant to become very jealous. Ben was a fantastic actor for his famous diva attitude onstage and play any sassy image. "I wish I could come to New York with you if you wanted me to," Calithea said absentmindly. "You should! Get away from it all and come on stage and live your dream!" Ben encouraged excitedly, grabbing her hand with his own and squeezing them to show full support. Calithea huffed, disuniting her hands away from her felicitous sibling who was literally bursting at the scene. "I can"t and you know that. I need to stay and take care of Aaron, no matter how much I dislike him. I can"t break a promise and from all the years of knowing me should know so too," Calithea said, grabbing her coat and begun to go home. Before she could leave, Ben clutch her arm and told her something. "If you ever need me, come to me no matter what time is it." Calithea let that go and walked up the steps to her house, she noted that the lights were on. The woman rolled her eyes and place the key inside the door and opened it. Her breathe was caught at the sight in front of her; Aaron and a redhead were on top of each other and in a heated make out session. Calithea slowly then closed the front door, making sure that it didn"t make any noise. She lean against the door and it hit her that she couldn"t let the cold fresh air goes through to her lungs. She choked on her tears that lastly run down her cheeks and ran to her car once she heard the woman inside moan loudly with pleasure. Calithea fidget with her keys as if she was in a rush to work, she manage to open the door and jump inside the vechile. She lean against the stirring wheel and sighed, why did she feel so terrible? Never once did she ever express this thing of feeling when her mom died or when Ben got disowned. She felt hurt and so confused which doubled it because she didn"t know why she was confused. She knew that it Aaron going against his vows by cheating but why was she confused by it? Calithea started the car and turned on the radio to blank out those types of thoughts she wasn"t use to. It was strange since she never once listened to the radio in the car, rap songs rang through her ears but it the confusing words didn"t help Calithea forget. It fact, it just made the whole scenerio worse. She press her finger on the off button and drove the one place where she was welcomed. Ben"s. By the time she got there, it was pouring down hard and she regret it coming. They would comfort her but she didn"t want to disturb their sleep...or something else just to attend her needs. However, she rang the doorbell and Grant answered a few seconds later. He noticed that Calithea been crying which rarely happens and pulled her into a close hug. This was the reason why she likes Grant, he treats her like his own sister. Grant direct her inside and left to get a blanket and a few towels. Ben then came in before Grant did, he glaze softened at the sight of her. "Oh Cali..." he murmur before reaching out to give her a large consoling embrace. Midway hug, Grant came back and handed her the items. She wiped off the remaining water into the pink fluffy towels and the blanket was wrapped around her small figure. Ben was seated on the couch on the opposite side of the room while Grant seat on the edge of the armrest on Calithea"s side of the room with his arms crossed. "What happened?" "When I came home, I found Aaron and some redhead on the couch wildly making out," Cali started to explain when Grant stopped her. "Wait, what! He was cheating on you!" Grant exclaimed angrily, jumping off of the sofa and his fist clenching tightly. Let"s just say that he is a very protective person. He was going for the door crying out "where is this bastard so I can beat him up!" when Ben stopped him. "Boo, calm down, listen to Calithea," Grant retreat but he was still pissed, Ben turned towards his little sister, "So then what happen next?" "I came here after I close the door. I wasn"t sure what to do but you told me to come to you if I needed you!" Calithea exclaimed, before she knew it that the tears came over her and came out again. Grant and Ben rush over her side, rubbing her back and giving out hugs. Saying on how everything is going to be okay and how Aaron doesn"t even deserve her. The worst thing was that she accept for them to support her and give out heartwarming words so she will feel better. Calithea didn"t like being treated like a baby or be shown vulnerable. She liked being in control and the strong one. She liked the feeling of being independent. She didn"t like having to rely on others or others to think that she was weak. She hated on how the men were making sure that she was better throughout the night. After a couple hours, Calithea had calm down and the room was silent. No one was saying a word and Calithea was glancing at her hands in her lap. That is until Ben broke it, "So what are you going to do now? Confront him?" "No! Don"t do that! Make him suffer!" Grant hollered, surprising the two. Calithea blinked a few times, thinking that Grant had gone mildly insane. "Okay and how can I do that exactly?" Calithea said slowly, hoping that under a few levels Grant will stay normal. "Make him jealous!" Grant shouted like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Ben was spaced out after that as if he was thinking over it. "Are you mad? How in the world would I do that? I"m ugly-" she was cut off by Ben. "Don"t lie Calithea, you just don"t give yourself enough credit! You"re actually very beautiful," Ben said sternly. Calithea reposition her place on the couch, she felt uneasy about their idea and officially regretted coming. "Plus your a brillant actress! Ben told me all about your performing years and say that you could fool anyone!" Grant said. "But I don"t want to date anyone just to make Aaron jealous and not to mention that I"ll break my vows as well!" Calithea cried. "You don"t have to! One of us can pretend to date you and make Aaron super jealous! We both can act it out!" Ben exclaimed and the female observe that both men were getting excited by their idea. "Fine..." she sighed defeat as Grant and Ben cheered happily. "Who"s going to "date" me then?" They both stopped their little celebration and looked at each other. It went silent in the room as if the two lovers were discussing it telepathically. Calithea rose an eyebrow at the two as the continue to discuss their silent conservation. It ended about five minutes later when Ben said "alright! We decided.'

"No, you want to do something, like say...a picnic in one of the parks?" "Sure! I mean...uh...yeah that sounds good.." Tsugumi must be nearby, Kurt thought to himself. "Okay then, We can leave after work on Friday if that sounds okay with you." "Works for me, well I should get going..." "Yeah, me too, busy day tomorrow!" "Yeah...and Kurt?" "Yes?" "...thankyou..." "You welcome." Kurt smiled again as he hung up the phone. Yeah...I think she does return the feelings... [-] *BEEP BEEP BEEP* ... *CRASH* Tsugumi shook her head, she was going to have to bolt the next one down to the table. "Come on...need to get to work, and your lover..." she giggled as she let the last word sink in on her friend, who blushed and growled. Tsugumi giggled again and helped her flustered friend get ready for the day. "So...any plans this weekend?" Tsugumi asked in her usual teasing tone. "Yes...and they don"t involve you following me, got it?" Tsugumi frowned. "Fine..." [-]Undisclosed location[-] "Report, Lieutenant." The same man barked to the officer before him. "Sir, it appears that there are very few people working on the project, which my sources tell has to do with Endlaves." "Endlaves? Not exactly a new concept." "No sir, but I have a hunch that there is something different about the research going on here, but I"ll need more time." The man nodded. "Very well, but time is of the essence, if there is a potential we could use whatever it is they"re developing for our cause, we need to know about it soon." The officer nodded and saluted before quickly exiting the office. [-]Warehouse, Friday evening[-] "No no, that won"t do.." Kurt grumbled as a holographic display slowly span a display of a sword around. "The blade"s to wide." He reached forward and "grabbed" the sword, molding it to be narrower and slightly longer. "Eh? Wouldn"t a blade that thin have a shatter hazard?" Ayase pointed out. "Hmm...not if use something strong enough, or temper the blade properly..." "Yes, that could work, now where would it be stored?" Ayase asked, tapping on a few floating controls and materializing a display of their current model. "I"ve been thinking about that, maybe a holster of sorts on the left or right arms would do, it would keep the back free for mission specific equipment." Kurt suggested, pulling over the model and "forming" a contraption on one of the arms. "Mission specific?" "Like..erm...well if its recon, then it will probably be equipped with a sniper of sorts, or if its infiltration, a silenced submachine gun." Ayase nodded. "I guess that makes sense, hmm...I was thinking about the stealth systems of the unit." She taps a few buttons, and the display changes to the back of the unit. "If we add heat sinks here and here." she points to exhaust vents; "We could really cut back on heat emissions." Kurt smiled. "I was thinking the same thing, and if the heat emissions were smaller, we could coat the exterior in a radar absorbing material, which would minimize its exposure to just about all current forms of scanning." "Yeah...well almost all forms of scanning." Ayase looked over at Kurt. "The thing"s still going to be noisy when moving." Kurt nodded. "Yes...there is that small problem, which could be more software related." "Oh?" "Well...maybe if we change the way it moves, like instead of just marching around like the current design, why not have the thing move more human like and have the ability to climb things?" "Well...that really falls under both categories I think." Ayase sighed and leaned back in her wheelchair. "We could always add more movement points...but that adds more point"s of failure"s." "True, I guess we"ll talk with Tsugumi about that then...speaking of which where did she get to?" Ayase shrugged as she saved their work and closed down the display. "I think she said something about going home early." "Hmph, well I guess that"s alright...though don"t you usually go with her?" Kurt asked, likewise beginning to pack up some things. "Oh yeah...now that I think about it I did tell her to go home.." Ayase smiled as she finished. "Did you now?" Kurt asked with a smirk, looking her straight in the eye. "Yeah...well, you know I didn"t want our plans to be bothered..." Ayase replied, returning the gaze and lightly blushing. "Well then, I guess we should get going then." {A/N Sorry this one"s a little shorter, I"ve been really busy lately and haven"t had much time to right, but anyway enjoy! And don"t forget to Rate and Review and all that other good stuff!} -The17thScripter Kurt laid out a blanket on the soft grass, humming to himself. Glancing up, he could see Ayase by the park"s lake, watching the sunset. Quickly making sure everything was in order, he walked over to her, softly setting his hand on her shoulder. She jumped a little but quickly relaxed. "Ee!...Kurt you startled me!" she mock complained, stifling back a giggle."Did I? I apologize...just wanted to inform you that dinner is ready." He chuckled. "Great! Lets eat!" she smiled and turned herself around and began to wheel herself towards their spot. Kurt smirked and snuck up behind her, grabbing her wheelchair and pushing her faster towards the spot. He heard her gasp at the sudden acceleration. "Kurt!" she almost yelled, her face starting to turn red. His ice blue eyes seemed to twinkle, "Yes?" He asked mischievously as they arrived at the spot. "I don"t...I...grr..." she stammered, flustered. Kurt chuckled again, walking around to the front of her, leaning forward. "Wha...what are you doing?" She asked, her heart starting to beat faster. "You don"t seriously expect to sit in that wheelchair the whole time, did you?" He slid his arms around her back and underneath her legs, slowly lifting her out of the wheelchair. He slowly stood up for a moment, holding her bridal style as she threw her arms around his neck, holding onto him tightly. "Shh..." he said in a soft voice. "I won"t drop you, don"t worry..." She glanced up at him, blushing, though she almost looked like she was worried. "Ayase? Is something wrong? I already told you I"m not going to...hmmmph!" She cut him off, leaning up and kissing him, her eyes closing. Relaxing into the sudden kiss, he slowly set her down on the blanket, never breaking contact with her sweet lips. After what felt like a blissful eternity, they separated, both of them smiling and blushing. "Ss..sorry...It"s just that I...erm..." Kurt shook his head. "There"s nothing to be sorry about, Ayase, its alright." He offered her a smile and went about pulling out plates and utensils. He glanced over and noticed that she was propping herself up on one arm, that wouldn"t do. He flipped open what looked like a cooler and pulled out what looked like three large thermoses. He opened them, letting the steam from the contents wafte out. Ayase sniffed the air and could feel her mouth start to water. Kurt rapidly prepared the plates with rice, beef and gravy, and a small amount of fresh steamed broccoli. He handed one of the plates to Ayase, who took it with her only free hand. Kurt stood up again, walked over and sat down next to her. "Here," He said, sliding close to her. "You can lean on me..." Ayase blushed. "Are you sure?" Kurt nodded and she slowly leaned back on him, freeing up her other hand. The two ate their meal in peace, Ayase slowly getting more and more comfortable on Kurt. After the meal was finished, Kurt looked to the freshly arriving night sky. Leaning back suddenly onto the blanket. Ayase, startled fell ontop of him. "Oh...sorry..." "No...its fine...just caught me off guard a little bit..." Kurt adjusted and helped her lay next to him, after much blushing and stammering she curled up next to him and looked into the sky with him, her head resting on his shoulder, his arm around her shoulder, holding her close. Ayase smiled and exhaled, she could hear the thump of his heart, and she felt safe and secure. "Kurt." "Yes?" "Uhm...are we...together?" She was glad they we"re looking at the stars of the sky, so he couldn"t see her blushing madly. "That depends...is that something you want?" That caught her a little off guard, Well...do I? ...Yes, "Yes...I do believe it is..." "Then the answer is yes." Kurt mentally cringed, he was hoping he could have worded that better. Why do I have to be so blunt at times... he groaned mentally. Ayase just snuggled a little closer to him. "Thanks...to be honest a few weeks ago...I never could have imagined being in a relationship...but now..." she smiled, tilting her head to look at him as he adjusted his to look at her. "...I couldn"t imagine being without you..." She wasn"t blushing, and her words flowed with sincerity. "Kurt...I love you..." "I love you to Ayase..." They leaned closer, and their lips once again met passionately for the second time that night. Ayase wrapped her arms around him, and pulled him even closer, her eyes drooping shut as his warmth seemed to sooth through her. They split apart, catching their breath. "Kurt..I...think we should..erm.." Ayase started before trailing off. "Wait before we do anything "serious"?" She nodded. "I don"t mean to..." Kurt cut her off with another quick kiss. "Its okay, I was going to suggest the same thing...I mean we haven"t even been officially together a full ten minutes yet." He chuckled. She blushed again. "Y..yeah." They said nothing else, they only remained in each others embrace for quite some time after that. They were content, Kurt smiled as he watched his new girlfriend begin to drift off to sleep in his arms. My girlfriend...heh never thought I"d see the day... He adjusted ever so slightly to give her a better "pillow" with his arm. Its good she"s agreeing not to rush things...to be honest it feels like we rushed to get to this point, besides, He shifted his gaze back up to the stars. I don"t think either of us are ready for any potential consequences of such actions. He sighed and continued to watch the night sky, the numerous stars slowly beginning their trek across the sky. By the time Kurt decided that is was time to pack up and head back, Ayase was sound asleep. Smiling, he quietly slipped out of her grasp and almost silently packed up the picnic. With nothing else left but the blanket, he leaned down and gently ran his hand across her shoulder. "Ayase...I need you to wake up..." Ayse groaned and her eyes fluttered open. Smiling, Kurt gently picked her up and set her in her wheelchair, draping the blanket around her. Slinging a bag with the rest of the supplies over his back, he slowly began pushing her to a path that lead to the train station. [-] Ayase awoke to find herself clinging to Kurt in a bed, the two of them in a rather intimate position. She blinked and initially started to panic but calmed back down as memories of the previous night started to come to her. Good...we didn"t do anything. Were her thoughts as she snuggled back in close to him. From what she could remember Kurt had asked her if she wished to spend the night with him seeing as his apartment was closer and it was rather late at night. She vaguely remembered agreeing and sending Tsugumi a message informing her that she would be staying out until the next day. After that she didn"t remember much, she could feel a warm, almost fluffy garment wrapped around her like a jacket, complete with sleeves. A bathrobe? Hmm...I must have changed, not wanting to sleep in my regular clothes. She decided she would figure out the details at a later time, and simply drifted back off to sleep. Kurt awoke a few minutes later, likewise finding himself a bit startled initially to the presence of another in bed. He smiled and slowly started to get up, but found himself being held back down in bed. "Five more minutes..." Ayase mumbled. Kurt continued to smile and for a moment layed back down next to her. "Ayase...we can"t sleep such a beautiful day away." "Watch me." Ayase smirked, clinging on to him and futily trying to keep him in the warm bed. "As much as I would love to," Kurt grinned, wrapping his arms around her and beginning to pick her up. "I do think breakfast is in order..." He was cut off as she leaned up and gave him a quick peck on the lips. I could get used to that. Kurt mused to himself as he carried her out to his small kitchen. Helping her into a seat at his table, he darted around and quickly began preparing a meal. Ayase quietly smiled and watched as her boyfriend prepared the morning meal. He"s so sweet, I"m glad things are turning out the way they are. The scent of eggs and bacon began to wafte to her nose. And I must admit, his more American cuisine is quite good...but I hope that they"re aren"t any repercussions from this love, I"m sure Shu would understand...right? He never really did see me as more than a friend anyway. She sighed and looked down to the table. Soon a steaming plate of bacon and eggs was slid in front of her, and she looked up with a smile. "Breakfast is served!" Kurt cheerily stated, sitting down across from her. She grabbed a utensil and dug in, letting the flavor wash over her taste buds. After the enjoyable morning meal, they moved to Kurt"s living room and just switched on the television. Ayase snuggled herself up against Kurt. They were just watching the news, which seemed to be dull until, "Breaking news!" came the announcement over the television. Kurt raised an eyebrow and started to pay more attention. "Wonder what this is about." "Shh.." Ayase shushed him as she too took an interest as the voice on the TV continued. "...another outbreak of the disease known as the "Apocalypse Virus" has just been reported along the eastern Chinese coast, the Chinese government has yet to make a formal announcement about the situation, but reports from local eye witnesses have confirmed..." The two of the seemed to freeze, their happy and content persona draining into fear and confusion... ...It was happening again... {A/N Thats a wrap for this chapter, Review, Rate, Fav, etc...} -The17thScripter "No...no this is not happening...not again..." Ayase shivered and trembled, huddling up close to Kurt. Under any other circumstances she would have held her head high in militaristic resolve. But now that she had someone she cared about again, things had changed. "Look, I"m sure this will stay isolated to the Chinese coast..." Kurt tried to reassure her, holding her as she trembled. "This won"t be another Lost Christmas, things will be different." Kurt sighed, his own suspicions contradicting that statement. His phone started ringing from its location on the coffee table, and he leaned over and answered. "Hello?" "Kurt! Tell me you"ve seen the news." Tsugumi"s worried voice shouted through the connection. "Yes...me and Ayase just heard the report, any word from Shinbungi?" "Hai! He wants development of the project to move faster...he said something about putting a team together." Tsugumi paused for a moment. "Hows Aya-nee?" Kurt glances to the aforementioned woman as she hugs him, close enough to overhear the conversation. "...she"s a little shaken up...but she"s alright." "Good...I"ll head over to the warehouse and get working." "Alright, we"ll be over there shortly." Kurt clicked the phone shut and set it back on the coffee table. "So...this happens, we"ve been ordered to speed up development, and theres talk of a team of some kind." He shakes his head, letting another sigh occur. "So where do we go from here?" He asks, still holding Ayase in his embrace. "We do what we can...and hope..." She pauses, looking up at him, "Hope this doesn"t ruin the lives of so many like it did before..." [-] Tsugumi barrelled into the warehouse, moving in a blur. She flew into the room she set up for her software research and immediately brought a dozen display"s and interfaces online. The model of the endlave appeared before her as she sat down in a chair, and she quickly began typing on a keyboard, lines upon lines of code zooming across displays. "Doesn"t sound like you"ve changed a bit..." a male voice says, causing the raven-haired girl to whirl around. "What the? how did you..." She freezes as the owner of the voice enters the room, and she blinks a few times to make sure she"s not hallucinating. "...Shu?" Shu nods, "Hai...Shinbungi contacted me, said something about needing my help with a project or something." He pauses for a moment, listening for the girl"s reaction. "he said come here...and the guards let me right in, do you have any idea what he has planned?" "Only speculation..." she folds her arms across her chest and hmphs. "You know you could have at least left a message before up and disappearing a few years ago." Shu slumps slightly and sighs. "I am sorry...but I needed to be alone for awhile..." Tsugumi sighed and shook her head at the answer. "I"ll take it for now...but you owe a better explanation later." She taps a few keys and leans back in her chair. " I"m not sure entirely what Shinbungi has planned, but I do know that this project we"ve been working on has just been kicked into high gear. Aya-nee and Kurt should be here soon." "Kurt?" Tsugumi giggles. "Head of the project and Aya-nee"s boyfriend..." Shu only nods and heads back out of the room. [-]Chinese Coast[-] A lone woman with flowing black hair stands on a mountain, overlooking what looks like a city ravaged by purple, crystalline structures. Her figure is slim and well defined, and she wears what looks like a sleek armor of some kind, complemented by a trench coat. On her back is a black rifle, and a sword rests at her hip. her steel gray eyes match her pale skin as they scan the view. Need to find shelter...safety...off this land... The woman looks to her right and continues looking over her surroundings. She spots a boat near what looks like a large body of water and heads for it. As she approaches, a couple of armed men intercept her. "You there! what are you doing here? this area"s been restricted." The lead man says. She pays them no head and continues heading for her destination. "Listen lady!" one of the men steps in front of her, followed by his companions. "I"m gonna have to ask you to come with us." She stops moving and studies the men, Can"t be caught...must persist...eliminate if necessary... She resumes moving forward and one of the men shoots his gun, the bullet hitting her shoulder. The ensuing wound leaks an odd white fluid and she glares at the men. In a flash, she unsheath"s her sword and slices in attack...three heads fall to the ground. She puts the sword away and resumes her pace...clutching her shoulder as she heads for the boat. [-]Undisclosed location[-] "What do you mean project 527"s escaped!?" the dark man shouts in anger, beating his fist on his desk. The lieutenant only stands firm and nods slightly. "I"m sorry sir, but during the outbreak the facility containing her was damaged, and she broke out of her cell and acquired armor and weapons." "Find her! Catch her! and if need be kill her! And don"t come back until you do!" [-] Ayase sat in her wheelchair aboard the train, watching the scenery zip past the window. So much had happened in the past couple of hours, from admitting to love to another outbreak of the nightmare she thought she had left behind. She looked to her left and saw the man she loved. He had donned his sunglasses once again, despite her urgings for him to forgo their use. He glanced at her and faintly smiled. She returned with her own, forced, faint smile. "Don"t worry...I"m sure things will turn out alright." He assured her for what seemed like the hundredth time. She only nodded and returned her gaze to the window. Leaning back in her chair she sighed quietly to herself. Things we"re just going smoothly...and now this happens... she looked down to her lap, to the legs that kept her from a normal life. If only I could have my legs back...I wouldn"t feel like a burden. Truth was she had been feeling like that, ever since that night. She longed to be able to tackle him in loving embrace, to wrap her legs around him. A tone from the trains intercom brought her from her thoughts. The two exited the train with little dialogue and proceeded to head for the warehouse. "Ne...Ayase?" Kurt asked as they came within view. "Hai?" "Were we expecting anybody else?" "No...why?" "Then who"s that at the door with Tsugumi?" Ayase blinked and squinted at the figure next to the familiar raven-haired girl. She blinked again and then gasped. Kurt looked at her with an odd expression, then a respectful one as waves of anger seemed to start to emanate from the girl. "Ayase? You alright?" He asked as they neared the entrance. "Just fine..." she mutters. Kurt looked to the man, taking note of his rather casual dress suit and walking stick, Probably blind... "Tsugumi! care to introduce your friend here?" he calls as the arrive. The girl nods. "Hai, Kurt, meet Ouma Shu, an old friend of ours." Ayase hmpd, earning a frown from the man. "Eh...pleasure to meet you, might I ask why you have come to visit?" Kurt asks as the arrive and stop. "I was sent by Shinbungi...though I"m afraid I was given much reason as to why..." Shu replies in an even tone. "I do hope I am not intruding."

As they headed for a small, deep purple colored car. "Say...that an 86?" Mark asked as they got closer to the car. Tsugumi chuckled and shook her head as she went to the right hand drivers side of the car, opening the door and popping the trunk. "No...its a bit newer, a 92, not technically as nimble as an 86, but I like it and I can pull decent times on downhill courses." She said as she helped him get his bags into the car. Closing the trunk they got in. Tsugumi started the car and revved the engine a bit. Mark was impressed, looking over the interior, aside from the bucket seats they were sitting in, there were a few extra gauges on the dash. As they pulled out of the garage, they drove through downtown Tokyo and headed for a highway. "Do I hear a turbo?" Tsugumi nodded. "Yeah...bit of a mechanic as well as racer...you"ll find there are a lot of teams all across Japan...though I don"t belong to one right now." she commented, shifting the car into a cruising speed as they sped across the road. "Thats good...I didn"t know you raced, you never mentioned it before whenever you were online." Mark commented as he observed the scenery speeding by. "Even after that bragging rant I went on after I picked up the MR2 back home..." Tsugumi chuckled. "I was actually planning to brag about my 92 not too long ago, but I decided to wait when you announced you were planning to move to Japan, and when you asked for me to help with transportation I got the paint done early." The woman stated coolly as they approached an exit. "Oh?" Mark commented as they came to a stop at a red light. "Well I"ll admit I"m impressed, I got drive an 86 a couple of times back home, and I have to say, your 92 feels similar, at least from the passenger side..." "Why thank you...well theres an 86 that runs around the Akina mountain courses, and word on the street is the car"s unbeatable." The girl said as they accelerated from the red light and onto a mountain road. "I"ve run into it only once, and it blew past me like I was on a bicycle..." She said as she pulled the car into a drift on the mountain road. "Hmm...well any car can be great if in the right hands...who knows, maybe I"ll run into the guy one day...any teams where I"m headed?" Mark asked as he let his body sway with the motion of the car, which was not entirely unlike to his MR2. "Well there is the Akagi Red Suns...but their leader has been off running this mobile team called Project D...so there"s no one really claiming active ownership of the area...most people are scared to, the guy drives an old FC, and next to that 86 he is the second hardest to beat." Tsugumi said, expertly pulling her car through each turn. "Sounds fun...maybe I"ll race him one day...though still need a car." Mark commented as they pulled into the town of Akagi. "Well there are always listings available at the gas station in Akina, and the various dealerships speckled throughout the Gunma area, so that shouldn"t be to hard, got anything in mind?" The girl asked as they drove through town. "Well I was thinking something along the lines of an S13 maybe...or another MR2, don;t know really..." he chuckled, "This may sound weird, but I tend to let the car call to me...go on a gut instinct, so I"ll have to look around." Tsugumi shook her head. "Not weird at all...wanted an 86 myself, but when I walked in front of the dealership that day, and saw this in the lot, I knew what I would drive..." She paused as she pulled into the driveway of a house with a two car garage. "Alright, here we are, you do have the keys right?" Mark nodded. "Yep, got em in the mail a few days ago." he said as she shut off the car and they climbed out. He opened up the house and she helped him get his bags inside. "So when does your new job start?" Tsugumi asked as they sat down on a sofa that had come with the house. He had bought the house pre-furnished as he didn"t want to worry about the hassle of furniture and the like. "I actually have a week before I start, which gives me plenty of time to get settled in." He said, leaning back on the sofa. "If thats the case, I"ll stop by tomorrow around noon, and take you to one of the main dealerships nearby." She offered, looking around his house a bit before standing up. "You sure? I wouldn"t want to inconvenience you more than I have already." Mark said, standing up as well. "Won"t be a problem, I"ve got nothing better to do..." She responded with a rather cheeky smile. "Tsugumi if I remember anything from the old gaming days...theres a catch..." Mark sighed. The girl simply giggled. "Of course there is, but I"ll tell you tomorrow." and with that she left, and he could here her peel out of his driveway. Great...well she sure isn"t any different from the old days online... He chuckled to himself as he entered the house"s bathroom. He looked himself in the mirror and ran a hand through his own black hair. He had grey eyes and a smile that he was told could charm any girl...though he never really tried. He shook his head and left the bathroom, heading for his new bedroom. Tomorrow"s gonna be interesting, that"s for sure... {A/N} So decided to write this while working on my other fic (Serendipity) as well...I"ll alternate between the two, so yeah, read, rate, review, fav...you know the drill. -The17thScripter Yokaze Chapter 2: Finding a Ride {A/N} Don"t own Initial D...wish I did...but I don"t...so yeah...wordz "Liz! Brakes! Now!" a woman in the passenger seat of the red MR2 shouted as they rounded a bend. Liz slammed hard on the pedal and the handbrake, causing the car to spin out and come to a stop. The woman sighed. "Liz...I know you"ve seen your brother drive before...but you need to work on your judgment..." the woman shook her head quickly, fixing her long oily brown hair. "Sorry Tandee..." was all the girl could say as she corrected the car"s position and continued through the course, albeit at a much slower pace. [-] Mark sat up in his bed, yawning and wiping his eyes. He glanced over at his clock. 10:00...Tsugumi said she would be over here around noon...gives me 2 hours to do...nothing. Mark shook his head and slid out of bed, putting on a simple white t shirt and jeans with his sneakers. He spent the morning exploring his house, when he got to the garage he was rather surprised, there was room for two cars and plenty of shelving space for tools and parts. Alright, he thought to himself as he glanced at his watch. Tsugumi should be arriving around now. Sure enough he could hear a car approaching and pull into the driveway. He left the garage and grabbed his keys, locking the house and walking towards the waiting car. "So wheres our first stop?" Mark asked as he got into the left hand passenger side of the purple 92. "A dealership a couple of miles from here." The black haired girl replied as she stepped on the accelerator, peeling out of the driveway. She was wearing a similar outfit as before, only without the plaid over shirt. "Develop any ideas for a ride yet?" "Something rear-wheel drive for sure, adaptable, and decent horsepower." He replied, watching the road ahead, and sometimes to the side. "Hmm...well I know for a fact that the dealer we"re headed to has a couple of S15"s, among other things." The girl replied as they continued on. Mark shook his head. "I considered something like that, but its pretty pricey, and I don"t have that same feeling when I look at an S15 that I did when I looked at my MR2 back home." He replied. Twenty minutes later they pulled into the dealership and parked out front. A shorter man came out and greeted them. "Ah! Tsugumi-san! What brings you to my humble dealership, hmm? Come to trade in that old 92 of yours for something better?" The girl shook her head. "No Tsukune-san, my friend here needs a set of wheels within a reasonable price." she says as she motions towards Mark, who nods slightly. "Ah good, good! Well take a look around and just let me know when you see something you like!" and with that, the man went back into the showroom. "Well, lets walk shall we?" Mark said, walking towards the lot full of an abundance of cars, Tsugumi following behind him. They passed what seemed like an endless supply of cars, S13"s, Lancer"s, Impreza"s, even an old AE86 and MR2, but none of them, not even the MR2, seemed to fit Marks fancy. They started to head back to the 92 when Tsukune intercepted them. "Find anything, hmm?" the man asked, Mark shook his head. "Sorry, just doesn"t seem to be anything on the lot that appeals to me." the dealer frowned at this for a second, then snapped his fingers. "I might have just the thing you"re looking for, got it in a little less than a week ago, somebody was moving and needed the cash." The man chirped as he beckoned the two to follow. Shrugging, the two did follow the man, around to a garage in the back. "I was just getting ready to put it on the lot...but I might not need to..." the man said as he opened the garage, revealing the car. "I"ll take it." Mark said as he looked at the car before him. The car was a 1988 Toyota Supra with an added on spoiler, all black. Tsugumi looked at him. "Are you sure? You haven"t even driven it yet." Mark nodded. "I"m sure, it was the same way when I bought my last car." was his reply. Tsukune nodded happily. "That"s great! I"ll go get the paperwork started right now." He said as he took off for the showroom. [-] Mark leaned against the rear of his new car as it sat parked behind Tsugumi"s 92 at the top of the mountain course in Akagi, Tsugumi had the hood popped open and had her head practically buried in the engine. "You know, Tsugumi, while I"m not a mechanic, I do know how to inspect an engine, besides it ran fine coming up here." "I"m just making sure." she said as she shut the hood, wiping her hands on her pants. "You didn"t even test drive the car." "And?" "Its fine...the filters need to be cleaned, but that shouldn"t hinder the test run down the mountain." She said as she walked over to him, resting a hand on her hip. "Alright, before we go any farther, I did tell you about the catch, didn"t I?" The girl grinned slightly. Mark sighed. "Alright...lets hear it." "Well as I told you the Red Suns, however prominent of a team they are, are much to busy with their Project D, so that kinda leaves Akagi vulnerable to a new team." She said in a rather cool manner, leaning next to him on the car"s trunk. "So that"s it...well that makes thing easy, I was gonna look to put together a team anyway..." Tsugumi smiled at his response. "Good...well we better get some practice, no doubt the Red Suns will show up to defend the place." She said as she headed for her car. "Lets try the downhill, I"ll lead, try and keep up." She grinned as she hopped in and revved up the engine of her 92. Mark grinned as well and jumped into his car, gunning the engine. The two sped off down the course, Mark keeping pace with the small car with some effort. Dang she"s fast on the downhill, Mark thought to himself. He downshifted and swung his Supra wide into a corner, still getting a feel for the handling. Tires need to be replaced, and the suspension needs tightening. He continued to chase Tsugumi down the course, the cars flying through the corners. Mark was impressed, and he continued to stay glued to Tsugumi"s bumper the whole way down the mountain. After an exhilarating five minutes of driving, they reached the bottom of the course and pulled into an adjacent parking lot. Mark stepped out of his Supra and look as Tsugumi did the same. "Not bad for a first time the mountain, eh?" He called to her. "Not bad? Are you kidding me? Its like your a natural on that course." She stated as she took a quick walk around her car to as if to check something before looking back to him. "I swear its like that Supra has a lot more under the hood than it lets on." She finished. "Hmm...well I"ll know when I get it back to the house, suspension"s a little loose for my liking, and I"m going to replace the tires, these are far to worn out." Mark said as he lightly tapped one of the front tires with his foot. "..though I"m no mechanic, care to come by and help out?" Tsugumi nodded. "Sure, I"ll grab my tool set from my place and meet you at your house in an hour." She said, hopping back in her 92 and peeling out of the parking lot. Mark got back into his car and pulled out, heading home. [-] "Mrs. Stevenson, I can assure you I haven"t let Liz do anything entirely reckless...and she"s adapting to the MR2 very well." Tandee said as she sat at a table in the kitchen of the Stevenson family house. "I know Tandee, Liz keeps going on about how good she is getting, I just want to know if the car is safe, its not exactly new." the worried mother asked the oily brunette haired mechanic. Tandee nodded after some hesitation. "It is as safe as it operator controls it." She tried to smile lightly, but the expression the woman before her had after that answer didn"t allow it. "Mrs. Stevenson there is no need to worry, I"ll be in the car with Liz every time she races." "But what of your own life? Surely you have your own responsibilities to take care of?" "I do what I have to, and Mark and I are close friends, I have no complaints about taking car of this." the girl replied. "How close?" the older woman asked, looking Tandee straight in the eye. The girl let her head droop a bit, sighing. "Not as close as I"d like..." {A/N} Whew...another chapter, well y"all know the drill, rate, review, fav, etc...etc...etc... -The17thScripter Yokaze Chapter 3: Team {A/N} Don"t forget to Fav and Review! Mark yawned as he sat in his garage, looking at his car. Tsugumi had her self half buried in the udnerneath the car, mumbling various things about the state of various parts. "Tsugumi? You"ve been at it for two hours now, its not that hard to tighten the suspension..." Mark asked as he stood up, taking a brief look at the engine under the open hood. "I know that...I"m just doing a thorough inspection...whoever owned this car before you did put some serious cash into the suspension and transmission...which isn"t stock I should add..." Tsugumi pushed herself out from underneath the car and stood up, brushing herself off. "That doesn"t surprise me, it shifts to smoothly for the stock...any thoughts to what it is?" He asked, looking at her. Tsugumi shook her head. "I"ve never seen anything like it, but the gear setups are designed to handle an engine far more powerful than whats in there." Mark went quiet for a minute. "Hmm...well I"m not going to swap the engine anytime soon, I just don"t currently have the funding and I want to get used to the car first..." He said, walking over and shutting the hood. "Lets head inside, you can get cleaned up and we have details to discuss about this new team of ours." An hour later Mark sat in the pre-furnished sofa in his living room, leaning back and taking a sip from a glass of ice water. Tsugumi set herself down next to him. "So..." Mark began, "The best way for us to get noticed is to race, any events going on soon?" Tsugumi paused for a moment. "Well...Project D is off this week I believe...and there"s a good chance at least one of the Red Suns will be practicing during the night this week." "Hmm...I need practice myself on the course...you tighten the suspension during your snooping, right?" "I wasn"t snooping!" Tsugumi said defensively, "I was inspecting! And anyway yes I did, not a lot, but enough to notice a difference...your not thinking of heading out there tonight are you?" Mark grinned, and Tsugumi started to think she was going to hate that grin. [-] A red MR2 SW20 came to a jerking halt at the finish point of a closed track. The two people inside letting out a relieved sigh. "Sorry..." "Liz you don"t need to keep apologizing, Mark was the same way at first, you"ll get better with time." Tandee said with a half chuckle. Liz nodded slightly. "I know, but I can"t help it...I just can"t keep it stable coming out of the corners..." Liz sighed, resting her forehead on the top of the steering wheel. "What am I doing wrong?" She asked for what was the millionth time that week. Tandee glanced at her watch. Alright...its a little cruel...but its the last option. "Liz...wait here..." Tandee said as she got out of the car and ran off somewhere, presumably one of the nearby buildings. Liz blinked and arched an eyebrow in confusion. Tandee returned a few minutes later carrying a cup of water, she got back in the car and set the cup in one of the cupholders. "Alright...I want you to drive the course again." Tandee said as she buckled back up. "But this time I want you to focus on not spilling the water in the cup, take it slow at first if you need to." [-] Tires squealed against pavement as two cars raced down Akagi. A black MK3 Supra keeping tight pace with a 92 Trueno. Both cars swung wide blowing through a hairpin corner at high speed. Mark down shifted and let his car swing into the next corner, looking for a way to pass. She"s good alright...but her tires are starting to wear...just need a small opening... Tsugumi was feeling the heat from the Supra as she expertly maneuvered her 92 around the corners. I"ve driven the course more than he has...and yet he"s driving like he knows the course like the back of his hand! Unbeknownst to the two drivers, further up the track a lone white FC was moderately making its way down the course as well. Tsugumi was the first to notice. Crap! Another Car! At this time of night? She swung her 92 wide into the other lane, flashing her taillights to warn Mark. He did the same and the two cars blew by the white vehicle. Everything for Tsugumi seemed to go into slow motion as she noticed the car, its make, and the "Red Suns" sticker on the side. Crap... Ryosuke Takahashi was out for an evening drive when the two aforementioned vehicles blew past him. He arched an eyebrow slightly and watched the cars round the corner. Something interested him about the following car, and he accelerated. Mark took a brief look at the car they passed. Hmm...an FC? Was that a Red Suns sticker on the side? Didn"t Tsugumi say that was the team that currently held control of this course or something like that? He shrugged it off and continued chasing Tsugumi, sticking as close to her car as he could. Not a few moments later, a set of headlights appeared in Mark"s rear view mirror. Before he knew it he could almost feel the FC bearing down on his bumper. He could tell by Tsugumi suddenly driving at a faster pace than before that she knew. Hmm...wonder if its the leader? Ah well...time to see if my gut feeling was right. Mark accelerated, staying a mere centimeter away from Tsugumi"s bumper as the three cars tore down the mountain. Impressive, The Supra"s longer wheelbase does not lend itself well to mountain driving like that of the 92...yet the driver isn"t having a problem. Ryosuke thought as they came onto a large wide turn in the course. Thats when Mark made his move, stunning both Tsugumi and Ryosuke. When the FC and 92 shifted to the outside lane to enter the turn, the Supra didn"t. The Supra"s inside wheels slipped off the side of the road into a shallow gutter. A grinding noise could be heard as the Supra overtook the 92 and shout out of the turn in the lead. Tsugumi still couldn"t figure out what happened. Ryosuke"s eyes went wide. Extraordinary...that"s a move that I"ve only seen Fujiwara pull...and only in an 86. Mark increased his speed a little more, keeping a good pace ahead of the chasing cars. They reached the end of the course and pulled into a parking lot off to the side of the road. Mark parked the Supra and cut the engine, stepping out of the car. He watched as Tsugumi and the driver of the FC did the same. Tsugumi looked to be in shock, the driver of the FC looked surprised but still calm and collected. Tsugumi was the first to speak. "Mark...where the heck did you learn a move like that?" Mark shrugged. "A friend of mine...what? You"ve never seen that before?" Tsugumi shook her head while the man raised his hand. "I have...but only from the most experienced drivers." the man took a slight bow. "I am Ryosuke Takahashi of the Akagi Red Suns and Project D, and you are?" "Mark Stevenson, of a team to be named later, Sorry we blew past you on the straightaway...we were practicing." The man arched an eyebrow and looked quizically between the two. "Practicing? May I ask what for?" "Erm...well...funny story..." Tsugumi started off, trying to dance around the subject. "We plan on challenging you at some point to have Akagi as a home course for our fledgling team. No hard feelings I hope." Mark stated bluntly. "I see...well I always enjoy a good challenge, something hard to come by these days...feel free to practice as much as you"d like, I look forward to our battle." And with that Ryosuke got back in his car and left. The FC"s engine echoing throughout the valley. {A/N} Sorry these seem to be getting shorter, next chapter will be longer, promise! Also I"m throwing in more details on the cars to help clarify to people...kinda late but meh...anywho Fav! Review! Stuff! -The17thScripter

"-which you hadn"t-" "-he only gave me two days! I had to guard my room from him. Now he lives just a few blocks away, down the street. Perhaps one day he will come in and try to steal my books-do not laugh, it has happened before. When I demanded them back, I found them so scribbled and filled with notes that the original text was barely readable." Ecthelion laughed. "What adventures you had, my friend! Though I must say..." He looked around the room. "Your house is not very ... Elvish, is it? Is this a style you have picked up from Middle-Earth?" "The Periannath have houses in this style," said Glorfindel. "No doubt you have heard of them. Frodo Baggins-" "Yes, yes," said Ecthelion impatiently. "Though I do not know why they are more important than say, Lord Turukáno, or you and I. We fought evil head-on, while he skulked-" "None of that here, Ecthelion! The Periannath were no doubt the saviours of Middle-Earth. Anyway, as I was saying, they have delightful houses to live in, and I have decided to fashion mine after their style." "Why them, Glorfindel? Why not the style of the Elf-lords of old? Large marble hallways, stairs and banisters, arching ceilings, intricate tapestries, courtyards and gardens, rooms and rooms waiting to be unlocked. You have money enough." For the first time, Glorfindel"s gaze fell. "I cannot, my friend. You know that. It is too painful." "Fair Ondolindë," Ecthelion breathed. Glorfindel"s smile returned, if slightly weaker than before. "Just be glad I did not fashion my house after the manner of the Dwarves." Ecthelion grinned. "That would be a nightmare indeed." Characters discover fanfiction. Not one of my favourites, but I suppose it"s okay. By the way, the stats are used with FFN, on the 7th of March, 2012. ^^ An excited shout rang through the House of Feanor. Curufin, as usual, was the first one to rush to his father"s study. He expected to be met with a cloud of ash, dust and general chaos. Instead, his father was standing-very cleanly and neatly-next to what looked like a square box. Feanor was looking very smug. He was evidently waiting for Curufin to ask him what the box was. Curufin asked him. "What"s the box, father?" "This, son, is a computer. It"s a more advanced version of a palantir, where you can actually read things off it. And this-" he pointed to a smaller box next to the bigger box "-is a modem. It connects to the internet, which is to say, the blank space that fills up Ea. It links the fabric of space and time together." By the time he finished, Maedhros, Caranthir and the twins were also there. Feanor, who was unimpressed by his sons" punctuality, decided not to say anything about it. However, he decided he needed a fuller audience. "It also can play music!" he yelled at the top of his voice. It barely took a second for Maglor to have appeared in the doorway, as if by magic. "You alllllsooooo," Feanor shouted, "can use it to talk to girls!" Celegorm crashed through the wall next to the computer. Now that his entire audience was here, Feanor pointed to a button. "Curvo, press this." His son obediently came up and did so. The entire screen lit up, then turned into a blue-and-white-and-black page. "I present, my sons," said Feanor, his voice smug with superiority, "Fanfiction dot net." "What"s fanfiction dot net?" Amrod asked. "I"ve heard of it!" said Maedhros suddenly. "It"s where people write stories about us. Look, there"s one with me and Maglor, and one with me, and atar, and Maglor, and me, and me and me and me... there are seventy-six of me!" "You"re just choosing the ones with you!" Caranthir snarled. "Look, there"s exactly-" his face fell "-nine stories about me. Nine!" He fumed. "That"s because you never did anything interesting, Moryo," Curufin smirked. "Look. Eighteen with me. That"s double you. Turko, you have seventeen. Ambarussa ... they"ve put you in separately in the character list!" Amrod and Amras gasped. "Three for me," Amrod said. "Two for me!" Amras said. "That"s nothing," they both said together, disappointed. Maglor smiled to himself, and went to stand in front of the computer invention. "That"s because you guys aren"t famous," he said, still smiling. "Look, I"m sure there"s many with me and my music. Sixty-nine!" Celegorm began laughing at the number, and couldn"t stop. "You may have a lot," he sneered, "but look at the genre. Angst, angst, angst, family/friendship, angst, angst-" "I get it," Maglor snapped. Feanor was grinning maliciously. "Now that you"ve all had a look, I suppose it"s my turn to see how many-" "NO!" his seven sons bellowed, as one. "Father, don"t you have better things to do?" Curufin asked sweetly. "Like make jewels?" Caranthir suggested. "Or making those Silmarils," said Celegorm. "Which is a jewel," Maglor added, scathingly. He hadn"t recovered from Celegorm"s taunts yet. "What about taking a bath," Maedhros suggested. Together, the four of them pushed their father out of the room. Only Amrod and Amras remained. "Thank the Valar," Amras said. "If father found out he only had sixty-one stories, he would go on a kinslaying." Turin vs Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived woke up to a scar which just didn"t stop prickling. It was a few weeks after Sirius had died - well into the holidays of his sixth year. It was understandable that he had nightmares, yes. It was understandable that he"d wake up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat because of said nightmares. It was not understandable for Voldemort to be having nightmares too, because why else would his scar hurt? Now mentally scarred at the thought of Voldemort with nightmares, Harry crawled out of bed to turn on his bedside light. To his horror, just before he turned the light on, he found someone standing in his bedroom, looming over him, dark and ominous. And worst of all, the figure seemed to be covered in blood. Harry fumbled for his wand, and pointed it rather clumsily at the figure. Voldemort was not supposed to enter the household! "How did you get in here? Who are you? Show yourself!" He wasn"t seventeen yet, but he swore to Dumbledore he would curse the figure. Or maybe light lumos. Or maybe turn on the light. Harry shakily switched on the light, wondering why this had to happen to him of all people. The room was bathed in a warm yellow glow. The man standing in his room looked like he had just climbed out of a deadly fight in the sewers. He had long dark hair and was stained with blood, grime and dirt-and something that looked strangely like acid-and his eyes were strangely out of focus. "So this is what the afterlife looks like," he muttered. "What?" asked Harry. "Who the hell are you?" "I am called many things: Túrin, Turambar, Mormegil, Agarwaen Neithan, Gorthol, Thurin, Adanedhel, Turmbar and Blacksword." Harry gaped. "Is this a new trend or something? First it was no names. Now it"s too many names to count!" "If that is too many for you," said the stranger, "call me Túrin Turambar." "Harry Potter," said Harry, eyeing the stranger cautiously. "How did you get inside my house?" "I died," Túrin said emotionlessly. "Wonderful," Harry muttered. "Now I have some raving mad nutter in my house. Why me? I mean, my parents died when I was an orphan! I was sent to my uncle and aunt who hate my guts, and a cousin who bullied me wherever I went. Now I found that the Dark Lord is trying to kill me, my godfather dies, and some dead man is standing in my room." Túrin"s eyes narrowed. "Dark Lord? Morgoth is in this world also?" "Is that a new name for Voldemort? Oh I see! You think Voldemort, You-Know-Who and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named are three different names for him, that"s why you decided to give yourself lots of names." "Who is this Woldewort?" Túrin snapped. "I speak of Morgoth Bauglir, the Dark Power of the World, who resides behind his Black Gate in the accursed land of Angband." "Great, now this nutter hallucinates as well," Harry complained. "Why me? Why not Ron? He lives a perfect life! What about Hermione? She hasn"t been through half the things I have! And Neville-" "Stop your nattering!" Túrin growled. "Your life is heaven compared to mine. You have a roof, and friends. My father went to war in the army of the High King, and never came back. I left my mother and unborn sister and went on a perilous journey. I fought my way out of capture of Orcs, led a band of men to ruin, killed my best friend, and lost a war for Nargothrond. I fell in love with my own Valar-damned sister. I stared down dragons!" Harry stared. "I captured an egg from a dragon," he said sulkily. Túrin kicked him. Námo, Lord of the Timeless Halls, sat in Mandos and watched a massive screen. His wife Vairë sat beside him, as well as a whole group of Valar including Lorien, Estë, Vána and even Manwë. The Valar laughed. "You were so right, Vána," Vairë said, giggling. "Introducing Túrin to Harri-Potta was such a good idea." They watched the screen, and laughed again. A few seconds later, Manwë got up. "Well, I think it"s time I go help the Elves win the war. They"ve been at it for hundreds of years." Lorien raised an eyebrow at him. "Would you really, Manwë? Túrin"s about to start strangling him." Manwë grinned, and sat back down again. Prompt: Formenos (stronghold of Feanor), crossover with a mythical story (Rapunzel and Romeo and Juliet aren"t really mythical, but whatever) and Everything is better in Space. Eight Noldorin princes stared up at the towering, looming walls of the formidable fortress. "Well, this is our stop!" said Feanor cheerfully, dismounting his horse. He checked a word written on a piece of scrap parchment. "Yes. This is ... Formenos. Father should be already here. We need only to knock on the door and see if he answers. If he doesn"t, we"ll ride straight back home and tell Manwe to give us a better fortress. Who wants to knock?" His sons were silent. Each of them was gazing up at the towers, the stained windows, the mystery of the corridors which hid ancient secrets. Maedhros wondered what secrets lurked under the facade of the building. Maglor wondered whether his haunting music would echo down the lonesome hallways, long untouched by Elvish hands. Celegorm wondered how many Huans he could fit in the fortress. Caranthir guessed what Celegorm was wondering, and stepped on his foot. Curufin guessed that Caranthir had guessed what Celegorm was thinking, and punched him. Amrod and Amras volunteered to knock. They walked up to the heavy oak doors and rapped their knuckles three times on the wood. No one answered. "Just a bit louder," said Feanor encouragingly. They did so. No one answered. "Well!" said Feanor, looking thoroughly cheerful. "I guess we"ll just ride back to Manwe and say-" The door opened at that exact moment. Finwe peered out, looking at seven hopeful faces and one very disappointed face. "My son and grandsons!" he boomed. "You have arrived at last." "Yes, yes, father," said Feanor impatiently, pushing past him. "Have you settled everyth-" He paused as he looked inside, eyes wide with horror. Everything, from the chairs to the tea sets to the intricately woven tapestries, was floating. "Father..." Feanor breathed, very, very slowly and very, very quietly. "What have you done to my castle?" "I thought you"d like to fly, my son!" Finwe beamed. "Everything is better in space, after all!" "What-" Feanor began, before his sons stampeded him in order to get into the room. Maedhros kicked off a wall, and flew all the way down a long hallway. Maglor was reasoning that space was a vacuum, therefore no one would hear his music since there was no air for the sound waves to travel through. He was very depressed at the thought. Celegorm had drifted up to the highest tower and had clipped long extensions to his hair. He then stuck his head out the window and let his blond extensions drop all the way down to the ground. "O Romeo, Romeo, whyfore art thou Romeo-" Caranthir had found a large hammer and tried to swing it down on Celegorm"s head. He missed, since Celegorm stuck his head out the window at that precise moment. "Wrong character, idiot! You"re Rapunzel. That"s Juliet you"re quoting." Curufin smiled. "What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon." Celegorm thought Curufin was telling him to kill Caranthir. He grabbed a nearby chainsaw, and thus began the greatest (and only) fight to ever ensue in space. Amrod and Amras drifted straight back out of Formenos, and fled to their cousin Finrod"s place. Prompt: Finrod Felagund vs Cedric Diggory (HP). By the way, I do like Cedric. I just enjoy... playing around with his character... and he means no harm, honest! xD This is kind of a continuation from last chapter, since they"re both for the same day. "Come in, come in, dear cousins!" Finrod said happily, when he saw who was at the door. "I have a guest, but I am sure he will not mind two more. Tell me, Ambarussa, what has happened to make the two of you fly so desperately, out of breath and as pale as a ghost, to my home." Amrod and Amras exchanged glances, and decided Finrod really did not need to know. "We were in the vicinity," Amras said innocently, "and decided to drop by." Finrod grinned cheerfully at them and invited them inside. On his green couch in his living room was a strange - a Man. Well, not really... "He"s really pale," said Amrod. "He"s a ghost," said Amras. Finrod fidgeted nervously. "The Valar wouldn"t accept Men into Valinor, so he had to die before he could come... Ambarussa, meet Sed-ric Digori." Cedric Diggory"s ghost, previously pretending to recline on the couch, stood up and held out a ghostly hand. Amrod"s hand passed right through him as he tried to shake his hand. "What brings you to Valinor, Sed-ric?" Amrod asked. "Oh, you know." Cedric flashed a charming smiled. "I found out one of the nicest people ever-" He cast Finrod a quick nod of acknowledgement "-was here so I decided to come and visit him." Finrod beamed. "Thank you, Sed-ric. Would you all like some tea? I"ll just fetch the pot-" "No need," said Cedric and, with a wave of his ghost-wand, a tea pot appeared. He waved his wand vaguely around, and cups appeared. He poured the tea. The Elves stared, fascinated. "This is some good tea," said Amras, sipping it. "Good tea should be accompanied by good music," said Finrod brightly. "I"ll go and fetch my harp-" "That music is so old-fashioned," Cedric interrupted. "Here, let me show you some real music." He materialised a radio, and tapped it. "I present: Celestina Warbeck, the Singing Sorceress." Sound began to come out of the radio. But it wasn"t music. It was more like a screeching, a girl"s high-pitched, out-of-tune voice shrieking at you through the device. Finrod and the twins listened for five seconds, then dashed out of the room. "Never," Amrod panted, "let guests into your house again." "Especially dead mortals," Amras added. "Especially wizards," said Finrod grimly. I miss writing about Feanor. I really do. I absolutely adore him. Of course, I portray him very differently in different genres, and this is how he is in crack. The prompts today were "Feanor hugged his kids (really, he did!)' and "Namo - a kinder, gentler lord of Death" "Fëanáro." The deep voice came out of nowhere, chiding gently. The Elf, who had been embodied for this very reason, sat in a corner of the room and ignored it. "Fëanáro." No sign of impatience yet. Fëanor shot the ceiling-where he thought the voice was coming from-a contemptuous glance, his handsome face twisted into an ugly snarl, and continued to ignore it. "Curufinwë Fëanáro! If you ignore me one more time, I will throw you into the darkest depths of the Halls of Mandos and make sure you never see the light of day again!" Yes, yes, definitely impatient now. Fëanor turned around slowly, very slowly, with a derisive sneer. His chin was tilted high, his eyes narrowed, as if staring down the empty room. "Lord Námo," he said, speaking for the first time in centuries, "I have nothing to fear. You have assured me that will happen many times. That threat, I believe, has been used forty-seven times." "...Apologies," said Mandos, who rarely uttered that word. But he really did think he needed a better threat. There was not much else he could do to make Fëanor"s situation worse. "Apology duly noted," said Fëanor delicately. "Now, what is it that you wanted to discuss? Who is here to see me? Have they brought my Silmarils? Come now, there must be someone to see me if you have embodied me, and placed me in an empty room. What about my sons? I suppose Kanafinwë hasn"t brought the Silmarils hidden in some bag of his? "You know Macalaurë is forbidden from these halls," said Mandos. "I know I am never supposed to see the light of day again," Fëanor mocked. "And yet here I am. Well, spit it out, dear Vala. I may have an eternity, but that doesn"t mean I"m happy about it." Very few would have the spirit to speak out against a Vala like that. Fëanor was lucky he was one of the few. Fëanor was also lucky there was very little else Mandos could do to him. "A ... reporter is here," said Mandos reluctantly. "He said he wanted to interview you. He said he had been talking to Macalaurë"s foster-son, and was very interested to know all about you and your relationship with your family." "It isn"t Artanis"s spouse, is it now?" "No." "Not Celebrian?" "Of course not." "Who?" "A curious individual by the name of Glorfindel." With a pop, Glorfindel appeared in the room, sitting on the chair that had been placed for him, with a notebook and quill in hand, and looking quite flustered and out of place. He caught sight of Fëanor, and his eyes went wide. His hand tightened around the quill. "Forgive me, Lord Fëanor, I did not expect to be transported quite so suddenly, nor so dramatically into your noble presence. It would be preferable to me and the Elven public if you were to answer some questions-" "Spit it out," Fëanor drawled. "Of course, of course, Lord Fëanor," said Glorfindel. "You see-" "Not ... Fëanor." He spoke the name with a mixture of derision and scorn, as if a Balrog had nested itself within the name. "If you are to be in my presence, Glorfindel of the Golden Flower, and wish for my full cooperation, then you are to address me by my proper name and title. It is Fëanáro, or the High King of the Noldor, or this interview shall not proceed." Glorfindel stared at him, astonished and intimidated. "Y-Yes, Lord Fëanáro." "Good. Then continue." "I"ve-heard-rumours-about-how-you-mistreated-your-sons-and-forced-them-to-smith-when-they-would-rather-be-doing-something-else-like-playing-music-now-that-is-only-an-example-obviously-they-didn"t-all-way-to-play-music-" "What?" Fëanor interrupted. Glorfindel forced himself to breathe. "You were ... mistreating your sons. And you forced them to... smith ... when they didn"t want to. My sources say-" "Nonsense," said Fëanor. "My sons all wanted to smith. Except ... well, I was going to disown him, but that would have just started rumours, so I had to lock him in the basement and pretend he was too busy making music. That kept everybody happy. Of course I made sure he had no access to any instrument whatsoever during the time he was kept down there." Glorfindel was horrified. He opened his mouth, closed it again, then opened it again like a gaping fish. "Next question," Fëanor snapped. "Maglor said you never hugged him!" Glorfindel blurted out. "What"s a Maglor?" The Elf would have fainted from that statement, until he remembered Fëanor"s utter contempt for anything which isn"t Quenya (or Fëanorian Tengwar) and that he had certainly never bothered learning or remember Sindarin names. "Ma ... Macalaurë," he said faintly. "Oh. Right. That"s what a Maglor is. They were always talking about Maglor this and Maglor that, and how Maglor finally returned to Valinor after several Ages. I thought they were talking about a long-lost treasure. Like my Silmarils." His eyes glinted. "Anyway," said Glorfindel hastily, "Macalaurë claims you never hugged him. Is that true?" "Of course not, I hugged him many times. I"ll give you a hug count if you want. Nelyafinwë: Four hundred and eighty-seven times. Turkafinwë: Three hundred and fifty-three times. Morifinwë: Three hundred and one times. Curufinwë: Three thousand seven hundred and forty-times. Ambarussa: Two hundred and eighty-one times each. There, see?" Glorfindel, who had been taking rapid notes on his notepad, looked up. "You forgot Macalaurë." "What?" "You said everyone except Macalaurë." "Nonsense." "It"s true, Fëanáro," Mandos boomed. Fëanor glanced darkly at the ceiling. "Very well. I hugged Kanafinwë exactly ... twice. Once when he was born and the second time when Nerdanel insisted I give him a bath." Glorfindel"s mouth dropped open, and just hung there like a broken hinge. Fëanor grinned smugly. "Only kidding, you know. I hugged Kanafinwë more than all my other sons combined." Glorfindel"s mouth, if possible, opened wider. "Kidding again," Fëanor smirked. "I can"t actually remember how many times I"ve hugged them. Too many to count, I suppose."

The New Architect had not yet arrived. When a small block of the room began lighting up, the chatter fell to an expectant hush as the New Architect stepped out, wearing a suit. "Welcome to the first meeting of the House, Morrow Days," he said, taking the only unoccupied seat around the table. "I do not believe you are all accustomed with each other. I am the Architect of the Universe." There was a stiff silence as the Architect waited. Suzy grinned. "I"m Lady Saturday! It"s nice to meet you all!" Slowly, the rest of the Trustees-Sunday included, albeit reluctantly-introduced themselves. When they finished, the New Architect smiled. "Now that we have formally met, we shall commence the meeting." A/N: I tried, okay? I tried xDD Btw, any tips or suggestions on how the Trustees/Times should act can totally be sent in ^^ So...*subtly hints towards the review button* Yes? ~CC A/N: Hello guys! I am very, very sorry for the long gap in between updates. I had this written a few weeks ago, but there were some technical difficulties between my beta iDestiny (three cheers for her! YAYYYY!) and I, and as a result it was published a bit later. I am very sorry. -bows- It appeared, thought Lord Sunday, that complaints were largely directed at him. And it also seemed that this meeting was composed of criticism; not discussion. He believed that the issue of the Incomparable Gardens was raised far more than necessary. Certainly, other topics were covered too (he briefly heard Thursday and Monday discussing the post and the disorganisation of the Lower House), but most of the time it was all directed at him. Sunday briefly debated whether this was the result of him neglecting meetings, reports, and smaller what-nots. Suzy Turquoise Blue - Lady Saturday - brought up the necessity of a report every decade to the New Architect. It seemed to Sunday that he was the only one not submitting one. Then again, it was hardly needed for him. There will never be anything to report. He noted with curiosity that the New Architect had spoken little during the meeting; every topic of relevant to him was spoken by another Morrow Day. Often, Sunday felt his Noon stir angrily behind him, but a sharp glance was enough to still his actions. He would not have his Times act rashly. It was a blow to his personal pride-which he still possessed to some extent. After shooting cold glares at Noon for the third time, Lord Sunday decided to actually listen to the buzz of conversation permeating the room. "...tour," Wednesday was saying. "None of us, save the Architect, has even seen the Incomparable Gardens. I know for a fact there are Navigable Waters which once led to the Border Sea-" Here, the New Architect shuffled uncomfortably, but said nothing. "-but no more. I wish to inspect the condition of the Waters for the pollution of Nothing." "The Drasil trees are invading the Great Maze," agreed Thursday. "They are knocking my tiles off their courses and generally disrupting the running of the Maze. As the training grounds of the Glorious Army of the Architect, it is absolutely vital they are quickly returned to working order." "And that is a bad thing?" asked Lord Sunday coldly, aware of his Dawn scribbling furiously behind him. "I was not aware the Maze was ever capable of moving in a timely fashion anyway." Suzy coughed pointedly. The New Architect shot him a glare. Thursday opened his mouth furiously to reply. His Times also looked flustered. "Wait," interrupted Suzy, before yet another riot could break out. "What else is supposed ter "old the Gardens up if it ain"t trees?" A stunned silence met her words. Suzy smirked. "Now we all know Gardens need to be natural, right? If we replaced the trees with mountains, would everyone be "appy?" "They"d take up more space," said Monday, after a brief pause. "Exactly! So if it ain"t mountains, it"s gotta be trees, right?" A couple mumbles of "fine"s and "if you must"s echoed around the room. Suzy smirked in a satisfied sort of way. Sunday could just feel the superior air radiating off his Noon. He decided to ignore it for now. "But," said Wednesday again, to his annoyance, "I still wish to inspect the Navigable Waters." "Are you implying that I am incapable of keeping my Waters clean?" Sunday growled. These Trustees were pathetic. He knew their motives, and he was not going to let a single one of them inside his domain. "No, of course not," said Wednesday, now looking a little nervous. "But the Border Sea is my realm and I would be much more familiar with any sign of contamination." Dawn was writing heatedly again. Sunday gave the Duchess a cold glare. "But my Navigable Waters are not in your realm, are they, Lady Wednesday? And do you not believe that I, holding the paramount Seventh Key, am more than capable of ruling my own realm than you with your insignificant Third Key would be? Your pride is insufferable." Wednesday fell silent. Sunday"s Dusk snickered softly, but was quickly quietened by his sister. The New Architect allowed the injured atmosphere to hang for a moment, before moving on. "If nobody has any more ... issues ... I would like to present a few suggestions of my own." He waved a hand, and a strange, rectangle-shaped item appeared in the corner. The New Architect pressed a button, and it seemed to turn itself on, startling the Trustees with the sudden colour, sound and imagery that appeared on the ... thing. Several things happened at once. Suzy"s eyes went as round as saucers, and her eyes were immediately glued. Lady Friday gasped "sorcery!" and backed away very quickly. Sir Thursday was stopped by his Noon from clobbering the thing with his Key. Lady Wednesday hid behind Grim Tuesday, and Mister Monday yawned. "What," Lord Sunday deadpanned, "is that?" "It is a television," said the New Architect proudly, "or a TV for short." "Taken from the Secondary Realms, no doubt," said Monday disapprovingly. "But what is it?" "It"s a ... machine," said the New Architect helpfully. "It takes radio waves and turns them into moving pictures. It has different channels, too." He pressed another button and the pictures changed. "And why would we need this ... television?" asked Grim Tuesday. "It"s an excellent source of entertainment, but it can also be very informative. I would like one of these installed in every Control centre. As well as some of these." He waved his hand again, and more ... machines ... appeared. "That"s a laptop," explained the New Architect, "that"s an iPod, that"s a cell phone, that"s air conditioning, that"s wireless internet, that"s-" "Enough!" snapped Sunday. His hand flew to the Seventh Key, and within seconds, the "machines" of the Secondary Realm melted into Nothing, which he cast out into the Void. Suzy made a strangled noise. "We do not need any of those," he said coldly, looking around the room, glaring at anyone who looked like they wanted to protest. His gaze lingered on Suzy, before finally settling on the New Architect. "Do not spread these ridiculous ideas stemmed from the Secondary Realms. We have no need of the semblance of sorcery. Now are there any actual complaints, or can this ridiculous meeting be adjourned?" When everyone else was too shocked to reply, Sunday stood up and opened the Improbable Stair. "Then I will take my leave," he said icily, stepping into the shining square. His Times followed, and almost immediately the Stair closed. "Well," said Suzy, the first to recover from the shock, "that was an interestin" meeting." The Improbable Stair brought the Denizens to Sunday"s Control room. The Times wasted no time in setting down their reports (no doubt filled with angry retorts for various Trustees) and hurrying out of the room with a low bow. It was obvious when Lord Sunday was not in a good mood, and none of them wanted to be dissolved into Nothing. Lord Sunday himself let them leave, and sat down at his desk, surveying the stack of paperwork in front of him distastefully. As he pulled the first sheet of paper and started work, it occurred to him he should probably answer the New Architect"s request about being mail-accessible. Sighing, he took a piece of parchment and began to write. To the Architect, Lady Saturday (formerly Suzy Turquoise Blue) or whoever lacks the intelligence required to avoid opening this letter, I have decided, due to the preposterous meeting that has just taken place, I will most certainly veto the proposal that the Gardens be accessible by mail. Do not contact me unless it is unavoidable. -Lord Sunday Having finished the letter, he called to a Denizen, who immediately scuttled in. "My Lord?" she asked, bowing low. Sunday frowned in distaste, but said nothing about her behaviour. "Deliver this to the Architect," he said holding out the letter. The Denizen took it reluctantly. "But, my Lord, where is the Architect?" Lord Sunday shrugged. "It doesn"t matter. Deliver it to Suz-Lady Saturday, if you must. It is not confidential." The other swept another low bow and left, leaving him alone in the room once more. Lord Sunday sighed, pushing away the paperwork to the corner of his table. He realized how much he missed the Old Universe, with all its imperfections. When the Trustees had laughed together before the time of the Will, and the Architect had mainly left them to their own devices. These new Trustees lacked the substance of the old, and even if the... New Architect was unaware of this. The New could never rival the Old. He looked outside the window to see his beautiful Gardens, and the thousands of Denizens that worked on it. This part of the House, at least, had stayed the same-he had made sure of that. But the section of the House from the Lower House to the Upper House would unquestionably be changed. The New Architect"s memories were not perfect, and he absolutely lacked memories pertaining to the House in the time before the Will. He sighed once more and walked to the door, a pair of wings materialising the process. The pure white wings clipped themselves onto his back, and Sunday opened the door to find himself face to face with the New Architect. "Where are you going?" asked the New Architect with an air of amusement, eyeing his wings. "I received your reply." "You were standing outside the door all this time?" growled Sunday. "Well, perhaps." The New Architect smiled. "I am going to visit the Upper House," said Lord Sunday, after some hesitation, when the New Architect didn"t care to explain. "What"s so funny?" "I have never seen you with wings, in all these centuries," was the amused response. "I thought you used nothing but the Improbable Stair." "One tires of walking up and down stairs all millennia," said Sunday coldly. "I am sure. What business pertains to you in the Upper House?" Lord Sunday decided to tell the truth. Or at least, some of it. "To find Suzy Turquoise Blue," he said coldly, "and in turn, to find you. But I suppose there is no need now." With a touch of the Key, his wings disappeared. He had, of course, been wanting to talk to Lady Saturday about the tower she resided in. It had not been existed before the Will. "You received my letter?" asked Sunday, blatantly. "Yes," said the New Architect with a smile. "And I have a reply." He held out a letter, but did not let Sunday take it yet. "Keep in mind that this was not my idea." The Lord of the Incomparable Gardens took the letter and opened it, eyes scanning the response. His frown deepened with every word; by the time he had finished reading he was practically scowling. "The Court?" Sunday enquired. "As I said, this was not my idea." "I see that." His scowl deepened. "So Wednesday brought such a trivial matter to the Court. How long ago was this? 350 years ago. There are six seals. I suppose I must concede defeat and allow the Incomparable Gardens to be accessible via mail?" "Unless you can persuade three other Trustees to remove their seals, I"m afraid so," said the New Architect sympathetically. Lord Sunday tossed the piece of parchment onto his table. "Very well," he said reluctantly. "But tell Lady Wednesday that if she so much as sends a single letter to me, I will be forced to declare war on the Border Sea." "All this for a letter?" "For coercion and wasting my time," snapped Sunday. "And do you not consider that this is a fine example of blackmail?" the other asked. He was met with Lord Sunday"s cold, hard gaze. The New Architect sighed. "Very well." A/N: Any ideas or constructive criticism or review or anything would be appreciated! ^^ And I do promise to update quicker, I swear. -CC A/N: Hey guys! Sorry about the shortness of this one, but I kind of...hit a blank. Ahaha 8D Once more, thank you so much, iDestiny, for betaing ^-^ It means so much! And she corrected a lot of mistakes! (So round of applause, please?) The first thing he realized was that there were many letters flooding in. He guessed it was because most of the Trustees had mailed letters in advance, hoping that a mailbox would be set up soon. Nonetheless, the first message he received was from Lady Wednesday. Lord Sunday tossed the letter away without looking at it, and assigned Dawn to sort the junk from actual mail. He mentally noted to declare war on the Border Sea sometime within the next century. It took several hours, but a small bundle of letters finally made it to him. Sunday saw, to his satisfaction, that none were from the Duchess of the Border Sea. There was one from Tuesday asking whether or not he would need telephone connections, one from Suzy Blue-ah, but she was Saturday now-Saturday"s Noon inquiring of the use of elevators, one from Saturday"s Dawn telling him to halt the constant downpour of rain... Oh yes, the rain. He had forgotten about that. Not to mention whenever Saturday looked up...there was no need for that anymore. Lord Sunday sighed and touched the Key. The clouds in the Upper House disappeared, to reveal the dazzling emerald floor of the Incomparable Gardens. The rain, too, faded away. I must remember to water the Drasils, he thought absent-mindedly. The last letter was from Saturday"s Dusk. (Sunday briefly considered whether or not Saturday"s Times were overworked, considering there were three letters to him in one day.) This one enquired as to whether or not he would like to take the records from the Upper House, since the Incomparable Gardens were the epicentre of all Creation and all that. He sighed. "Dusk! Collect some records from the Upper House." He paused for a moment. "On second thought, also collect some tea from the Border Sea. And tell Lady Wednesday to stop sending me junk mail. I am not sure if the Architect can be trusted with ... such matters." Dusk, though looking surprised, bowed and left. Immediately after he left, Dawn came in with a strangely-shaped item wrapped in paper. It was huge-at least three feet wide. It couldn"t have possibly have come in the mail. "Lord Sunday," she said coolly, bowing and set down the odd-shaped thing. Despite its obvious weight, she seemed to have no trouble carrying it. "There has been a rather large item the Architect has sent you. We, ah, are not sure what it is." "Did this come in the mail?" asked Sunday, raising an eyebrow. "No, lord. It simply materialized when we were trying to sort out the letters." He sighed resignedly. "You may leave it here." When she left, Sunday took the liberty of unwrapping the paper. As he had expected, it was a small weird-looking machine from the Secondary Realms. A ... tee vee. Or something along those lines. He had half a mind to call Dawn back again, to have her deliver it back. But since was there no return address, he had no idea where the Architect was. It would be better to be delivered to Lady Saturday. Until he remembered it was too big to fit in the mail. And there were no elevators leading to the Gardens. He would have to deliver it personally. He quickly scribbled a note saying "Return to sender", signed with an S, and stuck it to the TV. If this is the Architect"s idea of making me socialize... it"s working, Sunday thought with annoyance as he stepped onto the Improbable Stair, carrying the TV as if it were as light as a feather. This object looks dangerous to the House. It should be removed as soon as possible. What interest does the Architect have in the Secondary Realms, anyway? His feet meeting the solid floor, Sunday set the television down and turned back to leave. Until he realized that he was most certainly not in the Upper House. In fact, he wasn"t even in the House. His thoughts had carried him away and the Stair, doing what it did best, had deposited him in the Secondary Realms. Right into the (new) living room of Arthur Penhaligon. Arthur Penhaligon never expected anything or anyone House-related to come knocking at his door again. After all, his adventures were over, weren"t they? He had found the Will, battled the Trustees and seized the Keys and become...whatever he had became. The New Architect, or whatever it was. The disappearance of his mother served as a constant reminder. He had no idea how he would explain that to his father and siblings. But he was told she had died from a "mysterious illness", which was certainly better than the real turn of events. As for the missing living room...nobody could really explain that. Since then, they had moved houses. The red lacquer box in his room had been pushed away into the deepest confinement of his drawers. There it sat, gathering dust. So imagine his surprise when a ten-foot-tall Denizen materialized in his living room, carrying what looked like an LCD TV. "Ah," said Lord Sunday, the surprise on his face quickly masked. "There may be...a problem." Calmly, he set the television down. Arthur gaped. His words had died in his throat. Sunday continued as if Arthur weren"t there. "So this is why the New Architect was so fascinated with the Secondary Realms. Like the Old Architect and the Old One. Lacking wisdom." The boy found his voice and somehow managed to stop gaping. "You-How-Lord Sunday!" "Yes," said Sunday simply. His head brushed the roof, and he was thankful towards the designer of this house for the high ceiling. "I did not expect to come here, Arthur Penhaligon. But now that I have, I believe that an apology is in order." "Apology?" asked Arthur incredulously. "From who?" "You, of course," snapped Sunday. "I would never apologize to a mortal." "Oh." He really should have expected as much. "So you admit you were at fault but you"re not going to say sorry?" "I simply wanted to garden," Sunday said coldly. "You, on the other hand, singlehandedly destroyed all of Creation save yourself. You were partially responsible for the murders of Mr. Monday, Grim Tuesday, Sir Thursday and Lady Friday." "I"m not responsible!" protested Arthur, "How was I to know Dame Primus was killing them?" "The Will cannot be trusted. You also caused the death of your own mother-" "Because you kidnapped her!" "If you had not claimed the Seventh Key, she would still be alive." "How was I supposed to know-" began Arthur hotly. "Enough!" said Sunday. "You will apologize, and in return, I will give you this pathetic excuse of technology that rightly belongs in the Secondary Realms and not in the House." He gestured towards the television, which was lying on its side. "This is ridiculous," sighed Arthur. "Go find the other half of me." Now he truly felt the pain of the Will-split in seven parts. How was one part supposed to find the other? Sunday looked around, as if he expected to find half of Arthur"s body lying around somewhere. When he evidently failed, he turned back to the boy and raised an eyebrow. "I meant the Architect, or whatever I"m called," said Arthur. Sunday scowled, but did not press him. Instead, he very wisely turned on his heels and sketched a stair with his finger, before stepping on and out of sight. Behind him, Arthur Penhaligon breathed a sigh of relief. Strange... Lord Sunday found a large quantity of mail waiting for him. Documents he had to sign, approvals he had to convey in writing (seeing as Saturday wasn"t doing that for him anymore), forms he had to fill out, meetings he had to attend to. His Times and their servants were also kept busy, running various errands throughout the House. In this fashion, news of the Incomparable Gardens was delivered to the various other demesnes. In fact, one Denizen (or a group) had even started publishing a magazine. Sunday wondered at the effect the New Architect was having on Denizens, since they had begun to gain mortal habits. Even the expression of the Sorcerous Supernumeraries of Saturday"s Noon lacked the depression he was so accustomed to seeing. But as far as he could see, none of them were using the newfound "technology" of the Secondary Realms. Denizens, remained Denizens, however much the universe changed. It was a while later when his Dusk came in with a single letter, and an unusually grave expression. "Lord Sunday." He sighed and turned around. "Yes, Dusk?" "There seems to be a ... request from the Court. It says the Incomparable Gardens should be opened for touring to the Trustees for educational purposes. It contains the seals of all 6 Trustees." "Educational purposes? They"re several thousand years old!" Sunday snatched the sheet of paper off Dusk, and skimming it. "No," he said firmly. "I do not care what the Court says. I will not be letting anyone inside my Gardens." A/N: Review? ^^

"Do not change them!" Sunday ordered. "They have their faults, as Denizens do. I do not want perfect beings to serve me." "How wise," said the New Architect at length, "but I understand. Whom have you appointed the position of Noon?" "The one who spoke the most confidently was Noon," said Sunday, "then I decided my Dawn and Dusk. Why do you care, anyway?" "I am simply curious." The Trustee sniffed disdainfully. "Then do not be," he said. "Shed those pitiful human instincts - they will do nothing but to hinder you." "Pitiful?" frowned the New Architect. "I see we are still divided in opinion. I will come back at a later date; there are many things for me to do now." He turned his back, took a step, and was gone. Lord Sunday resisted the urge to sigh for the third time that morning and turned back to his document. He had mercifully reached the end of it, and needed only to stamp it. So many other jobs required his attention: apparently the Lower House was still billing him for telephone calls in the Old Universe, though few Denizens apart from himself knew anything about such matters. His garden needed tending to and Dawn had moved the sun directly into his eyes. Without even reading the stack of documents, Lord Sunday quickly stamped them all. With a lack of Denizens to send it to the New Architect, he would have to use one of his Times. He knew they were overworked already, but until the New Architect had the mind to create more, they would have to deal with it. Days faded into weeks; weeks faded into months. Gradually, the House was built up and populated with Denizens. He himself had ten thousand Denizens under his control. Sunday gave three thousand to each of his Times and left the last thousand to deal with the paperwork and other pleasantries of the lesser Domains. Then, at last, was he finally allowed to relax. And yet, when Sunday did relax, he found it was not as peaceful as it had once been. His memory was imperfect, and the more he wandered around, the less the Incomparable Gardens resembled the original. And having created the entire area mere months ago, he was more familiar with this pseudo-Garden than he had been. His Times did not understand. They went by their day-to-day duties obediently and did the tasks to perfection. Yet Lord Sunday no longer wanted perfection - he wanted the natural flaws and mistakes that came with all tasks. He found himself gritting his teeth every time Noon delivered the perfectly blended tea. He found himself sighing with frustration every time Dusk handed in the paperwork with fields all completed. The only thing he still prided in perfection was his plants. They were thriving - as they should - and flowering and wilting at the right time. The shrubs and hedges were exactly trimmed to the specified height, and the Drasils dug their roots in firmly into the foundations of the House. The sunset against the nature and clouds looked spectacular, and that was how the days crawled past. And as many more months passed, the New Architect had ceased to visit. His visits had become infrequent as time grew, and he now spent his time either in the Secondary Realms or in the Upper House. And though Lord Sunday did not mind in the least, he could not help but speculate on the thoughts of the other. As weeks passed, Lord Sunday felt himself fingering the Seventh Key more, and playing with an idea in his mind. The New Architect would not be pleased, he knew, but since when had he cared about him? It was then that he decided that he could endure this no longer. On a morning which dawned fresh and pale, Lord Sunday stood on top of what used to be the Elysium and took a long glance around, admiring each and every new shoot, bud and flower. Then, with a wry smile and his hand firmly cupped around the Seventh Key, he called upon its power and nodded. At once, dark storm clouds brewed in the young morning sky, obscuring the weak rays of the sun. So dark it was that it almost resembled night time. It began to rain, lightly at first, but growing heavier by the second. Lord Sunday paid no mind to the Denizens scrambling for cover, and instead willed the rain to rush down harder. As they came down towards him, they parted like he had an invisible barrier, and wet the grass in a circle around him. Lightning lit up the spectacular stormy sky and thunder roared mightily from its place above. The winds picked up, playing with his dark hair and ripping at his clothes. As lightning flashed through the sky, it began to hail. The winds continued to race at breakneck speeds and the temperature dropped drastically. Lightning, thunder, hail and rain - the elements poured themselves from the sky. In the distance, a tornado formed, dark and ominous against the storm. It stirred cloud and dust and slowly began moving, eating everything in its wake. With a flash of lightning, a segment of the Gardens caught alight and the fire spread, fuelled on by the Lord of the Incomparable Gardens. At his command, a tidal wave rose from the navigable waters and swept over the land, drowning crops, flowers and trees with its ruthless hand. He called a typhoon, and simply watched as the disasters slowly but steadily destroyed everything he had worked to create. Lord Sunday did nothing but watch for a quarter of an hour. And eventually he calmed the ocean, smothered the fire and checked the sky, so that peace spread over the lands once more. A/N: I hope you guys find that acceptable xDD Because the plot bunny just jumped into my mind and I have to write it. Do you think Sunday"s character development is too sudden? Any constructive criticism/general comments/thoughts on the Times? You know what to do ^^ (Review!) ~CC A/N: At last, the long-awaited (what long awaited?) chapter of...stuff? Ehehe...I apologize for the time taken OTL My writing style seems to have fluctuated again. Anyway! I found a Beta! ^^ Eternal thanks to iDestiny for agreeing to beta 8D Three cheers, she"s so awesome! *three cheers later* Right, on with the story? A wry smile made its way onto his face as he surveyed the damage his Gardens had suffered. The sky was still blue, the sun still shining as brightly as it had been. There was still green, though now little order and plants were lying haphazardly around the place. The few trees that were standing looked tired and spent, frantically digging their roots into the firm soil. To an outsider, it was the Incomparable Gardens no more. But to Lord Sunday, it looked better than it had ever looked before. It now truly reflected him. In a sense. Hurried Denizens began scrambling up to what used to be the Elysium. There was a lot of chatter, an abundance of questions and plenty of movement. Dodging questions such as "My Lord, why did you do that?' he smoothly walked down the hill and set about wandering the disaster-struck gardens on foot. Presently, the sound of wings made itself known, and Lord Sunday glanced up briefly to find his Noon flying towards him on a giant dragonfly. He stopped in his tracks and patiently waited. With all the speed he could, Noon descended from the dragonfly, dismissed it, and then approached Sunday. "May I join you, Master?" he asked. Sunday pretended to consider for a moment. "You may," he said at length, "but do you not have duties to do, Noon?" "I do," replied Noon smoothly, "but do you not also have work which requires your attention? Surely the necessary work of a Trustee outstrips the importance of the work of a simple Time of Day?" Lord Sunday smirked. "Indeed. There is no harm in a simple stroll if the work is completed at its due time." "But this is not a simple stroll, is it?" "It is not quite." When Lord Sunday did not continue, his Noon stayed silent. They resumed walking, occasionally stopping to observe the damage of the storm. Sunday often bent down to examine the leaves of many plants, sometimes lingering for several minutes before standing up and walking off once more. Each time this happened, Noon remained behind and waited obediently. Neither of them broke the silence. It was only the external sounds of reconstruction that interrupted the quietude. All around them, the clatter could be heard, a Denizen rebuilding a blown-down shed or cleaning the fallen leaves. Very few of them noticed Lord Sunday or his Time. Dawn has temporarily assumed control over the Gardens and Dusk, with a pair of dark wings, was flying around in case anyone looked for assistance. "May I ask, Master, why you did that?" asked Noon, breaking the silence. It was a question he had wished to ask at first, but had been waiting for the right time. Lord Sunday did not answer immediately, but kept walking. "The Incomparable Gardens are beautiful," he said, "but that beauty is not natural. It is artificial and made, simply maintained by our efforts. It lacks a sense of... the natural." "Naturality is not always the best," advised Noon. "So I used to think, long ago." Noon frowned slightly. "Long ago, sir? The House has just been created, and it has hardly been a long time-" "Did the New Architect not tell you of this?" interrupted Sunday, frowning slightly. "Of what, Master? The Architect has told us what we needed to know." "No, it is nothing." It was probably better this way; the Denizens themselves would be able to start anew, and the Architect"s mistakes-for they were not the fault of the Trustees: rather of Her betrayals-could be wiped clean. Now, there were only a few beings who remembered the history of the Old Universe. "Tell me, Noon. What do Denizens of the House call the Piper"s Children now?" "Piper"s Children are called exactly that," replied Noon. Then, in an attempt to change the subject, he turned his eyes to the garden. "Do you wish for us to fix the Incomparable Gardens, or do you wish for us to leave it as it is?" There was another long silence. "Fix it," he said. "Naturality is not bad, but occasionally we must intervene. Noon, take command of Beds 1 to 100. Dawn and Dusk seem to need a little help." Noon lingered, unwilling to leave. At last he seemed to make up his mind and bowed. "Of course, sir." Paperwork flooded in from various parts of the House. Dusk was forced to sort through it, separating any actual paperwork from anything related to damage of the Gardens. The actual paperwork was split between the Times and Sunday and anything related to the damage was burnt or shredded. Eventually, the Gardens were built back up. Step by step, over the weeks that passed, it came to resemble almost what it had used to be. The fallen leaves, branches and boughs were taken and disposed of and the houses that had suffered damage were built back up. The sun still rose and set at the same time and life continued on as usual. Lord Sunday refrained from using his Key or any other form of sorcery on the Gardens. He spent his days wandering in his domain, occasionally helping with the repairs. More often than not he walked in the disguise of an ordinary Denizen. The day"s routine settled down. It was peaceful. So Lord Sunday was genuinely surprised when the Architect turned up one day, looking like a stranger in his new clothes. Baggy and ripped jeans, leather jacket and secondary-realm obtained sunglasses, he looked incredibly mortal. Sunday pointed this out. The New Architect shrugged. "The House needs a little brightening up." "So you do not wish to keep the Old ways?" "The essentials will be kept. But wearing the same thing and doing the same actions every day is dull and repetitive, particularly after many a millennia. Do you not agree?" "The difference between mortals and Denizens remains all too apparent," he said coldly. "You do not belong here, Arthur Penhaligon. The Old Architect was not wise, at least, in this respect." "The Old Architect made few mistakes," said the New Architect, "but the ones she made resulted in dire consequences. I am no longer the Arthur Penhaligon that yearned for mortality; that part of me currently resides in the Secondary Realms. Truth be told, I wished that none of this had happened and the seven Trustees could rule the House peacefully. But it is too late now, and nothing I could have done at the time would have made a difference. The reason I came was to ask why you have demolished the Incomparable Gardens. Are they not to your taste? I will-" "They are to my liking," Lord Sunday interrupted. "Then why did you destroy it?" "Because..." He fell silent. The New Architect nodded. "Because," Lord Sunday began again, "it was too orderly. Too neat. Perhaps... it is better to let nature take its course." "How wise," smirked the New Architect. Sunday glared at him. "Anyway. There is slightly more pressing news. The other Morrow Days-" At Sunday"s surprised look, he sighed. "The other Morrow Days wish to meet you. I will arrange a meeting this century. Which dates are you free?" "None of them," snapped Sunday. "This matter is unavoidable," the New Architect said pointedly. "Fine. Noon!" The door opened to reveal the Superior Denizen, who bowed twice briefly-once to his Master and once to the Architect. "You called, Master?" Noon asked. "Yes. The New Architect wishes to arrange a meeting this century. When is the best date?" Noon took out a clipboard with papers attached and flicked through the papers, eyes darting around. From time to time he paused, noting down items before continuing. "Thirty six months and twenty nine days from now?" he asked. "Far too soon," said Sunday. "A hundred and ninety four months and twelve days?" "Too soon." "Four hundred and seventy three months and nine days." "...Very well," Sunday conceded. "Does that suit you, Architect?" The New Architect surveyed him over his sunglasses. "I must check with the other Morrow Days. They request that you modify the Incomparable Gardens so that it is more accessible: at the very least by mail." "I will consider it," Sunday said coldly. "I will answer next millennia." The New Architect quickly hid his look of exasperation. "If you can answer sooner, that would be appreciated," he said. "Meanwhile, there are other pressing matters. I will see you again when time allows." And he was gone, the Improbable Stair already fading in the morning light. "I think," Sunday said to himself quietly, "I liked it better when the rest of the Trustees were too preoccupied with their Sins to bother me." "What was that, Master?" Noon said. Sunday glanced up at him. "Nothing." Years passed in the blink of an eye, and all thoughts of the encounter had vanished. It was only the little scribble in Noon"s notes that reminded anyone of the meeting. So it came as a surprise when exactly four hundred and seventy three months and eight days later, Noon knocked on the door and informed Sunday of the meeting scheduled tomorrow. "What meeting?" asked Sunday, sharply. Noon shrugged. "It was written here, Sir. It says "Meeting with the rest of the Morrow Days and the Architect. Meet in Monday"s Dayroom. Arrive promptly at nine o"clock"." Lord Sunday sounded resigned. "Tell Dawn and Dusk the three of you are to accompany me. My Times generally accompany me to meetings," he added at Noon"s blank stare, preferring not to admit that his memory of that event was perfect. The Denizen quickly rearranged his features and exited. "Of course, Sir." With the coming of silence, Lord Sunday"s hand clasped around the Seventh Key. It had been a long time since he had last had a need to use it, but it had always been there when he had wanted it. It was the strongest, always the paramount-it was his Key. With it he could sense every single Denizen working in his Gardens. He could sense Noon"s conversation with Dawn, and that Dusk had gone to move the sun for the last time that day. He could sense that Denizens were trimming the row of Wollemi Pines in Bed 19, Row 105. He could sense which plants needed water and which had too much and how well the Drasil trees were growing. He had spent many millennia taking this power for granted. But now that he had lost it once, he would not risk losing it again. Lord Sunday closed his eyes and breathed a long sigh. He needed more tea. "You are not required to speak," Lord Sunday said on the morning of the next day. "You are forbidden from arguing. You may write down your personal opinion and confide with me later, speak only if you have no other choice at the meeting. Understood?" "Yes sir," said his Times. "Follow me, then." Keeping a firm hold of the Seventh Key, he stepped forward and out of sight. The only thing that remained was a bright shining block. Quickly, Noon entered, followed by Dawn and Dusk. The light faded and the Stair closed. The meeting room came into sight. Lord Sunday stepped off the Stair to find the room almost full. Eight chairs stood in a circle and six of them were already occupied. Reluctantly, Sunday took his respective seat, feeling the eyes of the other Morrow Days trained on him. "So this is Lord Sunday!" said a lady whom he guessed to be Wednesday. "It might do to meet your fellow Trustees once in a while and avoid being cooped up in your Gardens, despite their alleged beauty." Sunday made no reply. His Dawn, however, glowered angrily in her direction, but remembering her instructions, she stayed silent. Wednesday"s Noon glared back. Turning to Lady Saturday-formerly Suzy Turquoise Blue, Lord Sunday reluctantly inclined his head. "Is there any particular purpose to this meeting?" Suzy laughed as her Times bowed. "Well, Art just wanted to "ave everyone meet up formally. "S a bit of fun, actually. And Art wanted to address the problems and all with the "ouse." "This is a waste of time," Sunday snapped. Suzy shrugged. "Well, there are several complaints directed atyou, Sunday. Probably would"ve been better if you let me take the position." By now, Sunday"s glare was malicious. She grinned. "Fine, whatever. Suit yourself." The New Architect had not yet arrived. When a small block of the room began lighting up, the chatter fell to an expectant hush as the New Architect stepped out, wearing a suit. "Welcome to the first meeting of the House, Morrow Days," he said, taking the only unoccupied seat around the table. "I do not believe you are all accustomed with each other. I am the Architect of the Universe." There was a stiff silence as the Architect waited. Suzy grinned. "I"m Lady Saturday! It"s nice to meet you all!" Slowly, the rest of the Trustees-Sunday included, albeit reluctantly-introduced themselves. When they finished, the New Architect smiled. "Now that we have formally met, we shall commence the meeting." A/N: I tried, okay? I tried xDD Btw, any tips or suggestions on how the Trustees/Times should act can totally be sent in ^^ So...*subtly hints towards the review button* Yes? ~CC A/N: Hello guys! I am very, very sorry for the long gap in between updates. I had this written a few weeks ago, but there were some technical difficulties between my beta iDestiny (three cheers for her! YAYYYY!) and I, and as a result it was published a bit later. I am very sorry. -bows- It appeared, thought Lord Sunday, that complaints were largely directed at him. And it also seemed that this meeting was composed of criticism; not discussion. He believed that the issue of the Incomparable Gardens was raised far more than necessary. Certainly, other topics were covered too (he briefly heard Thursday and Monday discussing the post and the disorganisation of the Lower House), but most of the time it was all directed at him. Sunday briefly debated whether this was the result of him neglecting meetings, reports, and smaller what-nots. Suzy Turquoise Blue - Lady Saturday - brought up the necessity of a report every decade to the New Architect. It seemed to Sunday that he was the only one not submitting one. Then again, it was hardly needed for him. There will never be anything to report. He noted with curiosity that the New Architect had spoken little during the meeting; every topic of relevant to him was spoken by another Morrow Day. Often, Sunday felt his Noon stir angrily behind him, but a sharp glance was enough to still his actions. He would not have his Times act rashly. It was a blow to his personal pride-which he still possessed to some extent. After shooting cold glares at Noon for the third time, Lord Sunday decided to actually listen to the buzz of conversation permeating the room. "...tour," Wednesday was saying. "None of us, save the Architect, has even seen the Incomparable Gardens. I know for a fact there are Navigable Waters which once led to the Border Sea-" Here, the New Architect shuffled uncomfortably, but said nothing. "-but no more. I wish to inspect the condition of the Waters for the pollution of Nothing." "The Drasil trees are invading the Great Maze," agreed Thursday. "They are knocking my tiles off their courses and generally disrupting the running of the Maze. As the training grounds of the Glorious Army of the Architect, it is absolutely vital they are quickly returned to working order." "And that is a bad thing?" asked Lord Sunday coldly, aware of his Dawn scribbling furiously behind him. "I was not aware the Maze was ever capable of moving in a timely fashion anyway."

Now mentally scarred at the thought of Voldemort with nightmares, Harry crawled out of bed to turn on his bedside light. To his horror, just before he turned the light on, he found someone standing in his bedroom, looming over him, dark and ominous. And worst of all, the figure seemed to be covered in blood. Harry fumbled for his wand, and pointed it rather clumsily at the figure. Voldemort was not supposed to enter the household! "How did you get in here? Who are you? Show yourself!" He wasn"t seventeen yet, but he swore to Dumbledore he would curse the figure. Or maybe light lumos. Or maybe turn on the light. Harry shakily switched on the light, wondering why this had to happen to him of all people. The room was bathed in a warm yellow glow. The man standing in his room looked like he had just climbed out of a deadly fight in the sewers. He had long dark hair and was stained with blood, grime and dirt-and something that looked strangely like acid-and his eyes were strangely out of focus. "So this is what the afterlife looks like," he muttered. "What?" asked Harry. "Who the hell are you?" "I am called many things: Túrin, Turambar, Mormegil, Agarwaen Neithan, Gorthol, Thurin, Adanedhel, Turmbar and Blacksword." Harry gaped. "Is this a new trend or something? First it was no names. Now it"s too many names to count!" "If that is too many for you," said the stranger, "call me Túrin Turambar." "Harry Potter," said Harry, eyeing the stranger cautiously. "How did you get inside my house?" "I died," Túrin said emotionlessly. "Wonderful," Harry muttered. "Now I have some raving mad nutter in my house. Why me? I mean, my parents died when I was an orphan! I was sent to my uncle and aunt who hate my guts, and a cousin who bullied me wherever I went. Now I found that the Dark Lord is trying to kill me, my godfather dies, and some dead man is standing in my room." Túrin"s eyes narrowed. "Dark Lord? Morgoth is in this world also?" "Is that a new name for Voldemort? Oh I see! You think Voldemort, You-Know-Who and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named are three different names for him, that"s why you decided to give yourself lots of names." "Who is this Woldewort?" Túrin snapped. "I speak of Morgoth Bauglir, the Dark Power of the World, who resides behind his Black Gate in the accursed land of Angband." "Great, now this nutter hallucinates as well," Harry complained. "Why me? Why not Ron? He lives a perfect life! What about Hermione? She hasn"t been through half the things I have! And Neville-" "Stop your nattering!" Túrin growled. "Your life is heaven compared to mine. You have a roof, and friends. My father went to war in the army of the High King, and never came back. I left my mother and unborn sister and went on a perilous journey. I fought my way out of capture of Orcs, led a band of men to ruin, killed my best friend, and lost a war for Nargothrond. I fell in love with my own Valar-damned sister. I stared down dragons!" Harry stared. "I captured an egg from a dragon," he said sulkily. Túrin kicked him. Námo, Lord of the Timeless Halls, sat in Mandos and watched a massive screen. His wife Vairë sat beside him, as well as a whole group of Valar including Lorien, Estë, Vána and even Manwë. The Valar laughed. "You were so right, Vána," Vairë said, giggling. "Introducing Túrin to Harri-Potta was such a good idea." They watched the screen, and laughed again. A few seconds later, Manwë got up. "Well, I think it"s time I go help the Elves win the war. They"ve been at it for hundreds of years." Lorien raised an eyebrow at him. "Would you really, Manwë? Túrin"s about to start strangling him." Manwë grinned, and sat back down again. Prompt: Formenos (stronghold of Feanor), crossover with a mythical story (Rapunzel and Romeo and Juliet aren"t really mythical, but whatever) and Everything is better in Space. Eight Noldorin princes stared up at the towering, looming walls of the formidable fortress. "Well, this is our stop!" said Feanor cheerfully, dismounting his horse. He checked a word written on a piece of scrap parchment. "Yes. This is ... Formenos. Father should be already here. We need only to knock on the door and see if he answers. If he doesn"t, we"ll ride straight back home and tell Manwe to give us a better fortress. Who wants to knock?" His sons were silent. Each of them was gazing up at the towers, the stained windows, the mystery of the corridors which hid ancient secrets. Maedhros wondered what secrets lurked under the facade of the building. Maglor wondered whether his haunting music would echo down the lonesome hallways, long untouched by Elvish hands. Celegorm wondered how many Huans he could fit in the fortress. Caranthir guessed what Celegorm was wondering, and stepped on his foot. Curufin guessed that Caranthir had guessed what Celegorm was thinking, and punched him. Amrod and Amras volunteered to knock. They walked up to the heavy oak doors and rapped their knuckles three times on the wood. No one answered. "Just a bit louder," said Feanor encouragingly. They did so. No one answered. "Well!" said Feanor, looking thoroughly cheerful. "I guess we"ll just ride back to Manwe and say-" The door opened at that exact moment. Finwe peered out, looking at seven hopeful faces and one very disappointed face. "My son and grandsons!" he boomed. "You have arrived at last." "Yes, yes, father," said Feanor impatiently, pushing past him. "Have you settled everyth-" He paused as he looked inside, eyes wide with horror. Everything, from the chairs to the tea sets to the intricately woven tapestries, was floating. "Father..." Feanor breathed, very, very slowly and very, very quietly. "What have you done to my castle?" "I thought you"d like to fly, my son!" Finwe beamed. "Everything is better in space, after all!" "What-" Feanor began, before his sons stampeded him in order to get into the room. Maedhros kicked off a wall, and flew all the way down a long hallway. Maglor was reasoning that space was a vacuum, therefore no one would hear his music since there was no air for the sound waves to travel through. He was very depressed at the thought. Celegorm had drifted up to the highest tower and had clipped long extensions to his hair. He then stuck his head out the window and let his blond extensions drop all the way down to the ground. "O Romeo, Romeo, whyfore art thou Romeo-" Caranthir had found a large hammer and tried to swing it down on Celegorm"s head. He missed, since Celegorm stuck his head out the window at that precise moment. "Wrong character, idiot! You"re Rapunzel. That"s Juliet you"re quoting." Curufin smiled. "What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon." Celegorm thought Curufin was telling him to kill Caranthir. He grabbed a nearby chainsaw, and thus began the greatest (and only) fight to ever ensue in space. Amrod and Amras drifted straight back out of Formenos, and fled to their cousin Finrod"s place. Prompt: Finrod Felagund vs Cedric Diggory (HP). By the way, I do like Cedric. I just enjoy... playing around with his character... and he means no harm, honest! xD This is kind of a continuation from last chapter, since they"re both for the same day. "Come in, come in, dear cousins!" Finrod said happily, when he saw who was at the door. "I have a guest, but I am sure he will not mind two more. Tell me, Ambarussa, what has happened to make the two of you fly so desperately, out of breath and as pale as a ghost, to my home." Amrod and Amras exchanged glances, and decided Finrod really did not need to know. "We were in the vicinity," Amras said innocently, "and decided to drop by." Finrod grinned cheerfully at them and invited them inside. On his green couch in his living room was a strange - a Man. Well, not really... "He"s really pale," said Amrod. "He"s a ghost," said Amras. Finrod fidgeted nervously. "The Valar wouldn"t accept Men into Valinor, so he had to die before he could come... Ambarussa, meet Sed-ric Digori." Cedric Diggory"s ghost, previously pretending to recline on the couch, stood up and held out a ghostly hand. Amrod"s hand passed right through him as he tried to shake his hand. "What brings you to Valinor, Sed-ric?" Amrod asked. "Oh, you know." Cedric flashed a charming smiled. "I found out one of the nicest people ever-" He cast Finrod a quick nod of acknowledgement "-was here so I decided to come and visit him." Finrod beamed. "Thank you, Sed-ric. Would you all like some tea? I"ll just fetch the pot-" "No need," said Cedric and, with a wave of his ghost-wand, a tea pot appeared. He waved his wand vaguely around, and cups appeared. He poured the tea. The Elves stared, fascinated. "This is some good tea," said Amras, sipping it. "Good tea should be accompanied by good music," said Finrod brightly. "I"ll go and fetch my harp-" "That music is so old-fashioned," Cedric interrupted. "Here, let me show you some real music." He materialised a radio, and tapped it. "I present: Celestina Warbeck, the Singing Sorceress." Sound began to come out of the radio. But it wasn"t music. It was more like a screeching, a girl"s high-pitched, out-of-tune voice shrieking at you through the device. Finrod and the twins listened for five seconds, then dashed out of the room. "Never," Amrod panted, "let guests into your house again." "Especially dead mortals," Amras added. "Especially wizards," said Finrod grimly. I miss writing about Feanor. I really do. I absolutely adore him. Of course, I portray him very differently in different genres, and this is how he is in crack. The prompts today were "Feanor hugged his kids (really, he did!)' and "Namo - a kinder, gentler lord of Death" "Fëanáro." The deep voice came out of nowhere, chiding gently. The Elf, who had been embodied for this very reason, sat in a corner of the room and ignored it. "Fëanáro." No sign of impatience yet. Fëanor shot the ceiling-where he thought the voice was coming from-a contemptuous glance, his handsome face twisted into an ugly snarl, and continued to ignore it. "Curufinwë Fëanáro! If you ignore me one more time, I will throw you into the darkest depths of the Halls of Mandos and make sure you never see the light of day again!" Yes, yes, definitely impatient now. Fëanor turned around slowly, very slowly, with a derisive sneer. His chin was tilted high, his eyes narrowed, as if staring down the empty room. "Lord Námo," he said, speaking for the first time in centuries, "I have nothing to fear. You have assured me that will happen many times. That threat, I believe, has been used forty-seven times." "...Apologies," said Mandos, who rarely uttered that word. But he really did think he needed a better threat. There was not much else he could do to make Fëanor"s situation worse. "Apology duly noted," said Fëanor delicately. "Now, what is it that you wanted to discuss? Who is here to see me? Have they brought my Silmarils? Come now, there must be someone to see me if you have embodied me, and placed me in an empty room. What about my sons? I suppose Kanafinwë hasn"t brought the Silmarils hidden in some bag of his? "You know Macalaurë is forbidden from these halls," said Mandos. "I know I am never supposed to see the light of day again," Fëanor mocked. "And yet here I am. Well, spit it out, dear Vala. I may have an eternity, but that doesn"t mean I"m happy about it." Very few would have the spirit to speak out against a Vala like that. Fëanor was lucky he was one of the few. Fëanor was also lucky there was very little else Mandos could do to him. "A ... reporter is here," said Mandos reluctantly. "He said he wanted to interview you. He said he had been talking to Macalaurë"s foster-son, and was very interested to know all about you and your relationship with your family." "It isn"t Artanis"s spouse, is it now?" "No." "Not Celebrian?" "Of course not." "Who?" "A curious individual by the name of Glorfindel." With a pop, Glorfindel appeared in the room, sitting on the chair that had been placed for him, with a notebook and quill in hand, and looking quite flustered and out of place. He caught sight of Fëanor, and his eyes went wide. His hand tightened around the quill. "Forgive me, Lord Fëanor, I did not expect to be transported quite so suddenly, nor so dramatically into your noble presence. It would be preferable to me and the Elven public if you were to answer some questions-" "Spit it out," Fëanor drawled. "Of course, of course, Lord Fëanor," said Glorfindel. "You see-" "Not ... Fëanor." He spoke the name with a mixture of derision and scorn, as if a Balrog had nested itself within the name. "If you are to be in my presence, Glorfindel of the Golden Flower, and wish for my full cooperation, then you are to address me by my proper name and title. It is Fëanáro, or the High King of the Noldor, or this interview shall not proceed." Glorfindel stared at him, astonished and intimidated. "Y-Yes, Lord Fëanáro." "Good. Then continue." "I"ve-heard-rumours-about-how-you-mistreated-your-sons-and-forced-them-to-smith-when-they-would-rather-be-doing-something-else-like-playing-music-now-that-is-only-an-example-obviously-they-didn"t-all-way-to-play-music-" "What?" Fëanor interrupted. Glorfindel forced himself to breathe. "You were ... mistreating your sons. And you forced them to... smith ... when they didn"t want to. My sources say-" "Nonsense," said Fëanor. "My sons all wanted to smith. Except ... well, I was going to disown him, but that would have just started rumours, so I had to lock him in the basement and pretend he was too busy making music. That kept everybody happy. Of course I made sure he had no access to any instrument whatsoever during the time he was kept down there." Glorfindel was horrified. He opened his mouth, closed it again, then opened it again like a gaping fish. "Next question," Fëanor snapped. "Maglor said you never hugged him!" Glorfindel blurted out. "What"s a Maglor?" The Elf would have fainted from that statement, until he remembered Fëanor"s utter contempt for anything which isn"t Quenya (or Fëanorian Tengwar) and that he had certainly never bothered learning or remember Sindarin names. "Ma ... Macalaurë," he said faintly. "Oh. Right. That"s what a Maglor is. They were always talking about Maglor this and Maglor that, and how Maglor finally returned to Valinor after several Ages. I thought they were talking about a long-lost treasure. Like my Silmarils." His eyes glinted. "Anyway," said Glorfindel hastily, "Macalaurë claims you never hugged him. Is that true?" "Of course not, I hugged him many times. I"ll give you a hug count if you want. Nelyafinwë: Four hundred and eighty-seven times. Turkafinwë: Three hundred and fifty-three times. Morifinwë: Three hundred and one times. Curufinwë: Three thousand seven hundred and forty-times. Ambarussa: Two hundred and eighty-one times each. There, see?" Glorfindel, who had been taking rapid notes on his notepad, looked up. "You forgot Macalaurë." "What?" "You said everyone except Macalaurë." "Nonsense." "It"s true, Fëanáro," Mandos boomed. Fëanor glanced darkly at the ceiling. "Very well. I hugged Kanafinwë exactly ... twice. Once when he was born and the second time when Nerdanel insisted I give him a bath." Glorfindel"s mouth dropped open, and just hung there like a broken hinge. Fëanor grinned smugly. "Only kidding, you know. I hugged Kanafinwë more than all my other sons combined." Glorfindel"s mouth, if possible, opened wider. "Kidding again," Fëanor smirked. "I can"t actually remember how many times I"ve hugged them. Too many to count, I suppose." Glorfindel staggered out of the Halls of Mandos, mentally scarred. And Fëanor, sitting in his new body in the corner of a nice room, reflected on how nice it was to have such gullible Elves around. Did he actually hug them?Well, that"s up to you. Prompt: One-handed Maedhros vs one-handed Albus Dumbledore. Also: Translating (If you don"t know what a Babelfish is, please read the Hitchhiker"s Guide to the Galaxy right now.) and Voldemort vs Morgoth (spoken about) and Maedhros and Fingon (lightl touched upon) Excuse my utter lack of characterisation. I can"t write in the HP fandom to save my life. It was late. Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, staring through his half-moon spectacles at the wizened sight that was once his hand. There is a knock on the door, and it opened without consent. But the Headmaster didn"t mind. His guest was a different one, from a far distant land. Maedhros, eldest son of Feanor, bowed as he entered, then sat himself down on the chair with all the regal purpose of a king. His copper hair cascaded down in curls, his eyes bright and fiery, his clothes in pristine condition despite his travel. "The portkey worked, then?" Dumbledore said, pleased. "Yes." The Babelfish was also working - a fish Dumbledore had taken the liberty to insert into his ear to understand what Maedhros was talking about. The Noldorin Prince, understandably, would do no such thing, so Dumbledore had to use a simple spell of languages. "Long journey?" said Dumbledore. Maedhros grimaced. "Yes. You placed the port-ki in Nargothrond. That is several weeks of travel for me." "Please accept my sincere apologies. I was told there were lots of Elves in Nar..." "Nargothrond." "Yes, and I wasn"t quite sure where you lived." "Himring." "Of course." "Nonetheless," Maedhros continued, "I am pleased to be here. It is not every day that I am to be interviewed on such a subject. Your hand ... is black." Dumbledore chuckled. "It was marred by magic. May I see your, uh..." Maedhros lifted his right arm onto the table, and pulled back his sleeve. "Cut off by my cousin," he said, matter-of-factedly, without allowing any emotion into his voice, "to free me from a prison." "Your cousin? Nice chap, I suppose?" Maedhros frowned. "Nice ... nice what?" "You know. Nice person, to just go around cutting people"s hands-" "He was the greatest of the Noldor," Maedhros snapped. "Fingon the Valiant, they called him. I would have died but for him. Better my hand than my death." "I see," Dumbledore said, as he mused over the hand. "And you were taken prisoner by the Dark Lord?" "Morgoth himself." "Who is, if I may say, less of a horror than our own current Dark Lord, Voldemort?" Maedhros"s expression darkened. "Less than your Lord ... whatever? Less? He is Melkor, the Dark Power of the World, the most powerful Ainu of Eru Iluvatar, the creator of Orcs, and all things evil. Balrogs and trolls, dragons and vampires, werewolves, giant spiders and numerous unnamed terrors of the Black Gate of Angband. Built like a mountain, with a hammer to crush all. Your Lord Voldiyort cannot compete." Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, I quite agree." Maedhros smiled smugly. "But," Dumbledore continued, "Lord Voldemort is yet to be stabbed in the foot." Maedhros scowled. Okay so, this is probably the strangest style I have ever written in. It was so much more coherent in my head. But I kind of like it. This of this as Maedhros"s tormented soul, reflecting at the end of his life. My father used to say "Fire is life.' He was right. He was always right. It began with him, of course, because he begins all. He"s like a flame in Tirion, shining brighter than the Trees, eyes burning with passion. The first person he touched was his mother, my grandmother, Lady Miriel Serindë. She couldn"t bear it, his strong spirit, and fled. Then he touched his father, and the High King cradled the flame, fed it whatever it wished, and it grew. Grew into the first son of Finwë. Grew into Fëanáro. Then he touched my mother, and for a while she could endure the flame. But after me, and after my six brothers, she could endure no longer. Father had touched all of us. "Fire is life," he said. Easy for him to say. He was the Spirit of Fire, the very embodiment, shimmering like a flame under the sun. And yet he was under control, never wild, never seeking to gain what he could not get. But one day... one day that fire will grow, grow bigger, bigger and uncontrollable. Then it will start. But not yet. "Fire is also death," I replied. Too many times have I burnt myself handling it. "There is no death without life," he said, and smiled, and turned back to his work, forging in the sea of flames where he belonged. Then he touched the Silmarilli, and they too shone, burning with a beautiful, ethereal light. Too bright. It was taken. "Fight fire with fire," my father said, and touched the Ships, and they crumbled to ash. He touched the very core of Arda, he touched history, touched a legacy for him, and for us all. But fire is sudden. It is unstable. It is uncontrollable. A bigger fire came, demons of shadow and flame. Fight fire with fire... So the enemy did. My father was right. He was always right. Then he crumbled to ash, and scattered about in the wind, and the world lost the brightest flame to ever walk those shores. But I know something else, too. It is in me. In my brothers. In all of us. My life began with fire, and it will end so. Then I can say I have not disappointed him. He who has provided me life. And death. And a legacy to stand by. He begins all. The skilled son of Finwë. The Spirit of Fire.

"Smile for the camera!" called out Mrs. Harness, clicking away with a disposable camera. The whole class smiled pathetically and some losers att he back were putting fingers up to the camera. "All done, you can go to your next lesson!" called Mrs. Harness. So much for a class photo. Why do teachers want class photos anyway? Everybody barged out of the class, knocking Mrs. Harness over. You easily not notice Mrs. Harness considering she is the average height of a ten year old. I don"t know how she teaches PE because she obviously can"t exactly slam-dunk in basketball. Soph came up behind me practically jumping on my back. I muttered some swear words and gave her a hard shove. "Chill out El!" said Soph, giggling and snorting. Oh god. Could she embarrass me anymore? Why do I put up with her? "Hiya Ellie!" said Peter, approachign me and Soph. I waved pathetically. I wasn"t in the mood for Potato Peter and his friend David Leech pestering me and Soph. "Wow Sophie, you did well in PE!" said David sarcastically. Sophie went shy and muttered thanks, completely oblivious to the fact that David was taking the rip out of her. After the whole kincker incident. "Oi! El! Wait up!" called Tanya, chasing me across the yard with Ally and Kat. I smiled feeling absoloutely relieved that my sane friends had arrived. Tanya, the confident bubbly one. Ally the quiet one and Kat the funny one. Soph can be described as the embarrassing one. Just as I was thinking this, Vikki Mareley aka. the dunce one charged past, knocking me out the way. I muttered "bitch" under ym breath and obviously Vikki was either too pre-occupied with re-applying foundation or too stupid to hear me. "Still up for tonight? Still coming to Angel?" asked Tanya, linking her amr in mine. I sighed and nodded. Angel, the latest under-18 club which Tanya, Kat and me were going to that night. Luckily for my sanity, Soph was going. Neither was Ally. But Angel had just a few flaws.Vikki and all the vikki-wannabes thought it was the best place in the world and were sure to turn up thinking they were Britney Spears. "Coming to Angel tonight Kat?" called Vikki, approaching us. I rolled my eyes at Vikki and she turned. "Why are yoyu doing that?" she asked, coming up close to me face so I could see the tide-marks of her make-up. "Had something on my eye...." I lied. Vikki, who may I add is as sharp as a very blunt thing, nodded. Taking it all in. What. An Idiot. "Bloody hell, could it get any colder?" I shrieked, my teeth chattering like on of those wind-up toys. Next to me, Tanya and Kat were equally as cold. We were outside "Angel" and true to my word, it had flaws. The fact that I was standing outside mid-December in a bloody mini-skirt! There were dozens of others girls, many of them too dressed up for words. "Oh bugger it I"m pushing to the front!" cried out Tanya, swimming here way through a sea of girls. I followed reluctantly, avoiding severe burns form their freshly-lit cigarettes. "I look like such a sex-kitten!" called out a boastful familiar voice form the front of the queue. Oh no....it couldn"t be. She wouldn"t dare do this to us........ I looked up and there was no doubt about it. There she was, in a skirt which could have easily been mistaken for a belt and her spot infested face drowining in foundation. Sure enough it was.... "The Friggin" queen of tarts?" cried out Tanya, her blue eyes as wide as saucers. Yup, the typical "I think I"m gorgeous" white trash girl who"d been haunting us with her presence since she was thrown into our class in year seven aka Bella. "Look who"s here!" cried out Bella, nodding her head in our direction. Her practically yellow hair, which had been dyed so many times, the number exceeded the infinity theory, was plastered to her head with hair-spray. Her ears were bearing gold earrings so heavy, I swear her head was leaning forward. For some reason, Bella has never liked us so everywhere we went, she was there, ready to shout abuse. And here she was. What a frigging great life, eh? "Look at the state of "em! The look bloomin" awful!" she shouted out, loud enough for the whole queue to hear. How could she say WE looked awful when she"s the offical ugly bitch? "Bugger off Bella!" called out Tanya. Bella stuck up two fingers as us, laughing hysterically as though she"d just yelled the most itnelligent insuilt at us ever. "Oh. My. God. I"m going to kill her!" I shrieked loud enough for almost everybody to hear. Tanya rolled her eyes and Kat glared effectively at Bella. "What are you looking at?" Bella shouted at Kat. Kat glanced at me and I nodded, knowing what she meant. Kat, Tanya and I put out our hands and gave the people in front of us one great shove. They flew forward and bumped extremely hard into Bella and her followers. Considering Bella was at the fornt of the whole queue (so she could enter first and everybody would get a "lovely chance" to look at the state of her), she flew forward and was sprawled across the pavement. "In your face!" I cried out between giggles. Bella got to her feet, adjusted her top and strided into "Angel" belly-first. "Waaah!" cried another voice. I popped my head aroudn the door to see Bella sprawled across the floor once again. But this time she"d landed on Vicky. I was having the best day of my life........ Another chapter! Please R&R! Chapter Four: The Cat"s Choir "Well, this is uncomfortable," I whispered, hugging my arms around my front and glancing aorund warily. Angel was up and running but I felt as though I"d walke din on a funeral by mistake. Sure enough, the "club" music was pumping through the speakers, severely damaging our ears and we were all dressed for our clubbing experience but every single person in there was gathered together in groups, looking either bored (Me, Tanya and Kat), terrefied (Some little year eights who were obviously not 14) or ugly and trashy (Bella of course.) Spekaing of Bella, she didn"t seem to have let anything phase her as she was, well, strutting her stuff across the dance floor. Nearly everybody was staring at her, dancing alone, except for her followers who were clapping and cheering falsely, trying to encourage her. "This must be a joke," said Kat, her big brown eyes fixating on the dancing warthog. Sure enough, all around us, people were cracking up and whispering. Just as I was glancing around, "Good as Gold" by some unknown dance-music group began to blare from the speakers. Oh god, Bella began to sing along in a terrible out-of-tune voice. I covered my ears with my hands but it was no use. Bella"s unbelieveable singing voice had managed to scratch it"s way into my ear drums. "Go on Vicky, have a sing. You"re miles better than Bella," called out a Vicky-Clone, gesturing towards the dance floor. Vicky, with a flick of her dyed-blonde hair, strided onto the dance floor. She opened her mouth wide and began to sing. Oh my god, this was worse than cat"s choir. I couldn"t handle it anymore, it was the worse night out I"d ever had. A group of girls from another shcool, who seemed much older than us, walked out onto the dance- floor. "Do you mind shutting it you two? You"re going to smash the windows!" cried the leader. Everybody except Bella"s followers and the Vicky-Clones all whooped with laughter and booed Bella and Vicky off the dance floor. "Finally, I can start enjoying myself!" called out Tanya, kicking off her stiletto boots as she began to dance. Kat and I copied and began to dance along. Half an hour later, my feet were sore and I was soaked in sweat. My throat was dry and my hair was damp. "I"m just going to go the loo," said Kat breathlessly, who stopped dancing to speak. "Right behind you!" I called out. We both headed for the toilets, limping due to forming blisters. We stepped inside, coughing through the fog of smoke. As I headed for I cubicle, I heard shrieks behind me. I turned around and froze of the spot, oh my god, Bella aka the queen of tarts was standing wih her hand stuck between the sinks and was completely stuck... Chapter five now up! Keep reading folks, it is soon to get funnier I think! "Waaaaah! Call the fire brigade!" Kat and I must have been frozen on the spot for about ten minutes, staring at Bella. She was thrashing her arms about the toilets, tyring to wriggleher arm free from it"s position but she was completely stuck, unable to wriggle out. Then, after ten silent minutes, I just burst into hysterics, unable to stop myself. Bella narrowed her eyes at me and for my own safety, I tried to stop laughing but it was impossible. "How the hell did she manage that?" I cried out between hysterics. "She dropped her make-up and reached down to get it and got stuck," explained one of Bella"s followers, who was obviously trying desperately not to laugh. "Why are you telling THEM?!?" shrieked Bella. "Are you ok Bella?" asked Cathy, another one of Bella"s followers, edging closer very carefully. "What do you friggin" think?" Bella shouted abck, her spit spraying in Cathy"s face. Cathy looked away and began to step abckwards, obviously sorry she"d spoken. "What the hell is going on in here?" called out a voice form the door. Tanya stopped for about a second and stared at Bella before bursting into a fit of laughter. "Shut it now!" called out Bella threatiningly. Usually, her cruel, nasty voice was enough to shut anyone up, but not this time. Bella was getting her comeupance for all those years of pushing around people smaller than her. "Oh my god, this is the funniest thing I"ve ever seen!" I cried out, tears of laughter rolling down my cheeks. Kat was laughing now and some of the other girls in the toilets began to giggle. "Shut it the lot of you or I"ll smash your face in!" Bella called in her worst voice. "That might be difficult as your hand is utterly stuck! You frigging dunce!" I replied, completely unphased. More and more people were coming into the toielts, desperate to see what was going on. And over the next few minutes, everyone began to laugh. Even the boys ignored the "ladies" sign hanging on the door and barge dinto the toilets to see Bella. I was wrong before, seeing Bella on top of Vicky wasn"t the best moment of my life, this was. It was like soembody wrote out the ebst thing I could ever whitness and then only charged me five pouns on the door to see it. It was amazing. Unblieveably amazing. I"d have paid twenty. "Oh my god, come and see! Eddie Backwards and co" have gate-crashed the club!" Chapter five, the last "Angel Chapter", I"m almost in tears, this hilarious clubbing-night-out is a about to end, but things will only get better! "Oh please, Eddie Backwards has gatecrashed? Who cares?" called out Tanya, flicking a strand of chesnut-brown hair from her face. I nodded in agreement, wanting the moment to last longer. "Eddie? Isn"t he the good looking one?" whispered a blonde girl from year eight, standing near me. I laughed out loud and put my hands on my hips. "Good looking my arse! He"s a bloody ponce, stay away. Vicky"s already within snogging distance anyway," I told the twelve year olds, as I caught a glimpse of Eddie outside of the toilets. Whilst the unlimited Eddie and Vicky snogging was on full show outside, Bella was still stuck between the sinks and it was slowly losing it"s funny side.But it was still slightly funny as Bella had givin up wriggling and was now resting her arms on her belly, glaring at everybody, me in particular. "You"ll be sorry Ellie!" she said, just loud enough for me to hear. I giggled once more and headed right out of the toilets, my sides still aching form twenty minutes of laughing. "Anyone else getting pretty tired of Vicky and Eddie?" asked Tanya, stiffling a yawn. "How"d you guess?" I joked. "Hmmmm, maybe we could have some fun?" said Tnaya mischeviously, grinning. I knew that grin. That was the girn she wore before throwing pennys at our french teacher. That was the girn before she came out with another Bella joke. "I"m all for it, what"s the plan?" said Kat. Tanya raised one eyebrow and carried on grinning. "Well, I"ve got some ideas to keep us going all night. How about we see if Eddie resists temptation?" "So we"re going to flirt with him? Make Vicky jealous?" I questioned Tanya. "Not just that El, what about his mates? Aren"t they all going out with one of the Vicky-Clones?" I asked Tanya. "Yup, there"s Johnny Burnnit and Jane Johnson. And then Adam Tennis, the tennis-mad one, and Gemma Duffkey," replied Kat knowlingly, who was pretty "in" with the Vicky-clones. "What about Alex Tomata?" I asked, remembering another devoted member of the Eddie-fan-club. "No, he"s not going out with any of them. He"s so gay, can"t you tell?" replied Tanya with a smirk. I thought back to Alex. Apart from being in Eddie"s gang, he was great friends with nearly every girl in the year. He was a camp as....somebody gay. Not to mention he"d forced his friends to go and see Love Actaully and cried at the end according to Johnny Burnnit. And of course, it was only a month ago he went to see Justin Timberlake in concert and returned with a t-shirt saying "I love you Justin" and then he was spotted for a brief moment on the DVD, scremaing along with a few girls. Ok, he was obviously gay but it had never really crossed my mind. "Well, I reckon we should just ask them outright to come the pictures with us and chances are, the brainless morons will say yes, forgetting they have girlfriend and that should piss Vicky off enough for a lover"s tiff, eh?" "You"re a genius Tanya!" I complimented her. "I know, I know, let"s get cracking!" "Hold on, how are we going to get rid Vicky? Should we prise them apart?" asked Kat, gesturing to the "couple" who seemed to be joined at the mouth. "Oi! Vicky! Your fake tan is all streaky!" I called out. Vicky pulled away from Eddie and screamed, heading for the loo"s followed by the rest of the clones. "Right, the plan"s in action!" The Tennis Ball "Oi, Adam!" I shouted out, rushing forward. I barely had time to look back as Kat headed for Johnny Burnnit, who was currently holding a lighter to a chair, trying to...well....burn it. "Yeah?" said Adam, turning around, his right hand firmly grasped around a tennis ball protectively. I stared at it, feeling freaked out but switched into super-slag-mega-flirt-mode. "I was just wondering if you could give me your opinion. A lot of people say I really look like Ann Kournikova, what do you think?" I said, fluttering my eye lashes slightly. Adam stared at me for a few seconds, obviously looking for some trace of similarity. Of course, I didn"t look anything like Anna Kournikova. But everybody knows Adam has a major thing for the tennis player, Anna, so saying I looked like her was almost enough to get him asking me out, or so I thought. "Er, yeah you do look like her a bit," said Adam, seeming unsure. "Well, I might look like her but I"m shit at tennis, you couldn"t show me how to play one day?" "Yeah, sure! I"ll show you all the special moves Anna has, I learnt them by watching the Wimbledon game last year. It"s really easy if you just learn the moves over and over, you could be a professional, it"s so easy. None of the girls I know are interested in tennis, Gemma says she is but I know she"s making it up. So you"re really interested then? I"d love to teach somebody!" I stood patiently whilst Adam spouted this load of crap but my eyelids were dropping, who knew he could be so boring? The tennis ball clutched in his hands didn"t budge as he waved his arms showing me some of the tennis moves. "Oh, I just remembered! I"ve already promised Kat and Tanya I"d go the pictures tomorrow, you don"t fancy coming then?" "I...er..." "It"s a date then!" "Adam, what"s going on?" I spun around to see Gemma, who"d obviously come back form the toilets after comforting Vicky. I smiled sweetly and Adam shifted from one foot to another. "I was just planning when me and Adam were going out to the pictures!" I said, smiling slyly. "He what?!?"" shrieked Gemma, whacking Adam with her handbag. She hit him so hard, he dropped his tennis ball. "Nooooo!" shouted Adam, lurching forward to catch the tennis ball. I looked over to Tanya and saw Vicky giving her a shove. Obviously, she"d returned to find Eddie and Tanya standing way too close for her liking. The tennis ball flew across the room where it managed to hit Vicky right in the back. "Who threw that you cheeky fuc-" Vicky began to shriek but Eddie picked up the tennis ball and hurtled it my way. I ducked just in time for the ball to catch John in the face. "Oh my god! John, are you ok?" I shouted, rushing over to John Pepperoni, the Italian boy in our class who certainly didn"t deserve a smack in the face. "Are you ok?" joined in Kat who was know right behind me. "I don"t believe this! I dropped my pizza!" shouted John. I looked to his feet were a pizza box lay face down on the floor. "Where"d you get a pizza from?" "I brought a spare one...." "You"re pizza mad!" "I know, why else do I hang out with Alex Tomata? His name does sound like tomato you know!" "OH.MY.GOD. Johnny"s set the chair on fire!" I leapt back and screamed along with Kat (Alex joining in the screaming too). /N: Thanks for all the reviews, sorry I know this is an orgiinal work (believe me, i didn"t intend for it to be!) so I might introduce a Geogria character v. soon! So get anticipating! Thanks for all my wondeful fans, Kellie, Amy, Toni, Lexi, Faye...other people from fan-fic too! Enjoy! "I hope you"re all going to be mature enough not to act stupid during our worship session." Yeah, that"ll be the day, when our class isn"t stupid! "Miss, can we lie on the floor?" interupted Molly from the back of the room, surrounded by her friends. "No, we"re going to sit in a circle," replied Miss. Rivers, our RE teacher. It was third lesson, Monday afternoon and we were going to do some basic worship in class. I must say, I couldn"t see anyone in the classroom worshipping anything other than JT or Pizza in John"s and Alex"s case. "Miss, can I lie down?" shrieked Bella. "No, I said we"re going to sit in a circle!" repleid Miss, Rivers, who was getting more angry by the second. I didn"t blame her. So we all settled down in a circle, I was seated right beside Kat and Tanya. Sophie was off school (there is a god!) so luckily, I was embarassment free for a whole day! "I"ve got this candle and I want us to pass it aorund and say what we"re thankfull for," said Miss. Rivers, passing the candle to Johnny who was beside her. "I"m thankfull that the firemen put out the fire in Angel before it burnt down the club," said Johnny, blushing bright red. He then smiled mischeviously and poked his finger right into the flame. He cried "ow" loudly and dropped the candle. We all giggled as the candle was picked up by Johnny and was passed to John Pepporonni "I"m thankful for my pizza!" For some unknown reason, John suddenly sounded like he squeled at the end of the sentence. The whole class burst into hysteric laughter and John blushed as red as a tomato, very appropriate for the fact he loves cheese and tomato pizza. Once the laughter had died down, John then passed the candle over to Alex. "I"m thankful for Justin and that I was able to go and see him in concert and I"m also thankful for NSync because that was Justin"s band and I"m also thankful for NU Records, the record label that signed Justin and for Caroline Wilson, the song writer and all his back up dancers, Angela, Rick, James, Sally-" "Ok, ok, enough about Justin, lets change the subject to what we"re sorry for," said Miss. Rivers, obviously desperate to get the subject off Justin Timberlake for ten seconds. The candle then got passed along to Bella who smirked in our direction and threw her hair over her shoulders. "I"m sorry that I"m so gorgeous and it makes people jealous," she said, smiling. I coudln"t help myself then, I cracked up laughing and Miss. Rivers looked as though she was tyring desperately not to laugh. Bella glared at me and passed the candle along to Ally but before Ally could take it, Alex was on his feet and snatched it from Bella"s hands. "I would also like to say I"m sorry that I didn"t make the effort to meet Justin after the concert in Manchester and that I didn"t buy a signed photo on the internet when I should have because it was written by JT!" "Will you shut up about Justin Frigging Timberlake!" Tanya shrieked. We all turned to stare at her and Tanya began to blush slightly. "Less of the language Tanya," Miss. Rovers warned me. "You bitch!" cried out Alex and stormed back to his place, giving Tanya evil looks. "You too Alex!" shouted Miss. Rivers. "Miss, did you hear what she said about Justin?" "Yes, Alex, I did!" "That was so mean!" John"s voice began to squek again and by now, I was laughing loudly. "Ellie, can you please be quiet?" asked Miss, Rivers "Who"s robbed my eye-liner pencil?" shouted Bella over the comotion and shrieks from Alex. "Will you just forget about make-up and short skirts for ONE MINUTE!" shouted Tanya. "Are you going to make me?" "Hello? Does anybody even care that Justin is being called names?" "I do!" I joined in, being a loyal JT fan myself. "Honestly Johhny, there was no need to set the carpet on fire!" "Sorry Miss....." So the carpet was on fire, Alex was clsoe to tears and Bella was ready to hurl a tube of foundation at Tanya. Veyr oeaceful RE Lesson, I must say!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ "Er.....Summer....you know today in geometry?" I said shyly as Summer carried on chewing on a chocolate bar. "Yeah, you got into trouble with Mrs. Baker and Freddy took the blame," said Summer knowingly, who"d obviously been paying attention to something besides the board in geometry. "Yeh, well, I kind of wrote something in my diary and Freddy read it," I said quietly, staring at my shoes. Summer carried on chewing without a care in the world. "Why? What did you write?" she asked bluntly. "Well I kind of wrote that I had a crush on Freddy.......and he read it," I said, quickly, desperate to get it off my chest. Summer"s eyes widened and she stared at me. "You have a crush on Freddy Jones? Since when?" "I don"t know. I didn"t even realise until then that I did. But there"s more..." "What? You confessed your undying love for every boy in class?" said Summer sarcastically. I gave her an annoyed look, joking, before carrying on. "He said the feeling was mutual," I said, once again Summer"s eyes widened and she just stared at me. But this time, after staring, she broke into a huge grin. "This is perfect, I can set you two up!" she said excitedly, her eyes scanning the lunch tables for Freddy. "Summer, don"t be silly. Me? And Freddy? A couple? That"s just too weird," I said, shivering at the thought. I couldn"t date somebody, especially not now. After all, I knew it would be too much to handle. I had the secret. The secret which I couldn"t even tell Summer. The secret that"s been giving me headaches worrying about it since last week. The secret which was going to turn my life upside down. "Are you okay?" Summer asked, placing her hand on my shoulder. "I think I"m sick, I"d better go home," I said, jumping up and walking away. I couldn"t be around Summer anymore and still keep the secret to myself. "Hey, we"re you going?" called out a familiar voice. Freddy was approaching, running to catch up with my brisk walking. "Home, I feel sick, "I lied, walking even faster. Freddy touched my arm to slow me down and it gave me a start. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked, noticing the tears in my eyes. I nodded even though a tear slipped down my face. "Yeah, I"ve...got to go," I said once and for all before breaking into a run. /N: By the way, I"m from the UK so if I get some things about schools in USA mixed up, don"t blame me! Thanks for the replies, you guys are great and so generous! I"ll keep updating as long as I know people want to read my work! Thanks again! I kept on running right out of the school gate and down the street. I didn"t stop running until I got to my porch. My heat was beating and my feet were aching. I just needed to get out of there, away from everybody asking me questions. "Are you ok Katie? What"s the matter Katie? Everything going alright?" No, no, no, no, no! Everything was all wrong and not ok at all. I pulled out a key from my pocket and let myself into the house. Luckily for me, Mum was still at work. I almost called out for Dad without realising. You idiot,I thought to myself, you have got to get a grip, Katie. You can"t keep doing this stupid habits. I felt tears well up in my eyes as I thought back through almost my whole life. Coming home from school was great. When I was a kid, Dad would pick me up and spin me around and around until I nearly puked. As I got older, Dad used to hug me and ask me how my day was. I couldnt help it, all the memories came flooding back and tear spilled over my eyelids. I held my hand to my mouth to stop myself from crying out loud. "Promise me you wont get upset Katie, I love you and I don"t want to hurt you. You have to promise to be strong for me." "I promise Dad." I guess I was breaking my promise. How could I feel guilty for getting upset? It was all their fault, my parents. They decided to divorce, not me. I didnÀÀt want all this. "Oh for goodness sake Rick, you"re not dying! You"re going to see her next week for dinner." My Mom. She was careless and uncompassionate. How could she be so straight forward about everything? She just didn"t get it. It was all fine for her. She and Dad had been rowing for months, they didn"t love each other anymore, it was a good thing for her when Dad packed up his things and left. Didn"t she realise how I felt? My Dad, the person I had shared my house with for fourteen years, was leaving for good. "You"re not to tell anyone just yet Katie. Me and your Dad don"t want any attention right now." So that was that, I wasn"t allowed to tell anyone even though it was tearing me apart inside. It was all one big secret. "Come on Katie, cheer up. You"ve been acting down for days. Lets get our life back to normal, come on darling, lets not make a big deal out of it." How could Mom be so unemotional? I hated her. I hated Dad for leaving. I hated both of them and if I had my way, I wouldn"t live with either of them. Even though I felt this way, I still missed Dad. I hate him but I missed him too. His apartment wasn"t ready yet so I couldn"t visit him. We just had to talk on the phone. Just like last night"s phone call.... "How are you Katie? How"s school? I"ve missed you a lot." "Me too Dad. I want you to come back and be my Dad again." "Don"t be silly, I"ll always be your Dad, even if I"m on the other side of the world." "No, a Dad lives in the same house. A Dad speaks to his children every day. A Dad will do anything to avoid hurting their children!" I hung up not knowing what to think anymore. I still didn"t know what to think, about school, my friends, my parents....or Freddy.... A/N: I don"t think I can thank you loot enough for all your great reviews. I"m going to try and follow everybody"s advice. I hope, you all like it so far, I"m going to introduce some romance now! Dear Diary, today ahs just been crazy. First of all, I Freddy and I found out we like each other and next thing I know, I"m running home, crying. Maybe Mom"s right, maybe I am making a fuss out of it. I just don"t know. I don"t know anyone else who"s parents are divorced. There are plenty of kids in my grade who are "divorced kids" but I don"t really speak to any of them. Hold on, there"s one person I know., Freddy. His parents divorced when he was a little kid. Maybe I could speak to him? No way, it wouldn"t work. Things would be too awkward, knowing that we like each other. I"ll just have to deal with it until I"m "allowed" to say anything. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- "I"m home!" called Mom"s voice from the hallway. I sat perfectly still at the table, snapping my diary shut so she couldn"t read a word. "Hi Mom," I said bluntly. Why didn"t I get along with her? Any other teenage girl is best friends with her Mom. Me and my Mom, we"re too different. Mom is loud and outgoing, I"m quiet and shy. Mom"s priorities lie with her work. I care about my family and friends. "How was your day?" Mom asked, politely making conversation. I shrugged, deciding not to tell Mom that I came home from school early. I knew she"d just make a huge fuss and I couldn"t be bothered to listening to her going on about how "we had to get our life back on track" and that "divorce isn"t the end of the world". I left Mom alone in the kitchen and ventured up to my bedroom. It was almost three-thirty and I just wanted to curl up with my diary in my bedroom. But when I reached the hall, I heard the doorbell ring. I walke dover and opened the front door to find Freddy on the porch. "Hi Katie, I was just coming to see if you were okay. Summer said you went home sick," he said, his hands in his pockets nervously. "Oh, yeah, I felt sick but I feel better now," I replied nervously. It was kind of awkward. I mean, come on, me and Freddy had just found out we have a crush on eachother and now he was showing up at my house! "Er....good. I was just wondeirng if maybe you would like....to....erm,.....maybe go and see the new Johnny Depp movie....with me..." "Okay. Erm, when?" "Well it"s showing at seven-thirty tomorrow." "Yeah....that would be fun." "Okay, I"ll meet you at the Multi-plex at seven?" "Yeah, see you then," I said, smiling to myself. Freddy waved shly and then set off back towards the gate, I shut the door over and then leant against it, grinning. I raced right upstairs and and began writing. Dear Diary, oh my goodness, I can"t believe what just happened! Freddy just turned up on my doorstep and asked me out ON A DATE!!!!! This is unblieveable, and I said yes! So tomorrow, I will be at the multi-plex on a real date. I couldn"t believe how shy Freddy was acting, Usually, he"s so confident, especially aorund his friends. Maybe he"s just like me soemtimes. I"m looking forward to tomorrow night so much, I don"t know what I"m going to wear though! Shall I dress up? Or dress casual? What do I know about dates anyway? I will have to ring Michelle, I"m sure her sister Beth will help. After all, she"s a sophmore, she must have been on a lot of dates. I"ll have to call her tonight. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ "Katie? Can you come here?" called Mom from downstairs. I shut my diary and went down the stairs. Mom was standing by the door, her arms crossed and tapping her foot impatiently. Uh-oh. I"m in trouble. I knew it as soon as I saw her. "Yes Mom?" "Who was that boy?" My stomach felt as though it had flipped over and my mouth went dry. "What do you mean Mom?" "Who was that boy who asked you out?" How had she heard him? Was she spying on me? "Freddy, from school." "Katie, you know the rules!" "What rules?" I asked. I knew something bad was going to happen, I just knew it. No way could my crush ask me out without something going wrong. "You"re not allowed a boyfriend until you"re sixteen!" "What? You can"t be serious, I thought that was something you said to keep me away form boys when I was a kid!" I shouted out. There was no way I was willing to believe such a stupid rule. Mom couldn"t ruin this for me. "No Katie, I am serious. You"re not going." "But Mom...you can"t.....you can"t....." A/N: Thanks for the reviews! This si just a REALLY short chapter explaining what happens during supper that night. Dear Diary, I knew it was all too good to be true. Mom"s ruined everything, my only chance to be with Freddy. I hate her. How can I go to school tomorrow and tell Freddy it"s off because "I"m not allowed to date"? It"d be social suicide. I"d be laughed out of the school! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- "Katie! Dinner"s ready!" "I"m not coming down!" I shouted back sulkily. I had been locked up in my room for hours, writing in my diary and playing computer games. I could stay up here all day if I wanted. Mom was bound to crack eventually and give in. "Yes you are," cried Mom. She wasn"t taking no for an answer. Well, she could shout all day, I wasn"t going down. I didn"t want to see her or eat dinner with her. So I sat in my room for another five minutes, ignoring Mom. Eventually I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and a knock at my door. "Go away," I said bluntly. Mum completely ignored me and walked right in the room. "Katie, this is no way to treat your own mother," said Mom, narrowing her eyes and staring at me, "You can"t talk to me like that and treat me with no respect." "Well, maybe you could treat me with respect. I"m not a kid, I can look after myself." "Listen Katie, I"m not going to argue. I"ll speka with you in the morning." Mom flounced out of the room and right down the stairs, humming a happy tune. She honestly didn"t care, did she? Hold on, I thought, I don"t have to do what she says! I cna go no a date if I wnat to..... Dear Diary, today"s the day. The Date Day. I feel as though it"s been on my mind for weeks even though Freddy only asked me out yesterday. And it feels like weeks since I spoke to Mom. But I can"t just forgive her for refusing to let me date. After all, I"m not going to follow her stupid rules. I"m going with Freddy tonight. Mom will just have to let me go. She can"t physically stop me. She can"t weld the front door shut and keep me locked up forever. Especially since she"ll be at work until five o, clock tonight which gives me plenty of time to sneak away and leave a brief note for Mom. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------- "Katie, you"re going to be late!" Mom called from he kitchen. I sighed, shutting over my diary. I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen to have breakfast reluctantly. As soon as Mom caught sight of me walking into the kitchen, she stared at me, her mouth open wide as if she was about to speak. Okay, I"d put on make-up for school. Not just plains tuff, real make- up like mascara and lip gloss and plenty of eye make-up. And I"d worn my hair differently too. Usually, I have my long dark hair tied back very plainly. But early this morning, I sneaked Mom"s hair curlers from her bedroom and curled my own hair. I liked it so far but I wasn"t sure whether it suited me at all. "Katie, what have you done to yourself?" Mom shrieked, starring at me. Great, I though, just the reaction I wanted. "What do you mean Mom?" "Your hair! The Make-up!" "Oh, I just felt like a change." I was grinning widely now. I knew I"d got to Mom and that was a great feeling of revenge. "Oh, I see. You"re trying to impress this boy. Well you can forget it, you"re not going!" "To school?" I said, being deliberately stupid. "No, on this date!" "I think we"ve established that Mom," I said, still grinning from ear- to-ear. I liked to see Mom acting so dramatic over silly things. "I mean it Katie, I"m not letting you go to the movies tonight!" "Sure Mom, see ya!" I cried before grabbing my schoolbag and dashing out of the door. I was halfway down the street before I stopped skipping. Not only was I going on this date but I was going to have a great time, nervous or not. I met Summer when I reached class, just on time. She also stared at me just like Mom had done. It was a matter of milliseconds before I spilled out the whole date-thing to Summer. I"d just gotten to the part about this morning with Mom when I heard voices behind me. "Hey Katie! You look great!" I spun around, smiling and blushing, hoping to find Freddy. But oh no, it was Zack. He was standing with Freddy and Freddy was blushing, his hands in his pockets, scuffing the floor with his feet. I saw Zack nudge Freddy, urging him to compliment me. I just stood there, twisting a lock of hair around my finger and staring at the floor. "Yeah, um, I like your hair," said Freddy, his voice so quiet I hardly heard him. Summer nudged me, just like Zack. "Er.....thanks." "Hey you guys, you"re not exactly acting like a couple!" said Summer, gesturing to the seniors standing beside us, kissing against a locker as if they"d never kiss again. I think at that moment I turned the same colour as the bright scarlet lockers. A/N: Hi! Thanks for all the reviews, sorry it"s been a while since I updated. Thanks for al the advice, I"m going to try and follow it! "Summer! How could you embarrass me like that?" I whispered as we headed towards class. "Oh don"t be stupid Katie, I was only kidding!" said Summer, streaking ahead to reach Social Studies. I sighed and accepted her sort-of apology. After all, it wasn"t that embarrassing, I was just acting a little weird because of the date-thing and the Mom-thing. I could hardly concentrate on my schoolwork all day, all I could think about was Freddy and our date tonight. I was looking forward to it so much and having a proper boyfriend. At lunch, Summer and I sat at our usual spot on the grass with our lunch and talked. We were just discussing TV when Zack and Freddy came sauntering over confidently. "Hey," said Zack calmly. We both replied with "Hey" and Freddy smiled at me. "I was just saying to Freddy, I"m stuck at home doing nothing tonight because these two are off on a date. You don"t want to meet up, do you?" Zack asked Summer very subtly. Ok, rewind. First I"m going out with Freddy and then Zack asks Summer on a date? It was like cupid was working over-time or something. Summer, who"d obviously been taken by surprise, hesitated for a moment and glanced at me nervously. "Sure, why not? What did you have in mind?" said Summer, snapping back into her usual confident self. "I dunno, the movies?" "No way Dude, you guys aren"t crashing our date," jumped in Freddy defensively. It was the first time Freddy had spoken properly and the fact that he was suggesting he wanted us to be alone was really romantic. "Ok, we"ll go to the diner or something." "Sure, see you at seven?" "See you there." Summer linked my arm and dragged me away form Freddy and Zack so we could talk. "How did he know?" "Know what?" "That I wanted him to ask me out!" "You did? Why didn"t you tell me?" "I dunno, I just didn"t I guess." "You know what this means, don"t you?" "What?" "We"re so getting ready for our dates together!" Summer and I agreed and walked off towards class, linked arm in arm. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------- Dear Diary, today was crazy! First Summer practically told me and Zack to make-out and then Zack asked Summer on a date! Me and Summer are going tog et ready together and I"m going to borrow some of Summer"s clothes considering mine are so lame. I"m really excited now, I can"t wait until the date. Just a few hours to go! I wonder if anyone form school will see me with Freddy? I hope they do, I want to show off that I have a boyfriend! The Mom problem is not important anymore because I am going, there"s no way around it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- I"d just put down my pen when a folded note landed on my desk from behind. I unfolded the not carefully and stared in awe at what was written. To Katie, I cant wait until tonight. I"m sure you"ll look real pretty. I"m so glad I asked you out at last. love Freddy x x x "What the hell is that?" A hand, not large enough to belong to a teacher grabbed the note right from my fingertips....... "Hey!" I looked up and saw Freddy waving to me form the entrance to the Multiplex. I smiled and walked over. "Hey, you haven"t been waitng, have you?" "No, just got here. Zack was taking forever getting ready." "Yeah, Summer was too. Who would"ve thought they would get together?" "Who would"ve thought we"d get together?" said freddy and he took hold of my hand. I smiled nervously. Ok, he"s holding your hand, no need to panic. I loosened up and felt a bit more comfortable as we walked into the cinema slowly. "Uh oh!" I said suddenly as we ehaded for the ticket desk. fredyd looked up, seeming concerned. "What is it?" he asked quickly. "The movie. It"s NC-17! We"re too young, they won"t sell me the ticket. I don"t look seventeen," I rpotested, hesitating near the ticket desk. Freddy sighed. "Of course they will. Don"t worry, just go ahead, I"ve got your back!" said Freddy calmly, urging me to go and pay. I took a deep breath and headed towards the counter. "Hey, one for American Fury please," I said cooly, throwing my hair over one shoulder. I knew I didn"t look seventeen, even if Summer and I had tried really hard when getting ready. I was dressed in a dark denim skirt with knee boots, on loan from Summer and a red sweater with a denim jacket. My hair was still in soft curls and my make-up was as heavy as ever. I kenw I looked older but I wasn"t sure whether I looked old enough to pass for seventeen. "Do you have any proof of age?" said the guy behind the desk, eyeing me up suspiciously. I stared at him as if I thought he was joking. Just play cool. "What?" I said, trying to seem shocked for being asked that. "Hey! What"s going on here?" called a deep voice from behind me. Freddy came sauntering over and gave the guy a disgusting look. "Can I help you?" said the guy at the desk. "Yeah you can. Can you tell me why you"re mouthing off to my girlfriend?" "Sorry, dude, I need proof of age." "Are you trying to say me and my girlfriend carry around ID cards like morons?" "No I"m not saying that." I knew what Freddy was doing, he was acting like a tough guy, trying to intimidate the guy behind the counter. After all, Freddy did look a few years beyond his age, being tall and everything. "Well, how about you just serve my girlfriend and get me a ticket while you"re at it?" "I can"t serve anybody under the age restriction." "Do I look like I"d date a kid?!?" said Freddy, even louder so a lot of people were staring now. Obviously wantign to avoid a scene, the guy handed over the tickets and we handed over the money and headed for the cinema. "I can"t believe you just did that!" I whispered once we were further away form the guy. "Well, I told you I got your back." "You called me your girlfriend." "You are......aren"t you?" said Freddy nervously. "Yeah," I said with a giggle. Next thing I knew, Freddy was leaning closer to me. I kenw what was coming next. I closed my eyes. and felt his lips connect with mine. I felt as though an electrical current had been shot through my body. It was amazing. Unbelieveable. "About time you two!" I knew it was Summer calling that but I paid no attention and enjoyed my first real kiss......

"Okay, pear tree growing out of his boat," Audrey said into the phone. "Duke spit that out! We don"t know what it might do to you." Duke"s eyes got wide for a moment while he realized the truth of what she"d said and he turned on his heal to spit the masticated fruit into the sink. "Okay, this is beginning to make some sense," Nathan replied with a laugh. "It is?" Audrey asked bewildered. "Sorry I was curt with you when I picked up, but I"ve just spent the last 2 hours over at Joe Hanlon"s place trying to figure out why his chickens have stopped clucking and started "mais"ing and I"m driving now to Gladys King"s to clear her living room of pigeons. She said she went down for a nap and when she woke the place was filled with them." He laughed again. "Guess it all makes sense now." "How does any of that make sense?" Audrey asked. "It"s the Days of Christmas song, Parker. Don"t you see? Duke"s got the pear tree, probably a partridge around there too somewhere I"d guess. Joe"s got French hens. "Mais" is French for corn; girls were just asking for their dinner," he laughed again, "and Gladys has the doves. Someone"s bringing the song to life. Pretty innocuous as far as troubles go, that is unless I crash my truck driving around in this blizzard." "Crap. So that means we"ve got, what 5 more of these to sort out?" "More like 9 Parker. It"s the 12 Days of Christmas." Nathan answered laughing at her over the phone. "It is? I could have sworn it was 8." Nathan imagined he could picture Audrey wrinkling her brow in confusion. "Hey Duke!" She yelled to their friend who was still rinsing his mouth out over the sink. "How many days of Christmas are there?" "Seriously?" Duke asked looking back at her. "Twelve, Audrey. There are 12 days of Christmas." "Huh," Audrey said to herself. "Well that sucks, even more messes to clean up, I guess." "You and Duke work on trying to figure out who might be causing this," Nathan continued. "I"ll go sort out Mrs. King and swing by to pick you up when I"ve finished." "Alright, see you soon." Audrey replied. "What about my boat?" Duke asked, sensing the partners were wrapping up their conversation without properly addressing his involuntary home remodeling. "Tell Duke to settle down," Nathan replied having heard Duke through the phone. "I"ll send Dwight out to the Rouge as soon as he"s available." "Dwight"s on his way," Audrey told Duke as she closed her phone. "Good. That"s good." Duke replied. Then he added, "That"s all Nathan said? He didn"t have any sarcastic comment to make about any of this?" "No." Audrey replied. "Why would he?" "I don"t know. It"s just, Nathan"s been weird lately. Have you noticed? I saw him at Rosemary"s the other day and he bought me a coffee when I couldn"t find my wallet." Duke finished and looked at her expectantly. Audrey laughed. "Duke, Nathan"s a good guy. He does stuff like that all the time. Besides it Christmastime, you know how he loves this time of year." "No. I know how he hates this time of year. I mean sure when we were kids he loved it, all kids love Christmas. But since his mom died, he"s always hated the holidays. I don"t think the Wuornos" even celebrated Christmas after that." This gave Audrey pause. If Nathan hated Christmas, then what was up with all his good cheer of late? If this was some other sort of trouble, she was going to scream. He certainly hadn"t been acting "troubled". His merriment seems genuine enough to her, although she couldn"t deny it was out of character. Audrey shook her head a bit to clear it and then turned to Duke. "One mystery at a time." She said. "Now concentrate. Who else might have been at Frank"s?" "That," said Duke pointing with disgust, "is the creepiest thing that I have ever seen". Inside the cooler at Frank"s, cellophane wrapped turkeys sat neatly in a row. The scene almost looked normal until periodically one of the birds would let out a warble and begin rocking to and fro. "And remember Nathan, I saw your pantomime to "Don"t Worry Be Happy" in our 3th grade talent show. For a moment it looked like Nathan was going to retaliate with his own pointed barb, but instead he just smiled good naturedly at Duke and walked over to ask Frank some follow up questions. "See! That"s exactly what I"m talking about. What the hell was that? I bring up what has become known in Haven Elementary circles as the "McFerrin Fiasco" and he just smiles and walks away? Something is very wrong with him, Audrey. And it"s freaking me out." "Yeah," Audrey agreed, "that was definitely strange." She looked pointedly at the back of her partner"s sandy blonde head as if the answers to his new Duke acceptance were written there. Could Nathan be under the influence of someone troubled? Sure she"d be immune, but wouldn"t Duke be affected or the guys down at the station? She was roused from trying to recollect any odd, or odder than usual, behavior down at the precinct by a loud squawking sound from the cooler. "Okay let"s focus on the song trouble for now, who knows maybe it"s related to whatever"s going on with Nathan." They had already been heading down to Frank"s shop to begin their investigation when the call from the man in question came through to Nathan"s cell. It seemed that even in a town like Haven, squawking frozen poultry was enough to warrant a call to the police. Duke had come along for the ride. Not wanting to be around while Dwight did whatever it was he did to "clean" and as an eyewitness to the presumed ground zero of the Days of Christmas affliction, the partners had thought he"d be an asset to their investigation. That was until they"d walked into the small grocery store. Duke had not been kidding about Frank"s animosity towards him. "What do you want, Crocker?" he sneered as they entered the front doors. "Relax old man. I"m with them," Duke indicated to Nathan and Audrey. "I see your ways finally caught up to you, boy," Frank said to Duke. "Make sure you lock him up for a good long time officers," he told Nathan and Audrey. "All-righty," said Audrey shooing Duke further into one of the aisles and out of the old grocer"s line of vision as Nathan addressed Frank, "Actually sir, we"re hear responding to your call about some trouble with your poultry." "What did you do to piss him off?" Audrey whispered when they were well out of view of the front counter. "I stole a Twix bar." "What? Today? Why?" Audrey asked incredulously. "In the 4th grade," Duke answered looking at her like she was nuts, "Because I was hungry. Old man Frank really knows how to hold a grudge." When they"d finally finished questioning Frank and loaded the offending turkeys onto the back of the Bronco, wrapped tightly in a blanket to muffle their calls, the 3 climbed inside and began heading back towards the water. "Well not too much new information," Nathan sighed. "Frank did give me a few more names of people who might have been in around the time you were there, Duke. I say we call it a night, let this storm pass and see what we can figure out in the morning. If anymore troubles pop up, I"m sure I"ll hear about them." "Maybe there won"t be anything for awhile. I mean "5 golden rings" is when the song"s tempo slows down, right?" Duke asked looking expectantly at Nathan and Audrey in the front seat. Both looked back at him with blank stares. "You know, Fiiiiiiive goooooolden riiiiiings," he sang in a shaky off-key voice. Audrey"s blank stare turned to a grin at his singing but Nathan only raised one eyebrow and glanced back at him through the rearview mirror with distaste. "What?" Duke asked him. "I didn"t say anything," Nathan replied. "Yeah, but you were looking at me funny!" Nathan looked about ready to launch into some retort that the 2 had probably thrown back and forth at each other for decades, when he cast his eyes sideways to Audrey and then back to Duke. "Sorry, Duke." He said earnestly, "I didn"t realize." Audrey shot Duke a concerned look over her shoulder, which he returned with a puzzled shake of his head and the 3 rode on in silence for the rest of the ride to the marina. "You really think Dwight"s been able to clean up my boat in just a few hours with this blizzard going on?" Duke asked. "He"s good at what he does," Nathan answered simply. "He better be. You 2 can expect a bill for any damages I find," Duke admonished wagging his finger at them. "Yeah right," said Audrey laughing. "More like you can expect a bill from us for Dwight"s services." "You"re joking, right?" Duke asked looking nervously between the partners. "She"s joking, right Nathan?" "Goodnight, Duke" the 2 responded in unison and Duke stepped out of the truck with a defeated, "Night" and a wave over his shoulder. As soon as the door shut behind him, Audrey turned in her seat to fully take in her partner beside her. "What?" said Nathan glancing awkwardly back at her. "How are you feeling, Nathan?" she asked looking at him with concern. "Fine. I"m feeling fine," he answered a little warily. "Mm-hmm," she said, "and nothing new has happened recently? No unexpected visitors or run-ins?" "No," said Nathan slowly looking at her with concern now. "Why? What"s up?" "That is exactly what I want to know, Nathan. What is up? You do realize you missed about 100 opportunities to make snide comments at Duke tonight, right? You laughed at his jokes? You let him tease you?" "He wasn"t teasing me. Don"t put it that way. It sounds weird." Nathan deflected. "Aha! So you don"t deny being nice to him." "No, detective," Nathan smiled over to her, "I don"t deny it." "So don"t you think that"s a little odd? You"re never nice to Duke." "And you think I might be influenced by someone troubled," said Nathan finally putting the pieces together. "It"s not a trouble, Audrey. I know why I"m being nice to him and it has nothing to do with a troubled person." "Alright, then why?" He paused a moment looking over at her, "Let me ask you this. Do you like it, your closest friends getting along better? Does it make you happy." "Yes," she answered simply. Because it did make her happy, happier than she had realized. "Then don"t worry about it, okay?" Nathan smiled and pulled up into the lot of the Grey Gull. They"d arrived without Audrey even noticing. "Looks like you"re going to have to swim for it again," he told her with a grin. "Goodnight, Audrey." "Goodnight, Nathan." Audrey opened her eyes blinking against the bright light of the morning. A quick squint at the window confirmed that last night"s blizzard had resulted in a complete whiteout. She was about to turn over and pull the covers back over her head when she caught a glimpse of her clock face, which was persistently blinking a red "12:00" back at her. "Damn," she muttered. What time was it anyway? She"d guessed it was much later than when she normally got up with her alarm, but then why hadn"t Nathan called. Even with the blizzard they were in the middle of a trouble case. He wouldn"t just take the day off. And if he"d gotten to work and seen she wasn"t in, wouldn"t he have tried to get a hold of her? She sat up and fumbled on the nightstand for her cell trying unsuccessfully to hold back a sudden wave of panic that was surging within her. The roads had been terrible last night and he hadn"t called to say he"d gotten back to his place in one piece. Audrey quickly located Nathan in her contacts and hit "send". "Morning, sleepyhead," came Nathan"s voice sounding very much like someone who was not mangled and frozen on the side of the road. "Nathan," she smiled with relief. "What"s going on? It"s..." a quick glance down at the phone, "10:30. Why didn"t you call?" "Sorry. Thought I"d let you get some rest." "Thanks, I guess," she replied feeling both thankful and irritated he"d given her the morning off. "Any news on our troubled Christmas fan?" "Well, the good news is we"ve made it past the birds." "Come again?" "You know, the song. It"s about someone sending their true love gifts for Christmas, and except for those rings Duke was so enamored with last night, the first 7 gifts are all birds: partridges, doves, swans. Always seemed like a weird way to say you care, to me. But thankfully we"re through the woods, or the skies I guess, for now." "Ooookay," said Audrey thinking for the hundredth time what a strange man Nathan Wuornos was. "So if that"s the good news, what"s the bad news?" "The bad news, Parker" replied Nathan more seriously, "is that these are getting more dangerous." He paused, "Well, the rings were sort of funny, actually. Bill Denbrough woke up this morning with some new piercings, ears, lip, eyebrow and other," he paused, "more exotic locales." "Ouch." Audrey laughed. "Yeah," Nathan agreed. "I shouldn"t laugh, but Bill"s always been kind of a jerk, so...I"ve actually got Duke with him now trying to convince him he was at the Gull last night overindulging. Not sure how we"re going to convince him he got all that done voluntarily when the last thing he remembers is going to bed early last night sober as a judge." "Look at you and Duke working together," Audrey teased, "just like the Hardy boys." "Funny. So does that make you Nancy Drew?" "Alright that"s enough name calling," Audrey laughed. "That takes care of the rings. Where do all these birds come in?" "Right, Denbourgh"s goose farm. Bill"s brother Sam woke up this morning to find all the geese dead. I guess that"s "geese a-laying". Guy"s devastated, place had been in the family for ages, not to mention all the interrupted Christmas dinners. Bill had dozens of orders in place for tomorrow." "Well it sounds like a pretty crappy morning if you"re a Denbourgh or a fan of Christmas goose, but otherwise I"d say we"ve gotten off pretty easy so far. I thought you said these were getting dangerous?" Audrey asked. "Yeah I did," Nathan answered simply. And for the first time in the conversation Audrey became aware of voices and beeps coming from the background of Nathan"s line. "Nathan, where are you?" "Haven Memorial." "What? Are you okay? We"ve been on the phone this whole time and you"re just telling me this now!" Audrey had jumped out of bed in her tirade and was quickly double tasking chastising Nathan and getting ready to head over the hospital having momentarily forgotten her car was back at the station. "Parker, relax. I"m fine. It"s just a cautionary check-up," he reassured. "Turns out "swans a-swimming" meant flooding the Swann"s residence. Luckily I was already on the scene. The father was at Frank"s yesterday and when I heard the name I figured something like this could be coming so I went over to their place first thing this morning. Living room filled up pretty quickly though. Not sure what would have happened if I weren"t there to shoot out the windows." "Nathan. I want you to stay at that hospital until you"ve been cleared to leave, do you understand me?" Audrey warned. "Yes, ma"am," he smiled to himself at her concern. "And then I want you to meet me at the station. You"ve given me an idea for how we might solve this thing." "Where is he?" Audrey murmured for the third time in as many minutes. "Audrey, relax." Duke commanded snatching the pencil that she had been tapping incessantly on her desk from her fingers. "He"s probably just being held up because of the weather. We did just have a major blizzard less than 12 hours ago." Duke knew he must have said the wrong thing because Audrey took out her cell phone again and held it to her ear looking more and more worried as she received no answer. To be honest, Duke was starting to worry himself. Audrey had called him forever ago saying she needed a ride to the station to work on the Christmas trouble case. It had taken him an hour to get to the Gull and they"d been waiting for Nathan to arrive at the police station now for nearly 2. "I"m going to call the hospital," Audrey declared aloud, wondering to herself when she had become so preoccupied with Nathan"s safety. Wasn"t it just hours ago she"d been convinced he"d been in a terrible wreck? Clearly he was going to have to stay within arm"s reach of her from now on if she was going to have any piece of mind. "No need," came Nathan"s voice from the doorframe. "Nathan," Audrey exclaimed, forcefully subduing her impulse to enfold him in a hug. "Where have you been? It"s been hours since we talked." "Well I was warned under threat of punishment to stay put at the hospital till I was cleared for discharge," he grinned. "Just got the all clear a half hour ago". Nathan shot an odd glance at Duke who had stepped up to place a hand onto Nathan"s shoulder, clearly having lost his battle to subdue a physical expression of his relief at seeing the other man alive and well. "We were kind of worried sick, man," said Duke in explanation, stepping aside as Nathan made his way into the office to sit behind his old desk sitting kitty corner to Audrey"s. "What took so long?" Nathan looked reluctant to reply but Duke and Audrey both stood silently staring at him waiting for an answer. "Just had to get my body temperature up a bit. Not a big deal." "You had hypothermia?" Audrey exclaimed. Forget "arm"s reach,' she was going to have to keep Nathan in her arms for both their sakes. "A very mild case, yes." Nathan replied trying to emphasize to Audrey the very temperate nature of his condition. "And, I am 100% in the clear," Nathan vaguely gestured at himself with his hands, presumably to convey his exceptional health. "So what"s the big breakthrough? How do we solve this whole "12 Days of Christmas" thing?" Nathan picked up the pencil Duke had snatched from Audrey earlier and looked up expectantly at her. Audrey looked ready to launch into a further discussion of his health, but decided against it. "Okay," she began. "Remember how you deduced the Swann"s would be targets of this thing when Frank gave you Mr. Swann"s name? Well as I see it we only have 5 more troubles to get through and a half dozen or so names of potential troubled people or victims. If we can try to guess which days of the song go with which people, that might narrow down our suspect list. At the very least it will put us in position to help the victims if these things keep getting more dangerous." "Sounds like a plan to me," Nathan smiled proudly at her. "I"ll get on the database and see what kind of info I can pull up on our names. Duke, see if you can"t come up with some possible scenarios that would fit the days of the song. So far, outside of your pear tree, they haven"t been very traditional interpretations." "And I"ll work between the 2 of you, seeing if I can"t pair some of these folks to our 5 remaining days," said Audrey. "Anyone mind if I put on some Christmas music while we work?" asked Nathan. Duke looked at Nathan like he"d sprouted another head and turned to share a look of concern with Audrey. But Audrey wasn"t looking at him. She was beaming at Nathan like he"d hung the moon. "Clearly the crazy is catching," he muttered to himself. Several hours later their hard work was paying off. A quick call to Brady Kincaid, proud proprietor of Mighty Maids Inc. located in neighboring Derry, prepared the Kincaid family for the sudden and somewhat unwelcome arrival of 8 of Brady"s employees in their kitchen. And a similarly simple phone call to the Piper Shore retirement center, run by one Anne Dugan who had happened to pop into Frank"s the preceding day, prepared them for the streak of plumbing incidences that followed. They hadn"t been able to predict the outbreak of uncontrolled dancing that had taken place at the Good Shepard Church"s annual Christmas Eve dance when Betty Snell involuntarily jitterbugged for the whole congregation while her cousin Steve looked on in terror as his own hands beat out a rhythm on the bongos against his will. Thankfully though the trouble had subsided on its own after a few minutes and they had had the good fortune to knock out 2 days and 2 of their suspects in one go. "That just leaves "lords a-leaping,' said Duke looking down at his notes. "And Rich Bachman and Joey Stillson," added Nathan. "Leaping," Duke said under his breath, racking his brain for any idea of what this trouble could manifest as. "leap frog, leap year, leaping lizards...Hey maybe its got to do with lizards? Nathan, anything on either of those 2 on lizards?" "What?" asked Nathan. "I don"t think so. Bachman is the basketball coach over at the high school and Joey"s his star player. Maybe the kid"s got one for a pet?" "Well they"re our last 2 suspects," Audrey reasoned. "If we stick to them, one of them should have something happen to them sooner rather than later." "And then whoever"s left is our guy," said Duke. "Right," said Audrey, "so where are they now?" Duke and Nathan shared a worried look and said in unison, "The Christmas Eve basketball game." Just then Nathan"s cell ran. "Wournos," he answered. He ran a weary hand through his hair as he listened to the caller. "We"re on our way," he finished hanging up the phone. "Situation at the high school," he told them. "Joey Stillson and the varsity boys basketball are on the roof threatening to jump."

"No way," he states definitively. Sometimes Mindy is crazy even by Mindy standards. "Is this because of our personal relationship?" She asks in a tone of total seriousness. "What?!" He laughs, because really the idea that they have any kind of relationship is ludicrous. "We don"t have a personal relationship. We"re lab partners; that"s it. My relationship with you is about as personal as my relationship with this sofa." "Alright. Then you can have no objection to watching me try on a bunch of outfits. You"re going to reupholster the sofa that is Mindy Lahiri," she announces with a flourish gesturing at herself. "We"ll go to the mall after school. Chico"s here we come." Before he can argue, she rises from her seat and ducks quickly towards him to give him a peck on the cheek. "I"ll buy you a frozen yogurt as a thank you," she says. "Nah. Scratch that. Frozen yogurt"s disgusting. We"ll get some soft pretzels instead." He sits on the couch for a while after she"s departed, Shakespeare forgotten and still oddly aware of the place on his cheek where a trace of her lip gloss lingers. The thing about being Mindy"s lab partner is that it is horrible. Most of the time. But every once in a while, it isn"t. "Okay, Danny. What do you think of this one?" Mindy asks swooshing open the changing room curtain. "It"s great. You look nice." He answers, eyes never leaving the newspaper in his lap. "Go to hell, Danny. You"re not even looking," she sighs in exasperation. "I know you don"t really want to be here, but you ate that soft pretzel, mister. That"s a binding social contract. So help me out!" "Look," he explains folding his newspaper and putting it away in his backpack. "Keep it simple. Normal clothes. You know, shoes that aren"t going to make you complain if you walk 2 blocks. Look nice," and then he adds finally looking up at the outfit she"s got on, "Wear anything but what you"ve got on right now." "What do you mean?" She asks looking down at the sequined top she"s trying on. "This is perfect." "Yeah. Perfect if you"re trying to impress Elton John." "It"s Sir Elton John, Danny. Show some respect." She answers. "Okay, so if this is no good, what do you recommend?" "Here, try these" He suggests handing her a selection of blouses from a nearby display table of which he imagines Ms. Neuhauser would approve. She mimics slitting her wrists and bleeding out after glancing through his choices, but takes them none-the-less and pulls back the curtain of the changing room. He is leaning on the doorjamb of the dressing room, only half listening to Mindy"s commentary through the curtain when he sees her. Christina. For a minute he is so taken aback that she is here at the Eileen Fisher in Columbus Circle he simply stands dazed and staring. But as her eyes begin to scan the store, he panics. With only the thought that he can"t bear to see her again racing through his head, he quickly ducks into Mindy"s changing room and snaps the curtain shut behind him. He goes to take a deep breath in relief at his narrow escape when it registers suddenly that he is standing in front of a very naked and very embarrassed Mindy and the air gets caught in his throat causing him to choke and sputter. "Why are you naked?" He asks in a panicked whisper. "Why am I naked? This is a changing room, Danny!" Mindy screams scrambling to grab whatever clothes she can reach. "Yeah, but why are you all the way naked?" He asks frantically shifting his eyes to the floor and then ceiling and then to the floor once more. "I was taking advantage of the 3 way mirrors to assess my figure," she hisses. "Not that that"s any of your business. What are you doing in here? What are you still doing in here?! Get out!" He turns to acquiesce but stops short of pulling open the curtain at the memory that somewhere, just beyond it, is Christina. Instead he throws his hands over his eyes and tries to buy himself some time. "Do you mean get out of the changing room? Or out of the store? Should I leave the mall all together?" He rambles stalling. "Just get out of here! Oh my god, this is so mortifying." Mindy moans and Danny really does feel terrible at how miserable she sounds. "Listen, here"s the thing," he begins turning back towards her and peaking through his fingers, finding to his relief that Mindy"s managed to scramble into jeans and her sweater in the few moments he"s been shielding his eyes. "There"s a girl out there I don"t want to run into, sort of an ex-girlfriend. We didn"t really end well..." he trails off wanting to convey the importance of avoiding Christina to Mindy without exposing too much of his still very fresh pain. Mindy narrows her eyes at this and puts her hand onto her hip. She uses her free hand to roughly poke his chest, "Oh I see how it is," she begins poking along for emphasis. "You"re some kind cool player who can just hook up with whoever. You probably led that poor girl on, told her you"d love her forever, and then broke her heart. And now you want me to help you avoid a few awkward moments with her. No way, man," she finishes grabbing him by the elbow and moving to open the curtain, "We are going out there and making this right." "No, no, Mindy wait," he pleads desperately. But it"s too late. The damage is done. Not 2 seconds after they emerge from the dressing room does Christina notice them. Not surprising given the small scene they are putting on with Mindy dragging Danny from the changing room as he struggles to get free of her grasp. "Danny?" Christina calls out stilling his struggle instantly. Miserably he turns to face her, heart in his throat. "Christina," he acknowledges sulkily looking down at the beige carpeting beneath him. "It"s really good to see you," she presses on moving tentatively towards him, "After everything that happened, you know with Pauly," she adds in a lowered voice, "Well, I didn"t think I"d ever see you again. How are you?" "Fine," he answers sadly. But his miserable reply barely registers next to Mindy"s loud voice that rings out, "He"s great, better than great. Right honey?" She asks through gritted teeth hiding behind a gigantic smile. She holds his gaze for a second too long and he know she"s asking him to trust her on this one. "Yes. Better than great," he answers back robotically, trying to send his own wordless message of "What the hell are you doing" back to her. "And who are you?" Christina asks, the warm soft quality of her voice from a moment ago replaced with something a bit less friendly. "I"m Mindy. Danny"s girlfriend," Mindy lies fluidly. Danny thinks he might have sprained a neck muscle with the double take her words elicit. He wonders what happened to the vengeful spirit of the changing room. "His girlfriend," Christina repeats looking uncomfortably between the pair of them. "I didn"t realize you were already seeing somebody at your new school, Danny." Her tone is almost accusatory which Danny finds a little rich given she"d been the one to cheat on him, with his buddy no less. "That didn"t take long." "It was sudden," Mindy warbles hanging off his arm and batting her eyelashes up at him, "But we both just knew there was something special between us. Didn"t we, love?" "Yeah. Yeah," he agrees warming to his part in the charade. He pulls Mindy close and plants a kiss onto the top of her head. He"s acting of course, but he hopes she can feel the real affection he feels for her in this moment. "Well I"m glad you"re happy, Danny. I really am," Christina says sounding anything but. "Maybe we can get together sometime and catch up." She finishes hopefully. He"s saved a response by Mindy who answers, "Definitely. We"d love that." "Okay then, bye," Christina says in defeat giving them a sad little wave and several backward glances before disappearing out into the mall. When she"s finally passed from view, Mindy turns in Danny"s arms and gives him a quick hug before stepping back and out of his personal space. "Danny, I am so sorry. When you said your ex was out here I just assumed you"d been the jerk in the relationship." "Jeez. Thanks!" He says sarcastically though there"s not much sting to his response as he"s still beaming at her stupidly. "I had a boyfriend who cheated on me once. Well only one that I know of anyway," she adds with a grimace. "It sucks." "Yeah it does," he readily agrees. "He was an idiot for treating you badly," he adds offhandedly though he really, really means it. They stand for a moment just grinning at one another, a weird energy surging between them. It"s not a new sensation either. In the past few weeks since they"ve been hanging out he"s been feeling it more and more often. He thinks it may be on account of how different they are. Surely a friendship where the people are so different from one another is bound to feel strange every once in awhile. But even as he"s considering and accepting this explanation he can"t help but feel there"s something important he"s forgetting. Some key detail he"s failing to take into account. As he waits by the entrance half an hour later for Mindy to finish buying a handful of Ms. Neuhauser approved tops, one of the sales clerks approaches him. "Your girlfriend left this in the changing room," he says handing over Mindy"s phone. "She"s not my girlfriend," he counters quickly. "That was an act. I would never date that girl," he insists adamantly. He turns at that moment to see Mindy has sidled up beside him. "Here," he says offering her the phone. "You left this in the changing room." "Yeah, I heard." She says angrily plucking the phone from his hand. "Bye," she throws back icily as she marches out of the store. It"s been 2 weeks since Danny helped Mindy shop for "boring old folks" clothes (her words) and though he can"t figure out why, she is definitely giving him the cold shoulder. This frat party, hosted by some cousin of Pete"s at CCNY, if you could call charging someone $20 to drink warm keg beer out a fish bowl "hosting", was the first he"d seen of her out of bio lab. He also can"t figure out why it bothers him so much. It"s not like he misses hearing about what fabulous chemistry she thinks the school"s wrestling team has or what an adorable pair she thinks North West and Prince George will make one day "It would be uniting British and American royalty, Danny". He definitely doesn"t miss being subjected to her insane game plan to win over Casey. Seriously what kind of person does stuff like that? If he does miss her sudden and unexpected friendship, and he"s not saying he does, it"s probably because he"s so damn lonely these days. Who knew somebody could be lonely packed alongside millions of other people on a tiny island? Twice already this week, he"s bought tickets for the ferry back to Staten only to back out on the trip last minute. He misses Stevie and the gang but he doesn"t really want to see them either. If he"s being honest he doesn"t really know what it is he wants. He doesn"t really miss his old life and it seems impossible that he"s missing Mindy. It"s this prevailing sense of isolation that inspired him to agree to come out to this horrible party in the first place. He watches from afar as Mindy argues furiously with some guy from the football team. In her agitation, she struggles out of some expensive looking leather jacket to reveal her bare arms. The creep all but drools ogling her smooth dark skin and Danny rises from the threadbare couch he"s been sitting on to come over and serve as backup in the event that Mindy needs any help fending off the inebriated jock. He"s just set his untouched bowl of flat beer atop an overturned milk crate that"s serving as an end table when Casey appears from somewhere gesticulating to the football player to get lost while putting his arm protectively around Mindy. He looks like a mess to Danny, clearly drunk and disheveled, but Mindy beams at Casey fondly nestling into the crook of his arm. Amazingly it appears her crazy plan has worked. Of course it did; she"s Mindy. He gives a frustrated huff, slouching back into the couch, and gingerly tasting his beer only to think better of it and spit the foul sip back into his bowl. "Hi Danny." His attention is drawn from Mindy and Casey by Betsy who has come to perch on the old sofa, not quite committing to fully sitting on the stained and dilapidated piece of furniture. Probably a wise decision, Danny thinks. "Hi Bets. What"s up?" The petite brunette seems anxious, eyes shifting from her hands in her lap to his eyebrows and back again never really making eye contact. "I just wanted to come over and tell you how much I liked your pictures," she says a bit breathlessly. He sits up a bit reaching out to Betsy putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Are you okay? You seems kinda nervous," Danny says, concern distracting him from her words for a moment. "Wait. What? What pictures?" Betsy shrugs his arm of her shoulder and laughs nervously while shuffling slightly further from him on the sofa, "The ones on the internet," she supplies blushing furiously. His attempt to get further information from her is interrupted in the form of Morgan who chooses this moment to come barreling into Danny on the couch. "Holy crap, Dr. C!" he exclaims. "I knew you were into fitness," Morgan says, grabbing at Danny and moving his hands over his biceps admiringly, "but you look amazing...And I don"t mean that in a gay way at all," he finishes with a significant look at Tamra who along with a handful of others at the party have made their way over to the couch to see what all the commotion is about. "What pictures? What the hell are you all talking about?" But his question is answered a moment later when Peter shoves his phone into Danny"s hands. Looking down he sees himself in miniature, gaze looking thoughtfully at something off-screen, baseball bat stretched high above his head, and absolutely, totally and completely naked. Nervously he lifts his thumb and swipes it across the phones" display to reveal photo after photo of himself in the nude. Christina had talked him into this little photo shoot last summer for some photography class she was taking at the community center. She"d promised no one would see the photos but the teacher, though he should have know even then how far to trust her promises. He"d been skeptical but she"d distracted him pretty easily, to be honest, with some nudity of her own. "Peter," Danny says grabbing at the other boy trying to contain his panic, "how do you erase this?" Danny begins tapping eagerly at the applications on Peter"s phone. "Dude. Those nudie pics are on the internet. You can"t erase them." He grabs his phone back from Danny and begins flicking through the pictures. "Hell, why would you even want to? Check out these comments. Are you kidding me? Some chick left a winky face. That"s like emoji porn!" "Cool! Let me see," Morgan begins grabbing for the phone in Peter"s hand. After a little struggle Morgan holds the phone up victoriously "Got it!" Only to look down a moment later and exclaim, "Oops! I think I accidently Instagramed that one." This is confirmed a moment later as seemingly everyone at the party"s phones chime the alert of a new message. "Peter," Danny begins in whispered panic, "how many people follow you on Instagram?" "Um," Peter trails off, "just a couple...hundred." A small group of partygoers, mostly girls Danny recognizes vaguely from school, have begun to form a little circle around the couch and while no one is outwardly staring, he"s receiving a number of sidelong glances and knowing smirks. "Alright, this is ridiculous," Danny says losing his temper. "You all came over her for a show? Well I"m going give you one! Is this what you want?" He yells gesturing at his torso as he begins unbuttoning his shirt. He"s so tired of everything: crazy ex-girlfriends, deadbeat dads, weird classmates, infuriating girls who stop talking to you for no good reason. If these perverts want to come over and gape at him, well then let them. "Okay. That"s enough of that," Mindy"s soft voice cuts into his self-pitying inner monologue as she places a small warm hand on his midriff and shields his exhibition from the now openly staring crowd. "Come on Danny. Let"s get you out of here." Danny focuses on the feel of her hand moving across his stomach and into his hand as he allows her to lead him out of the party onto the curb outside. They are sitting side by side on the curb outside of the party not speaking. Danny knows he should feel grateful to Mindy for stopping him from making an idiot out of himself in front of half the school (well an even bigger idiot than he"d managed to be in the few short moments before she"d rescued him) but he doesn"t. As he peeks at her covertly, all he feels is embarrassed, and he"s surprised to realize, angry. "Why have you been ignoring me?" He barks at her at last. Mindy gives a start at this, clearly not expecting the hostility in his tone or for him to so bluntly bring up her recent coldness towards him. "I haven"t been ignoring you," she returns icily staring straight out into the mostly deserted street. "Yes you have. You"re doing it right now!" Danny insists in frustration noting she still won"t look at him. "I don"t know why you care," Mindy mutters looking at the ground and poking at a bit of loose asphalt on the road with her shoe, "It"s not like we"re friends anyway." She says all of this so quietly Danny can barely hear her. No, he thinks. They"re not really friends. At least she"s not like any friend he"s ever had before anyhow. But if they aren"t friends than why does it bother him so much that she"s avoiding him? "I just want to know why you"re so angry with me?" He asks sincerely. She gives a long-suffering sigh before beginning reluctantly, "Listen, I know that I don"t have this perfect, skinny, hot, body. I"m not tall and blond with blue eyes like Christina and all the other girls you probably date. I don"t need to hear it from you, okay? It"s nothing I haven"t heard from every other mean girl in the school before." She says all this over her shoulder looking away from him so that for a moment he wonders if she"s started a conversation about something totally different with someone else. But a shy glance at him a moment later confirms that this little speech, though out of left field, is for him. "You"re self-conscious?" He asks, genuinely surprised. In the short time he"s known Mindy he"s never once suspected her of being insecure. On the contrary, he"s had to encourage her to stop writing "Mindy Lahiri, future hot doctor" on all of their lab reports. "But you"re always, you know, so confident about yourself." She gives a small huff and folds her arms defensively around herself. It"s a move meant to protect but it just leaves her looking more vulnerable than ever. "Yeah well confidence and self-esteem aren"t always the same thing," she states sulkily. "They"re not?" Danny feels himself falling further and further out of his depths with this conversation. He looks over to Mindy, sitting so small and dejectedly alongside him and wonders what has happened to the bubbly, sometimes infuriatingly so, girl he"s come to know. "Just cause I know I"m great, doesn"t mean everybody else knows it too," she supplies sadly. And then with a tone of accusation turning to look at him at last, "Doesn"t mean some people wouldn"t be embarrassed to date me." Danny could almost laugh. "Is that what this is about? When I saw you in the dressing room?" He asks in relief. "Mindy, I didn"t mean to see you naked. I thought you knew that." He chuckles quietly to himself. "Besides, Pete just sent a naked picture of me to the whole school, so we can be Even Steven anytime you like," he adds. "Danny," she says accusingly, "I heard you tell that clerk you"d never date me. It"s like you were embarrassed by even the idea of it," she finishes looking down at her hands again "Mindy," Danny starts eagerly. Now that he knows what the issue is he is anxious to put her mind at rest. "You have no reason to be self-conscious. I mean I wasn"t really looking; I"m a gentleman" he qualifies quickly, "but from what I saw you looked good." "So why did you say you"d never date me?" He"s encouraged to see she no longer looks angry, only curious. "I don"t know," he stalls, not anxious to start a new argument with her so soon after she"s begun talking to him again. "You kept asking the dressing room attendant for different sizes and she had to shush you for singing along to the background music a couple of times..." he trails off. But apparently finding Mindy"s personality embarrassing is a far lesser offense than being critical of her body, because Mindy just shrugs this explanation off with the remark, "If they don"t want people singing along, they shouldn"t play so much Katy Perry." Even as he"s shaking his head at how absurd she can sometimes be, he finds himself smiling fondly at his ridiculous friend. In an uncharacteristic gesture, he leans into the space between them and gives her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I may not have asked for it Mindy, but I"m glad we"re friends."

Nathaniel stared at him in shock. He had expected someone in their late twenties or early thirties but the man didn"t look older then Nathaniel himself. He was taller than Nathaniel by almost a foot with light skin jet black hair high features that for some reason reminded him of a predatory cat and unnatural gold eyes. He wore a black trench coat black pants comfortable looking black shoes and a brown shirt woven with intricate silver threads. "I take it neither of my subordinates explained things to you" he said. "No" Nathaniel said. "All I know is that I was badly injured in incident with the Glass Palace and you helped me heal" he said. The man nodded "well then let"s start from the beginning" he said. "I am Zar"roc Alastor Zicronium" the man said. Nathaniel nodded "I"m John Mandrake" he said. Suddenly a deep burning cold filled the room and a he saw something flash in Zar"rocs eyes. "You can keep that mask when you"re talking to others. Hell I don"t care if you use it with anyone else here but not with me" Zar"roc said. "I"m sure Faust told you not to lie to me if you want to stay alive allow me tell you he was telling the truth" he said. "Besides it"s not like lying to me will do you any good I know more about you than you do about yourself Nathaniel." Nathaniel tensed "how do you know that name" he asked. The cold in the room faded and the feral look in Zar"rocs eyes changed to amusement. "Aside from my own research into you" he said. "You talk in your sleep" he said. "Oh" Nathaniel said. "But your sleeping habits are not why we"re here" Zar"roc said. "I trust you want to know what"s happened" he said. Nathaniel nodded. "Do you have any idea what you did at the Glass Palace" Zar"roc asked. "I brought it down do destroy the Demon Nouda" Nathaniel. "Spirit" Zar"roc said. "What" Nathaniel asked. "Nouda was a Spirit of the Other Place the same as the one you bounded with" Zar"roc said. "You summoned a Spirit into your own body and then just walked off" he said. "Doesn"t it strike you as odd that you could do this when it took the others several hours to adjust to the bodies" he said. "We thought it was because we had worked together for years" Nathaniel said. Zar"roc shook his head "it is an ability that is rare even among our kind it is called being a vessel" he said. "What do you mean by your kind" Nathaniel asked. Zar"roc tilted his head to one side "curling horns, black eyes, and red wings" he said. A chill went through Nathaniel as he described how he had seen Ruby when he woke up. "That was just a hallucination" he said. "No it"s a power most of us have it"s called perspicacity. It allows you to see a being"s true form" Zar"roc said. "You mean Ruby is a de... I mean Spirit" Nathaniel said. "No you had it right the first time Ruby is a Demon" Zar"roc said. "What" Nathaniel asked frowning. "You said they were Spirits not Demons" he said. "Yes but Ruby isn"t a Spirit" Zar"roc said. Nathaniel"s eyes widened. "I don"t know why you"re surprised when you were training to be a Magician you had to study various religions" Zar"roc said. "All civilizations have a darkness. A evil that seeks only to bring them destruction. They also have a divine light. A protector that fends of the darkness. Along with that there are beings with greater power or lesser power. The greater beings govern the light and darkness well the lesser beings aren"t allied with either of them" he said. "You mean..." Nathaniel started but stopped as Zar"roc nodded. "To put it simply Demons, Angels, Gods, and pretty much every other nasty thing in those books exist" Zar"roc said. Nathaniel stared at Zar"roc for a long moment "you"re insane you have to be" he said. "Oh and then there are people like us those who don"t fit with the others have a name all our own" Zar"roc said. "We are the Guardians servants of the natural order it is our job to keep the realms separated" he said. "Our job" Nathaniel asked. "Ah yes that goes back to what I said earlier about knowing more about you than you do" Zar"roc said. "Well you were healing I did some digging" he said. "Do you remember your parents" he asked. "Vaguely" he said distaste slightly coloring his tone. "Well the people who sold you into the government are not your parents" Zar"roc said. "What" Nathaniel asked surprise plain on his face. "You were put up for adoption after you were born" he said. "How did you find this information anything about a person"s past is buried when they become an apprentice" Nathaniel said. "I have my ways and my sources" Zar"roc said his tone making it clear he wouldn"t give any more information. Nathaniel nodded then a thought occurred to him "do you know who my real parents are" he asked. "Your mother was a woman named Rebecca and your father..." Zar"roc stopped. "Well we aren"t exactly sure" he said. "What do you mean" Nathaniel asked. Zar"roc sighed "before I can tell you you have to except that you aren"t normal you have untapped powers that make you more than a normal human these powers also make you dangerous but at the same time a target" Zar"roc said. Nathaniel thought about it for a long minute turning the facts over in his mind "alright" he said. Zar"roc nodded "you are a Guardian" he said. "Aside from their powers one of the things that makes Guardians so special is that the only way a person can be born a Guardian is if one of their parents is a mortal and one a higher being. The most common combination is a human and a Demon" he said. "The problem with this is the stronger the Demon the better they are at covering their tracks" he said. "So well we have no idea who your real father is based on your power and how quickly he disappeared we can guess" he said. "And" Nathaniel said. "Hell"s hierarchy works like this at the top there is the Infernal King Lucifer. Below him are his seven siblings the Great Dukes of Hell and bellow them are the fourteen now thirteen Princes" Zar"roc said. "Because all of the upper hierarchy are related they have the ability to sense one of their blood" he said and smiled. "So I can honestly tell you that your father was one of the Great Dukes" he said. "How do you..." Nathaniel started then stopped "you"re the fourteenth Prince" he said. "Hell spawned and raised" Zar"roc said. "My mother was a Magician back around Solomon"s time and she was so powerful the old king would have had a hard time against her even with his ring" he said. "How do I know any of this is true" Nathaniel asked. "You"re the one with perspicacity you tell me if I"m lying" Zar"roc said then chuckled at Nathaniel"s confused look. "Just focus on seeing the truth" he said. "Though I might be too powerful for you to see me without being trained." Nathaniel nodded and focused on Zar"roc. For a moment nothing happened then just as Zar"rocs outline began to flicker the pain burst through his head again and he fell out of the chair and onto his knees. "Ah yes the headaches. They come from the repressed power building up" Zar"roc said. Nathaniel gritted his teeth in pain but he felt something like an outside presence in his head. He felt energy being drained from him as the pain subsided the thing vanished. "You"re welcome" Zar"roc said as Nathanielclimbed back into his chair. "For what" Nathaniel asked. "I know you felt it" Zar"roc said. "Like someone else was inside your head" he said. "That was me I drained a portion of your power it should keep the headaches at bay for a time" he said. "Thank you" Nathaniel said. Zar"roc nodded. "This won"t stop them however" he said. "The only way to stop them is to finish your training and get your reservoir jewel" he said. "Reservoir jewel" Nathaniel asked. Zar"roc nodded and pulled a pendent out from under his shirt. The black metal of the charm was thick and worn smooth. Cut in the shape of a sword placed point down with two winged serpents coiled around the hilt. They faced away from each other their wings raised and fangs bared as if at an invisible enemy. And at the center was a small black oval jewel that pulsed with dark light. "At the end of your training you are given a test that determines the depth of your strength. Then you will receive a jewel with the color matching your strength" Zar"roc said. "As far as common jewels they range in rank from White the weakest to Black the strongest" he said. "Mine is one of the less common it"s called Ebony and is stronger than the Black" he said. "I see" Nathaniel said not completely understanding. "Don"t try figuring it out I"ve been at it for centuries and it still confuses me" Zar"roc said. Nathaniel laughed. "Now one last thing have you ever used one of these" Zar"roc said as a long silver sword flew from the wall and into his hands. "No" Nathaniel said. Zar"roc smiled "then this is going to be fun" he said and gestured. On reflex Nathaniel jumped up and spun as he heard something flying through the air towards him. He caught the sword square in the middle of the hilt and marveled as he felt some kind of connection to the blade. He spun as he heard something and managed to block a strike from Zar"roc that would have cut him in half. Zar"roc spun crouching as he did the flat of his blade aimed at Nathaniel"s shin. Nathaniel blocked and pushed Zar"rocs sword away. Zar"roc used the momentum to spin again raising his sword to neck level. Nathaniel stabbed for Zar"rocs chest. Zar"roc stopped his spin and blocked grinding the swords" edges together. "Not bad for someone whose never used a sword before" he said before he broke the block and started attacking again. They exchanged several more strikes before Nathaniel pushed Zar"rocs sword aside and stabbed. But as the tip got within an inch of Zar"rocs chest he vanished. Nathaniel stared at the empty air where Zar"roc had been and froze as he felt something cold against his neck. He looked down and saw the scaly black Demonic claw one of its talons pressed to the hallow of his throat. "That was your natural battle instincts you were born to use a sword" Zar"roc said. "Right now you are good enough to beat almost any human but against a Demon you would be dead. Even the weakest of them can do what I just did" he said. "It"s called flashing one second you"re in one place" he said as Nathaniel heard a small pop. "The next you"re in another" he said from his chair at the desk. Nathaniel stared amazed at Zar"roc who gave him an amused smile. He opened his mouth to ask something but was interrupted by a loud banging sound. Nathaniel turned to Zar"roc and saw the moment he changed from amused man to cold warrior. His eyes iced over and a new sword flew to his hand as he pushed his coat back. Nathaniel noticed the black hilt of a sword with a jagged ruby pumble and a silver dragon cross guard. "Why aren"t you using your sword" he asked. Zar"roc gave him a chilling smile "your first day back and you"re already tired of living" he said cryptically as he snapped his fingers. The study door opened at the same time as two hidden side doors. Nathaniel turned and as Ruby, Faust, and another man dressed all in black came in each held a silver sword carved with intricate runes like his own. "Summon the doorway" Zar"roc said coldly. Ruby nodded stepped forward and tapped a symbol on the wall. It faded and a small staircase leading to a metal door appeared. Zar"roc flicked a finger at the door and the locks clicked. A moment later the door burst open. The creatures swarmed in like locust. "Wolf protect the kid" Zar"roc shouted before one of the creatures hit him and pinned him against the wall sending the sword flying from his hand. "Get behind me" the man in black said to Nathaniel in an accent he didn"t recognize. Nathaniel nodded and ducked behind the man and into one of the tunnels. he watched in horrified fascination as Ruby, Faust, and the man he assumed was Wolf started hacking the creatures apart trying to get to get to Zar"roc but he knew it was useless. There were hundreds of them and more were still coming in from the door. Each looked like a large insect with bat wings a hooked beak and claws. But what scared him was the thing holding Zar"roc. Standing at almost ten feet tall the creature was more than three times the height of its minions. Its skin was a dark red and looked like torn bloody sheets its head was crowned with six flaming horns and even though he couldn"t see its face he could only imagine its hideousness. He heard something behind him like the sound of claws on stone. He spun just as something dark jumped from the shadows and talked him pinning him to the ground with its talons. He screamed for help but the thing clapped a hand over his mouth keeping him silent. Zar"roc glared at the hideous red Blood Demon pinning him to the wall "good to see you to Bies" he said dryly. The Demon snarled and clamped its talons tighter around Zar"rocs shoulders as it lifted him off the ground and slammed him against the wall. "We"ve finally found you traitor" Bies said in a voice that sound like the earth shaking. "And now no force on Earth can save you" he said. Zar"roc struggled in the Demon"s grasp for a moment is for his form flickered winked out and reappeared a second later. Bies laughed "you can"t flash out as long as I"m here it"s one of my powers remember" he said. Zar"roc silently cursed himself for forgetting his enemy"s powers. "Your brother wants your head and we aren"t leaving without it" Bies said. Zar"roc looked at his fallen sword and sent out a twitch of power. "I"d be happy to oblige but my head and I are rather attached" he said dryly. "Fine then we"ll just take you back with us he said he would rather torture you first" Bies said. "As much as I"d love the family reunion I"m a little busy" Zar"roc said giving a mysterious smile knowing Bies wouldn"t be able to resist the temptation to ask. "Doing what" Bies asked. "Running you through" Zar"roc said as the floating silver blade slammed into Bies" back. The blade passed completely through his heart and chest impaling Zar"roc in the stomach. Zar"roc winced and pulled the sword from his stomach as Bies fell and dissolved in to black powder and a puff of sulfur. Zar"roc dropped the bloody sword and leaned against the wall as waves of dizziness made the room spin and his head swim. He shook his head to clear it and looked down at the thin vertical stab wound that gushed blood. He followed the blood down to where it hit the floor and collected in a puddle that hissed and spat like acid. Silently cursing he closed his eyes and sank into himself "invocato draco maledicte" he whispered. For a moment nothing happened then he felt something rush over his skin. When he opened his eyes his cut was sealed and his cloths and body with the exception of his head were sheathed in a black metal like skin. He pushed himself off the wall and whistled "come and get me you bastards" he shouted to the minions as he picked up the blood soaked sword and spun it into their midst. The Demons turned their attention towards him their eyes hot with anger because he had killed their master. They reared up and came at him like a tidal wave. Smiling Zar"roc swept his coat back revealing the hilt of his sword. With his thumb pressed to the cross guard he unsheathed an inch of its black and red blade as he did the Demons converged on him. He vanished. Light flashed through the room followed by the sound of rending flesh and dying screams. With the exception of a few stragglers the Demons fell dead as Zar"roc reappeared and his sword fell back into its sheath. Zar"roc tisked "didn"t even break a sweat" he said. Then he turned his eyes to the five remaining Demons who were trying to cower among the bodies of their fallen allies. There was a rush of air and the dead Demons disintegrated into black powder leaving them exposed. Zar"roc raised a hand and iron chains shot from the walls wrapping around the Demons and binding them in place. They hissed and screeched at him as steam rolled off of them where the iron touched their bodies. Wolf came forward and tapped each on the head as he did they fell unconscious. "I"ll take them to Alastair" he said. "Where"s the kid" Zar"roc asked. "He was safe and sound in the tunnel last time I saw him" Wolf said. Zar"roc cursed and ran for the tunnel. He leapt over some broken chairs and into the tunnel and stopped dead in his tracks. Nathaniel twisted and squirmed under the creature as he felt something wrapping around his legs and then move up to his stomach. He tried to remember his studies as a Magician. He tried to think of anything he could do to free himself but between the clash of battle behind him and the fear of whatever was holding him nothing came. He felt whatever was wrapping around him reach his chest binding his arms to his sides as it reached his neck. Suddenly he relised what it was it was. Web. He was being trapped in a giant spider"s cocoon. The webbing stopped before it reached his chin. He saw the thing on top of him rear up. He saw the light flash off of the two knife shape fangs that he knew would kill him. The creature pounced fangs going for his throat. He closed his eyes. There was the sound of metal ringing through the air followed by a high pitched shriek and something wet splashing against his face. A moment later when nothing happened Nathaniel opened his eyes. Because of the webbing he still couldn"t move so he only saw the dark ceiling. There was hiss as something black flashed over him and the webs broke with the sound of tearing cloth. Nathaniel inhaled deeply and rolled over retching as sour liquid fell into his mouth. He felt someone pull him up and lead him back into the light of the study and into a chair. "Here" Wolf said as he hand Nathaniel a towel. "Wipe your face" he said. Nathaniel did as he was told he opened his eyes when he was done and stared down at the blood stained towel. "What happened" he asked his voice horse. "They"re called Arachne" Zar"roc said from behind him. Nathaniel turned and saw him standing there his cloths covered in a black armor like skin. "They"re Spider Demons and are hard as Hell to kill" Wolf said. "Unless you cut them in half" Zar"roc said as he walked towards a leather couch in the corner. The black armor melted into this skin and he hissed doubling over in pain. " Zar"roc" Ruby said rushing to his side and helping him lay on the couch. As Zar"roc stretched out Nathaniel saw the vertical sword stab in his stomach. It looked raw and still dripped blood but it didn"t look as bad as it should have. "What happened" Wolf asked. "Bies" Zar"roc said. "He was the leader. I over estimated the power I put behind a sword and ended up staking myself in the process of killing him." "Oh" Wolf said sounding amused. "You know" Zar"roc said his tone sounding annoyed. "If I was a negative person I might be annoyed with you" he said. "You sound annoyed to me" Nathaniel said. "No that"s only mildly perturbed" Wolf said. Nathaniel blinked at him then turned back to Zar"roc. "Is there anything I can do to help you I mean you saved my life" he said. "A cup of human blood would be nice" Zar"roc said as Nathaniel paled. "But since you"re not donating just let me sit here and bleed for another minute" Zar"roc said then turned his attention to Ruby. "Where is Faust" he asked. "He took the Demons to Alastair" Ruby said. Zar"roc nodded and got up. Sighing wearily he turned "if anyone else attacks tonight feed them the kid and send them home" he said. "What" Nathaniel asked. Zar"roc laughed and vanished flashing out of the room. "Wolf" Nathaniel asked as the two worked on putting the study back in order. Wolf grunted in acknowledgment. "How exactly did you three manage to kill all of these Demons" Nathaniel asked. "We didn"t" Wolf said. "We only managed a few dozen before Zar"roc escaped" he said. "And once he was up well..." he started. "What" Nathaniel asked. "I"ve never seen anything like it even from him" Wolf said. "One moment he was standing there the next he was gone and there were a few flashes of light and they all dropped dead" he said. "How is that possible" Nathaniel asked. "I don"t know" Wolf said. "But I do know one thing" he said. "What"s that" Nathaniel asked. "You know the old saying Hell hath no fury like a woman"s scorn" Wolf asked. Nathaniel nodded. "It was actually a gross mistranslation of a common Demonic phrase which meant Hell hath no fury like Zar"rocs wrath" Wolf said. Fear race up Nathaniel"s spine and he shuddered as he dropped the chair he was holding. Wolf turned to him "why don"t you go get some sleep" he said. "You look like you could use it." Nathaniel nodded and walked towards the door but stopped when he relised he had no idea where his room was. He turned to Wolf but before he could ask Wolf said "out the door third tunnel on your left fifth door." "Thanks" Nathaniel said and walked out. Next time: We meet more of the Guardians, Nathaniel starts to learn how to use his powers during a Demon attack, and we get a face to the ultimate enemy. Thank you to every who read this if i get positive rusults i"ll update soon. please read & review

"We haven"t gotten there yet" Zankou said. "What have you been doing then" Scration growled. "You forget yourself Daimon" Zankou said. "You may be one of Akri"s Blood Knights but I am the leader of his Remnants" he said. Scration scoffed "I"ve picked my teeth with creatures stronger than you for centuries" he said. "And I can incinerate you with a thought" Zankou said. It was a bluff as one of his master"s Blood Knights Scration was safe from all but a few. Scration chuckled over the phone "don"t bother bluffing to me boy I"ve had a lot more experience at it than you" he said. "However you are right it is senseless for us to squabble like this since we are of equal standing" he said. "I agree" Zankou said. "Let me finish with the veil and then I"ll see what our people are working on to get you into the school" he said. "Very well I"ll be waiting" Scration said before he hung up. Zankou pocketed the phone as he returned his attention to the coffin. "Crtra." A puff of air and grave dust burst from the within as the lid was shoved aside. Inside was a perfectly preserved skeleton dressed in a faded gray suit. Zankou smiled as he drew a dagger and cut the shirt open revealing the ribcage. From within his coat he produced a small package wrapped in oil cloth. He carefully unwound the protection spells he"d placed on it as he unwrapped the layers of cloth. Inside was a small golden skull with a leather leash type device attached to its base. A jewel populated each of its eye sockets. One a blood red carbuncle was an ancient stone imbued with the power to reveal the truth. The other was a glowing diamond which was used for protection and hiding because it had the ability to bend and twist light to form shields and cloaks about itself. Zankou smiled at the genius of his own plan as he removed a small gray and red hematite from his pocket. historically a stone of protection this hematite had been altered to allow the wielder to cast out their mind and will allowing them to enact change upon the world at the slightest whim. He knew that his master held this stone"s twin which was the controlling mechanism for the one he now held. Turning his thoughts away from that Zankou pressed a button on the bottom of the skull allowing its jaw to open so he could insert the hematite before he closed it. That done he pressed a button over the carbuncle as a golden eyelid closed over the stone. Next he tapped the forehead revealing a third eye that held a smoky quartz which was the stone of illusions. "Good" he said as he gently lifted the skull and placed it inside the coffin under the skeleton"s ribs. With another word he sealed the coffin and took a step back. He mentally ran through the complex incantation that was used to activate the skull. "Aciliar" he shouted. The word boomed through the tomb as the walls started to shake and the air began to hum. "Cestradal suveriatla desminos" he said as he drew a glyph in the air black fire giving it form. "Dryeathil neamortis" he said as he sliced his palm with the dagger and smeared his blood over the coffin lid. "Treion uthren actrion dertreimos" he said as he moved the glyph so it hovered over the blood and his other hand drew yet another fiery glyph. "Vetyria iosola zetriomond brth setreintka" he shouted as he slammed the dagger through the glyphs and into the center of the blood smear. Energy boomed through the tomb as the blood boiled quickly evaporating into nothingness. But he knew it wasn"t gone he could feel it and its power still around him as the spells formed the first layers of the veil. "Now" he thought as he twisted the dagger in the stone. Dark power bubbled up from within the coffin flowing out to fill the tomb and beyond until it encompassed all of New Orleans and several dozen miles beyond. Zankou sighed as he dropped to his knees relived it was over. He was so spent that he could barely move. But he was alive and had accomplished something that other Remnants years older than him wouldn"t even dare to dream of attempting. He groaned as the backlash of the spell hit him and the thought of having to summon another porthole to leave the tomb entered his mind. Panic set in then as he realized he barely had the strength to move let alone create a rift between realms. But that panic vanished as a porthole opened next to him and a man stepped out. "My Lord" he said. He was average looking. About six foot two with glacial blue eyes black hair that was spiked in the back a pointed black goatee and black claws instead of fingernails. Dressed in the loose fitting dark tunic and pants he was wearing he made an imposing sight. But Zankou wasn"t afraid. He was relieved because this was Caridax a demon and his personal bodyguard. "Thank Kaeleer you"re here Caridax" Zankou said. "I need your help." "It would appear that you do" Caridax said with a good natured smile as he lifted Zankou as easily as a puppy. "You should not attempt such things that are beyond your years" he said. "I have to. It"s why I"m the leader. It"s why Akri trusts me" Zankou said. "Yes I suppose so" Caridax said. "Well then shall we go" he asked. "Yes" Zankou said sleepily as he fought to keep his eyes open. Caridax nodded before he stepped through the porthole and they vanished. Nick and Caleb sighed in relief as they made it to Richardson"s class just as the bell rang. They quickly made their way to their seats to avoid getting yelled at. "What kept you guys" Nekoda asked as they sat down. "One of Stone"s..." "Something you"d like to share with the class Mr. Gautier" Richardson"s shrill voice interrupted. "Um no ma"am" Nick said as he turned to face her. "Good because I have an announcement to make" she said. "We have a new scholarship student joining us today" she said. "His name is..." she trailed off as she squinted at her clipboard "Zarik Zicronam" she said. "Actually Mrs. Richardson it"s pronounced Zar"roc Zicronium" a voice said from the back of the room. Everyone turned as someone walked in. Nick recognized him instantly as the guy from the hall. Richardson looked back down at her clipboard for a moment before she said "so it is." "You may take your seat now" she said. Zar"roc nodded before he sat in the vacant seat next to Nick. Nick was about to say something but stopped as Richardson started her lecture. The lecture passed through a torrent of whispers about Zar"roc who only sat there calm and still as a statue listening. "Any questions" Richardson asked as she finished. "Yes I have one" Zar"roc said with a sly smile. "Why is it you teach" he asked. "Excuse me" Richardson asked as the entire room went dead silent. "Why is it you teach" Zar"roc asked again punctuating each word. "I mean it"s obvious that you hate kids" he said. Richardson turned flaming red with anger and looked like she was ready to explode "to the..." she started but stopped as the intercom buzzed. "Mrs. Richardson please send your new student to my office" Principal Head"s voice said. Richardson smiled evilly at Zar"roc "with pleasure sir" she said as the intercom hung up. Zar"roc raised an air of cocky arrogance about him as he did. "I think you did well" he said. "Let"s pick this conversation up when I get back" he said before he walked out leaving a sputtering Richardson behind. Zar"roc yawned as he walked through the halls of St. Richards. he stopped at his locker and flicked the lock open. He frowned at the small wrapped package that sat inside. As he took it out his phone rang. "Hello" he said as he answered it. "Oh hi mom" he said. "Yeah I got them" he said as realized what the box was. He flicked it open and was met with the sight of several neatly cut squares of fudge. "Did you make them like I told you" he asked. "Good" he said a moment later. "Yes I"m on my..." he started but stopped as ringing filled the hall he sighed. "I"ve got to go" he said as he hung up and pocketed the phone. He reached into an inner coat pocket and with drew a sleek black phone that looked almost twice as expensive as his other phone. "Yes" he said as he answered it. "The package you asked for as been delivered to your home" a reptilian voice said over the line. "Good what about the other thing I asked you for" Zar"roc said. "We"re working on it" the voice said "you must understand that with items of such power the process is delicate" it said. "Well go faster" Zar"roc growled. "I"m sorry but you can"t rush art" the voice said. "I"m not rushing art I"m rushing you" Zar"roc said. "I"ll need them within three days I want them here in two" he said. "Difficult but doable" the voice said. "I assume there will be extra compensation for my work" it asked. Zar"roc sighed "tell them to double your pay" he said. "Excellent" the voice said. "If you don"t mind my asking where are you now" it said. "I"m in that damned school" Zar"roc said. "On my way to meet the Principal" he said. "Ah" the voice said. "With a little treat for him I assume" the voice said. Zar"roc smiled "of course" he said with a chuckle that was followed by a short laugh from the voice. "Two days" Zar"roc said as he turned serious again. "Or I"ll make you wish for the hell I found you in" he said as he hung up the phone slammed his locker shut and quickly made his way to the office. "Where have you been" the ancient looking secretary asked as he walked in. "the Principal has been waiting." "Sorry" Zar"roc said with a kind smile. "I got a little lost." "And what is that" the secretary asked as she glanced at the box. "My mom asked me to give these to Principal Head for her" Zar"roc said. "Fine go on in" the secretary said as she turned back to her work. Zar"roc walked into the office and shut the door behind him. "Have a seat" a man he assumed was Principal Head said. Zar"roc sat in the chair and smiled at the Principal. "You wanted to see me sir" he asked. "Yes" Principal Head said. "Do you know why you"re here" he asked. "I assumed I was here because it"s my first day and you wanted to meet me" Zar"roc said. "Oh and before I forget my mother made this for you" he said as he set the box on Head"s desk. He looked at it quizzically before he opened it "you can tell her it was wasted effort I don"t eat fudge" he said. "oh that"s too bad" Zar"roc said his smile never wavering even as he mentally cursed and made a mental note to have a little talk with his informant. "To get back on topic in regards to why you"re here" Principal Head said. "Of course sir" Zar"roc said. "But won"t you please at least try the fudge my mother made it special for you" he said. "We have more important things to discuss" Principal Head said. "I was going through your records and there"re a few things I wish to ask you about" he said. "Alright" Zar"roc said calmly even as his mind was working a hundred miles an hour both trying to figure out what Head knew and what he himself was going to do. Principal Head flipped open the folder on his desk and scanned the first few lines. "It says here your parents had you home schooled for the first part of your education" he said. "They"re my adoptive parents actually" Zar"roc said. "Both of my parents..." he started but hesitated a moment "left this world when I was young" he said. "My adoptive father had just received his degree in teaching at the time so he home schooled me" he said. "I see" Principal Head said as he made a note in the file. "Then it says you went to Rockland Middle School in New York before coming here" he said. "Yes" Zar"roc said his mind continuing to whirl. He"d only been able to come up with two solutions to his problems. One was to force the fudge down Head"s throat which was about as subtle as a freight train. And the other idea was just as dangerous if a bit more subtle. "The Principal there is a personal friend of mine" Principal Head said. "So I called and asked about you" he said. "He said they have no record of you." Zar"rocs mind screeched to a halt and he almost let an exceptionally colorful curse slip. "So I want to know why that is and what other parts of your record are lies" Principal Head said. Zar"rocs mind started again and he resigned himself to what he had to do. "Eat the fudge" the words came out as more of a breath then sound. "I have no idea what you"re talking about" he said. "Don"t lie to me" Principal Head said as he reached for the box flicked it open and withdrew a small piece of fudge. "I"m not" Zar"roc said. "That other Principal must be lying" he said. "Eat the fudge" he breathed again. "I find it highly unlikely I"ve known him for years" Principal Head said as he took a large bit of fudge. "Bingo" Zar"roc thought as he smiled. "Alright how about a change of topic" he said as a slight red sheen rolled over his eyes. Head"s eyes turned glassy as he leaned back in his chair. "Very well" he said. Zar"roc grinned wickedly as he said "there"s a certain teacher that I think we need to have a talk about." Nick groaned. Richardson had spent the last hour ranting and coming up with new assignments to make their lives miserable. With all the work she"d given them he"d be lucky to finish it by the time he had grandkids. "Why"d you have to mouth off" he thought. Zar"roc had seemed cool when they"d met in the hall and it had been fun to see Richardson riled. But now that it was affecting all of them it had gone too far. He glanced at the clock which still said the class had ten minutes left. He groaned again and let his head fall against his desk. In that amount of time Richardson could probably come up with another decade worth of work for them. Nick"s head shot up as he heard the door opening. Everyone turned to see Zar"roc standing there. No one said anything. They only glared. All except for Richardson who had an all too satisfied smile on her face. "Back to collect your things Mr. Zicronim" she asked. Zar"rocs face was completely stoic as he approached her "no I"m not" he said. "But you might want to think about it" he said as he dropped a piece of pink paper on her desk. Richardson stared at it shocked. "Principal Head issued a suspension for you and an investigation into your teaching practices is pending to determine if you"ll be allowed to keep your job" Zar"roc said. As he finished the bell rang and he turned to go. "Oh and by the way it Zicronium not Zicronim" he said. Nick saw something snap in Richardson"s eyes as he said it. She howled as she ran at him. Zar"roc smiled as he side stepped and swept her feet out from under her causing her to trip and slide across the floor. Richardson pushed herself to her feet and lunged for Zar"roc again but before he could get to him a security officer grabbed her and pulled her out of the room. "One last thing" Zar"roc said as he turned to everyone else in the room. "Principal Head has asked me to tell you that he already has replacement teacher picked out and he will be starting tomorrow" he said before walked out of the room. "Zar"roc" Nick shouted as he spotted him closing his locker and walking away. Zar"roc stopped and glanced over his shoulder. "Hey Nick" he said as he slowed his pace allowing Nick to catch up. "What did you say to Head to get Richardson fired" Nick asked. "Nothing I just told him what I saw I mean it was obvious that she hated her job and students" Zar"roc said. "It was also obvious that she was unfair in her grades and assignments" he said. Nick nodded "so what did Head want" he asked. "He..." Zar"roc started but stopped as he felt a painful tugging in his gut. He cursed silently. "Sorry Nick I just remembered I have something important to do how about I meet you after school tomorrow and we"ll talk then" he said. "Sure" Nick said. "How about we meet at Sanctuary on Ursuline" he said. "Sounds good" Zar"roc said as the pain in his gut tripled. He was visibly sweating now and small tremors shook his hands. He sighed in relief as they exited the school and he saw a shiny black car parked in front. "I"ve got go" he said gesturing to the car. "That"s my cousin here to get me" he said and without another word dashed for the car. Nick frowned in confusion at the strange behavior but he shrugged it off as he turned to head to Sanctuary to meet his mother. Zar"roc sighed with relief as he slammed the car door closed. "Home" he hissed as he squeezed his eyes shut against the pain and the car started forward. "Something wrong" the driver asked. Zar"roc opened his eyes to glare at the man. He was a few inches taller than Zar"roc with coal black hair lightly tanned skin and sharp features. He wore a brown leather jacket jeans and a black shirt. The most noticeable things about him were the black sunglasses that hid his eyes the red claw like tattoo on his right cheek and the necklace that held a chunk of obsidian carved to look like a broken dagger. "No I"m absolutely fine" Zar"roc hissed. "Now go faster I need to get home" he said. The car sped up as the man said "And what did you learn in school today." Red tinged the edges of Zar"rocs irises as he said "that my distain for idiots hasn"t lessened with time" he said. "Nor has my hatred for idiotic questions." "Ah" the man said. "And did you make any friends" he asked ignoring the last part of Zar"rocs answer. "Azazel" Zar"roc snapped. "Enough." "Very well I was just making conversation" Azazel said. "Well it"s annoying and remember Daimon you may be one of the Free but you walk by my hand" Zar"roc said. "That is something I never forget" Azazel said. "You know I would die to protect you for everything you"ve done for me" he said. "Now why don"t you tell me what"s wrong and why you need to get home so fast" he said. "Summoning" Zar"roc said. "Can"t leave unattended" he said. "Go I"ll do it" Azazel said. "Thank you" Zar"roc sighed. "Just take me inside and put me in my room" he said. Azazel nodded and with that Zar"roc released his hold. He felt a brief moment of disorientation as his geist left his body. But that quickly passed as the power of the summoning took hold and pulled him into the Nether Realm. The first thing he felt as he manifested was the deep burning cold. That alone was enough to tell him where he was. He was in Azmodea. He looked around the dark room that was lit only by a small fire in the back of a monstrous hearth. He turned as he felt a presence behind him. He watched as it emerged from the shadows. "Thorne" he said nodding to him. "Zicronium" Thorne said. "Why did you call me here" Zar"roc asked. "I want to know why you"re in New Orleans" Thorne said. "Because I like the food" Zar"roc said. Thorne frowned then something akin to fear and anger sparked in his eyes. "You"re after him aren"t you" he said. "After who" Zar"roc asked innocently. "Don"t play dumb with me Zar"roc I"ve known you too long" Thorne said. "You"re after the Malachi aren"t you" he said. Zar"rocs only reply was a slow vicious smile. "Who sent you" Thorne asked as he took a step closer. "Just a friend of a friend" Zar"roc said. Thorne paled as there was only one being that he knew of that Zar"roc called friend. "Why" he asked. "I don"t see how that is any of your business" Zar"roc said. Thorne lunged forward in anger but Zar"roc side stepped him. "Now Thorne is that how you treat an old acquaintance" he said. "Quite honestly I"m hurt" he said. "Why were you sent" Thorne snarled. Zar"roc rolled his eyes "I"m just here to make all his little dreams come true" he said as he leaned against the wall completely relaxed despite the deadly orange aura that surrounded Thorne. "Don"t play with me Zicronium" Thorne said. "I"m not" Zar"roc said in a board tone as if screwing with one of the beings on his top five hate list wasn"t the most fun he"d had in a long time. "I"m just here to make sure the little Malachai gets everything he deserves." Thorne paused at the answer unsure about it. He didn"t know if it meant that Zar"rocs employer wanted Nick dead or turned. Either way it didn"t look good for the rest of them if Zar"roc was allowed to complete his mission. "Whatever you"re trying to you know I can"t allow it" he said. "And what are you going to do about it" Zar"roc asked smirking slightly as he saw the determined look on Thorne"s face. "Are you going to call daddy so he can try to stop me" he said. "No" Thorne said as fire engulfed his hands "I"m going to stop you" he said as the fire shot out straight for Zar"roc. He smiled as he vanished in a streak of black. The fire turned following him as Thorne fired off several more. They converged on Zar"roc as bluish white light wreathed his left hand. A wall of water erupted from the floor snuffing out the fire and releasing a cloud of steam. "You call that fire" Zar"roc said. Thorne turned slowly waiting for an attack. He knew Zar"roc too well to believe that he wouldn"t use this situation to at least do a little damage. There was a loud boom followed by a ball of scorching fire and searing wind that whipped past his head. Someone snapped their fingers and the steam cleared. Thorne stared at the large crater in the wall inches from his head for a moment before he turned back to Zar"roc. "Put those away" he snapped gesturing to Zar"rocs hands. His right was wreathed in blue light and his left in red. "Why scared I"ll call attention to your little hole here" Zar"roc asked as he shook his head.

The night that the final episode of It"s Patsy aired, Jessica climbed through Trish"s bedroom window, smuggling cake with all the subterfuge any normal teenager might reserve for alcohol. Jessica never bothered to sneak with alcohol - if anything, she flaunted it, daring Dorothy to do anything about it. She might have flaunted this too, but for the risk of Dorothy, already frostily displeased, ruining the evening. It was a subtle kindness. The frosting was beginning to turn runny, like it had been left to sit too long, and Trish knew they could afford better these days. She also knew that not a dime of royalty from any Patsy property had went into buying it. It was probably the best cake she"d ever had. They laid out napkins and tried not to make a mess of the bedspread, giggling and not entirely successful. A stolen bit of childhood before the clock ran out. "You should think about applying for college, too," Trish said even knowing it was a betrayal to talk about the future when they were celebrating the burial of the past. "I think I"d rather save money for my own place." Jessica shrugged like it didn"t matter, like she shouldn"t have been able to do both. It still caught Trish off-guard sometimes. She was so used to her mother wanting more and pushing to keep what they had. Jessica almost seemed to want less sometimes - simpler, easier. "It"s not like I couldn"t afford it," Trish said anyway. Because at least some of the money was hers and she was still getting used to that too. And because Jessica knew that and maybe didn"t roll her eyes as hard as she could have, even if she ducked her head in telltale discomfort at the idea. "I"m serious - you"re crazy smart, Jess. You should get to go if you want to." "I don"t even know what I"d go for," Jessica said. "It"d end up being something useless like art." "If that"s what you want-" "It"s not. I just...want to get on with it, I guess? I feel like I"m tired of waiting for my life to start." "Yeah," Trish said, "I get that." Jessica had been remarkably calm since she had woken up the second time. That was good thing; at least one of them should have been. Trish hadn"t felt calm since they"d told her that Jessica had to be sedated. The nurse had been a perfect balance of sweet and professional when she had spoken to her, asking if there was anyone she wanted to call. But there was no one else, not for either of them. "How are you okay?" Jessica asked, voice barely more than a croak. The crisp whiteness of the hospital room made her look worse, washed out. "Hey, I"m fine," Trish said and now she gripped Jessica"s hand tight. Like she should have done earlier. She wondered what it would take to finally run out of second chances; some days she felt closer to finding out than others. "No, I mean - " Jessica"s forehead wrinkled " - I feel like shit. But you"re okay." Trish paused, indecisive. Truthfully, the same thought had been at the back of her mind, but she hadn"t had time to dwell on it. She had felt the impact of the crash, had known that it was something she wasn"t going to just walk away from with bumps and bruises. But the worst that she could lay claim to was a spectacular purple patch along her rib cage and the early symptoms of whiplash. "Just lucky, I guess," Trish said. "Sure. Let me know how lucky you feel after you see your new insurance premiums." Jessica reclaimed her hand and Trish had only a moment to feel annoyed before she realized that Jessica was trying to get up. "Whoa. Hey. Lie down. Jess. Stop. Where are you going?" "Home - to shower and then self-medicate into a healing coma. Maybe not in that order. Ah, shit." "And that"s why you"re staying right here." "I"ve had worse and I heal fast." "Then staying the night won"t kill you." Trish shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "Please, Jess, it"s been a long night. Let"s just do this the easy way for once." Jessica squinted at her for a moment, before falling back against the bed. She winced against the impact of the mattress, but otherwise looked unrepentant. "Fine, but you"re not spending the night in that chair. Those things are designed to give you back problems - some conspiracy with the chiropractic industry, you should Google it." "Sure, okay. I"m sure I can get them to set up a cot or something." Now that she"d acknowledged it, she could feel the shakey exhaustion settling into her limbs. There was nothing more she wanted to do than lie down, but she wasn"t sure that she wanted to get up to make it happen. "Even if you weren"t who you are, I"m pretty sure there"s some clause that means they can"t let you make your injuries worse." Jessica closed her eyes and then didn"t move for long enough that Trish wondered if she had just decided to go to sleep right there. And then: "I"m glad that you"re okay, by the way." "Yeah," Trish said. Swallowed hard. "Me too." Trish watched the doors of the elevator rattle open with frank suspicion, a dried piece of gum slowly disappearing behind the wall. "You know, you could stay at my place. I have more than enough room." "Absolutely not. I am sleeping in my own bed tonight and medical advice can kiss my ass." "Yeah, I got that part - there was a form you signed and everything. At least call your landlord about that elevator - it looks about ready to break down." "Must be a Tuesday." Jessica paused to fish her keys out of her pocket; Trish was just relieved to see that she had a lock that worked for now. It was hard not to look at Jessica"s apartment and see a million hazards waiting to set back Jessica"s recovery or else just make life really inconvenient while she still couldn"t bend too far to the left. Part of Trish knew it wasn"t entirely reasonable of her; it wasn"t like she didn"t understand what it was like to not feel safe or settled until you were allowed to go home. Part of Trish couldn"t help but focus on where the plaster from the hole in the wall hadn"t been completely swept away (and she had a funny feeling that whatever had been done was down to Malcolm). Jessica would probably be annoyed if Trish tried to clean her apartment for her. "What did the police want with you the other day?" Jessica asked. "Not much." Trish shrugged before crossing her arms, leaning back on a part of the wall deliberately far from the hole. "They needed to decide whether they were charging me with reckless driving or not. They decided on "not"." "Did they say anything about the asshole who hit you?" Trish looked away. It was barely a hint of evasion, but it was enough for Jessica"s posture to suddenly straighten. "Trish, what did they say?" "Look, it all happened really fast - " "Bullshit it did." Trish let her head knock back against the wall and briefly debated the merits of lying. She probably could have if she wanted to; she"d had a lot of years to develop that skill. But she and Jess almost never lied to each other - evaded, ignored, and occasionally withheld information, but not lied. It wasn"t an agreement, either spoken or unspoken, but it was who they were to each other. "There was no evidence of a collision with the driver"s side," she said. Jessica looked at her for a long moment before shaking her head. "You said something hit you; how could there not be any evidence?" "I know what I said, but maybe we need to entertain the possibility that I wasn"t thinking clearly about this." Trish could pinpoint the exact moment that the unspoken and neither are you dawned on Jess; her forehead wrinkled and her lips drew into a hard, thin line. "Where did they impound the car?" "Jessica - " "Evidence or no evidence, if you say something hit you, I believe you," Jessica said with something rigid and cold in her voice, like a thread of steel. "Now give me the name of the damn lot so I can look for myself." Trish only hesitated a moment longer before digging in her purse for a business card. Jessica studied it before slipping it into the front pocket of her jeans. "After mind control and cults and all the other shit going on in this city, I"m willing to suspend my disbelief for phantom motorists. And I"d believe in any of that shit before I"d believe that you tried to shift the blame for something you thought was your fault." Trish"s return to work was defined by flowers and smiles and sincere sympathy. She hit every softball they threw at her because it was easier than getting her head in the game. Everywhere she was dogged by Zack"s unsubtly relieved smiles and every minute all she could think about was what Jessica might be doing right now. Jessica"s last words hadn"t been angry, but they hadn"t been an invitation to talk either. "There was someone else on the road that night - the jerk with the high beams? I find him, maybe I find out what happened. Relax, this is what I do." They should have both known that a villain would never miss a chance to grandstand. It happened in the lobby of the WNEX building: a brush against her shoulder that she wouldn"t have thought twice about, had already opened her mouth to apologize for. And then the man said: "Next time it won"t be just the hospital." She didn"t even think, whipping around and reaching for anything to stop the man from walking away. Her fingers tangled in the handle of his backpack, but the man didn"t slow or stop. The despair of knowing it wasn"t enough was like a physical blow. Except. Except that the handle drew taught and then didn"t move. As the man"s momentum carried him forward, the straps of his bag yanked him back and he went down like a bowling pin after a strike, arms pinwheeling in surprise. He skidded a little across the floor and one arm slipped from the straps. Time froze as they stared at each other in open shock. The man recovered first, trying desperately to yank the backpack from her grip. She didn"t even have to try to hold on to it, it was like fighting against a small gust of wind. His face twisted as he gave up the bag for lost, freeing himself from the other strap before taking off at a run as concerned onlookers approached them. "Are you okay?" someone asked. Trish vaguely recognized the red perm belonging to the meteorologist from the morning news program. Trish"s heartbeat pounded a staccato against her temple and she grasped desperately for a veneer of calm. She channeled every set her mother had ever made her stand on and slung the backpack over her shoulder like it belonged there. "I"m fine," she said and it sounded almost true. It worked well enough that no one tried to stop her when she moved to leave - beyond concerned looks and hurried whispering. The walk back to her apartment felt long and exposed, the weight of the stolen backpack bouncing against her shoulder blades. When she finally had her own door locked behind her, her entire body quaked with the relief. She dropped the backpack on her table and debated what should come first: opening it or calling Jessica. She couldn"t get the image of the man hitting the floor out of her mind. It was just a thought - barely formed and already half dismissed as stupid. She hooked her fingers under the bottom of the couch and tugged, feeling out the resistance. She squatted at the knees and then lifted, making the journey by inches. As she straightened, her arms continued to move, pushing the couch above her head. "Holy shit," she said. "I dug into those medical records for you and if IGH had their fingers in this, they were careful not to leave any prints this time," Jessica said, continuing to lean against the wall even after Trish sat down. Trish twisted her fingers in her lap. "Okay. So, no answers, but I guess that"s a relief in a way." "There"s more." Jessica"s mouth twisted in sympathy with Trish"s hands. "So, you"re kind of strong now. I"m kind of...not. Anymore." "What?" "I never have a black eye longer than one day, but my side still looks like Van Goh was using it to paint the night sky." Jessica shifted and if the pull hurt any of her bruises, she didn"t show it. "I can deadlift about seventy pounds. Whatever the first accident did, this one...undid." Trish found swallowing suddenly, unaccountably difficult. "You checked your records too?" "No IGH. If someone"s behind this, they"re playing it pretty careful." "No, they"re not." Trish retrieved the backpack, half forgotten in the turns of the conversation. Now that it was back in eyesight, she couldn"t focus on anything else. Jessica moved closer, crouching down as Trish dumped the contents on the floor. "Whoever that guy was, he really didn"t seem happy about leaving this behind. Lucky for us, he couldn"t resist stopping to gloat." "Incompetence is my second favourite trait in other people." Jessica riffled through the potential evidence with as much care as she ever showed anything. She plucked the identification from his wallet with an ease that was a little too practiced and then shrugged before pocketing two twenties as well. "Now let"s see what kind of shit Mr. William Scott, age forty-three, was into." The most useful item in the backpack turned out to be an innocuous little notebook filled with dates, names, locations, and assorted notes about each. "This looks like conspiracy theory shit, but it"s kind of freaking me out with how accurate it is," Jessica said. "They"ve connected incidents to the Devil of Hell"s Kitchen from before the news even gave him a nickname." Jessica had spent almost longer on the pages about Luke Cage than the pages about herself, the corner of her mouth bitten red and raw with rare evidence of nerves. About half an hour into their investigation of William Scott, Jessica had left to pick up her laptop and takeout. Now she sat on the floor, legs crossed, with her laptop open in front of her and a carton of chow mein balanced on her knee. She typed something quickly and then paused, eyebrows drawing low, before motioning Trish over. Trish took the long way around, careful not to crawl over any of the papers spread across the floor. She leaned to peer at the screen around Jessica"s shoulder. "Looks like our friend Billy"s been spending a lot of time on anti-superhuman forums," Jessica said, scrolling through the topics. Trish"s eyes narrowed as she caught tidbits of titles. It would have been easy to dismiss the paranoia she saw, but bad opinions in good company were often more dangerous than they first appeared. "People almost never keep their identities as separate as they"d like to think they do. A smart kid with basic Google skills could have connected the dots." "Well, at least now we know "who" and the "why". We just have to figure out the "how"," Trish said. "There"s more," Jessica said and pulled up a search of forum topics. "He was trying to host a meet-up?" "Right, every weekend, for months on end. No apparent biters." Jessica scrolled a little. "But then - you see August?" Trish looked harder in case she"d missed something, but - "There is no August. The dates jump from July to late September." "Exactly. This guy, desperate for a conspiracy nut tupperware party, stops posting entirely for over a month. And then the next time he posts - " Jessica clicked the first heading from September. "This sounds less like a meet-up and more like he"s planning a terrorist attack. I"m thinking sometime in that month he found some friends and they brought something better than leftover casserole." Trish"s eyes honed in on the words "secret weapon". "Wanna bet that"s our "how"?" Jessica stood up and kneaded at the small of her back with a wince. "I think it"s time we made some phone calls." "I just didn"t know who else to call," Jessica said with a voice like sugar water - all of the calories with none of the substance and at least two octaves higher than its natural register. Trish wondered who she was mimicking when she did that. "I"m, like, really scared!" Jessica paused, rotated to three-quarter-profile, and unsubtly rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I"ve been lurking forever, but it"s just, like, nobody"s actually doing anything, you know?" She paused again and then hastily grabbed paper and a pen, balancing them against her thigh as she scribbled something down. "Oh my god, thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me. Yes. Yes. Thank you, buh-bye." Trish could practically see the fake persona bleed from Jessica"s body as she hung up. "Well, the good news for Mr. Scott is that he"s finally getting his meeting - I-R-L," Jessica said. "The bad news is that it"s with me." "You mean us," Trish said. "Even if you hadn"t literally dragged his ass, your face is on billboards all over this city." "And your name is all over his book." Trish shook the notebook, pages ruffling emphatically. "Chances are he"s going to bolt the minute he sees either one of us." "So, he doesn"t see us - then what?" "And then we - " Trish wound her hands through the air vaguely, as if she could snatch an idea from the ether " - I don"t know. I guess I throw him over my shoulder and haul him back here, so we can make him...talk." Jessica raised an eyebrow, lips trembling minutely before she turned her face away, hair masking her expression. "Lacks finesse, but a good first effort. Just don"t get too used to the powers, Xena; I"m really good at making people talk." The meeting place was a comforting public shell - a little bar with warm yellow lighting and staff who knew how to shill for tips. It was also a good hike from the nearest open business at this time of night and patronized by the kind of people who"d react to a cry of "fire" faster than one for "help"; the kind of place where no one wanted to know anyone else"s business and would like you to mind your own, thank you very much. It was a toss-up as to whether William Scott would be paranoid enough to notice, but if he looked unsettled, it was in the way of a man who thought he may have been stood up and thought other people cared enough that he should be embarrassed by it. They had barely more than a scrap of a plan and Trish, who wrote entries in her planner in pen, felt the pressure of that like a balloon in her chest. Perhaps it was for the best, though - all of their more complex plans seemed to end in disaster. With dead bodies more than half the time. They let Mr. Scott drink for about an hour before sending him the frantic text that lured him into the alley; Jessica had been right about appealing to his vanity. As soon as he saw Trish waiting for him at the far end, he bolted in the other direction. Jessica had been right about his cowardice too. "Wow, you"re a real hero, huh?" Jessica stepped out to block his exit, but Mr. Scott didn"t even slow down. He kept running until he bowled her over, Jessica not moving out of either surprise or disbelief. Both of them tumbled to the ground, Mr. Scott pinning Jessica beneath his weight. Trish didn"t hesitate to cross the distance between them, hauling the man off of Jessica and then shoving him into the brick wall, hand twisted in the collar of his jacket. "Are you okay?" "Damn, I miss being able to do that," Jessica said. She rotated her shoulder with a wince as she stood up, but didn"t seem much worse for wear. Trish shrugged her free shoulder. Logically, she knew that Mr. Scott had at least a hundred pounds on her, but keeping him in place was about as taxing as lifting a particularly wriggly sack of flour. Jessica may not have had her strength, but she still moved like she did. Power lived in the width of her stride and the set of her shoulders. When she almost casually leaned against the wall beside Mr. Scott, she seemed larger than she had any right to. "You know who I am, right?" Mr. Scott nodded, eyes all but bulging from his head. Trish could feel his muscles tense and tremble. "Good because you and I are gonna have a little chat." The first thing Jessica did when they got to her apartment was dig a beer out of her fridge. She held a second one out to Trish, tilting her head in offering. Trish shook her head, sitting heavily on Jessica"s couch and trying to ignore the unease brought on by the hole at her back. Jessica didn"t put the second beer away. "Are you sure it was all right to just leave him there?" Trish asked. "I tipped off someone on the police force who"s...friendly. To people with powers. They"ll find enough of his shit on him to know he"s worth a second look; it"s up to them what they do from there." The loud crack of the beer"s tab pierced the room. Jessica took a long swig. "That"s the problem with vigilante shit - you can"t really finish anything." Trish leaned forward, elbows on knees, hands clasped in the middle. She nodded over a hard swallow. "If you do, you"re the bad guy." "It would be nice if more bad guys finished their shit. Instead of half-assing it like this." "I"m not sure I agree in this case." As Trish turned her head to Jessica, she felt her pony tail slide over shoulder, much lower and looser than it should be. She must have looked like a mess. She couldn"t bring herself to care. "You were the target here, Jess. They might be back." Jessica snorted. "Wouldn"t be the first time." Trish felt alarm spike through her at that, like every nerve jolted at once. "And anyway, am I supposed to be scared of that when these people don"t even understand how their little toy works?"

"Why don"t you disappear." Mob tried to hold himself back, stopping the spirit"s curse without harming. It was like trying to cup a bubble in your hands: delicate, careful. Inevitably impossible. All it took was a brief spike, an infinitesimal falter in control, and the bubble burst, splattering Mob and everything around him with the collateral damage. Mob awoke to the distinct sensation that something was off, like looking in the mirror and finding your nose moved two millimeters to the left. He was sleeping on the floor, like he had for years now, but the angle of the sun was all wrong. And his feet were cold. He looked downward and realized that his feet were also big. He climbed from his bed and his limbs felt strange, longer. Not, he noticed with disappointment, more muscular. He used them to carefully make his way to a bathroom he didn"t recognize, hoping there would be a mirror. His nose was, fortunately, exactly where he"d left it. The face it was attached to, however, was quite different. Older. Okay, so he had somehow traveled to the future. Well. That really wasn"t that strange, considering everything that had happened to him already. There was no need to panic. He was kind of panicking a little bit. He took a better look around the apartment. Small. Sparse. Clean. His? It was hard to tell; there were no photos on the wall or personal affects that would give its ownership away. He spent some time examining a small potted plant by the window that seemed to be barely clinging on to life. The nicest thing in the apartment was very clearly the cellphone charging on the kitchen counter. Even so, the model would have already been considered out of date in Mob"s time; it must have been considered ancient now. It was kind of comforting to look at. As he scrolled through the phone, a sense of relief built with every contact he recognized. Mom and Dad. Ritsu. Hanazawa. Reigen. His thumb hovered over "Reigen Arataka" for a long moment before he flipped the phone closed. This was the future; he didn"t know if the number was up to date or if he still worked at Spirits and Such. Or if Spirits and Such still existed. Or if Reigen still lived in Spice City. He studied the familiar skyline through the window. He could probably find his way from here. He checked the small closet and to his relief found a coat that looked like it fit him. It felt weird, taking a strange coat without permission, but he supposed that the coat was (technically) his. He reached into his pockets. From the left, he pulled a handful of crumpled receipts; all of them were from the same store, for the same type of potted plant, bought weeks apart from one another. He glanced again at the dying plant by the window, trying to decipher the strange puzzle his future self had left for him. From the right, he pulled two keys attached by a ring. He tried both in the apartment"s front door and the second one turned the lock. Good. Okay. Mob felt so relieved when he found the office, right where they"d left it, that his legs almost wobbled with it. He inspected the second key from his coat pocket curiously before trying it in the door; the lock turned easily. He flicked on the lights and this space instantly felt more familiar than the apartment that he"d woken up in. There were changes: the posters with Reigen"s likeness were gone from the walls, the tile floor he remembered had been replaced with warm, if cheap-looking carpet, there weren"t quite as many books, some of the furniture had been moved. But Reigen"s desk and the smaller one that he"d given Mob to work at were both still there. Where the apartment had been bare of personal affects, the office was tidily scattered with little pieces of evidence that people worked there: two mugs sitting on the coffee table, a couple of knickknacks by the small tv, a couple of photos on Reigen"s desk in fragile plastic frames. Mob handled the photos carefully, faintly surprised when he turned over the first one to find a picture of himself and Ritsu. They were older than he remembered either of them being, but perhaps a little younger than he appeared to be now. Disappointingly, the Mob in the photo hadn"t noticed the camera in time to smile, hands pressing down on the papers spread in front of him. The Ritsu in the picture was frozen in the middle of turning toward the photographer, eyebrows drawn to the space between his eyes and mouth open to say something. Mob wondered who had taken the picture and if Ritsu and Reigen were on better terms now. The next one was of a boy in a Salt Middle School uniform who Mob didn"t know, but who resembled Reigen closely enough that he was probably a relative. The camera had been angled in such a way that the boy had clearly taken the picture himself, leaving the end result out of focus, but he wore a large, open grin. Mob set the pictures back and glanced uncertainly around the office. He at least knew now that Reigen was still here. He couldn"t be certain that Reigen would know how to fix this anymore than he did, but...he would feel better not being alone. And somehow things had always worked out before. Mostly. He was just debating giving the phone number a try when the door to the office burst open, followed by the sandy-haired boy from the picture. The boy almost chased after the door, reaching to stop it before it slammed against the wall and sighing in relief when he succeeded. "I"m sorry I"m late, Shishou, I - " The boy stopped, schoolbag slapping once against his side with the abrupt end to his momentum, staring at Mob as he stood stiff and uncertain in front of the desk. "Are you okay?" Mob startled momentarily at being addressed. He opened his mouth. Closed it. And finally it dawned on him who the boy had probably been expecting to see. "Oh, are you looking for Reigen-shishou too?" "Am I - ?" The boy"s mouth moved a moment longer without sound, brows furrowed. And then he marched up to Mob with purpose, peering into his face with such force that Mob actually found himself leaning back. Without warning, the boy clapped his hands on Mob"s arms, grip surprisingly firm, and Mob felt his heart make a genuine effort to escape through his throat. "Shishou, you need to sit down," the boy said, apparently to Mob. "I - okay," Mob said and let himself be led to the office"s familiar couch because nothing about what was happening made any sense and sitting down sounded good right about now. The boy pressed the back of his hand to Mob"s forehead and narrowed his eyes before moving away. "You"re not sick again." "I don"t think so," Mob said. His own hand almost automatically went to touch the spot that the boy"s hand had vacated. The boy cupped his chin thoughtfully, rocking back on his heels, and Mob was struck again by just how much like Reigen he looked. "Did anything strange happen before I got here? Any shady looking visitors?" "Yesterday, I was fourteen," Mob said. If this boy was studying under Reigen, maybe he could help. "And now I"m not." The boy blinked at him. "Who did you say you were here to see?" "Reigen-shishou. I think he still works here, but - " "I"m Reigen Arataka," the boy said, thumping his chest proudly, "the most promising exorcist of my age. I"m studying under the greatest psychic of the twenty-first century." Mob"s whole body felt strange: cold and hot at the same time. His throat was dry, tongue heavy in his mouth, but he swallowed and spoke anyway. "And who"s that?" "You," Reigen said, looking at him steadily. "Kageyama Shigeo. Mob. My Shishou. Except you"re not, are you?" "I think I"m still the first two," Mob said. Reigen sat on the couch opposite him and leaned forward across his knees. Mob had seen this pose enough times before; it usually meant Reigen was interested in a case. "Why don"t you start from the beginning." "Right, okay," Reigen said, pacing a little now. Mob"s eyes tracked him as he moved. "I"ll have to handle this afternoon"s customers; that"s alright, some of them are regulars. We"ve got that little old lady coming in again to talk about her cats." He stopped abruptly, arm swinging around to point at Mob. "Do you have somewhere to go?" Mob stiffened, back ramrod straight as if the tension from Reigen"s arm was contagious. "Ah, um, I could go back to the apartment?" Reigen stared at him blankly. "My apartment," he clarified. "Or I think it"s my apartment." "Good, perfect, wait for me there." Reigen turned away and it took Mob a moment to realize that the conversation was evidently over. He hovered uncertainly by the couches for a while in case there was anything more. Reigen flitted busily from one part of the room to another: brewing tea, sorting through papers, checking something on his phone. Eventually, Mob decided it was probably alright to let himself out. He stopped outside the front door, patted his pocket and felt for the key; it was still there. He debated on whether Reigen expected him to lock the door after him; he decided against it. He had the entire walk to think his situation over, but nothing became any clearer. It didn"t matter how he turned it over in his head or what angle he held it from. Understanding of his situation fled from his grasp like the answers to a math equation. Alternate realities shouldn"t have felt that much more impossible than time travel. Home felt somehow farther now. The knock on the door came about a half hour after Mob had decided that Reigen wasn"t actually coming tonight. He opened it to find Reigen shivering against the night chill, holding two bags of take out. "Sorry I took so long," Reigen said. "I had to sneak out after Mom went to bed." Mob thought for a moment about scolding him, but the idea of scolding Reigen about anything was too weird. Instead, he moved aside and Reigen was quicker to make himself at home than he expected. He dumped the food on the small dining table and picked through the kitchen for clean dishes in a way that suggested familiarity. Mob could count on one hand the number of times he had been to his Shishou"s apartment over the years. "I wasn"t sure if you"d had anything to eat today," Reigen said, unpacking his own food. Mob honestly hadn"t thought about it with everything that had happened. His stomach growled loudly, as if to chastise him for this oversight. "I didn"t. Thank you." Reigen nodded and gestured for Mob to sit across from him, digging into his burger without further preamble. The sight of ketchup smeared across Reigen"s face made something in Mob"s chest ease. This Reigen may have been younger and had different memories, but he was still Reigen. "So, you wanna go back to your own world, time, whatever," Reigen said, gesturing sharply with a fry. "I want my Shishou back. The way I see it, we"re partners." "That makes sense," Mob said, relieved. "Partner" sounded like a much more manageable title than "Shishou". Reigen looked pleased. Reigen insisted on looking at "the scene of the crime" after they finished dinner, examining the bedroom with careful scrutiny. He insisted on turning over Mob"s bed to check for portals. Mob felt like he probably would have noticed if there had been one, but had to admit that he hadn"t checked. Finally, Reigen rolled back onto his calves, looking vaguely disheveled, and held out a hand toward Mob. "Give me your phone." "You don"t have one?" Mob asked even as he passed his to Reigen. "Mine won"t work for this," Reigen said, frowning at the screen. "Great as my abilities are, I"ve determined that interdimensional travel might be beyond even me. So, I"m calling in my secret weapon." Reigen turned the screen to Mob for a moment before going through with the call, apparently unfazed by Mob"s surprise. "Ritsu?" Mob glanced at the dark sky through the window. "It"s late; will he even pick up?" "He"ll pick up. That"s why it had to be your phone." Reigen held his finger up in an unmistakable request for quiet. "Yo, Kageyama - " Reigen lapsed into sudden silence, frowning with the phone pressed against his ear. Mob sat stiffly, hands fisted in his lap as he waited. "Yeah, I know, but - " Reigen started before pausing again. "If you would just listen - " Reigen paused. Frowned harder. Flipped the phone closed. "He hung up." "Is Ritsu okay?" "Oh yeah, he"s fine." Reigen waved a hand in front of his face, at once reassuring and dismissive. "He"s just mad that I woke him up when his new job starts in the morning. I"ll call him back." "We can"t bother Ritsu," Mob said. "It"s not like I want to, but - " "We can"t bother Ritsu," Mob said firmly. Just a twitch of psychic power and he pulled the phone from Reigen"s grasp for good measure. It felt a little weird; maybe his body wasn"t the only thing that had changed. "Geez, fine." Reigen rolled his eyes before standing up, stretching until his back popped. "I guess it"s good to know that you don"t really change when it comes to stuff like that, whatever world you come from." "Look, I have school tomorrow, but I"ll do some digging around and let you know if I find anything," Reigen said. "You should see if you can do anything on your end in the mean time. You know, psychic stuff." He waved his hands expansively in what Mob guessed was supposed to be a representation of "psychic stuff". Mob nodded even though he wasn"t sure exactly what it was that he was supposed to be trying. Maybe...could he make a portal? He let his aura flare, just a little, and even with the "weird" quality to it, he knew his powers were as strong as ever. It was almost scarier to entertain using them to travel between realities as a real possibility. Reigen didn"t seem to notice Mob"s flare up, pausing instead to look at the plant by the window. He reached out one hand to touch a browning leaf before poking at the soil. "I thought he was looking after it." Mob thought guiltily of the receipts in the coat pocket and wondered if he should say anything; it wasn"t his secret to share. And then Reigen sighed and Mob couldn"t find it in himself to lie. "I think he"s been replacing it every couple of weeks. Sorry, I was never much good at looking after plants." Actually, if he used his powers, they usually grew too much and became a problem in a different way. He understood why this world"s Mob would want to care for the plant without relying on psychic powers, might have even felt proud of it, but he couldn"t help feeling disappointed that he"d clearly been unable to take care of something that clearly meant so much to Reigen. To his surprise, Reigen didn"t seem disappointed at all. If anything, he left looking happy. "Where have you been, Dimple?" The words slipped out before Mob realized that they probably wouldn"t make any sense - not to this Dimple. "Keeping out trouble," Dimple said, looking a little cross. "I figured I"d give the kid some space after the, ah, incident last month. Keep you from deciding to poof me. Turns out, there"s no pleasing some people." "So, he"s not possessed," Reigen said, staring Dimple down. "Possessed? Kageyama? Hah! I"d like to meet the spirit who tried that one." "No," Mob said because Dimple wasn"t talking about himself and there was only one other spirit who came to mind, even if Mob had technically been in someone else"s body at the time. "No, you wouldn"t." Dimple stared at him for a moment. "No, I don"t suppose I would." "Well, it was worth a shot." Reigen sighed. "I figured we should rule the easy stuff out before breaking the laws of science and whatnot." "He"s not possessed," Dimple said, "but he is sporting one hell of a curse." "Curse?" Mob"s eyes widened with the epiphany. "And you couldn"t just say that from the beginning?" Reigen glared at Dimple, hands on hips. "I was getting there, sheesh." Dimple floated closer to Mob, looking him over before whistling. "It"s a doozy too. Normally Kageyama should be able to shrug this kind of stuff off, but, as usual, his powers complicate things." "What do you mean?" Mob checked himself over, wondering if he could spot the curse if he looked hard enough. "I mean, you appear to have...absorbed it? Something like that. Shame - I don"t get to eat curses very often." "So, what do we do now?" Reigen asked. "You"re gonna need the help of a really powerful psychic, that"s for sure." Reigen glanced at Mob. "I don"t suppose you"d be willing to lend me your cellphone again." "We"re - " " - not bothering Ritsu. Yeah, I got it." Reigen sighed. "You could always ask that guy," Dimple said. Reigen"s eyes narrowed. "What? Is this because you want into his pants? Because I don"t see how it would hurt. In fact - " Reigen grabbed Mob"s arm firmly. "Let"s go. There"s nothing this useless spirit can do for us." "Useless? Who are you calling useless, you wannabe - " The house looked normal enough, but Reigen kept straightening the hem of his shirt as they approached. If Mob didn"t know better, he might have mistaken it for nervousness. The woman who answered the door did not look pleased to see them and Mob began to feel a little nervous himself. "Good afternoon, Serizawa-san," Reigen said, ignoring Mob"s surprise at the name. Reigen had his Customer Service Smile in full force and Mob allowed himself to relax fractionally; Reigen had always been very good at dealing with people who didn"t want to deal with him. The woman stared at Reigen for a long moment before stepping aside. "Katsuya"s upstairs." Reigen and Mob both thanked her in turn before entering, Reigen encouraging him to ignore every ingrained instinct toward politeness and hurry on. About half way up the stairs, Reigen finally acknowledged the questioning glances Mob had been directing at him. "I miiight have yelled at her. Once." Mob couldn"t entirely quash spark of admiration; Reigen would be the kind of kid who wasn"t afraid to yell at an adult. Reigen seemed to have no trouble figuring out which room belonged to Serizawa, pausing to rap his knuckles gently against the door. "Serizawa-senpai? We need to speak with you." It only took a few seconds for the door to crack open, a head poking out. Serizawa looked both less put-together than he usually did these days and more so than he had been when Mob had first met him. He smiled tremulously and seemed to unfold from himself a little when he saw them. "Reigen-kun. Kageyama-san." He paused and his brow furrowed as he turned to Reigen. "I thought you were sick?" "What? Me? No. You know me: the very image of health." Reigen quickly inserted himself into Serizawa"s doorway, wrapping one arm over the other boy"s shoulder and pulling him away from Mob. He seemed to remember half way in that Mob was actually supposed to be a part of the conversation and hurriedly signaled that Mob should enter. Mob tried not to feel too annoyed. Serizawa was very patient while they explained things to him, eyebrows lowering on his face when he had to ask them to review certain points. "I"m very worried about Kageyama-san too," he said when they had finished. He glanced, almost guiltily, at Mob. "Um, both Kageyama-sans. I guess I just don"t...see why you came to me with this? I mean, ah, not that I don"t want to help - obviously! I just don"t see how I...can?" Reigen"s eyebrows rose on his face as if to compensate for every millimeter Serizawa"s eyebrows had sunk. "Serizawa, you"re the most powerful psychic I know." He stopped, patted Mob on the arm, almost consolingly. "Besides Shishou, of course." "That"s very nice of you." Serizawa ducked his head as he started to turn pink and sweaty like after a workout. "It"s the truth," Reigen said emphatically. "I need a powerful psychic to get rid of this curse and you"re the man for the job." "Reigen-kun, I still can"t control my powers well enough for something like this. It wouldn"t be right to use them on another person." Mob felt sympathy swell in his gut. "We"ll find another way." "What other way?" Reigen asked, one hand making a frustrated slice through the air to connect with his other palm. "We can"t bother Ritsu, Dimple can"t eat it, I tried calling that guy with the ESPer training camp or whatever - " "Ah, Hanazawa-san is - " "Busy, yes, I know. I couldn"t even get through to him directly and the brat who answered the phone wouldn"t tell me where he went." Reigen sighed, running a hand through his hair. Serizawa was so tense at this point that Mob"s back hurt just looking at him. "I"m sorry, Serizawa, this isn"t your fault. We"ll...we"ll figure something out." "I do want to help," Serizawa said. "Maybe I could, ah, come by after school? Just to see if there"s anything else I could do?" "I appreciate it," Reigen said, but he didn"t make eye contact with Mob the whole way back. Mob woke up one morning to the realization that he may not be going home for a long time. Something burned at his eyes and pushed at his ribcage and he tried desperately to quash it before he wrecked something in the apartment that he still couldn"t think of as his. "He hasn"t been in school all week," Dimple said, materializing arms apparently just to cross them. "I"ve been tailing him because tall, dark, and jittery here was worried."

"I can see why you"d like those." Jessica opened the second beer and didn"t elaborate. Neither of them needed it to be said. "I wanted everyone to have a hero to swoop in and save them. The way that you saved me." Trish paused in her steps, closed her eyes. Her neck twinged even though she knew there was nothing wrong with it anymore. "But I don"t know if I can keep risking you for that." Jessica looked at her long and hard; Trish had a harder time reading her expression than she"d had in years. "You know you can"t save everyone." Trish scrubbed her hands harshly over her face. Her eyes watered. "I know, but I have to believe that there"s a point in trying." "Just...sometimes you"re not gonna win. Try not to let it get to you." There never seemed to be any way for thing to go downhill except for fast. Somehow, neither of them had anticipated that an anti-super conspiracy group might not be above keeping a super on the payroll. Trish hadn"t realized that brick could splinter, but the wall provided an excellent demonstration of this exact phenomenon upon impacting with her back. She tried to tell her body and her mind that this couldn"t be nearly as bad as she had anticipated it being; it was hard to tell what part of pain was expectation and what was reality. Trish barely registered the hands reaching to close around her neck before she was moving again. She hooked her arms over the man"s and dove her hands into the center of his arms, twisting his wrists away from her throat. One of her right arm wound around her opponent"s left, pinning it to her side, removing it from play as quickly as possible. Her other arm snapped out and caught her assailant in the chin with the heel of her palm; his head snapped back hard. Even as he was reeling, her leg was ready with the follow-up, landing a solid blow to the groin with her knee. Even as she brought her hands back to guard, ready for round three, she couldn"t help looking around for Jess. Logically, she knew that it was a good thing if she couldn"t see her; nobody was supposed to. Logically, she knew this. Logically. As she saw the man stagger toward recovery, she brought her hand down in a hammer fist punch. The man was ready for her this time; he grabbed her arm two handed and flipped her over his shoulder, sheer strength making up for what he lacked in technique. She hit the ground hard, back spasming against the continued abuse. The air caught in her chest and she choked on it. At once it felt like her body was fighting to live, to die, to not have to deal with the sensation of too much for a moment longer, even if her brain understood that it wasn"t that bad, couldn"t possibly be that bad. The man didn"t give her a moment to recover, hand fisting in her hair as he attempted to drag her. She grasped desperately at his ankle, looking to throw him off-balance again, looking for just a chance. He kicked her hands away before using the grip on her hair to whip her around, sending her skidding across the pavement. She grit her teeth and tried to stay focused through it; no more slip ups. He moved over her, started to lean down. He was going to go for a chokehold again, falling back on predictable methods against an opponent who had caught him off guard more than once. She thrust her hips up in a hard kick, both feet planting firmly in the center of his chest, putting as much power behind the movement as she could. The man flew back a way before landing hard on the ground. She rolled, propping herself up on her elbow, wincing against the stretch of sore muscle. The man"s chest looked...weird, off. He didn"t get up again. "Holy shit, Trish." Trish barely had time to recognize Jessica"s voice before Jessica was pulling at her arm, trying to get her up. "Trish, come on, you"ve gotta go." Trish looked at the man"s chest again - too low in one spot. For a moment, she wasn"t sure she could move either. Jessica roughly grabbed her face, fingerless gloves smooth against her cheeks, and turned her head. "Trish, you can"t be here. Go." There was something like need or desperation in Jessica"s eyes. So, Trish moved. Trish had the good whisky on the counter before Jessica was even out of the shower. She set down one glass. Then two. Then took one glass away again. She turned on her coffee maker. "Whisky" was Jessica"s first word when she entered the room, hair still wet and clinging to the shape of her face. She poured herself a glass - full - and sniffed it before taking a sip. She wrinkled her nose. "Tastes expensive." "It was," Trish said. Jessica was already drinking from the glass again. "Hey, about what happened tonight - " "Is it fucked up that I kind of...enjoyed it. Up until everything went sideways." "I mean, kind of." Jessica shrugged, drank again. "But I already knew you were an adrenaline junky." "It wasn"t like Simpson"s pills." "No offense, but good." Trish crossed her arms, leaning back against the counter. The coffee maker beeped, but she didn"t move to do anything about it. "That guy - " "You did what you had to do," Jessica said. She"d put the whisky glass down and stood with her hands loosely by her side, just looking at her. "I know." Trish wasn"t surprised when Jessica moved to her and wrapped her arms around her back; she had always been quicker to physical affection than anyone with her disposition had any right to be. Trish hugged her back and buried her face in Jessica"s shoulder. Jessica"s hair smelt like her shampoo. Trish didn"t decide to kiss Jessica so much as she gave in to it, succumbing to an irrepressible need for more - contact, comfort, companionship - to make everything else feel like less. Jessica responded instantaneously, as if this wasn"t the first time. As if it hadn"t taken ridiculous, terrible circumstances to bring them to this point. Trish wished it hadn"t, but she couldn"t take it back. Trish hooked her hands under Jessica"s thighs and hoisted her up. Jessica let her do it, pressing close. The weight was easy to take; Jessica hardly felt like she existed at all. It was the emotional shock that unbalanced her so much that she nearly crashed them both into the nearest wall. She lowered Jessica onto the bed, gentle but not slow. Even now, she couldn"t see Jessica as breakable, but she didn"t know how to be anything but gentle with her. As she knelt over Jessica - as Jessica looked up at her, eyelids lowered, lips parted, chest heaving - Trish felt her momentum stutter, stall. She kissed Jessica, softer and more hesitant, trying to find the rhythm again. She didn"t know how much further this should go. She wanted to continue. Jessica rolled them over, harsh and impatient, but not entirely inconsiderate; she all but cradled Trish"s back through the movement, one hand on her waist, one between her shoulder blades. The bruises stung faintly against the pressure of Jessica"s fingertips and Trish"s body shuddered with a weird electricity that made her curl her neck against her shoulders. Trish had to shift to free her hair from where it had caught under her back during the roll. As soon as she lifted her neck, Jessica took the opportunity to help her sweep the hair aside, hot breath puffing over her neck as Jessica brought her mouth down. Trish was hot and cold and prickly - sweaty skin, dry mouth. She ran her hands over Jessica"s back to feel the muscles work as Jessica moved down her body. Jessica"s hands were as blunt as her mouth - slim, articulate fingers ending in calluses without a hint of subtlety. Trish was actually glad for it; hot anticipation made her want to cross her legs and spread them at the same time, leaving her squirming with the inability to do either. Somebody needed to do something. "You better not stop," Trish said. Just so that it was out there. Just so that they both knew. "Wasn"t planning on it," Jessica said. "You should pick one," Trish said, watching Jessica flip through the rack of posters. "It"s your wall; you can put holes in it if you want." "They"re your walls," Jessica said, pushing past a Nirvana poster with a sharp squeak of metal hinges. "You pay the rent." "I hate it when you say things like that." Trish put her hand out to stop Jessica from moving on to yet another poster, knowing that it was the intent more than the action that would make her stop. Jessica did stop, turning to look at Trish over her shoulder. "I want you to decorate your room, make it your own. Then it might actually feel like you"re gonna stick around." "I wouldn"t just ghost you." Jessica very noticeably didn"t deny that she might leave; they didn"t lie to each other. Trish felt blood pounding in her ears, but she didn"t dare point the omission out. She didn"t really want a confirmation. "Still," Trish said, "I"d feel better if it looked like you lived there." Jessica came home with a painting a week later. The frame was cracked and splintering, but the painting itself looked to be in good shape. "It"s a cheap reproduction Egon Schiele," she said, like that was something that anyone would know. "I found it by the curb." She leaned it against the wall of her bedroom and shrugged. "You wanted me to decorate, right? This is classy or whatever - suits the place." Trish bought a new frame and hung the painting while Jessica was out, trying her luck at another interview for a job she was overqualified for. When Jessica moved out for real, for the last time - after she went missing and came back - Trish only noticed that the painting was missing after four days of unanswered texts and a blocked call. The frame still sat in the bedroom, leaned up against the wall. Trish counted the seconds since Jessica had disappeared into the bathroom - in Mississippis, in the static behind her eyelids during a blink, in shadows crawling across her ceiling. If Jessica had really just gone to the bathroom, she would have been back by now. Trish took a breath. Another one. She could imagine Jessica sitting on the lid of the toilet or staring into the mirror above the sink, doing the same. She got up; she never had got that coffee. When Jessica found her, sitting on the couch with a mug and a blanket, she made no effort to approach further than the doorway. "So, this isn"t really something I...do." "Talk?" "No, I keep getting suckered into that." Jessica crossed her arms, shifting her weight to her left side. "I mean, I don"t have one night stands with people who matter." "Is that what this was?" "I don"t know, was it?" Trish shrugged before inclining her head to indicate the empty seat next her. Jessica hesitated only a moment longer before joining her on the couch. "Ugh, I hate doing this. I didn"t even finish my whisky," Jessica said. "You still could; it"s over there." Jessica sighed gustily, but didn"t actually move to stand. Trish let the silence sit, taking another sip of her coffee. "I"m not actually that good at pushing people away," Jessica said. Trish looked at her over the rim of her mug. "No, seriously. Somebody says something nice to me and I come crawling back like an abused dog." "Or maybe people just don"t actually want to let you walk out of their lives," Trish said. She set the mug down on the table, carefully, before moving to snuggle up against Jessica"s side. Jessica didn"t react beyond lifting her arm to make to room. "You"re worth coming back for, Jessica Jones." Trish took a second to enjoy the rhythm of Jessica"s breath, the warmth radiating from her body. The comfort of holding someone and being held in return was still something that felt like a luxury to her sometimes. "I"m really bad at seeing when people are bad for me," she said. "Sometimes I think I must have known, but I let them in anyway because I don"t know any other way to be." Jessica"s arm tightened around her. "It could just be because people suck." Trish wondered if Jessica included herself in "people", knew without asking that she did. She also knew that Jessica wasn"t always a nice person, but she was a good one, down to her bones. "I slept with Hedy Wolfe once," Trish said. "You what?" "Mm, and then I spent half a year secretly freaking out while I waited for her to leak the details to the press. It took me that long to realize that it would have been as bad for her career as it would have been for mine." "Probably would have been worth it, though. Hedy was hot. And mean." Trish hummed. Her eyes had slipped closed at some point. "I don"t really date either," Jessica said. "Yeah, me neither," Trish said. Fighting with superior strength came easier through experience, but it still didn"t feel natural. Trish had trained to fight despite her size against people who would almost certainly overpower her; she hadn"t trained to hold back against people who couldn"t possibly keep up. As she tossed the last of her attempted assailants almost casually away from her, she still had to acknowledge that she would miss it when it was gone. Jessica looked her over appraisingly. Maybe there was something in that gaze that hadn"t been there a few days ago; maybe that was wishful thinking. "Well, I guess we gave them an actual reason to be afraid of powers now." "People like this don"t need a reason," Trish said. "Hey, I wasn"t complaining." Jessica picked the device up off the table, turning it over in hands. It was no wider than a football, metal and slightly warm to the touch; it resembled something between a child"s idea of a ray gun and a Tetris piece. "Huh, I thought it"d be bigger. And look less like it came from the Toys "R" Us bargain bin." Trish regarded it warily. "You heard what the guy upstairs said, right?" "Yep, cast-offs from his time as a delivery boy. For IGH." Jessica groaned. "I"m gonna have to care about this, aren"t I?" "You don"t have to. You don"t have to do any of this." Trish had meant the words to be reassuring, but she heard her own voice as if from a distance, empty of anything. "Is that what you want?" Jessica still held the device in her hands, but she looked like she would put it down the second Trish gave the word. "Would you want to just stay like this?" Trish"s fists clenched briefly, feeling for the strength present in every muscle of her body. But it had never really belonged to her. Trish"s definition of strength had always begun and ended with Jessica Jones. "No, it"s not," she said. "Do it." "This place looks cleaner than I remember," Trish said. "I think Malcolm"s rubbing off on me. I actually own spackle." Jessica looked around her office-apartment with something that resembled distaste, except for the obvious current of pride that ran beneath it. Trish couldn"t help noticing that the printed window looked like it had actually been treated to off-brand Windex sometime in the past week. "It looks good." Trish placed her bag on the couch, but didn"t sit down. "How are you feeling?" "It"s slower than I expected - given, you know, the first time." Jessica rotated one arm, hand massaging her shoulder. "But I can feel it coming back, bit by bit. I might actually be able to hit the gym without embarrassing myself." "You"ve never gone to the gym in your life." Trish flexed her hand, watching the movement of every muscle in every finger. "It"s not gone yet, but...it"s going." "Second thoughts?" Trish shook her head, no hesitation. "No." "Good because it"s a little late now." Jessica walked over to her, lifted a hand, and then uncharacteristically hesitated. She finally settled her hand lightly on Trish"s bicep, not quite meeting her eyes. "I almost never get to hang out with people as strong as I am. I feel like we should arm wrestle or something." Trish swallowed, saw the out, and didn"t take it. "I feel like that would be a waste of an opportunity, don"t you?" "Did you have a better idea?" When Trish leaned in to kiss her, Jessica met her half way, arms automatically winding around her. Trish surged forward, making Jessica back up until they hit a wall. When they stopped, Trish grabbed Jessica"s arms and forced them back against the wall, pinning them. Jessica was taller than her, but not enough to make the position awkward and Trish"s grip still felt firm and certain. She smiled at Jessica, just an upward turn of the lips, and raised an eyebrow in challenge. Trish felt Jessica"s wrists flex under her hands, testing her grip - playing at getting away just to see if she could. Trish let her, patient, enjoying the feeling of Jessica"s strength and the thrill of not knowing if she still had enough of her own to keep her there. And then Jessica grinned and relaxed, fingers splayed over the plaster behind her. Trish kissed her again, long and slow. "You know, I don"t usually do this." "Really?" Jessica ran her lips lightly over Trish"s jaw, leg pushing unsubtly between Trish"s thighs. "Because I"m picking up all sorts of habits." Trish swept one leg, catching Jessica at the ankle and pushing her leg back. Jessica"s grin widened. "I"ve got this girl I like - a really bad influence." "Well, that"s a problem. I was hoping to ask you out." "Guess you"ll just have to convince me." "Guess so." "Better get a move on." Trish kissed her again. Jessica looked at her skeptically from the other end of the mat, fists raised not quite high enough. "This is dumb; I don"t want to hurt you." Trish raised an eyebrow, not dropping her own fists. "You won"t." "You sure about that? I don"t know if you"ve noticed, but I"m kinda strong." "You"re just defending yourself against me today. Just give it a try." Trish didn"t give Jessica any more warning before coming at her. Jessica reacted, but her moves were too clearly telegraphed. Her movements were all large and lumbering, the sole strategy being Jessica"s ability to overpower almost any opponent. Provided the blows connected. Almost every person with super strength seemed to move like that; it was why Trish had wanted to do this. Trish moved herself smoothly out of Jessica"s line, letting Jess"s momentum continue to carry her past her for a couple of critical steps. Trish brought her hand up under Jessica"s chin and her other arm behind her head and used that same momentum to push her to the ground, pinning her with a knee to the back. Trish clambered off as soon as the move was executed, extending a hand to help Jessica up. "You okay?" "Yeah, fine," Jessica said, but she winced a little as she allowed Trish to help her up. "Your defence is full of holes," Trish said. "Mostly because it"s ninety percent attack." "What can I say: I"m strong, not a ninja." "You need technique to back up your power. Right now, anyone with martial arts training and a little something extra is going to kick your ass." "I"ll take it under advisement." Jessica moved off the mat, shrugging on her leather coat; it was a not-very-subtle indication that she considered herself done for the day. Trish let it go; she"d been lucky enough to convince Jessica to give the training a shot in the first place, she"d have to accept that progress could be made in small steps. Besides, it didn"t need to be all work and no play. "I thought we could go out tonight," Trish said. "Catch dinner, maybe a movie. Maybe go skating in Central Park." Jessica frowned at her oddly. "I don"t know how to skate." "I could teach you." Trish searched Jessica"s face, suddenly uncertain. "Or, you know, we don"t have to." "No." Jessica abruptly busied herself with putting on the rest of her outerwear. "No, that sounds nice. Just, you know, I"m not sure how much fun it"ll be for you." "I think I"ll be happy just to do normal date stuff for a change." Honestly, Trish didn"t have much experience with that. She"d played a normal teenager on tv; she"d never gotten to be one. But if there was anyone who wouldn"t judge her for that lack of experience, it was Jessica. Trish paused at the door to adjust Jessica"s scarf. It had been perfectly fine in the first place and truthfully, she couldn"t justify the fussing. But it was also a deep red that paired nicely with Jessica"s hair and she figured that was reason enough. She smoothed her hands over Jessica"s lapels and swallowed. "I don"t think I"ve seen you wear this one before." "I"m trying to wear less monochrome," Jessica said. "It makes me look goth." Trish smiled and then ducked her gaze a little, brushing her hair behind her ear. "I"m glad, you know. That we"re doing this. That it"s you." "Even if the start was weird as shit?" "Maybe especially because of that." "Good." Jessica ducked her head so that they were forehead to forehead, her long, dark hair tickling across Trish"s cheek. "Because I"m glad it"s you too." Trish had probably started falling in love with Jessica Jones the day she caught her in the bathroom, an impossibly heavy chunk of marble sink lifted above her head. She had, perhaps, been falling ever since. Alice down the rabbit hole, falling forever and braver by the moment for the experience, no longer daunted by the comparatively minor peril of falling down stairs or off houses. She had thought once that it was comforting to have someone so strong to catch her at the bottom. It was much better, she"d come to realize, to find that Jessica was along for the fall.

"Good thing nobody asked you," Yokoyama said, tossing her hair and sniffing. "You kind of did," Takada said with a shrug. He was leaning over to peek at Saito"s phone. Saito kept shrugging his shoulder if Takada leaned too close, but otherwise didn"t try to stop him. "When you asked if anyone else cared." Mob, who had been sitting stiffly, hands upon knees, and trying to follow the course of the conversation jumped a little. He hadn"t realized that had actually been an invitation for his opinion. "Um," he said. The other three jumped a little too before turning to look at him. "Um, I think Fujita"s already started on the project over there." The other three continued to stare at him and his palms suddenly felt clammy. He resisted the urge to wipe them against his pants. "I just thought maybe we should go over and see how we can help?" "Hah, good luck," Yokoyama said. "She"d just tell you not to get in her way." "Right, so we should just let her do her own thing. It"s not like she"s gonna rat us out to the teacher," Saito said. "Fujita"s groups always get really good grades," Takada said. "Oh, okay," Mob said, uncertain. Letting one person do all the work didn"t seem very fair to him. But...it was true that he wasn"t very good at this sort of thing. Maybe if he tried to help he"d just ruin it and then everyone would get a bad grade. He looked over to where Fujita was very seriously sketching ideas onto a sheet of paper and something squirmed in his gut and his chest. "Look, you do what you want, Kageyama. We"re just telling you that you"ll be wasting your time," Saito said and then frowned as something on his phone beeped rapidly. "Shit, there goes my high score." "Hm? Fujita?" Inugawa rubbed at his neck as he thought. "I mean, yeah, she pretty much does every group project by herself. I think last year someone offered to help her and she just bit their head off - said she"d already done it all." "Sounds like a pretty good deal to me," Shirihiko said. "It means you don"t have to worry about homework this week, right?" "Oh, I guess that"s true," Mob said, brightening with the realization. "Oi, Mob, you"re half way through a push-up!" "E-eh?" Mob glanced downward and his elbows wobbled with the attention, almost as if his gaze had added extra weight. "Ah, don"t give up, Mob! Fight!" "Do you sense anything, Mob?" Reigen asked, hand inserted casually into one pocket. The building in front of them looked like it might once have been capable of "looming", but years of sinking into rot and disuse had made it just look vaguely sad. "Yes." Sometimes Mob couldn"t detect any spirits when he and Reigen visited a haunting site. People are haunted by many things, Mob, Reigen had told him one time when he"d been particularly troubled by it. It wasn"t an issue now, though; even standing outside the front door he could feel the hair on his neck standing on end. "It"s very powerful." "Right," Reigen said after a moment, shifting to look at him. "The client asked us not to do a straight exorcism today; we"re supposed to help the spirit move on. And sometimes it"s okay not to exorcise spirits if they"re not hurting anybody." "Like the little family in the woods," Mob said. "Exactly, like the little family in the woods." Reigen snapped his fingers. "But we also can"t let the spirit hurt anyone." "Right." Reigen just looked down at him expectantly and Mob scrambled to think of what else he was supposed to say. Reigen sighed and laid a heavy hand on Mob"s shoulder. "Just keep an eye out." Reigen patted his shoulder once, twice, firm. "You"ll know what to do." Mob followed Reigen into the building, staring up at him, but Reigen wasn"t looking at him anymore. His gaze was darting into the darkness, as if the spirit might emerge from any of the barely distinguishable shadows on the walls. It was a good instinct; Mob could feel the aura snaking through the space around them. "It"s not happy that we"re here," Mob said. Reigen paused, stiffened, before continuing on. It was when Reigen"s foot was stepping over the threshold of a particularly decrepit looking doorway that snaking turned to striking. Mob"s hand flashed out, but it was almost unnecessary, his power moving first without the need of physical direction. He felt something recoil in the dark and remembered at the last second to pull back; this was not an exorcism job. "Leach." Something without a shape settled in front of them, just beyond the boundaries of the room. Mob watched it warily. It happened sometimes that a spirit became so entrenched into the place that it was haunting that it lost its own physical form; they would have a hard time convincing it to move on if that was the case. "Parasite." "Hello," Reigen said loudly, hovering outside of the doorway. "My name is Reigen Arataka. This is my disciple, Mob - " The spirit lashed out again, but Mob moved first. Reigen flinched back from the place where the spirit struck at his barrier. "Leach," the spirit said again. "You"re hiding behind the boy." "You"re the only one who"s hiding here," Reigen said. His eyes slid past the spirit"s non-form to veer wildly into the dim room. "Why don"t you come on out and we can talk about this like civilized adults?" "People like you are the worst kind of vermin," the spirit said, apparently not interested in Reigen"s offer. "You cling to the talents of others, relying on them to carry you. Does he even know what you are?" Reigen waved one energetically dismissive hand. "We all have different skills that give our contributions value," he said. "It"s only natural that we rely on other people." "What do you contribute? What value do you have?" the spirit asked and its presence seemed to swell. Mob"s power prickled along his own skin as he kept himself waiting. "I gave my whole life to my work while the rest just waited for the credit. Where is the value in that?" "Ah, here we go." Reigen stepped forward, just outside the doorway now; brave, confident, or careless, it was hard to tell sometimes. "Alright, why don"t you tell us your story and we"ll see what we can do about this haunting situation." "Why don"t you disappear." Mob tried to hold himself back, stopping the spirit"s curse without harming. It was like trying to cup a bubble in your hands: delicate, careful. Inevitably impossible. All it took was a brief spike, an infinitesimal falter in control, and the bubble burst, splattering Mob and everything around him with the collateral damage. Mob awoke to the distinct sensation that something was off, like looking in the mirror and finding your nose moved two millimeters to the left. He was sleeping on the floor, like he had for years now, but the angle of the sun was all wrong. And his feet were cold. He looked downward and realized that his feet were also big. He climbed from his bed and his limbs felt strange, longer. Not, he noticed with disappointment, more muscular. He used them to carefully make his way to a bathroom he didn"t recognize, hoping there would be a mirror. His nose was, fortunately, exactly where he"d left it. The face it was attached to, however, was quite different. Older. Okay, so he had somehow traveled to the future. Well. That really wasn"t that strange, considering everything that had happened to him already. There was no need to panic. He was kind of panicking a little bit. He took a better look around the apartment. Small. Sparse. Clean. His? It was hard to tell; there were no photos on the wall or personal affects that would give its ownership away. He spent some time examining a small potted plant by the window that seemed to be barely clinging on to life. The nicest thing in the apartment was very clearly the cellphone charging on the kitchen counter. Even so, the model would have already been considered out of date in Mob"s time; it must have been considered ancient now. It was kind of comforting to look at. As he scrolled through the phone, a sense of relief built with every contact he recognized. Mom and Dad. Ritsu. Hanazawa. Reigen. His thumb hovered over "Reigen Arataka" for a long moment before he flipped the phone closed. This was the future; he didn"t know if the number was up to date or if he still worked at Spirits and Such. Or if Spirits and Such still existed. Or if Reigen still lived in Spice City. He studied the familiar skyline through the window. He could probably find his way from here. He checked the small closet and to his relief found a coat that looked like it fit him. It felt weird, taking a strange coat without permission, but he supposed that the coat was (technically) his. He reached into his pockets. From the left, he pulled a handful of crumpled receipts; all of them were from the same store, for the same type of potted plant, bought weeks apart from one another. He glanced again at the dying plant by the window, trying to decipher the strange puzzle his future self had left for him. From the right, he pulled two keys attached by a ring. He tried both in the apartment"s front door and the second one turned the lock. Good. Okay. Mob felt so relieved when he found the office, right where they"d left it, that his legs almost wobbled with it. He inspected the second key from his coat pocket curiously before trying it in the door; the lock turned easily. He flicked on the lights and this space instantly felt more familiar than the apartment that he"d woken up in. There were changes: the posters with Reigen"s likeness were gone from the walls, the tile floor he remembered had been replaced with warm, if cheap-looking carpet, there weren"t quite as many books, some of the furniture had been moved. But Reigen"s desk and the smaller one that he"d given Mob to work at were both still there. Where the apartment had been bare of personal affects, the office was tidily scattered with little pieces of evidence that people worked there: two mugs sitting on the coffee table, a couple of knickknacks by the small tv, a couple of photos on Reigen"s desk in fragile plastic frames. Mob handled the photos carefully, faintly surprised when he turned over the first one to find a picture of himself and Ritsu. They were older than he remembered either of them being, but perhaps a little younger than he appeared to be now. Disappointingly, the Mob in the photo hadn"t noticed the camera in time to smile, hands pressing down on the papers spread in front of him. The Ritsu in the picture was frozen in the middle of turning toward the photographer, eyebrows drawn to the space between his eyes and mouth open to say something. Mob wondered who had taken the picture and if Ritsu and Reigen were on better terms now. The next one was of a boy in a Salt Middle School uniform who Mob didn"t know, but who resembled Reigen closely enough that he was probably a relative. The camera had been angled in such a way that the boy had clearly taken the picture himself, leaving the end result out of focus, but he wore a large, open grin. Mob set the pictures back and glanced uncertainly around the office. He at least knew now that Reigen was still here. He couldn"t be certain that Reigen would know how to fix this anymore than he did, but...he would feel better not being alone. And somehow things had always worked out before. Mostly. He was just debating giving the phone number a try when the door to the office burst open, followed by the sandy-haired boy from the picture. The boy almost chased after the door, reaching to stop it before it slammed against the wall and sighing in relief when he succeeded. "I"m sorry I"m late, Shishou, I - " The boy stopped, schoolbag slapping once against his side with the abrupt end to his momentum, staring at Mob as he stood stiff and uncertain in front of the desk. "Are you okay?" Mob startled momentarily at being addressed. He opened his mouth. Closed it. And finally it dawned on him who the boy had probably been expecting to see. "Oh, are you looking for Reigen-shishou too?" "Am I - ?" The boy"s mouth moved a moment longer without sound, brows furrowed. And then he marched up to Mob with purpose, peering into his face with such force that Mob actually found himself leaning back. Without warning, the boy clapped his hands on Mob"s arms, grip surprisingly firm, and Mob felt his heart make a genuine effort to escape through his throat. "Shishou, you need to sit down," the boy said, apparently to Mob. "I - okay," Mob said and let himself be led to the office"s familiar couch because nothing about what was happening made any sense and sitting down sounded good right about now. The boy pressed the back of his hand to Mob"s forehead and narrowed his eyes before moving away. "You"re not sick again." "I don"t think so," Mob said. His own hand almost automatically went to touch the spot that the boy"s hand had vacated. The boy cupped his chin thoughtfully, rocking back on his heels, and Mob was struck again by just how much like Reigen he looked. "Did anything strange happen before I got here? Any shady looking visitors?" "Yesterday, I was fourteen," Mob said. If this boy was studying under Reigen, maybe he could help. "And now I"m not." The boy blinked at him. "Who did you say you were here to see?" "Reigen-shishou. I think he still works here, but - " "I"m Reigen Arataka," the boy said, thumping his chest proudly, "the most promising exorcist of my age. I"m studying under the greatest psychic of the twenty-first century." Mob"s whole body felt strange: cold and hot at the same time. His throat was dry, tongue heavy in his mouth, but he swallowed and spoke anyway. "And who"s that?" "You," Reigen said, looking at him steadily. "Kageyama Shigeo. Mob. My Shishou. Except you"re not, are you?" "I think I"m still the first two," Mob said. Reigen sat on the couch opposite him and leaned forward across his knees. Mob had seen this pose enough times before; it usually meant Reigen was interested in a case. "Why don"t you start from the beginning." "Right, okay," Reigen said, pacing a little now. Mob"s eyes tracked him as he moved. "I"ll have to handle this afternoon"s customers; that"s alright, some of them are regulars. We"ve got that little old lady coming in again to talk about her cats." He stopped abruptly, arm swinging around to point at Mob. "Do you have somewhere to go?" Mob stiffened, back ramrod straight as if the tension from Reigen"s arm was contagious. "Ah, um, I could go back to the apartment?" Reigen stared at him blankly. "My apartment," he clarified. "Or I think it"s my apartment." "Good, perfect, wait for me there." Reigen turned away and it took Mob a moment to realize that the conversation was evidently over. He hovered uncertainly by the couches for a while in case there was anything more. Reigen flitted busily from one part of the room to another: brewing tea, sorting through papers, checking something on his phone. Eventually, Mob decided it was probably alright to let himself out. He stopped outside the front door, patted his pocket and felt for the key; it was still there. He debated on whether Reigen expected him to lock the door after him; he decided against it. He had the entire walk to think his situation over, but nothing became any clearer. It didn"t matter how he turned it over in his head or what angle he held it from. Understanding of his situation fled from his grasp like the answers to a math equation. Alternate realities shouldn"t have felt that much more impossible than time travel. Home felt somehow farther now. The knock on the door came about a half hour after Mob had decided that Reigen wasn"t actually coming tonight. He opened it to find Reigen shivering against the night chill, holding two bags of take out. "Sorry I took so long," Reigen said. "I had to sneak out after Mom went to bed." Mob thought for a moment about scolding him, but the idea of scolding Reigen about anything was too weird. Instead, he moved aside and Reigen was quicker to make himself at home than he expected. He dumped the food on the small dining table and picked through the kitchen for clean dishes in a way that suggested familiarity. Mob could count on one hand the number of times he had been to his Shishou"s apartment over the years. "I wasn"t sure if you"d had anything to eat today," Reigen said, unpacking his own food. Mob honestly hadn"t thought about it with everything that had happened. His stomach growled loudly, as if to chastise him for this oversight. "I didn"t. Thank you." Reigen nodded and gestured for Mob to sit across from him, digging into his burger without further preamble. The sight of ketchup smeared across Reigen"s face made something in Mob"s chest ease. This Reigen may have been younger and had different memories, but he was still Reigen. "So, you wanna go back to your own world, time, whatever," Reigen said, gesturing sharply with a fry. "I want my Shishou back. The way I see it, we"re partners." "That makes sense," Mob said, relieved. "Partner" sounded like a much more manageable title than "Shishou". Reigen looked pleased. Reigen insisted on looking at "the scene of the crime" after they finished dinner, examining the bedroom with careful scrutiny. He insisted on turning over Mob"s bed to check for portals. Mob felt like he probably would have noticed if there had been one, but had to admit that he hadn"t checked. Finally, Reigen rolled back onto his calves, looking vaguely disheveled, and held out a hand toward Mob. "Give me your phone." "You don"t have one?" Mob asked even as he passed his to Reigen. "Mine won"t work for this," Reigen said, frowning at the screen. "Great as my abilities are, I"ve determined that interdimensional travel might be beyond even me. So, I"m calling in my secret weapon." Reigen turned the screen to Mob for a moment before going through with the call, apparently unfazed by Mob"s surprise. "Ritsu?" Mob glanced at the dark sky through the window. "It"s late; will he even pick up?" "He"ll pick up. That"s why it had to be your phone." Reigen held his finger up in an unmistakable request for quiet. "Yo, Kageyama - " Reigen lapsed into sudden silence, frowning with the phone pressed against his ear. Mob sat stiffly, hands fisted in his lap as he waited. "Yeah, I know, but - " Reigen started before pausing again. "If you would just listen - " Reigen paused. Frowned harder. Flipped the phone closed. "He hung up." "Is Ritsu okay?" "Oh yeah, he"s fine." Reigen waved a hand in front of his face, at once reassuring and dismissive. "He"s just mad that I woke him up when his new job starts in the morning. I"ll call him back." "We can"t bother Ritsu," Mob said. "It"s not like I want to, but - " "We can"t bother Ritsu," Mob said firmly. Just a twitch of psychic power and he pulled the phone from Reigen"s grasp for good measure. It felt a little weird; maybe his body wasn"t the only thing that had changed. "Geez, fine." Reigen rolled his eyes before standing up, stretching until his back popped. "I guess it"s good to know that you don"t really change when it comes to stuff like that, whatever world you come from." "Look, I have school tomorrow, but I"ll do some digging around and let you know if I find anything," Reigen said. "You should see if you can do anything on your end in the mean time. You know, psychic stuff." He waved his hands expansively in what Mob guessed was supposed to be a representation of "psychic stuff". Mob nodded even though he wasn"t sure exactly what it was that he was supposed to be trying. Maybe...could he make a portal? He let his aura flare, just a little, and even with the "weird" quality to it, he knew his powers were as strong as ever. It was almost scarier to entertain using them to travel between realities as a real possibility. Reigen didn"t seem to notice Mob"s flare up, pausing instead to look at the plant by the window. He reached out one hand to touch a browning leaf before poking at the soil. "I thought he was looking after it." Mob thought guiltily of the receipts in the coat pocket and wondered if he should say anything; it wasn"t his secret to share. And then Reigen sighed and Mob couldn"t find it in himself to lie. "I think he"s been replacing it every couple of weeks. Sorry, I was never much good at looking after plants." Actually, if he used his powers, they usually grew too much and became a problem in a different way. He understood why this world"s Mob would want to care for the plant without relying on psychic powers, might have even felt proud of it, but he couldn"t help feeling disappointed that he"d clearly been unable to take care of something that clearly meant so much to Reigen. To his surprise, Reigen didn"t seem disappointed at all. If anything, he left looking happy. "Where have you been, Dimple?" The words slipped out before Mob realized that they probably wouldn"t make any sense - not to this Dimple. "Keeping out trouble," Dimple said, looking a little cross. "I figured I"d give the kid some space after the, ah, incident last month. Keep you from deciding to poof me. Turns out, there"s no pleasing some people." "So, he"s not possessed," Reigen said, staring Dimple down.

"Pretty neat, huh?" The man said, grinning. "Yes, yes, of course Hawk," a young woman, with long blue hair, said. "But what was supposed to happen exactly?" "Huh?" Hawk turned back around, and looked at the boulder. "Damn, still standing?" He walked over to it, and lightly nudged it with a hand. The boulder crumbled into about twenty different pieces. Hawk sighed. "There goes the dramatic effect. It just doesn"t have the same shock value this way. I was hoping it would crumble by itself." Jessica nodded. "Agreed. You"ll never reach your dream it seems: being the star attraction of a circus." "Eh, I could always become a clown or something," Hawk said, putting on a hurt expression. "Or part of the freak show, in any case," Jessica agreed. "At least you"re still keeping up your old skills." "Yeah, for all the good it"ll do," Hawk said. "There"s no one to use these skills against, in any case. Sometimes I wish Jagan would pop again, just to have something to do." Jessica shivered. "Don"t even joke around like that." Hawk grinned. "Sorry. Hey, let"s go in, alright? It"s getting cold. And I"m starved!" Jessica shook her head. "As always..." To young Carlie, this was the worst enemy of all. Worse than all the monsters in the world put together. Worse than even that freaky Jester guy. Yes, in Carlie"s mind, this was the most evil, despicable thing of all...this thing called... "school." Carlie stood in front of Wendel"s local school. "I hate this! If Carlie had her way, Carlie would blow this school up with Holy Ball, and that would be that! But Grandpa would be angry...maybe make Carlie pay out of her allowance! And Carlie can"t do magic anymore..." Accepting defeat, Carlie trudged into the school. The school was divided into three classrooms: one for very little kids, one for kids around Mick"s age, and one for kids Carlie"s age. Carlie took her seat, and watched as the teacher walked in. "Good morning class..if you would open your math books, and take out your quills, we can follow up on yesterday"s lesson..." Carlie opened up her books, but instead of starting on the questions, she let her mind wander. She was really bored. All Carlie had wanted to do was go with Heath, who was going around helping sick people. But Grandpa, the Priest of Light, said she was still too young. Instead, Carlie had to go to a stupid school. Carlie hated school. It was SOOO long, and SOOO boring. Though Carlie wasn"t stupid by any means, she just didn"t like having to sit still, and had problems learning, mostly because it was "hard.' She could learn it if she wanted to, but she always felt her attention devoted to more exciting things, like playing jump rope, or beating the boys in their games. The only thing Carlie really liked about school was the friends she made, and recess. Carlie looked out the window. Carlie wished she was with her old friends again. Those times were fun! Kind Lise, funny Hawk, silly Duran, even Angela, who sometimes acted like she needed a spanking. Even Kevin, even though he could be so shy at times. Carlie fiddled around with her quill. She wanted to be out there, fighting evil, instead of learning unimportant stuff, like this math thing. Who needs it anyway? "Carlie! How many times have I told you, stop daydreaming!" Gwahhh! Carlie jumped, startled. "Carlie is sorry!" Carlie bent to her work, trying to get her mind around the math problems. "I wish something exciting would happen..." "Princess Angela? Princess Angela! Please, your Highness, the queen requires your presence!" The aide continued to knock at the door, and received no answer. Sighing in exasperation, he continued to knock. "Please, Princess Angela, answer! I know you"re in there!" The wizened old wizard, Jose, strode into the corridor. "What"s taking so long? The queen wants Princess Angela to go with her with the Parliament meeting. She has to leave very soon!" "Princess Angela isn"t answering the door," explained the aide. "It"s locked too." Jose smiled. "Allow me." He pulled out of his pocket an fine hairpin, and bent down to the keyhole. "Uh...are you sure it"s ok if we do this?" asked the aide. "The Queen thought Angela would pull something like this," explained Jose, smiling. "Ah-hah!" Jose heard the satisfying click of the lock opening, then grasped the handle, and pushed the door open. There was nobody inside. Jose and the aide looked around, nonplussed. "She didn"t leave her room all day...where could she have gotten off to? And how did she vanish into thin air!" wondered the aide. Jose looked around, and his eyes strayed to the balcony. Walking over, he noticed that something was tied to the railing. He pulled it up, curious. It was a long, makeshift rope, made from bed sheets, which was long enough to reach the ground from the second-story window. "We have a problem," said Jose. "Shouldn"t you be with the queen right now?" asked Victor. "Shouldn"t you be at your job?" replied Angela. "I would be. But you told me to pretend I was sick, just so you could drag me into drinking with you!" And indeed they were. Both Victor and the Princess were sitting in Elrand"s pub, nursing back a pint of ale. "Heh, and you did it too! You know I hate drinking alone...it"s no fun that way!" Angela replied gleefully. "Isn"t it a little too early in the day to start? I mean, it"s still morning!" "It"s never too early for alcohol! Cheers!" Angela downed the rest of her mug in one go. "You can really hold your liquor Angela," said Vincent. "And you still haven"t answered my question. I thought you were supposed to sit in at the Parliamentary meeting today?" "Yeah...Mom is always trying to drag me into this and that, "Angela said, frowning. "Saying I should start taking responsibility and stuff...but it"s not like I"m going to be ruler any time soon. So I figure, just enjoy life while you can!" "Aren"t you going to get in trouble though? Or if you don"t, I might..." Vincent said, worried. "Nah...Mom knows you. She knows you wouldn"t drag me away from my duties like this. She knows you, and me, way too well! So hurry up! After this, we can go get something to eat, then we can go see that new play, and then..." "Princess Angela, there you are!" a voice rang out. "Eep! It"s Jose!" shriked Angela. "Busted," murmured Vincent. "Uh..uh..." Angela frantically searched for an escape route. "The back door!" she thought. She sprang up, and dashed toward the back of the tavern. Unfortunately, there, blocking the doorway, was the Queen of Reason herself. The Queen looked at her, and smiled. "I thought you would try getting out this way," she explained. "That"s why I sent Jose around the front. It"s time to get going Angela. And it looks like we"ll have to have another talk about duties and responsibilities." "Sigh..." In a secluded clearing in the Moonlight forest, two beastmen were squaring off. One was impressively large, and muscled. Battle scars could be seen here and there across the beastman"s muscular chest, and the massive strength he had was only offset by his startling speed. The other beastman, in comparison, looked scrawny, and weak. However, he managed to fight with the skill of a veteran warrior twice his age. The younger one fended off a flurry of blows from the larger beastman. Ducking under a heavy swing which would have sent him flying, he hit the beastman with an hard one-two combination straight in the gut, and knocked him away with a roundhouse kick. The elder beastman hit the ground hard, groaning. "Ha! You getting old Beast King!" taunted the beastman. The Beast King picked himself up off the ground, smiling. "You"re getting better Kevin...but NEVER let up!" With startling speed, the Beast King hurled himself at Kevin. Kevin, surprised at this, was left completely open, as the Beast King grabbed him about the waist, and jumped, lifting Kevin up into the sky. At the peak of his jump, he flipped around, so that his head was pointed to the ground. Falling, the Beast King used his momentum to painfully drive Kevin head-first into the ground. "Heh. Looks like this old man still has a few tricks," smirked the Beast King. "Owww...Kevin head hurt!" whined Kevin. The Beast King shook his head. "That"s enough for today, I guess. How about breakfast?" Kevin looked up with a hopeful gleam in his eye. "Breakfast? Kevin likes that idea." "Fine," said the Beast King. "But only if you can knock me down one more time!" The Beast King went into his fighting stance. "Kevin has right motivation at least," said Kevin. The two fighters went at it again... Queen Lise wondered how she was ever going to get through the mountain of work she had to do today, and come through on her promise to help Elliott fly his kite. She took a glance at the heap of paperwork in front of her, and sighed. Running a kingdom was tough work! It seemed like every day, she was being called out by some person or another to deal with some crisis that popped up, or some minor detail that required her attention. Not only was she supervising the rebuilding of Rolante, she also had to deal with the daily government meetings that seemed to produce nothing but headaches. Watching political factions squabble over petty details was somewhat tiring. Lise struggled to decide what course of action was best involving the somewhat demolished East wing...would it be best to just tear it down, and start from scratch, or repair the existing material? The first might be more cost effective in the long run, but the other way would be quicker. Lise found that she really couldn"t put her mind around deciding. Maybe if she just closed her eyes for a few seconds... Just a few seconds... "Sis! Are you there! Come and play with me! You promised!" the young prince, Elliott, was currently knocking softly on the door to his sister"s room, trying to get her attention. He gave up, and simply turned the doorknob, and walked in. There in front of him, using a mound of papers as a pillow, was his sister, fast asleep. "Not again," Elliott sighed. "Big Sister needs to learn how to take it easy..." "So, what do you think?" "They"re strong, certainly. And they"ve got the heart. They"re certainly the best we"re going to find with such little time. Do you want to go, or should I?" "You go. I"m better at time-dimension spells, you know that. I"ll prepare the chamber. "As for me, I"ll get some sleep." "YOU will sit right where I"m standing, and pull every bit of information you can about that particular dimension." "Which is a whole lot like sleep, but a lot less interesting." Author"s notes: OK, this is a Seiken Densetsu 3 fic, and is kinda AU. First off, besides the characters, this might only have vague references to the storyline...in the game, you would have 3 chars. You chosen, and I assume the other three"s storyline wouldn"t happen at the end of the game. Well, for this fic, all three did happen. Thus, I really can"t mention who actually received the Sword of Mana, since it would complicate things...so if you find any glaring inconsistencies, just remember: it"s AU, therefore, I can do whatever I want. =) I know it"s kinda slow, and boring right now, but it"ll get better...or will it? All flames (and there will be flames =D) can be sent to strider_yoshi@yahoo.com. Review, and you"ll get cookies! Chapter 2 The Molebear Highland. A quiet, silent place, and with the exception of a few Rabites running around, and travelers passing through, utterly devoid of life. But with a sudden distortion of space, there was. In the time it would take to blink, a figure had appeared. She looked like a short young woman, apparently in her teens. She was dressed in flowing robes, draping her from head to foot. Her shoulder length hair, coloured a shockingly bright pink, was neatly held together with a white headband. The young woman glanced around in approval. Peaceful, serene, and quiet was what she preferred, and this place provided that in spades. Well, it was almost quiet. "Aww, come on!" a voice said, out of thin air. Hearing a disembodied voice would have frightened quite a few people, but this particular woman was used to this sort of communication. "Why can"t I go? I"m the youngest, I"m in the most need of fun," the voice said. "Like I said before," the woman said calmly, "this situation calls for a certain degree of diplomacy, and tact. Both, must I remind you, that you seem to ignore daily." "You"re just mean and stuck-up," the voice said. The voice now had a sulking quality to it. "I appreciate how you show further examples of your shining personality. It saves me from having to work to remember. In any case, as my partner, that leaves you in charge. Please don"t let me arrive to find the world in ruins." "Very well. I"ll only get half-drunk, hence only destroying half the world. You owe me though, Vela! I"ll see you when you get back. Pick up some local liquor while you"re there as well." Vela sighed. Dealing with her partner tended to be a tiring experience at times. She pulled out what looked like a map. "According to analysis, the warrior named Duran should be closest. Located in Forcena, which is...due north of here. Well, a short journey, apparently." Three hours later, Vela was still stuck somewhere in the Molebear Highlands. "How does anyone get around this blasted place?" she asked to herself. "It"s like one giant maze." Vela walked up to the nearest hole, and jumped down again. She slid down until she came up to the inevitable ramp, which flung her outside of the opposing hole. She had already repeated this procedure dozens of times, and didn"t seem to be any closer to her goal. Each one seemed identical to the last, except with more paths to choose from. Vela looked around, and saw a choice of three more holes to go into. She shook her head, frustrated. As Vela tried to figure out which hole to go into, a young boy popped out of one of the holes. Frantically looking around, he quickly ran over to another hole and dove in. Following closely on his heels came a little girl. She skidded to a halt, and looked at the other holes, apparently confused. "Miss, which way did he go?" the girl asked. "First, can you tell me how to get to Forcena?" Vela inquired. The girl pointed towards the hole she had just exited. "Now which way, hurry!" Vela pointed toward the hole she had just come out of. "Thanks!" the girl said. She ran and jumped in, feet-first. Vela, in turn, walked towards the hole the girl had exited, and finally reached her destination. Vela glanced around the village, taking everything in. "Architecture consistent with early civilization levels, pre-steam age," she mused to herself. She pulled out a rather large book, and opened it up. "Let"s see...spoken language...ah, of course." Vela walked up to the closest person she saw. "Excuse me, sir. I"m looking for a person named Duran." The man stared at her. "Did I mess up on the accent?" Vela worried. "Maybe I"m off on the pronunciation. I knew I should have practiced more on languages before I came..." "Over that way," the man said, slowly, pointing. "Where are you from? I"ve never seen those style of clothes before." Vela glanced around. She was terribly outdressed in comparison, especially considering it was the summertime. "Thank you, sir," Vela said, avoiding the question. "Stupid!" she thought to herself. "If I ever have to do this again, I swear I"m going to research the dimension thoroughly..." Vela disappeared into a clothing store for five minutes, and reappeared dressed in what the salesman had assured her was the latest fashion. "Luckily for me, gold seems to be accepted in this world," Vela thought. She made her way up the castle, where she was halted at the gates by the guards. "State your business," one said. Vela raised her head. "I would like to see Duran, please." The guard glanced at her, then glanced at the other guard. Both grinned. One of the guards turned around, to face the inner courtyard. "Duran!" he yelled. A young boy, in his teens, was sparring against what appeared to be a very green soldier. He was easily avoiding the boy"s clumsy blows, moving gracefully even in that heavy armour. "What?" he shouted back, his attention not wavering. "Your girlfriend is here to see you!" the guard yelled back. "WHAT?" Duran said, surprised. He turned his head over to look towards them- The wooden sword swung down, striking Duran directly on his unhelmeted head. Utterly unprepared for the blow, Duran was knocked down onto the ground, out cold. "Uh," said the rookie, looking down. "Sir Duran?" The two guards glanced at each other. "Uh-oh." They ran in. Vela trailed behind, unnoticed. One of the guards had propped up Duran on his knee, and was trying to revive him. "Come on, Duran," he said, shaking him. But Duran remained unconscious. "May I take a look at him?" Vela asked. The guard looked at her, and shrugged. He handed Duran over to her. Vela critically ran an eye over his body. A slight bump on the head. She raised his eyelids, and stared in. Signs pointed to a mild concussion. Simple enough to heal. Vela laid him back on the ground, and began to chant. Her hands started to glow white. "What the..." everyone started backing away. A series of beautiful green sparkles washed over Duran"s body, then vanished as quick as they had come. Duran opened his eyes. "Sir Duran!" the guards said, relieved. Duran stood up, and swung his arm in a circle, experimentally. "Interesting. This refreshed feeling...it"s almost as I"ve been cured by magic. But that"s impossible..." "Sir Duran...it was that young woman that healed you," said the guard, nervously. "It looked like magic..." Duran shot an interested look at Vela. "Who are you?" "Sir Duran, is there somewhere we can speak, in private?" Vela asked, ignoring the question. Duran, in turn, ignored the sniggers he was hearing throughout the watching crowd. He gestured toward the castle gates. "We"ll leave you two alone then," a guard called out, as Duran and Vela walked in towards the castle. Duran flushed a deep red. Vela, torn between poking fun at the obviously flustered Duran, or keeping silent, chose to take the high road. Duran led Vela into a large, comfortably furnished bedroom. Vela looked around in interest. "Your quarters? It doesn"t appear like you spend a lot of time in here." Duran shrugged. "I live in the town below, but with my rank, I was assigned these quarters anyway. I don"t make much use of them." "Not even, for say, private conversations with the castle maids?" Vela asked. "No!" Duran shouted. Vela smiled. This one was hardly in control of his emotions. Still young at heart. "May I sit?" Vela asked. Duran waved his hand, dismissingly. Vela sat down, and Duran took the chair directly opposite her. Both sat there, waiting for the other to make the first move. While Vela sat down, with a serene expression, Duran fidgeted, impatiently. Duran quickly tired of this game. "Look, you asked to come up here and talk, now talk," Duran bit out. "I have come to request your assistance," Vela said, evenly. "For what?" Duran asked. "For now, I would just like your help in meeting your fellow companions," Vela said. "My companions?" "Princess Angela, of Altena. Prince Kevin, of the Beast Kingdom. Lady Carlie, of Wendel. Queen Lise, of Rolante. "Lise is a queen now?" Duran said, surprised. "...and Hawk, of um," Vela trailed off, forgetting.. "Navarre," Duran supplied. "Yes, thank you. I am very interested in meeting with these people, and your assistance would be most appreciated in this matter. Your introduction would certainly help to smooth things over." Duran looked at her suspiciously. "You just want to meet with them?" Vela smiled faintly. "No, that is not all, of course. Everything will be explained, in the future." Duran cocked his head to the side. "Like how you can use healing magic? Even with mana having disappeared from this world?" Vela nodded. "It is certainly a mystery, is it not?" Duran reluctantly nodded in agreement. "I suppose I do owe you for helping me out. I"m not exactly busy here." Vela smiled warmly. "Thank you, Sir Duran." "Um, just Duran is fine," Duran said uncomfortably. "In any case, I suggest you get yourself a room at the inn. We"ll leave first thing in the morning, and-" "Excuse me, Sir Duran? Is it necessary for me to situate myself at your public housing?" Vela said, frowning. Duran, with the exception of perhaps Lise, hadn"t met anyone who was so formal. "Well, of course. The journey will take several days, so-" "Several days?" Vela said, surprised. "I was under the impression that your world had already reached the technological level of mechanized flight...one moment please." Vela pulled out an very thick, very heavy book. "My world?" Duran muttered. He watched Vela as she flipped through the pages, and apparently found what she was looking for. "Ah, here we go. Inter-continental travel focuses mostly on travel by sea. Ah, my mistake. Other forms of transportation include airships, cannon travel, and....Flammie? What exactly does that mean?" Duran scratched his head. "It"s somewhat hard to explain. In any case, I can"t call Flammie, nor do I have an airship at my disposal. Our cannon is also out of commission at the moment..."

Taking one of Gong"s old tricks, she turned so that she was directly behind the guard. Grasping the arm that was holding her with her other arm, Anri dropped down, bent her back, and pulled. The guard flew over her, landing down on the ground with a thump. Now free, Anri began sprinting back to where Max was. On the way, she scooped up the dagger that had been dropped by the unconscious Mage. Anri heard Aoshe shouting out something, and heard guards moving toward her, but she ignored them. She took the dagger, and immediately began sawing away at the magical bracelet on her right hand. She winced in pain as the dagger cut into her flesh sharply, but her plan succeeded, and the bracelet came off. Turning around, Anri coolly faced the dozen or so guards coming her way. Anri gestured toward them, and her eyes flashed blue. At the same time, the guards in the lead became frozen solid. The guards right behind them ran into the frozen guards and fell down. The frozen guards began teetering over... Anri clutched her hand into a fist, and her eyes flashed again. The frozen guards exploded into thousands of tiny shards. And each shard was heading back towards the guards coming near her. It looked like someone had painted that spot of the ground red. Anri turned around, and sprinted back toward Max. The single remaining guard, bellowing in frustration at his inability to hit Max, swung his sword in a fierce overhead blow, which would have split Max in two. Max held up his palms, and in a clapping motion, caught the sword between them. Grasping the sword with both hands, ignoring the pain as it cut into his flesh, he drove the sword back toward the guard, hitting him in the throat with the hilt. The guard gasped as he felt his windpipe crushed, and fell back, trying to draw a breath. Max bent down, hands dripping with blood, and reached down to pick up the guard"s sword. He never reached it. A large fireball slammed into Max, throwing him hard into the wall behind him. He slumped down to the ground, groaning in pain. "Max!" saild Anri, frightened. She finally reached him. From what Anri could see, the injuries were bad. He wasn"t in great shape. She turned back, and paled. Aoshe was striding them confidently. In his wake, strode the rest of his guards. As well, the Master Mages had revived, and were approaching them. Anri turned toward them, prepared to go down fighting. She startled as she felt her upper arm being grabbed. She turned around to see Max, who had stood up, in obvious pain, holding his sword. Anri felt the tears start up again. She had finally seen Max, after so long. All hope had died so long ago, only to spring up again. And all for nothing. They were about to be slaughtered, and their deaths would open up the way for the world to be ripped apart. "Eg...eg..." Max whispered. It looked like he was struggling to say something. In a last gesture of friendship, Anri reached over, and held his hand gently. "Eg....Egress." With that word, Max slumped over in exhaustion. Anri felt the familiar swirls of energy, as her body became light. She felt herself being swept away. The last thing she heard was Aoshe, bellowing in rage... Anri felt the uncomfortable feeling of becoming solid again. Which meant that the egress spell had worked. She remembered Max, and looked at him frantically. Max was on the ground to her left, not moving. She anxiously dashed over toward him, turning him over onto his back. "Max! You"re going to be ok. Just stay with me." She began checking him over, wondering what she could do about his injuries, and wishing that She saw Max look at her, and saw a faint smile play over his lips. "Well, we did it, didn"t we," he whispered. "My task is finished." "Don"t talk like that," Anri said fiercely. Blood was flowing from several nasty cuts. She took off her cloak, and tore several strips off of it. She began to bandage the wounds. Max laughed quietly, then began to cough, spitting out blood at the same time. "Forget about me. I"m finished." "I"m going nowhere without you," said Anri, quietly. She had finished bandaging the wounds. Now what? Max sighed. "I"m just glad... I could be of service to you...and now finally...rest." "Max, no!" "Goodbye...Anri..." Max"s eyes closed, and his breathing began to rattle. "Max! Max!" Anri frantically shook him. She almost panicked as she searched for something she could do. Her hands trembled uncontrollably, and she clutched them together, trying to stop the shaking. It was at that point, that she saw it. "The White Ring!" Anri said. "Of course!" in desperation, she held the ring up high, and concentrated, summoning the magic stored within. A ball of pure white shot out, into the sky, and burst, showering down upon Max and Anri. Anri immediately began to feel calmer, and less weary. She looked down, and noticed that injuries she hadn"t even noticed she had sustained until now were beginning to heal. Anri summoned the Aura spell again, and again. The brusies, and cuts on Max began to fade, and his breathing returned to a slow, yet normal, pace. Anri cast the spell until she felt the ring crack. She hastily put it away, fearful of breaking it beyond repair. She checked Max over again; he still wasn"t in good shape, but at least he was out of the danger zone. Now, to take note of their situation. Anri looked around. First thing to note, was that it was nighttime. Second, they weren"t in Guardiana. Although the Egress spell should have taken them there, it seems that the heavy magical energies, coupled with the haste Max used in casting the spell, as well as the fact he was injured, might have thrown things off a lot. Second, they were lying in some kind of road, with heavy forestry to the left and right of it. There didn"t seem to be a town, or village in sight. Anri glanced up at the clear nighttime sky. By analyzing some of the constellations, she determined that they were at least in the same continent as Guardiana. As well, it would appear that they were somewhat South. Also, add in the fact that they were in a forested area, led Anri to believe that she was about 200 or so kilometers away, in Lylewood, just on the borders of Guardiana Kingdom. The first thing to do was get out of view of the open path. There could be spies of Aoshe out searching for them at this moment, as well as the simple fact that it was cold out there, and dark; they could find some shelter in the woods. Anri reached over, tried to pick up Max, and, under realizing that she couldn"t possibly carry him a stone"s throw, let alone into the woods, proceeded to drag him over there, inwardly apologizing. Anri dragged Max deeper into the woods; it was imperative that they get out of casual sight from the roads. Once she had determined that they were far enough in, and comfortably propping up Max against a tree, she set to work. Anri gathered up enough firewood to last throughout the night. After building a decent enough pile, she held out her hands, and concentrated, trying to summon up a basic blaze spell. Nothing happened, not even some sparks. "I"m all tapped out," Anri realized. "That battle took a greater toll then I thought." She set to work to start a fire the old fashioned way, with a pair of sticks, and a lot of work. Although she wasn"t quite used to this sort of thing, she managed to get a fire going in a reasonable time. She stepped back to survey her handiwork, pleased with herself. "Now, as long as Aoshe, his minions, robbers, or a wild bear show up, we"ll be fine." Anri thought. "Sigh...someone"s going to have to keep watch tonight. Yes it"s going to be me." She sat down beside Max, settling in for the long night ahead. However, she was a more tired than even she had realized. Within an hour, she was fast asleep. Anri slowly awoke out of the deep slumber she was in. Her bed was uncommonly hard, and firm; she would have to have a word with someone about keeping the mattresses in shape. Wait. Hadn"t this happened before? Anri came out of her half-dreamy state with a start. Instead of the prison cell she was imagining, she saw that she was in a deep woods land. Over the fire she had built roasted a wild boar, which had been spitted And turning that spit- Max sat mechanically turning the spit, eyes lost in thought. Anri sat there watching him for a moment. His hairstyle had changed, and he seemed to have bulked up a bit more, though he had never been skinny. Somehow though, he seemed...diminished. Smaller. Max noticed that Anri was watching him. "Good morning," he said. Anri noted that he was averting his eyes when he spoke. "Good morning," Anri mechanically replied. "Lunch should be ready in a few minutes," Max said, carefully keeping his attention on the boar. "There"s a river about a 10 minute walk away in that direction, if you want to get washed up." "I...think I"ll do that. Thank you," Anri replied. Walking away from Max, who was still avoiding eye contact, she found the river that he had mentioned. She splashed water over her face, hands, and arms, feeling a lot better. Coming back to the campfire, she noticed that Max had taken the boar down, and was now slicing sections off of it, using the knife she had snatched from the Mage. His sword, as well has her staff, had been stored away somewhere by Aoshe. "Here," Max said, handing Anri a leg. "It"s a bit hot." Anri took the leg, and built in. A little bit overcooked for her tastes, but at this point of time, she didn"t really have much choice. Anri watched as he began to eat as well. She had a million questions she wanted to ask him. Where had he been all this time? How did he get out alive? Why hadn"t he come back sooner? Why did he come back under a disguise? She didn"t know where to begin. She had to say something though, damnit, this silence was getting awkward, but what.... "How did you pretend to be unconscious?" Anri blurted out, immediately chastising herself for asking. Was that really important? Never the less, she continued, "I saw your breathing patterns. You were breathing like someone in a deep sleep. Your pulse slowed down as well." "Oh, that," Max said. "It"s just an old trick that Lord Varios taught me. Useful for if you"re in an unknown situation." "Oh," Anri said. It was silent again. She was angry at herself for letting the conversation come to a halt again. Why wasn"t she feeling smooth, calm, in control? She had been trained for this sort of thing; this didn"t bode well for the time when she had to open diplomatic relations with other countries. Maybe she should have spent less time practicing magic and more time- "You want to ask me questions," Max said. It was not a question, but a statement. "Well, yes," Anri said, embarrassed. "Um, well, if that"s alright with you, but if you"re not up to it, that"s fine..." "Fire away," Max said. He didn"t look angry, happy, annoyed...just. complacent Apathetic. Uncaring. Everything the old Max wasn"t. "First off," Anri said, "where have you been all this time? How did you get out alive?" Max told her the story of how he had come to live with the Draco family, and the circumstances that had eventually led to the defeat of Adom"s mercenaries. "OK...but why Max? Why didn"t you come back to see me...I mean us? Your death...affected us greatly." Max looked as if he were struggling to find a way to express himself. Finally, he opened his mouth. "I"ve killed so many people, Anri. I"ve cut down hundreds in the name of justice, with the intent of bringing peace to this land. Everyone who rose up against me, I murdered without a thought. And for what? I didn"t even manage to destroy Dark Dragon. I failed to protect Lord Varios for being murdered. I let countless die at Guardiana. I couldn"t stop Kane from being killed, trying to save me." "Max, those weren"t your fault," Anri said gently. Max continued on as if he had never heard her. "I"m just...nothing. All I know is how to kill." "That"s not true," Anri whispered. "I"m tired of it all. Tired of the nightmares that haunt me as I sleep. Tired of feeling blood on my hands, knowing it"ll never come off. You"ve noticed it, haven"t you? When I came back to Guardiana, I disguised myself with clothing, and a mask, but that wasn"t what prevented you from recognizing me." "No," Anri said, the pieces falling into place. It wasn"t the hairstyle, or the clothing, or the mask. It had been the fire, the motivation, the desire that had driven him. The Max she had known had been a figure larger than life, leader of the Shining Force, one of the greatest warriors ever, bringing peace to the land, with determination and nerves of steel. The Max sitting across from her...was just a tired young man, with eyes older than his physical age. "Max...then why did you come back in disguise? Why bother coming back at all?" Anri said. Max turned away. "I...just wanted to enter the tournament. That"s all." It was an obvious lie, and they both knew it. "So," thought Anri, "there"s still hope for him yet. He just couldn"t bear the thought of not knowing what had happened to us...Max, you might feel that you"re dead already, but I"ll do everything I can to bring you back to the side of the living. I swear it." Max looked up suddenly. "We"d better get moving," he said. "Judging from the position of that river, as well as the forested area, I think that we"re in Lylewood. We have a long trip ahead of us." "That"s my thought also," said Anri. "Do we travel by the road, or do we cut across country?" Max appeared to ponder the question, but slowly shook his head. "No. I"m not too familiar with this territory, and I"ve never been a good tracker. Too easy to get lost. It"ll also slow us down to go through these woods. Let"s take the road, but we must be cautious. Aoshe"s men could be looking out for us, and he"s somehow found a way to disguise his troops." He got up, and started to make his way back toward the road. Anri noticed that he was limping a bit. "Something wrong with the leg?" "I think I broke my leg in my fall," said Max. "The Aura spell helped, but it"s still not at 100%. I"m good to go though." They walked on mostly in silence. Anri tried to open up a conversation with some small talk, but Max would simply reply to the statement, and continue walking. Anri soon gave up. Contrary to Max"s claims, it seemed like he was suffering a lot of pain. The leg looked like it wouldn"t support a lot of weight at all. Max had tried to compensate by hacking off a branch off a tree to use as a walking stick, but their progress was still slow. On the second day of their travel, in the morning, Max stopped suddenly. "Wait." "What?" Anri asked. "Something"s approaching. From behind us. Quick, off to the side of the road." They hastily scrambled over to the side, where they could hide behind the thick undergrowth. They watched carefully. "Looks like...a wagon," Anri said. "Could it be a trap?" "With only one man? Unlikely." "Hmm. That gives me an idea. Quick, back on the road." They walked back onto the road, just as the wagon approached. The man, seeing them, slowed down to a stop beside them. "Hello, fellow travelers." "Hi!" said Anri, perkily. She gave him a bright smile. "What are you two doing out here, alone?" the man asked. Abruptly, he began to laugh. "Ah, never mind. Young couple, eh?" Max began to sputter out a protest, but stopped in shock when he felt one slender arm go around his waist. "Wh..Wh..." "Why, of course!." Anri said, smiling. "A bunch of fools, madly in love!" The man laughed in amusement. "Say, where are you two headed?" "We"re heading off to Guardiana, for our honeymoon," Anri said. She poked Max in the ribs. "Why uh, yeah..." Max said. "It"s um...a nice place, I"ve heard." The man nodded. "A beautiful country. Say, I"m headed around that area myself. How would you two like a lift?" "That would be great, sir! Thank you!" Anri said, happily. "No problem. Just hop on back," the man said, gesturing toward the wagon. "By the way, my name"s Valin." Max and Anri scrambed onto the back, and the man set the wagon in motion again. Max turned to Anri. "Why did we have to...um...you know." "To avoid suspicion," Anri whispered back. "For all we know, there"s been a reward put on our heads. We have to remain inconspicuous. Besides, your leg isn"t going to hold up for that long of a journey." "But did we really have to pretend to be a couple?" Max complained. "Why? You have a problem with it?" Anri asked. Max blushed. "No, no..." Anri smiled when Max wasn"t looking. "That"s more of the Max I want to see..." They made it to the outskirts of the town without incident. At this point, Anri asked to be let off, and the man obliged. "Thanks a lot," said Anri. "No thanks necessary. I hope you kids have a fun time," Valin said, winking. "Oh we will," grinned Anri. "Here," she said, handing him a card. "What"s this?" Valin asked. "My form of thanks. When you get to any hotel, restaurant, or tavern in Guardiana, show them this. You"ll be taken care of. Valin frowned. "All right. Thank you..." he drove off, staring at the card. "What was that?" Max asked. "The royal symbol," said Anri. "Free food, drinks, and accommodation, in Guardiana." "Does Lowe and the rest have one of those cards?" "You kidding? They"d bankrupt the kingdom in no time." Max burst out laughing, and for a few moments, Anri could see the old Max again. The laughter quickly turned into a somber mood. "We"re going to have to work our away around," said Max. "We can"t trust anyone in there, even the guards. We can disguise ourselves using cloaks to get into town, but I don"t know about how to get into the castle." "Oh, leave that to me," Anri said, smugly. The two snuck into town, using some cloaks they had "borrowed." (Anri insisted on leaving some money behind as compensation). They reached the castle entrance, only to find it barred. "Sorry," the guards said. "We"re not admitting anyone at the moment. Come back in a few days." Anri would have been able to gain entrance by revealing her identity, but there was no telling where Aoshe"s spies lurked. Wearily, she and Max walked away. "So, now what?" Max asked. "I get us in, that"s what," Anri said determinedly . "This way." Anri led Max back to town, and cut through it so that they were eventually down an alley, that led directly to the West wall of the castle. "OK..." said Max. "Now what?" "Now you prepare to be amazed," said Anri. She went up to the stone wall, and touched a specific sequence of stones. With a low rumble, the wall slid in, revealing a stairway leading downwards. Anri grinned at Max"s look of surprise. "Just one of the many secrets in Guardiana castle," said Anri. "One day, I"ll show you the other 99." Anri led the way confidently, working her way through the many twists and turns that was the secret underground passageways of Guardiana castle. Several times, she opened a tapestry to reveal a passage, or open a disguised door to show a hidden stairway. They began to travel up by a spiral staircase. "This leads straight to the main conference room," Anri explained. From there, I should be able to find someone we can trust easily." "Good, because my leg is killing me from all this walking," Max grumbled. "Do the passageways really have to go that deep?" "Don"t complain, dearest," said Anri, mockingly. They reached the end of the staircase. Anri held up an hand, a signal for silence. She listened carefully. "...so, they don"t appear to be anywhere 5 kilometeres north of here?" "No, that"s how far Nova and I, together could search from here. Nothing." "Damn. Balbaroy, Zylo, could you two pick up any signs?" "Some faint traces of someone in the woods. I couldn"t pick up a scent. "I"ve heard descriptions of someone who matches Anri"s appearance. I"m having someone look into that." Anri smiled. "Good to know they care." She glanced back at Max, who had a hesitant look on his face. "Are you alright? Can you do this?" Max slowly nodded. "I figure it"s about time. Let"s go." Serena held herself up wearily. The search had been fairly fruitless; they were no closer to finding Anri or Peregrin then they had 5 days ago. She was exhausted from channeling all her energies into the Sight. It"s demand left a toll on her. Mae, who was leading the meeting, shook her head. "I know we"re all tired, people. Let"s try to get some rest. Maybe things will get better in-" she froze, as directly behind her, a portion of the wall began to move out. From out of that wall stepped Anri, looking messy, but otherwise, ok. "Anri!" Serena squealed happily. Anri moved into the room, grinning broadly, as the rest of the Shining Force members began rushing over to her in joy. Then another, familiar figure stepped out behind her. "Peregrin!" Serena shrieked in joy. She rushed over, hugging him around the midsection. She felt bruises and bumps under her grasp, as he gave an uncharacteristic groan of pain. "You"re hurt," Serena gasped. She turned toward Lowe. "Lowe, can you help..." she trailed off as she saw the expression on Lowe"s face. It was one of wonder. The room had gone deathly silent. Everyone was watching Peregrin, most in disbelief. Serena couldn"t understand. What was the problem? Then she heard a solitary whisper break the silence.

Genie wasn"t buying it. "Oh come on. How many times have you seen him shut down some little groupie, when he didn"t even know you were anywhere around? Not just groupies, either. And besides that, the press... they"re all over him since you two got together. And all over you, too, my love, in case you hadn"t noticed, just looking for some drama." "Oh so he didn"t do it before not just because he wouldn"t, just because the press would catch him?" Genie shook her head. "I"m not going to fight with you so you can forget about it. He lied to you, he screwed around. I honestly don"t think it"s happened before and seeing him today... never again." Bonnie looked confused so she added, "Didn"t you see Mike"s face when you knocked him arse over teakettle?" Her brow furrowed. "No, not really, I was kind of in a red haze, you know? So... I guess he looked shocked." "No. He looked like he wanted it. If Micky didn"t get to you before you swung that mug, you know you could have killed him easy." She didn"t answer but her expression said she knew. "Well I was looking at him, and his look said "come and kill me". I swear Bonnie, I"m not making this up. Are you listening?" Finally Bonnie followed Genie into the bedroom and picked up her bags, then followed her downstairs. "So now he"s suicidal?" Bonnie countered. "Good for him. He"s got plenty of supervision." She took in Genie"s unpleasant expression. "What? So I am supposed to feel sorry for him, I"m supposed to worry he"s okay? He let me crawl and cry all over him, and beg him to tell me he loves me, and he did it all and then some. He could have said it then, what happened, he could have told me last night for Christsake! We were alone, and he kept telling me how wrong he"d been, and how nothing much happened but he was so sorry! He could have told the truth then but he didn"t, he just crawled into bed like, like..." before she could finish the phrase Genie did it for her. "Like your man. Which he is. I"ll bet he asked you first if it was okay." Bonne"s silence told her she was right. "Look, I know you"re used to lots of backup when there"s trouble, Mike manages to do that without taking your self respect away. But I"m just going to tell you that you have to slow down. Mike went all bollocks up, in mind bending fashion. But if you"re ready to call off everything else you two have because of it, then maybe the press were right. Mercurial Monkee and older production/establishment chick, what a joke, never gonna work." Bonnie stared at her. "I don"t wanna call it off, Genie, but he"s the one throwing stones in our glass house." "Please, my dear friend, slow down," Genie pleaded. "I"m not saying you need to tell him it"s all groovy, or just kiss and make up or any of that simple stuff. Don"t throw away what you have because he mussed it up badly. It"s not worth it. You"ve been through too much to shut the door because of this." "I want to hate him," Bonnie insisted, "I want to hurt him so bad it kills him, like today I wanted to bust his head because it"s the only way I knew to hit back. But mostly I want it not to have happened, I want not to doubt him, like before, not to wonder if everything they insinuate in the press is true. I never had the slightest doubt about that stuff until now, and nothing is ever gonna be the same for us no matter what happens and you"re wrong, it does change the past. Every tacky picture and article that I blew off as ridiculous, I"m gonna wonder forever. If he could lie to me for three days he could lie for three years,three decades, forever. All this, all this pain and destruction and shit, just because he couldn"t keep it in his pants? It doesn"t make sense to me, it doesn"t." "Honey I think you know it isn"t that simple." Genie cut off Bonnie"s coming protest. "It doesn"t mean he"s not responsible, and that he doesn"t have to find a way to make it right. But there"s more to it than keeping zipped up and nobody knows better than you. You"ve told me often enough about how much you know about his past and how little that mattered, and about the lads on the road, because groupies are like stage props or something like that." Genie knew Mike"s marriage had come apart over the same issue, but she still felt this was different. "He"s to blame, agreed, but that can"t be the end, cut and lights out, can it?" By now they were in Genie"s apartment, where Bonnie dropped her bags on the floor and looked at her friend. "You"re not gonna let me just feel sorry for myself, are you?" Genie smiled warmly. "Right now you"ve got the rest of the world doing that, and you"d better enjoy it while it lasts. Now let"s do the civilized thing we Brits do in every crisis, and have some tea." As she was going to the kitchen the phone rang. "Hello? That"s right, she"s here." She shot a look at Bonnie. "Okay, I suppose. Let me ask." "No I don"t want to talk to him!" Bonnie blurted. "Not him, it"s Bob." She handed the phone to Bonnie, who seemed only slightly less reluctant to speak to him than to Mike. "Listen, Bob, I... Okay. Yeah I guess you"re right. Yeah, I have a car, I can do that. Tomorrow, nine a.m. Look, I"m... right. Okay, see you tomorrow." She was about to hang up, but paused. "What? Yeah. I"m okay, considering. Uh-huh. Okay bye." "Well?" Genie asked. "He refused to talk about it on the phone. His office, nine o"clock tomorrow morning." She sat down on Genie"s paisley-draped sofa with a thump, and started to cry. "God, Genie, I messed up so bad... I always promised Bob that this thing with Nesmith and me would never get in the way of work, and today I lobbed it right in the middle of the conference table like a grenade." Genie didn"t have a sensible response to that so she suggested, "C"mon luv let"s get that tea going. We"ll worry about what"s fair in love and war a bit later." Staying at Genie"s sounded like good idea at first, but it didn"t take long for it to feel not-so-good. "Genie, I think I need to go home." When she got an uncertain look in reply, Bonnie continued, "I know, it makes sense to go to, I dunno, neutral territory to settle down and maybe get my head clear. But..." "But home is where that happens, isn"t it?" Genie finished putting away the tea things and returned to the living room to sit down next to Bonnie on the sofa. "That"s the hardest part of all this isn"t it? From the first time I met you two, in the middle of another snit if I remember, I never needed a crystal ball to see how tight together you are. And since then... well. When you are the best refuge for each other that you"ve got when it all gets too deep and dark, where do you go at a time like this?" Bonnie nodded in silence, and Genie hugged her. "Go home, love. Maybe some small thing will make sense there." Bonnie sighed. "It"s the only place that has, sometimes. It"s not as if I"m not safe there... after all it"s me who pounded him." Genie drove Bonnie back to the glass house on the hillside. Crystal ball... crystal house, Bonnie thought as she dragged inside, trying hard to ignore the aching sense of absence that followed her like an echo as she went upstairs. So many things in her life had finally become clear, right here. Why isn"t it working now? She refused to sleep in "Morris Central" as if she were hiding from the real world. Instead, after half-heartedly washing up and brushing her teeth she went to the bedroom, dropped her clothes in a heap on the floor and crawled naked into bed. She moved from her side closer to his and buried her face his pillow, breathing deep to capture the faintest ghost of him. She swore she wasn"t going to cry any more, in fact she hadn"t cried since she got off the phone with Bob. But now as she lay there surrounded by absence her resolve faded and she cried quietly, endlessly, into Nes"s pillow. She cried for the absence, she cried for her mistakes and his, for their combined double dose of stupid that was the catalyst for all this misery. Most of all she cried just because she didn"t feel him next to her, around her. Not caring what he"d done or what she"d done to him, she just needed him with her. It took awhile, but she finally fell asleep. She didn"t hear the quiet footstep through the door some time later, the sound of boots dropping one by one on the thick carpet. But she felt the light touch of fingers on her back, and they unlocked that hard spring that kept her coiled up tight. "Nes?" she began but he shushed her, so she just grabbed on tight and let him roll her up against him, puzzled because he"d come to bed in his t shirt and jeans. He wouldn"t let her look too closely at him, pressing her face into his shoulder and murmuring, "Sshh." He stroked his fingers up and down her back, cradled the back of her head and then her whole body. His breath was warm against her ear as he whispered to her, his arms so tight around her she could hardly breathe. "You"re the only one can stop the noise in my head," he told her. "I should step back and leave you be for a while, I know that, but I haven"t slept in days, please..." There was silence for a few minutes as she lay still in his arms, afraid she might wake up and find herself alone again. "I can"t make sense without you, Morris," he told her, "let"s just not hurt each other for awhile okay? Just sleep with me, just that, baby just let me stay awhile, okay..." He was pleading, and for the first time she could remember he sounded so young. It was so easy for Bonnie to forget that, they were equals in so many ways. But right now Mike Nesmith wasn"t equal to anything. He wasn"t a swaggering gimme-more know-it-all, just a guy in his twenties who went from zero to everything so fast that even his best intentions couldn"t always keep up with his bad judgment. He still lost his grip sometimes, but right now she could feel him hanging on for dear life in more ways than one. Sleep with me. No sly seduction or exhausting debate. Sleep with me...maybe they both could rest their minds for the first time since he came back. I can"t make sense without you. Well he was the only one who could help her when she was so tangled up, he was calm and gentle with her in a way he couldn"t seem to manage with anyone else. So she nodded, her face lying easy against him, and kissed his shoulder. "Okay. I haven"t slept either... I"m so tired..." Suddenly Bonnie didn"t want to sleep at all, she wanted to feel him and smell him and stay awake holding him all night, but the way he rocked and soothed her (and himself) overcame her vigilance. She fought the softening of her senses, but the world faded to the touch of his hands and the sound of his breathing. Mike had fought against coming to her; after everything that had happened he wanted to give her space to get her head straight. It just wasn"t fair to crowd her. But it felt so totally wrong as he lay in the guest room at Peter"s, staring at the ceiling. They both were in so much pain over this, why the hell should it hurt even more for the sake of something as lame as "space"? He debated for a long time with himself, he weighed and wondered and in the end all that mattered was relieving the ache in his gut. He just needed to be with her. Deep down he was afraid of what sex would do to them right now, he knew it would blur everything else and make them decide they could make it right in bed, the same stupid mistake he and Phyllis had made too often. Sweet Jesus but he was tired, he just wanted to sleep, was so grateful to touch her and feel her unroll in his arms like she used to do. He hated that he"d hurt her so much and now all he wanted was to make it right. Everything he wanted was here and now, to calm his fears and hers, to smell her hair, dry her tears and get lost in the sweet warmth of her. He knew one night wouldn"t fix things, not right now, but when he"d left that dark guest room and borrowed Peter"s keys to get here he hoped they could somehow split the difference; just sleep where they both belonged, and leave the daytime to work out the rest of it. He wasn"t sure of any of it, though. He just did what he knew he couldn"t do without. The sun was barely reaching the curtains when Mike carefully unwrapped himself from Bonnie to slip out of bed. She mumbled and he froze, not wanting to wake her. If she asked him to stay, crying again, he didn"t know what he"d do. Yeah, he did, he"d never move from the spot. She settled back into sleep. He leaned down for a last look but he didn"t dare kiss her, though he wanted badly to. He picked up his boots, crept down the stairs, pausing as he put them on to take another look up toward the bedroom before trudging down the hill to where he"d parked Peter"s car so Bonnie wouldn"t hear him arrive... or leave. "I hope Pete"s in a forgiving mood," he muttered to himself as he headed back Peter"s place. Mike sat in Peter"s kitchen an hour later, drinking the coffee he"d made. The car keys were still on the table where he"d dropped them. "Hope you left me some gas," Peter said as he stumbled half asleep into the kitchen. "Hope you didn"t swill all the coffee." Mike looked up. "Yeah and no, that order." "Good, we gotta be at makeup call by eight, so I"m gonna need both." He eyed Mike closely. "So... you get some sleep last night?" "Yeah. Nothing else, just sleep." "You don"t have to tell me." "Yeah I do. If I got no respect for myself, at least I"d like to give someone else a reason to have some." Peter poured himself a cup of coffee. "I"m working on it, man. I"ll be on the deck with the paper. Unless you took that too. " Mike shook his head and added with the blackest of humor, "Well maybe just the want ads." When Peter had left the room, he dropped his head in his hands and sighed. Maybe he should have left a note. Maybe he shouldn"t have gone at all. What if she thought she"d been dreaming? Just as well. Then she wouldn"t wonder why he didn"t stay. He was wondering that one himself. Bonnie sat in the chair across the desk from her boss, feeling something like a twelve-year old in the principal"s office... but with much more at stake than a few detentions. "Bob, I don"t know what to say..." He rolled his eyes and slapped a hand on his desk, making her jump. "Well for christsake don"t say you"re sorry... "sorry" is getting to be a real drag." When Bonnie looked confused, he went on, "Everybody"s sorry. Nesmith"s sorry he grabbed ass like the old days, you"re sorry you decked him for it, I"m sorry you decked him in the middle of a read-through, the network is sorry we have to delay the episode so we can shoot around a busted face, and that bimbo and her agent are very sorry they missed the fine print on the extras contract that said hands off the REAL cast or you don"t get paid, and keep your mouth shut or you get sued. But they are learning real fast." "But," Bonnie ventured timidly, "isn"t it too late for her to shut up?" "Too late for that dumbass interview but not too late for her to retract in order to save herself from a Custer"s Last Stand full of lawyers." When Bonnie started to open her mouth he cut her off with, "And don"t thank me either. I didn"t do it for you." Silence reigned for a minute or two, then Bob sighed and spoke more calmly. "You remember what I said when I found out about you and Nesmith?" Bonnie thought for a minute. ""It"s your funeral"?" He got up from his chair, and waved his hands toward the ceiling as if appealing to heaven, then sat down again and looked Bonnie in the eye. "No the other thing! That I didn"t give a shit unless it started to interfere with the job, and the show." She found it hard to look him in the eye, but she did. "Look, I know I crossed the line..." The mad gesturing started up again. "Crossed the line? Babe, you broad jumped over it with both feet and a mean right hook!" "I hope the other cast didn"t quit or anything," she mumbled, mortified. There had just been the regulars, a one-line walk-on, and, well, the big guest star, Rose Marie, to witness her fireworks. Rose Marie had worked with them on another episode, and had been glad to come back for "Monkee Mother." That could all be over now, but Bob"s derisive snort told her otherwise. "Rosie told me she"s seen worse than that in summer stock. But we"ll have to find another walk-on." He stopped then, and huffed a huge breath. He"s gonna can me, Bonnie thought, who can blame him? "Okay, if you want me gone I won"t put up a fight. Just tell me when and how." She was surprised when he rolled his eyes and laughed "Don"t be so goddamned dramatic. I just wanted to make sure we were clear... that this kind of thing will not happen again, anywhere within ten miles of this place. If you and Nesmith wanna turn your lives into a low rent soap opera from hell, you do it on your own time and at your own place. I have already had this little chat with him. So do you get it?" "Yeah. Bob, really, I"m..." "I told you not to say it," he warned. "Nesmith managed not to say it... no surprise there. He could flip the bird to a bus full of nuns and not apologize. So... time to talk about what comes next." Here was the opening she was waiting for. She"d been thinking... maybe a visit New York might help her clear her head. She hadn"t spoken to Ari or Lulu yet, and knew they wouldn"t call first. Before she and Mike had returned to LA after that big Phyllis mess, Ari had told her "If you need me you know I"m here... but you"re a big girl now, so remember "need" and "want" are different." As for Lulu, she frequently reminded Bonnie, "I"m your best friend and I love you beyond all reason... but I"m no un-marriage counselor." Still, Bonnie thought maybe... "I don"t suppose I could take a few days... go East and see my friends?" To be honest she was only half-sure she wanted to... the other half was very afraid to walk away right now. "You wreck my production schedule," Bob blurted, his eyes bugging out, "and you want time off? Whatever you"re smoking, I wish you"d share it!" When he saw the look on Bonnie"s face, equal parts shame and desperation, he shifted gears again. "Go East, huh. And do what? Hide out in the Village with a bunch of hippies and wait for divine inspiration to fix the mess you two have made? That"s not gonna fix a damn thing. Hey, don"t look at me like that, we"ve all been working together long enough for me to hear about "mamadillo", and what it does. And doesn"t do." Suddenly he looked caught out, as if he"d overplayed a secret hand, and the bluster returned. "So you can forget about time off, I need you here. You can slam shut, or whatever it is you do when life gets gruesome, on your own time, too. You"re gonna work with Frawley and re-do the shooting schedule to get as much shot as we can until Nesmith"s face is back to normal." Bonnie couldn"t believe it was that bad... she"d just slapped him. Hard, yeah, but still... then again she knew nothing could make Bob change the production schedule... and delaying it? That would take an earthquake, the plague... or an unshootable star. Bob interrupted her thoughts by barking, "Okay, I told you what, you go and figure out how, which as I recall is your job!" He pointed to the office door. "I need a whole new production schedule by tomorrow afternoon. Figure on about three days before we can shoot any Nesmith scenes. Go! And make sure he gets home without running into any press, we don"t want any pictures right now. Don"t look at me like that... it"s still your job to wrangle the talent. Besides, you"ve had a little while to cool off. Try to keep it that way, okay? Both of you." Well, that seemed to be that. "Uhm, okay, I"ll call James and make sure Nesmith gets home. Where is he?" She didn"t exactly feel solid enough to face him, and didn"t know what to think about his odd late-night visit (and early morning disappearance). But obviously, she didn"t have a choice. "Recording Two, said he"s working on some songs. Thank god he"s still good for that." A very few minutes after Bonnie departed Peter, Davy, and Micky sauntered in and sat down, as usual, wherever they pleased. "So?" Micky asked. "I hate to admit it, but you were right. She wanted to run back to New York, which would"ve screwed up everything even more. So I said no time off, and sent her back work. Like you said. But I gotta say this is a very weird scene..." and here he eyed the trio suspiciously, "you"ve never been very worried about the shooting schedule before." "Well delays are a drag, Bob," Peter told him brightly. "Besides," Davy added with a wave toward Micky, "you know at least two of us are professionals." "Uh-huh..." He did not look convinced. "Professional con artists. Okay, clear out. We"re gonna have a new schedule by tomorrow, first meeting at three pm." Micky popped out of his chair and pranced around the room before curtsying in front of Bob"s desk. "We"ll be there with bells on!" His voice dropped to a manly growl as he faced Davy and Peter. "On, men!" After they slammed the door behind them the only sound that followed was the thud of Bob"s head when it dropped forward on the desk.

Louie clamped a hand over his eyes and rocked back and forth in his chair, holding up the phone receiver as if asking for god"s help with his moron cousin. "You fucking moron," Louie moaned, "you know who this kid is? He"s my dead bartender"s ex-boyfriend, that"s who. He never planned to rob the safe, he just wanted a chance to beat on his ex with no witnesses, except her and Merry and Jenna always kept quiet about Nic"s schedule, and they made sure it was never the same exact thing twice. She was staying with Jenna so he didn"t know where she was, and he didn"t dare come sniffing around the bar because of a restraining order. And now that I know who he is I can tell you for sure he didn"t buy no goddamn ticket outta town with your "largesse", he bought himself a nice pile of pipe candy and a coupla whores. And I guarantee he didn"t have to go farther than a few blocks for that." There was silence on the other end of the phone, then, "Shit, do you think he"ll try to put the squeeze on us for more?" Louie almost hung up, but not quite. "Yeah, sure, he"s gonna threaten to tell the cops that while he was killing his ex he was supposed to be helping us with an insurance scam. Right." "But you said there were no witnesses," Artie argued. "I said he didn"twant any witnesses. But my manager was there, and she saw him. Christ, Artie, even you can read the Post! And she got a couple pounds of his skin under her nails she gave to the cops so if they do pick him up we are all three of us toast." "Well I don"t know what you expect me to do about it. He didn"t exactly leave me an address and cell phone number. Look, if he"s getting high maybe he"ll just forget about the whole thing and get on with his sleazy life." He could hear two muffled thumps. "What was that?" Louie raised his forehead from his desk where he"d just pounded it. "That was my jaw dropping on the floor because you"re so fucking stupid. But you"re right about one thing, there"s not a thing we can do about it. That"s we, jerk, not me. Don"t forget who set this whole thing up." Artie was starting to run his mouth again, but Louie heard the front door of the bar unlock and knew it must be Jenna and whoever was coming back from the funeral. "Shit, I gotta go." "I thought you were closed today." "I am, but I set something up for after the funeral... as if that"s gonna buy my way outta hell for all of this." "What funeral?" Icy silence. "Oh. Right. Nice touch, cuz, they"d never suspect such a nice boss of being involved in any of this." The human part of Louie suddenly shouldered his inner weasel aside, and he felt like he just might puke. "Shut up. I"ll call later." He hung up the phone and rubbed his forehead again, realizing there weren"t enough funerals in the world to help him buy his way out of hell for this. He took a deep breath as he went into the bar to greet the man whose only child he"d gotten killed. Suddenly losing two bars to the bank didn"t seem like such a big deal after all. "Hey Logan, call for you, says she"s looking for "Detective Mike"." Mike took the phone from Profaci with a shrug. "Logan." "Hi, this is Jenna." "Hey Jenna, what can I do for you? How"s Mr. Williams?" He was half afraid she was going to say Nicole"s father was on his way to the precinct. In the week since the funeral Randy Walsh seemed to have evaporated. They tried to track down "James Dean" to get a little more detail on what he saw because if and when they picked up Walsh even the lamest P.D. could assure they"d need some corroboration to force a court order to get DNA to match to Merry"s abundant samples. Hell, their only witness might as well have told them he was James Dean; the name he gave them was just about as real. "I convinced Nic"s dad it would be better for him to go home, he was just making himself feel worse and more upset waiting around here." Thank you Jenna!, Mike shouted inwardly. "Smart advice. But you didn"t have to call to tell me, Merry could"ve done that." He knew it had to be something else. "I called to tell you I know where Randy is. One of the regulars saw him, can you believe he"s squatting in an abandoned building just a couple blocks from here?" Before Mike could answer she continued hastily, "I"m not saying you guys should"ve known, I mean nobody ever knows what or who is hanging out in those places and I sure don"t wanna go looking to find out." "Relax, that"s okay, hang on a minute," Mike motioned urgently with the phone to get Lennie"s attention. "Hey, it"s Jenna, from the bar. She says she knows where Randy Walsh is," he grabbed a pen and pad and sat down at his desk with a thump. "Okay, Jenna, gimme an address." The location was a long-condemned tenement used as a part-time crack house and a full time crash pad for druggies, drunks, and "wasted youth" in every sense of the word. "Great, great, we"ll check it out. I don"t suppose your regular knows when he might be around?" "Not exactly, he goes there to get high in between purse snatches I guess." Mike was grinning over at Lennie like he"d hit the Tri-State Power Ball. "Never mind Jenna, you did great. Give your regular a double on me." Logan was about to say goodbye when Jenna added, "Listen, Mike, I haven"t told Merry about this. I thought it would be better, well, to let you know first? The way she"s been, you know, wound kinda tight and I didn"t want her to go do something a little crazy. I wish I didn"t feel like such a spy, it feels so wrong to keep stuff from her but I think it would be worse not to." "You listen to me and take it from someone who knows just how "a little crazy" she can get, you"re a good friend, and you did the right thing. You"re not spying, you"re watching out for her. God knows I need all the help I can get right now. Talk to you later, and thanks again." "Wound kinda tight", that was a world-class understatement. Merry seemed to have segued from blaming herself to being consumed with a mania to nail Walsh. While Skoda couldn"t share any details of their sessions he addressed Mike"s concern by telling him it was all part of the process. Right. Let him say that at 2 a.m. when Merry had to be persuaded back to bed. She was pretty good at going through the motions of being reasonable and understanding the difficulties of the investigation, but he knew his wife much too well not to see the mental and emotional wrestling match going on under the surface. "Okay," she always told him, "I"m as okay as I can manage right now." He also knew better than to challenge that directly, lest the invisible door in her eyes should slam shut against him. "Just stay tuned in, Mike," Skoda had advised him, "she"ll let you know what she needs." "You mean besides putting a bullet in Walsh? That need has come up more than once in casual conversation about his arrest. If there ever is one." Mike knew he wasn"t just being shined on with shrink talk, but it wasn"t much comfort. Skoda promised, "I"ll make sure we cover that." What else could he say? "Look Mike, I know you know we"re kind of in the same position here. We both do jobs where instant gratification just isn"t an option. But things are going in the right direction." "Glad one of us can say that." After getting the okay from Lt. Van Buren Logan and Briscoe found Walsh right where Jenna said he"d be. "Randy Walsh," Logan announced as they burst into the debris-littered shit hole where their suspect was slumped on the remains of a stained and torn-up sofa. "Well, well, Mr. Wonderful in his home sweet home," Lennie trilled as he pulled Randy to his feet. "Wha"s going on?" Drunker than the proverbial skunk, Randy had enough of his wits about him to be mightily relieved that his drug buddies - whatever their names had been - had shared their pipes as well as his stash, leaving no evidence behind. And as far as he knew there was no law against squatting under the influence. Logan had finished scouting the nearest rooms. No sign of anyone else, and no sound of nervously shuffling feet or drugged-up mouth-breathing. "Clear all around." He joined his partner where he held the pale, filthy, weasely-looking kid against the wall. This sickly looking skel beat a healthy woman to death? Logan had seen too much on the job for the question to linger in his mind for more than two seconds. He took a close look at Randy"s face and hands. "Little gouged up here, huh?" The scratches were nearly faded out, but even after nearly two weeks there were more than a few pink trails where Merry had left her mark. "Fight with my girlfriend," Randy slurred. "How about maybe a fight with my wife?" The kid froze for a second. "Bullshit. I didn"t fight with nobody." "Contradicting himself already, what a guy," Briscoe told his partner. "Come on, genius, you"re under arrest for possession of narcotics." "I got no narcotics! Whaddaya mean?" Walsh protested, having sobered up quickly. "Right here," Logan told him as he held up a nearly empty - but not nearly enough - glass vial he"d pulled from Walsh"s pocket, "until the lab can prove otherwise. Guess your friends didn"t remember to take all their toys with "em." "What the hell?" Merry was outraged, and puzzled that her husband could even consider the "statement" as minimally plausible. "He said he was hired by Louie. We"ll need another statement about the night of the attack, and what Louie might have said about why he wanted the bouncer away that night." Jesus, when had either one of them taken the warning about the conflict of career versus personal life more seriously than now? "You have to look at this logically." Mike couldn"t believe he was saying it. "Do you think your boss had any reason to want Nicole dead?" She felt like her head would explode. She felt like she was gonna throw up. After a few seconds of bug-eyed silence Merry shrilled into the phone, "No! Are you crazy? Louie"s our boss, for christsake, he hired Nic, he lent her money when she was short. He"s no saint but he"d never..." She shook her head firmly. "No. Randy"s just spewing the first bullshit that comes into his cracked out head. He"s mental, Mike, I saw him! What he did wasn"t because of money. And Louie? Uh-uh, no way." End of conversation. "Look, I"m gonna be late. We"re gonna lean on Walsh for more details. There might be somebody can corroborate what he says about who paid him." Merry glared at the phone. How could he possibly find this crap story credible? "Good, be as late as it takes to find out you"re being jerked around." "Baby, you know we have to treat this for real," even as he spoke the words Logan knew they were falling on deaf ears. "Don"t "baby" me, not now, okay? And FYI if you"re waiting for corroboration of Randy"s cracked-up fairy tale you"re gonna be there forever and I am not gonna wait up." No response was safe, so Mike simply added, "I"ll see you later. I love you." "Well I guess George Carlin was wrong, the last words in every argument aren"t "fuck you"." All she could hear was Mike"s quiet breathing on the other end of the phone, then Profaci"s impatient voice, "Logan, Lennie says your perp is gonna ossify if you don"t get in there." "Shaddup I"m on my way," Mike yelled, but still didn"t hang up or say anything more to Merry. Waiting, she knew he was waiting for a sign she was okay. The red haze dissipated, and she sighed. "I"m sorry Mike. I"m sorry, it"s just," "I know, babe. I"ll see you later. I love you, and George Carlin can kiss my ass." "Love you too. I know you"re doing your job. You"re doing good, you"re just doing wrong. Bye." You did good, you just did wrong. The same words she"d said to him and Max after they"d arrested her for murder, a million years ago. He only wished they were as true this time as they were then. "So Mike, the Criminal Genius here is still swearing up and down this wasn"t his idea. That the bar owner Louie Ashby put him up to it." "No, for christsake that"s not what I said. I said he hired me to break into the safe after they closed." Walsh was rapidly getting strung out; his goodbye present from Cousin Artie had gone exactly where Louie had predicted and had helped turn a hobby into a habit. Mike exchanged a look with Lennie. "So you"re saying killing the bartender was your idea then?" Looking like a cornered rat, Walsh came up out of his chair only to be slammed back into it by Logan. "I didn"t kill no bartender!" he insisted. Mike put a hand to his ear as if listening to something far away. "You hear that Lennie?" Briscoe played his part, and shrugged, looking from his partner to Walsh. "I dunno... Randy you hear anything?" These guys are crazy, Walsh was thinking, and looked jumpily from one detective to the other, wishing he knew the right answer. "I"ll tell you what I hear," Logan informed them both, and leaned on the table until he was inches from Walsh"s face. "I hear the echo of every dickless wonder who ever sat pissing his pants in that chair, crying like a little girl "I didn"t kill nobody" when we all know you did!" He slammed both hands down on the table. Though he jumped a mile, even strung out and stupid Walsh held his ground. All they had was a hunch or they wouldn"t still be sitting here. "I"m telling you I didn"t kill anybody. I went to the bar like I was supposed to, and that broad was emptying the trash so I took off. They were supposed to be closed already." The sick and stupid thing was that was exactly how it was happening, up until he realized who "that broad" was, the bitch who walked out so he got evicted and had to jimmy safes for party money. Bitch. He must have said it out loud, because she"d turned around and seen him. The look of disgust on her face, that bitch, who did she think she was, and suddenly the "job" was forgotten, and the only thing that interested him was beating that look off her face. He hadn"t counted on Nic"s boss coming wailing out of nowhere, but she didn"t distract him for long and she didn"t fight all that good. Oh she scratched him to shit and whacked him upside the head once or twice but he had the power in his veins so it didn"t take much to slap her down, and finish doing the same to Nic. He only stopped when his fist started hurting and he was getting tired. So he left her where she was, he left both of them, and took off. He could have killed himself when he saw the Post the next day, that the other bitch, that pain in the ass boss who helped turn Nic against him, was a cop"s wife, for fuck"s sake. He could have killed himself, but he didn"t, he just called that Cousin Artie and scared the cheap suit off the guy so he"d pay him 500 bucks to leave town. He really was going to get a bus ticket with what was left over after he visited his party posse, but somehow there wasn"t any left over and next thing he knew these two gorillas were on him. One of them the husband of the other bitch, for fuck"s sake. Shit, he needed something, his head was dissolving. "We got a witness says otherwise." Mike didn"t bat an eye when Lennie shot him the "are you crazy" look. Now it was Walsh who sat up straighter. "You got a witness, you got a dozen witnesses, bring "em on. Anyway, you picked me up for possession, and I"m giving you an insurance scam." He was cracked out but not stupid. They"d have had him in a lineup already if they had something that solid and even if that other bitch did get a look at him, getting the crap pounded out of her might have either confused her brains or scared her out of fingering him. "And where"s my P.D.?" As if by magic Shambala Green appeared. Oh the fucking irony, Mike thought to himself. Shambala scanned the wretched looking young man who sat at the table, then turned to the detectives. His obvious scars weren"t recent, but as for anything else it was hard to tell. "Gentlemen, I hope you"ve treated my client politely." "More politely than he treated my wife, counselor." Mike didn"t trust himself to say more, and left the interrogation room. Lennie hadn"t been around at the time, but he"d heard the stories of how Shambala Green and Ben Stone had tried to give Merry a break when she needed (and wouldn"t take) one. He also knew Green did her job with a vengeance, no matter how low the life was she was defending. He supposed that was worth respecting, but now wasn"t the time. "Counselor," Briscoe eyed Walsh with undisguised disgust, "what you see before you is a product of lifestyle, not law enforcement. When you"re through with him they"ll take him to Riker"s pending arraignment. I hear things are pretty backed up in night court." "Well even if the search was good I hear you barely found enough "evidence" to test, let alone convict. And as for murder... don"t make me laugh. My client was taken advantage of by a crooked bar owner who wanted to defraud his insurance company, and he"s offered to give evidence." She let the rest go before he could tell her to save it for court. Then Shambala told her client, "I"m afraid you"ll be spending the night, Randy." "Yeah," Briscoe drawled as he opened the door to leave. "Boo hoo." Two months later, 2:45 am Logan Apartment Mike played possum when he felt his wife get up. After all, a woman had to pee, right? But time went by, and she didn"t come back. He was expecting this anyway, he"d be a brain dead jerk if he didn"t. Not like he wasn"t used to the Two In The Morning Departure when Merry was stressed out and upset. Just like he was used to her making him ask instead of telling him. By now he"d learned not to take it personally. He dragged his exhausted ass out of bed, pulled on his robe, and headed to the kitchen. "Hey baby." He mimed looking at the watch he wasn"t wearing. "Not to be picky, but you"re late. It"s way past two." When she didn"t answer at first, which he also was used to, he stepped up close behind her by the kitchen window. "Merry, it"s gonna be okay. Just do what you always do, tell it like it is, like you know it. I know McCoy told you the same thing." Her testimony was scheduled for 9 a.m. She leaned back against him, also expected, and gripped with both hands the arms that surrounded her as if they could protect her against the world. And they would, if he had anything to say about it. "I know. But..." "You"re nervous about it, I know." "It"s not what you think." Merry interrupted, and not just to defend her self confidence. "I"m nervous because, what if I"m wrong?" Mike hugged her tighter and kissed the side of her head. "Then you"re wrong. We"ll get through it." Mike already knew how wrong she was, but said nothing. He"d known almost since the beginning, when that punk Randy Walsh first told his story, so the only question was how wrong. Lou Ashby and his sleazy cousin had been picked up and charged with conspiracy, insurance fraud, criminal solicitation for the robbery, and reckless endangerment and disregard for human life for what happened to Nicole and Merry. They dodged solicitation to commit assault and murder, because Walsh"s story made it pretty clear that Dumb and Dumber were just that, they had no intent to kill Nicole Williams or beat down Merry but didn"t care enough to think it could happen. As far as Mike was concerned they should have been nailed for the last charges, too. Not giving a damn if someone gets killed should count for more than "reckless" anything, but he"d confined his ranting on the subject to the bull pen. Merry was having such a hard time accepting that the boss she"d known and trusted for years could let this happen... could make it happen... it was safe to say Emil Skoda had his hands full the closer the trial came to ending. On the days Mike had testified it was all he could do to keep from pulling Ashby over the defense table and pounding the crap out of him. Bad enough Merry was beaten to a pulp and could have been killed, bad enough her friend and coworker had been killed right next to her. Seeing Merry"s defensive denial get chipped away bit by bit until he could see that bottomless pain coming up... Skoda said it was a good thing, a healthy thing no matter how much it hurt her. Well fuck the shrinks and the D.A. and everyone else that said this was all headed in the "right direction". Mike wanted to get his hands around Ashby"s throat and squeeze until the asshole"s eyes bugged out. That would be plenty healthy for him, thanks. Right now, though, he was taking a different piece of Skoda"s advice to heart: "Just stay tuned in, Mike. She"ll let you know what she needs." "I wish you could be there," Merry told him now. It was a statement of fact, not a request. Mike turned Merry to face him, knowing she understood but needing to say it again. "Me too. But I gotta testify for another case, I couldn"t get out of it. Lennie"s gonna be there, Profaci is taking his shift so he is definitely gonna be there." Merry stopped Mike"s hurried reassurance with fingers pressed to his lips. "I know, he promised. Lennie would never break a promise to me." She was glad when he smiled. "Y"know the way you fall in love with my partners, a guy could get jealous." "I never fell in love with Phil," she corrected firmly. "He was great partner-wise, but I could never have fallen in love with him."

"Merry?" "Yeah, Ma, like in Christmas. It"s a nickname, for Meredith." As always Mike found himself answering his mother"s questions when he"d really rather respond with "Fuck off". For the life of him he"d never understand why he didn"t. "Ryan. Catholic?" Well he knew that was coming. "It never came up. You can ask her when you meet her, if it"s so important to you." Christ, this was not going to work out well. "Then you"ll come by for a visit? It"s been a long time, Michael. I"m not getting any younger." "Me neither, since you brought it up. Okay, when"s a good day? We both have Sundays off, but don"t read too much into that." "Next Sunday, then? I"ll make dinner. Three o"clock?" Mike sighed. When it was time to get down to details, she always played reasonable. "Okay. Three o"clock, next Sunday." "You"ll call if you"ll be late?" "If it kills me. That"s one thing you and Merry have in common, Ma, an obsession with being punctual." "Now that is good news. I"ll see you then, goodbye Michael." "Bye, Ma." He switched off the phone and fell back on the sofa. Merry set down her book and eyed him closely. "So I guess the rumor is false, you weren"t raised by wolves?" "Ha, ha. I never claimed I was an orphan." "It never came up, to be honest. You always knew more about me than I knew about you. Perks of your job, I don"t hold it against you. So... mind if I ask why "Ma" thought I should be Maggie?" Merry offered the last for pure amusement"s sake. As she didn"t expect Mike was an orphan, she also never imagined he was a virgin. Being the "first" was a fairytale she"d never longed for; she"d never wanted to be anybody"s experiment in First Love. Mike replaced the cordless phone in its stand and returned to sit by Merry. "Maggie and I were in academy together, had our early assignment in the 27th together. We were together, for a while. It ended, "amicably" as they say, we just didn"t make a good match I guess. She wanted married and I wanted, well, less than married. It was a long time ago, five-six years or so. Like you heard me say, Ma was the only one hasn"t moved on. She wanted married, too, and she wanted me married to Maggie. She was always into the idea that I"d end up with a nice Irish Catholic girl." Merry laughed. "Well you got two outta three. I"m Irish, at least, and I try to be nice." Mike leaned closer and gave her a kiss. "You"re better than nice." He sat back for a minute. He knew that it was inevitable, that his mother would sooner or later know about this cosmic shift in his life. That she"d want to, have to, meet Merry. At the same time he knew it wasn"t fair to bring Merry into the Twilight Zone of his family without some forewarning, some information. "Look, you might not think it"s any big deal to meet my family, such as it is. But I know different. So it"s fair I tell you some things." Merry sat, waiting for some typical stories of youthful angst and adolescent hostilities. The usual. "Go ahead, I can take it. We"ve all had mothers, how bad can it be?" He shook his head, looked away for a minute. "How bad you got?" And he told her, because for the first time in his life he believed, no he knew, that the telling wouldn"t call judgment down on him. He told her about the fighting, the shame his mother felt that she"d married "beneath her". He told her about the career drinking, Dad hitting Ma and Ma hitting him, how it became more than a habit and less than predictable, until his childhood was a minefield and he was desperate for refuge, for someone he could trust who wouldn"t regard him as a burden or a target. Then he told her about Father Krolinsky. He"d never told any woman he ever knew, and few men, about that. The man he was before, he was sure they"d think he was a closet case, damaged goods, or a drag instead of the good time he tried so hard to be to make up for everything the bad times had nearly made him. When he"d finished and finally looked her straight in the eye he saw she was crying. He pulled her into his arms. "Oh, no baby, don"t cry for me, I"m okay, I turned out okay, I wouldn"t have wanted you here if I wasn"t." Merry sniffled back her tears and pulled up to look him as straight in the eye as he"d done with her. "I know, I know that. It"s not for you, not who you are now, because if you weren"t okay I wouldn"t be here." She looked deep into him, seeing the concern he had for her, not a trace of self-pity, and broke down again. "I"m crying for Mikey, twelve years old with nowhere to hide and nobody to trust who was worthy of it. Somebody should cry for him, even if he had to wait this long." She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight as he kissed her hair and rocked them both. "Okay, Merry, it"s okay. Everything"s okay now. When we go see Ma next week we"ll both prove it to her." What filled the car on the drive home sat between Mike and Merry like a fat man on the subway. A silent presence, weighty and impossible to ignore. By this point in their relationship Mike was well aware that Merry could keep her mouth shut with the same relentlessness she displayed when running it. Bowing to the inevitable, he spoke first. "Well, I warned you." Nothing. "What? Did I tell you something that made you expect Mother Cabrini?" No response, at first, except a tight snort of breath as she continued to stare out the passenger side window as if the secrets of life were being spelled out in billboards and graffiti. But the fat man was gone with the wind when Merry finally replied. "She thinks I"m a whore, for christsake. She as much as said so." Just after they got in the door, in fact. I"m sure you must meet all sorts of interesting men working in a bar. (Merry"s translation: "so how many tricks did you turn a night?") Not yet getting that he was used to this crap while Merry was a newcomer to the nightmare, Mike rolled his eyes. "She thinks every woman that I ever went out with was a whore! That includes a lawyer and two loan officers. You"re in great company." "Oh, yeah, and she thinks I fucked my way out of a murder conviction. Nice." How fortunate for you that your... "friend" came forward. (Merry"s translation: I"m sure you made it worth his while) Feeling a little put upon - hell, he"d warned her! - Mike suggested, "Well you"re the one that told her every gory detail of how we met. " Right. Merry shot upright and turned to face Mike. "Excuse me, but I thought she knew. She knew about the bar, she knew we met while you were on the job, what was I supposed to think?" "I told her where we met, and when, not how. And I told you what a tightass, superior bitch she is, what did you expect? A dozen roses and two tickets to Oprah?" "Why shouldn"t I tell her? Why shouldn"t I have thought you did? I"m not ashamed of any of it, why couldn"t you tell her you aren"t either? But no, all through the whole thing, while I was choking on every mouthful and she was smiling that Cruella DeVille smile and delivering those barely-veiled one-liners, all you did was toss out the occasional smartass comment. "Yeah Ma, that bar is a regular smorgasbord of eligible bachelors", and "Sure, she"s still paying off the Alibi Loan at the bank". Would it have killed you to just once say "what"s it to you?' She can"t beat you up anymore, what were you afraid of?" Abruptly Mike pulled into one of the endless urban fast-food parking lots that lay between his place and his onetime home, and threw the car into park. When he looked at Merry he could see the wounded eyes behind her outrage. He reached out and kept her from turning her face away. "You listen to me, Merry Ann," he told her, his voice quiet now, "I"m not ashamed of anything, and I"m not afraid of anything. And no, Ma can"t beat me up anymore, not like she used to anyway. But I know her, I know her inside and out because I never had a choice. And I know what you"re thinking and I know why it pissed you off I didn"t say anything or fight with her, and I was wrong to think you"d understand why. I"m sorry for that." Merry didn"t answer. "Baby," he tilted his head to touch his forehead to her temple, "all you can do with my mother is fly under the radar. I got pretty good at it after I moved out. But sooner or later she gets the fix on me, and I can"t avoid her anymore. So we do the dance like you saw today, and I let her take her shots, and get up and walk out when I"ve had enough. Only this time she did it with you, and I"m sorry, but even if I said everything you thought I should, it wouldn"t have mattered. It just wasn"t worth it." She couldn"t believe her ears. "How can you say that? I sat there and took it, things I"ve never had to put up with from anyone, and it "wasn"t worth it" to do anything?" He shook his head. "Not like that. You think when she was saying that shit to you, about you, in her code that any moron can break, you think I didn"t want to give it right back to her? That I didn"t I want to stand up and pop her one? I didn"t, and it"s because I"ve spent my whole life trying to be smarter than that, and smarter than my dad who did pop her every time he"d had enough instead of getting up and walking out. Maybe that"s why I keep going back, because every time we do the dance and I get up and walk out instead of breaking up the place and beating the crap out of her, I feel like I"m a little bit smarter than both of them." It was a lot to absorb. The matter-of-factness of what he"d just told her, this twisted relationship he accepted as the norm, she couldn"t understand why he didn"t just walk out for good. Then again, there was a lot she"d never understand, because she hadn"t been there, had she? She sighed, and turned her face against Mike"s for a moment. "This can"t be the first time it"s happened. Bringing someone to meet your mother, I mean." Now Mike sat back and smiled as if he"d just realized something. "No. I mean yeah, it"s happened before. But it"s the first time I ever bothered to explain." "What are you smiling at?" She was beginning to decide they were both too crazy to survive outside of a locked unit. "I guess I"m just getting smarter and smarter," he laughed, then leaned forward and gave Merry a hearty smooch. "C"mon, let"s go to that den of iniquity where you meet so many interesting men and let this one buy you a beer. Hey, I might even buy you a dozen roses." Merry could laugh now, too. Normal was so relative. "What, no tickets to Oprah?" "Oprah... Christ, I"d rather go another round with Ma." "Hey Greevey, pool"s up to a hundred-fifty bucks, and Christmas is just around the corner. You in?" What had begun as a sucker bet had turned into a proper betting pool, with the winner being whoever"s chosen date was closest to when Mike actually popped the question to Merry. A fairly lucrative side pool had developed among the female administrative staff, devoted to whether it would be Mike or Merry who actually did the "popping". "I told you, Profaci, I don"t bet on my partner"s love life." "Not anymore, you mean." "Hey, what pool? How do I get in?" Mike just was returning from a witness interview and tossed his notebook on his desk. "C"mon guys, Christmas is coming and I got something special in mind that could use a little extra cash." "Make it a 50/50, and I"m in," Max told Profaci, who understood that 50% would be going to Logan to help pay for that "something special". "Done. We"ll talk details later." A shrug in Logan"s direction. "Just a fundraiser at the ITAM club, we"re working the Micks this year too." Fundraiser? He could swear he heard the word "pool". Mike reached for his wallet and pulled out a five. "Here, I"m always up for keeping you WOPs in pizza money." Profaci and Greevey exchanged a look and busted out laughing. "What?" Mike demanded. "Nuthin," Max told him. "Now what have you got on that construction site vic. I gotta get outta here early and get some Christmas shopping done with the family." "Got wiseguys written all over it, take a look," Mike handed over the notebook, the betting pool question forgotten. This case could link into something big, and Max had some background on it. Max loved nailing wiseguys. Good life, good work, everything was looking good. So many flowers, so many faces. It was kind of a blur. Merry stood, waiting. Holding her breath, straining her eyes ahead and trying hard to get Mike to look at her. The organ music was traditional, it was all so much more traditional than she could ever think of planning herself. She"d never have been able to. That was for the experts. She didn"t know any experts at this, herself, but there were others who did, thank god. She wasn"t used to playing dress-up, as she thought of it. Neither was Mikey, but they both did it without complaint. For the occasion. It would only be for a few hours, after all. She couldn"t believe she was standing in church, waiting, thinking of things she"d never believed herself capable of thinking. Because she never believed she"d be here, doing something like this. Love, she"d discovered, could make you do things you never believed you were capable of, and then it made you too scared to think too much about them. She fingered the ring on her left hand, soon to be joined by another. She wasn"t crazy about diamonds, so Mikey had saved what he could and financed what he couldn"t and took the 50% of the proceeds of two betting pools, and went into hock for an emerald ring instead. A beautifully simple white gold solitaire with a Celtic knot motif. The small oval emerald was flanked by two smaller diamonds (so sue me, he"d said when she gasped after opening the box). She reminded herself to get even with Profaci for turning her engagement into a floating crap game, when the time was right, if it ever was. Mike still wouldn"t look at her. Maybe he couldn"t see her from where he stood with Profaci, Captain Cragen, some others she didn"t know so well. All dressed alike, uncomfortable, and clinging to the razor"s edge at the brink of emotions they weren"t comfortable giving in to, even knowing each other for so long. Not now, in front of everyone. The priest took his place in the sanctuary, or whatever they called it. Mike had tried to explain a few Catholic basics to her, so she"d know what was expected when, kneeling and praying and such. That he was trying to translate such a foreign (to her) ritual said a lot, given that this was a first for him as well. The familiar tune, the one even Merry could recognize (who couldn"t?) began, the organist keeping the rhythm stately so the slow march up the aisle could follow its beat and not demand too much of the participants. There was a lot to manage, a lot that drew the mind away from something as mundane as putting one foot neatly in front of the other. She wanted Mike to look at her, she wanted to be locked into those blue eyes so everything else would disappear, so she wouldn"t have to notice the captain, or Profaci, or Marie who sat up front. She turned with the strangers around her to follow as the honor guard bore the casket up the aisle to rest it on the bier. They set it down, stepped back, turned neatly as one, and took their places. Finally he looked for her, at her, but by then her vision was awash. The first time she"d been to church in thirty years or more; it was supposed to be a little bit later, it was supposed to be different. The priest was supposed to be speaking his foreign ritual over her and Mikey, not Max Greevey. Max was supposed to be standing up front with Mikey, then sitting down next to Marie, watching them as the priest said his magic words. Max was supposed to be watching them. She pressed her left hand to her face, feeling the ring that was half paid for by the man who should be standing up with Mikey in three weeks, but wouldn"t be. She shut out the priest, the people, the uniforms. Especially the uniforms. It was all kind of a blur; somehow it felt safer that way. Merry wondered if Mike would understand that, if she told him. She knew that Marie Greevey would. A/N: the "familiar tune" mentioned is Ave Maria, traditionally played or sung at many Catholic funerals "Look, why don"t you sit here for just a minute and let me call the precinct, see if Mike can pick you up. No sense taking the subway, right?" No response other than maybe the hint of a nod. Ben Stone closed his office door softly behind him and reached for the nearest desk phone, ignoring the few clerks and secretary who"d been following the scene behind the un-drawn blinds. "Cragen." "It"s Ben. Look, is Mike Logan around? I have his fiancée in my office. I think it would be a good idea if he came over." "Sure, he and Profaci, a few others, we"re just finishing up, sealing the files on the Magadan case to send to records." Cragen looked out his office window to see the low-level bullpen activity that passed for "finishing up." Everyone knew what that meant. Since the conviction Stone knew they"d be cleaning up Max Greevey"s pending case notes, making sure everything was set for Ceretta to take over the day-to-day. And just getting used to the idea. The guilty verdict had put the type of button on the episode that was the only kind of "closure" that made sense to a cop, even if it would take a long, long time for the painful emotional dust to settle. Fine, though, everyone was fine. Everyone had done their time with Elizabeth Olivet who needed to. Even Logan"s red haze had burnt away after the sentencing. Time was distance, though it would probably never be enough. "Merry Ryan"s at your office? Everything okay? This isn"t IAD stuff, is it?" Stone could hear the puzzlement in the captain"s voice. "No, nothing like that," he explained, "She actually came by to thank us for the conviction." As he cast a glance toward his office Stone noticed Merry had moved to the floor next to the couch, sitting with knees drawn up, looking as if she"d made a grave mistake and was waiting for the principal to arrive. "Don, do you know if Ms. Ryan got a chance to talk to anyone after Max"s death? Spousal support, Liz, somebody? Marie, maybe? You know, to take care of her own issues with this." "Mike said she didn"t want any of it. Why, you think she"s having a problem? Sounds pretty normal, thanking the guys who put Max"s killer away, considering who Max was to Mike. And to her too. In fact Logan says she"s been a rock for him, right there every step of the way in his issues with the confession, you saw her at the trial. Anyway, Mike says she told him she didn"t want any part of counseling, said she"s fine." "Right. Just like he was." Like we all were, Ben thought to himself. Merry had shown up at the A.D.A."s office not quite half an hour before, saying she was there to thank him and Paul both for putting away the asshole that killed Max. They were more than even, now, she told him, for everything that had happened when she"d first shown up on the 2-7 radar a couple years back. All that seemed reasonable, and Ben had thanked her for coming, we all feel the same way about this he told her, none of us would have rested until Magadan was put away, at least that"s something. She"d gotten a little more intense, then. "Mr. Stone I need you to understand, it was much more important than you think, it really was. See, I"ve been trying so hard for Mike, you know? He lost his partner, and I don"t know much about cops yet but I think I know a little about what that meant. See, they"re more than coworkers or friends, they watch out for each other, not just with guns and all... did I tell you I wouldn"t be here except for Max?" At that point Ben had invited her into his office, closed the door. Something was working its way out in her words. "How"s that?" he asked. "I would"ve walked, that first night remember when I saw you on the stairs and said we were going to a concert? He wasn"t there, just left the tickets with Max, and I said oh swell I"m outta here, no sense starting what won"t go anywhere. But Max, he told me why, and about cops and about how Mike is, and making a diversion." She didn"t explain further. "So I did, but I wouldn"t have, and he always knew we were meant to be here, you know? So I"ve been trying really hard to help Mike, because I know about cops now, and know he needed to do this his way, and so I was just there and listened and watched for what I could do." "But what about you?" Stone ventured, he couldn"t help himself. To make it sound less invasive, he added, "You look tired." She looked like hell, actually. "Me? Oh I"m fine. I know Mike said I could talk to that group or that Dr. Olivet who he said was helping him in spite of himself, but I needed him to know I was okay so he could just get back on track. For Max, see? Because Max, he won the pool, and he gave it all to us, to Mike, for this," she held up her left hand, and Stone watched her unravel, face crumpling gently and voice dissolving in tears, "and he told me it"s important to know when not to talk about it, so I didn"t make Mike talk, and I didn"t let him make me. I guess we"ve been keeping weird hours, with the trial and all, sometimes I wake up at night, the dreams aren"t so bad I guess, I mean they"re just dreams, right?" She was staring at her ring, oblivious for a moment, and then looked up again. "I mean, dreams can"t come true, can they? Shit happens, it doesn"t mean it"s gonna happen to us." Suddenly she seemed horrified. "Oh god, don"t tell Marie I said that, please!"

The colors from the window were muted at this time of the early afternoon, but Mike leaned down to run his hand over the white quilt. "Very cool." "Cool I can do," she told him as she went back to the living room. "Luxury"s a little out of my range. You won"t find much soft stuff next to your skin here, but I like it." "Au contraire," he disagreed. He stood close and ran his hands inside the bottom of her shirt, fingers stroking her stomach, and bent his head to nuzzle into her neck. "Plenty of soft stuff right here." Then he stepped back and unbuttoned his shirt. "Okay, let"s see how good you are at repairing the damage." She directed him to a low, padded stool upholstered in Indian fabric. "A tuffet?" he exclaimed in exaggerated amazement. "I never knew anyone who had a real tuffet," he laughed as he sat. Crouched, more like, his long legs doubled so his knees nearly touched his chin. "Do your thing, Miss Muffet." Bonnie uncapped the makeup and did her best, but soon realized that professional stage makeup was the only thing that would really do the job. And makeup girls" gossip was just what they were trying to avoid. "How"s it look?" Bonnie stood back and sighed in dismay. "Like cheap makeup over hickeys." "Ah, shit." He stood and checked himself in the bead-bordered mirror on the wall. She was right. Against his pale skin even the lightest shade looked like dark spots. "I look like an overripe banana." "Hey, I got the lightest foundation they had! Jesus, Nesmith, you"re whiter than George Wallace, what else can I do?" "Maybe control your carnivorous urges," he muttered as he pulled on his shirt. Bonnie put the cap back on the makeup and winged the bottle at him. "You might think about those violent ones too," he suggested as he ducked to let the bottle fly by and land on a pile of pillows in the corner. "That"s five." Her temper interrupted, she corrected, "That"s six." "Nah. You get a pass on the bite...given it some thought and," he leaned over and growled in her ear "...kinda sexy, grrr..." Then he tucked in his shirt and buckled his belt, and shrugged. "Look, we won"t sweat it. I"ll just tell anyone who asks I got chewed up by some friendly girls in New York. You know they"ll believe that." He paused for a moment, serious. "That gonna bother you?" "No it"s not gonna bother me. Actually I like the irony." She looked at him for a minute, shook her head, and dodged past him to go to the phone. "Nesmith you and this job and this life make me crazy. Now, I got calls to make." She ended up leaving messages with Davy and Micky"s answering services, hoping they"d actually call for messages (it was not always a given). Peter, however, was home. "Hey, Bonnie, you"re alive! Bob called looking for you. Where"d he find ya?" "Nesmith"s pad. Long story." She told him about the beach shoot, and apologized for invading his day off. "That"s okay, I"m just hanging out with some friends. Mike"s pad, huh? I"m glad everything worked out. I felt real bad about mixing things up with you guys." Bonnie was puzzled. "Mixing things up? How"d you do that?" "By telling Bob about your résumé thing. You mean Mike didn"t tell you?" She looked over at Mike, who was flipping through one of her books. "No, he didn"t. I mean it just wasn"t important to me anymore, I was stupid to make such a big deal about it in the first place." "Still, I shouldn"t have shot my mouth off." "So why didn"t you tell me yourself?" "He figured you"d think we were both lying to save his ass. I feel like a jerk, I never really thought he was right." Bonnie was silent for a minute, and looked at Mike again, who looked up at her and smiled goofily before going back to the book in his hand. "I got news," she admitted to Peter, "he was right. I"d never have believed you. I feel like a real jerk." Peter"s laughter floated - that was the only word for it, "floated" - through the receiver. "People get mixed up sometimes, no sweat." She stared at the phone in her hand, wondering once again if this guy could be for real, knowing that he was. "You"re too good for this business, man." "Please don"t call me "sweet Pete" again." Shuddering, she agreed, "Deal. Okay, see you tomorrow at the beach location, bright and early." As she was about to say goodbye, Mike sprang from the chair where he was sitting. "Wait, lemme talk to him." He took the phone from her and walked as far away as the cord would allow, keeping his voice low. When he came back, he gave Bonnie a nudge. "C"mon, we got places to go." "But we gotta work tomorrow!" she protested. "Put on something funky, we are going where they play the good stuff. Don"t just stand there, woman," he hustled her toward her bedroom doorway, "you need to get out in the real world and so do I! I got a taste of it in New York, and man it has been too long. Can"t believe I had to fly three thousand miles to hear good music, when it"s right around the corner. So get a move on. I promise you"ll be in bed by 11." He grinned wickedly and cocked an eyebrow. "Earlier, if y"play your cards right." Bonnie disappeared into her room and emerged moments later in a tied dyed silk peasant blouse, faded bell bottoms and sandals, her hair twisted up in a careless knot spiked with a pair of black lacquer chopsticks. She wore rings on most of her fingers and a tangle of silver bracelets that tinkled musically when she moved. "This okay?" she asked. He was in full-denim mode, himself: tight jeans, tight knee-high buckskin boots, denim shirt and jacket. It only now occurred to her that he looked good enough to eat as he leaned by the door, shades perched on top of his head. Mike stood up straight and saluted. "Mama, you are a rock"n"roll wet dream," he said plainly, "so let"s go before I do something neither one of us will regret. And remind me not to piss you off tonight," he requested, eyeing her jewelry-laden hands, "one crack from those and I"m a dead man." The sun was just setting when they pulled up to the Troubador. Bonnie had heard of the place, of course, but never had had the time or inclination to venture out to West Hollywood at night. She was usually too tired, and didn"t want to spend the money on cab fare anyway. Suddenly, right this minute, she realized that in her year-and-a-half in L.A. she had made no real friends at all. Mike tooled the Cobra into the parking garage across the street, and left the keys with the attendant. "No big acts tonight, bein" Monday, but there"s bound to be somebody worth hearing. And they always keep a set or two free for specials." "Specials?" Bonnie asked, trotting to keep up with Mike"s long stride. "Anyone who"s worth hearing who just happens to show up." As they got in the entrance, Bonnie was distracted by various photos of performers, recognizing many but not all. "Hey, the Spoonful play here? Wait a minute, Lenny Bruce, yeah, he got busted here!" Mike stepped up close behind her and leaned down to advise with a smile, "Close your mouth, Morris, you look like a tourist. Been in town for almost two years and you managed to avoid the best music around? Shame on a girl from Greenwich Village!" She snapped back, "Excuse me, Mr. Rock Star, like you noticed, I don"t get out much." "Well you"re out now, c"mon," and he led the way to a doorway topped with the neon letters "Show Room". A staff member stood by the door, holding a clipboard of names. Bonnie noticed he didn"t bother to consult the list as they approached. "Hey, nice to see you again," the doorman greeted Mike. "Nice to be seen," Mike returned. He reached back and slipped an arm around Bonnie to pull her up closer. "She"s with me. Bonnie, this is Jimmy. He came with the lease." Jimmy laughed and stepped aside. "Enjoy. Your friends are upstairs." Mike steered Bonnie through the door and up the stairs, hand resting casually on the small of her back, as if they"d come here a million times. Well I"ll bet he has, she thought to herself. As they topped the stairs she saw they were in the center of a level balcony that overlooked the club and stage below. There were several banquettes against the walls and between them a few smaller tables. This area clearly was intended only for VIPs. Below... that was for the groundlings. Mike slung his arm around Bonnie again and brought her to stand with him at the edge of the table in front of the nearest banquette. Chip Douglas, their studio and tour sound guy and occasional recording producer was seated at one end and Peter at the other, and between them a songwriter named Carole that had written some hits for the Monkees" albums. Between Carole and Chip, to Bonnie"s surprise, was Genie, who she hadn"t seen since the less-than-stellar morning of the costume fitting. Chip greeted them with a smirk. "Hey, I thought they kept the riffraff down below." Mike nodded to indicate Bonnie. "They tried, but I told "em nope, she"s with me. Morris, you know Chip the Dip." Peter waved brightly. "I"m Sweet Pete." When the others offered various confused/nauseated looks he added, "Hey, when she"s right she"s right," and offered no further explanation. In more adult mode, Mike indicated Carole, "Don"t know if you"ve met Carole King, she"s a songwriter trapped in the same mass-produced hell as the rest of us. Plays a mean piano, too." Carole half stood and reached out a hand to Bonnie. "Hi, we"ve sort of crossed paths at some meetings I think. Morris... that"s an unusual name." Bonnie shook Carole"s hand. "Bonnie Morris, you can call me Bonnie. Nesmith and I have kind of a longstanding name issue. Hey Genie, good to see you again!" Peter stood and everyone else did a slide to the right. Mike pointed to the space next to Genie. "Go on and work on your social skills, Morris, Pete and I have some stuff to discuss." He turned to the others and offered in a stage whisper, "She doesn"t get out much in public." Tipping Bonnie a wink that made her breath hitch, he and Peter retreated down the stairs. "So like I was saying, it"s good to see you again," Bonnie told Genie, who was smiling broadly to see her and Mike together. "You"ll be seeing more of me, Bob"s hired me on to head costumes for the show." Bonnie blinked twice, then announced, "Somebody get this lady a double. No, a triple. She"s gonna need it." As Chip and Carole laughed, Genie leaned closer and whispered to Bonnie, "Glad to see you and Tall Boy sorted things out. He looked a bit knocked down that day when you sent him off." Small talk led to shop talk about style, sartorial and musical, about the irony of songs retooled and sold as generic plastic widgets by Kirshner, about the pragmatic need to sell them versus the artistic need to keep them free of plastic. There were a couple of short sets played by musicians she"d heard of somewhere or other, and very good too. During an announced break, finally Bonnie was beginning to wonder where Mike and Peter had gotten to. "I heard Pete say something about doing a tune," Chip explained. "Maybe they"re gonna do some together. Pete brought a couple cases, left "em in the rehearsal room backstage." There was no proper host on nights like this, so only the feedback from instruments being plugged in announced the beginning of another set. "Heads up, guys," Chip pointed to the stage below, where Mike and Peter engaged in last-minute fine-tuning. "Nesmith didn"t come armed," Bonnie noted in confusion, looking to the others for explanation. "He brought his banjo, and went back to Mike"s to pick up that new toy of his, the Gibson," Carole said. Mike stepped up to the lone vocal mic and greeted the middle-sized crowd. "Hey, been a while, it"s cool to be back where they only play the good stuff." He checked something with Peter, who nodded and moved closer to the instrument mic. "I brought a friend of mine here tonight who needs to get out more," he told everyone without looking up at the balcony. "She says I write some groovy songs, but they"re mostly about leaving and staying away. So Pete and I we"re gonna do a tune by somebody else tonight, somebody you"re never gonna meet, whose stuff is too good not to hear for that kind of a reason. It"s brand new to us, so try not to judge the art by the mechanics, dig? It came without a name, so for now I"ll just call it Long Distance." Bonnie had been half-listening to his intro, embarrassed by his reference to her criticism even if nobody (except her companions) knew it was hers. But then the room fell silent as the tune began... ...one-handed harmonics... perfect, right-handed harmonics. Bonnie"s breath caught in her throat. She shut her eyes, not wanting to see if Mike was looking up, knowing he wasn"t, and neither was Peter, they were too focused on playing. And not just the notes. The voice surrounded her, every bit of the last tune Benny had played to her on the phone, the last tune recorded on the tape Mike brought from New York. And every voice in the room, in the bar, in the balcony, had vanished. The only voice came from Benny"s tune, Benny"s voice, every grace and flourish delicately woven between guitar and five string gut-strung banjo. She was barely aware she was holding her breath, until Genie asked quietly, "Are you okay luv?" only to be driven back by Bonnie"s impatient inhale and hiss... be quiet, there"s only room for one voice in this room, she thought as loudly as she could. She didn"t want it to end, but knowing every note, she knew exactly when it would. A triplet from the guitar, and another from the banjo, then a final, single, perfect, one-handed harmonic that rang like crystal through the room. And then, for a few magic seconds, silence. To describe the applause that followed as "thunderous" would be an exaggeration. It was enthusiastic, to be sure, especially given the smallish Monday-night crowd. But to Bonnie"s ears it was deafening, just because it was there at all. A voice from the bar called out, "Who wrote that, man?" "A dude named B.J. Morris, used to play at a club in the Village," Mike told them. "Never got to make a record, but someone told me it"s not fair for nobody to hear stuff this good, so now you have." He and Peter thanked the club for letting them play, and left the stage. Bonnie had recovered, sort-of, but found herself unable to speak. She wasn"t crying, and she was breathing again, but she just couldn"t manage to move from the last echo of the tune back to the real world. Finally Carole broke the silence. "Bonnie, B.J. Morris, he any relation?" She nodded, and managed to add, "My brother. Died in a dumbass VW van rollover on the way to a gig. Nesmith heard a tape..." She looked toward the stage again. "I don"t know how they did that, I don"t know..." She looked questioningly at the others sitting with her. "I need some air." "That door, back stairs, leads to a courtyard they only use on weekends," Chip directed. "You okay?" She nodded, and left. Down the stairs, out the door, to a brick terrace that bordered a miniature park-like arrangement of flowers and a couple of small trees. She sat on a concrete bench and dropped her head in her hands, trying to sort out her thoughts. He has not put a step false since Chicago, because he knows me, knows exactly who I am. Only somebody who knows exactly who I am could do this. This was not what she expected to happen when she moved to L.A. She expected distance from everything, something to complement that empty space that remained when Benny had died. So much of her had been gone for so long, she"d thought making the move she"d planned already would remove the contrast between familiar presences and the emptiness in her. Come to L.A., get a job, TV show, lots of noise and demanding work and masses of anonymous people she wouldn"t need to know. But there he was among the new faces, someone else who"d gotten what he"d wanted, but not enough not to want more, or better, or... something. And without the good grace and manners to let her ignore him, he casually drew her into something not so casual, and by the time she woke up to it, it was too late. She came here to disconnect, but didn"t pay close enough attention. And when she got pissed off at herself for giving up too much, and turned it into being pissed off at him for an imagined betrayal, he"d done the impossible... he"d made it right. He"d found just the way to make her lapse of attention seem safe, and right. Not a step false, and not a word spoken worth doubting... or fearing. I am making this too hard... why am I making this so hard? Mike and Peter bounded up the stairs, cases in hand, only to be greeted by a mixture of praise and perplexed faces. "That was amazing, guys," Chip announced. Mike didn"t say anything, but it was clear he was noticing Bonnie"s absence. "She needed some air," Genie told him and Peter, and the two men exchanged looks. "Shit, maybe this wasn"t such a brilliant idea," Mike muttered. "Couldn"t even sit through it." "No," Genie got up and stood with him and Peter. "She did, she seemed lost in it. She told us her brother wrote it, she told us how she lost him. I think she was just overwhelmed. Whatever it meant to her, I think she didn"t know how to share it with people she doesn"t know very well." That kind of lightning doesn"t strike twice, Mike thought, remembering Chicago. Then again, we knew each other pretty well even before then. "I sent her down to the courtyard, man," Chip told him. "Genie"s right, she wasn"t freaked, just kinda over her head. Go on down and check in, why don"t you." Before he went he turned to Peter. "Thanks, Pete. Short notice and all, you were great." "Hard to screw up music like that," he said, and everyone looked at him as if he were crazy. "Okay, okay! You"re welcome." Mike sat next to Bonnie, not touching, like they"d done for so long before recent days, and said nothing. "The day he left for North Carolina," she began as if continuing an old conversation, "we had such a fight. My fight, because I didn"t want him to go. I had all sorts of arguments and reasons, but that was it, really, and he knew it. So I knew he"d leave anyway, because someone wanting you not to go just isn"t a good enough reason to stay when you"re looking for a bigger life and the chance is there for the taking. And the last thing I said to him, I said "so go but if you do, if you walk away, I don"t ever want to see your leaving ass again.' And I could see it in his face that he didn"t really believe that, but knew that I did, so there was nothing left to do but go even though he didn"t want to leave with things like that. And yeah, of course I got over it, almost an hour after he left, and we patched it all up. But he never did make it back, and even though I know that"s nobody"s fault, the last look I ever had of him, it wasn"t laughter or love or happiness. It was that hurt, resigned look, the one that said "all is forgiven" even before I knew how badly I"d fucked up. And last Thursday, at the costume fitting, after I"d thrown in your face everything you hadn"t done, stuff that didn"t matter anyway, that"s exactly the look I saw on you just before you turned and walked away, with every good reason to. And just like with Benny an hour later I knew how wrong I was, but you were gone, so I gave myself permission to get flat-ass dead drunk and blame you for that, too, because I was too stupid to know you"d come back, really come back. And Peter, he came and got me and took me home and when we got in the door he looked so good, he was being so nice and standing so close to me, and I thought "I"ll have me some of that, why not", you guys get that not-right-but-right-now action so it must do something for you, right? And Peter was there for the taking, but he wouldn"t be taken. And that, Nesmith, is the story of how I grabbed Peter"s ass and almost bit his tongue out." She looked sidelong at Mike, who still sat next to her, leaning forward, elbows on knees, shades lowered even though it was nighttime. He was nodding slowly. "A little more than I expected, but that"s okay." Without sitting up, he slid his shades up and turned his head to face her. "I"m just trying to make it easier for you, Morris. You know that, right?" "I think I"m finally getting it. I"m kind of slow sometimes." "That"s okay, I got time. When we"re here, just here, like this, I got all the time I need." When they got to her door, he showed her his watch. "See, ten-thirty, just like I promised." She unlocked the door and stepped inside, turning when he didn"t follow. "You staying?" He shook his head. "Not tonight, we both need some sleep. I"ll pick you up tomorrow, get you to the beach in time for your meeting." He leaned in to give her a kiss. "Okay... "night." She stood there uncertainly for a few seconds to watch him take the first few stairs, then closed the door and locked it. By the time she was halfway to her room, she heard the single knock. When she opened the door again he was leaning heavily against the frame, shades in hand. "That invitation still good?" She nodded, smiled, and stood aside, closing the door and locking it behind them. "In you came," she told him. "Back at ya, Siobhan."

"Why shouldn"t I tell her? Why shouldn"t I have thought you did? I"m not ashamed of any of it, why couldn"t you tell her you aren"t either? But no, all through the whole thing, while I was choking on every mouthful and she was smiling that Cruella DeVille smile and delivering those barely-veiled one-liners, all you did was toss out the occasional smartass comment. "Yeah Ma, that bar is a regular smorgasbord of eligible bachelors", and "Sure, she"s still paying off the Alibi Loan at the bank". Would it have killed you to just once say "what"s it to you?' She can"t beat you up anymore, what were you afraid of?" Abruptly Mike pulled into one of the endless urban fast-food parking lots that lay between his place and his onetime home, and threw the car into park. When he looked at Merry he could see the wounded eyes behind her outrage. He reached out and kept her from turning her face away. "You listen to me, Merry Ann," he told her, his voice quiet now, "I"m not ashamed of anything, and I"m not afraid of anything. And no, Ma can"t beat me up anymore, not like she used to anyway. But I know her, I know her inside and out because I never had a choice. And I know what you"re thinking and I know why it pissed you off I didn"t say anything or fight with her, and I was wrong to think you"d understand why. I"m sorry for that." Merry didn"t answer. "Baby," he tilted his head to touch his forehead to her temple, "all you can do with my mother is fly under the radar. I got pretty good at it after I moved out. But sooner or later she gets the fix on me, and I can"t avoid her anymore. So we do the dance like you saw today, and I let her take her shots, and get up and walk out when I"ve had enough. Only this time she did it with you, and I"m sorry, but even if I said everything you thought I should, it wouldn"t have mattered. It just wasn"t worth it." She couldn"t believe her ears. "How can you say that? I sat there and took it, things I"ve never had to put up with from anyone, and it "wasn"t worth it" to do anything?" He shook his head. "Not like that. You think when she was saying that shit to you, about you, in her code that any moron can break, you think I didn"t want to give it right back to her? That I didn"t I want to stand up and pop her one? I didn"t, and it"s because I"ve spent my whole life trying to be smarter than that, and smarter than my dad who did pop her every time he"d had enough instead of getting up and walking out. Maybe that"s why I keep going back, because every time we do the dance and I get up and walk out instead of breaking up the place and beating the crap out of her, I feel like I"m a little bit smarter than both of them." It was a lot to absorb. The matter-of-factness of what he"d just told her, this twisted relationship he accepted as the norm, she couldn"t understand why he didn"t just walk out for good. Then again, there was a lot she"d never understand, because she hadn"t been there, had she? She sighed, and turned her face against Mike"s for a moment. "This can"t be the first time it"s happened. Bringing someone to meet your mother, I mean." Now Mike sat back and smiled as if he"d just realized something. "No. I mean yeah, it"s happened before. But it"s the first time I ever bothered to explain." "What are you smiling at?" She was beginning to decide they were both too crazy to survive outside of a locked unit. "I guess I"m just getting smarter and smarter," he laughed, then leaned forward and gave Merry a hearty smooch. "C"mon, let"s go to that den of iniquity where you meet so many interesting men and let this one buy you a beer. Hey, I might even buy you a dozen roses." Merry could laugh now, too. Normal was so relative. "What, no tickets to Oprah?" "Oprah... Christ, I"d rather go another round with Ma." "Hey Greevey, pool"s up to a hundred-fifty bucks, and Christmas is just around the corner. You in?" What had begun as a sucker bet had turned into a proper betting pool, with the winner being whoever"s chosen date was closest to when Mike actually popped the question to Merry. A fairly lucrative side pool had developed among the female administrative staff, devoted to whether it would be Mike or Merry who actually did the "popping". "I told you, Profaci, I don"t bet on my partner"s love life." "Not anymore, you mean." "Hey, what pool? How do I get in?" Mike just was returning from a witness interview and tossed his notebook on his desk. "C"mon guys, Christmas is coming and I got something special in mind that could use a little extra cash." "Make it a 50/50, and I"m in," Max told Profaci, who understood that 50% would be going to Logan to help pay for that "something special". "Done. We"ll talk details later." A shrug in Logan"s direction. "Just a fundraiser at the ITAM club, we"re working the Micks this year too." Fundraiser? He could swear he heard the word "pool". Mike reached for his wallet and pulled out a five. "Here, I"m always up for keeping you WOPs in pizza money." Profaci and Greevey exchanged a look and busted out laughing. "What?" Mike demanded. "Nuthin," Max told him. "Now what have you got on that construction site vic. I gotta get outta here early and get some Christmas shopping done with the family." "Got wiseguys written all over it, take a look," Mike handed over the notebook, the betting pool question forgotten. This case could link into something big, and Max had some background on it. Max loved nailing wiseguys. Good life, good work, everything was looking good. So many flowers, so many faces. It was kind of a blur. Merry stood, waiting. Holding her breath, straining her eyes ahead and trying hard to get Mike to look at her. The organ music was traditional, it was all so much more traditional than she could ever think of planning herself. She"d never have been able to. That was for the experts. She didn"t know any experts at this, herself, but there were others who did, thank god. She wasn"t used to playing dress-up, as she thought of it. Neither was Mikey, but they both did it without complaint. For the occasion. It would only be for a few hours, after all. She couldn"t believe she was standing in church, waiting, thinking of things she"d never believed herself capable of thinking. Because she never believed she"d be here, doing something like this. Love, she"d discovered, could make you do things you never believed you were capable of, and then it made you too scared to think too much about them. She fingered the ring on her left hand, soon to be joined by another. She wasn"t crazy about diamonds, so Mikey had saved what he could and financed what he couldn"t and took the 50% of the proceeds of two betting pools, and went into hock for an emerald ring instead. A beautifully simple white gold solitaire with a Celtic knot motif. The small oval emerald was flanked by two smaller diamonds (so sue me, he"d said when she gasped after opening the box). She reminded herself to get even with Profaci for turning her engagement into a floating crap game, when the time was right, if it ever was. Mike still wouldn"t look at her. Maybe he couldn"t see her from where he stood with Profaci, Captain Cragen, some others she didn"t know so well. All dressed alike, uncomfortable, and clinging to the razor"s edge at the brink of emotions they weren"t comfortable giving in to, even knowing each other for so long. Not now, in front of everyone. The priest took his place in the sanctuary, or whatever they called it. Mike had tried to explain a few Catholic basics to her, so she"d know what was expected when, kneeling and praying and such. That he was trying to translate such a foreign (to her) ritual said a lot, given that this was a first for him as well. The familiar tune, the one even Merry could recognize (who couldn"t?) began, the organist keeping the rhythm stately so the slow march up the aisle could follow its beat and not demand too much of the participants. There was a lot to manage, a lot that drew the mind away from something as mundane as putting one foot neatly in front of the other. She wanted Mike to look at her, she wanted to be locked into those blue eyes so everything else would disappear, so she wouldn"t have to notice the captain, or Profaci, or Marie who sat up front. She turned with the strangers around her to follow as the honor guard bore the casket up the aisle to rest it on the bier. They set it down, stepped back, turned neatly as one, and took their places. Finally he looked for her, at her, but by then her vision was awash. The first time she"d been to church in thirty years or more; it was supposed to be a little bit later, it was supposed to be different. The priest was supposed to be speaking his foreign ritual over her and Mikey, not Max Greevey. Max was supposed to be standing up front with Mikey, then sitting down next to Marie, watching them as the priest said his magic words. Max was supposed to be watching them. She pressed her left hand to her face, feeling the ring that was half paid for by the man who should be standing up with Mikey in three weeks, but wouldn"t be. She shut out the priest, the people, the uniforms. Especially the uniforms. It was all kind of a blur; somehow it felt safer that way. Merry wondered if Mike would understand that, if she told him. She knew that Marie Greevey would. A/N: the "familiar tune" mentioned is Ave Maria, traditionally played or sung at many Catholic funerals "Look, why don"t you sit here for just a minute and let me call the precinct, see if Mike can pick you up. No sense taking the subway, right?" No response other than maybe the hint of a nod. Ben Stone closed his office door softly behind him and reached for the nearest desk phone, ignoring the few clerks and secretary who"d been following the scene behind the un-drawn blinds. "Cragen." "It"s Ben. Look, is Mike Logan around? I have his fiancée in my office. I think it would be a good idea if he came over." "Sure, he and Profaci, a few others, we"re just finishing up, sealing the files on the Magadan case to send to records." Cragen looked out his office window to see the low-level bullpen activity that passed for "finishing up." Everyone knew what that meant. Since the conviction Stone knew they"d be cleaning up Max Greevey"s pending case notes, making sure everything was set for Ceretta to take over the day-to-day. And just getting used to the idea. The guilty verdict had put the type of button on the episode that was the only kind of "closure" that made sense to a cop, even if it would take a long, long time for the painful emotional dust to settle. Fine, though, everyone was fine. Everyone had done their time with Elizabeth Olivet who needed to. Even Logan"s red haze had burnt away after the sentencing. Time was distance, though it would probably never be enough. "Merry Ryan"s at your office? Everything okay? This isn"t IAD stuff, is it?" Stone could hear the puzzlement in the captain"s voice. "No, nothing like that," he explained, "She actually came by to thank us for the conviction." As he cast a glance toward his office Stone noticed Merry had moved to the floor next to the couch, sitting with knees drawn up, looking as if she"d made a grave mistake and was waiting for the principal to arrive. "Don, do you know if Ms. Ryan got a chance to talk to anyone after Max"s death? Spousal support, Liz, somebody? Marie, maybe? You know, to take care of her own issues with this." "Mike said she didn"t want any of it. Why, you think she"s having a problem? Sounds pretty normal, thanking the guys who put Max"s killer away, considering who Max was to Mike. And to her too. In fact Logan says she"s been a rock for him, right there every step of the way in his issues with the confession, you saw her at the trial. Anyway, Mike says she told him she didn"t want any part of counseling, said she"s fine." "Right. Just like he was." Like we all were, Ben thought to himself. Merry had shown up at the A.D.A."s office not quite half an hour before, saying she was there to thank him and Paul both for putting away the asshole that killed Max. They were more than even, now, she told him, for everything that had happened when she"d first shown up on the 2-7 radar a couple years back. All that seemed reasonable, and Ben had thanked her for coming, we all feel the same way about this he told her, none of us would have rested until Magadan was put away, at least that"s something. She"d gotten a little more intense, then. "Mr. Stone I need you to understand, it was much more important than you think, it really was. See, I"ve been trying so hard for Mike, you know? He lost his partner, and I don"t know much about cops yet but I think I know a little about what that meant. See, they"re more than coworkers or friends, they watch out for each other, not just with guns and all... did I tell you I wouldn"t be here except for Max?" At that point Ben had invited her into his office, closed the door. Something was working its way out in her words. "How"s that?" he asked. "I would"ve walked, that first night remember when I saw you on the stairs and said we were going to a concert? He wasn"t there, just left the tickets with Max, and I said oh swell I"m outta here, no sense starting what won"t go anywhere. But Max, he told me why, and about cops and about how Mike is, and making a diversion." She didn"t explain further. "So I did, but I wouldn"t have, and he always knew we were meant to be here, you know? So I"ve been trying really hard to help Mike, because I know about cops now, and know he needed to do this his way, and so I was just there and listened and watched for what I could do." "But what about you?" Stone ventured, he couldn"t help himself. To make it sound less invasive, he added, "You look tired." She looked like hell, actually. "Me? Oh I"m fine. I know Mike said I could talk to that group or that Dr. Olivet who he said was helping him in spite of himself, but I needed him to know I was okay so he could just get back on track. For Max, see? Because Max, he won the pool, and he gave it all to us, to Mike, for this," she held up her left hand, and Stone watched her unravel, face crumpling gently and voice dissolving in tears, "and he told me it"s important to know when not to talk about it, so I didn"t make Mike talk, and I didn"t let him make me. I guess we"ve been keeping weird hours, with the trial and all, sometimes I wake up at night, the dreams aren"t so bad I guess, I mean they"re just dreams, right?" She was staring at her ring, oblivious for a moment, and then looked up again. "I mean, dreams can"t come true, can they? Shit happens, it doesn"t mean it"s gonna happen to us." Suddenly she seemed horrified. "Oh god, don"t tell Marie I said that, please!" My god, how much of this has she been holding back, Ben wondered. Survivor guilt combined with the kind of fears she"d probably never considered before... he figured up til now Merry Ryan"s biggest fear was that whomever she was dating might lose his job, or lose interest. Stone had been on the job and around the force long enough to know the kinds of demons that jump up the first time anyone really understands what their "significant others" do when they leave the house with a badge, and see how random the odds are that they might or might not return on any given day. And it was no secret she"d gotten attached to Greevey for reasons independent of his partnership with Mike Logan. Max had that effect on people, and they"d all been helping one another limp through his loss. Somehow Merry Ryan had gotten lost in the shuffle, and it was apparent that she thought that"s the way it was supposed to be. "Look, why don"t you sit here for just a minute..." "Lemme get Logan." Cragen leaned out the office door. "Mike, phone." Mike tore himself away from the latest round of laugh-your-ass-off Greevey stories and called to the captain, "Be right there." He really had been feeling more himself; the rapid disposition of Magadan"s case, together with his waking up and shaking off his own stupidity and finding the purpose of his meetings with Olivet, all of this was allowing him to stagger toward life again. Ceretta wasn"t so bad. And Merry, well she"d been broken up about Max for sure, but everyone had been impressed with how she"d gotten through it. Mike felt kind of guilty, actually, knowing how everything and everybody was rallying around him as the bereft partner, and he"d been so wrapped up in the case, and his own bad moves of course. It was like a bad dream, and she was always there but quietly watching, as if she"d somehow be able to grab him and pull him back from the edge if he got too close to it. By the time he "woke up", everything seemed almost normal at home. She must have gotten herself through it, more shame on him, because he hadn"t noticed any struggle. He jogged to the captain"s office and Cragen explained, "Ben Stone, says Merry"s at his office." With a "huh?" expression Mike took the phone. "Counselor, what"s that woman been up to now?" "I think you need to see what"s going on with her," Stone"s tone expressed his obvious concern, "Don said you told him she"s fine." He didn"t really intend to sound accusing, but Logan lived with this woman for god"s sake, how could he not see how she was being affected? Mike was surprised and more than a little confused. In the back of his mind, though, something pricked his conscience. Ignoring his inner grownup for the moment, he explained a bit defensively, "Well yeah, I tried to get her to see Olivet or even that support group, I mean we"re engaged so they told me they"d work her in. I tried, but she wouldn"t go for it." "I suggest you try harder. " "Exactly what the hell is going on there?" Mike demanded, his inner grownup taking over. "I don"t know enough about it to explain, just come to my office as soon as you can. And I suggest you call Liz Olivet." Jesus. "I got a better idea, you call her while I"m on my way." He dropped the phone back in its cradle and turned to Cragen. "I gotta go." "Go ahead, and call in tomorrow if you need to. You have time coming, take it this time." "I don"t get it, why here?" Logan asked, winded by his race up the stairs to Stone"s office when the elevator didn"t arrive quickly enough. "I don"t know," Stone confessed, "she came here for a real reason, and we do have a past connection however unpleasant. Maybe her guard fell; maybe it"s neutral territory, a familiar face but no uniforms. I have no idea. I called Liz, she said you should call her. Mike, Merry"s as stubborn as you are," Ben nodded toward his office. "The NYPD had the power to order you to take care of yourself or you wouldn"t have done it. If it were someone I loved, I wouldn"t take no for an answer." Logan nodded grimly and patted his back pocket. "She"s stubborn, but I"ve got the cuffs." He was only half kidding. He found Merry sitting on the floor next to the sofa, looking pretty much as Stone had described. God damn, how could he have been so blind? She"d said "I"m fine," over and over, and I believed it, Mike berated himself. Sure, it was easier to do that than get distracted from his Mission From God. Merry had told him the same bald-faced lie that he Cragen and Profaci and everyone else were telling each other. The difference was that when Merry told it, he believed her. What an asshole. Mike closed the door behind him and went to kneel in front of her. Christ, she looked wrung out. He"d missed that too, hadn"t he? Not that it was hard to notice her waiting up for him the night he got Magadan, or the nights he went to the bar to pound down a few (not too many) then came home to sit up for the rest of the night counting the ways he should have killed the "defendant". In fact the only time, he realized, that Merry had actually shared what was churning inside was that first night when he"d come home at 4 a.m. after the arrest. He hadn"t been home since the night before, had told her he was working things with Ceretta. But when he"d come home afterward and told her what happened with Magadan, she"d asked him why. "Why did I play rough with him? Because he killed Max, for christsake!" "No. Why didn"t you kill him when you could?" That had been the first and last flash of reality she"d given up, and Mike had dismissed it as sarcasm and gone to take a shower. What he saw in her now made him realize how wrong he"d been. "Hey." "Hey." Small voice, shamefaced expression. "You got the good counselor worried, and he got the captain worried, and now all of you got me worried." "I"m sorry, I just came to thank him." She looked past Mike to the outer office. "I don"t know what happened." "Scrooch over there a little," and when she did Mike sat next to her, companionably, the way they"d done that first night she"d come to his place, when they Weren"t Talking About It. Fuck Not Talking About It, especially now. Stone was right, Mike thought ruefully. Try harder. But he knew he had to start carefully, she was so much like he was that pushing too hard would just slam her doors even tighter.

It was James"s turn to roll his eyes. "You know as well as I do that there is a difference between misquoting and creative editing. I can"t help it if George fills in the blanks against his own interest... now get back the files on the Roland case. Find out everything you can about Ralph Baxter and Homecoming Foundation and any other businesses he had. Also learn everything you can about the Rolands" company Web Wizards. Who were their other clients, I remember seeing something about a number of pro bono jobs for schools. I"ll call MIU and track down Matt and Annie to let them know we"re going forward." It was true, this wasn"t the first time they"d had to face angry and bereft loved ones, but Annie Roland"s quiet rebuke had struck him a little more sharply than some others. After Alesha had retreated to her office to organize her research plans James sat down again and punched up MIU"s phone number. As it rang he muttered to himself, "Betting parlour my arse... that"ll be the day." A/N: "mouth music"- a Scottish vocal style in wide use during the rule of Oliver Cromwell, when musical instruments were outlawed. It is a combination of Scots Gaelic and nonsense words, used as a substitute for instrumental music for dancing (which also was outlawed). Google "Norman Kennedy", a renowned master of the art to learn more... Matt tried to keep the torch steady with one hand while keeping a firm grip on the oblong paper-wrapped package with the other. He forced himself to think of it as a rugby ball (for the moment anyway) and not the final remains of his best mate. It was no small feat with Annie inches behind matching him step for step, gloved hand clamped onto the back of his jacket. The steps were dry but rain was hanging low in the clouds that obscured the moon. Bloody Gilbert and his bloody last wishes, Matt thought. But he wouldn"t have departed from the plan if his life were at stake. Gil wanted his ashes scattered into the Thames by the Globe Theater (sharing his family"s passion for Shakespeare), so here they were at 10 o"clock on a Thursday night fresh from the CPS insult, and thank God there were no big events on at the Theater or the museums. Now if Annie didn"t stumble and pitch them both into the river, they might just get Gil"s last wish sorted. "Matt, this can"t be legal," Annie repeated for the seventh or eight time, casting nervous looks over her shoulder and up the dank stairs leading back to South Bank end of the Southwark Bridge. She knew the place from her first visit to London while Gil and Matt were still at University. They"d made a point of including their "thought spot" in the tour they gave her. From what she"d gathered, they"d come here frequently under cover of darkness to sit on the ancient boatmen"s steps and unwind after exams, or between exams, or after completing papers, or in preparation for papers, or for any other occasion that required solitude and a quantity of alcohol and moaning about life and school. "Trust me, this is probably the most legal thing I"ve done here in my life," Matt assured her as they reached the small brickwork landing. "Besides, you"re a foreigner and I"m a copper. You can plead ignorance, and I can claim investigation. Now... give Bruce a good seat." He pointed the torch at one of the steps behind him. "Don"t want him falling in." Annie pulled the stuffed bear from her big purse and sat it squarely on the third step up, and put her purse next to him for safekeeping. She took the torch Matt handed to her and watched him unwrap the several layers of brown paper until only a small, lidless cardboard box remained. The narrow torch beam and the faint wash from the streetlights above gave the scene a surreal air; Annie watched Matt as if witnessing a magician"s trick. Alakazam! I"m back! Matt would wave his hand and set down the box, and Gillie would step out with that "gotcha" grin that made her want to smack him. But Matt didn"t set the box down. He dipped his hand inside and brought out a great heap of grey grit and ash and, leaning carefully over the edge of the landing, swept his hand from side to side. A fan of silver floated out over the water on the very slight breeze. After a moment he repeated the actions, taking care to leave enough for Annie to follow suit. Before he turned back to her he announced over the water, "There you go mate. Unbound by computers and off to the wide world, just like you wanted. We"ll go no more a roving, and all that." His voice faltered on the last words and he just stood there, trying to follow the dimly visible plume in the water as it sailed into the brighter beam of the lights lining the South Bank walk above. -still we"ll go no more a roving by the light of the moon- Annie murmured the line very quietly then said aloud, "Byron? I wouldn"t have figured you for Byron." "Well we were mad bad and dangerous to know back in the day, your brother and me. When we got good and pissed he"d recite that Byron thing and if anyone was around of course they got the wrong idea, all that heart just as loving and moon just as bright stuff," Matt recalled as he turned to face Annie with a wry smile. "Guess I"m fated to always be giving people the wrong idea with you Rolands, feeding the bisexual pseudo-incest fantasies of humanity." "Anyway, who"d believe a Mickey copper could get that lucky?" she teased gently. She sighed then and stuffed her gloves in her pockets, and swapped the torch for the box. "My turn, I guess." She stood at the edge of the landing (Matt"s hands firmly locked on her parka) and dipped her hand once, twice, and once again, until nothing remained in the box, which she tossed into the Thames to follow Gil downriver on his journey. "I can"t think of anything to say," she confessed, in great distress. "It"s all right, there"s nothing to say you haven"t told him before. He knew everything about you already." Annie stepped back and held her hands palm up between them, staring at the grey smudges remaining, and started to cry. "I can"t believe this is all that"s left." She was afraid to move, afraid she"d accidentally wipe away the last of the brother who"d been there all of her life and would never be again. Just then the rain started, and washed the smudges away to flow into the river, where he wanted to be. "You know better than that." Matt stooped to pick up the torch and when he stood he pulled the hood of her parka up and hugged an arm around her. "I know you know better." She nodded, sniffled a bit then followed him back up to the river walk, pausing to pick up her bag after tucking Bruce snugly inside. As they walked to the car park she asked, "When did he tell you about this? I mean about what he wanted done? I mean he never told me anything about this." A pained softness sounded in the words. Matt answered, "Well you didn"t tell him about that design instructor you were shagging in uni, did ya?" When she stopped and stared he added quickly, "Neither did I, I swear." "That was different!" "Right." He pulled her along by the hand, wanting to get to the car and out of the rain. "Remind me, why did you tell me instead of him then?" "Because I knew you"d understand, and he"d freak out." He unlocked the door and pushed her in, neither one of them noticing the hand-on-the-head that usually accompanied taking someone into custody. "And why do you suppose he told me about this, and not you?" She didn"t answer. "I seem to remember the words "Annie would go spare"." He went around to the driver"s side and slid behind the wheel. "Some secrets are wisely kept, or so you both told me at the time." As Matt started the car he noticed Annie staring hard out the windscreen, mouth moving, words not-quite-audible. "In or out, Dreamboat, in or out, pick one." Meaning, "in your head or out of your mouth". It was another way to persuade Annie to keep her "thinks" in her head when appropriate. "What happens next?" She turned to him, looking completely disoriented. "Why can"t I figure out what happens next?" Matt reached out to tip her forehead against his. "Because it"s my turn. And right now we"re going to check you out of that hotel and move you into my gaff. I already made room in the closets and set up the spare room for the things you got back from CSIU." "Oh, right. I guess the Crown can"t object anymore now that they"ve written us off." Matt"s hands clenched white on the wheel. "Bugger the Crown," he growled. "We"ll get sorted without "em." A/N: "No More A-Roving", by George Gordon Lord Byron, a poignant farewell. Byron was described by one of his many mistresses as "mad, bad, and dangerous to know." "No, I"m good. I"m way out of practice." Annie turned down the full tumbler of Bushmill"s Matt offered, poured from the bottle he"d picked up on the way back from Southwark. She and Matt and Gil had spent more than their fair share of drunken nights over the years, but the truth was Annie wasn"t just deferring to good judgement; if she had much more she"d be on her face. And that would be abjectly embarrassing, despite everything that had happened since her arrival. "Great, more for me." He had the next two days off for personal leave and was taking full advantage. "He"s finally got a chance to spend some personal time with his only last link to his best mate," Ronnie had told the boss. "I can press gang some PC to help with our cases if I have to. He needs a chance to grieve, Guv, and this is the best chance he"s got." DI Chandler was predictably inclined to agree so after "sending Gil on his way" as Matt described it, he and Annie were free to spend the night as freely as they liked. Annie had seen Matt loaded before - "pissed" she corrected herself internally - but never with such determined purpose as tonight. "Good thing the Crown can do without you the next couple of days," she noted as he flopped onto the sofa beside her, setting the bottle on the table so precariously she reached out to steady it. "Bugger the Crown." He held the bottle somewhat less than firmly until it stopped wobbling. "Steady mum, I"ve got it." "So now... what comes next?" It was a question that came to Annie as habitually as breathing and it felt unnatural to ask it of someone else, even Matt. "The company is in limbo so I have no job. No home in the States, no home here. Even when I sell the flat, immigration is screwed up because I don"t have a job anymore. And now that Gil"s death isn"t considered a crime... no law can help me." She wouldn"t consider even setting foot in the King"s Cross flat, and planned to find a way to sell it, but didn"t yet know how. For the first time she could remember Annie was without a "real world" and was scared to death. Matt focused with a huge effort. "I"ll talk to Angie... she knows geek jobs. Alesha has friends in the Foreign Office. We"ll get you fixed up, I promise." He leaned sideways and pulled Annie over to lay a sloppy kiss against her head. "Promise. And this is home as long as you want." But there was something else scaring Annie, something bad. She"d never been able to sensibly order her emotions like she did her work, so they came out a little disjointed sometimes, but Matt"s dive into the whiskey bottle made her think of things she didn"t dare keep to herself. "Stop," she told him, taking the bottle from his hand before he could pour another one. "Stop swilling this cheap shit painkiller and talk to me." He was more puzzled than displeased. "I am talking to you, I"m telling you we"re gonna get you set up here, I"m telling you you don"t have to worry. Why are you looking at me like I"ve got three heads?" She didn"t know how to lead in, so she just jumped. "I"m remembering that time you called me after you found out how your friend died." "Pete," Matt said. "What the hell has you thinking about that?" God knows he didn"t like to think about it, even a year or more on. "You called me, middle of the night so here it had to be four in the morning, Gil was in Edinburgh I think, and you didn"t want to wake Judy, you called me and I saw you on caller i.d. and thought oh, Matt and Gil fell out over some girl, or you were upset about a case and I know you didn"t take that to Gillie even though he wouldn"t have minded. Maybe it"s because I was so far away it didn"t feel like it all was piling up right here..." Matt shook his head, smiling in spite of the painful subject. "Blimey, I"m the one pissed but you"re the one not making sense." When Annie grabbed his arm hard his smile evaporated. "Mattie, now you"re not talking to me, not about this, about how I know it"s tearing you up inside, you"re a copper, and you couldn"t do anything for him, it was too late... you"ve called me before in the middle of the night, for stuff like that, that your job always sets you up to be too late to stop and if you"re lucky you can keep it from happening to somebody else." He would have interrupted, told her to slow down, but she was beginning to look and sound frantic so he didn"t try to stop her as she jumped to her feet and paced back and forth. "I never have any wise words but I listen, don"t I always, and I told you over and over that night you called about Pete, that you still had Judy, and Gil, and me, even when we didn"t know what to answer you wouldn"t be all alone with it like Pete was. But now I"m right here, I couldn"t be at first but now I am, and you"re not talking to me, you"re keeping all alone with it, and I know you don"t really blame yourself and I could tell if you were lying when you say that helping me helps you, but that," she paused for breath then declared in an increasingly shaky voice as she pointed at the whiskey bottle, "that can twist you all around, you know that, and what if it did and I wasn"t here, it could make you do something dark and final like Pete did." She was shaking now, dry-eyed but shaking badly. She stopped pacing, and her voice dropped and she looked away. (I got nobody left, Pete didn"t talk and you"re not talking) He heard every word just like always and when she looked at him again with wide scared eyes at last something clicked in Matt"s whiskey-fogged brain. "Oh Annie, no." He stood and reached for her, kicking over the bottle, and pulled her closer by one hand. "I won"t go where Pete went, I"m never gonna do that, I"d never leave you alone like that..." She grabbed him around the neck so hard and so suddenly he had to lean back to keep them from falling onto the floor. "Matt promise, promise me, you"ll tell me if it starts getting dark in your head, you"ll tell me!" "I promise, I swear, you believe me, right?" He pulled her head up from his shoulder and made her look him in the eye. She nodded and her thoughts started rushing again. "I"m sorry Matt I"m so sorry, I haven"t been any good to you at all, I haven"t been here like I promised..." The disordered words and feelings kept tumbling out, whispered and out loud, until he hugged her tight again. "Shut it, Annie, you"re doing fine for me, I promise it"ll be okay." He tried to look her in the eye again, to read her, then added, "And bugger the Crown." Finally a faint smile appeared. "Yeah. Bugger the Crown." The sudden burnout of high drama left them both a little disoriented. Out of nowhere Annie observed, "I"m starving." She looked at the upturned bottle and the pool of whiskey on the floor. "And we spilled the rest of your dinner." "I meant to get groceries but no time... pantry"s choice." As he headed for the kitchen Annie yelped in pain. "OW!" She grabbed the side of her head. Clinging to Matt"s wristwatch was a respectably sized tuft of her hair. "Sorry." He went back and planted a kiss on her head. "All better." Then he wove his way to the kitchen, more than a little wobbly. "Fish fingers?" he called out, "Cheese sandwich?" "Whatever you have that isn"t Marmite." The very thought of the stuff made her nauseous. Not to mention the sudden stops and starts between waves of grief and confusion and moments like now that seemed almost normal. The pieces weren"t fitting, not at all. She was standing in the middle of the room sorting (almost) silently through the bits and pieces she would have to assemble to get to What Comes Next when she heard the knock at the door. "Matt," she began, but figured it had to be after midnight and if someone was going to be rude to a neighbor better it was her. "What?" Amplified by whisky Matt"s voice was louder than it needed to be, given the hour and the size of the flat. "I"m toasting some cheeses sandwiches, yeah?" "Okay." When she went to the door the face she saw through the peephole surprised her. More than surprised. Given what had happened today, and Matt"s condition, it actually kind of terrified her. She opened the door halfway. "Mr. Steel?" She glanced over her shoulder then told him (unnecessarily) "It"s late. I don"t know why you"ve come but it"s not a good time." As he apologized for the late hour and assured her it was important Annie was caught by the intensity of those crystal blue eyes. Everyone seemed to have them around here, but his seemed to hold onto her harder than the others. "I don"t imagine Matt would be glad to see me," he concluded. (but he"d be glad to punch your lights out) Annie was startled by Steel"s quiet laugh. "That I believe." She didn"t think she"d said that out loud. Matt came in from the kitchen, two plates bearing toasted cheese sandwiches in hand. Annie"s head whipped around and for a second she swore he was going to peg the plates right at James Steel"s head. He was tall enough that Matt had a clear shot. "You"ve got some bloody nerve coming here!" Matt barked as he dropped the plates on the coffee table with a crash. "Matt, this couldn"t wait." James tried to continue but Matt cut him off. "Bugger off you gutless bastard. Or if you"ve come to grovel do it outside where I don"t have to hear it." Annie was on the verge of telling the Chief Crown Prosecutor to get lost but his eyes caught her again. Not pleading, but reasoning. "Just five minutes," he said in a low voice. "And bugger the bloody fucking-" Annie planted a hand in the middle of James Steel"s chest and shoved him out into the corridor, shutting the door behind her. "Look, I think I told you it"s not your fault or something like that." She paused and squeezed her forehead for a second then looked up at the tall, sharp-featured barrister. "Matt"s having a bad time, he"s... we"re... look you shouldn"t have come here." "We"re going forward with your brother"s case." Saying the words lifted a weight off of him. "What?" Before he could answer she was hauling him by the sleeve to that stupid little bench by the lifts. Without thinking she gave him another shove to sit him down then sat down next to him and waited. "We"re going to build a case and prosecute Ralph Baxter for your brother"s murder." Annie could feel her eyes narrow. "How. Why?" "George Castle changed his mind." He was, of course, leaving out rather a lot. "I don"t get it." Annie was shaking her head. "How did he get from "bad investment" to "going forward"?" He wasn"t about to get into it. "Don"t look a gift horse, Miss Roland. If you"re up to it we can get started in the morning, my office. Bring any sort of relevant papers from yours and your brother"s business, any contacts with Baxter." She was smiling a little. "Forgive me, bring all relevant silicon chips you have. Your original statement mentions the project he was pushing you to finish, and that you were holding him off." "Right, I told Gil I wanted to see something that proved a reason for what he wanted, that would prove it wasn"t some shifty scheme." "Well then," Steel announced and stood, pressing the lift"s call button. "You just gather everything you have that might indicate what he had in mind and we"ll go through it together." He saw her eyebrows rise. "Miss Roland the Crown represents the interests of your brother, and that means you as well. Your knowledge will be key in helping to establish a motive." Annie actually felt herself brighten. Finally something more than sitting around and being led here and there. "I can do better, I think... I have the actual framework for the Homecoming project. Don"t look so surprised, why would I do nothing only to have to rush like hell if Baxter turned out to be legit? I have his specs, and the work was almost done. I wasn"t just gonna deliver it until Baxter proved there was a good reason for wanting that kind of security. It just didn"t make sense." "But your brother must have thought it made sense." Annie replied with a pained sigh. "My brother... Mr. Steel my brother was blinded. Not by cash but by the puzzle. The project. He was so focused on it and getting it finished and making it work... I guess I was the one who looked for the holes, in everything. It was always like that; he said he was the accelerator and I was the brakes and together we kept the whole thing from crashing or locking up. I can bury you in relevant silicon chips. What time tomorrow?" "Nine a.m. all right? I"ve already shifted my other cases to associates. Good night then, I"ve kept you long enough." She reached in to stop the lift door from closing. "You could"ve called or told us tomorrow." "I wanted to let you know in person." Until now he"d been animated as he always was when starting a new case, but now a frown appeared. "You left my office thinking nobody cared about what happened to your brother. I didn"t want you spending the night thinking that." Annie grinning ear to ear as she bounded into the flat. Matt, however, was glowering from where he sat on the sofa. "Have a nice chat did you?" "They"re going to take the case, Mattie!" She sprang to where he sat to kiss the top of his head. "What?" "You heard me. You owe James Steel an apology. Now gimme a sandwich before I pass out."

They chowed down for a couple of minutes before Mike asked, "So what would a bouncer do?" Merry dropped another slice on his empty plate. "Feed you pizza, I guess." In short order they were properly stuffed, and Merry followed Mike to the kitchen to pile the remaining slices in one of the boxes, leaving him to fold up the empty and jam it in the trash. "I"d offer you a beer but I drank the last one." "Aha," Merry raised a finger in revelation, "he lied about that too!" Mike pulled a "huh" face. "Do you always talk in code?" "Only when I"m being followed." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a wad of bills. "Here, use this to pay back whoever "dropped the tickets in your lap"." Mike"s eyes widened as he counted. "Two hundred and fifty bucks?" He gaped at her. "Silly me, and all this time I thought scalping was illegal." Merry shrugged, "Don"t ask, don"t tell. Pretty versatile policy, huh?" They were standing in the living room and he was nailing her with a half-unamused look that was becoming familiar. "Okay, I lied about trashing the bullpen. I got to Madison and said "who needs tickets, I got two", and some guy shoved this roll into my hand and took "em. I swear to god, Mike, that"s the truth. He didn"t even ask how much." "Don"t ask don"t tell, huh?" They stood a little awkwardly, saying nothing for a moment until Mike offered, "Well don"t eat and run, have a seat and we won"t talk about it." Merry fished in her bag and pulled out two DVD"s. "Don"t you wanna know what happens next?" He put on a worried face. "I think I"m afraid to ask." He indicated what she had in her hand. "Chinese roller derby?" "Uh-uh," and she held them up proudly, The Roaring Twenties, and White Heat. "Cagney double feature. Time for you wuss gold shields to see how the real tough guys do it!" It had been a calculated risk, but the grin that erupted on Mike"s face told her it paid off. "Cagney? My old man loved that stuff. Watched them on the late show every weekend. It was one of the only times ma left us alone." There was a wealth of subtext there, but Merry ignored it for now. "Irish cop, go figure," she cracked as he loaded the first one. "Since we"re grownups and don"t have to work in the morning, we get to stay up as late as we want! Don"t worry," she headed off the question, "I can afford a cab home. I held back fifty. Now hit the lights, okay?" They sat mostly in silence for the next four hours except for occasionally reciting snatches of dialogue aloud, usually in unison. Each shot furtive sidelong smiles they believed went unnoticed. The last credits faded and Mike announced as he turned on the end table lamp, "Made it Ma, top of the world!" No reply. Looking more closely at Merry, who"d slouched comfortably against the opposite end of the sofa, Mike saw she was sound asleep. She looked, as most sleeping women did, like something resembling an angel, all smartass attitude smoothed away. The little girl"s face flashed into his head, how peaceful it looked just before the doctor pulled the sheet up to cover it. He realized he hadn"t beaten himself with that image since Merry had arrived, and knew for a fact it would have been his sole companion tonight if she hadn"t. He went to the hall closet and pulled out the Aran afghan his grandma had knitted as a Christmas present the year before she died. Then he returned to the living room and slid Merry"s shoes, long ago shed, under the coffee table and spread the afghan over her. Psycho broad, he thought to himself with a weary shake of his head. Then he paused a moment and smiled, whispering, "Two bits..." and shut off the light before trudging down the hall to bed. Mike woke with a jerk. A bleary glance at the clock told him it was a few minutes after two. Great, he"d had a whole 45 minutes of sleep and now he could stare at the digital numbers changing for awhile. Usually once he was down he was out until the alarm went off, even after a hellacious day like this one, but if he woke up it took him at least half an hour to pass out again. He wondered what felt out of place, and it took him a minute or two to remember he had a guest. A female guest, and on the freaking sofa. That"s what woke him up, the thundering crash of change. That, and a raging case of heartburn caused by way too much pepperoni monster pizza (he passed on the veggie monster) eaten way too late in a way too stressful day. He rolled out of bed with a grunt and headed to the bathroom to get some Alka Seltzer. Not bothering with the light, he fumbled in the medicine cabinet and ripped open the little foil envelope into a half-full water glass and left it to fizz on the edge of the sink while he took a leak. He hit the handle and downed the medicine, hoping for a miracle cure. None was immediately forthcoming, though he did manage a stifled belch. Padding halfway down the hall, he stretched around the corner to check on Merry. There was the afghan; there were the shoes under the coffee table. No Merry, though. Well there aren"t a whole lot of other places to go in this cracker box, he thought to himself, and figured the kitchen was worth a shot. He was right. Before he got through the doorway he saw her standing by the stove, staring out the tall window that looked out on the open area in back that passed for a tenant parking lot (as if anybody was crazy enough to leave a car there). The mercury vapor lights that didn"t discourage much of anyone from much of anything shone through the window like some cheap electric moon. What the hell was she staring at? He wasn"t sure how to approach her without scaring her to death. "Sorry if I woke you," she said. Mike jumped a mile. "Christ! You could warn a person before you give them a heart attack." When she turned around the backlight kept most of her face invisible, leaving just a weird halo around her head. "Sorry," she repeated. He was dressed in sweatpants and a ratty NYPD t-shirt, thick dark hair sticking out all over. He looked about 12 years old. He looked good enough to make her catch her breath. "You okay? My gut is doing the rhumba too, I got some stuff in the bathroom." She shook her head. The truth was Merry wasn"t quite sure why she woke up. Once she was halfway conscious, though, the narrow confines of the sofa made her think, just for a second, she was back in that women"s prison upstate on that skinny little bed in a strange place. Well she was in a strange place, all right. She"d managed to grope her way to the bathroom without making a racket, and had groped her way back to the living room when the spill of the light from the kitchen window caught her attention. Moonlight, she thought, but stood corrected once she got to the funny little window in a place you wouldn"t expect a window to be, sandwiched between the stove and the cabinets, too narrow for a table. "I"m fine. I just was noticing the view. I know it sounds a little weird, but the way the streetlight shines on all that broken glass is kind of cool." Mike blinked. Weird? Not much. "Uh, right, the postcards are bestsellers at the bodega down the street." Merry turned back to the window without comment. "Sorry." He went to the window and stood next to Merry, surprised to see what looked like millions of diamonds scattered sparkling on the ground. Not much else was visible within the wedge of streetlight, and nothing at all beyond. "Hey, you"re right. It looks like a whole different place. Thank god." After a minute he remembered to ask. "So what woke you up? I gave you my excuse." Merry turned to look up at Mike, strangely comfortable in spite of their close proximity and the odd situation. "I thought I was back in jail," she said simply. Mike"s instinct was to crack wise, thanks a lot, but there was something haunted in her eyes so instead he acknowledged, "That was hard, having to be there even for a few days." Was. Not "must have been", not "I know it was". Merry was mindful of the most predictable benign responses she could have heard, but didn"t. "It was that. But the reason why was harder." She still held that part inside, never talking about it to her coworkers. She played mad as hell, and was, but kept the cut-to-the-bone part to herself until now. Somehow she knew this was a safe time and place to open the door a little wider, sure he wouldn"t jump too far in. "Yeah. Getting screwed goes to a whole new level when it"s a friend doing it." That"s not what he"d said upstate. "Whatever happened to not taking it personally? All that "it"s not about you, it"s about him" crap?" "That was before." "Before what?" "Before I saw that look on your face I just saw." Mike surprised himself by touching Merry"s cheek with light fingers. She surprised herself by not jumping him then and there. More was going on here than hormones, and whatever it was had to be left at its own speed. "Besides," he continued, "some things deserve to be taken personally." He caught himself and added, "But not everything. Just some things. I mean... you know what I mean." The mini-spell was broken by his awkward verbal tap dance, and Merry laughed. "It"s okay, I know what you mean. In fact it"s kind of scary, I think I"ve always known what you mean. If I had any doubts, you killed "em when you cuffed me." She also had zero doubt that he, too, knew exactly what she meant. That nanosecond"s delay as he steadied her hands, making sure his partner didn"t see. Or maybe it was the spontaneity that convinced her. Unplanned moments, she figured, were a rarity for Mike Logan. She could read that tendency a mile away, because she shared it. He smiled, almost. "Busted. You should pardon the expression." Suddenly they both yawned in perfect unison, then cracked up. Also in perfect unison. "I"m good to go back to sleep," Merry confessed, and shuffled back to the sofa with Mike trailing behind. Please don"t ask me to join you somewhere more comfortable, she begged silently. Please don"t start rushing the game when I"m so likely to fold. He didn"t disappoint her. "Fine by me. You need anything?" "Nah." She settled on the sofa and pulled up the afghan. "Crisis hour is over." He looked confused, so she explained, "Crisis hour. For me it"s 2am, always. Anything leftover from the day that"s gonna wake me up comes calling at 2am, guaranteed." "Uh-huh. You are one psycho broad, you know that?" he smiled down at her. "Some people use the other "b" word. But I"ll take a break if I can get it." Merry smiled inwardly as she felt Mike pull the bottom of the afghan down and tuck it under her feet. "Consider it gotten," he assured her. "And my crisis hours tend to come by ambush. Maybe you can teach me how to schedule them nice and neat." "Sure," the sleepy promise faded in his ears as he went down the hall to the bedroom. Just before going in he turned and looked back in the direction of the living room. Compared to his usual dates this one qualified as science fiction. The Body Snatchers. Yeah, he thought as he crawled back into bed, somebody has snatched Mike Logan and replaced him with a lookalike who doesn"t think with his gonads. Who knew the change would feel so natural, even if it was loud enough to wake the dead. "C"mon Logan, give! How did your date with Ms. Catch-and-Release go?" Profaci, like Greevey, wanted to hear all the details. The difference was he was hoping for the typical kiss (etc.) and tell, while Max was hoping to hear something a little less superficial. "She"s not a fish, Profaci. And you know I went home early, we didn"t go to the concert." Mike was being unusually tight-lipped for a guy who was known to broadcast his conquests far and wide, and without delay. Profaci wasn"t only disappointed, he was confused. "Jesus, Mike, you keeping it for your memoirs? All I asked is how it went." His face was plastered with the same "who me?" expression as every perp they walked into lockup. Swallowing a gulp of coffee, Mike riveted his colleague with the look that said Shut Up. The look that nobody much argued with, mostly because there was no point. "It went fine. We had pizza and a movie. Happy? Or do you wanna have me dusted for prints?" "Jesus, what a mood," Profaci muttered as he slouched away to get some work done. "She shut him down," he winked at another detective, and returned to his desk. After a respectable period of silent paperwork Max observed rather too brightly, "Pizza and a movie, that doesn"t sound bad." He knew that Mike knew he wasn"t dredging for details, at least not the same kind as the rest of the squad. "Considering what you"d planned for yourself, I mean. I figured the worst that could happen, you"d tell her to get lost." Logan rolled his head in reluctant acknowledgment. "Yeah, well, I think you"re lying through your teeth now." He looked up from his papers straight at his partner. "I think you knew nobody was gonna get lost." A worried frown was the first response. "So it was a bad idea, huh?" Now Logan dropped his pencil and leaned forward, looking very serious. "No Max, that"s just it. It was a great idea. She showed up with two pizzas and two Cagney movies. And this," he handed a wad of cash to Greevey. "She found a buyer for the tickets. Or he found her, according to her." Max whistled as he counted the bills. "Mikey, this is way more than you borrowed from me. Not that I"m gonna turn her in." His partner was shaking his head. "Keep it, you earned it. If she hadn"t come by I"d have spent the night reading page ten of McBain a thousand times and trying to forget that little girl"s face and how much I wanna pop her parents. So instead I ate too much pizza and watched Cagney be a bad guy"s bad guy for a few hours." "You talk about it?" "No," Mike told him in a wondering voice, "she said only bartenders get you to talk. Bouncers feed you pizza." Max was smiling, Buddha-like. "What?" "Nothin. So?" "So we pigged out and watched two movies. Or I watched two movies. She fell asleep halfway through the second one." He paused, then looked earnestly again at Max, his eyes a little wider. "She spent the night on the sofa, Max. I spent the night in the bedroom. No discussion. No tapdancing around do we or don"t we. I just covered her up with the afghan and went to bed." Max"s smile had widened considerably. "Mikey, I"d say you"ve achieved a breakthrough. Unless of course you just weren"t interested." "Oh, I was interested. In fact I"m glad she didn"t make a move because I"m not sure I"d have said no. But the thing is, I didn"t make a move. Max you know me, I always make a move. But this time it just didn"t seem, well, part of the agenda, you know?" "You mean you were more interested in getting to know her in the non-biblical sense?" "Yeah, smart guy, like that. And we didn"t even do a lot of that kind of talk either. She woke up, middle of the night, I found her in the kitchen looking out the window at the vacant lot. She said she woke up and thought she was back in jail." "Ouch." "No, not like that. Just one of those where-am-I moments or something. I was up because of pizza overdose. So we just stood there, just a few minutes. We didn"t say much, but..." he trailed off. "It counted?" Finally Mike smiled, reassured by his partner"s confirmation. "Yeah, it counted. And we returned to our respective corners, and Saturday we got up, had coffee, and she went home. Said she"d call. Or I would. Something." "You good with that?" Logan leaned back in his chair, smiling and nodding. "Yeah, I"m good with that. I gotta say it was kind of nice waking up and not wondering what we were supposed to say. It was just," "Natural." The smile was positively beatific. Mike suddenly snapped out of it. "You gotta stop this, Max. If you get too good at reading my mind I"m gonna have to request another partner." "Uh-huh." Back to work. "So how"s detective wonderful? Did you rock the night away?" Louie quizzed Merry on Monday. The bar was closed on Mondays, but they did scheduling and inventory for the week. He"d come to depend on Merry for record-keeping stuff, since she"d been working for him the longest. Six years, since she"d moved to New York from Boston where she"d lived with a great aunt and some cousins. Her parents had died when she was a teenager, just a year or two apart. When her great aunt also died, she figured it was a good time to go exploring. Just short of thirty years old, college educated, but who was gonna find a job with a degree in English Lit? She seemed steady and her references checked out, so Louie hired her as a part-time bouncer (he didn"t mind hiring women as bouncers, they were good at dealing with problem patrons before things got ugly), part-time back office help. Those kinds of people never seemed to stay on, but she seemed satisfied with the job. Or at least she hadn"t come up with a better idea yet. When all that shit went down with that Brian guy Louie was not a happy camper, having his business disrupted with that kind of crap. You don"t need cops coming around your bar, it drives the customers away. But he was more than happy to hire her back once that mook Joey confessed about one of the stupidest things Louie had ever heard of. He knew Joey and Merry had "bonded", like they say on those idiot talk shows, but that was just messed up what he did. Joey was a good kid but not the sharpest corkscrew in the drawer, and now he"d have 15 years or so to think about it. "Back off, Louie, before I call the labor board." Merry was always accusing him of harassment. All he had to do is lift an eyebrow and she"d say, "Hey, hey, keep it professional." They both knew she was just bullshitting. Louie wasn"t exactly Father Flanagan but he never put the moves on his staff and cheerfully 86"d any customer who crossed the line with them. This time, though, he wouldn"t back off. Aside from the question of why she didn"t have a boyfriend (not that her difficult work schedule would have made an impression) Louie was weirdly fascinated by the fact that when she finally did decide to socialize, she did it with one of the cops that busted her. Go figure. "Blah, blah, labor board my ass. How was the concert?" He was, truth to tell, a little jealous. He was a longtime fan of Clapton himself. Merry put down her clipboard and gave Louie the hairy eyeball. As private as she was, mostly because it never occurred to her to be otherwise, she was secretly pleased to have someone to tell about it. Even Louie. It was such different territory for her, being careful about something that usually didn"t rate really high on her priority list of things to be careful about. "We didn"t go. He had a bad day, so we stayed in and had pizza and watched movies." "Really." Louie and Profaci swam in the same distant gene pool. "Yeah, really. I fell asleep on the sofa. Which is where I stayed, all night. Except for when I woke up and wandered in to the kitchen, and he got up for a seltzer for his stomach. We just talked a few minutes. Nothing, really." "Nothing much, you mean." Louie tipped her a wink that was not at all suggestive. "That"s okay, Merry. I get the feeling this guy is different for you, huh?" He patted her arm in a paternal fashion, even though at 40 he was only a few years older. "I"m glad you had a good time. It"s been awhile." "Yeah Louie, it has been that." Back to work. Joey Attardo"s prison suicide attempt made the news for a number of reasons. One, because any prison suicide woke up the press. Another because the case had made news of its own, as in anytime a felony conviction got overturned it likewise woke up the press. It was on the news on every local station, and the TV was on in the bar that late Saturday afternoon. "Holy shit," Jenna the bartender gasped. "Joey hung himself. Merry," Jenna called in the back where Merry was writing up some extra orders, "you gotta see this!" What Merry saw was the breathless coverage of the attempted suicide of "the man who gave himself up to save his girlfriend from prison", inaccurate in detail but correct in general. Found hanging in his prison cell by his cellmate who"d just returned with the other block prisoners from dinner. Attardo had begged sickness but didn"t ask to go to the infirmary. He"d torn strips of sheet and managed to hang himself from the grille over the recessed light fixture. He hadn"t been under psychiatric care. His cellmate said to authorities "he never talked too much. Like he still couldn"t believe he was here. I figure he expected a break for turning himself in." Also inaccurate in detail, but correct in general. Apparently the transition from everyday bouncer to convicted murderer was not one he felt able to make, the newscaster pronounced sagely. Back to you, Bob. Merry stood gaping up at the commercial now dancing across the screen. He"d called her once or twice, recently in fact. Asking again if she"d ever visit, saying he wanted to tell her face to face exactly how sorry he was for what he"d done to her. Obviously she couldn"t just call him back in prison just like that as if he had his own phone in his cell, but she"d been home for one of the calls, but hadn"t picked up. She"d told Jenna the next day.

When she"d left James yanked off his jacket in disgust and flung it on the chair before turning to glare at Alesha. "Bloody hell. I"m a barrister, not a bookmaker, and I"m damned if I"ll let George turn this office into a betting parlour." In the waiting lounge outside of James Steel"s office Annie almost wandered right into a tall balding man with piercing blue eyes. Good god, does every man in London have blue eyes? Mattie, Ronnie, James Steel, and now this one... suddenly she knew who he was. "Mr. Castle." The man stopped, turned, and with the charm of someone used to using it socially said, "Yes, George Castle, director of Crown Prosecution Service. You are a visitor from the Colonies, I"ll wager. And you have the advantage of me, m"dear." His Scots brogue was only a little watered by his years in London. "Annie Roland." Hands full, she didn"t offer hers to shake. Which was just as well because he stood there as if carved from (smiling) stone. She continued in an almost casual voice, "Your Mr. Steel has explained everything. And I"m sure, because it must have happened before, you believe this is done and over. But it"s not." She shook her head, and repeated under her breath, (not at all). Remembering again what Mattie (and Gil, and Dad) told her, she looked George Castle in the eye. "Important to remember, it really isn"t over at all." She left him standing there, staring after her as she walked away. "You set me up!" George blustered as he burst into James"s office. "Both of you... you set that wee mad creature out there to lie in wait and threaten me because we decided not to prosecute!" "Oh that"s right George, we planned our whole day-book around your unscheduled arrival," Steel dismissed, his voice dripping sarcasm. "Just so her first days in London wouldn"t be a total loss." Alesha was no more pleased than James, and added, "And she showed a lot more grace than some have when they"ve gotten the same news." "I"m telling you," Castle protested, "she threatened me! She threatened the CPS with... I don"t know what." His brow furrowed. James was too disgusted to argue and sat down at his desk to continue other work. Alesha, however, rolled her eyes. "Well what did she say that has you so wound up, then?" she asked. "She seemed calm enough when she left." Then she added under her breath, "Calmer than I"d have been." "That"s exactly what she did," George paced to James"s desk and as the latter was still ignoring him he turned back to Alesha. "Muttering under her breath as if she were casting some dark spell." "Oh for..." Alesha had had enough. "I"ve got work to do... James I"ll be in my office." "She said, "this isn"t over"," George declared as if making the key point in a closing argument. "She said I probably imagined it was, because she knew it had happened before. Then she muttered something unintelligible, and followed it quite plainly with words to the effect that it was important that I remember it is not over." As he sometimes did, George continued the conversation quite on his own, outmaneuvering any objections by appealing to reason. He stopped pacing and paused to lean on James"s desk, to force him to pay attention. "Now James you know I don"t enjoy this sort of thing, especially not when it involves someone close to someone we know well and work with. Surely you must see..." But James was only nodding here and there, not looking up from his papers. "Yanks, always wanting to sue," George complained. Then he pulled up short. "James, she didn"t mention trying to sue, did she?" Budget hearings were not far off and the last thing he needed was a litigious American with a grudge against the CPS to make things harder for him with the Home Secretary. This brought Alesha charging out of her office again. "For heaven"s sake she"s only just arrived and pretty much the first thing she saw was her brother lying dead on a stretcher. She"s barely managed to get a solicitor to help her settle her brother"s bank accounts and the final sale of her mother"s home... her mother died less than a year ago, by the way, and her father the year before that. She"s on her way with Matt to pick up her brother"s ashes, so I hardly think she"s up to charging off in search of another solicitor to help her bring down the Crown with a failure-to-prosecute suit." James, who in fact had been listening, suddenly felt something click in his head. Without looking up he commented with a casual shrug, "She"s right, of course, George, Annie Roland hardly has the knowledge or wherewithal to attempt an American-style lawsuit here." He paused, and caught Alesha"s eye. "Besides, Americans have begun to run to the press with things like this. Now that I think of it..." He left his papers and cocked his head as if trying to remember something more clearly. "She did say something about the inscription over the Old Bailey... that there must be others left in her position, maybe they could get together and demand truth in advertising... something about it being a betting parlour instead of a courthouse." Alesha"s eyes widened, but she said nothing. "Good God. So that"s what she meant." George"s bluster evaporated, replaced by hesitation. "The press. Bloody hell." He"d rather face a football stadium full of hostile barristers than a mob of Fleet street vultures. He shook his head then, and pointed a finger at James. "Fine then. Tilt at your latest windmill, but by God you"d better put together something to present that won"t sound like Martian mouth music to a jury." Now Alesha smiled, remembering how Gil Roland had once described his sister. "Annie Roland is among the greatest living translators of Geek to Luddite, according to her brother." This knocked George down another peg. He"d quite forgotten that Alesha had met the victim and knew him, however slightly, through Matt Devlin. "Meaning no disrespect," he told her,"you knew him didn"t you. Yes, well... I"ve got some work of my own to do..." He set off for his office, seeming disoriented by the sudden loss of dramatic momentum. But James still wasn"t satisfied. Rising smoothly he called after his boss, wearing the subtlest of Cheshire cat smiles, "Just so we"re on the same page, George... you"re saying go ahead with this." No question mark. "Yes, James, we are on the same bloody page. Just try not to shred the balance sheet." When George had gone Alesha almost doubled up with a laugh of disbelief. "My God James that was wicked, you know she didn"t mean it that way!" It was James"s turn to roll his eyes. "You know as well as I do that there is a difference between misquoting and creative editing. I can"t help it if George fills in the blanks against his own interest... now get back the files on the Roland case. Find out everything you can about Ralph Baxter and Homecoming Foundation and any other businesses he had. Also learn everything you can about the Rolands" company Web Wizards. Who were their other clients, I remember seeing something about a number of pro bono jobs for schools. I"ll call MIU and track down Matt and Annie to let them know we"re going forward." It was true, this wasn"t the first time they"d had to face angry and bereft loved ones, but Annie Roland"s quiet rebuke had struck him a little more sharply than some others. After Alesha had retreated to her office to organize her research plans James sat down again and punched up MIU"s phone number. As it rang he muttered to himself, "Betting parlour my arse... that"ll be the day." A/N: "mouth music"- a Scottish vocal style in wide use during the rule of Oliver Cromwell, when musical instruments were outlawed. It is a combination of Scots Gaelic and nonsense words, used as a substitute for instrumental music for dancing (which also was outlawed). Google "Norman Kennedy", a renowned master of the art to learn more... Matt tried to keep the torch steady with one hand while keeping a firm grip on the oblong paper-wrapped package with the other. He forced himself to think of it as a rugby ball (for the moment anyway) and not the final remains of his best mate. It was no small feat with Annie inches behind matching him step for step, gloved hand clamped onto the back of his jacket. The steps were dry but rain was hanging low in the clouds that obscured the moon. Bloody Gilbert and his bloody last wishes, Matt thought. But he wouldn"t have departed from the plan if his life were at stake. Gil wanted his ashes scattered into the Thames by the Globe Theater (sharing his family"s passion for Shakespeare), so here they were at 10 o"clock on a Thursday night fresh from the CPS insult, and thank God there were no big events on at the Theater or the museums. Now if Annie didn"t stumble and pitch them both into the river, they might just get Gil"s last wish sorted. "Matt, this can"t be legal," Annie repeated for the seventh or eight time, casting nervous looks over her shoulder and up the dank stairs leading back to South Bank end of the Southwark Bridge. She knew the place from her first visit to London while Gil and Matt were still at University. They"d made a point of including their "thought spot" in the tour they gave her. From what she"d gathered, they"d come here frequently under cover of darkness to sit on the ancient boatmen"s steps and unwind after exams, or between exams, or after completing papers, or in preparation for papers, or for any other occasion that required solitude and a quantity of alcohol and moaning about life and school. "Trust me, this is probably the most legal thing I"ve done here in my life," Matt assured her as they reached the small brickwork landing. "Besides, you"re a foreigner and I"m a copper. You can plead ignorance, and I can claim investigation. Now... give Bruce a good seat." He pointed the torch at one of the steps behind him. "Don"t want him falling in." Annie pulled the stuffed bear from her big purse and sat it squarely on the third step up, and put her purse next to him for safekeeping. She took the torch Matt handed to her and watched him unwrap the several layers of brown paper until only a small, lidless cardboard box remained. The narrow torch beam and the faint wash from the streetlights above gave the scene a surreal air; Annie watched Matt as if witnessing a magician"s trick. Alakazam! I"m back! Matt would wave his hand and set down the box, and Gillie would step out with that "gotcha" grin that made her want to smack him. But Matt didn"t set the box down. He dipped his hand inside and brought out a great heap of grey grit and ash and, leaning carefully over the edge of the landing, swept his hand from side to side. A fan of silver floated out over the water on the very slight breeze. After a moment he repeated the actions, taking care to leave enough for Annie to follow suit. Before he turned back to her he announced over the water, "There you go mate. Unbound by computers and off to the wide world, just like you wanted. We"ll go no more a roving, and all that." His voice faltered on the last words and he just stood there, trying to follow the dimly visible plume in the water as it sailed into the brighter beam of the lights lining the South Bank walk above. -still we"ll go no more a roving by the light of the moon- Annie murmured the line very quietly then said aloud, "Byron? I wouldn"t have figured you for Byron." "Well we were mad bad and dangerous to know back in the day, your brother and me. When we got good and pissed he"d recite that Byron thing and if anyone was around of course they got the wrong idea, all that heart just as loving and moon just as bright stuff," Matt recalled as he turned to face Annie with a wry smile. "Guess I"m fated to always be giving people the wrong idea with you Rolands, feeding the bisexual pseudo-incest fantasies of humanity." "Anyway, who"d believe a Mickey copper could get that lucky?" she teased gently. She sighed then and stuffed her gloves in her pockets, and swapped the torch for the box. "My turn, I guess." She stood at the edge of the landing (Matt"s hands firmly locked on her parka) and dipped her hand once, twice, and once again, until nothing remained in the box, which she tossed into the Thames to follow Gil downriver on his journey. "I can"t think of anything to say," she confessed, in great distress. "It"s all right, there"s nothing to say you haven"t told him before. He knew everything about you already." Annie stepped back and held her hands palm up between them, staring at the grey smudges remaining, and started to cry. "I can"t believe this is all that"s left." She was afraid to move, afraid she"d accidentally wipe away the last of the brother who"d been there all of her life and would never be again. Just then the rain started, and washed the smudges away to flow into the river, where he wanted to be. "You know better than that." Matt stooped to pick up the torch and when he stood he pulled the hood of her parka up and hugged an arm around her. "I know you know better." She nodded, sniffled a bit then followed him back up to the river walk, pausing to pick up her bag after tucking Bruce snugly inside. As they walked to the car park she asked, "When did he tell you about this? I mean about what he wanted done? I mean he never told me anything about this." A pained softness sounded in the words. Matt answered, "Well you didn"t tell him about that design instructor you were shagging in uni, did ya?" When she stopped and stared he added quickly, "Neither did I, I swear." "That was different!" "Right." He pulled her along by the hand, wanting to get to the car and out of the rain. "Remind me, why did you tell me instead of him then?" "Because I knew you"d understand, and he"d freak out." He unlocked the door and pushed her in, neither one of them noticing the hand-on-the-head that usually accompanied taking someone into custody. "And why do you suppose he told me about this, and not you?" She didn"t answer. "I seem to remember the words "Annie would go spare"." He went around to the driver"s side and slid behind the wheel. "Some secrets are wisely kept, or so you both told me at the time." As Matt started the car he noticed Annie staring hard out the windscreen, mouth moving, words not-quite-audible. "In or out, Dreamboat, in or out, pick one." Meaning, "in your head or out of your mouth". It was another way to persuade Annie to keep her "thinks" in her head when appropriate. "What happens next?" She turned to him, looking completely disoriented. "Why can"t I figure out what happens next?" Matt reached out to tip her forehead against his. "Because it"s my turn. And right now we"re going to check you out of that hotel and move you into my gaff. I already made room in the closets and set up the spare room for the things you got back from CSIU." "Oh, right. I guess the Crown can"t object anymore now that they"ve written us off." Matt"s hands clenched white on the wheel. "Bugger the Crown," he growled. "We"ll get sorted without "em." A/N: "No More A-Roving", by George Gordon Lord Byron, a poignant farewell. Byron was described by one of his many mistresses as "mad, bad, and dangerous to know." "No, I"m good. I"m way out of practice." Annie turned down the full tumbler of Bushmill"s Matt offered, poured from the bottle he"d picked up on the way back from Southwark. She and Matt and Gil had spent more than their fair share of drunken nights over the years, but the truth was Annie wasn"t just deferring to good judgement; if she had much more she"d be on her face. And that would be abjectly embarrassing, despite everything that had happened since her arrival. "Great, more for me." He had the next two days off for personal leave and was taking full advantage. "He"s finally got a chance to spend some personal time with his only last link to his best mate," Ronnie had told the boss. "I can press gang some PC to help with our cases if I have to. He needs a chance to grieve, Guv, and this is the best chance he"s got." DI Chandler was predictably inclined to agree so after "sending Gil on his way" as Matt described it, he and Annie were free to spend the night as freely as they liked. Annie had seen Matt loaded before - "pissed" she corrected herself internally - but never with such determined purpose as tonight. "Good thing the Crown can do without you the next couple of days," she noted as he flopped onto the sofa beside her, setting the bottle on the table so precariously she reached out to steady it. "Bugger the Crown." He held the bottle somewhat less than firmly until it stopped wobbling. "Steady mum, I"ve got it." "So now... what comes next?" It was a question that came to Annie as habitually as breathing and it felt unnatural to ask it of someone else, even Matt. "The company is in limbo so I have no job. No home in the States, no home here. Even when I sell the flat, immigration is screwed up because I don"t have a job anymore. And now that Gil"s death isn"t considered a crime... no law can help me." She wouldn"t consider even setting foot in the King"s Cross flat, and planned to find a way to sell it, but didn"t yet know how. For the first time she could remember Annie was without a "real world" and was scared to death. Matt focused with a huge effort. "I"ll talk to Angie... she knows geek jobs. Alesha has friends in the Foreign Office. We"ll get you fixed up, I promise." He leaned sideways and pulled Annie over to lay a sloppy kiss against her head. "Promise. And this is home as long as you want." But there was something else scaring Annie, something bad. She"d never been able to sensibly order her emotions like she did her work, so they came out a little disjointed sometimes, but Matt"s dive into the whiskey bottle made her think of things she didn"t dare keep to herself. "Stop," she told him, taking the bottle from his hand before he could pour another one. "Stop swilling this cheap shit painkiller and talk to me." He was more puzzled than displeased. "I am talking to you, I"m telling you we"re gonna get you set up here, I"m telling you you don"t have to worry. Why are you looking at me like I"ve got three heads?" She didn"t know how to lead in, so she just jumped. "I"m remembering that time you called me after you found out how your friend died." "Pete," Matt said. "What the hell has you thinking about that?" God knows he didn"t like to think about it, even a year or more on. "You called me, middle of the night so here it had to be four in the morning, Gil was in Edinburgh I think, and you didn"t want to wake Judy, you called me and I saw you on caller i.d. and thought oh, Matt and Gil fell out over some girl, or you were upset about a case and I know you didn"t take that to Gillie even though he wouldn"t have minded. Maybe it"s because I was so far away it didn"t feel like it all was piling up right here..." Matt shook his head, smiling in spite of the painful subject. "Blimey, I"m the one pissed but you"re the one not making sense." When Annie grabbed his arm hard his smile evaporated. "Mattie, now you"re not talking to me, not about this, about how I know it"s tearing you up inside, you"re a copper, and you couldn"t do anything for him, it was too late... you"ve called me before in the middle of the night, for stuff like that, that your job always sets you up to be too late to stop and if you"re lucky you can keep it from happening to somebody else." He would have interrupted, told her to slow down, but she was beginning to look and sound frantic so he didn"t try to stop her as she jumped to her feet and paced back and forth. "I never have any wise words but I listen, don"t I always, and I told you over and over that night you called about Pete, that you still had Judy, and Gil, and me, even when we didn"t know what to answer you wouldn"t be all alone with it like Pete was. But now I"m right here, I couldn"t be at first but now I am, and you"re not talking to me, you"re keeping all alone with it, and I know you don"t really blame yourself and I could tell if you were lying when you say that helping me helps you, but that," she paused for breath then declared in an increasingly shaky voice as she pointed at the whiskey bottle, "that can twist you all around, you know that, and what if it did and I wasn"t here, it could make you do something dark and final like Pete did." She was shaking now, dry-eyed but shaking badly. She stopped pacing, and her voice dropped and she looked away. (I got nobody left, Pete didn"t talk and you"re not talking) He heard every word just like always and when she looked at him again with wide scared eyes at last something clicked in Matt"s whiskey-fogged brain. "Oh Annie, no." He stood and reached for her, kicking over the bottle, and pulled her closer by one hand. "I won"t go where Pete went, I"m never gonna do that, I"d never leave you alone like that..." She grabbed him around the neck so hard and so suddenly he had to lean back to keep them from falling onto the floor. "Matt promise, promise me, you"ll tell me if it starts getting dark in your head, you"ll tell me!" "I promise, I swear, you believe me, right?" He pulled her head up from his shoulder and made her look him in the eye.

"Danvers he"s crashing" Marge screamed as the emergency alarm went off. Brenda sat there in shock as Dr. Danvers rushed off to save Dylan"s life. She just hoped he was in time. ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ Ok so there was chapter 3. Hope you all liked it! Please let me know what you think! Cassie"s flame policy still stands. I"m just going to go hide now before the angry mob comes. *hides behind Randall and Bert* AN: Ok so last night I realized how much this story is helping me deal with my emotions from when my best friend was in a serious accident. I had been holding them in, but this has helped tremendously! So I want to thank you all for your support and reviews as the journey continues on! Enjoy! ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ "Dylan" Brenda whispered. She listened to the sounds of the doctors and nurses barking out directions and the sound of machines going haywire. She didn"t know what to do. She wanted nothing more than to run to his side and yell at him to fight, to live for her, but she couldn"t do that. She wouldn"t have been any help that way. So instead of being there with him, she was stuck in the waiting room as he fought for his life. "Brenda?" Brandon asked as he came back, a coke and sandwich in hand. Brenda waited for him to set everything down before she launched herself at him. He wrapped her in a tight hug, knowing that something was going on. His sister wasn"t normally like this, but she needed his comfort. "They are losing him" she sobbed. Marge looked on with a sympathetic face. She couldn"t imagine being in Brenda"s position, not knowing whether the love of her life would wake up or not. Whether he would live to see tomorrow or not. It broke her heart that she had to watch someone so young go through something like that. Just then the beeping stopped and Dr. Danvers left the room, heading straight for them. All three heads snapped to him to hear what he had to say. "He crashed again, but we don"t know what caused it. I will monitor him closer now that I know something is causing this to see if I can figure it out. Right now he is in a coma, but he can still hear you. I think it might be a good idea if you go talk to him. It might jog his brain as to remembering why he needs to wake up" he explained. Brenda and Brandon nodded. Danvers smiled and set his hand on Brenda"s shoulder. "I have seen a lot of patients in my day, but Dylan is a fighter and I believe he will beat the odds and come through this. He just needs you to get through the difficult times right now" he said. Brenda smiled. He reminded her of her father and his kind nature. "Thanks Dr. Danvers" she whispered. He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze before he left to go check on his other patients. Brenda went and sat down in the chair. She put her head in her hands and tried not to cry again. "Why don"t you eat the sandwich and drink your coke and then go talk to Dylan. You heard the doctor. He needs you to help him get through this road block his mind has put up. Go talk to him" Brandon said. Brenda just shrugged. "Brenda, don"t do this. He will be ok. He is a fighter you know that! He won"t give up just because the odds are stacked against him. So don"t doubt him" he said. Brenda looked up, tears in her eyes yet again. She knew he was right, yet her mind couldn"t get past the fact that there still was a possibility that he could not wake up or that he could still die. She stood up and opened the coke and took a large swig of it before she put the cap back on and set it back down. She squared her shoulders and walked to the door. She turned and shot Brandon a small smile before she pushed the door open and stepped inside. She walked over to the bed and took in his appearance. Brenda pulled the plastic chair up next to his bed. She grabbed her hand and brought it to her lips. She kissed the back of it and held it to her cheek so she knew he still had a fighting chance. "Your doctor, Danvers, told me you could hear me. Brandon convinced me to come talk to you. We still have to tell the rest of the gang, but I don"t want to worry them until I know you are out of the dark. I can"t lose you Dylan. I love you" she said. She hated that he couldn"t respond to her. She hated that he was, for all intents and purposes, a vegetable. She needed him to open his eyes and tell her that he loved her too. She needed the person Dylan was, not this vulnerable version. "I never hated you for what you did. I was just hurting when I said those things. I can"t lose you Dylan. My heart belongs to you." Brenda gently set his hand back down and stood up, kissing him on the forehead before she put the chair back and headed back out to the waiting room. The tears continued to roll down her cheeks as she stood in front of Brandon, noticing he was hurting too. Dylan was his best friend and neither of them knew if he would ever wake up again or not. Suddenly the beeping started again in Dylan"s room. Brenda swung around and Brandon"s head snapped up as they watched doctors come and go. Danvers stopped at the doorway to give them a reassuring smile right before he headed in himself. Brenda"s heart sunk. She hoped things were ok. She stood watching the door unmoving as she waited for news. When she saw the doctor walk towards her, she was nervous, scared. She didn"t want to know what happened this time. She didn"t know if her heart could handle it. As he approached, Brandon came and stood next to her. "He"s awake and asking for you Ms. McKay" Dr. Danvers said with a large smile covering his face. Dylan had to have been one of the most stubborn patients he had ever had. Even with almost losing him twice since the accident happened, Dylan still came through when there was almost no hope that he would. Brenda stood up and ran past the doctor into the room. She stood in the door and watched as a small, drug induced smile came across his face. She smile wider and wiped the tears off of her face, which was a useless task seeming that the sad tears were replaced with tears of joy. She crossed the room in short, fast strides as she walked up to his bed. She grabbed his right hand in hers and stroked his hair away from his face. She could see cuts and bruises, but she knew he would survive this time. She leaned down and kissed each cut before she kissed him soundly on the lips. He was alive and that was all she wanted and needed. ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ Ok so he is awake and no cliffy seeing that my brother and boyfriend are no help! Ugh! Hehe jk love you both! Ok so let me know what you think, Cassie"s flame policy still stand (I don"t even know if she knows I stole it yet) thanks for reading! AN: Ok so I wrote this in dedication to three special people... Crys, Lyns, and Ren Victoria. Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing, and all of you I didn"t specifically mention, thank you! Now here we get to see some of Brenda and Dylan communicate! WARNING: Talks about the car accident! ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ "Brenda" he whispered hoarsely. Brenda let the tears of joy fall as she kissed Dylan once more. He tried to raise his hand but couldn"t move it. He started to panic when he couldn"t move his other arm or legs either. "Brenda" he said panicking. Brenda smoothed his hair down as she shushed him slightly. "They said you would be temporarily paralyzed. You did some pretty bad damage to your spine babe" Brenda said. Dylan"s panic eased, but he still didn"t like it. Just as he was about to respond, there was a knock at the door and a uniformed police officer entered. "Hello Mr. and Ms. McKay. I"m Officer Randy Goings and I was wondering if we could talk about what happened this evening. Dylan gulped wearily, but he nodded none the less. Officer Goings stepped further into the room. He pulled a plastic chair up to the end of the bed and pulled out a notepad and pen. "Alright Mr. McKay, can you tell me what happened tonight?" "I was driving to meet up with Brenda at the Peach Pit. I was coming up to the ravine and saw a driver headed towards me. He was weaving all over the road. I tried to avoid him. When he got closer I stopped the car and waited for him to pass. As he got closer though he drifted into my lane and he was headed for me head on. I was afraid he was going to hit me so I laid on my horn. I figured it would get his attention. Unfortunately it didn"t. I hit the gas and turned the wheel. I was trying to get out of his way when he hit me and my car slid on the wet pavement into the ravine. That"s all I remember" he said. Randy jotted down a few notes before another man knocked on the door and popped his head in. He motioned for Randy to come closer. Brenda and Dylan watched as they whispered quietly before the other man entered as well. "Mr. and Ms. McKay, this is my partner Officer Bert Vansing. He has some information for you all." "Mr. and Ms. McKay I would just like to let you aware of the fact that we have caught the driver of the other vehicle and have given him a breathalyzer test. He blew a 1.8" officer Vansing said. Both Dylan and Brenda let out a breath of relief. He had been caught and justice would be served properly. "Now, we need to head back to the station, but here is my card" he said handing Brenda the card. On it was his home, office, and cell number along with his partner"s information as well. "Contact one of us at anytime if you have any questions" he said. Brenda and Dylan both nodded and watched the officers leave the room. Brenda tucked the card in her pocket and moved to pull the plastic chair back to the side of the bed. Dylan smiled at her. She beamed back at him. "I thought I lost you for good this time Dylan and there was no way we could make things up" she whispered. Dylan wanted to reach up and wipe the tears off of her beautiful face, but he couldn"t move and it killed him. It hurt that he couldn"t be the strong man she depended on. "I"m alive beautiful. I"m alive, not completely healthy yet but I"m alive and I plan on staying that way for a very long time" he whispered. Brenda picked up his hand and held it to her cheek like she did when he was in a coma. "I know, but this all seems so surreal. It feels like it is just one big dream and soon I will wake up and you won"t be here" she whispered. Dylan nodded. It felt the same way to him too. It didn"t seem real when he was waiting for darkness to take over earlier. He had hoped it was all a dream, but alas, he couldn"t get that lucky. He just couldn"t catch a break in life. It was just one thing after another. "I know Brenda, I know. I feel the same way babe. But unfortunately it is real and we will handle it" Dylan said. He could feel the tears start to gather in his eyes because he wanted to do nothing more than pull her into his arms and tell her it was alright, but he couldn"t do that. He couldn"t feel anything below his neck and that scared him. What it he would never be able to walk or move again? Would Brenda still love him? "Hey, it"s alright baby. Shh" Brenda whispered as Dylan started to sob. He was scared. This wasn"t the way things were supposed to go and he hated the turn of events. He hated whatever higher power there was that they couldn"t give him a break. "You will be just fine once your body has healed. It takes time babe. Just give it time" she whispered. "How long though? How long until I can hold you again? Until I can wrap my arms around you? Until I can wipe the tears off of your beautiful face so you won"t be sad anymore? I hate seeing you so hurt and broken and not being able to be your rock and your source of comfort right now" he said. Brenda leaned forward and capture his lips in a kiss. She wanted to pour all of her love for him into that kiss. As she pulled away, both of them smiled brightly. "You are my rock. You are my source of comfort all the time. I never hated you Dylan, I was just hurt, but I want to get past that. I want to get past it all and move on, together. I love you so much Dylan" she said. She leaned in and kissed him again. This one was longer and more passionate. He tried to move his arms again and this time was rewarded with his left pointer finger moving. Brenda pulled back and they both watched as he moved it yet again. Brenda"s eyes filled with tears of happiness as she watched him start to flex his fingers. He was coming back to her. ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ Ok so let me know what you think please! And big bro Randy you happy? I even got Bert in there! :D My Randy: Please get on MSN today if you are feeling better. I miss you baby. Love you! AN: Hello all! Back again with another update! Woot! Ok so this chapter is mostly going to be Brandon having to tell his parents and the rest of the gang!... 1000 words on that... Darn! :D Dedicated to my peeps, Crys and Lyns! Please bear with me! ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ Brandon smiled as he watched Brenda and Dylan softly talking from his position of leaning against the door jamb. Brenda seemed so much better now that Dylan was awake and moving his fingers and arms. He had insisted she crawl in beside him so he knew she was ok. She protested, but Dylan was determined. She ended up laying with him so he didn"t hurt himself worse. His one hand tangled in her hair and it remained there. He sighed and realized he needed to call his parents and the rest of the gang. "I need to go make a couple of phone calls" Brandon said pushing off the jamb. Dylan and Brenda"s heads both snapped to him, having forgotten he was there. "Ok Bran" Brenda said with a smile on her face. He shot them one more smile before leaving to head outside. He decided to take the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. As he jogged down the steps, his mind wandered to the accident. He didn"t hear all of what happened, but he and Dr. Danvers had heard most of it. The drunk driver had hit him, even when Dylan had taken every precaution possible to keep from being hit. Dylan knew what it was like to be a drunk driver and ever since he had been dedicated to not doing it. As he walked through the hallways back towards the entrance, Brandon peeked inside rooms. He idly wondered why these people were there. Why these people needed emergency medical attention. What kind of hell were their families going through? He walked out the sliding doors and out into the air. He took a deep breath before he pulled out his phone and dialed his house phone number. He needed to stay calm for both his parents and the others. He already knew their reaction would be similar to his. "Walsh residence" Cindy answered in a cheery voice. Just the sound made Brandon to break down crying, but he couldn"t. He had to stay strong. "Mom, its Brandon. Dylan was in a serious accident" he said. Cindy gasped. Her son was calling her to inform her that the boy she had come to think of as another son was in an accident. And not just an accident, he had been in a serious accident. "Where are you at?" she asked motioning to Jim to hold off from leaving. He paused, his coat half on and his keys in his hand as he waited for his wife to explain. "LA Medical Center" he said. He looked around and saw a bench and sat on it. He rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, his free hand running through his hair. "I don"t know how much longer I can be strong for Brenda mom" he said. "You don"t have to be strong babe. He"s going to be fine. Your dad and I will be right there baby" she said motioning for him to wait for her. Jim finished putting on his coat and waited at the front door for Cindy to finish up and join him. "Thanks mom. Call me when you get here" he said. After saying their goodbyes, Brandon hung up and dialed the next number. He realized if he talked with David, everyone would know shortly and he would only have to make the one call. "Where are you man?" David asked. Brandon mentally smacked his head. He forgot he had set up plans with everyone to go to the movies with them. He had completely forgotten about it when Brenda called. They were probably standing there waiting for him. "Look I"m sorry man, but we have a problem. A major problem that is" Brandon said. He listened as David shushed everyone and stepped away from the rest of the group. "What"s up Bran?" David asked. Brandon took a deep breath. This was going to be difficult. "Dylan was in a major car crash. He"s in the hospital" he relayed. David was in shock. He quickly jogged back to the others and motioned for them to follow him as they jogged through the parking lot back to the car. "Where is he?" David asked. Everyone piled into the car as he jammed his keys in the ignition, starting the car up but not moving. They already had one person in an accident, they didn"t need to add to that count. "LA Medical Center" he replied. "We"ll be right there" he said hanging up the phone and tossing it in Donna"s lap. The rest of the gang looked at him in confusion. "Dylan was in a bad car accident" he said as he pulled out of the parking space as quickly and safely as possible. Brandon hung his head and took a few more deep breaths. He needed to be calm, at least for Brenda"s sake. He took one last breath before standing up and heading back inside to be with his best friend and his sister. They both needed him. ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ Doctor Danvers sat there looking at the MRI. It wasn"t possible. It couldn"t be possible. The first MRI didn"t show this and it couldn"t have just happened. He pulled up the next picture and then the next one. All three confirmed it. He didn"t know how that was possible. His earlier MRI couldn"t have been that off, but he brought the pictures up. No they were clear. He exited the room, lost in his thoughts. Now all he had to do was break the news to Mr. and Ms. McKay. "Doctor Danvers" Brandon called out. Randall turned and saw the brother, Brandon, jogging towards him, cell in hand. He wondered when they needed to call their parents or friends. He waited for the young man to catch up before they headed to the elevator. They were the only two on there, so half way between the first and second floor he pushed the emergency stop button. Brandon looked at him like he was crazy. "Why did you do that?" Brandon asked. "There is something going on with Dylan. The MRI just picked it up" Danvers started. Brandon"s heart sunk. "Tonight"s pictures show that he has bleeding in the brain." "Oh my god" Brandon breathed out. He knew how serious that was. "Will he make it?" Danvers cleared his throat and dropped eye contact. He had come to love the three teens like he did his own children and he hated to tell them the bad news. "I honestly don"t know" he replied. ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ Ok, so I know people are going to kill me... I"m sorry, but it was getting too happy for me! :D Please let me know what you thought! Cassie"s flame policy still stands. Thanks for reading! And Andrew I do think there will be a surprise for you next chapter! IMPORTANT! I will be changing my penname from hot4cullenmen to RandallsVCUbaby! Please note the change! Thanks, Katie AN: Ok so this is the end! Thank you all for your support! I"m glad you all liked it! A special thanks to my crazy family who has been my rock and my laughter and love and support and my guidance when I"m lost. I love you all (even you too Andrew, Knox, and Darren). Thanks guys! Alright so without further ado, the conclusion of The Accident! ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ Brandon and Doctor Danvers walked onto the floor, grave expressions worn on each face. Marge"s face softened. She knew that whenever Randall wore an expression like that, there wasn"t much hope. She plopped down on the chair behind her desk and let a few tears fall. They hadn"t been there long, but they were so young. They had their whole lives ahead of them and it was all being torn away because of someone"s stupid mistake. The world was unfair to those who didn"t deserve it. ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ Brandon sat down on the chair he had preoccupied earlier. Danvers had told him what was going on and what the chances were and nothing he said seemed hopeful. He put his head in his hands and cried. He didn"t care who saw him or what they thought of a man crying, he cried for his friend. He cried because their might be no hope to save him. ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ Randall stood in the doorway, watching the happy young couple, oblivious to him. They kissed and laughed and talked, he remembered when he was that way with his wife. They still were that way, just not as young and vivacious. When he went home he would need a beer and his wife"s company. He was about to shatter their perfect little world because of a malfunction with the MRI machine. He took a deep breath and knocked three times before he walked in, a small smile on his face. Brenda and Dylan both looked up at him and noticed it wasn"t his usual bright smile. He shut the door behind him and stepped next to the bed. "What"s wrong doctor?" Brenda asked. Randall cleared his throat.

"Doesn"t that mean..." Ash nodded. "All of my hunters are starting to become blank to me." ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ AN: Well there we go! What did the others see? And woah... Ash won"t have much to see then, huh? Well I thought it was an interesting plot twist. *grins* But I"m also evil and mean, so we"ll just have to see what happens now won"t we? Thanks for reading, now please review! AN: *grunts* Cassie may be the death of me yet. I slave for her all day and what does she do? Demands more! LOL! No, I did leave it in a bad spot! Sorry, but honestly, I don"t know how that hadn"t happened sooner. All those Hunters, yeah well... anyway I also did it because I have no clue what I"m doing! You see I start a plan then it never goes right, but it doesn"t matter, now does it? So sit back, relax, and enjoy! PS- What is coming is all Cassie"s fault! Don"t ask. ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ Sweat poured down Sophia"s face as she pressed her hand against her wound. It was only a matter of time before she died. She didn"t want to be alone. If she had to die she had wanted it to be in Kyl"s arms. She had no delusions of being a wife and mother like some of the Hunters had. She had just wanted to be happy. "Where is she?" Sophia"s heart jumped as she heard his voice. Just a little longer. She just had to hold on a little longer. Kyl had come to save her. Her eyes slipped closed as her breathing slowed. She gasped for breath. "Kyl" she whispered as her last breath expelled from her body. She laid limp, her torso and hand covered in blood. ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ "Oh gods" Tory whined as she covered her eyes. Astrid buried her face in Z"s chest as he and Kyl grimaced. "Damn boy, put clothes on" Kyl said as Artemis manifested clothes on herself and Nick. "Oh Gawd, I think I"m blind." Nick snarled at them, partly pissed and partly embarrassed. Z wanted to make a comment, but Ash"s warning sounded in his head, keeping his quiet. For now. "What do you want, asshole?" Kyl sneered at his ex-best friend. "Well gee, you hurt Soph, then take her from me. Can"t imagine what I want" he said. Zarek smirked in appreciation. Had he been granted a squire, he would have liked this one. "You can"t have her, human" Artemis sneered. Tory took a step forward, the goddess" gaze dropping to the baby bump. Z and Kyl took a protective step forward, causing Artie to roll her eyes at them. "What did we talk about last time, Artemis? I think I distinctly remember telling you to stop screwing with Ash. Taking his huntress is still messing with him." Artemis rolled her eyes again. "So help me, Artemis, you roll your eyes once more the powers within me won"t be stopped from killing you." "I make rules..." "You know that you can"t help who you fall in love with. Kyl couldn"t help it. Sophia couldn"t help it. They love each other Artemis and you can"t stop what Eros has put in motion." Artemis pouted. "No." Astrid raised her eyebrow. "No?" she asked. "Artemis listen to yourself. You are denying two people their chance to be happy. Would you have denied me that?" Artemis swept a glare over Zarek. "Of course." "Love you too, bitch." Astrid threw him a look that clearly stated he wasn"t helping. "No you wouldn"t. As fucked up as your morals are, you do still have some" Astrid said. She was losing what little patience she had left for her cousin. Why is it no one would give Zarek the benefit of the doubt? He had given up his life for hers; he would do anything to make her and their son happy and given them anything they desired. Her sisters and cousin just didn"t get it. "Use those for the good this time, Artemis, instead of evil." "No." Zarek looked to Astrid and saw her nod. Oh goodie, he got to go off on the, what was it Simi called her? Oh yeah, he grinned, the bitch-goddess. "Listen here, dumbo. You have it out for me and got pissed and even more PMsy after Ash became happy with Tory. Now you have a play toy back for your every whim. Granted he"s got a big mouth..." "Shut it Psycho-ass." "Fuck off kid. But you have him and now you are going to make even more people miserable. Honestly I don"t know why Savitar lets you live. Ash I get, because you are his daughter"s mother and even though Kat"s a big girl, she still, for whatever reason in that fucked up mind of hers, loves you. I now know why Ash didn"t call for Kat to do this." "Actually he did. You guys started the party without us" Kat said as she joined the others, Sin right beside her. She hugged Tory and gently pat her baby brother or sister"s home and smiled at her mother. "Hello, Matisera, it"s nice to see you again. Mia misses you" she said, laying on the guilt of Artemis missing out on her granddaughter. "It"s nice to see you again too." Sin frowned as the goddess ignored the last subject. "Matisera, Sophia is a friend of mine. She and Sundown live out in Reno, not too far from Vegas. They help Sin and I fight the gallu demons. Mia loves to play with Skylar. Please, Matisera, don"t do this to Kyl. You saw how miserable I was being away from Sin for that one week. And I know you saw his state of living. What was it they called you? A dying cow?" Sin nodded. "Great friends there, Sin." "Bite me, Greek" Sin shot at Zarek. Kyl glared at them. His patience was waning and he just wanted to make sure Sophia was ok. She had to be, right? After all she was a Dark-Hunter. "That"s where you"re wrong Kyl. Her hunter powers have been drained. It seems she can"t be away from you for too long. It"s a pity she was hurt when I took her too" Nick said. Kyl"s heart stopped. "Where is she?" he demanded. Nick shrugged. "Not dead, yet." Kyl wanted to lunge at him. "We used to be best friends, dick head. I loved you like my brother, tried to help you. When you had a problem I was there for you and now, because you killed yourself to make Acheron miserable, you decide to take your friends down too? What a pathetic bastard!" He was breathing heavy. Both Sin and Zarek had a hand on his arm to keep him from moving. "I took you in. I showed you the fucking ropes to being a Squire. Kyrian gave you the job and saved your punk ass from death. After all we"ve done for you, you"re just going to shove it? You"re mama raised you better. Cherise raised a good boy, not the asshole standing in front of me. You"ve shamed her, Nicky." "Don"t you dare talk about my mom..." "Don"t you dare say that! Your mother means nothing to you! NOTHING! This is what you turned out to be, a dickhead bigger than Zarek ever was! You were a good kid, Nick. But Nick Gautier apparently died with his mother. I don"t know who you are, but right now you are pissing me off and hurting an innocent woman. Nicholas Gautier would never allow that to happen. Are you?" "You know nothing..." "Oh save the shit for someone who might care. You got pissed because you fucked up big time with Ash. You KNOW he hardly trusts anyone, even himself some days and yet you expected him to open up to you? I"m sure there are things about Ash that maybe even Tory doesn"t know. I"ve said it before, but I"m saying it again. Get off the cross Nick. You wanted Ash to feel guilty for your mistake. Congratulations. He does. Now show me Sophia and I"ll stop with the reality check." Nick glared at Kyl before a door on the far wall opened. Kyl rushed forward and stopped as he saw what was inside. "Sophia" he cried, falling to his knees and cradling her limp body against his. His tears landed on her pale cheeks as he held forehead against hers. He tenderly kissed her lips. "Sophia" he sobbed. The other stood back and watched as Kyl cried over Sophia"s dead body. ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ AN: So who wants to kill me? *sees raised hands* That"s what I thought! So, Cassie knows what"s going to happen, but I"m guessing she will kill me over the cliffy, but have no fear, everything will be fixed next chapter! And possibly a surprise too! We"ll just have to wait and see... Thanks for reading now please review! AN: Alright so it took Cassie about an hour to figure out I hadn"t written anymore to this story! So I"m back! And don"t worry. I know you all want to beat my skull in for leaving her dead, but have no fear Ash is going blue and people will die!... No just kidding, they"ll live! Yay right? Ok so sit back, relax, and enjoy! ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ Ash froze as a dark foreboding washed over him. Sophia was dead. He looked up, pain evident in his eyes. Jess"s shoulders slumped. Oh god. Not Sophia. Ash flashed to his true form before flashing back and standing up. "I"m going to Olympus. I want you to come with me Jess" Ash said. Jess gave Ash a weird look. "I"m not..." "I don"t care. Right now Sophia needs you. She... she"s dead Jess." Ash winced as the pain washed over Jess. "I didn"t know, I can"t see my hunters anymore, but I can feel it. I can feel Kyl and Kat"s grief. Come, I have a plan which might work if things played out right." Jess nodded, his body numb. She couldn"t be gone. Ever since he had been moved out to Reno from Mississippi, she had been there for him. They were closer than any other of the Dark-Hunters and as much as it sickened Ash to do this, he was going to use that grief to their advantage. Nick could bring Sophia back, the only question was, will he? ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ Kat stood sobbing, Sin"s arms wrapped tightly around her. Tory winced as a pain shot through her lower back as she watched Kyl sobbing and rocking Sophia"s limp body. She turned as she felt a fissure of power behind her. There stood Ash and Jess. "Soph," Jess said, his heart breaking as he saw her in Kyl"s arms. He wanted to hold her, to rock her, but Kyl deserved that privilege. "Oh gods Soph" he said coming to stand beside Kat. Sin set one of his hands on Jess"s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "It will all work out Jess," Sin said, his words catching in his throat. He would miss Sophia"s biting wit and sarcasm that rivaled Kish"s. He couldn"t even imagine Jess and Kyl"s pain. His grip tightened around Kat and he pressed his face into her hair, her scent keeping him somewhat grounded. Jess dropped to his knees and choked on a sob as he brushed his hand over Sophia"s hair and face. She was so cold. Sophia hated being cold. Winter was the worst and everyday she used to call him and complain. He would miss those calls. He slipped his coat off and wrapped it around her frail body. "You won"t be cold anymore, mikrí adelfí. We will keep you warm." He cried as he realized he would never hear her Greek again, not hear stories about how beautiful Greece was and how much she missed her home land. He had once asked her why she didn"t go back. She laughed. "Why would I leave my home and my kaoumpói adelfós?" That was the first time she had called him both cowboy and brother in Greek. She had spent centuries trying to teach him Greek, but all he could say was little sister and cowboy brother. "Look at the pain you are causing, Nick. You know you have the power to change this. Don"t listen to Artemis, listen to yourself. Do you really want to do this to the people you have called family for so long? I know you"re angry at me and I will fight you, if that"s what you really want, but don"t let others suffer. You aren"t that kid." Nick snorted. "You don"t know shit about me, God. You made me this kid, not..." "That"s where you"re wrong, Nick. The powers of the Malachai should have consumed you, eaten you up whole. You are fighting the evil; you have been since you were fourteen and met Kyrian. You aren"t the heartless bastard your father was. You aren"t the true Malachai, because deep down you are aching over Sophia"s death. Be a better person than I was toward my friend, save her." "I don"t know how." "Yes you do Nick. Buried deep inside there is a part of you, the part that is the true Malachai, has a handle on your powers. This is going to sound really cheesy, but reach deep within you and you"ll know how to save her." Nick nodded once before he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, searching for the part of himself he had fought so hard to keep at bay. Nick opened his hazel blue eyes and watched as they flashed red before returning to the blue color. Ash instantly knew who was in charge. "Help Sophia, please" Ash said, a slight hint of begging in his voice. Nick nodded and moved to Sophia"s side. "Move" he snarled pushing Jess and Kyl away. Kyl wanted to lunge, but he saw Nick holding his hands over Sophia"s chest. Everyone saw a white flash and what sounded like thunder before Nick pulled away. Kyl rushed back to Sophia"s side and saw that her shirt was no longer bloody. "Kyl," she muttered, her eyes fluttering open. Kyl pulled her in to his eyes and looked at Nick over her head, as her arms slowly encircled him. "Thank you" he mouthed to his friend. Nick nodded once before he flashed away. Ash smiled as Kat ripped Soph from Kyl"s arms, who was then passed to Sin, Jess, and back to Kyl. Z and Astrid smiled at Ash before they flashed back to their home. "Let"s go home" Tory said as she rubbed her stomach. Ash frowned at her. "What"s wrong Sota?" Tory grimaced as the others stood, Sophia still wrapped in Kyl"s arms. "I think the baby"s coming." ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ Eight hours, a lot of cursing, a passed out Acheron, and Sophia delivering another baby, Tory and Ash welcomed baby Calista Apollymi Parthenopaeus into the world. Sophia stood back as the small family intercepted calls from Were-, Dream-, and Dark-Hunters as well as squires and the few humans who had their phone number. The tears welled in her eyes. The baby was born and her job was done. Now it was time for her to return to Reno. The only question was whether she would be going back alone or whether she had gained a new squire. ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ AN: Alright so Sophia is alive and I have a plan for the rest of the story, well actually I have two plans, but I haven"t decided which one I"m going to be using. I think there will be two chapters left. The next one wraps up the story and then an epilogue. But I"m off track, Sophie"s alive and Ash and Tory had their baby! YAY! Alright, so thanks for reading now please review! AN: Alright and here we are. The moment that will most likely make me cry. Possibly you too. That"s right Sophia is heading back to Reno. With or without Kyl is the question. The answer will be coming up here shortly. So sit back, relax, and try to not kill me until the end! ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ Sophia watched Kyl sleeping on Ash and Tory"s couch. Cali"s birth had worn him out. Jess, Kai, and Skylar were saying goodbye to the trio before Ash sent them back to Reno. Sophia still didn"t know what to do. She loved Kyl, but she couldn"t leave Reno. Her family was there. She ran her hand over Kyl"s dark blonde hair, smiling as he groaned and rolled over, almost falling. "Follow your heart, Soph. There are modes of transportation between New Orleans and Reno" Jess said. He kissed her cheek and stepped back with Kai and Sky. Ash flashed them home and motioned with his head for her to follow him outside. She smiled at Kyl before stepping out into the night. Ash stared at the stars. "I was alive when they named them. There are so many out there it makes the human race seem so insignificant." Ash paused as he turned to look at Sophia. "But you have found the one person who loves you, flaws and all. He would do anything for you Sophia the question is, what are you going to do now that you have found him?" Sophia looked at the stars. "Two thousand plus years alone, I can finish eternity without him. Kyl deserves to find a woman who can give him children and grandchildren. He deserves to be happy." "And if I tell you, you make him happy?" A tear slid down Sophia"s cheek. "He will move on. He is strong." Ash shook his head. She was stubborn, but he knew probably better than anyone how love could make you weaker and how some days love got in the way. But nothing trumped the feeling of having someone to talk to, to love. Someone who was waiting for you when you got home after a long night at work. "Is this really what you want? I can move you here permanently to watch over Tory and Cali or if you want to go back to Reno, I can transfer..." "This is Kyl"s home. I won"t make him move for me. Send me home, Ash." He nodded and flashed Sophia back to her mansion on the outskirts of Reno. Sophia dropped her coat on the floor and stepped forward to the part of her house that was sealed up during the day. It was a small octagon shaped room. All the sides were made of glass. During nights when she was home, she loved to grab a glass of either wine or coffee and sit and watch the stars. Tonight she curled up on the couch she had there and sobbed. Her hands covered her face as she cried. She would have to forget about him and move on, but it was hard. ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ Two Months later: Jess paused just outside of Sophia"s window room. She wouldn"t move unless it was daylight, then she would retreat to her bedroom. Jess hated going over and seeing the dead, vacant look in her eyes and hearing her cry. He and Kai had both tried to convince her to go back to New Orleans, but she had insisted he had moved on and she was fine. Obviously she wasn"t fine. Sophia refused to patrol anymore. Jess had talked to Ash and they had come to a conclusion. Now just to tell the two people involved. "You know, Greek, you really oughta cheer up. You"re leavin" this god forsaken hell hole. You gotta new job in Nawlins. Apparently Stryker is vying for Cali and he needs your help to protect her." Sophia nodded. "When?" Jess sighed. "No "No, don"t make me go. I love Reno and the retards I call family"." Sophia cracked her first smile since the last time she was in New Orleans. "I think the only retard I"ll miss is you. Kai and Sky aren"t as brain damaged. Although Kai must be to marry you." Jess laughed and wrapped her up in his arms. "I"m sorry for everything Jess. I"ll come back." "You better and call me every night and day and four times in a 24 hour period. And email and get on the website and send Sky and me tons of presents and..." "Calm down Jess. I"ll call before I go to bed and I"ll always be on the message boards. Come visit me. I"m sure Sky and Cali will enjoy playing together." Jess nodded, tears stinging his eyes. Sophia was already crying. The two hadn"t been separated since Jess had become a Dark-Hunter. "I love you, kaoumpói adelfos." "I love you too, mikrí adelfí. See you online." Sophia stepped away and Ash flashed her back to his house. Standing before her was Kyl. She felt the tears fall as he took a step forward, his hand outstretched. He paused inches away, his hand hovering over her cheek as if he was afraid to touch her. "You never said goodbye" he accused softly. Sophia nodded, a sob lodged in her throat. "Goodbye would have killed both of us. I wanted you to find someone else, someone who could give you children." Kyl shook his head and stepped closer, neither one noticing Ash and Tory had left them alone. "I don"t care about children; I don"t care about any of that crap. I love you and only you. You are the only woman I will ever want." With that he leaned forward and kissed her with all his might. Sophia wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and squealed against his mouth as he picked her up, his obvious erection pressing against her core. One minute they were in Ash"s living room and the next they were on the bed in the apartment Ash loaned her. "That"s awfully nice of him" Sophia laughed. Kyl pulled back and looked down at her with love evident in his eyes. "I love you. Don"t you dare leave your squire again" he said, his breathing ragged from kissing her senseless. Sophia nodded, her hands running over his back. "Before you get any more lovey dovey, or I go blind from lack of clothes on the squire, we have a few points to cover." Soph and Kyl turned to look at Ash standing in the doorway. "One, Kyl you"re still a Blood Rites and Dorean who serves Sophia. Second, Sophia, I"m sure Jess told you, but your job should you choose to accept, which you should otherwise I"m a mean asshole to work for, is to help Tory and I protect Cali. Thirdly, I know what it"s like to love someone and to love a child. So this is my wedding present to you. May you have a few children and may the gods bless them with Sophia"s looks." And Ash was gone. "We aren"t getting married" Sophia muttered to Kyl as he moved to hover over her. "Yet, Sophia. We aren"t getting married yet" he rumbled against the column of her neck. Soph groaned and moaned all night as she and Kyl put Ash"s present to good use. ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ AN: Alright so that sucked to write because I was doing it during Criminal Minds, so I had Sophia sobbing over a broken heart, was reading Harry Potter where Remus was telling Tonks why she shouldn"t be with him, and sobbing over Criminal Minds. Worst hour of my life! So next chapter will be the epilogue! Thanks for reading now please review!